At this point, he seemed to suddenly remember something. A few years ago, during a phone call with his mother, it had apparently been mentioned that Gu Qing hadn't taken the college entrance examination, and he sighed.
"If only you were as capable as Ruoruo."
Gu Qing didn't answer. She even found it laughable. When it came to Gu Ruo, they remembered even the tiniest habits with absolute clarity.
Yet when it came to her, they didn't even bother to ask about something as important as university before deciding she was inferior to Gu Ruo.
-
Everything about the Gu family felt completely alien to Gu Qing. Clearly this was her home too, yet it was her very first time stepping inside.
Ye Zhixue led Gu Qing to her room, putting on an air of deep concern as she smiled and said, "If there's anything you don't like, just tell Mom, okay?"
Gu Qing nodded, her tone flat. "Thank you, Mom."
"Tsk, you child, you're being so formal. I'm your mother, why are you being so polite with me?"
Seeing that Ye Zhixue had finished speaking but still hadn't left, Gu Qing asked, "Is there something else?"
Ye Zhixue and Gu Yunfei had struggled for years, relying on a stroke of fortune to finally squeeze their way into high society.
In elite circles, they were considered nouveau riche, and many still looked down upon their family.
Yet the Lu family, in terms of heritage, connections, and financial strength, was a top-tier elite family in the truest sense.
Therefore, when the Lu family proposed an alliance through marriage this time, Ye Zhixue was absolutely not going to let the opportunity slip away.
She knew without even thinking how many benefits came with marrying into the Lu family.
Yet since Lu Jingyan was now disabled, she was completely unwilling to let her precious younger daughter marry him, which was why she had decided to bring her eldest daughter back.
However, looking into her eldest daughter's clear, piercing eyes, Ye Zhixue actually felt a faint trace of guilt.
It was true that she hadn't raised this daughter by her side since childhood, and the guilt was genuine; but it was equally true that there was no real affection between them.
On second thought, though, Gu Qing was just a girl who had grown up in the countryside, hadn't studied properly, and was working as a doctor in a small county in Qingcheng. Being able to marry into a family like the Lu clan—even if Lu Jingyan was disabled—meant she would enjoy boundless wealth and luxury for the rest of her life.
She was simply helping her daughter secure a better future.
"Qing'er, get some rest now. Tonight, Mom will take you to meet someone."
She didn't specify who, but Gu Qing knew—it had to be Lu Jingyan...
She had seen the news online about how he had been crippled in a car accident.
She didn't know whether to laugh or feel sad. After all, she really shouldn't have held any expectations for her so-called parents.
Children who were never favored by their parents carried the deepest, most helpless resentment and resignation in their hearts.
"Alright." Gu Qing nodded in agreement.
Only, she wasn't agreeing for Ye Zhixue's sake. She had come to Beicheng entirely for Lu Jingyan.
She wondered how he was doing now.
Seeing how obedient Gu Qing was, Ye Zhixue felt a bit more satisfied. "Great, then you get some rest, Mom won't disturb you anymore."
Before leaving, she didn't forget to add one last instruction: "Remember, when you meet that person tonight, if they ask where you went to university, tell them you have a master's degree from Jingcheng Medical University. You won't get exposed, Mom will take care of it for you."
After Ye Zhixue left, Gu Qing lay on the bed. When she raised her hand, she could clearly feel her right hand trembling.
It had been six days.
Ever since the moment she picked up the scalpel and failed to save her grandmother, this hand had never stopped shaking.
For a surgeon, a trembling hand holding a scalpel was the most fatal problem of all.
With too many thoughts running through her mind, Gu Qing unconsciously drifted into a bizarre and eerie dream.
Meanwhile, Gu Ruo was lying on the sofa, watching the group chat as everyone asked her whether her older sister was pretty or not. Gu Ruo felt a tightness in her chest.
Pretty? More than just pretty...
Even though Gu Qing was dressed very plainly, that face of hers—cold, aloof, and strikingly gorgeous—was outrageously eye-catching.
Her skin didn't look at all like someone who had spent years living in the countryside, as she had imagined; it was almost excessively fair.
Compared to Gu Qing, she could only be considered pure and cute.
With so many people pressing for answers, Gu Ruo felt conflicted and uneasy inside, so she typed out a reply: "Average. Not ugly."
Even though she knew it was a lie that would be quickly seen through, she still said it instinctively.
The news of the Lu family and the Gu family marrying into each other was known throughout Beicheng.
The playboys were extremely curious: what kind of woman would someone like Lu Jingyan, once a favored son of heaven, end up marrying?
Hearing Gu Ruo describe her as "not ugly," everyone fell silent.
Ugh... generally speaking, when people described someone that way, it meant they weren't much to look at, or couldn't really be called attractive at all.
Lu Jingyan was truly pathetic.
In the playboys' group chat was also Lu Jingyan's younger brother, Lu Jingming.
At that moment, his face dark, he gripped his phone, swore, and turned to look at his mother.
"Mom, my brother's legs just don't work... you don't have to make him marry some mediocre woman who has nothing going for her, do you? Gu Ruo said her sister is exceptionally ugly."
Hearing this, Madam Lu felt mostly grief; how she wished she could find a good partner for her son.
Yet besides his legs, her son's male functions had also suffered severe damage. As the matriarch of the Lu family, she could not let unfavorable rumors about the family spread unchecked.
So she had no choice but to pick the eldest daughter of the Gu family, the one who was easiest to manipulate.
"Adults are handling things, there's no room for a child like you to interfere," she said, putting on a cold expression.
Lu Jingming was furious.
Madam Lu had no time to worry about his mood, and walked with steady steps to the second floor.
Ye Zhixue had just sent her a text message saying she hoped to arrange for the two young people to meet tonight.
Pushing open her son's bedroom door, Madam Lu looked at the gloomy room, forced herself to remain calm, walked over to the window, and reached out to pull back the curtains.
A blinding glare pierced into the room, banishing the darkness within.
The man was lying on the bed, his dark eyes as deep as an ancient, secluded pool, his handsome facial features sharp and stern, exuding an aggressive aura.
He wasn't asleep.
Madam Lu went straight to the point: "I've arranged a blind date for you. You're coming with me tonight to meet the young lady, and you have no choice but to agree."
"Since I have no choice, why bother with a blind date? We might as well just go get the marriage certificate straight away."
Lu Jingyan said expressionlessly.
Toward her son, Madam Lu felt mostly heartache, but also a trace of an unspeakable resentment.
No one outside knew that that car accident had not only taken away her son's health, but also her husband's life.
With her son in this state, she couldn't make the news of her husband's death public at all, otherwise many people within the company would become restless.
"It's best if you don't object. However, out of courtesy, you must meet the person."
After Madam Lu left, Lu Jingyan seemed to plunge back into darkness, his dark eyes stained with pain and self-derision.
If it hadn't been for him, his father wouldn't have died.
Gu Qing woke up around dusk, and Gu Ruo came to call for her.
Perhaps driven by some hidden impulse, Gu Ruo said, "Elder sister, you're about to marry into the Lu family. Congratulations! The Lu family is Beicheng's top elite family, after all."
Gu Qing was twenty-five and had spent so many years studying abroad; Gu Ruo's petty little schemes couldn't be hidden from her at all.
Gu Ruo didn't like her—that was obvious at a glance.
She continued folding her blanket while waiting for what the other had to say next.