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“It’s a sincere apology just because you’re kneeling?” Gu Ci chuckled, also kneeling before her. Gu Chuyun was startled, but Gu Ci’s smile sent shivers down her spine. “Look, it’s just a simple act of kneeling. What’s so remarkable about it? Why should 1 forgive you?”

Gu Chuyun was scared and kept backing away, looking disheveled. Gu Ci stood up, calmly smiling. “Gu Chuyun, think carefully about what a sincere apology means.”

“Do you want me to die?”

“If you want to die, I won’t stop you, but please die somewhere far away and don’t dirty my floor,” Gu Ci said in an extremely cold tone.

Gu Chuyun left in a daze, and Gu Ci sat in the garden, clutching her chest, struggling to breathe. Every time she saw Gu Chuyun, it reminded her of some unpleasant memories.

She needed to forget!

To forget these agonizing memories. Gu Chuyun was right; she had no recollection of her actions. In her eyes, she might indeed be deserving of death. In Gu Ci’s heart, it was difficult to let go of the shadow that Gu Chuyun had cast on her.

But she had to forget. If she couldn’t let go of those memories, she would be trapped in Gu Chuyun’s shadow for the rest of her life.

“Cici, come play basketball!” Qin Wan called her from the court.

With a smile, Gu Ci walked towards the basketball court. The sun was shining brightly, and youth was at its peak. She and Ziyu both had a bright future ahead of them.

Upstairs, Gu Ziyu watched the conversation between Gu Ci and Gu Chuyun. He hated Gu Chuyun even more than Gu Ci did. However, Gu Chuyun had died at his hands, and the satisfaction of avenging his enemy was still vivid in his memory. Despite the tragedies that had yet to unfold in this lifetime, Gu Chuyun couldn’t harm him anymore. However, it was different for his mother.

Back then, at the mere sight of Gu Chuyun, he would feel fear and trembling, just like how Gu Ci would experience a shiver when encountering Dr. North. These were all inner shadows. However, now, his heart was calm. Ever since he had exacted his revenge, Gu Chuyun posed no threat to him anymore.

But his mother was different!

His mother needed to slowly break free from the shadow of Gu Chuyun.

After washing up, Gu Ziyu went to the basketball court to sketch. He had three Chinese painting and sketching classes per week as extracurricular activities, and he was doing quite well. He turned the scene of Gu Ci playing basketball into a group portrait and sent it to Lu Zhiyuan.

Lu Zhiyuan: Not lifelike enough.

Gu Ziyu: Did I ask for your critique?

I wanted you to take a look at Mom, to ease your longing!

Lu Zhiyuan didn’t reply for a while, so Gu Ziyu sent a question mark. Still no response from Lu Zhiyuan. An annoyed Gu Ziyu decided to ignore him and continued painting. After a short while, his phone vibrated, and Lu Zhiyuan sent a modified version of the painting.

It was based on Gu Ziyu’s drawing, and cleverly, he had also modified Gu Ci. It was truly lifelike and much more realistic than what Gu Ziyu, a beginner, had drawn. Gu Ziyu thought Lu Zhiyuan was even better than his Chinese painting teacher, although he didn’t fully understand it. The lifelike portrayal of the characters was truly impressive.

Gu Ziyu: You can actually paint?

Lu Zhiyuan: 1 can paint in any style—Chinese painting, sketching, oil painting, you name it.

Gu Ziyu: I don’t believe it!

His dad was a racing driver, and training took up most of his time. It was said that he played the violin even better than his mom. Gu Ziyu suspected that Gu Ci had some kind of filter to make her look better. His mom had real talent with the violin, and everyone praised her. There was no way his dad could be better than her.

Lu Zhiyuan sent another sketch of Gu Ci, a landscape sketch, and an oil painting.

Gu Ziyu was shocked: You did all of these?

Lu Zhiyuan: I’m showing my skills.

Gu Ziyu asked again to confirm: Are you sure you didn’t have someone else do them for you?

Lu Zhiyuan: Son, don’t let the generation gap between us become a barrier to communication.

Gu Ziyu:…

Gu Ziyu fell into deep thought. If his dad had such high skills, why did he still pay for art lessons?

Gu Ziyu: Then why do you take me out to eat, play basketball, and go racing on weekends?

Lu Zhiyuan respected Gu Ziyu a lot: What would you like to do?

Gu Ziyu: 1 want to learn how to paint. What else can you do?

Lu Zhiyuan: A bit of this and that.

Gu Ziyu: You’re not an athlete. How do you have so much time to learn extracurricular knowledge?

Lu Zhiyuan: It’s a talent!

Gu Ziyu: Hah!

Lu Zhiyuan sent a subtle smiling emoji to Gu Ziyu.

Gu Ziyu: Do you know this emoji is insulting?

Lu Zhiyuan quickly replaced it with a different one.

Gu Ziyu: ?

During halftime, Gu Ziyu came over to drink water. He put down his phone and proudly showed Gu Ci his paintings. “Mom, how do you like my paintings?”

Gu Ci sat beside Gu Ziyu, sipping water and admiring his artwork. Gu Ziyu had drawn eight people, all of their classmates from the basketball game today. He had only been learning to paint for a few months and wasn’t that skilled yet, but Gu Ci always encouraged him. “You did a good job. You’ve made Mom look really beautiful.”

Gu Ziyu beamed with joy, loving this kind of compliment that came with a filter. “Of course, Mom is the most beautiful woman in the world in my eyes.”

Gu Ci laughed heartily and gave him a kiss.

After playing basketball, they had a barbecue in their garden together. It was the first time Gu Ci had invited friends over to her house, and she generously showed them around. They had all the barbecue equipment and ingredients ready. Their classmates brought along some drinks, fruits, and more. The courtyard quickly became lively, and Gu Ziyu brought out a speaker. When young people got together, it was all about singing, dancing, barbecuing, and having a great time.

Gu Ziyu even sang a popular internet song, although his pitch was off, and he sounded quite young. Everyone couldn’t stop laughing. Gu Chuyun had stayed nearby, watching the lively party at Gu Ci’s house.

Jealousy gnawed at her heart, tearing at her soul and body. She couldn’t help but recall the past. She had been the center of attention, and Gu Ci had lived in the shadow. No one in the family noticed Gu Ci.

Even Gu Ci’s academic performance was lackluster. While Gu Ziyao and Gu Yaozu were learning various extracurricular activities like horseback riding, swimming, and music, Gu Ci was confined to the house. When the Gu family held banquets, they would lock Gu Ci away, not allowing her to come out. She had no presence in the Gu family at all.

In reality, she should have been the beloved young lady of the family.

If their true identities hadn’t been revealed, everything would be different. Gu Ci wouldn’t have undergone such a drastic transformation. If Jiang Junlin didn’t protect her, relying on Grandma’s favoritism alone, Gu Ci wouldn’t be so happy.

She had a strong hand to play, and everything should have been hers. Everything should have been hers. Gu Chuyun was unwilling, but she also knew that Yu Fei was right. She couldn’t provoke the likes of Lu Zhiyuan, Jiang Junlin, and the Gu family’s power and status. Unless she found someone even more formidable, someone who wasn’t afraid of their power and status and could protect her thoroughly, otherwise, she would be trampled by Gu Ci for her whole life.

Yu Fei called Gu Chuyun. “Gu Chuyun, Master Chen wants to meet you. Where are you? I’ll pick you up..”