Chapter – 34
From This Moment On, I Will Owe the Guan Family Nothing
Now that everything had come to light, anyone could see exactly what kind of family the Guan household was.
The sympathy and goodwill they’d enjoyed just moments ago vanished instantly, replaced by contempt and disdain.
Guan Baosheng and Guan Ruirui stood frozen, their faces so pale they looked ready to cough up blood.
They had absolutely no idea why their wife and mother had suddenly started spouting such lunacy.
Tears streaming down her face, Guan Ruirui struggled to defend herself.
“T-That’s not true! Mom is just talking nonsense! We’ve never treated big sister that way—”
But her words were cut short.
A cold laugh rang out from the crowd—coming from the girl in the black dress who had earlier mocked Ruirui for “thinking she’s a princess.”
“Oh, give it a rest. The truth about your Guan family’s rotten guts is already echoing from one end of Jing City to the other. Are you still trying to pretend otherwise here?”
Several others followed with mocking laughter.
Since she became aware of the world, Guan Ruirui had never suffered such humiliation.
She no longer cared about her father or mother—she simply covered her face with both hands and pushed through the crowd, running desperately.
But after only a few steps, she collided with a figure and fell straight onto the ground.
When she lifted her head, she saw a tall silhouette standing against the light.
Straight as a pine tree, exuding a chilling, almost icy presence.
And when his face became clearly visible, her heart skipped several beats.
His deeply carved, austere features were a sharp contrast to Jiang Huai’s flamboyant beauty—colder, more cutting.
When his ink-dark eyes looked down at her, she felt as though she might be swallowed whole.
“W-Wait… isn’t that Young Master Chu?”
“It is, right? His aura is terrifying…”
“Didn’t they say he hates social events like this? Why would he come?”
Only then did Ruirui understand.
The person standing before her was Chu Beihe, the young head of the Chu family—one of the four great families of Haishi.
Seeing him in person for the first time, her mind instantly spun a romantic drama scene.
In a hall full of people, she was a fragile little rabbit, and he was a towering, protective tree. Surely he would bend down and lift her gently into his arms…
Flushed with embarrassment and anticipation, she timidly reached out her hand.
But Chu Beihe’s brow furrowed sharply.
If they weren’t in public, he would have stripped off his jacket on the spot—simply because she had touched him.
Suppressing his disgust, he instead turned to a nearby staff member and ordered coldly:
“Are you not going to help her up?”
Startled, two attendants rushed over and lifted Guan Ruirui by the arms.
—This was nothing like the “princess carry” she had imagined. She stood there in stunned disbelief.
Meanwhile, Chu Beihe strode directly toward Jiang Xuxu and spoke with concise formality:
“Miss Jiang, congratulations. And… my apologies for being late.”
The implication was clear:
He was publicly acknowledging Jiang Xuxu as the true daughter of the Jiang family.
A statement from the Chu family carried enormous weight in Haishi’s social circles—no one would ever again dare question Xuxu’s identity.
Jiang Xuxu returned a calm smile.
“You’re not late at all. In fact, your timing is perfect.”
Then she turned to face Guan Baosheng once more.
Her smile faded, and her voice grew steady and cool.
“The expenses your family spent raising me for eighteen years amount to no more than five million. I have already transferred that five million to your account.”
A murmur rose through the crowd.
For an ordinary family, raising a child on five million yuan might be understandable.
But for the people gathered here—members of the elite—it was shockingly little.
That number alone made clear just how poorly Xuxu had been treated in the Guan household.
Her apricot-shaped eyes fixed sharply on Guan Baosheng.
“Besides—
I already died once in place of Guan Ruirui. Whatever debt I owed, I’ve repaid.
From this moment on, I will not owe the Guan family a single cent.”
Guan Baosheng’s pupils dilated; the mask on his face shattered completely.
Jiang Yucheng’s chest burned with fury and pain.
Realizing what his daughter had endured, he could no longer hold back.
“From today on, the Jiang family severs all ties with the Guan family. The gratitude for raising her ends here.
But—
If the Guan family dares use the Jiang name again to act outside this house, then the Jiang family will intervene personally.”
With that icy declaration, he instructed the butler:
“See them out.”
Guan Baosheng and Bai Shuqin were dragged out in disgrace, no longer caring about saving face.
At that moment, Jiang Xuxu spoke quietly—only loud enough for the three of them to hear.
“One more thing—I forgot to mention.
Your ritual to ‘swap fate’ didn’t succeed.”
Bai Shuqin’s face twisted, eyes full of disbelief.
But Xuxu’s voice remained cold.
“Guan Ruirui’s calamity will return to her. If you want to save her—give her Grandmother’s bracelet and make her come to me herself.”
Ignoring the murderous glares aimed at her, she turned away.
The servants shoved the disgraced couple out of the hall.
The banquet continued.
Jiang Xuxu was escorted by her grandfather as she was formally introduced to the guests.
When she returned, Chu Beihe was still there.
Surprised, she asked honestly:
“Chu Shao, I thought you disliked parties like this.”
Chu Beihe glanced sideways at Jiang Huai before responding in a low voice:
“…He told me I should take responsibility for you.”
The champagne glass nearly slipped from Xuxu’s hand.
Eyes wide, she stared at him in shock.
—Responsibility?
—What responsibility could she possibly have made him bear??
