C16 Chapter 16

Just a few curt words—cold, efficient, exactly his style.

The message made Nuochu’s headache spike. Marry him—he was actually serious?

Gu Lijue was the kind of man no one in the city could touch. Even though Qinnuo Pharmaceuticals had been growing so fast it had the whole industry staring, he was still someone Nuochu had never imagined crossing paths with.

His business genius and staggering fortune were the kind of empire Nuochu could spend her entire life building and still never be worth a second glance from a kingmaker like him.

But being pushed into marrying Gu Lijue was still the last thing she wanted.

She didn’t understand him, but she knew one thing: Gu Lijue wasn’t someone you could say no to.

“Ring, ring, ring...” Just then, an unfamiliar ringtone cut through the air.

“Bai Nuochu! I knew you stole my phone—so that’s how you schemed your way into Jue’s bed!” Ni’an’s shrill voice blasted through the line, sharp enough to make Nuochu’s ears ache.

“What state I was in last night—don’t you know better than anyone?” Nuochu replied flatly.

“Yesterday I told you to get into Boss Tong’s bed. That’s all you’re good for—spreading your legs for men like him, getting used up and tossed aside. But I didn’t think you were low enough to pull a stunt like this, stealing my man. Bai Nuochu...”

Ni’an’s rant kept coming, hysterical and out of control. Nuochu’s head buzzed. Then, all at once, she looked up into the empty air and said, “No, Jue, I don’t want any water.”

Jue was still with that woman.

Ni’an’s machine-gun tirade stopped dead. All that came through was harsh, ragged breathing. Nuochu could practically picture Ni’an’s eyes going wide, like something invisible had clamped a hand over her mouth.

“An’an, you’re always this reckless.” Just as Nuochu was about to hang up, another voice slid onto the line—overly sweet, deliberately seductive, with the unmistakable edge of age. It was Jiaang Wanmei.

“What?!”

Bai Nuochu jerked upright. Caught off guard by the sudden weakness in her body, she nearly toppled off the bed.

To the outside world, Bai Nuoqing was the Bai family’s celebrated eldest daughter—the one who’d supposedly married into a powerful overseas family, the former beauty who once took Ningcheng by storm. In truth, she’d been locked away in a lightless attic the whole time.

Bai Jinda had forbidden anyone from showing even the slightest sign that the Bai family’s eldest daughter was still in the house. And Jiaang Wanmei had never allowed Bai Nuochu anywhere near Bai Nuoqing’s attic.

So when Jiaang Wanmei suddenly brought up Bai Nuoqing, a chill of dread rose in Bai Nuochu’s chest.

“Nuochu, spring’s here. You know Qingqing’s allergic to pollen. Yesterday, after you accidentally upset An’an and she came back, the staff were all busy comforting her and forgot to close the windows in Qingqing’s room...”

Jiaang Wanmei deliberately let the sentence hang.

Bai Nuochu felt like her world cracked open. A pollen allergy could cause swelling, high fever, spasms, and blocked airways. If it wasn’t treated in time, it could be fatal—high fever, respiratory failure.

Bai Nuochu knew all this not because she’d studied allergies, but because she’d lived through her sister’s terrifying reactions. Back then, even the slightest flare-up left Bai Nuoqing in agony. Bai Nuochu had known enough acupuncture to help keep it under control, but it was still so painful she could barely stand to watch.

Later, once Bai Nuoqing was shut up in the attic, she’d stopped having attacks. Up that high, pollen shouldn’t have reached her in the first place. Ever since her confinement, there hadn’t been a single recorded incident.

Bai Nuochu clenched her fingers tight.

Sure enough, Jiaang Wanmei’s voice came again. “I know you’re busy with Young Master Jue right now, but your sister...”

“I’m coming home right now,” Bai Nuochu said, and hung up.