C17 Chapter 17

When Bai Nuochu got home, she bolted for the stairs, but Mrs. Jiaang had already stationed two servants to block the entrance. Mrs. Qin stood off to the side, wiping away tears nonstop.

“Aunt Jiaang,” Nuochu said, drawing a deep breath. “If you won’t even let me see how bad my sister is, how do you expect me to agree to whatever you’re going to demand next?”

“Bai Nuochu, is that any way to speak to Aunt Jiaang?” Bai Jinda snapped. “Is that how a younger person is supposed to act?”

“Selling one daughter off, then setting up another daughter—who can’t even take care of herself—to have an allergic reaction. Is that how a father is supposed to act?”

Bai Jinda’s eyes widened. This was the real Nuochu—the one who’d always swallowed everything before. Stubborn, decisive, with a kind of dignity in her bones. She looked so much like Lin Molian, so much that it made his own ugliness stand out. Even the light in their eyes was the same.

“I, Bai Jinda, don’t have a daughter as unfilial as you! Get out of the Bai family!”

He clutched his heaving chest. Normally, that threat worked on Nuochu every time. But this time, he caught a flash of disgust in her eyes.

All at once, Bai Jinda understood: he’d always thought Nuochu was terrified of being thrown out. The truth was, what she wanted most was to leave the Bai family—leave with Bai Nuoqing.

He lifted his gaze toward the attic and added coldly, “Come back after Bai Nuoqing dies and collect her body!”

“Dad…” Nuochu closed her eyes, then lowered her voice, the way she always did when she backed down. “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have spoken to Aunt Jiaang like that.”

Seeing her bow her head, Bai Jinda wanted to do what he usually did—make her kneel and tear into her for daring to run from President Tong, for daring to fight Bai Ni’an over a man.

But this time, he forced himself to hold back. He had something more important to deal with.

Nuochu felt like she’d been granted a pardon and rushed up to the attic. But the moment she saw what was inside, she regretted coming up at all.

Bai Nuoqing’s face was deathly pale, yet her beauty still showed through—though her skin was so swollen and red it was almost unrecognizable.

Her body was so thin her pajamas hung on her like they were empty, like she might float right out of them. Wracked by relentless, painful spasms, she seemed to remember that acupuncture could help control an allergic reaction. Shaking uncontrollably, she fumbled for a set of grimy silver needles, trying to find the right points.

But she’d forgotten—those hands she once took the most pride in, the hands that could bring someone back from the brink, were ruined now.

Bai Nuochu grabbed Bai Nuoqing’s hand—she couldn’t find the points anymore, only jabbed herself until her fingers were smeared with blood. “Sis, stop… please don’t do this anymore…”

The moment Nuochu touched her, she realized how scorching hot Nuoqing was. Nuochu didn’t even know how long she’d been burning with fever.

Nuochu yanked open her bag. On the way back, she’d already bought loratadine and Tylenol to bring the fever down.

But just as her trembling fingers pulled out the medicine, a set of sharp, glossy nails snatched the bag from her. With a loud rip, the packaging was torn open, and the pills scattered across the floor.

“Sis’s medicine…” Nuochu dropped to her knees, reaching for the pills rolling in every direction.

“Bai Nuochu, you and your sister are nothing but two dogs.” Bai Ni’an looked down at the figure on the floor, lazily admiring her freshly done, vivid manicure.

Nuochu moved fast enough to grab a single fever reducer—only for Bai Ni’an to crush it under her heel.

“What do you want from me?” Nuochu stayed facedown on the floor, not lifting her head.

“Nuochu, the truth is, you and Ni’an are both my daughters. How could I really play favorites?” Bai Jinda said, sounding earnest and fatherly. “But you and Young Master Jue just don’t match. Look at you—how could you ever be worthy of him?”

Bai Ni’an stood there like a princess, bright and untouchable. On the bed, her sister convulsed in pain, her body too cramped to even stretch out. And Nuochu lay at Bai Ni’an’s feet like a dog.

How is that not playing favorites?

“Dad, just say it. What do you want me to do?”

“The Bai family marrying into the Gu family makes me very happy.” Bai Jinda stroked Bai Nuochu’s hair affectionately. “But Ni’an is a better match for Young Master Jue. I want you to give Ni’an the position of Young Madam Gu and let her be with Young Master Jue.”