C13 Prepare the Dowry

Gu Xinmei seemed concerned as she held Shi Niannian's hand, but Niannian could only see the schadenfreude hidden in her eyes.

With a forced smile, Niannian replied, "Thanks for worrying, but I'm fine now. It was just a little bump."

"That's good to hear."

Gu Xinmei felt disappointed, but she hid it well.

Niannian deliberately used "you" to avoid calling her anything else. She used to call her "Mommy," but changing that suddenly would definitely raise suspicion.

Sure enough, Gu Xinmei didn't notice and continued with her fake concern, "You can't be so reckless and thoughtless in the future. Your father was perfectly healthy, and now look at him, scared because of you. If anything happens to him, it'll all be your fault."

Niannian didn't respond, just let out a cold laugh in her mind.

This woman was truly devious, already trying to distance herself from any blame. Her words implied that if anything happened to her father, it would all be on Niannian.

Her tactics were quite clever, pretending to offer kind advice while actually smearing Niannian's reputation. People already misunderstood her, and if something did happen to her father, with Gu Xinmei, her daughter, and the house staff all accusing her, she wouldn't stand a chance to defend herself.

Reflecting on her past life, the label of "ungrateful daughter" who drove her father to his death came about just like this.

"Alright, Niannian already knows she was wrong, so let's not dwell on it. What did you want to talk to me about?" Tianyi, noticing his daughter's silence, assumed she was upset and quickly intervened to ease the tension.

"It's time for dinner. If I didn't come to get you, would you have forgotten again?" Xinmei said with a warm smile, linking arms with her as they headed downstairs.

Niannian hid her emotions and followed them down, plotting how to set a trap for the mother-daughter duo. Xinmei was cunning and patient, but Ranran was not as adept.

At the dinner table, it seemed harmonious, but everyone had their own thoughts.

Niannian focused on her meal, subtly observing the two. Xinmei maintained her elegant and poised demeanor, while Ranran wore a sullen expression, practically broadcasting her displeasure.

"Niannian, your engagement party with Chenhan is coming up soon. How are the preparations going?"

Niannian was contemplating how to steer the conversation toward her marriage when Xinmei brought it up first. Though they were discussing the same topic, their intentions were completely different.

Xinmei mentioned the engagement to provoke her, hoping she'd cause a scene at the table. If that happened, their father would surely be furious, leading to a big argument between him and Niannian, ending the meal on a sour note.

Seeing the obvious trap, Niannian wasn't foolish enough to fall for it and didn't even respond. Instead, she turned to her father, Tianyi, with a cheerful smile and asked, "Dad, I'm getting engaged. Shouldn't you do something special for me?"

"Something special? What do you mean?"

"A dowry!"

Realizing what she meant, Tianyi's face lit up with a proud father's smile. "Of course, my daughter is getting married. We must prepare a dowry. What do you want? Whatever I have, it's yours."

Niannian glanced at Gu Xinmei, deciding it was time to drop a bombshell. "Dad, I heard that when Mommy passed away, you promised her that when I got married, you'd transfer 30% of your shares in Tianyi Group to me. Is that true?"