THIP Chapter 48

When Mu Liuyin and Bai Qi returned, Gu Changran was sitting on the sofa, hugging a pillow, watching TV. But in truth, her attention wasn’t on the screen at all. The moment she heard the door open, she immediately turned her head to look.

As soon as she saw Gu Changxi, she got off the sofa, wanting to go over—but when her eyes landed on Bai Qi, she froze in her tracks and stood there awkwardly and nervously.

Mu Liuyin led Bai Qi over and gently said, “Changran, this is Sister Qi.”

Back in the car, Bai Qi had already heard Gu Changran’s name. It was uncomfortably close to Gu Changxi’s, and the familiarity of it stirred a flicker of unease in her heart. Still, her face wore a warm and friendly smile as she said, “Hi there, little sister Changran.”

Even though Bai Qi smiled sweetly, Gu Changran, having grown up in an orphanage, instantly picked up on the subtle dislike behind her smile.

It was something that came from deep within.

Even though she’d expected not to be liked, Changran still felt a little disappointed. In a soft and hesitant voice, she murmured, “Hello… sister.”

Bai Qi smiled cheerfully, then let go of Mu Liuyin’s hand and took Changran’s small hand in hers. “Gege, I’m going to take her upstairs to play for a bit.”

Mu Liuyin could only watch helplessly as the two went upstairs, already feeling a headache coming on from Bai Qi’s subtle hostility toward Gu Changran.

To be honest, after reading the whole plot, Mu Liuyin had considered whether it would be better to send Gu Changran directly back to the Luo family. But even though the Luo family had spent years searching for their lost daughter, he wasn’t confident they would truly accept a girl raised in an orphanage.

Besides, Gu Changran showed signs of mild autism. If no one guided her consistently, living in the Luo household’s high-pressure environment would only make her retreat further into herself. After much deliberation, Mu Liuyin had ultimately decided to raise her herself.

But Bai Qi… was another problem altogether.

In the original plot, even though Bai Qi eventually received Gu Changran’s heart, it was the original host who had truly pushed her into hell.

So as long as Bai Qi didn’t stir up trouble, Mu Liuyin had no intention of doing anything to her.

That said, watching the live feed in her mind from Xiao Jiu, Mu Liuyin’s lips twitched—at this point, she genuinely didn’t know what to say.

Bai Qi brought Gu Changran into her room, locked the door, and immediately dropped the warm and friendly act. Her expression turned cold and condescending.

Gu Changran was stunned for a moment, not expecting her mood to shift so quickly.

Bai Qi looked her up and down with a critical eye and sneered. “Even though Gege said he adopted you just to be my playmate, don’t get any ideas about your importance.”

Gu Changran’s face paled, but she kept a blank expression as she looked at Bai Qi.

“Little sister Changran, you need to understand—if I wanted to, Gege could kick you out at any time.” Bai Qi smiled sweetly again. “So make sure you don’t make me angry, okay?”

When Gu Changran heard her say that Mu Liuyin might kick her out, her face turned even paler. She thought of all the gentle things Mu Liuyin had done for her and couldn’t help but argue back: “If it was really like you say, then why would Gege even bring me back?”

Bai Qi’s face darkened. She hadn’t expected this orphan girl to have the guts to talk back.

She was, after all, only a fourteen-year-old girl—but spoiled by Gu Changxi since childhood, Bai Qi had never learned to control her temper. She raised her hand, almost slapped Changran, but at the last second held herself back. Instead, she clutched her chest, pretending she was struggling to breathe.

Her face, already pale from just recently being discharged from the hospital, turned even whiter. Bai Qi reached out and pressed the emergency call button in the room, then gave Changran a soft, almost tender smile.

She said, “Well then, let’s see how this plays out.”

Mu Liuyin, who had been watching the whole thing through Xiao Jiu’s feed: “…”

Feeling who-knows-what in her heart, Mu Liuyin came upstairs and opened Bai Qi’s door—only to find Bai Qi collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath with a pale face, while Gu Changran stood nearby.

At first glance, if she hadn’t already seen the full footage from Xiao Jiu, Mu Liuyin might have thought Gu Changran had triggered Bai Qi’s condition.

As soon as Bai Qi saw Mu Liuyin enter, a sheen of tears quickly welled up in her beautiful eyes. She looked fragile and pitiful as she called out in a weak, aggrieved voice: “Gege…”

Mu Liuyin was speechless. With this much drama, are you just a fourteen-year-old girl?

Next to her, Gu Changran finally snapped out of it. Worried that Mu Liuyin would misunderstand, she turned pale and flustered, trying to explain—but the more anxious she felt, the less she knew how to say.

Because of the original host’s personality, even though she knew Bai Qi was faking it, Mu Liuyin couldn’t just ignore her. She walked over and carried Bai Qi to the medical room.

Left alone in the room, Gu Changran was filled with confusion and panic. She couldn’t understand—why would Bai Qi do something like this?

The butler had already called Yu Chen when Mu Liuyin went upstairs, so it didn’t take twenty minutes before he arrived.

By then, Bai Qi had taken her medication and, under Mu Liuyin’s calming presence, had started to settle down. Yu Chen checked her again and then stepped outside with Mu Liuyin.

“It was probably just a sudden emotional fluctuation. Nothing serious,” Yu Chen said helplessly. “But really, could you stop calling me in for every little thing? My house-call fees aren’t cheap, you know.”

Mu Liuyin gave him a cold look and said calmly, “I’m planning to contact that foreign treatment center you mentioned—to send Bai Qi there for recovery.”

Yu Chen’s eyes widened in disbelief. The overseas recovery center he’d mentioned had much better medical resources than any facility in the country. He’d brought it up more times than he could count, but Gu Changxi always rejected it, insisting Bai Qi was too young to be sent away and he couldn’t bear to be apart from her. So seeing Mu Liuyin finally decide to send Bai Qi out took him by surprise. Clicking his tongue, he said, “What kind of wind blew through your head to make you willing to send her off for treatment?”

Mu Liuyin’s expression remained cold and indifferent—she had no intention of answering.

She didn’t want to wait for Bai Qi’s jealousy over how she treated Gu Changran to drive her into doing something unforgivable. And she didn’t want to be forced to take drastic action against Bai Qi later, either.

Maybe it was unfair to send Bai Qi away just for Gu Changran’s sake, but in the original story, Gu Changran lost her life in the end.

In this world, when is anything ever truly fair?

Thinking of Gu Changran, Mu Liuyin stepped into Bai Qi’s room—and, as expected, found the girl standing there with her head down.

When she noticed someone enter, Gu Changran turned around, and only then did Mu Liuyin realize the girl’s face was already covered in tears. She stood frozen, panic written all over her face. It wasn’t until Mu Liuyin pulled her into a hug that she found her voice again. Her voice trembled: “Gege, it wasn’t me.”

It wasn’t me who provoked her on purpose. She wanted to frame me.

“Gege, please don’t send me away.” Her tears soaked through Mu Liuyin’s shirt, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop crying.

“Gege knows it wasn’t your fault.” Mu Liuyin sighed softly and gently stroked her hair. His voice was calm and reassuring as always. “So I won’t send you away, alright?”

Hearing that, Gu Changran looked up at him in a daze, her eyelashes fluttering. Another tear slid down her cheek as she carefully asked, “Really?”

“Really.” His tone was firm, with a hint of a smile. “Unless… Changran wants to leave me?”

She quickly shook her head, her cheeks flushed pink. In a tiny voice, she said, “Changran likes Gege the most.”

Years later, even as an adult, Gu Changran could never explain why she’d fallen for Gu Changxi so quickly, after knowing him for only a few days.

She just knew that once she did, she never wanted to leave his side again.

After comforting her and sending her back to her room to rest, Mu Liuyin returned to the medical room. Bai Qi had already woken up.

“Gege,” Bai Qi said softly, a frail smile on her pale face. “You’re not mad at little sister Changran, right? It was my own—”

…fault.

Mu Liuyin: “……”

Before she could finish pretending, Mu Liuyin cut her off. He wasn’t in the mood for more of her drama. With a gentle tone, he said, “Qi’er, gege thought about it… your health has been getting worse lately, so I’ve already contacted the overseas recovery center your brother Yu Chen mentioned. In a few days, I’ll send you there for treatment.”

Bai Qi: ???!!!

This isn’t what we agreed on!!! Wasn’t she supposed to get rid of Gu Changran? Why was she the one being sent away instead?!

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Mu Liuyin. She couldn’t believe he was sending her abroad. She weakly asked, “Gege… what did you just say?”

Mu Liuyin looked at her warmly, patiently repeating himself. Then he added kindly, “What do you think, Qi’er?”

Bai Qi: “……”

She didn’t think anything was okay!

She was shocked, angry, and hurt. She couldn’t understand why Gu Changxi, who always used to dote on her, would suddenly decide to send her away for treatment.

“I don’t want to leave you, gege…” she said, voice full of grievance.

Mu Liuyin replied gently, “It’s okay. Once you’re better, Gege will bring you back, alright?”

Inside, Bai Qi was screaming: No! It’s not alright at all!

But no matter how much she protested, no matter how long she pouted or tried to act cute, it didn’t work this time. Mu Liuyin had made up his mind. She was going.

Still, Bai Qi never connected her forced departure to Gu Changran. In her mind, she was still the one Gu Changxi loved most—there was no way he’d ever choose someone like Gu Changran over her.

So even when the day came and she was sent away, Bai Qi still believed Mu Liuyin was doing it for her good, and only because of her illness.

She regretted it so badly—if she’d known this would happen, she never would’ve faked being sick.

Meanwhile, Gu Changran was a little confused herself. After all, based on what Bai Qi had said, Gu Changxi had always loved her deeply.

But even if she didn’t understand the reason, it didn’t stop her from feeling happy.

She looked up at Mu Liuyin and gave him a soft, sweet smile.