Against the Light - Chapter 128
Chapter 128: Tactics
"Impossible! I don't believe it! I'm a child of the Bai family! There's something wrong with this kinship test—you tampered with it!" Bai Yiyue snatched the report, glanced at it, then furiously tore it to shreds, glaring at Shi Qing with uncontrollable rage.
Shi Qing glanced at her, her expression calm and her eyes betraying no emotion. But the words she spoke sent a chill to Bai Yiyue's very core.
"How much longer do you intend to usurp my daughter's status and position?"
"I didn't usurp anything! This was always mine!" Bai Yiyue's expression was twisted with fury. Ye Nan stepped in front of her, shielding Shi Qing, afraid that Bai Yiyue, in her rage, would do something irrational. She was perfectly capable of getting violent.
"Everyone, please calm down," Bai Yue pleaded earnestly. "I swear on my life, Yiyue is absolutely the daughter of Bai Chengli and Xue Jiahan. When Xue Jiahan was pregnant, I was by her side the entire time. I watched this child being born with my own eyes. This kinship test was Shi Qing's idea. She has the means to arrange everything in advance and forge a fake result. You mustn't be fooled by her!"
The members of the Bai family exchanged uncertain glances, unsure of who to believe.
"It doesn't matter. Think whatever you like," Shi Qing said. "In any case, my daughter and I have nothing more to do with your Bai family. Don't come here to quarrel over your family's internal affairs." She shot Ye Nan a look, and the latter immediately understood.
"I'm sorry, Sister Qing needs to rest. If you would all please leave." Allowing no room for argument, she ushered them out.
"Shi Qing, you're despicable!" Bai Yiyue spat viciously.
"Bai Yiyue, this is the last time," Ye Nan said, her face uncharacteristically cold and her eyes filled with a chilling light. "If you dare touch Yilan again, I will personally send you to prison."
"Get out."
Bai Yiyue froze, clearly startled.
"You all should head back for now as well," Shi Qing said to the remaining people, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. "I'll consider the matter of the new company."
The few shareholders exchanged a look. "Alright. In any case, just give the word, and we'll be there at your beck and call."
"Mm."
After everyone left, only Shi Qing and Ye Nan remained in the room.
Shi Qing frowned slightly, lost in thought. "Did those two figure it out?"
Ye Nan knew she was asking about Xinran and Yilan. She recalled taking Yilan back to her room earlier. "Yilan probably just has her suspicions, but Xinran might have figured it out."
"Did she say anything?"
"She didn't say anything, though."
Shi Qing nodded slightly.
In the hospital room, Bai Yilan lay on her side, gently rubbing her temples as she replayed the matter of the DNA report in her mind.
Gu Xinran fetched a basin of warm water and sat behind her, carefully wiping her back.
Seeing the ghastly wound on her back, Gu Xinran pressed her lips together, her hands tightening into small fists.
"Xinran, do you think there's something wrong with that report?" Bai Yilan asked.
Gu Xinran's movements paused. "I don't know. But Bai Yue was watching the entire time. No one would have had an opportunity to tamper with anything, right?"
"If Mom knew all along that Bai Yiyue wasn't a member of the Bai family, why wait until today to reveal it?"
"Perhaps she was waiting for the right moment to deliver a fatal blow."
"Do you believe that?"
Gu Xinran was silent.
She looked at the wound on Yilan's back—a raw, bloody patch the size of her palm.
She remembered what the doctor had told her: if the impact had been a little lower, on the lumbar spine, she could have been paralyzed. A little higher, on the cervical spine, and she might not have survived.
"I believe it," Gu Xinran nodded.
Bai Yilan fell silent for a moment. "Let's hope so."
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from the outer room, and Gu Xinran turned her head.
"Is Yilan awake?" Ming Zhen's voice came from outside the room.
"Mm," Yilan responded. Hearing her, Ming Zhen pushed the door open.
"Whoa, Yilan! How am I just now finding out about something as huge as Bai Yiyue not being a Bai? Can you believe this?"
"What are you doing here? Did you sneak out?" Gu Xinran glanced behind her, but didn't see Xue Yuexian.
"Could you try saying something nice for a change? This young lady is just out for a stroll. Is there any need to be sneaky?"
Gu Xinran chuckled. "Perfect. You stay here and keep Yilan company for a while. I'm going to get her medicine."
"Go on, go on! Hey, Yilan, what's the deal? Give me the details!" Ming Zhen's face was a mask of pure gossip.
"I don't know what's going on either."
Gu Xinran gently pulled the door closed.
Out in the hallway, Gu Xinran passed the door to the lounge where Shi Qing was resting. She paused, hesitating for a long moment, but ultimately decided not to knock.
Instead, she walked to the end of the hall, resting her hands on the windowsill and gazing outside.
She had never harbored malice towards anyone.
In this life, when dealing with people like Luo Bing and Yang Xue, she had chosen to seek justice through direct confrontation. Even in her past life, when she and Yilan had been driven to a mutual suicide, she had merely chosen to withdraw from the world and live in seclusion.
She disliked such insidious tactics.
But today, she had crossed her own line.
Despite being almost certain that the kinship report had been tampered with, she had chosen to ignore it. She had even chosen to help Shi Qing deceive Yilan.
She knew Bai Yiyue deserved it. She knew this was just giving her a taste of her own medicine. She understood all the logic, but there was still a line in her heart she didn't want to cross. She was afraid that if she crossed that internal boundary, she would become just like Bai Yiyue—a person who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals.
Gu Xinran leaned by the window, her fingers picking at the frame, lost in her internal struggle.
Ye Nan had been watching her from behind for a while. She gave a helpless smile.
She walked up and patted her on the shoulder.
"Hey."
"Hm?" Gu Xinran snapped out of her thoughts and turned around. "Auntie Ye."
"What's wrong? Why are you out here alone? Shouldn't you be with Yilan?"
"Ming Zhen is in there chatting with her. I… I came to get her medicine."
Ye Nan nodded and started walking with her toward the nurses' station.
"What were you thinking about just now?"
"Nothing, I wasn't thinking about anything."
"Oh, come on," Ye Nan said with a sideways glance. "You have 'worried' written all over your face."
Gu Xinran pressed her lips together and turned her head slightly, avoiding the other woman's gaze.
"Are you still thinking about that report?"
Gu Xinran was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Do you think I tampered with it? That I changed the results?"
"I'm sorry, Auntie Ye. It's just that I think…"
"Just say what's on your mind."
"I just feel this whole situation is too sudden. It's as if… it was all planned."
"So you think this is one of Sister Qing's tactics? That she deliberately framed Bai Yiyue, claiming she isn't a Bai, to sow suspicion among the family and trigger internal chaos?"
"Mm."
"Then has it never occurred to you that Bai Yiyue might genuinely not be a member of the Bai family?"
Gu Xinran frowned, looking into her eyes. "Is that really true?"
Ye Nan met her gaze directly, without a hint of evasion, her expression completely serious.
"Then when did Auntie Qing find out? And why announce it today?"
"We never suspected Bai Yiyue's identity before, either. But after Sister Qing's car accident, I investigated the family of the driver. Do you know why they were willing to throw their lives away on Bai Yue's word?"
"Didn't she give them money?"
Ye Nan chuckled. "The benefits Bai Yue gave them went far beyond that."
"Over thirty years ago, Bai Yue took a child from their family, promising that child and their entire family inexhaustible wealth."
Gu Xinran frowned. "Bai Yiyue was taken from another family?"
"Mm. If Sister Qing hadn't taken precautions before this accident, Bai Yue would have succeeded. And then, no one would have investigated the driver or their connection to Bai Yue. The whole truth would have vanished without a trace."
Gu Xinran was stunned. She quickly processed the cause and effect in her mind. After a moment, she let out a soft laugh. Only one thought filled her head: The lives of the rich are truly a mess.
Ye Nan carefully observed her expression. Seeing her brow smooth out and her features relax, she realized Gu Xinran had gotten over her internal hurdle.
"Alright, stop thinking about it and go spend time with Yilan," Ye Nan said. Then she suddenly leaned in close and whispered, "Hey, when are you two going to take the next step? She's waiting for you to give her a granddaughter, you know. Better get a move on."
"…" Gu Xinran was taken aback. She glanced toward the lounge. "I… understand."
"Mm, go on."
Ye Nan patted her shoulder and returned to the lounge.
Gu Xinran let out a long sigh, feeling a great weight lift from her shoulders. Learning the truth about Bai Yiyue's origins actually made her feel relieved.
Back in the lounge, Ye Nan immediately shut the door, leaned against it, and patted her chest in relief.
"What? Did she see through you?"
"I don't think so. The lie I spun was pretty seamless," Ye Nan said, still a little shaken. "But that girl's eyes are sharp. The way she was staring at me, I almost broke eye contact." Recalling their conversation, she was fairly certain her words and actions hadn't betrayed her guilty conscience.
Shi Qing smiled. "She believed your tall tale?"
"What do you mean, tall tale? My story was perfectly logical and well-supported, thank you very much," Ye Nan muttered to herself. "She won't actually go investigating those people I mentioned, will she? …Even if she did, she wouldn't find them. It should be fine. The story won't fall apart."
"She's too kind, her methods too clean," Shi Qing sighed. "She's been schemed against so many times, yet she still hasn't learned to be more flexible. Sooner or later, she's going to suffer for it."
"Hey, spit, spit, spit! Don't jinx her! Your crow's mouth is scarily accurate. Quick, spit!"
"And you," Shi Qing began to chide, "these are things she needs to experience for herself. What you did was unnecessary. If you keep protecting her like this, when will she ever mature?"
"Quick, spit! For Yilan's sake!"
Shi Qing fell silent.
"Quick!"
Unable to win against her, Shi Qing rolled her eyes. "Pah."
"Three times!"
"Pah, pah, pah."
Only then was Ye Nan satisfied.
"Actually, I really like that kindness of hers," Ye Nan said with a sigh, glancing toward the door. "To go through so many ups and downs in a chaotic world like this, to experience the fickleness of human nature, and still maintain such a pure heart… it's incredibly rare. I hope that no matter what hardships she faces in the future, she can always hold on to that goodness, that she doesn't just go with the flow, and especially that she never becomes an unscrupulous person."
Shi Qing frowned. "Are you indirectly insulting me?"
"Hey, not at all! Don't assume I'm talking about you."
"Hmph."
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