The ruthless sister-in-law!
Zhan Yiran was still so frightened that she stuttered, "This... this is illegal?"
Illegal?
She was the one who made the laws, who dared to say she was breaking the law!
Gu Nanyan's cold gaze narrowed slightly, and after a moment, she realized that this was not Great Qi, but modern society, a society of equality under the rule of law.
Here, no matter how high one's status or position, one could not harm others at will.
The laws here were quite interesting, Gu Nanyan decided to find a book later and study them carefully.
Since she could not break Leng Zihao's legs, she would use other methods.
The art of conquering the heart and subduing others was something Gu Nanyan, as the eldest princess, had mastered from a young age.
She asked Zhan Yiran, "What do you want? Do you want Leng Zihao's heart, or his body?"
Upon hearing this, Zhan Yiran suddenly became a little confused. All this time, she had been chasing after Leng Zihao, but when Gu Nanyan solemnly asked her what she wanted, Zhan Yiran was uncertain.
She did not know what she wanted.
Did she want Leng Zihao's heart?
It seemed not. For so many years, it had been her one-sided pursuit, and she was exhausted, utterly drained.
But if she gave up now, she would feel regretful.
It was as if all her years of pursuit and obsession were a mistake, leaving her heart feeling empty.
"I don't know."
Zhan Yiran shook her head, her gaze lost and helpless. "I don't know what I want. I want to give up on Leng Zihao, but I can't bear to."
Gu Nanyan raised her eyes, her long eyelashes tracing a beautiful arc. She picked up a piece of paper from the table, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it towards the trash can by the door.
It went in perfectly.
Zhan Yiran immediately widened her eyes, her attention drawn away, reminded of the toothpick Gu Nanyan had thrown during breakfast, and she exclaimed in awe, "So amazing!"
"Want to play?" Gu Nanyan asked.
"Yes, yes, I do!" Zhan Yiran nodded vigorously.
"Let's go." Gu Nanyan stood up and walked towards the door.
Zhan Yiran followed behind her like a little puppy.
Zhan Yiran thought that when Gu Nanyan said "play," she meant that the two of them would stand and throw darts together.
However, when they arrived at their destination and Zhan Yiran found herself tied in a spread-eagle position on a rotating platform, she realized that what the sister-in-law meant by "play" was to use her as a dart board.
Zhan Yiran wanted to cry, her legs trembling in fear.
"Sister-in-law... I'm scared..."
Gu Nanyan was calm and composed. "Do you want to know what you truly desire? Do you want to know the answer?"
Zhan Yiran nodded. "Yes."
"Then be obedient and don't move."
Gu Nanyan instructed the servants to blindfold Zhan Yiran.
Aunt Qian was almost scared to death.
This could cost someone their life! Those darts were so sharp, and if Gu Nanyan missed, it could cost the young lady her life!
Aunt Qian wanted to stop her, but when faced with Gu Nanyan's calm and composed gaze, she could not utter a word.
It was strange, just last night when Gu Nanyan got married and came here, she was full of timidity. But this morning, it was as if she had become a different person, commanding awe without anger, exuding a chilling pressure.
She did not need to speak; a mere glance from her was enough to make one tremble and unable to disobey.
Aunt Qian struggled for a long time but could not muster the courage to stop her. In the end, she could only have the servants replace the darts.
They swapped them out for blunter darts with less sharp edges.
Gu Nanyan did not mind this. After Zhan Yiran's eyes were blindfolded, she had someone spin the platform.
Zhan Yiran felt a whirlwind, her body spinning along with the platform.
When she was still, it was fine, but once she started spinning, her body was suspended without support, and an indescribable fear arose and spread through her.
Zhan Yiran was so afraid, she wanted to get off, and just as she was about to call out, she heard Gu Nanyan's calm voice: "The first one."
With her eyes blindfolded, her senses became sharper, and Zhan Yiran could even hear the sound of the dart cutting through the air, before it grazed her left wrist—
The dart had landed right next to her wrist, the cold metal touching her skin, causing Zhan Yiran to shudder.
"The second one."
With a swish, a dart landed next to her right wrist.
"The third one."
This time, the dart landed next to her neck, and Zhan Yiran dared not move, afraid the blade would accidentally pierce her blood vessel.
"The fourth one."
This time, the dart landed next to her face.
At this point, Zhan Yiran was crying in terror, afraid to even make a sound.
"The last one."
Where would this one land? Zhan Yiran wondered, but in the next moment, a sudden sharp pain pierced her chest, followed by the flow of blood...
She heard the servants' cries of shock, and Aunt Qian's frantic shouts, "Quick, call an ambulance, the young lady is bleeding!"
Was she going to die?
Zhan Yiran was distraught. She was only 18 years old, her life had barely begun.
She had not yet fulfilled her dreams, she wanted to paint, to create brilliant works like her sister-in-law.
She did not want to die like this. Mother, brother, and her little nephew, she missed them so much.
She wanted to become more sensible and accomplished, to make them proud of her.
No, she did not want to die!
Zhan Yiran screamed in anguish.
At that moment, the blindfold was ripped from her face.
Zhan Yiran instinctively opened her eyes, the sunlight blinding her. After a while, she could make out the figure standing before her - it was her sister-in-law.
Gu Nanyan waved her hand, instructing the servants, "Let her down."
Zhan Yiran was in a daze as the servants untied her from the spinning platform. When she was back on the ground, she looked down at her chest.
There was no blood, only a wet stain.
She was not dead!
Zhan Yiran looked up, feeling a sense of relief at having escaped death.
"Just now, what were you thinking about?" Gu Nanyan suddenly asked.
Zhan Yiran answered instinctively, "Painting, I want to paint."
"And what else?"
"My mother, brother, and little nephew. I want my mother and brother to be proud of me, and I want my nephew to admire me."
Upon hearing this, Gu Nanyan narrowed her eyes slightly. "Did you not think of Leng Zihao?"
Zhan Yiran froze.
That's right, how did she not think of Leng Zihao?
Why, when faced with death, did she not think of Leng Zihao? Wasn't she in love with him?
Gu Nanyan tossed the blindfold in her hand to the servants, then said to Zhan Yiran, "Now you know what you really want, don't you?"
Zhan Yiran's gaze slowly shifted from confusion to clarity, and finally to determination.
She looked at Gu Nanyan with blazing eyes: "Sister-in-law, thank you, thank you for helping me find the direction of my life, and for making me realize that Leng Zihao is not worth mentioning in my life."
Zhan Yiran was like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, reborn.
Only when facing death does one realize what they truly want, and who they truly care about.
She felt that she had been so foolish before, wasting her life on a man who did not love her, causing shame to her mother and elder brother.
From now on, she would not be so foolish anymore, she would not chase after Leng Zihao. Instead, she would pursue her own dreams.
She wanted to learn painting, to become someone like her sister-in-law.
