The person who should have been in the room—Su Jin—was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, her precious daughter… Su Nuo… lay exposed on the bed.
"Get away from her, you beast!" Gu Xiangyun shrieked, completely losing control. She stormed into the room, yanked the man off her daughter, and wrapped Su Nuo tightly in a blanket, her entire body trembling with rage and horror.
But the effects of the drug hadn't worn off.
Su Nuo struggled free from Gu Xiangyun's arms, her cheeks flushed, her breath shallow.
"Don't go… I still want more…" she mumbled incoherently, reaching back toward the man.
Gu Xiangyun nearly collapsed on the floor. Her mind went blank.
Why?
Why is Su Nuo here? It was Su Jin who was drugged!
She couldn't comprehend it. She had laid everything out perfectly. How had Su Jin escaped—and her own daughter - become the sacrificial pawn?
"Get out! GET OUT!" Gu Xiangyun roared at everyone standing at the door. Her voice cracked with hysteria, and tears blurred her vision. All she wanted now was to disappear.
Fu Siyan, who had stood frozen a moment before, now stepped forward slowly. The cold in his eyes had melted—not into warmth, but something far sharper.
He looked at the chaos before him and exhaled quietly as if dismissing all of Gu Xiangyun's calculations in one breath.
"Mrs. Gu," he said, his tone flat and cutting. "Is this the scandal you warned me about… the one that would ruin the Fu family?"
He gave a slow, cruel smile.
"I think the only reputation in danger here… is that of your daughter."
Gu Xiangyun clutched Su Nuo tightly, her face pale, her body trembling with shame and fury.
This was all Su Jin's doing.
That little bitch. It had to be her. She switched the glasses. She set up Su Nuo.
Her eyes burned with hatred.
Su Jin… damn you.
Just then, a calm, clear voice floated up the stairwell. "What happened here?"
Everyone turned.
Su Jin was gracefully ascending the stairs, her long, flowing gown trailing behind her like mist. Elegant and composed, she looked like royalty—untouchable, radiant, divine.
And following close behind her—
Reporters.
Flashes went off like a barrage of fireworks, shutters clicking in rapid succession.
Su Jin walked straight to Fu Siyan, gently slipping her arm through his, a soft smile curving on her lips.
"I just stepped away to use the bathroom. When I came back, I heard the second floor was under lockdown. What's going on?"
Fu Siyan didn't respond. He simply tilted his chin toward the open door behind him.
Su Jin turned her head.
Her gaze landed on the chaotic scene inside: Su Nuo wrapped in a quilt, tear-streaked, disheveled—her mother crouched beside her like a shattered woman.
Su Jin covered her mouth in apparent shock.
"Oh my god…" she gasped. "Sister… how could you… how could you do something like this at my engagement party?"
The reporters, who had only heard rumors before, now saw everything with their own eyes. And in an instant—
click click click
—their cameras exploded into action.
Several of them gasped.
"This is… huge," someone whispered.
"A scandal in the Su family…"
"That's Su Nuo? With a man? At the Fu engagement party?"
A collective breath of shock swept through them.
And Su Jin simply stood there, serene and heartbroken. A victim—and the queen.
Click, click—
The relentless flashes from the cameras lit up the hallway like lightning.
Gu Xiangyun nearly collapsed from the chaos. Even though she had wrapped Su Nuo tightly in a quilt, the man on the floor was still completely exposed.
The image was scandalous. And the reporters were relentless.
How could they possibly let go of such explosive news?
"Stop shooting! Stop!" Gu Xiangyun shrieked, trying to shield Su Nuo's face with the quilt.
But it was too late.
Even if no face was shown, even if the truth was twisted—
"Su Nuo caught in bed with a man at her sister's engagement party."
The headlines were already writing themselves.
In a panic, Gu Xiangyun turned and lashed out at Su Jin.
"Xiao Jin! You're the host of this engagement party! Now that something like this has happened to your sister, do you think you can just wash your hands of it?"
Her voice was shrill, desperate.
The reporters pounced immediately.
"So, Miss Su—were you aware of this in advance?"
"Do you have a response to the accusation that your sister was framed?"
"Some believe this was a setup. Care to comment?"
Gu Xiangyun's lips curled into a cruel smile.
If she was going down, she'd take Su Jin with her.
Let's see how the Fu family reacts now. She didn't believe for a second that Su Jin could stay clean when her party had turned into a scandal circus.
But—
Su Jin remained calm
At this point, as long as the Fu family said a word, no media outlet would dare to report the scandal.
Though Su Nuo had lost everything, Gu Xiangyun's only hope now was to minimize the damage.
Reporters swarmed around Su Jin, questions flying like arrows.
Su Jin blinked in surprise, her tone soft and bewildered.
"I was just in the lounge. My sister came in and brought me some snacks and wine. We drank together for a bit… and then everything became blurry…"
She paused, placing a trembling hand over her mouth.
"Could someone have… drugged the wine?" she said, eyes wide with feigned innocence. "I—I don't remember anything after that…"
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
An engagement party. A drugged wine. A scandal in the making.
And now, whispers turned to headlines:
"Sister brings drugged wine to bride-to-be?"
"Accidental or intentional? Su Nuo at the center of engagement scandal!"
Gu Xiangyun's heart dropped. She saw where this was going—and it wasn't toward Su Jin.
Panicking, she quickly stepped forward, switching tactics.
"Xiaojin, don't say such things! Speak from your conscience!"
Her voice suddenly softened, eyes brimming with crocodile tears.
"Your engagement is a joyful occasion for the whole Su family. Su Nuo was just… excited. She wanted to surprise you. She even brought you that diamond bracelet herself."
Gu Xiangyun looked around, playing the crowd, her voice laced with manufactured warmth.
"How could you accuse your sister of something so horrible, when she came here only with love?"
The hypocrisy was shameless.
Su Jin turned to her slowly, her expression unreadable.
The reporters went dead silent, all lenses pointed at the girl in white.
It was checkmate—but whose move was it?
Su Jin's timing was flawless. Her sorrowful expression, her trembling voice—every word whispered victim.
The cameras adored her.
Even the most hardened reporters paused, unsure whether to question her or pity her.
Even a movie queen couldn't pull this off better.
"Mom," Su Jin said softly, lowering her lashes as if too ashamed to meet anyone's eyes. "Why are you so upset? I only said there was something wrong with the wine. I never mentioned it was Sister Su Nuo who did it."
A collective breath caught in the room.
She never accused anyone.
But Gu Xiangyun had already convicted herself in front of the crowd.
Su Jin's voice trembled just right—grieved, confused, graceful.
If Gu Xiangyun wanted to play games, she'd chosen the wrong opponent.
Then a sharp voice rose from the crowd:
"If someone dared to spike the wine at the Fu family's venue, they're courting death. Why not pull up the surveillance footage?"
Gasps spread like ripples on water.
Su Jin smiled inwardly.
A smart man. Definitely a future success.
Gu Xiangyun visibly stiffened. Her gaze darted toward the entrance.
Her palms began to sweat.
Was there footage of Su Nuo slipping the powder into the drink?
Did the cameras catch the moment?
She couldn't be sure—and that terrified her.
She turned hastily to Fu Siyan, hoping to stop the avalanche.
"Mr. Fu," she said quickly, layering her voice with urgency and false concern, "this happened on your premises. If the media gets hold of it, Fu's reputation could take a hit. And besides—this is a private matter between the Su sisters. Should we really risk damaging both families over this misunderstanding?"
She smiled weakly, hoping to appeal to reason.
Hoping to manipulate him.
But she had gravely miscalculated.
Fu Siyan turned to her, expression like frozen steel. The pressure of his gaze alone could make anyone's knees buckle.
"You're worried about the Fu family's reputation?" His voice was low and cold. "You should have thought about that before you let your daughter drug someone on our property."
"Mr. Fu—" Gu Xiangyun tried to explain.
But Fu Siyan's voice cut through the air like a blade.
"What truly damages the Fu family isn't the scandal itself—but allowing vermin to run wild under our roof."
A chill swept across the room.
Even the reporters felt it.
He turned to his assistant without blinking.
"Pull the hallway footage. Now. From every angle. I want to see exactly who touched those wine glasses."
"Yes, President Fu." Assistant Xu stepped away with a deep bow.
Gu Xiangyun stood frozen.
Su Jin turned her face slightly, the corners of her lips lifting ever so faintly.
Checkmate.
When the surveillance footage played, silence fell across the room.
In the grainy image, Su Nuo's figure emerged in a corner of the lounge. She glanced around with exaggerated caution—once, twice—then leaned over the tray and discreetly dropped a few drops of liquid into one of the glasses.
The footage wasn't perfect. But it was enough.
Crystal clear, damning, undeniable.
A gasp rippled through the reporters.
Even Gu Xiangyun swayed slightly where she stood.
Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
At that moment, she felt it—a crushing weight in her chest.
The stone she had hurled had fallen squarely on her own feet.
"She drugged her own sister?"
"Isn't that Miss Su Nuo?"
"That's terrifying... What kind of person does that?"
Whispers turned into murmurs, murmurs into angry chatter.
The crowd wasn't confused anymore. The story was obvious: Su Jin had been the target. Su nuo had been the trap. But the trap snapped on the wrong foot.
And now it was public.
Su Jin's voice rang out, just loud enough for every camera and microphone to pick up:
"Mom, what more do you want to say?"
Her eyes were red, her voice full of grief—but behind that was steel.
She turned toward Gu Xiangyun, not with rage, but with righteous sorrow.
"You saw it yourself. It was Su Nuo's own doing."
Her voice trembled. "Do you think she drugged herself on purpose? Or was she sent to do it?"
Every word was a blade. And Gu Xiangyun bled with each one.
The reporters zeroed in like hawks.
> "Mrs. Gu," one asked sharply, "we've heard rumors that you've long disliked Miss Su Jin. Were you trying to sabotage her engagement today?"
> "Isn't this the second incident in just a few weeks?" another chimed in. "Last time, your face was disfigured during a hospital altercation over an affair. This time, your daughter is caught drugging someone. What explanation do you have for the public?"
> "Are you targeting your adoptive daughter?" someone asked bluntly. "Is this your revenge?"
Flashes exploded. Microphones jutted forward.
This wasn't just a scandal anymore. It was more like a reckoning.
Gu Xiangyun stood rooted in place, trembling.
Even her tongue seemed frozen.
Su Jin turned her face slightly, tears brimming in her eyes—but her voice was resolute:
"I never wanted to believe my own family would hurt me. But the truth is there. I'll let everyone judge for themselves."
The crowd murmured again—this time with sympathy.
And when Su Jin glanced sideways, she saw Fu Siyan watching her—not with coldness, but with something far deeper.
Respect.
Admiration.
Protectiveness.
The room crackled with tension as reporters continued to question Gu Xiangyun, cameras flashing like lightning in a summer storm.
"Word is, all your shares in the Su family were taken back, and Su Mingyuan's pushing for a divorce. Is that why you snapped—why you stooped to such a vicious scheme? Was this whole scandal your desperate attempt to ruin Miss Su Jin just so your daughter could take her place?"
"Mrs. Gu, are you trying to destroy your adopted daughter just because she's not your flesh and blood?"
"How long have you been plotting this? Was it your idea, or did you force Miss Su Nuo to do it?"
"Are you so desperate to cling to the Su family's status that you'd sacrifice your own daughter's future?"
"Let me guess," a young reporter smirked, "next you'll say you're the victim here?"
Flashbulbs exploded again as they shouted over each other, hungry for a breakdown, a confession—anything scandalous.
"Mrs. Gu, are you going to deny what's on camera?"
"Was it revenge? Jealousy? Or just pure hatred for Su Jin?"
Surrounded and exposed, Gu Xiangyun looked like a crumbling statue, pride eroding under the flood of truth.
Su Jin, standing tall beside Fu Siyan, didn't speak.
She didn't need to.
The world was finally seeing exactly who Gu Xiangyun was.