The stepmother gasped softly, her face showing an emotional expression. She quickly grabbed Mr. Long's hand. "That is not right. He is your son after all. How can you be so cruel to your own blood?"

But Mr. Long only shook his head harshly. "I do not have such a disgusting son. The Long family name should not be dirtied by someone like him."

The stepmother lowered her head, pretending to look sad. But the corners of her lips trembled as she tried to hold back a smile.

Far away, Gu Jin was sitting under a tree with her books. Across from her sat Long Yifan, looking at her with wide, innocent eyes.

Gu Jin rubbed her forehead with a speechless expression. "For the past month, you have been haunting me. Everywhere I go, you are there. I cannot even breathe freely anymore. I am truly about to go crazy because of you."

Long Yifan blinked, his face pure and childlike. "I am not haunting you. I am protecting you," he said softly.

Gu Jin's eyes twitched. She pointed at the empty space around them. "Protecting me? Look! You made it so that no pets, no insects, not even humans can roam around me. Even the maids ran away because of you. Do you not see how ridiculous this is? You act as if the world will end if anyone gets close to me."

Long Yifan shook his head quickly. "No, no. I never restricted your movements. I just… I just want to make sure I am always around. If I am near you, then I feel safe. That is all."

Gu Jin gritted her teeth, her patience running thin. "You may be my fiancé, but that does not mean you can restrict my life. I have my own freedom."

Long Yifan lowered his head like a scolded child. His voice was quiet. "I never meant to take away your freedom. I just… I want to be close to you."

Gu Jin sighed heavily and looked away.

"I will ignore you," she muttered to herself. "From now on, I will focus only on my cultivation and studies."

And so she did.

Days passed, then weeks, then months. Time flowed like water in a river. The seasons changed outside the windows of the university. Trees grew green, then turned red and gold, then bare, then green again.

In the blink of an eye, one whole year had passed.

Gu Jin stood on the roof of the university dormitory, her hair fluttering in the wind. Her eyes were calm but bright, like stars shining in the night. She had spent every moment of the year pouring her efforts into cultivation.

Her progress was shocking.

Her Plant element had reached Heaven rank, glowing with deep green power whenever she used it.

Her Darkfire element had reached Super rank, dark flames that could burn through even the strongest defenses. Her Fire element had reached Emperor rank.

Her Thunder element had reached Advanced rank, Chaos element has reached Super rank, Space element has reached Advanced rank, while the necromancy element has reached Heaven rank, and the summoner element is at Super rank.

It was a growth so shocking that even Long Yifan sometimes looked at her with awe.

But cultivation was not the only thing she had paid attention to.

In the past year, Gu Jin had kept a close eye on Mimi.

Gu Jin thought about it often.

"Mimi is strong, far too strong. If my true identity is revealed, it may bring trouble to me, my family, and even herself," she muttered to herself many times.

One night, when the stars were bright, Mimi suddenly sat beside Gu Jin.

"Sister Jin," Mimi said softly, her voice filled with determination, "if you are worried that I will betray you, I am ready to make a contract with you. We can even make an equal contract. If that is not enough, I can even accept a slave contract. I want to stay by your side."

Gu Jin looked at her in surprise. "Why would you agree to something like that? A slave contract… it will bind your soul forever."

Mimi chuckled, her smile sweet yet firm.

"Because I have already decided. Even if you are destined to be the most horrendous person in the future, or even if you lose all of your power and become unimportant, I will still want you as my master. Nothing will change that."

Gu Jin was silent for a long time. For someone who had lived with numbness for so many years, these words pierced her heart. At last, she closed her eyes and whispered, "Fine. Let us form the contract."

That night, under the moonlight, Gu Jin and Mimi formed their bond. The contract rune glowed on their hands, and their hearts connected.

But not all news was good.

For the past year, both Gu Jin and Long Yifan had been searching for Gu Aihan's soul. They did not rest. They sent spies, searched records, and even followed rumors. At last, Long Yifan managed to track it.

One day, he came to Gu Jin and said in a low voice,

"I found her. Gu Aihan's soul has entered a body. She is living as a maid named Liu. People have been praising her talent in cultivation. But I recognized her… the arrogance, the way she acts, the way she pretends. It is her."

Gu Jin's eyes turned cold.

That night, Liu was kidnapped quietly by Long Yifan's men. When she woke up, she was inside the familiar Gu mansion.

Liu's eyes widened in shock. "Who are you? Why did you bring me here?" she shouted. But inside her eyes, there was already fear. She knew too well what this place meant.

Gu Jichun stepped forward. Her face twisted with hatred. Without a word, she slapped Gu Aihan across the face.

Smack!

Liu staggered back. "What are you doing? Are you mad?" she screamed.

But Gu Jichun slapped her again, her voice shaking with anger. "You dare to live as someone else while our sister suffered?!"

Gu Jichun slapped her again and again. Liu tried to resist at first, but when she saw the cold expressions on everyone's faces, her heart sank. She knew they had discovered her true identity.

"You… you know…" she muttered, her lips trembling.

Gu Jihu crossed her arms, her voice calm but sharp. "Yes. We know who you are, Gu Aihan."

Liu's face turned pale. She bit her lip, then suddenly shouted, "If you keep hitting me, I will live-stream everything! I will expose you all!"

The Gu family laughed coldly. Gu Jichun sneered.

"Do it. Try it. Do you think we are afraid? In just one year, our Gu family has risen to the top five families of the country. We have money, power, and influence. Do you think we cannot handle some noise?"

Liu froze, her plan failing.

Gu Jichun's hand shook as she pointed at her. "Because of you, my sister suffered for years. Because of you, she almost lost everything. Today, you will pay for it."

She slapped her again and again until her face was swollen, until she fell to the ground, beaten black and blue.

Gu Jin watched silently from the side. Her eyes were cold, but inside her chest, her heart was beating fast. This was the person who had taken her place, who had ruined her life. Seeing her like this brought a strange relief.

At last, Liu lay weak on the floor.

Gu Jihu spoke in a low voice. "Throw her in the basement. She can rot there."

Just as the guards moved to drag Liu away, Long Yifan's voice cut through the air. "Wait."

Everyone turned to look at him. His eyes were sharp. "I still haven't gotten my revenge."

Gu Jihu raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "You want revenge, too? I will give you the basement key."

Long Yifan's lips curled into a cold smile.

"I do not want to touch her filthy body anyway. I will just send people to trouble her. That will be enough."

Liu's eyes filled with tears. She looked at Long Yifan desperately. "Yifan… I am your fiancée! How can you do this to me?"

The room went silent. Then Long Yifan burst into laughter, sharp and cruel. "Fiancée? Are you stupid? I am not your fiancée. I am Gu Jin's fiancée. You are nothing."

Liu's whole body shook. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. For the first time, she looked truly broken.

Gu Jin stepped forward, her voice cold as ice.

"Gu Aihan," she said. "Tell me, who was the one who had come up with the idea of swapping me and you when we were children?"

The room became quiet. Everyone turned to stare at Liu, waiting for her answer.

Liu's whole body trembled. Her eyes darted left and right, and then she suddenly shut her eyes tightly. With a weak groan, she collapsed to the floor, pretending to be unconscious.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.