Gu Qichen brought Gu Ranran back to the Gu family.
After all, she was her own biological mother. Standing in the living room of the Gu family's old house, Gu Ranran looked at her mother with deep guilt as she ran down the spiral staircase from the second floor.
Seeing Gu Ranran, Madam Gu's eyes welled up with tears.
"Ranran, you're finally home."
Before Madam Gu could hug her, Gu Ranran's knees buckled, and she knelt down directly.
"Mom, I'm sorry. I was foolish before and made you sad!"
Madam Gu, heartbroken, pulled her up immediately. "Silly child, it was you who was sad."
The three sat in the living room, and Gu Ranran recounted recent events.
"We should thank Qin He for this. Otherwise, with your brother and me, we would have definitely driven that Yang Hao away from you."
Gu Ranran smiled, her face a little pale.
Just as Qin He had predicted, if that had happened, she would have definitely not given up on Yang Hao.
"We'll have to thank Qin He some other day." Seeing Gu Ranran's pallor, Madam Gu gently advised, "Ranran, don't blame her for what happened that day. If she hadn't acted so sharp-tongued, Yang Hao wouldn't have believed you couldn't get any more money from the Gu family."
Gu Ranran shook her head. "Mom, I understand, but I just don't know how to face her now."
She felt a heavy sense of guilt. Heaven knew how much she had cursed Qin He in private recently, almost to the point of making a voodoo doll and pricking it with needles.
Madam Gu sighed. "Since you don't know how to face her now, don't see her for the time being. You can think about it when you're ready. You didn't rest well yesterday either, go back to your room and sleep."
Gu Ranran nodded and returned to her bedroom on the second floor.
Her bedroom was still as she had left it. The bed had likely been made.
Gu Ranran sat on the bed, feeling an unprecedented sense of peace.
So this is how important home is.
Gu Ranran lay on her side on the bed. She would never leave here again.
At the Qin family's residence, Qin He was curled up on the sofa, reading a message from Gu Qichen.
Gu Qichen had explained the entire situation clearly.
Qin He raised an eyebrow, surprised that Gu Ranran had given her a pleasant surprise in the end.
She smiled and typed: [It seems Ranran is quite smart.]
After chatting with Gu Qichen, Qin He got up from the sofa and called for the housekeeper.
"Those jewelry pieces I brought back from the Gu family, the ones you were asked to keep sealed, please find them and have them escorted to the Qin family."
That afternoon, all of Gu Ranran's jewelry and ornaments were back in her cabinet.
Finally, there was a fiery red pendant in the shape of a little bird.
The Qin family's housekeeper smiled. "This is a gift from our young lady. She said it means being reborn from the ashes."
Gu Ranran clutched the pendant tightly.
This was indeed a rebirth from the ashes. After this incident, she had seen many people clearly.
Ming Xue had followed Qin He's instructions, but her former friends were now also very clear to her.
Gu Ranran got up, went downstairs, and found Madam Gu. "Mom, I'm going back to school tomorrow."
Madam Gu was overjoyed. "That's wonderful!"
With Gu Ranran's situation resolved, Qin He felt a weight lifted from her heart.
She had been worried that Gu Ranran, living outside, would be targeted by Shen Yicong. Now that Gu Ranran had returned to the Gu family, there was one less thing she needed to deal with.
Next were Song Nuan and Shen Yicong.
Qin He sighed. She was sure that Lin Xiaoya was Song Nuan, but she had no evidence.
She could only proceed slowly.
Today was June 6th, Qin He's birthday.
The Qin family had started preparing two weeks prior. Ming Yuzhu had booked a castle in Qingcheng as the venue.
This was Qin He's 25th birthday, a half-century milestone, so it had to be celebrated grandly.
At eight in the morning, Qin He arrived at the castle venue.
The venue's decoration was handled by Xu Wanwan and Ming Yuzhu together. Both knew Qin He best, and the floral arrangements perfectly matched Qin He's preferences.
Every detail was meticulously arranged, resulting in Qin He looking at the patterned castle and feeling as if she were in an unreal world.
Qin He went into the castle first to change into a formal gown. After all, she was the birthday girl today, and dressing too casually would invite ridicule.
Qin He wore a pink and red layered gauze gown, with a high-quality satin ribbon tied at her waist, accentuating her slender figure.
Qin He usually preferred understated colors and styles in her clothing.
This was the first time she had dressed so charmingly recently.
Once she was ready, Xu Wanwan and Di Shishi stood before her, exclaiming in admiration.
"Oh my gosh, Qin He, you look so beautiful dressed like this. You should dress like this more often."
Xu Wanwan exclaimed, and Di Shishi nodded in agreement.
Today was the Qin family's event, so the three arrived early. Di Shishi, for once, wore her favorite Lolita dress, while Xu Wanwan wore a loose-fitting gown with layered ruffles from the chest down, which concealed her pregnant belly.
But Qin He was still somewhat worried.
"Wanwan, once the banquet starts, you just sit there and don't run around, okay?"
"I know, I know. If you say it again, my ears will get calloused," Xu Wanwan laughed.
Qin He nodded. It wasn't that she was overly cautious, but knowing that Shen Yicong was in Qingcheng made her feel restless.
The three chatted and laughed. By the time they were ready, it was time for the birthday banquet to begin.
As the protagonist, she was to make her grand entrance last.
Qin He applied the final coat of lip gloss to Xu Wanwan. "Alright, you can go out now."
She had used her own homemade cosmetics on Xu Wanwan, which she had tested during her pregnancy, so they were reliable.
Outside, Madam Ming Yuzhu's voice could be heard, thanking everyone for attending Qin He's birthday banquet.
Qin He stood by the door, smiling and listening. When Madam Ming Yuzhu announced the welcome of the birthday star, she chuckled softly.
She was now Lele's mother, but in Madam Ming Yuzhu's eyes, she was still a child.
Qin He, holding up her skirt, descended the castle's spiral staircase.
Applause erupted from below. Qin He scanned the crowd.
She confirmed that there were no suspicious individuals present.
Her mother insisted on holding this birthday banquet. Otherwise, she wouldn't have felt safe holding a birthday banquet in Qingcheng with Shen Yicong around.
However, she didn't see Gu Qichen in the crowd.
She distinctly remembered overhearing Gu Qichen and Yu Jing discussing a birthday cake outside Gu Qichen's office.
Qin He felt a pang of disappointment. After coming downstairs, she went onto the stage and gave a speech of gratitude.
After her thank-you speech, Qin He mingled with the guests.
From afar, she saw Fang Yaozu and Song Nuan, and her brow furrowed.
She turned to Qin Yun, who was walking over. "Brother, did we invite the Fang family?"
Qin Yun's gaze was icy. "No, we didn't. It seems Fang Yaozu must have pulled some strings to get an invitation."
Xu Wanwan, cradling her belly, said, "I'll go and kick them out. It's rare for it to be He'er's birthday, and these two annoying flies still want to show up. How disgusting!"