Chapter 405: This Fool, Still Provoking Her

’I’m afraid it would be incredibly difficult to break up Shen Nian and Lu Cheng, even if I wanted to make room for Gu Shuxin.’

As she thought this, Chu Lingxiu’s gaze toward Gu Shuxin gradually filled with guilt.

"Shuxin, I’m sorry. I promised I’d help set you up with Lu Cheng, but I haven’t been able to do anything."

"It’s okay, you’re not to blame."

Gu Shuxin shook her head at Chu Lingxiu, but inwardly, she was cursing her. ’I knew Lingxiu was useless, but I never thought she’d be *this* useless.’

’She can’t even handle something so important. What else can I possibly expect from her?’

"Shuxin, why do you like Lu Cheng so much? He’s handsome, sure, but his family background is so ordinary. How could he possibly be worthy of you? If you ask me, that rich guy who was pursuing you before wasn’t bad. He might not be as handsome as Lu Cheng, but his family seems to be quite well-off!"

Chu Lingxiu was starting to feel there was little hope of setting Gu Shuxin up with Lu Cheng. ’If I could just get Shuxin to give up on him, that would be great too. Then everyone would be happy, right?’

"Silly girl, what do you know? When you like someone, you don’t overthink it. You just... like them! Besides, I’m not like you. You’re a daughter of the Chu Family; your future marriage is bound to be a good one. I’m just... never mind."

Gu Shuxin said, looking at Chu Lingxiu. As she trailed off, she shook her head bitterly.

Seeing Gu Shuxin like this, Chu Lingxiu’s heart ached for her.

"Shuxin, don’t sell yourself short. You may only be from a branch of the Gu family, but you almost became one of the main family’s daughters! Other people can’t even claim a connection to the Gu family, no matter how much they want to!"

But to Gu Shuxin’s ears, Chu Lingxiu’s words of comfort were exceptionally grating.

’Almost... but "almost" isn’t good enough! I absolutely hate the word "almost"!’ She had been on the verge of forgetting about it, but this idiot, Lingxiu, had to bring it up just to provoke her. It was infuriating!

However, no matter how furious Gu Shuxin felt, she couldn’t show it in front of Chu Lingxiu.

For one thing, she had always maintained a facade of being passive and above worldly competition in front of Chu Lingxiu. The less she seemed to fight for things herself, the more proactive Lingxiu would be in helping her get what she wanted.

For another, that "almost" incident had long been set in stone by the Gu family. No matter how much she resented it, she didn’t dare cause a scene over the matter.

’Right now, the Gu family’s attitude toward me is still tolerable. If I actually make a scene, I might lose even that.’

’And if that happened, it would be too late for tears.’

"Shuxin, what’s wrong? Did I say something to upset you?"

Although Chu Lingxiu couldn’t read Gu Shuxin’s mind, she did notice the subtle shift in her expression. Combined with the fact that Gu Shuxin remained silent, Lingxiu naturally assumed she was angry about what she had said.

"I’m not angry. But, Lingxiu, please don’t say things like that about being a ’Gu family daughter’ again."

Heaven knew how desperately Gu Shuxin wanted to be a daughter of the main Gu family. Yet for her now, that title had become an impossible pipe dream.