Gu Anxi chuckled lightly, "My love for my uncle is imasurable by wealth!"
Manager Ma was impressed by her statent and was silent for a while.
Gu Anxi laughed again, "Alright, I’m leaving now."
Manager Ma eagerly watched her leave, the lingering high-end scent in his nostrils, imagining that the future head of the Bo Family would emanate this kind of high-class aura—
Ah, how fortunate!
Gu Anxi drove ho. Her uncle wasn’t back yet, so she returned to the Orchid Room early and began to paint at her easel.
This painting took three full days to complete.
She also made a painting for Bo Nianyao. After receiving it, Bo Nianyao savored the painting for three whole days.
He observed it with the naked eye and under a magnifying glass before calling over Old He to admire the painting the little imp had created and to judge whether it showed progress, or if it was due to the nourishing feng shui of the Bo Family.
Old He was sowhat speechless, but he still ca over. The two old fellows spent a joyous few days admiring it under a magnifying glass.
Having admired his own painting to his heart’s content, Bo Nianyao’s appetite was whetted for the one Gu Anxi had painted for King Jingyao.
However, he was hesitant to broach the subject directly. Instead, he subtly suggested during a al, "My child, would you like to help you fra the painting you gave Mr. Wang? I know an excellent master."
As soon as he said this, Mrs. Bo and Bo Xichen exchanged a glance, remaining silent. They understood what he ant.
Bo Nianyao’s attitude towards most things was generally casual, but he had a particular fondness for Luo Lin’s paintings.
The plan had been for Gu Anxi to have many opportunities to paint while she stayed at Si Garden. But over the past half year, the child had won awards, completed major business deals, and perford several sensational surgeries, yet she still hadn’t painted a single piece for him.
Bo Nianyao was quite disappointed!
Gu Anxi blinked at his words. "Oh, I have it ready."
Bo Nianyao feigned disbelief. "Really?"
After a pause, he coughed lightly. "I don’t quite believe it."
The little imp’s competitiveness imdiately flared. "Why don’t you believe it? I’ll bring it over for you to see."
Mrs. Bo and Bo Xichen, watching from the side, nearly died laughing. Mrs. Bo, in particular, was struggling to contain herself.
This old scoundrel was just teasing the child because he wanted to see the painting. If he were any more shaless, he might even try to claim the painting for himself.
However, both Mrs. Bo and Bo Xichen showed Bo Nianyao respect and didn’t voice their thoughts.
Gu Anxi ran back to fetch her painting. As she hurried, she unexpectedly encountered soone on the small path.
She slowed her steps, passing by him slowly.
The man was Bo Qing.
As they brushed past each other, Bo Qing called out to her, "Anxi."
She halted, not turning around, her voice hoarse. "Master, I can let go of everything. Can you?"
She did, indeed, harbor countless grievances against him, so many she couldn’t tally them herself.
But if she could let go, and if he could also let go of his hatred, then many people would be spared from harm.
She still felt a lingering fear about the experint the Jiang Family had nearly conducted.
So, she said she could let go.
But Bo Qing did not directly respond to her, rely saying, "Can’t you even turn around and talk to now?"
Gu Anxi slowly turned around.
Under the moonlight, they could see each other clearly, yet not distinctly.
Bo Qing smiled faintly. "What if I were to add a condition?"
Gu Anxi clenched her lips, then laughed. "I can forget my grievances, but I’m not so magnanimous as to sacrifice myself for the world."
Bo Qing still smiled. "Is that so? Anxi, if the Bo Family were to choose, would they choose you or everyone else?"
After his question, Gu Anxi’s voice was soft. "In my world, there are no ifs. We can predict things that haven’t happened, but there’s no need for hypotheticals."
She added softly, "No matter the choice, I trust them."
Having said her piece, she turned and left.
She didn’t look back, her departure resolute.
Bo Qing’s voice rang out behind her, "Gu Anxi, is this what you call betrayal?"
Her back stiffened, then she laughed lightly. "Master, it was always you who deceived !"
All the training, the care, the companionship... it was all built upon a foundation of deep-seated hatred.
She could let go, on the condition that Dark no longer existed.
And he wanted her.
She couldn’t do it.
Call it betrayal, call it whatever you like; they had already beco opponents.
Bo Qing lowered his gaze, his voice very light. "You care a lot about family, don’t you, Anxi? What if, on my side, there are also people you can’t forsake?"
Gu Anxi said softly, "Then we can only beco enemies."
"All your martial prowess was taught by . Do you think you can defeat ?" Bo Qing’s voice quietly echoed.
Gu Anxi left him with four words: "Let’s wait and see."
「From that day onward」
She didn’t see Bo Qing again in Si Garden, as if he had disappeared from her world.
But she knew that wasn’t true. Dark was vast, ubiquitous.
Perhaps people around her were already part of Dark.
For example, Old He, who was Liu Chen.
Gu Anxi fetched the painting and went to Bo Nianyao’s study. Bo Nianyao was clearly impatient; the magnifying glass was already out. He imdiately greeted her when he saw Gu Anxi arriving, "Let take a look."
Gu Anxi acknowledged him and handed over the painting, her actions slightly slower.
Although Bo Nianyao was obsessed with paintings, he also noticed that sothing was off with Gu Anxi. As he took the painting, he asked, "What’s wrong?"
Gu Anxi replied softly, "I ran into Second Uncle."
Bo Nianyao’s hands trembled slightly, and he shot Bo Xichen a quick glance. His gaze then returned to Gu Anxi, his tone surprised. "He’s back?"
Gu Anxi nodded.
Bo Nianyao’s mood to appreciate the painting seed dampened. Bo Xichen also stepped forward. "Father, should we..."
"No need." Bo Nianyao raised his hand slightly. "By now, he must have left."
With that, he looked at Gu Anxi. "What did the two of you talk about?"
Gu Anxi calmly relayed their conversation. The expressions of the Bo father and son grew somber. Bo Nianyao, in particular, sighed lightly. "He still chose the crooked path."
Gu Anxi asked, puzzled, "Bo Dad, why did he establish Dark?"
Bo Nianyao walked over and sat on the sofa, cradling a teacup in his hands, a troubled expression on his face.
After long contemplation, he forced a smile. "Your Second Uncle Bo is an adopted son of the Bo Family. He’s always believed he was my father’s illegitimate child, my own brother, and he never quite accepted my becoming the Family Head. I don’t know when he managed to build such a massive organization. I also secretly investigated for many years, only later discovering that the one behind it was actually from the Bo Family. Moreover, Dark has absorbed many influential figures from Beicheng, so it’s not an organization we can move against easily."
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