Gu Yingnuo paused, yet she refused to believe Ning Yunhuan, thinking it was merely a threat. She glared fiercely at her, "I stand by what I said. My sister is missing, no sign of life or death. Even if you didn't do it yourself, you must have hired someone to kill her! You deserve to die!"

Ning Yunhuan ignored her and pulled out her phone to dial Lan Lingyan. She was certain that with Lan Lingyan's capabilities, after dealing with Gu Yingxi, even if she was rescued, the fact that he never mentioned Gu Yingxi again meant he knew her whereabouts. Thus, as soon as the call connected, Ning Yunhuan said nothing, simply asking, "Do you know where Gu Yingxi is right now?"

Even if the Gu family hadn't shown up today, Ning Yunhuan wouldn't have let Gu Yingxi hide any longer. The thought of Gu Yingxi potentially fostering feelings with Mu Jinyan reminded her of everything from her past life. Gu Yingxi in hiding felt to her like trying to manage a turtle that had retracted all its limbs—utterly impossible to grasp.

Lan Jiu had felt a secret thrill when Ning Yunhuan proactively called him. However, seeing that she didn't even call him 'husband' and immediately brought up Gu Yingxi’s name, a wave of vexation washed over Lan Lingyan, increasing his annoyance with Gu Yingxi. He paused, however, and still replied, "What is it?"

Since he hadn't claimed ignorance, Ning Yunhuan knew she was on the right track. She hurried on, "The Gu family stormed over to my father's place, claiming I murdered Gu Yingxi."

Hearing the suppressed anger in her tone, Lan Lingyan couldn't help but curve his lips upward. "Wait a moment." He hung up right after saying this.

After a brief interval, the phone Gu Xian was cradling suddenly rang. As she reached for it, Ning Yunhuan, recalling her recent call to Lan Lingyan, quickly said, "Don't pick it up yet. Let's put it on speaker so everyone can hear."

Gu Xian's face flushed deep red. She scoffed, "I conduct myself honorably, unlike some people who have guilty consciences. Let everyone listen; it's a chance for them to judge fairly!" Only after saying this did Gu Xian look at the phone, seeing only a string of asterisks. As she frowned in confusion, Gu Yingyu, standing nearby, snatched the phone and answered it on Ning Yunhuan's behalf.

"Hello, Mother." Gu Yingxi's voice suddenly sounded through the phone, stunning the entire Gu family. Gu Yingyu even instinctively asked, "Sister, are you alive or dead right now?"

Ning Yunhuan couldn't help but let out a sharp laugh. "In all my years, this is the first time I've seen a ghost make a phone call. You’ve been watching too many Midnight Dead Ring reruns, haven't you?"

Gu Yingyu’s face turned scarlet. Hearing Ning Yunhuan mock her, she immediately started tearing up. "The number on the screen was all asterisks; I’ve never seen one before. How could it not be a ghost calling?"

The moment she said this, not only Ning Yunhuan but many others nearby let out stifled chuckles. The Gu family looked ashamed and angry, even forgetting that Gu Yingxi was still repeatedly saying "Hello" on the line. "What are you laughing at?"

"Miss Gu, it’s not your fault you are unaware of these things, but speaking so carelessly is wrong," Ning Yunhuan paused, glancing at the Gu family's stiff expressions. "These are numbers reserved for certain private individuals, deliberately shielded so others won't know them. The fact that your sister can call you proves she is a guest in the household of someone with a special status, not that I murdered her."

Saying this, Ning Yunhuan turned to look at the few stone-faced police officers. "Now that it's proven I didn't kill anyone, but the Gu family has falsely accused me, I will be reporting this to the police." As Ning Yunhuan finished speaking, the two officers hesitated briefly, then nodded.

Although the situation was now clear—that Miss Gu hadn't been killed by Ning Yunhuan, and in fact, she might have charmed some influential figure—the police technically shouldn't interfere. Provoking a powerful magnate could only bring trouble upon themselves. However, the officers had witnessed the preceding events clearly: this young woman named Ning made a call first, and then the responding call came. If Ning Yunhuan’s backing wasn't even stronger than the owner of that shielded number, the two must be connected. For now, they saw that they couldn't afford to offend any of them. But since the Gu family started the commotion and slandered her first, they would proceed by regulation; at worst, they would take the Gu family members back to the station for a bit of rough handling.

With this thought, the officers acknowledged her, then coldly called out, "Alright, stand up. It’s now proven that Miss Ning is innocent. Regarding what you just said, I need to take you back to give statements and leave a record."

For the Gu family, going to the police station was certainly not a good thing, especially after Gu Shaotao returned from the station looking completely haggard. Naturally, the Gu family dared not go now. Just as Gu Yingnuo was about to speak, Ning Yunhuan interjected, "Gu Shaotao directed people to attack my father—a sight witnessed by the community security guards, and it was recorded on video. I suspect this Miss Gu directed it, with the goal of kidnapping my father to extort money!"

Once the matter escalated beyond mere disturbance, the police officers felt a mix of trouble and headache. Acknowledging her, Gu Yingnuo quickly pleaded, "Wait a moment! We still don't know about Gu Shaotao's matter; we weren't aware of what he did..." She had intended to imply that Ning Yunhuan might be wildly fabricating accusations, but the moment she opened her mouth, the red-haired youth who had somehow squeezed into the crowd looked at her in disbelief, grit his teeth, and bolted.

"Shaotao..." Gu Yingnuo panicked and rushed to chase after him to explain, "That's not what happened..."

"Miss Gu, please cooperate," the officer in front of her impatiently grabbed her arm. The Gu family’s earlier insults calling the police corrupt had already offended them; they certainly weren't going to pass up an opportunity for revenge now. As he held her back, seeing her on the verge of tears from distress, he coldly stated, "We are just performing our duty. If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear, just like Miss Ning moments ago, who cleared her name, right?"

Stung by the officer’s jab, Gu Yingnuo snapped back to reality. She frantically reached past the phone Gu Xian held. "Big Sister, where are you? Where have you been all this time? Do you know Mother’s illness is getting worse?"

Since childhood, Gu Yingxi had looked after her two younger sisters and possessed a gentle, kind nature, so both Gu Yingnuo and her other sister deeply loved and respected their elder sister. But they never expected that at this critical moment, their sister was not only unreliable but had abandoned the family to stay with some powerful figure!

Although Gu Yingnuo deeply respected and loved Gu Yingxi, resentment couldn't help but seep into her voice as she spoke.

But when asked, Gu Yingxi found herself unable to utter a word. Tears welled up in her eyes, and her gasping sobs transmitted through the speakerphone to everyone present. Tear after tear fell, and a wave of sorrow seemed to transmit through the call to everyone's hearts. What could Gu Yingxi say? She had gone to rescue several strangers like Liu Jinjun, only to be repeatedly violated in turn. How could she possibly utter such a thing!

The thought of her body no longer being pure brought forth an endless stream of tears, and she wept uncontrollably.

The Gu mother and daughter, who had moments before harbored resentment, immediately softened upon hearing her cry so miserably. Gu Xian took the phone and gently comforted her, "Yingxi, hush, don't cry. Mommy is here. Whatever you need to say, we can talk about it slowly when you return." Gu Xian’s soothing tone calmed Gu Yingxi somewhat. She quickly wiped her nose and said, "Mother, don't worry, I'll be back very soon." Gu Xian's comfort stabilized Gu Yingxi, who had been oscillating between the agony of wanting to live and wanting to die. Since the deed was done, even dying wouldn't fix anything.

She would keep this defilement a secret, a private scar within her heart. Although the second young master of the Mu family, Mu Jinyan, had saved her, he was only an imbecile. She had told him nothing, and he surely wouldn't speak of it. As long as she didn't mention it, and he never brought it up, no one would ever know!

With these thoughts, Gu Yingxi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Ning Yunhuan observed the Gu family's reactions from the side, noticing Gu Yingnuo's shift from anger to a fragile calm, and a faint smile touched her lips.

She hadn't expected that the Gu family, who had treated Gu Yingxi like a fairy sister in her previous life, could harbor dissatisfaction toward her. The Gu family had practically deified Gu Yingxi, showering her with adoration and revolving their lives around her as the center. But now, it seemed the Gu family bonds weren't as tightly knit as she had imagined; there were fissures of discontent.

Given the chance, Ning Yunhuan was determined to let the Gu family's dissatisfaction with Gu Yingxi grow. If there was no love in the world that a female protagonist couldn't destroy, then surely there must also be familial affection that a supporting female character couldn't break. It was a pity that she was reborn as the supporting character but failed in her past life to utilize this status, instead trying to placate Gu Yingxi just to secure a peaceful ending for herself.

Instead, she ended up causing her own family's ruin. In this life, starting anew, she would be a capable supporting female, one who would effectively trip up the heroine and sow chaos, making her taste the bitterness of abandonment by loved ones that she had experienced in her past life!

With Gu Yingxi's call, the Gu family naturally stopped shouting accusations that Ning Yunhuan had murdered her. Furthermore, for some unknown reason, upon receiving Gu Yingxi's call, Gu Xian, who had been near death just moments before, suddenly seemed revitalized, her face even sporting a faint flush. Her eyes were bright and energetic, showing none of the previous fatigue and frailty. The two Gu sisters also had smiles in their eyes. Just as the police were about to take them away, Gu Xian was about to grab the white cloth on the ground, wrap up all the money inside, and leave, when Ning Yunhuan called out loudly:

"Madam Gu, now that your daughter hasn't been murdered, and you've come here to ruin my father's reputation while feigning sympathy to solicit money—I trust you are not a beggar, so you shouldn't require this money, should you?"