Chapter 060: The Woman Named Jeanette Gu

Seraphina arrived at the meeting place in a great mood, having already stepped out of her "spoiled heiress" persona.

She wore a slight smile, looking elegant and refined.

She was still the top socialite of Seahaven in the eyes of the world, a paragon of a high-born lady.

She had arranged to meet Jeanette Gu at a quiet French restaurant.

When Seraphina arrived, Jeanette was already waiting, twenty minutes ahead of their scheduled time.

Jeanette was no longer wearing the heavy makeup from that night at Dawn; she wore only light makeup, which made her look much more pure. However, even with the makeup, her exhaustion was visible.

Seeing Seraphina, she waved with a smile.

The smile was sincere, yet forced.

A twenty-six-year-old woman looking so heartbroken and world-weary—she was a pitiful person.

Seraphina admired her talent and sympathized with her plight, but she didn't agree with her self-destructive behavior.

However, she wouldn't judge her casually.

Without suffering another's pain...

"Please, have a seat." Jeanette poured a glass of lemon water for Seraphina.

Seraphina thanked her, took it, and had a sip.

"Thank you for that night at Dawn."

"You're welcome. It was nothing."

"Regardless, I still have to thank you. If it weren't for you that night, I'm afraid I would have..." She hadn't thought much of it at the time, but she regretted it once she sobered up.

She had almost truly destroyed herself!

She was the type of person who would blush and her heart would race just from holding hands in a relationship; she never thought she would one day become the version of herself she used to despise most.

Luckily.

So she was very grateful to the girl in front of her.

The girl had been wearing a mask and hat that night, but her long hair was a trademark; Jeanette could still recognize her at a glance. Or perhaps it was because the girl's aura was too special, leaving a deep impression.

She hadn't imagined that the girl would look like this without the disguise.

A true beauty.

The kind of elegant beauty with the temperament of a noble lady.

Withdrawing her thoughts, she asked with a smile: "May I ask how to address you?"

"Seraphina Pierce."

Seraphina Pierce?

Why did that name sound familiar? Like she had heard it somewhere.

Unable to place it for the moment, Jeanette didn't think further. "Miss Pierce, hello. I am Jeanette Gu."

As soon as she spoke, the person sitting opposite her smiled.

"I know."

"Jeanette Gu, the eldest daughter of the Gu family, the heir to the Gu estate, an outstanding professional manager, and another identity—a genius venture capitalist. Though, very few people know about the VC identity."

The Gu family was considered a second-tier family in Seahaven.

Jeanette's story was a common, melodramatic one.

Her childhood sweetheart fiancé hooked up with her younger step-sister—oh, wait, not a step-sister; more accurately, she was the illegitimate daughter of Jeanette's father.

With the step-mother whispering in the father's ear and Jeanette's father being somewhat brainless, Jeanette was framed with groundless accusations and kicked out of the family. Her inheritance was gone, her position at the company was gone, and her childhood sweetheart fiancé was gone.

In an instant, everyone around her had betrayed her. Branded with a stained reputation, she was pointed at by anyone who recognized her.

She was truly miserable.

She looked at Seraphina in shock. "How do you..."

know?

Jeanette didn't end up asking. she wasn't stupid; to know her background so clearly, the girl must have investigated her.

Reasonably, she should be wary and questioning, but for some reason, she didn't do so.

Her intuition told her that this girl named Seraphina had no ill intent toward her.

Perhaps because she had been betrayed by so many she once trusted, she craved sincerity too much. When someone suddenly showed her kindness, she was unwilling and loath to think of them in a bad light.

Jeanette didn't say the words, but Seraphina knew what she wanted to ask.

She said directly: "Yes, I did investigate you. To put it bluntly, I've taken an interest in your talent."

Jeanette didn't quite understand her meaning.

"Perhaps I should introduce myself properly. This is my business card."

She took a black card with gold patterns from her bag and handed it over.

Jeanette took it hesitantly.

When she saw the contents, she couldn't help but stare at Seraphina in astonishment.

The card was simple; aside from the name and phone number, there was only one introduction:

Core member of the Starry Sky Orchestra, National First-Class Konghou Performer.

No wonder she thought the name Seraphina Pierce was familiar; so this Seraphina Pierce was

that

Seraphina Pierce.

It wasn't that Jeanette didn't know of her. In Seahaven's elite circles, very few people didn't know Seraphina Pierce. It was just that Jeanette didn't frequent high society much and was focused on her studies; she had only heard of her and didn't have a deep impression.

But there was only one person named Seraphina Pierce who held such titles at such a young age. She knew that much.

"So it's the Eldest Miss of the Pierce family. My apologies for not recognizing you earlier."

Seraphina smiled. "Our paths haven't crossed before, after all."

Jeanette didn't dwell on it further but said with a bitter smile: "Miss Pierce, you said you've taken an interest in my talent, but I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. If I truly had talent, I wouldn't have ended up like this."

"Your misfortune is only because you trusted the wrong people; that doesn't conflict with your own talent." How was she supposed to guard against her own father and childhood sweetheart?

Furthermore, Jeanette was naturally innocent; how could she be a match for that step-mother and step-sister?

One could say that if it weren't for this ordeal, Jeanette would still be an innocent little princess, even more naive than Seraphina once was.

Seraphina had only been too focused on her own affairs to care about others; she wasn't truly "innocent." Back then, in her mind, there was nothing her parents couldn't handle, so she felt safe doing her own thing, which was why she was caught off guard.

In countless midnight dreams, she had been filled with regret and self-reproach.

But what was the use of regret? It changed nothing.

Her thoughts wandered, but Seraphina took a light breath and returned to the topic.

"You work for me, and I grant you fame, wealth, and status. You might not care about these things, but they are the capital for you to take back what belongs to you and seek justice for yourself."

"And don't say nothing belongs to you. You are a genius venture capitalist; even your father and fiancé don't know that, yet I found out. This shows that investigating the Gu family's background isn't a difficult task for me."

"The Gu family wasn't built by your father alone; it contains more than half of your mother's hard work. Are you willing to hand over your mother's life's work to your step-mother and step-sister?"

Jeanette gripped her water glass tightly.

She wasn't willing!

She was not willing at all!

"And your reputation for 'cheating on multiple men'—don't you plan to clear your name?"

Regarding those "multiple boats," the situation wasn't actually hard to resolve; the other party only took some ambiguous photos without solid evidence.

Jeanette hadn't solved it not because she couldn't, but because she had been betrayed by those she trusted most. Her friends and relatives were also deceived and didn't trust her, and she was kicked out of the home she grew up in. She was devastated and heartbroken.

In that state, how could she have the heart to care about a stained reputation that, in the grand scheme of things, meant nothing?

"If you truly think that way, your enemies will only be more delighted."