Si Zhengting caught hold of her, then narrowed his eyes as he addressed Gu Deshou. "What are you doing here?"
It was only after he said this that Zhuang Nainai noticed how tired Gu Deshou looked. It seemed as though he had traveled a very long distance within a night.
After thinking things over a little more, she realized that if Gu Deshou had really hidden her mother away, he wouldn't look so worn-out.
Zhuang Nainai furrowed her brow.
Gu Deshou was very polite to Si Zhengting. After he heard what Si Zhengting said, he replied, "She went missing from yesterday afternoon onwards. The director had given me a call and I immediately rushed over."
Last afternoon… that was almost the same time that Zhuang Nainai had left the country.
Then, he had likely rushed over without even arranging for someone to take over the company's matters.
Zhuang Nainai's anger slowly subsided. Then, she furrowed her brows together tightly.
If Gu Deshou hadn't hidden her mother away, then what had happened to Mother Zhuang? How did she go missing?
As she thought about this, both Zhuang Nainai and Si Zhengting glanced at the director.
The director started speaking again, saying a whole bunch of words. Zhuang Nainai was anxiously waiting, cursing herself for failing to master the skill of listening and comprehending English accents. She had to wait for Si Zhengting's explanation before she could understand what the director was saying.
Si Zhengting knew that she was anxious. He didn't try to act on his own by conversing with the director and telling him what to do regarding Mother Zhuang but, instead, translated what the director said, word for word, for Zhuang Nainai's benefit.
After she understood what the director said, Zhuang Nainai was dazed. "You're saying that a woman came to see my mother. Before she met the woman, she was quite agitated, but afterward, she had calmed down and behaved as she usually did. After that episode, she went missing? And… you've checked the video footage and saw that my mother left of her own accord and wasn't enticed to leave by someone else?"
Zhuang Nainai was at a loss for words. Ever since Mother Zhuang became ill, she had gotten very cowardly. She was afraid of crowds and, thus, Zhuang Nainai didn't bring her mother to boisterous places. Wherever they went, she would wait quietly and didn't dare to wander off on her own.
So how was it possible for her to leave the convalescent home?
Zhuang Nainai bit her lips, glaring at the director as she said to Si Zhengting, "Ask him what the female visitor who visited my mother looked like! How old was she? And who was she?"
After she said this, she turned around and glared at Gu Deshou! What she meant was self-evident!
It was Li Yufeng!
Gu Deshou had often left the country and, clearly, Li Yufeng was aware of his frequent trips abroad. Thus, she had come here to humiliate her mother!
And her mother was mentally fragile. Perhaps she had been humiliated and couldn't deal with it, causing her to run away?
She suddenly thought back to the strange phone call that she had received a few days ago, which told her to be careful of Li Yufeng. Perhaps that mysterious caller was calling to warn her about Li Yufeng's ill-intent toward Mother Zhuang?
She bit her lip, her eyes already red. "What does she want from us? My mother is already in such a pitiful state — why is she still being so mean toward her?"
Gu Deshou didn't seem to have considered this possibility, but after thinking about what Li Yufeng was like, he couldn't help but say, "Qingyan, you need to believe, your mother… is not such a person. Although she seems cold on the outside, in reality…"
He couldn't really articulate what she was like in reality either, as he had thought back to her earlier suggestion to make Zhuang Nainai the scapegoat regarding the plagiarism matter.
She had always spoiled Gu Xingshan and Gu Xinghao, and she was usually gentle. She was also polite toward him despite their status as husband and wife. Thus, they had never fought despite their many years of marriage.
However… ever since she found Zhuang Nainai, she had changed.
Gu Deshou furrowed his brows, then looked at Zhuang Nainai. "If she had really done this, I will not forgive her!"