CH 76

Summer was approaching, and the final exams were close for Gu Zhongyi.

The previous month, his private detective suddenly returned the money and cut off contact without any explanation. Moreover, Li Qing and her son quickly left M City, and their whereabouts were unknown.

Gu Zhongyi had to run back and forth between the provinces and the school, leaving him exhausted.

Suddenly, all the leads were cut off, leaving him with no progress. However, the answer in his heart was becoming clearer day by day.

The more this was the case, the more it seemed to implicate his father Gu Zhuang.

Therefore, Gu Zhongyi’s bad premonition was slowly becoming a reality. He didn’t want to believe it, yet he felt it might be true.

From childhood to adulthood, the only person who could have been by his side to this extent, was Gu Zhuang.

Besides Gu Zhuang, no one could be so ruthless.

When he realized that his own father might be the one who ordered Lin Yuxing killed, Gu Zhongyi’s heart turned cold. He hated Gu Zhuang’s cold-hearted selfishness more than anyone else, and he was disgusted and saddened by the fact that he was his son.

But suddenly, he somehow recalled a past event.

In the former world, after Gu Zhuang was imprisoned…

The Gu family villa had been emptied, the then 28-year-old Gu Zhongyi sat despondently in the large entrance hall.

Outside the wide-open door, the empty courtyard came into view.

Behind him, wearing high heels, Xu Wanling walked to his side. After a long silence, she said calmly, “I’m leaving.”

Gu Zhongyi didn’t respond. In his impression, there was no need for farewells between them.

Xu Wanling stayed for a moment and asked, “Are you grieving for him?”

Gu Zhongyi’s expression was numb. In his mind, he asked himself, does he look like he’s grieving? rather, he felt lost. He had always been Gu Zhuang’s puppet, an obedient son.

Now that Gu Zhuang was in prison, he could only enter standby mode.

In this way, did he really look like he was grieving?

No.

He denied it in his heart, but his face remained indifferent.

To him, it didn’t matter if Xu Wanling misunderstood him. He didn’t even have the strength to answer.

But Xu Wanling lowered her gaze and couldn’t tell if she was pitying him or if it was just a habitual gesture. She was an elegant person in every move, even her mocking words were said gently and slowly, “In the past, I thought about having a child, and I wanted to listen to Gu Zhuang and take care of my body… but you made me change my mind and made me grateful that I didn’t have a child.” She reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear, her eyes filled with sorrow. “With Gu Zhuang as a father, my child would suffer.”

Xu Wanling went on and on, more talkative than ever before.

She said, “Gu Zhuang… deserves his punishment.”

She looked at the overgrown weeds in the courtyard, not minding Gu Zhongyi not responding.

They were used to this way of being together.

Looking at Gu Zhongyi’s empty gaze, Xu Wanling couldn’t bear to say, “Don’t grieve for him anymore. He’s not worth it. He’s guilty of so much more; he killed your most precious… thing.”

With the situation at hand, she could only hint at it. Finally, she only said, “Take care.”

There was not much tenderness between them, nor any bitterness.

But now, Gu Zhongyi realized that the hidden meaning in her words was something she couldn’t say directly but couldn’t bear to conceal either.

Gu Zhongyi remembered that Xu Wanling was a very composed person. How could she easily say the word “killed”?

At that moment, Gu Zhongyi became enlightened. His eyes were red, and he wiped his face suddenly.

His father wanted to conceal the truth from him, but everything he wanted to hide was already obvious. Gu Zhongyi didn’t have much time to hesitate. He had experienced all the absurd behavior of Gu Zhuang, so at that moment, he decided to prepare for retaliation in advance.

You see, anger, sadness, despair—none of these could defeat Gu Zhuang.

Only by taking the initiative before all the evidence was destroyed could Gu Zhongyi gain an advantage.

Gu Zhongyi had fallen once, and he didn’t want to repeat the same mistake.

So, he made a decisive move and dialed Xu Wanling’s number for the first time.

When she received the call, she was surprised and confirmed multiple times, “Zhongyi?”

Gu Zhongyi politely asked if she could meet him. He said, “Aunt Wan, if you’re willing to meet me, I’ll arrange the time and place of the meeting. To be honest, I might be under my dad’s surveillance now, and I’m not in C City, so I can’t openly come to see you.”

He could only ask Xu Wanling to cooperate with him.

Xu Wanling was first taken aback.

She was sitting in her office, tapping her fingers on the desk, and her beautiful face showed a slight smile. “I’m sorry, Zhongyi. I don’t want to, nor can I get involved in any conflicts between you and your father.”

However, Gu Zhongyi asked her, “Do you know why your brand has never grown big?”

His seemingly random question made Xu Wanling frown.

“Dad doesn’t approve of Omegas being too flourishing in business. He has been secretly hindering you and supporting your rival companies.”

Gu Zhongyi wasn’t just saying this; he revealed several unknown examples.

Hearing this, Xu Wanling tightened her grip, and she asked urgently, “How do you know?”

In her eyes, Gu Zhongyi was still a rebellious college student arguing with his parents. How could he know these things?

Of course, Gu Zhongyi knew.

In his previous world, his father had been interfering in Xu Wanling’s affairs for many years. It wasn’t until a year before he was imprisoned that Xu Wanling discovered all of it.

On the day she found out, all the love and tenderness disappeared from her face. She rushed into Gu Zhuang’s study and had the most intense argument since they got married.

Gu Zhuang had coldly insulted her that time, every word cutting deep.

However, Xu Wanling wasn’t bothered by Gu Zhuang’s words. She had long known how he saw her.

What she cared about was her efforts being ruthlessly trampled by Gu Zhuang. She cared about the shackles of the Xu family and Gu Zhuang weighing on her shoulders. Nobody understood her, nobody supported her.

Everyone wanted her to be a delicate flower in a greenhouse, but Xu Wanling quietly grew thorns under the green leaves.

It could be said that her efforts contributed to Gu Zhuang’s imprisonment.

Although insignificantly, she had done her best.

Therefore, besides Gu Zhongyi, Xu Wanling, who seemed to have a loving relationship with Gu Zhuang, was probably the most eager for his downfall. So, at this moment, when Gu Zhongyi extended an olive branch to her, she wouldn’t refuse.

With a determined expression, Gu Zhongyi said, “Instead of being addressed as Mrs. Gu, I think you would prefer to be called General Manager Xu.”

The moment his thoughts were revealed, Xu Wanling didn’t respond immediately.

She stared at a potted plant in the corner of her office, contemplating back and forth in her mind. Weighing the benefits, she resumed a gentle expression, “Alright, I check my schedule.”

Meanwhile, it was a busy afternoon.

C University students were rushing to occupy library seats to prepare for their final exams.

Su Li and Lin Yuxing couldn’t get a seat, so they stayed in their dorm to study. Occasionally, Gu Nuan would come over.

But to be exact, out of the three, only Su Li was studying.

Lin Yuxing was the type who was diligent in regular times, while Gu Nuan was naturally intelligent. Only Su Li needed Gu Nuan’s help to study; otherwise, he would barely pass his exams.

Now, the three Omegas were gathered together. Two were enjoying themselves, while one was diligently studying.

Su Li sat sadly at his desk, his dark circles much larger than usual. He leaned back and accidentally fell into an empty half-watermelon.

Luckily, Lin Yuxing acted quickly and pulled him out.

The half-watermelon fell to the ground, causing Gu Nuan to click his tongue twice. Lin Yuxing was busy helping Su Li wipe his face and worriedly said, “You’ve stayed up for two nights, how about getting some sleep?”

Su Li immediately fell asleep once he touched the pillow; even his snoring could be heard.

Lin Yuxing shook his head helplessly and was about to clean up when he saw Gu Nuan picking up watermelon peels.

“I’ll do it!” Lin Yuxing snatched the peels from Gu Nuan’s hands and thoughtfully handed him some snacks he bought himself.

Those snacks were all Gu Nuan’s favorites, according to Su Li.

Lin Yuxing piled the snacks in front of Gu Nuan, clumsily flattering him, “Gu Nuan, did you just buy this outfit? It looks great, suits you well, and your taste is still as good as ever.”

That scene had happened more than once.

Every time Gu Nuan came over, Lin Yuxing would flatter him. And each time, it felt forced.

Gu Nuan felt awkward and shook his hand, drinking his strawberry milk, “… why don’t you just say what you want?”

Lin Yuxing stammered, “Th-that… Let me just say it.”

Gu Nuan said, “As long as you don’t do anything wrong, if there’s anything I can help with, I’ll definitely help you.”

he really didn’t want to eat any more snacks; he was afraid if he did, he would become chubby Gu.

Lin Yuxing reached into a drawer and took out a transparent small bag containing a few strands of hair.

Cautiously, he asked, “Do you have a way to get students’ health examination data from the school?”

Gu Nuan was taken aback, “Huh?”

Lin Yuxing closed his eyes, mustering up the courage to express his request.

“I want the pheromone data of Xu Xiangchi, a sophomore in the Art Department. I also want you to help me go to the institute and conduct a compatibility test with Xu Xiangchi using this hair. I will cover all the expenses.”

Gu Nuan and Lin Yuxing were in different majors, so Gu Nuan was likely unaware of how challenging it was to extract pheromones from hair, and ordinary hospitals wouldn’t have that technology. The ability to do this research was only available at the institute where Ji Mu was.

However, Ji Mu was currently attending a conference in another province and wasn’t back yet. Lin Yuxing had heard from Su Li that there were relatives of the Gu family in the institute, so he sought help from Gu Nuan.

After explaining everything clearly, Lin Yuxing nervously said, “I want to keep this a secret from Senior for now… I mean, I’ll tell him later, but it’s just not convenient right now.”

He feared that Gu Nuan might be suspicious and continued, “Senior has been very busy lately, and I don’t want to bother him.”

Gu Nuan suddenly became interested, “What is Zhongyi busy with?”

“Work-related stuff.”

“Work?”

“Senior doesn’t plan to return to the Gu family because of me.” Lin Yuxing didn’t lie, apologizing, “It seems that his father can’t accept me, and I don’t want to be separated from Senior.”

Gu Nuan thoughtfully touched his chin, “Ah… so, will you continue working in our company after that?”

If he continued to pursue his career in the company, it was inevitable for Lin Yuxing to run into Gu Zhuang.

Lin Yuxing considered this and replied, “Gu Group is a dream company for everyone so much for me. This summer vacation, it’s a good thing to gain experience through an internship there. I don’t plan to give up. But after graduation… I can’t hold Senior back for my own benefit. At that time, I’ll have to find another job.”

Gu Nuan sighed. He really wished Gu Zhuang would retire sooner.

After a while, Lin Yuxing asked again, “Gu Nuan… can you help me with what I just mentioned?”

Lin Yuxing prepared himself for Gu Nuan’s refusal. He was nervous, knowing that his request was extreme, and even if Gu Nuan didn’t want to, he wouldn’t hold it against him.

To his surprise, Gu Nuan readily agreed.

Gu Nuan was curious about the owner of the hair in the transparent bag, but seeing Lin Yuxing’s hesitant expression, he took the initiative to offer a way out, saying, “This hair belongs to your friend, right?”

“Y-yes!”

Gu Nuan kindly said, “Yuxing, privately testing others’ compatibility is not good. I can help you, but you must promise me that this won’t have any impact on others.”

“I promise!”

Lin Yuxing firmly said, “I just want to confirm something without hurting anyone.”