In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.
Yi Bo and his family had been living a life akin to fleeing for over half a year, feeling utterly exhausted and unwilling to continue like this.
“When will this life of constant hiding come to an end?” Zhao Zhen’s face was haggard. Anyone who had spent half a year eating poorly, sleeping poorly, and living in constant fear would not look well.
“Indeed,” Yi Hong sighed. “We can’t go on like this anymore. This kind of life is too unbearable.”
In fact, they had been found twice before, but during the negotiations with Elder Xu, Yi Bo had made it clear that if anything happened to him or his family, the evidence would be automatically sent to Gu Yueshan. Since no one but Gu Yueshan could alter the timing, the Xu and Jiang families, even after finding them, dared not act rashly.
The reason Yi Bo’s family continued to flee and hide was their fear that the Xu and Jiang families would retaliate immediately upon discovering that Gu Yueshan already knew about the matter.
However, after more than half a year of hiding, there had been no movement domestically. Yi Hong speculated, “Could it be that Yi Wei never told Chairman Gu about this? Otherwise, there would have been some reaction domestically.”
“Would he really keep something like this hidden?” Yi Bo grabbed his hair in frustration. “But it’s indeed possible. After all, Yi Wei is someone whose thoughts we can never guess, and we can never predict what he will do. Perhaps he made some deal with the Xu or Jiang families and deliberately kept it from Chairman Gu.”
“What should we do next?” Zhao Zhen asked.
“If that’s really the case… then I’ll go and talk to Chairman Gu myself,” Yi Bo said.
“That’s too risky. It’s safer for us not to return to the country right now,” Yi Hong expressed his concern and disapproval of Yi Bo’s idea.
“We have no choice but to take the risk now. Maybe we can negotiate with Chairman Gu. If he agrees to protect us, I’ll give him the evidence,” Yi Bo said, clutching his hair in frustration. “I should have done this from the beginning…”
Just as Yi Bo was feeling regretful, he suddenly thought that if Yi Wei hadn’t handed the evidence to Gu Yueshan, it was likely that he had indeed made a deal with the Xu and Jiang families. This could be an opportunity to expose Yi Wei in front of Gu Yueshan and get revenge on him.
After making his decision, Yi Bo immediately booked a flight and began packing to return to the country. Since they had been constantly on the run, they didn’t have much to pack, and soon they were ready. They then drove to the airport.
On the way to the airport, Zhao Zhen, uneasy from the prolonged period of hiding, kept looking back and notiiced a car following them.
“There’s a car following us!!!” Zhao Zhen said nervously.
Yi Bo glanced at the rearview mirror and sped up, trying to shake off the car behind them.
In his attempt to lose the tailing car, Yi Bo took a detour. However, due to his nervousness and the need to keep an eye on the car behind them, he failed to notice a car suddenly coming around the bend ahead.
“Yi Bo! Car! Car!” Zhao Zhen screamed in terror.
Yi Bo quickly turned the steering wheel but didn’t have time to brake, crashing into the wall of a roadside restaurant.
“Ah!!”
Zhao Zhen’s scream stopped after a loud crash.
………………………………
Back in the country, the Xu and Jiang families had finally fallen into the trap set by Gu Yueshan. By the time they realized it, it was too late.
Both Elder Xu and Elder Jiang knew that Gu Yueshan must have started planning this long ago, which meant Yi Bo had likely given him the evidence much earlier.
After learning the general course of events, Xu Hua fainted again. The shock was so great that she nearly died, but fortunately, she was rushed to the hospital in time and saved. While she was still in the hospital, her elder brother came to beg her to join him in pleading with Gu Yueshan to spare the Xu family this once.
Xu Hua, confined to a wheelchair, had no choice but to go with him to meet Gu Yueshan.
Gu Yueshan and Yi Wei were waiting for them. Upon their arrival, they prepared to hear Elder Xu personally recount the entire course of events from that year, including the reasons behind their kidnapping of Gu Yueshan.
Back then, because Gu Yueshan had been raised by his grandfather and was not close to his biological mother, Xu Hua, let alone the Xu family, Elder Xu and the Xu family were worried that once Gu Yueshan inherited the Gu family’s business, he might not favor the Xu family. Therefore, Elder Xu planned to stage a kidnapping of Gu Yueshan, with the Xu family appearing to go all out to rescue him. This way, Gu Yueshan would naturally feel grateful to the Xu family.
However, something went wrong. Gu Yuechuan found out about the plan and informed his father-in-law, Elder Jiang. Elder Jiang then wanted to join Elder Xu’s plan to “rescue” Gu Yueshan together. Elder Xu felt that since Elder Jiang already knew, it would be safer for the Xu family to let him participate, so he agreed.
Gu Yuechuan’s intention in informing the Jiang family was actually different. He planned to expose the Xu and Jiang families after they kidnapped Gu Yueshan, so that his grandfather would not spare them. This way, he could divorce Jiang Shugin and marry the woman he truly loved. Originally, it was Jiang Shugin who insisted on marrying him, and Xu Hua and Elder Xu forced him to marry her, so he hated both the Jiang and Xu families, as well as Xu Hua. However, he didn’t know that the Jiang family had planted someone close to him, and his intentions were exposed. Not long after, he and his lover died in a car accident.
To avoid being discovered by Gu Yueshan’s grandfather, they hired real kidnappers who would not release Gu Yueshan without payment. However, due to a dispute between Elder Xu and Elder Jiang over who would send people to rescue Gu Yueshan first, the original rescue plan was delayed. Gu Yueshan found an opportunity to escape but failed, leading to the subsequent events.
After listening, Yi Wei closed his eyes, filled with immense anger. None of these people deserved forgiveness—Elder Xu, Elder Jiang, or Gu Yuechuan. While their initial intentions might not have been to harm Gu Yueshan, their selfish desires nearly cost Gu Yueshan his life and caused his dissociative identity disorder and the constant danger he faced.
Gu Yueshan was also furious but remained relatively calm. He looked at Xu Hua and asked, “Did you know about this?”
Yi Wei immediately turned to Xu Hua, carefully observing her expression to see if she was lying.
“I didn’t know,” Xu Hua weakly shook her head. “I truly didn’t know. If I had known, I would never have allowed them to do this.”
“I can swear to heaven that your mother had no knowledge of this,” Elder Xu said.
Xu Hua truly had no idea. Even a vicious tiger wouldn’t harm its own cub. Xu Hua was not so heartless as to plot against her own son. At the time, she was eagerly anticipating Gu Yueshan’s early inheritance of the Gu family business so she could outshine Ye Feng. Had she known about their plans, she would never have agreed.
Yi Wei could tell that Xu Hua and Elder Xu were not lying, which slightly eased his mind. If even Gu Yueshan’s own mother had been involved, it would have been too cruel for Gu Yueshan.
However, although Xu Hua was unaware, it didn’t change the fact that Gu Yuechuan had participated in the scheme. Even though modern society doesn’t hold children accountable for their parents’ debts, Gu Heng would find it difficult to establish himself in the Gu family from now on.
“Are you here to plead for them?” Gu Yueshan asked expressionlessly, looking at Xu Hua.
It had been several months since Xu Hua last saw Gu Yueshan. She felt that he seemed different but couldn’t pinpoint exactly how. She had originally intended to plead for leniency, but after hearing the full story, she knew that her pleas would be useless and would only further anger Gu Yueshan.
Xu Hua sighed and shook her head. “I have nothing more to say. Do as you wish. This is what they owe you.”
Elder Xu immediately turned to her with a pleading look.
“Then you may leave,” Gu Yueshan said.
Xu Hua glanced at Elder Xu, opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent. She gestured for the helper to wheel her away.
“Second sister… Second sister!” Elder Xu called out loudly.
Xu Hua acted as if she didn’t hear him, offering no response. She looked much older than before, her hair significantly grayer. Once well-maintained, she now appeared to be a truly elderly woman with white hair.
Xu Hua’s eyes were clouded and lifeless as she pondered what she had gained and lost in her life. What was the meaning of it all? In the end, everything she had hoped for had come to nothing, and what she wanted to see would never be seen again. Perhaps from the very beginning, her actions, thoughts, and desires had been wrong, destined to lead to this outcome.
Xu Hua slowly closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face, her heart now devoid of any hope.
Seeing Xu Hua leave, Elder Xu had no choice but to plead with Gu Yueshan himself, shifting all the blame onto the Jiang family. Gu Yueshan temporarily placated him, planning to deal with the Jiang family first before slowly settling accounts with the Xu family.
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