Leave the Gu Family?
The moment Gu Jiqing finished speaking, the entire reception room, including Yin Lan, who was outside the room, froze in place.
The air was so quiet that it seemed as if a needle drop would be enough to destroy the peace that was about to fall apart.
The one who reacted the fastest was Gu Jue. Before Gu Zhifeng could speak, he grabbed Gu Jiqing’s wrist and dragged him out: “Gu Jiqing! Don’t go crazy and seek death! Come back with me!”
Gu Jiqing stood there, looking at him calmly, and whispered, “Ge, I know what I’m doing. Let me go first.”
Gu Jiqing rarely really called him “Ge” seriously.
Gu Jue’s heart paused, and he finally looked into Gu Jiqing’s eyes, cursing softly, “F*ck, you guys are all fucking awesome, only Laozi is an idiot.” Then he shook off Gu Jiqing’s hand, stood by the window, and lit a cigarette irritably.
Gu Zhifeng looked at Gu Jiqing with a cold and sharp look, as if he wanted to make this young and naive stepson confess his guilt through his eyes: “Gu Jiqing, do you know what you are saying?”
Gu Jiqing said, “I know.”
He raised his eyelids, “I think from now on, my Gu is Gu Qingan’s Gu, not Gu Zhifeng’s Gu.”
Gu Qingan is his father’s name.
His real father’s name.
He was a man who would make a promise with his unborn child in his diary to protect his mother, who would tell his wife that people would turn into stars after death, and who would instinctively choose to crash into the guardrail to avoid hurting a young mother and child.
The stories and words recorded in his diary are the initial gentle strength that Gu Jiqing drew from to grow into the Gu Jiqing he is today.
So even though Gu Jiqing had never seen his father, he still loved him.
After so many years, he finally had the courage to say this: he wanted to leave the current Gu family and become that Gu Jiqing that belonged only to him.
He had had such thoughts countless times, but he was too young at that time. He lacked the ability to protect himself and his mother, nor did he have the motivation to extricate himself from these lukewarm days that he had become accustomed to.
But now he has grown up and can barely support himself as well. He finally has enough ability and weapons to protect his mother. He also has someone he likes and has the urge to spend those happy and simple days with the person he loves.
So he was well prepared and had enough courage.
He placed a USB drive in front of Li Wang and Gu Zhifeng: “Inside this is the recording of my conversation with Li Wang, as well as the surveillance footage of the bar that day and the testimonies of some people who were present at the time.”
Then there was a document: “In order to stay awake, I cut my hand with glass and bled a lot. The blood sample was sent for testing by Zhou Cibai the next day. Although there was a certain degree of contamination, the drug components were detected. If nothing unexpected happens, the circulation and source of this batch of drugs will be quickly traced.”
As soon as the two pieces of solid evidence came out, Li Wang, who was originally full of self-satisfaction, turned pale in an instant. He jumped up from his seat, pointed at Gu Jiqing’s nose, and cursed, “Gu Jiqing! Don’t you f*cking forge some messed-up stuff to scare me! I’m not f*cking afraid of this!”
“Of course you don’t have to be afraid.” Gu Jiqing looked at him calmly, as if he were watching a joke. “I submitted all the evidence this morning before the relevant departments went on holiday. As for what happens next, it’s your own business and has nothing to do with me.”
After all, his main purpose today was not to take revenge on Li Wang.
He just wanted to prove to Gu Zhifeng that he was not just a chess piece that could be manipulated and exchanged at will.
He looked at Gu Zhifeng, “Mr. Gu, you should be able to tell the truth from the false.”
Gu Zhifeng’s face darkened.
Whether he could see it or not, the evidence could not be false.
Because Gu Jiqing has neither the ability nor the need to do this fake thing.
Gu Jiqing softly said, “I have no other intention in bringing out these evidences. After all, you must have ten thousand ways to use me to win over the Li family. I am in the villa, and there is no other way. I can only tell you first that the Li family may no longer be valuable, and you don’t need to get involved.”
He had threatened Li Wang before but did not report it because the chain of evidence was not mature at the time and Gu Jue was still controlled by Li Wang. He left some room for maneuver, both to prevent the Gu family from falling into a dead end and to kill them with one blow later.
But now everything is a foregone conclusion, the downfall of the Li family is imminent, and no matter what happens to Li Wang, it has nothing to do with him.
Li Wang knew very well what he himself had done, and his extreme guilt exposed him by kicking the stool. He wanted to vent his anger again, but suddenly a phone call came. His face turned pale in an instant, and he only had time to curse and leave.
It seems that those who do evil will eventually perish. With rain leaking out the east window and snowing out the west window, the Li family will not be able to celebrate a complete New Year.
When the door of the reception room was closed, Gu Zhifeng coldly said, “Is this the effect you want?”
“No.” Gu Jiqing took out a form and pushed it in front of Gu Zhifeng as if nothing had happened just now. “This is what I really want to show Mr. Gu. If we fill the financial loophole now, it will only be a fine. It won’t be too far wrong, and Gu Jue will not be in trouble either.”
Hearing his name, Gu Jue turned around abruptly.
Although Gu Zhifeng was just watching the show coldly before, when he saw the form in front of him clearly, he suddenly tightened his grip and grabbed the document, leaving deep wrinkles on the paper.
Without exception, these projects were the ones he asked Gu Jue to do.
But Gu Jue was lazy, and sometimes he would ask Gu Jiqing, who had just entered university, to help him. Gu Jiqing has always been very good-tempered, patiently followed his lead to learn, then patiently worked, never complained, and he also always completed the work at hand beautifully.
At that time, Gu Zhifeng still thought that Gu Jiqing had such ability and temperament and would be able to help Gu Jue more or less in the future. However, he did not expect that just by letting Gu Jiqing do such a small part of the work, he would find something wrong and actually find some names.
He knew that Gu Jiqing had been smart since he was a child and had a strong learning ability, but he never thought it would be to this extent. If Gu Jue had half as much intelligence as him, he would not have to scheme against an adopted son.
Gu Zhifeng, who rarely lost his composure, threw the document in front of Gu Jue: “You bastard! Take a good look at it yourself!”
Gu Jue picked it up and took a look, he was also dumbfounded: “No! Gu Jiqing! You…”
“I know that most of these things are not led by Gu Jue, or he was not aware of them because he is not that cunning. However, if someone really reports it, it may be difficult for Gu Jue to escape responsibility, so I suggest that Mr. Gu should make up for it as soon as possible.”
Gu Jiqing did not have the ability and authority to find out about more problems, but he only needed this loophole that was at the tip of the iceberg. And Gu Zhifeng knew the other problems better than him, and that was enough.
Gu Jiqing didn’t plan to say more on this issue but just took out another document, “As for the current project of the Gu family, I don’t understand it very well, so I can’t say much. But if the Gu family can’t afford it, then it can stop the loss and replace the calculation now. This is the probability analysis I made. It’s very rough, but I believe that with your talent, there will be more inspiration. It can be regarded as the last thing I do for the Gu family. It’s better than the Gu family really going down the last wrong path.”
This sentence not only provides each other with a way out and dignity, but also serves as a warning.
How could Gu Zhifeng, an experienced man, not think of the method that Gu Jiqing could think of? However, his greed for profit always made him give up the most correct choice.
Although the Gu family has not done anything harmful to the world over the years, but they cannot escape things in the gray area.
For example, in the financial loophole that Gu Jiqing mentioned, if it is small, it can be solved by paying the fine in time, but if it is big, it can also become a disaster.
Gu Jiqing reminds them in person now, and they can still remedy the situation in time, but if Gu Jiqing reports maliciously…
Gu Zhifeng sat in his seat with a stern face, seemingly indifferent, but his palms were already clenched into fists, and his voice of questioning was also cold and stern: “To guard against thousands of thieves is easier than the one at home. Gu Jiqing, is this how you repay your gratitude?”
“No.”
Gu Jiqing still answered calmly. He looked at Gu Zhifeng directly with a sincere and calm look, without any ugly or aggressive look that showed he was trying to use coercion or inducement to gain improper benefits for himself.
He just said, “I am very grateful to you. I was grateful in the past, I am still grateful now, and I will also remember your kindness to me in the future. But Uncle Gu, you may not know that I am also a living person with self-awareness. I am grateful to you and the Gu family, but I am not willing to devote my entire life to this. If you think I am ungrateful, then just regard me as selfish.”
“But when you liked my mother, pursued her, and married her that year, all of which were your own will. Over the years, she has never had a day of peace of mind in order to take care of Gu Jue, to take care of you, to manage your family relationships, and to go out and socialize with the wives of your clients.”
“If you don’t remember anymore, maybe I can remind you. When Gu Jue had chickenpox, she stayed with him day and night and finally collapsed from exhaustion. Every time Grandma went to the hospital, she stayed with her all night. In order to make your client’s wife happy, she took her out for fun even when she had a high fever. You may think it’s insignificant, but in your relationship, she has fulfilled her obligations, and I will always be her last choice for this reason.”
“So no matter what the outcome of my negotiation with you today is, I hope you can remember that she has made every effort to repay you and love you. If you love her, I hope you can treat her well. If you feel that there are problems in this marriage, I also hope you can part ways with her in peace. You know, she is very naive. She won’t want a lot of money from you, nor will she scheme against you. I hope you can treat her the same way she treats you, because she doesn’t owe you anything.”
“I am the one who owes you.” Gu Jiqing said, taking out the last thick notebook and handing it to Gu Zhifeng. “She is your wife, you have an obligation to treat her well, but not to me, so this is the account I have been keeping since the first day I entered the Gu family.”
Keeping accounts?
People inside and outside the room frowned in surprise at this statement.
Gu Jiqing seemed to think that all this was perfectly reasonable.
He said, “I was too young at that time, and I wrote many accounts in pencil. There may be omissions, but there shouldn’t be too many discrepancies after I entered junior high school. I have calculated all the expenses for the past fifteen years based on inflation and bank interest rates. If you are not satisfied, you can add another 20% interest. Within five years, I will definitely pay you back in installments. As for the favor I owe you for saving my life, I think I have done my best to repay you by saving Gu Jue this time. You can take a look to see if there is anything missing.”
There’s none.
Gu Zhifeng didn’t even need to finish reading it to know that Gu Jiqing would never make a mistake.
So when Gu Jiqing was temporarily brought to Xishan by him last night, he spent the entire day busy sorting these things out in the room?
The earliest one was actually made when Gu Jiqing was six years old.
So how can a six-year-old child, who may have just learned addition and subtraction, think of keeping the accounts?
Why did he suddenly think of keeping the accounts?
Yin Lan leaned against the wall outside the reception room and squatted down weakly.
She used to think that she and Gu Jiqing owed the Gu family too much kindness, so she always taught Gu Jiqing to be a sensible and well-behaved child, but she never considered whether Gu Jiqing was willing to be this sensible and well-behaved child or not.
She thought of Gu Jiqing, who was five years old and had just recovered from an illness. He was so small and weak that his hands could not even hold the thicker pencil. What kind of mood did he have when he thought of writing down the little pocket money he had spent bit by bit?
How sensitive and helpless Gu Jiqing must have been at that time.
As a mother, she had never seriously thought about these things for so many years because of Gu Jiqing’s sensibleness. It was not until her little Gu Jiqing grew up that he finally said no for the first time.
But what about her? What did she do? What did she do for Gu Jiqing? She couldn’t even send the beast who wanted to bully her son to jail with her own hands, and she was still happily wanting to host the reunion dinner for the two families.
How can she be qualified to be a mother?
How could she deserve a perfect child like Gu Jiqing?
Yin Lan squatted outside the reception room, buried her face, and her tears wet her beautiful skirt at her knees.
In the reception room, Gu Zhifeng looked at the piles of evidence and documents and didn’t know how to exert his authority.
To put it in a positive way, every word and every action of Gu Jiqing was to give him face, but in fact, they were all silent threats.
Smart, decent, knows when to advance and retreat, has means, and knows how to leave room for maneuver.
If Gu Jiqing was his biological son, he would definitely teach him personally, but unfortunately, Gu Jiqing was not his biological son.
At that moment, Gu Zhifeng couldn’t tell whether he felt disappointed, regretful, frustrated, or embarrassed. He just felt extreme anger filling his chest.
He threw the account book to the ground fiercely. “Okay! If you want to pay it back, you have to pay it back thoroughly! Your clothes, shoes, computer, and backpack were bought by your mother. It’s the money she deserves. I won’t ask you to pay it back, but the money for your medical treatment since you were a child, the aristocratic education you enjoyed, and the efforts I made to train you—you have to pay them back one by one from today on. If you don’t pay it back within five years, you have to go back to the Gu family and work like a slave!”
“Okay.”
Gu Jiqing answered without hesitation.
Gu Zhifeng was not polite at all: “Then keep your word, you are leaving the Gu family today, and you have to pay back the first installment today! I don’t care how much money you have in your account, whether it’s cash, a bank card, or other payment methods, all your current money, not a cent less, immediately transfer it to the account I specify, and swear never to use a penny from the Gu family again, and I will let you go without setting foot in the Gu family’s door!”
“Okay.”
Gu Jiqing answered without hesitation.
As if he were prepared, he transferred all the cash, bank cards, Alipay, and WeChat savings to him.
Including his salary as a tutor, his scholarship, and the money he earned from drawing illustrations.
Every stroke was leisurely and precise, as if leaving no room for any leeway.
Gu Zhifeng never expected that Gu Jiqing would be so angry. He felt that although Gu Jiqing’s food, clothing, and other expenses from childhood to adulthood were not as good as Gu Jue’s, they were still a hundred times better than those of ordinary people.
“Gu Jiqing, how did our Gu family let you down? Did we not give you enough to eat or clothes to wear? Go out and ask around: How many children from reconstituted families can live a better life than you? What on earth are you still not satisfied with?!”
Gu Zhifeng had never been disobeyed like this before. He picked up the teacup and smashed it hard.
Gu Jiqing stood there without moving and calmly said, “Maybe I just suddenly want to live for my own value and dignity.”
He used to feel that he was born to be indebted—to Yin Lan, to the Gu family, and to everything else.
So it doesn’t matter that he is a child who is always forgotten, it doesn’t matter that he always has to endure his illness alone, it doesn’t matter that he has to be very sensible and obedient and treat everyone with a good temper and it doesn’t matter that he is forced to give up learning painting and dancing.
Because he thought that he was such a redundant person and that he did not deserve all the good things in this world.
So what does it matter if the days just go by one after another?
But then a person appeared. That person was like the cleanest and warmest person who grew up among all the beauty. He brought all the beauty to him.
He told him that no matter if he is a boy or a girl, no matter when he meets him, no matter whether he likes the other party or will be nice to the other party or not, he is worthy of his love, worthy of his likes, and worthy of all kinds of good things in this world.
That person’s eyes were young and as bright as stars.
And the stars won’t lie to people.
So he wanted to give it a try, try to say what he wanted to say, do what he wanted to do, and strive to approach the person he wanted to love.
It turns out it’s not that difficult.
At least there was no one in this room who had the ability or reason to keep him.
Gu Jiqing turned and walked towards the door of the reception room.
The moment the door opened, he saw Yin Lan’s beautiful face covered in tears.
Yin Lan shed tears and asked him gently, “Zhi Zhi, do you really want to leave?”
Gu Jiqing wiped away her tears: “En, Mom, I’m very happy now.”
Yin Lan’s tears flowed even harder. She touched Gu Jiqing’s face and said with a smile, “En, okay, our Zhi Zhi just needs to be happy. Then our Zhi Zhi just needs to do whatever you want to do. Mom will take care of the rest.”
When Yin Lan said this, Gu Jiqing knew that she would not follow him.
But it’s just this sentence of “What our Zhi Zhi wants to do, go and do it” is the tenderness he has been waiting for for fifteen years.
He hugged Yin Lan for a very long time.
Yin Lan whispered in his ears, “Don’t worry, Zhi Zhi, Mom can solve a lot of problems if I stay here. I won’t let that old man bully you. Go find the person you want to find.”
This was the first time in all these years that Yin Lan said something inappropriate.
Gu Jiqing’s lips slightly curled up and he said, “Okay.”
He knew Yin Lan could do it because Gu Zhifeng still remembered Yin Lan’s feelings, needed Yin Lan’s kindness, and was still afraid of the various handles left in his hands.
This may be the last support he can leave for Yin Lan in the Gu family.
He no longer owed anyone anything. He could do everything he wanted to do and love whoever he wanted to love with peace of mind. The Gu family’s affairs had nothing to do with him anymore.
Gu Zhifeng had no choice but to let Gu Jiqing go because he had the handle on him. And because of the huge fine he had to pay and the accounts he had to give up, he was so angry that he smashed all the teacups in the reception room and finally fell on the sofa, holding his heart and gasping for breath.
Gu Jue hurriedly went to get the heart attack medicine, but he couldn’t persuade him. Yin Lan, who was able to persuade him, stood against Gu Zhifeng for the first time and stopped all his attempts to interfere with Gu Jiqing, questioning him why he wanted to use Gu Jiqing like this and how many things he had hidden from her.
In the midst of such chaos and noise, Gu Jiqing pushed his suitcase, and on New Year’s Eve, when his family was reunited, he left the place that had bound him with love and exploitation for fifteen years, alone and cleanly, carrying all his dignity and pride, without looking back.
It was rare for snow to fall in this southern city.
Snowflakes fell softly, and the damp chill penetrated into the bones, causing excruciating pain.
Fireworks in the suburbs bloomed above his head, and from the holiday villa behind him wafted the aroma of reunion night dinner and the bustling noise of happy families.
Gu Jiqing stood on the side of the road and suddenly realized that he seemed to have lost his family and money.
He wanted to overdraw his credit card to call a taxi, but found that no one would take orders on the mountain on New Year’s Eve. He wanted to call a friend to pick him up, but he always felt that it was not worth the hassle on such a happy day. As for the car arranged for him by Yin Lan and Gu Jue… he said that he would not spend a penny of the Gu family’s money, so he would not spend it. This was his confidence in loving Zhou Cibai.
Zhou Cibai.
The moment he thought of these three words, he suddenly missed Zhou Cibai very much.
If Zhou Cibai were here, he would definitely wrap him up in his clothes and then angrily ask him why he came out wearing so little.
He only had to bury himself in Zhou Cibai’s arms, and Zhou Cibai would pick him up like a koala, angry and helpless, and carry him to where he wanted to go, without him even having to take a step further.
So should he call Zhou Cibai and tell him that no one wants the little gray cat anymore and ask if the big, stupid dog can take him home?
But Zhou Cibai should be reunited with his family at this time.
It’s better not to disturb such a good atmosphere.
Gu Jiqing thought of how Zhou Zhou would run around and bite things every time he made dumplings at home. He thought that the two big dogs must be fighting at home in a close race, and Zhou Cibai must be so silly and yet so cute.
He lowered his head and smiled, and he found that the corners of his eyes were a little wet, so he blew out a light breath, letting the hot air wet his eyelashes, as if all the longing would not be so obvious, and then turned around and prepared to walk down the mountain by himself.
But the moment he turned around, he froze in place.
A familiar Hummer came speeding up the winding mountain road at a speed that was almost exceeding the speed limit, raising a cloud of dust, and stopped right in front of him, making an ear-piercing friction sound.
Before he could react, the driver’s door was opened, and a tall young man with dusty and bloodshot eyes walked down quickly.
Then the next second, he was hugged into a warm and thick embrace: “Gu Zhizhi, are you a jerk? Have I never said that I could be relied on? Why didn’t you say anything or tell me anything? I was driving and didn’t have time to call or text you, so you wouldn’t call or text me too? What if you were bullied by yourself? Do you know how worried and anxious I am? Gu Zhizhi, do you have a conscience?”
Zhou Cibai hugged him tightly, his voice lowered and hoarse, like the exhaustion after not having rested for a long, long time, or like the sobbing of some kind of extreme heartache.
If one drives from Beijing to Nanwu, they need to work non-stop for 24 hours without a single break.
Gu Jiqing didn’t know how much wind and snow there were along the way, he only knew that Zhou Cibai’s arms were still so warm and strong, as if as long as he stood there, he could block all the wind and rain for him and would cross thousands of mountains and rivers to come for him and tell him that he was never an unwanted child.
He always seemed to be able to handle everything frankly and calmly, but he also seemed to always wait for Zhou Cibai when he was most vulnerable and helpless.
It seems like some kind of destiny, or like the inevitable result of some unwavering and unswerving choice.
Gu Jiqing likes mathematics, he doesn’t like fatalism, he only likes cause and effect.
So at that time, he knew that Zhou Cibai’s love was full of heroism, and he was the sad princess in the high tower who needed to be rescued.
But he didn’t want to just be rescued.
He wanted to walk down the tower and go towards his love.
He thought so and did so.
He was tightly hugged in Zhou Cibai’s arms, smelling the smell of wind and snow on him, and said, “En, boyfriend, I was bullied, but I have a lot of love to give you, so please don’t be angry, okay?”
