Chapter 17 Has something happened to Mom?

"Really?"

Yuanyuan raised her tear-streaked face, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, and asked, "Is Mommy abroad?"

An uncle once told me that Mom went abroad.

"Which uncle told you that?"

"That's what my dad's assistant, Uncle Fang, said."

But she couldn't believe that her mother would just abandon her and go abroad alone.

Gu Zheng paused for a moment, thinking that he could certainly think of what Yuanyuan could think of as well.

If Xia Zhiyun is really abroad, given Gu Anshi's "doting husband" persona, it's impossible that he wouldn't allow Yuanyuan to contact her mother.

It's impossible that not a word of it got out.

Her mother was likely in grave danger, and for some reason, the thought of this left him feeling empty.

A very unfamiliar emotion.

He didn't tell Yuanyuan about this guess, but just nodded slightly, "It's possible, but it could also be somewhere else."

"No matter where she is, your uncle will find her and arrange for you and your daughter to meet, okay?"

Yuanyuan nodded.

He reached out and took Yuanyuan's hand, holding her with one hand and holding Xiaobai with the other. Surprisingly, Xiaobai didn't refuse and even climbed onto his shoulder.

Yuanyuan found it very interesting; it seems Xiaobai also likes Uncle Gu.

"Let's not talk about that now, Uncle will take you to eat cake."

Gu Zheng had just brought Yuanyuan to his office when he saw three different flavored cakes, a plate of various kinds of cookies, and an unopened can of pure milk on the table in the rest area.

Yuanyuan hadn't eaten cake in a very long time, and her eyes lit up when she saw so much of it.

"Go ahead, everything is prepared for you."

"Thank you, Uncle Gu."

Yuanyuan didn't stand on ceremony and pounced over to grab a small, egg-blue ocean-themed cake and started eating it.

Gu Zheng's phone beeped with a message. He took it out and saw that it was a message from a member of the investigation team.

—The Gu Group issued a missing person notice early this morning, stating that its only daughter, Gu Xiaoyuan, went missing half a month ago.

The next one is that Gu Youran, the adopted daughter of the Gu family, is actually Gu Shi'an's illegitimate daughter.

Gu Zheng tightened his grip on his phone, but a faint mockery appeared in his eyes. This was the "model husband" the media called him.

Illegitimate daughters are all one year older than legitimate daughters.

"Uncle Gu, the cake is so sweet."

Yuanyuan held a small cake, with a little cream on the corner of her mouth. Xiaobai squatted at her feet, eating the fresh radish that Gu Zheng had specially prepared.

Seeing that Uncle Gu looked unwell, she couldn't help but put down her spoon and ask in a low voice, "Uncle, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Gu Zheng composed himself, walked over and sat down beside her, reaching out to wipe the cream from the corner of her mouth.

"Uncle is fine, he was just thinking about your father."

Mentioning Dad makes even the sweetest cake seem less appealing.

"Yuanyuan, did your dad really throw you into the sea?"

"Uncle, don't you believe Yuanyuan?"

When she looked up again, her eyes were already brimming with tears.

Gu Zheng tenderly wiped away her tears, "Uncle, please accept my letter."

"Your father posted a missing person notice today and is offering a large sum of money to find you."

Yuanyuan's face turned deathly pale instantly. Was her father trying to confirm if she was really dead?

If Dad finds out he's not dead, will he... will he kill me again?

"Uncle, Dad really wants to kill me. I... I don't want to go back. Please don't send me back, okay?"

"I will be a good boy/girl."

"Don't worry, you're under our close protection now. All information about you is kept secret. Your father can't find you."

Hearing this, Yuanyuan's expression softened a little.

"Uncle, is it my mother... she... something happened to her?" In the end, she asked the question she had never dared to face.

Gu Zheng found it hard to describe his feelings at this moment, and could only suppress his emotions to comfort her, "There is no definite news yet, but your uncle's people found out that your father seems to be hiding a lot of things from everyone. Does Yuanyuan know?"

He didn't mention the illegitimate daughter directly. Yuanyuan is still so young, and she's been through so much; he was afraid she wouldn't be able to handle it.

Yuanyuan blinked, her eyes glistening with tears that clung to her eyelashes.

Is Dad hiding something from us? Is it about Mom?

Gu Zheng was silent for a few seconds, then nodded gently: "Yes, Uncle needs to find out about these things so that we can find Mom more quickly."

He didn't want to lie to Yuanyuan; he couldn't just throw all the cruel truth at her at once. He could only guide her little by little.

Have you ever met a girl who is a little older than you? Or has your father ever brought a girl who is older than you home?

Yuanyuan nodded without hesitation, “When Mom was still alive, Dad brought home a girl once and said he wanted Mom to recognize her as his goddaughter. Mom was very unhappy at the time and even had a fight with Dad!”

Gu Zheng never expected Gu Shi'an to be so shameless, openly bringing his illegitimate daughter home and even wanting his wife to acknowledge her.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart and continued to ask, "Did that older sister come back later? After Mom disappeared, did you see her again?"

"After Mom went missing, Dad took her home. I know she is Dad's child too, but Dad never allows her to call him Dad in public."

“Dad not only brought that older sister back, but also an aunt, saying that she came to take care of me in place of Mom.”

Gu Zheng held her on his lap and listened quietly without interrupting.

“It was that aunt and dad who threw me into the sea before, saying... that as long as I jumped in, I could see my mother.”

"Mom...what if she..." This thought would rise up but she would suppress it every time; she simply didn't dare to think about it.

She didn't understand before, but after dying once, she knew what would happen if she fell into the sea.

If the system hadn't taken her to the Beast World to do a quest, she would already be dead.

Gu Zheng looked down at Yuan Yuan's clothes, which she was clutching tightly in fear. The fear in her eyes was unconcealable, and his heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an icy hand, causing him intense pain.

"Yuanyuan, don't be afraid, don't be afraid anymore, it's all in the past."

With your uncle here, no one can hurt you anymore.

He could feel the little body trembling in his arms and hear her suppressed sobs, sounds that pierced his heart like needles.

It hurts terribly.

Such strong emotions made him feel both unfamiliar and not repulsed.

Yuanyuan buried herself in Gu Zheng's arms, her tears soaking his clothes.

Gu Zheng wiped away her tears with his fingertips. "Yuanyuan, don't be afraid. Uncle will help you find your mother."

Yuanyuan gave a muffled "hmm".

"After you fell into the sea, did the system immediately take you to the Beast World?"

Were you injured anywhere while in the sea?

Yuanyuan nodded, then shook her head: "After falling into the sea, I thought about swimming away, but it was too dark and I couldn't see anything at all."

It's so uncomfortable and painful to have seawater getting into my nose and mouth...

The water is so cold and so salty...

I thought I was going to die, but then the system suddenly spoke up and said it would take me on a mission so I could see my mother, so I agreed.

I'm not injured, but I'm still afraid when I see the sea...