Gu Ze's indifferent back view made Gu Xiangdong realize for the first time that his son hated him.
The room was quiet, the atmosphere tense.
"Dad, Gu Ze hates me too, doesn't he?"
"You're only just realizing this!"
Grandpa Gu sighed. This son of his was ruined.
At this moment, Grandpa Gu misses his second son the most, that outstanding son who will never come back.
Gu Xiangyun is Grandpa Gu's second son, and the son who most resembles the old man. Young and brave, he is resourceful and has a long list of military achievements. He is the successor that the old man has truly groomed, the son he has raised by his side since childhood.
Unlike the eldest brother, who was brainless, or the third brother, who was smooth-talking and worldly-wise, he was very upright and decisive. His only regret was that he listened to his mother and married a wife he didn't love, and he didn't have much attachment to his family.
When the news of Gu Xiangyun's sacrifice came back, Grandpa Gu coughed up blood. He felt as if his internal organs were burning and he was in unbearable pain.
Perhaps she was in too much pain, or perhaps she was thinking about how to cultivate the next successor, thus neglecting Gu Feng's education, which led to him growing up like that under his grandmother's doting care.
Grandpa Gu was filled with regret. If his second son had sacrificed himself, and he had devoted more of his energy to his other children, would things have turned out differently?
Now, the Gu family is like a pile of loose sand, without a backbone. Or rather, there is a backbone: Gu Ze and Gu Ye, who are growing up very quickly. However, these two brothers are filled with resentment towards their father and even the entire Gu family, so how could they possibly want the Gu family to advance any further?
If only back then...
Forget it, life doesn't offer so many "what ifs." He's practically on his deathbed anyway, why dwell on "what ifs"? What happens next depends on their individual abilities; he's already exhausted all his pride.
"Alright, stop wasting your time here. Think about what to do. Do you want Gu Bei to eat peanuts or accept the painful decision? Make a decision as soon as possible. If things get out of hand, you won't have a choice."
"Dad, Gu Bei is only seventeen! He..."
Gu Xiangdong suddenly felt powerless. What did it matter if he was seventeen? He still had to accept the punishment for his mistakes. He knew that Gu Ye hated him. Back then, the twelve-year-old boy dared to fight him with a knife. At that time, he knew that he had lost this son.
Today, looking at Gu Ze's cold smile, he truly realized that his eldest son's hatred was no less than Gu Ye's; it was just that he kept his hatred hidden in his heart and did not show it. He did everything he was supposed to do.
Gu Xiangdong pulled the still-crying Xu Fang away from the retirement home. His life was over.
"Xiangdong, do we really have to do that? I'm not willing to accept this. Xiaobei has better options."
"If you don't want to lose your son, shut up. What kind of place is this? Is this the place to talk about this?"
Xu Fang belatedly shut her mouth, feeling a sense of dread.
The two arrived home exhausted, where Gu Xi had already prepared the meal.
"Mom and Dad, let's eat."
"Okay, you go to sleep first, we'll eat later."
Gu Xi returned to her room, her heart filled with anxiety. Her brother had made a mistake, and she didn't know what would happen to him in the future. As for herself, she was about to graduate from high school next year. Would her family arrange a job for her? Would she end up like her sister, going to the countryside and living a life of hard labor in the fields?
Seventeen-year-old Gu Xi began to plan for herself; she couldn't rely on her parents.
In the living room, Gu Xiangdong remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, "You go and negotiate with them tomorrow. We'll agree to their conditions, but Gu Bei is too young to get a marriage certificate. They need to wait until Gu Bei reaches the appropriate age before they can get married."
"Then where can we find them a proper job?"
Xu Fang has no choice but to accept it, otherwise what can she do? If things get out of hand, Gu Bei will be finished.
"Give them the work that was prepared for Gu Bei."
"What about Xiao Bei? He's graduating next year. If he hadn't been away all this time and hadn't repeated a year after coming back, Xiao Bei would have graduated this year. We've been exiled for so many years, why can't Gu Ze and the others get over it?"
Xu Fang hadn't expected Gu Ze to hate them so much; she thought only Gu Ye was impulsive and reckless. Little did she know, it was Gu Ze who was the most deeply hidden.
Xu Fang and the others had no appetite for dinner; they still had to negotiate with people tomorrow to redeem Gu Bei.
Gu Ze, who had just left, was also thinking about this matter. He felt that things were not so simple. Gu Bei was not worth anyone going to such lengths to dig a pit for him. There must be some unseen forces and ulterior motives involved.
"How did it happen? Why did I call you over so late?"
"About Gu Bei, he..."
Gu Ze explained the situation to his wife, and they both felt that things were not so simple, so they became even more cautious.
The next day, Xu Fang arrived at the Qian family's house and explained her purpose.
“No, our daughter is too old to wait. Even if we can’t get a marriage certificate, we still need to have a wedding.”
"Wedding? My Xiaobei is only seventeen years old and still a student. If we hold a wedding, the Revolutionary Committee will find fault with us. What good will that do you? It's better to wait three years until Xiaobei turns twenty before we get married."
Xu Fang wanted to use delaying tactics; who knows what will happen in three years?
"We don't have to have a wedding, but my daughter will be living with you. Since she'll be part of your family, there's no need for her to eat our food anymore."
In the living room, the two sides were engaged in a heated debate, and no agreement could be reached for the time being.
Inside the room was a strikingly beautiful woman, who was also the woman involved in Gu Bei's scandal, named Qian Lanlan.
She was the second child in her family. She had an older brother who was already married, and a younger brother and sister. Her brother, who was a year younger than Gu Bei, was also about to graduate, and her parents were arranging for him to find a job to avoid him having to go to the countryside.
She was still unmarried at twenty, which her parents were saving for her younger brother to find a job. Now, she felt her chance had come. Although Gu Bei was young, his family was well-off. If she could just win him over, nothing else mattered.
For the sake of her future, Qian Lanlan teased Gu Bei quite a bit last night.
Gu Bei was tall and burly, looking like an adult, but he actually knew nothing. He was easily fooled by Qian Lanlan. After all, Qian Lanlan was a good-looking and mature woman; dealing with a novice like Gu Bei would be a piece of cake.
"Mom, let Lanlan come stay at our house. She's mine now, it's not right for her to stay at her parents' house."
All of Xu Fang's plans were ruined by a single sentence from Gu Bei.
"Gu Bei, what are you saying?"
“I’m telling the truth. We’re already like that, we’re practically husband and wife. I want Lanlan to stay with me.”
Because of Gu Bei's insistence, Xu Fang ultimately suffered a crushing defeat, forcing the Qian family to sign an agreement, and she returned home with two people.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
