Chapter 16
The wind from the terrace carried the city's noise and chill, ruffling Gu Jing's hair. The phrase "new rules" was like invisible shackles, weighing heavily on his limbs.
He still didn't take the glass of champagne, and his fingertips dug into the cold metal railing until his knuckles turned white.
Qin Yu didn't care about his silence and resistance, as if he had expected it. He took a sip of wine and turned his gaze back to the dazzling yet cold river of light in the distance.
"Zhou Liguang's remaining influence has been largely eliminated, but there are more than just corrupt officials within Gu's company." Qin Yu's voice was calm, as if he were discussing the weather. "Starting tomorrow, the audit team will be stationed in each branch, especially the finance and procurement departments. You need to cooperate and sign."
Gu Jing turned his head and looked at him: "Full audit? At this juncture? The stock price has just stabilized, this will cause..."
"Panic?" Qin Yu interrupted him, tilting his head, his eyes clear. "We want them to panic. Only when the water becomes muddy can we dig up all the mud underneath."
He took a step closer, placed the wine glass on the railing, and leaned forward slightly, creating an extremely oppressive posture.
"Gu Jing, do you think that just signing and getting the money will mean everything's over?" His voice was low, tinged with a hint of cold mockery. "The Gu family is rotten from the root. If you keep scraping the poison out of their bones, sooner or later they'll give birth to a new Zhou Liguang."
"There's no need to be so hasty!" Gu Jing met his gaze, trying to gain a little initiative, "We can take it slow and be more cautious..."
"I don't have time to take it slow." Qin Yu's eyes suddenly became sharp, surging with undercurrents that Gu Jing couldn't understand and a hint of imperfection. "I must clear all obstacles while you... while I can still control it."
"Control what?" Gu Jing keenly caught the abnormality in his words.
Qin Yu suddenly stopped talking, the emotion in his eyes instantly subsiding, and he regained his bottomless indifference. He stood up and distanced himself.
"Do what you're supposed to do." His tone returned to commanding. "Audit reports will be delivered to your office every day. I want to see you personally review and sign every one."
He emphasized the word "personally", as if reminding himself of his duty as a puppet.
At this moment, Qin Yu's assistant appeared silently at the entrance of the terrace and whispered respectfully, "Boss Qin, it's almost time. The gentlemen over there are still waiting for you."
Qin Yu nodded and gave Gu Jing one last look: "The driver is waiting for you downstairs. Go back and rest."
After saying this, he turned and left without a trace of regret, followed closely by his assistant.
Only Gu Jing was left on the terrace, along with the abandoned glass of champagne with tiny bubbles.
The cold loneliness and humiliation washed over him like a tide. He felt like a puppet tied to strings, each joint moving involuntarily.
In the next few days, Gu Jing felt like he was trapped in a high-speed machine.
The audit team moved aggressively into every department, stirring up a huge stir. New problems were uncovered daily, and people were constantly being summoned for questioning and taken away. The entire company was in a state of panic, and rumors were flying.
Gu Jing, on the other hand, was trapped in the president's office, facing a mountain of documents and audit reports awaiting review, each of which he had to personally review and sign.
Qin Yu's people seemingly gave him the final say, but in reality, every step was blocked. Any objections he raised were dismissed by more detailed "evidence" and "analysis," ultimately forcing him to follow the established path.
He was like a stamping machine, numbly signing documents that could determine the lives of many people. Every time he put pen to paper, he felt as if a piece of his soul was being stripped away.
Qin Yu would occasionally come over, as if inspecting his territory. He didn't say much, simply picking up Gu Jing's signed documents and casually flipping through them, occasionally pointing out a few "imperfect" details and requesting a retrial. His very presence was an invisible form of coercion and surveillance.
That afternoon, Gu Jing was reading an audit report on the disposal plan for a heavily loss-making subsidiary. The report's conclusion was clear and grim: severing limbs to survive, or going bankrupt and liquidating.
Although the subsidiary was making losses, it employed hundreds of old employees who had worked for the Gu family for more than ten years.
Gu Jing's hand trembled slightly as he held the pen. He tried to argue, "This factory still has its technical foundation, but it has outdated equipment and market positioning issues. Perhaps they could try transformation and restructuring instead of directly..."
The CFO, sent by Qin Yu, stood nearby and interrupted him expressionlessly, "Mr. Gu, the audit report shows that the restructuring costs are far higher than the liquidation proceeds, and the success rate is less than 15 percent. Mr. Qin's point is, cut your losses in time."
This is what Mr. Qin meant again.
Gu Jing's words got stuck in his throat. Looking at the cold report and the list of employees who were about to lose their jobs, a feeling of powerlessness mixed with anger burned his internal organs.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, there was only a dead grayness in his eyes.
The pen tip fell and signed the name.
The treasurer picked up the document, meticulously checked the signature, and bowed slightly: "I will execute it immediately."
The office door closed gently.
Gu Jing swung his arm suddenly, sweeping the expensive white jade lamp on the table to the ground!
The lamp holder shattered with a sharp sound, and fragments scattered all over the floor.
He leaned against the table, breathing heavily, his chest heaving, his eyes red with anger and depression.
Why...why did it turn out like this?
From one abyss, into another more sophisticated and inescapable cage?
In the evening, the sky became gloomy and a cold drizzle began to fall.
Gu Jing didn't call for a driver and walked out of the office building alone. The cold rain hit his face, slightly dispelling the suffocation in his heart.
He walked aimlessly until he found himself on the familiar, quiet street leading to his old house. He hadn't been back for a long time since his father's death. Uncle Lin had been taking care of the house, and now he was secretly recovering from his injuries...
Thinking of Uncle Lin, the employees who were liquidated, and his own humiliating situation, Gu Jing felt like a huge rock was pressing on his heart, making it hard to breathe.
The rain was getting heavier, soaking his thin suit completely and making him feel bone-chilled.
He stopped under a tall sycamore tree, leaned against the wet and cold trunk, slightly raised his head, let the cold rain wash over his face, trying to calm down.
At this moment, a dazzling headlight pierced through the rain curtain, coming from far away.
A black Rolls-Royce Phantom slid silently to a stop beside him. The window rolled down, revealing Qin Yu's stern profile.
Why was he here? Following him?
Gu Jing's whole body stiffened, and he subconsciously stood up straight, looking at the people in the car warily.
Qin Yu's eyes fell on his frail figure, drenched by the rain and looking extremely disheveled, and his brows knitted slightly. He pushed open the car door and got out, holding a long-handled black umbrella in his hand.
The rain immediately soaked the shoulders of his high-end suit, but he didn't care. He strode to Gu Jing, opened the umbrella, and covered his head with it to block the cold rain curtain.
The two stood under the umbrella, so close that they could hear each other's breathing.
"What are you doing here?" Qin Yu asked, his voice muffled and unclear amidst the sound of rain.
Gu Jing turned his face away, not wanting him to see how embarrassed and vulnerable he was at the moment: "Nothing, just taking a walk."
Qin Yu looked at his wet hair, pale face and slightly red eyes in silence, his eyes were deep and difficult to read.
"Because of the subsidiary's incident this afternoon?" he suddenly asked.
Gu Jing's body trembled, and he turned to look at him suddenly, the suppressed anger in his eyes almost bursting out: "What else? Does President Qin still care about the lives of hundreds of insignificant people?"
He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. This kind of resistance was pointless and would only lead to stricter control.
However, Qin Yu did not get angry.
He just looked at Gu Jing quietly for a long time. Raindrops hit the umbrella, making a crackling sound.
Suddenly, he raised his hand, not to touch, but with his fingertips, very lightly brushed away a strand of wet hair that was stuck to Gu Jing's forehead. His action was filled with an almost eerie gentleness.
"Gu Jing," he began, his voice so low it was almost drowned out by the sound of the rain, "Do you know what I've been thinking about every time I've 'passed' here over the past ten years, watching the light in your window turn on and off?"
Gu Jing was stunned, his heart inexplicably tightening.
Qin Yu looked past him and looked at the outline of the old house hidden in the rain in the distance. His eyes became a little empty and... paranoid.
"I was thinking," he continued to whisper, as if in a dream, "if one day I could take you out of that world and hide you in a place only I know."
"There's no Gu family, no disputes, no annoying people... there's only you and me."
His fingertips slid down slowly, almost touching Gu Jing's cold cheek, and his voice was filled with a creepy desire and despair.
"Let you only look at me, only laugh for me, only cry for me..."
Gu Jing's blood seemed to freeze, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He looked at the undisguised, crazy and twisted possessiveness in Qin Yu's eyes, and for the first time realized so clearly -
The man next to me may have gone crazy ten years ago.
And I am the only outlet for his crazy obsession.
Qin Yu seemed lost in his own world, oblivious to Gu Jing's fear. He withdrew his hand, refocusing his gaze, returning to his usual coldness, but the glimmer of paranoia in his eyes remained unextinguished.
"Go back." He said in an unquestionable tone, "Don't do anything meaningless."
He put his arm around Gu Jing's shoulders, not with much force, but with an irresistible strength, and half-forced him towards the car door.
Gu Jing followed passively and got into the warm carriage. The door closed, isolating him from the wind and rain outside.
Qin Yu sat beside him, took out his cell phone and started processing emails, his profile cold and hard, as if the man who had just revealed his madness in the rain and dew was just Gu Jing's illusion.
But Gu Jing knew that it was not an illusion.
That is the more terrifying truth hidden beneath the iceberg.
The car drove smoothly in the rainy night.
Gu Jing looked at the blurry neon lights outside the window, his heart beating heavily in his chest.
He suddenly remembered Zhou Liguang, who was taken away by Qin Yu's men and disappeared silently.
I remembered what Qin Yu had just said - "Hide in a place only I know."
A crazy thought suddenly penetrated his mind like a poisonous snake, making him feel cold all over.
Zhou Liguang’s disappearance…is it really just a cleanup of business rivals?
Or... was it just because he was once an "eyesore"?
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