Chapter 47: The Probing Move, Gu Family's Overreaction
Xiao Yan nodded after hearing Gu Mingxia's arrangements.
He took the car keys and gestured for her to go downstairs and wait for him, then called Liang Yuhao to his office.
"Go and greet the few clients who are coming this afternoon. I need to go out with Xiaxia."
Liang Yuhao stared at the documents in front of him, his brows furrowed tightly. He looked helplessly at his boss across from him.
"Gu Mingxia is a femme fatale!"
"You can't even find a troublemaker!"
Xiao Yan put on his coat and left without looking back. Watching his figure, Liang Yuhao sighed helplessly. Ever since Gu Mingxia came to Maoguang, he hadn't even had time to go out and pick up girls. Just thinking about it made him feel so heartbroken.
But who could blame him when Xiao Yan had a handle on him? Liang Yuhao resignedly took the documents and returned to his office.
"Xiaxia, have you ever considered that what Bai Zixuan said might not be true?"
While waiting at the traffic light, Xiao Yan voiced his doubts. Gu Mingxia leaned back in her chair, rubbed her temples, and felt an indescribable weariness.
"There's no mistake, the person in that photo is indeed my mother."
Gu Mingxia's resolute words left Xiao Yan speechless. In his heart, he would fully support anything Gu Mingxia insisted on doing, and he would unconditionally agree to anything she wanted to do.
"Okay, if you want to find out the truth, then we'll go find out!"
Xiao Yan's gentle voice gave Gu Mingxia a strange sense of peace. Leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes, she recalled the scene from the photograph in her mind.
The more Gu Mingxia recalled, the more her heart ached. Some things really shouldn't be investigated too deeply. Often, seeing through the surface reveals a desolate scene that can plunge one's heart into an ice cellar.
Seeing Gu Mingxia's exhausted face, Xiao Yan felt something stuck in his chest. With nowhere to vent, he could only grip the steering wheel tightly and deliberately slow down. What should have been a half-hour drive took Xiao Yan an hour to reach the Gu family's villa on the hillside.
Gu Mingxia gestured to the housekeeper to open the door, and the car drove directly into the Gu family's underground garage.
She didn't get off the bus immediately. Instead, she took a deep breath in her seat, suppressing her impatience, before her expression turned serious.
Is Mr. Gu here?
When Gu Mingxia ran into Lin Fu, she asked him politely. Lin Fu seemed to want to say something, but he only frowned unhappily.
"You're the young lady, so I can't say anything. But after all, the master is still your father. He'll be hurt if you call him Mr. Gu!"
Although there was no blame in her words, there was still a hint of dissatisfaction with her. Gu Mingxia knew that Lin Fu had been by Gu Huaikun's side for decades and had a special affection for him, even better than the relationship between her and her siblings and Gu Huaikun.
Is he here or not?
Gu Mingxia ignored Lin Fu's words, smiling faintly as she looked at him with her large eyes narrowed. Lin Fu knew that Gu Huaikun wasn't as cold-hearted towards this daughter as he appeared, and despite his displeasure, he still spoke in a low voice.
"Master is in his study. Miss, Master is not well, please... don't upset him like you used to!"
Perhaps due to his dissatisfaction with Gu Mingxia, Lin Fu bowed his head and hurriedly left after speaking.
Is Gu Huaikun's health not good? Gu Mingxia frowned in thought, but that wasn't the most important thing right now. She glanced at Xiao Yan and then quickly walked towards the study.
"May I come inside?"
Standing outside the study, Gu Mingxia knocked on the open door. Gu Huaikun, who had been facing away from the door, turned around and, upon seeing Gu Mingxia and Xiao Yan, tossed his cigar into the ashtray on the desk.
"Come in."
After the two entered, Xiao Yan greeted Gu Huaikun politely. Gu Huaikun glanced at him but didn't say anything. However, when he looked at Gu Mingxia, his eyes were devoid of any emotion.
"Didn't you say you'd never come back to the Gu family again? Why are you back now!"
Gu Huaikun's words were devoid of any emotion, as if the person standing in front of him had no relation to him whatsoever.
"You didn't have anyone stop me, did you? That means you still want me to come back."
This time, unusually, Gu Mingxia did not argue with Gu Huaikun, but simply replied with this sentence.
Gu Huaikun didn't nitpick anymore. He leaned back in his chair and picked up the documents on the table to read.
"Tell me, what brought you back this time?"
His daughter had such a strong sense of self-respect that, if it weren't for something that absolutely required her to come back, she would never have stepped foot in the Gu family's door, given her personality. Gu Huaikun casually asked her a question.
Gu Mingxia glanced at Xiao Yan, who immediately spoke.
"Uncle Gu, actually I wanted to come and ask you for your opinion on the old city renovation, so I asked Xiaxia to come with me."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Gu Huaikun put down the documents in his hand, glanced thoughtfully at Xiao Yan, and then cast a cold, sharp look at Gu Mingxia. He didn't say anything, then looked back at the upright-sitting Xiao Yan.
"Let's start by sharing your thoughts on urban renewal!"
"First of all, I do not deny that this project can bring huge profits to any contractor. However, high profits come with high risks. This project is time-consuming and requires a large investment. Although the government will allocate 30 billion yuan in investment in the early stage, I have done a budget and this money is far from enough to cover the huge expenses in the early stage of the project."
Xiao Yan spoke with a serious and earnest tone, a side of him that even Gu Mingxia had never seen before. Originally, she had only brought him along to observe Gu Huaikun's situation from the side, but she hadn't expected him to actually make some preparations.
"Secondly, the project requires contractors to invest a lot of financial and material resources in the early stages, but they cannot see any returns in the short term. If they want to get a return as soon as possible, they have to wait until the project is completed. This is precisely the fatal flaw of this project, because no renovation project can be completed in one or two years. The fastest it can take is five years. To use the financial, material and human resources of an entire group to win a project that will only start to pay off after five years seems a bit risky to me!"
These are all issues that Gu Mingxia deliberately ignored. She always believed that high risk leads to high reward. You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub, and you can't get the highest reward without taking risks!
But now, after hearing Xiao Yan's analysis, she suddenly felt that supporting Mao Guang in winning the project might have been a bit too impulsive.
"Finally, Director Ye deliberately ignored the participation of super-rich families like the Gu, Liang, and Cao families in the bidding, and instead chose some small and medium-sized enterprises to jointly undertake the project. Clearly... something fishy is going on!"
After Xiao Yan finished speaking, Gu Huaikun simply nodded and turned his gaze to Gu Mingxia, who was frowning in thought.
"Tell me, what's your real purpose in coming back!"
Gu Huaikun's reaction completely enraged Xiao Yan. Old man, even when you're acting, you need to have some professional ethics! Just because I'm a minor character doesn't mean you can completely ignore my acting skills! I've said so much, you should at least give me a response!
But after glancing at Gu Mingxia beside him, Xiao Yan's anger vanished. For the sake of his Xiaxia, being ignored was acceptable!
"I want to know the real cause of Mom and Adong's deaths!"
Gu Mingxia lowered her head, thought for a moment, and without looking for any other excuses, directly asked the question that she most wanted to know the answer to!
Clang...
The teacup in Gu Huaikun's hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound. A hint of panic and unease flashed across his usually cold and emotionless face, but he still managed to cough calmly.
"Your mother passed away from complications of late-stage liver cancer, and your brother passed away from a sudden heart attack. Don't you know these things? Why did you suddenly ask about this?"
His reaction was clearly observed by Gu Mingxia. From this, she was certain that there was more to the story than met the eye in her mother's and brother's deaths. With that thought, Gu Mingxia gave a cold snort, her lips curling into a ruthless smile.
She took a step forward, walked to Gu Huaikun's desk, placed her hands on the desk, and leaned down in front of him.
"But I recently received some information saying that there were other hidden circumstances surrounding the deaths of my mother and Adong back then, and... I also have some photos in my possession! Mr. Gu, how do you explain this?"
"Gu Mingxia, do you know who you're talking to? You've grown up and studied for so many years, have you learned nothing at all? Don't you know any manners of respecting your elders?"
Gu Huaikun slammed his hand on the desk, his eyes wide with fury that could practically burn a person alive. However, the more he reacted like this, the more certain Gu Mingxia became that the photos Bai Zixuan possessed were genuine, and that there was indeed more to the story than met the eye in the book regarding the deaths of her mother and brother.
"What, are you getting angry because I hit the nail on the head? Mr. Gu, I have the right to demand that you tell me the truth!"
Gu Mingxia stood up straight and stared at Gu Huaikun with equally angry eyes, refusing to back down. The father and daughter glared at each other like that. However, after a long while, Gu Huaikun snorted and slammed his hand on the table again.
"Let me tell you, your mother and brother both died of illness, there's no doubt about it! I'm warning you, don't cause me any trouble!"
"What are you hiding? Are you hiding the fact that you've cheated on your mother multiple times and broken her heart? Or are you trying to hide the fact that your brother died of a heart attack because of your numerous affairs!"
Gu Huaikun was clearly angered by Gu Mingxia's words. He stood up and slapped her hard. Gu Mingxia lowered her head, her eyes filled with undisguised stubbornness. When she raised her head again, she was still looking at Gu Huaikun with a defiant gaze.
"You hit me? You're feeling guilty now that I've hit the nail on the head?"
"Get out! Get out of here!"
Ignoring Gu Huaikun's enraged state, Gu Mingxia sneered, the bright red bloodstains on her lips making her look exceptionally sinister.
"Gu Huaikun, now that things have come to this, how long are you going to protect that woman? Would you rather have your wife and son killed by her than admit that she killed your mother and Adong?"
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