"The person who found Mom is named Tan Zhe, a professor my company brought back from the US. The person who hurt Mom is probably his mother, named Tan Juan," Gao Hongfei said.
“Tan…Juan?” Gao Mingcheng pondered for a moment and said strangely, “Why does this name sound so familiar?”
Gao Hongfei's eyes flickered, and he said, "I had the police check. There used to be a woman named Tan Juan in our Xiaogaozhuang village. She came here from another place before the founding of the People's Republic of China, fleeing famine. She was a bit mentally unstable and lived with her father in that house halfway up the mountain. The abandoned cellar that my mother often went in and out of was her family's. Her father starved to death during the famine in 1959, and Tan Juan disappeared. At that time, the village rumor was that she was dragged away by hungry wild animals in the mountains..."
Gao Mingcheng was startled: "So it was her." He remembered her; he had bumped into her twice when they went up the mountain as children.
"You mean the one who hurt your mother, the one who disappeared in our village, Tan Juan?" Gao Mingcheng's expression hardened, and he looked at Gao Hongfei in surprise. "But why? When your mother married me, she had already disappeared. They've never seen her before."
Gao Hongfei shook his head and said, "Although she is also named Tan Juan, she may not be the Tan Juan we know. According to normal age calculations, the Tan Juan we know should be over 100 years old, while Tan Zhe's mother is only in her sixties. There is a difference of several decades."
Gao Mingcheng's heart skipped a beat: "You mean Tan Juan also came from that door..."
Gao Hongfei nodded: "It's probably pretty close. The police checked the surveillance footage. Tan Juan left shortly after taking Mom home. According to the driver who took her, she got off at the intersection on the road leading up the mountain, and then she disappeared..."
Gao Mingcheng's heart sank: "You mean, she went back to the other side of the gate?"
Gao Hongfei nodded again: "One hundred percent."
"But why did she hurt your mother?" Gao Mingcheng still didn't understand.
Gao Hongfei shook his head helplessly. He didn't know either.
Gao Mingcheng kept a straight face, pondered for a moment, and asked, "What about Tan Zhe?"
"He's already been taken back by the police for questioning," Gao Hongfei said.
"Did he say anything?" Gao Mingcheng then asked.
Gao Hongfei shook his head again: "I know nothing about this."
"Do you think he genuinely doesn't know, or is he pretending not to know?" Gao Mingcheng asked.
Gao Hongfei's eyes flickered as he thought of something: "It should... be fake."
"Why?" Gao Mingcheng continued to ask.
Gao Hongfei hesitated and remained silent.
Gao Mingcheng noticed Gao Hongfei's unusual expression, narrowed his eyes slightly, and asked, "Are you hiding something from me?"
Gao Hongfei was startled when Gao Mingcheng saw through his little scheme and instinctively shook his head: "No."
Gao Mingcheng looked at Gao Hongfei thoughtfully, a glint of light flashing in his slightly narrowed eyes. He suddenly asked, "Did you have someone bring him back from the US for some research?"
Gao Hongfei's face turned slightly pale.
Gao Mingcheng's face darkened even more: "Speak."
Gao Hongfei hesitated for a moment, but finally confessed honestly: "Time travel..."
The voice, barely audible, sounded like a thunderclap to Gao Mingcheng.
Gao Mingcheng's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He turned to look for his cane. He told him to behave himself, but he wouldn't listen and kept causing trouble. Don't think that just because he's old, he won't dare to beat him up. Even if he's seventy or eighty, he's still his father.
Gao Mingcheng's cane was leaning against the bed.
When Gao Mingcheng reached out to grab it, Gao Hongfei instinctively used his cane to flick it, and it slipped to the ground with a "snap," leaving him with nothing.
Gao Mingcheng: "..."
Gao Mingcheng's temple twitched, and he snatched Gao Hongfei's cane, raising his hand to strike him.
A nurse happened to be passing by and immediately shouted, "Fighting is not allowed in the hospital."
Gao Mingcheng's hand froze in mid-air for a moment before he finally lowered it, but he still didn't strike.
"Let's let it go for now, we'll talk about it when we get home," Gao Mingcheng said coldly.
Gao Hongfei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, he hadn't embarrassed himself in front of everyone.
"When Tan Zhe comes out, bring him here," Gao Mingcheng instructed.
Gao Hongfei nodded: "Understood."
Tan Zhe watched as the old lady disappeared before his eyes, and returned home in a daze, where he was taken away by the police.
After questioning him for 24 hours without getting any results, the police had no choice but to release him, instructing him not to leave the country for the time being and to be ready to return at any time to assist with the investigation.
Tan Zhe had no objection. As for the whereabouts of Old Madam Tan, he didn't say a word. Anyway, even if he did, they wouldn't believe him, and he didn't want to cause trouble for the time being.
As soon as Tan Zhe came out of the police station, he saw Assistant He waiting for him outside.
He went up to her in surprise and asked, "Mr. He? What brings you here?"
"The chairman needs to speak with you," said Assistant He.
Tan Zhe's expression changed slightly: "You mean Chairman Gao?"
Assistant Xiao He nodded slightly.
After a moment's thought, Tan Zhe nodded in agreement: "Let's go then." Some things can be kept from others, but there's no need for his family to keep them from him.
Assistant Xiao He brought Tan Zhe to the Gao family home and then took him directly to the study.
Gao Mingcheng and Gao Hongfei were already waiting for him in the study.
This was Tan Zhe's first time meeting Gao Mingcheng, but he recognized him at a glance. This must be the legendary iron-blooded general. He respectfully greeted him, "Old General."
Gao Mingcheng casually raised his hand and said, "Sit down."
"You should know why we asked you to come here, right?" Gao Mingcheng asked directly after Tan Zhe sat down.
Tan Zhe nodded.
"Where did your mother go?" Gao Mingcheng asked.
Tan Zhe didn't hide anything and said directly, "I went back to the gate."
Gao Mingcheng and Gao Hongfei exchanged a knowing look and asked, "She really did come from the other side of the door?"
Tan Zhe nodded.
Gao Mingcheng's expression darkened, and he asked, "Why did she hurt Zhaozhao?"
"Because she discovered that the door she came through was gone, and she couldn't go back," Tan Zhe admitted.
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