Jiang Yuan wanted to ask, "What can't be said face to face?"
Looking up and seeing Gu Zhiyuan's cold and stern expression, she immediately shut her mouth, nodded, and went to sit down with her youngest son to eat jerky.
Gu Yong smelled the fragrant jerky and his mouth watered, especially after hearing that it was made by his future daughter-in-law. He was even more tempted and swallowed hard, intending to shamelessly ask for a piece to try.
But Jiang Yuan and Gu Zhixing pretended not to see his expression.
Gu Zhiyuan stepped in front of him, saying, "Father, let's go to the study!"
Going to the study? Gu Yong's nerves immediately tensed up.
He composed himself, nodded, gestured for Gu Zhiyuan to follow behind, and turned to enter the study.
Upon entering the study, Gu Yong sat down and gestured for Gu Zhiyuan, who had followed him in, to close the door.
"What do you want to tell me?" Gu Yong's first reaction was that Gu Zhiyuan had done something good, and that his job might have changed, and he needed to consult his own father. He was also thinking about whether he should take this opportunity to show off his father's abilities in front of his son.
Unexpectedly, Gu Zhiyuan began by saying, "On April 25th last year, I was surrounded and chased in Jingshan County—"
Gu Yong's face changed drastically, and he stood up abruptly from his chair: "You, what did you say?"
Gu Zhiyuan stared at Gu Yong with his cold eyes: "I said I was besieged and chased in Jingshan County. The people who besieged me tried to kill me. If I hadn't been lucky enough to be rescued, I would probably still be in Jingshan County."
“I want to ask Father, besides Mom, you, and people from my workplace, who else knew about my being sent down to Jingshan County? Why were those people coming directly for me…”
Before he could finish speaking, Gu Yong interrupted Gu Zhiyuan almost frantically: "What, what do you mean by that? Are you implying that your mother and I deliberately leaked information to harm you?"
Gu Zhiyuan replied slowly and deliberately, "To be precise, I suspect you leaked my information. My mother would never leak it!"
What he really wanted to say was that he wasn't just doubting, but was certain that Gu Yong had leaked the information.
Gu Yong's face turned red: "You, how dare you! I'm your father! Even tigers don't eat their cubs! You're my child, why would I want to take your life?"
"Indeed, even tigers don't eat their cubs! But you, as a father, don't only have me as your son, right?"
"What, what exactly are you trying to say?" Gu Yong was flustered inside, but he kept a straight face.
"At this point, do you really want me to be frank? Do you really think that just because you've covered up the traces for those brothers and cleaned up the mess, no one will know about this anymore? No one will know the truth?" Gu Zhiyuan sneered.
Gu Yong's expression shifted unpredictably as he glared at Gu Zhiyuan.
Gu Zhiyuan looked at him calmly, his eyes indifferent, showing no anger, no disappointment, and no expectation.
Gu Yong's heart sank for some reason.
If Gu Zhiyuan had known the truth before, he would have definitely made a scene with him, felt angry and disappointed, and experienced the disappointment of having his expectations dashed.
But at this moment, Gu Zhiyuan's calmness caused a sharp pain in Gu Zhiyuan's heart, as if something had been completely lost.
He slumped into a chair, covered his face with his hands, and after a long while, managed to squeeze out a voice from between his hands: "Third brother, there's probably a misunderstanding here! Your eldest and second brothers were instigated by someone, afraid that your bad class background would implicate the family, so they—"
He couldn't finish his sentence for a moment, choked up, and then continued, "You know, your eldest and second brothers suffered a lot when they were young. After things got better, they were afraid of going through those hardships again, so they did that foolish thing! You're a sensible child. Even if your eldest and second brothers were wrong, please forgive them this time for the sake of your nephews and nieces, for the sake of your grandparents, and for the sake of me, okay?"
"Besides, you're alright now, and you've even done a great service! We're family after all, do you really want us to fight to the death? I've already reprimanded your older brothers, and they swore that they know they were wrong, that they went astray for a moment, and that they'll never do it again!"
“Can’t you be magnanimous and let them off the hook? Our family has come a long way, it hasn’t been easy. Think about Dad, think about the family, okay? Dad knows you’ve been wronged, Dad will make it up to them, okay? Didn’t you come back with merit this time? I heard the higher-ups are thinking of promoting you to section chief, but your job is too dangerous. How about I find a way to transfer you out to the army? You could be a deputy regimental commander right now…”
"Heh heh—" Gu Zhiyuan's response to Gu Yong was a cold laugh.
That cold laugh was like a bucket of cold water poured over Gu Yong's head, and the rest of his words got stuck in his throat.
He raised his head, his eyes filled with the sorrow of brothers fighting, and a hint of pleading, as he looked at Gu Zhiyuan.
Seeing Gu Yong's sorrowful expression, Gu Zhiyuan suddenly let out a short laugh: "Father truly has the heart of a loving father—"
For some reason, Gu Yong felt a burning pain on his face after hearing those words, and he stammered, unable to speak.
"It's a pity that Father is a good father to Gu Dajun and Gu Daikui, but not a loving father to me and my younger brother! Father's words today have truly chilled my heart! So it turns out that they are fine because I didn't die! Perhaps they would be fine even if I died! I understand what Father means!" After saying this, Gu Zhiyuan turned around, opened the study door, and was about to leave.
Gu Yong anxiously reached out his hand: "Where are you going? You haven't explained yourself clearly—"
The study door was opened, and Gu Dajun was standing in the doorway, seemingly listening intently to what was happening inside.
Perhaps Gu Zhiyuan opened the door too suddenly, and he didn't react in time, still bent over in that position.
Seeing Gu Zhiyuan standing in front of him, coldly staring at him, he chuckled awkwardly, straightened up, and quickly regained his composure, greeting him with a smile, "Third brother's back! Dinner's almost ready, I came up to call you for dinner! It's been years since you've been back, and you've been talking to Dad non-stop! What important thing are you talking about that you had to keep the door closed—"
Gu Zhiyuan ignored him, only glancing back at Gu Yong. Although he didn't say anything, it was as if he had said everything.
Gu Yong was completely confused about what Gu Zhiyuan was up to and was feeling uncertain. Seeing Gu Dajun's lack of tact and provocation, he quickly scolded, "I'm talking to Lao San about serious business. What are you doing up here? If there's anything, Xiao Wu will come up and talk to you. Don't come up to the third floor next time unless I call you!"
Gu Dajun's expression changed, a hint of resentment flashing in his eyes, but when he looked up, he smiled again: "It seems that with the third brother back, we brothers are no longer in Dad's eyes! Sigh, after all, the third brother was raised and nurtured by Dad, so he's more valued by him than us brothers!"
That was so sarcastic it was impossible to respond.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
