Chapter 184 Lu Jiunian isn't doing well, you should go see him.
"So fast?"
Shi Nianzhi reached out and took the equity transfer document, then lowered his eyes to look through it.
Lu Bing tapped her fingers lightly on the table. "You cooperated well. You didn't see how hurt Lu Jiunian was when he saw me holding the 10% equity you gave me."
Lu Bing seemed to savor the moment, clicked her tongue twice, and couldn't help but clap her hands, "It was so satisfying."
Shi Nianzhi felt there were no problems with the equity transfer agreement, and he was about to sign it.
Lu Bing reached out and pressed down on the place where she was to sign.
"What, are you going back on your word?"
Shi Nianzhi looked up and met Lu Bing's gaze.
A flippant smile played on Lu Bing's lips. "How could that be? I just wanted to remind you that once you sign, our contract will be fully effective. There won't be any room for backing out then. Are you really sure?"
Shi Nianzhi removed Lu Bing's hand.
He lowered his eyes and signed his name without the slightest hesitation.
"As long as you don't go back on your word, I can't go back on my word either."
He chuckled softly, then picked up the signed share transfer agreement again. "But you don't have a chance to back out now."
"How could I go back on my word? I'm just afraid you'll feel bad for me."
Lu Bing took the equity transfer agreement, her voice seemingly nonchalant.
Shi Nianzhi changed the subject, "You found the best lawyer for Gu Zichu, are you trying to protect him?"
"I need to be able to protect him too."
Lu Bing gave a vague answer, "I just think it's a bit too harsh. His case isn't that serious, it doesn't warrant such a long sentence. What's that saying again? The law is heartless, but people are compassionate."
Shi Nianzhi gave a cold laugh, "You and he are in love."
"We slept together a few times, but I never gave him anything. Besides, he's a rather pathetic person."
"Then let's see which of our lawyers is the best."
"OK."
Lu Bing didn't want to discuss this topic with Shi Nianzhi any further. After dealing with the equity issue, he made an excuse and left.
After Shi Nianzhi took over the Lu Group, he became even busier.
He was so busy that he only slept six hours a day.
Gu Zichu's second trial verdict came down, this time he was sentenced to ten years, but he still wants to appeal, so the case is still ongoing.
Shi Nianzhi handed it over to a lawyer to handle.
Lu Bing also revealed to Shi Nianzhi that he wanted to reduce Gu Zichu's sentence to three years.
Shi Nianzhi said he was delusional, and he wouldn't give up even if it took ten years.
The two sides remained locked in a standoff.
Lu Jiunian has been missing for longer and longer, and it's already late autumn.
Lu Bing visited Gu Zichu in prison.
Gu Zichu was clearly being given special treatment in prison; he had injuries on his face and body.
Lu Bing sat outside the iron bars, looking at Gu Zichu inside who looked dejected. "I'll give you a heads-up in a bit, and no one will dare to hit you again."
Gu Zichu didn't even look at Lu Bing directly. He sat in the chair with his hands cuffed, his eyes slightly lowered.
"Are you here to give me charity? I am nothing more than a piece on your chessboard. You don't need to do this for me."
"People always feel a sense of sympathy for those who share the same plight. I will fight your case for you, no matter how many years you are sentenced to. If I am still single when you get out, we will get married."
Gu Zichu's handcuffed hands trembled slightly, then he quickly sneered, "You're just trying to appease me."
"I want you to live."
Lu Bing's gaze fell on Gu Zichu's wrists, which were covered with self-inflicted cuts. He paused, then said, "Someone like me has never developed feelings for anyone, but during the days we spent together, I saw your fear, anxiety, and struggles, and sometimes I even empathized with them. We are both illegitimate children, living in the shadows of our large families, and we both desperately tried to prove our existence, even though we were destined to lose to the chosen heir from the very beginning."
Lu Bing had a cigarette in his mouth; smoking wasn't allowed here, so he just held it there.
Gu Zichu then looked up at Lu Bing and said, "But you won."
Lu Bing gave a half-smile. "I just didn't lose as badly. Look at me, with this obsessive personality, growing up carrying hatred, becoming cold and ruthless, someone anyone can use. My personality is flawed from the start. Other people's lives have family, love, and warmth, while mine only has hatred and scheming. Zichu, people like us, from the very beginning, from the moment we were born, we lost. Do you understand?"
Gu Zichu looked at Lu Bing, his eyes slowly reddening. He seemed utterly desperate, yet also filled with anguish. "Are you resigned to this?"
"I'm not reconciled."
"I'm not reconciled, I hate it so much!"
Gu Zichu gripped the iron bars tightly with his handcuffed hands, his entire body pressed against them, his expression contorted and terrifying with hatred.
Lu Bing took the cigarette out of his mouth and looked calmly at Gu Zichu with his dark eyes. "In this world, we are bad people, so we are not accepted by this world."
"Yes, the world is wrong!"
Lu Bing reached out and gently touched Gu Zichu's face. "If our lives are filled with hatred, we will become very barren. Perhaps we can try to step out of this world."
"But I can't let go, I can't accept this!"
"Yes, we've all tried everything to make up for the flaws in our childhood and the shadows of our adolescence. But making up for them isn't the same as healing them. As long as the scars are there, the pain will continue. It's like when I took my revenge and looked at the tombstone of my so-called father, I thought to myself, 'He's finally dead.' I was scheming to seize the family fortune, but the moment I got it, something inside me suddenly collapsed. I wasn't as ecstatic as I had imagined. I even felt like I had been scheming for so many years, but in the end, I was just a joke."
"We are not a joke."
“But in other people’s eyes, we’ve been laughed at for a long time. Zichu, do you want to start over? Let’s find a place where no one knows us, to get to know the world again, and to start a new life. There, no one will know you’ve been to prison, and no one will know I’m a bad person.”
“I’m not like you. I don’t care about starting over! Either I die, or I won’t let those I hate get away with it!”
Gu Zichu had his back to Lu Bing, but his eyes were still filled with intense hatred.
Lu Bing reached over the iron bars, covered Gu Zichu's eyes, and whispered something in his ear.
"In this world, I am still here, and I have not given up on you."
Gu Zichu froze. "I don't care!"
Lu Bing's hand that had been covering his eyes disappeared.
Gu Zichu heard his footsteps as he left.
He lowered his head, and after a long while, he slowly pressed his hand to his chest and murmured, "It's a little hot."
A crack seemed to have appeared in a cold heart.
......
Li Yuan's belly grew bigger and bigger, bulging like a ball. Gu Dongxuan was careful all day long, unwilling to leave his wife for even a second.
Even with the addition of four vice presidents, Shi Nianzhi was still extremely busy.
I'm busy during the day, have social engagements in the evening, and still need to study some university coursework when I get back.
That day.
Because his subordinates misremembered the meeting time, Shi Nianzhi threw a huge tantrum in the president's office and fired several employees involved.
He scratched his head in distress, then spread a few strands of hair in his palm.
Shi Nianzhi: "..."
Holy crap, is he already incredibly intelligent at such a young age?!
Shi Nianzhi wanted to call Gu Yuanyuan back; he really didn't want to continue working there.
But Gu Yuanyuan couldn't come; his mind was completely occupied with Su Hengyi, and he couldn't think of anything else.
It was at this time that Shi Nianzhi would turn his chair towards the huge floor-to-ceiling glass wall, look at the rain outside the window, and think of Lu Jiunian.
That man started learning how to manage the company from Old Master Lu at the age of 14, and officially took over the company at the age of 18. He has come a long way through bloodshed and turmoil, and he is so ruthless and decisive with extraordinary methods.
How did I lose to Lu Bing?
There's absolutely no news about it now.
Shi Nianzhi rested his chin on his hand, his little finger gently rubbing his chin for a while. Indeed, he hadn't heard from Lu Jiunian for a very long time.
Is he hiding in some corner, gathering strength for a comeback, or is he wallowing in despair?
Could he... be dead?
Shi Nianzhi's eyes turned cold instantly, and she seemed unhappy.
He then chuckled and turned his chair around to continue working.
What does Lu Jiunian's situation have to do with him?
Gu Dongxuan made an unprecedented visit to the company.
Shi Nianzhi saw him as if he had seen a lifeline. He had dark circles under his eyes. "Big brother, you're here. Give me two days off. No, I'm so ungrateful. Just today is fine. Give me a day off. I really need to go to sleep. I stayed up all night. I have to catch up on my sleep, otherwise I might die any second now."
Shi Nianzhi was dizzy and his feet felt unsteady as he walked. He hunched over, looking like a ghost trying to slip into the elevator.
Gu Dongxuan grabbed him by the collar and pulled him over.
Shi Nianzhi buried her face in Gu Dongxuan's arms. "Are you still my older brother? You can't abandon your younger brother for your wife. Why don't you call your son back? I'm really not doing this anymore. This is such exploitation of labor! Seriously, my dream is to be a rich second-generation who can just laze around and do nothing! I don't want to work hard anymore, I really don't want to work hard anymore, just let me be useless."
Shi Nianzhi is really going crazy. Although he has a great business sense, he can't keep up with the demand 24 hours a day. He's going bald.
It's terrible, he's already bald at such a young age.
Gu Dongxuan: "...Can't you be a little more ambitious? Weren't you so eager to take over the Lu Group back then?"
"I swallowed it for you, brother, for the Gu family's business blueprint, not for myself!"
Shi Nianzhi emphasized this very seriously.
Gu Dongxuan chuckled and pinched Shi Nianzhi's cheek. "Alright, I'll give you three days off. Don't rush off, I have something important to tell you."
Shi Nianzhi yawned. "For the sake of your three-day holiday, hurry up and tell me."
"Lu Jiunian is not doing well, you should go and see him."
"I don't care about his misfortunes. Whether he's doing well or not is none of my business."
"He went mad and was locked up in a mental hospital by Lu Bing. I only heard about it recently. I couldn't help but go see him. He... Zijian, you can't imagine that someone like him could become like that... It's very distressing."
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