Gu Xie sat in the main seat in the conference room. There were seven or eight people sitting on both sides, all dressed in suits and leather shoes. In front of them were either laptops or meeting notebooks and pens. A young man was standing next to the projection screen, explaining his business plan, while others listened quietly, and from time to time offered their opinions in the gaps between speeches.
Halfway through the meeting, the door was suddenly pushed open. The young man on the stage stopped speaking. The assistant walked to Gu Xie under the gaze of a group of people and whispered.
"Your phone number."
Gu Xie stood up without hesitation and said to everyone.
"Give me five minutes."
Just like a pack of wolves without their leader, the group looked at each other and started talking quietly.
"I remember the boss never answered the phone when he was in a meeting."
"The boss is not in a meeting and doesn't answer the phone. He only answers calls from his mother. But his mother doesn't call him very often. I heard that the boss will call his mother on time."
The man opened his eyes wide in surprise, looked at his colleague for a long time, and said in confusion.
“It’s a little hard to imagine.”
Gu Xie's name gives people the impression that he is a somewhat rebellious young man, but in fact, Gu Xie is tall and strong, about 1.9 meters tall, with a good figure. He can be described as having a wasp waist and a monkey back. Even when he is wearing a suit, you can vaguely see the outline of his muscular body under his clothes.
This big guy who looks a bit fierce is actually the one who calls his mother on time.
Over there, Gu Xie quickly walked into the empty meeting room next to him.
"Hey, you've already returned home, why didn't you tell me?"
There was a woman on the other end of the line.
"Little Wang is about to give birth. I'm worried and have to go back to see her. Are you busy with work recently?"
"It's nothing anymore. I can go back tonight. Where's Dad? Why did I let you come back alone?"
The woman seemed a little annoyed.
"He is still abroad. He insisted on asking me to do some physical therapy. I am not sick and I am healthy. I asked him to do it all by himself."
Gu Xie said patiently.
"You can say you don't want to do it. Dad will listen to you. Running away secretly like this makes Dad and I worried."
"I know, I know. I won't tell you anymore. I'll be home soon. I'm so sleepy. I'm going to go back and have a nap."
After hanging up the phone, Gu Xie handed the phone to his assistant.
"You can cancel your flight tonight, and try to postpone your trips for the next two days. By the way, give my father a call and tell him that my mother has returned quietly and is safe."
Gu Qingchi got up very early this morning. He opened a small program on his phone to record his itinerary. There were seven or eight itineraries recorded on it, and the first item was to go to bed and get up on time.
He put a check mark behind this item. Gu Qingchi created a one-year itinerary, which was full of these items. He completed these basic daily tasks conscientiously every day. Looking forward, he could see that many of the past days' itineraries had been checked. The second item in the itinerary was to make a healthy breakfast for himself.
Gu Qingchi had just started learning how to cook and was not very familiar with the use of kitchen utensils. He clumsily fried an egg for himself, cooked some broccoli, and finally poured a glass of milk and checked off the second item.
As the day went by, he checked off several other options one after another, leaving only the last one. After going out, Gu Qingchi thought about it and decided to go to the supermarket in a short time. There were not many vegetables left in the refrigerator, and Xiaolihua's cat food was gone.
There is a large supermarket next to the community. Gu Qingchi first went to buy a few bags of cat food and a bunch of canned food according to the brand of cat food that Xiaolihua usually eats, and then went to buy vegetables.
It is the time when supermarkets are having sales, and the surrounding communities are mostly inhabited by elderly people. The vegetable area is crowded with a group of people, most of whom are elderly grandpas and women.
Even Gu Qingchi's clothes, whether casual or casual, are all put together by professional costume designers. The patterns and styles are extremely distinctive. He is tall, standing out among a group of elderly people in colorful clothes. He is very conspicuous and attracts attention. However, he is completely unaware of this. He feels safe because he wears a mask, and blends in naturally with the crowd of people buying groceries and moves with the flow of people.
Outside the supermarket, in a private car, a woman was leaning against a seat. On the small table next to her were drinks and a plate of exquisite cakes. She looked older, with fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, but if she was with those young girls, everyone's eyes would definitely be on her.
Age has not become her disadvantage. Her every move is unique and charming. She has good skin and decent makeup. It can be seen that she is used to a pampered life, but for some reason she looks a little haggard and there is always a vague sadness between her brows.
She rubbed her temples with her fingers and instructed the driver.
"Xiao Wang, go buy some Coke. Xiao Xie will come back today and will definitely ask for Coke chicken wings again. If he looks back and sees that there is none, he will complain again without thinking that there is no Coke at home when he is not here."
The driver did not remind her that the Xiao Xie she was referring to had become the person in charge of the Gu family under the guidance of his father. He was decisive and resolute, and had accumulated great power. It had been a long time since he had been so willful as to ask for cola chicken wings.
"Yes, Mrs. Gu."
The driver had just unbuckled his seat belt and had not had time to get out of the car when she spoke again.
"Buy some more—"
She suddenly paused. What to buy? Who to buy for? She became inexplicably anxious, holding her chest and gasping for breath.
"Mrs. Gu!"
The driver quickly turned around and didn't even have time to get out of the car and go to the back seat. He stood up and took a bottle of medicine from the refrigerator in the car.
But Mrs. Gu blocked it with her hand. She remembered to buy something for her child, her little Xie.
She slowly loosened her grip, breathing almost in relief.
"I'm fine. I just forgot to buy something for Xiao Xie. I'll go with you. I haven't been to the supermarket for a long time. Maybe I'll remember it when I see it."
The driver responded hesitantly and finally put the bottle of medicine in his jacket pocket.
Mrs. Gu often goes shopping in major luxury stores. She is surrounded by a group of people who serve her alone. She also goes shopping in a very impressive manner. The driver, who is wearing a neat suit and white gloves, follows her with a shopping cart. She buys a Coke first, and then starts shopping in a good mood. The neatly arranged goods are available for selection, which makes Mrs. Gu feel happy.
"Ma'am, your phone number."
Mrs. Gu happily put down the bottle of juice in her hand.
"It must be Xiao Xie's call. He went back and didn't see me, so he must be urging me to go home. This kid just loves to act like a spoiled brat. Let's not go shopping anymore and go home quickly."
Gu Xie sighed secretly over there. He had been precocious since he was a child, and his father taught him to take care of his mother. He never liked to act like a spoiled child, nor would he urge Mrs. Gu to go home.
He subconsciously softened his voice and did not refute, but followed Mrs. Gu's words.
"Yes, Mom, be careful on your way home."
Mrs. Gu was a little impatient.
"Okay, okay. I bought some Coke and will go back to make your favorite Coke chicken wings."
"Xiao Xie is becoming more and more serious. When you were a kid, you fell down and cried and ran to me to hold you. You were so cute back then."
Mrs. Gu became a little angry as she spoke.
"It's all your father's fault. He insisted that you follow in his footsteps. Since then, your personality has become more and more like an old man. Xiao Xie obviously likes to play the piano with mom, and you were also very good at playing the violin when you were a child."
"It was my fault."
Gu Xie agreed verbally but silently refuted in his heart.
He did like cola chicken wings, but he wouldn't cry and act cute to his mother. Gu Xie had the same temper as his father. He wouldn't cry and act cute to his mother because he fell down, but even when Gu Xie was a child, he would never do such a shameful thing.
Mrs. Gu was not teasing Gu Xie on purpose. She truly believed that her child liked to act like a spoiled child, liked snacks, and had an outstanding talent in art. Mrs. Gu herself studied under a famous piano master, and was extremely outstanding when she was a student. She had a great reputation. If it weren't for what happened in the past few years, she would have been famous by now.
Mrs. Gu was spoiled by her family when she was a child, and was spoiled by Gu's father when she grew up. She had never suffered any grievances. After marriage, she had servants to cook and do housework, and a nanny and Gu's father took care of the children. She lived a carefree life.
This should be the case, but artists seem to have delicate souls and sensitive nerves.
Even with such meticulous care from the whole family, her fragile nerves collapsed after she lost her second child in an accident. She cried all day long and even imagined a child, a beautiful, obedient, and spoiled child.
But in fact, the child died just after being born. She had never even seen the child or spent a single day with him.
Gu Xie could understand the sadness of a mother losing her child, but Mrs. Gu was in grief for a long time. When everyone else came out, Mrs. Gu still refused to accept this reality until now.
Gu Xie could not empathize with this. Even when he was notified that he had lost his young brother, he did not feel anything real. Perhaps it was because he was too young at the time and could not understand the meaning of life and death. He only remembered his mother crying all day long, calling him to play the piano in a crazy manner, hugging him tightly, and the atmosphere at home was so stagnant that he could hardly breathe. These were what impressed him the most.
Over the years, Gu Xie and Gu's father took good care of Mrs. Gu, and she gradually got better. She no longer cried all day long. Because she was too sad, she forgot the death of her second child. Although she still often remembered things wrongly, compared with her previous condition, it was much better now.
Everyone pretended nothing had happened, and no one took the initiative to touch the family's wounds and taboos.
But Mrs. Gu placed her motherly love that had nowhere to go on Gu Xie. Gu Xie was often reminded that he once had a younger brother, who would have been a beautiful, spoiled child if he had grown up safely and healthily.
The details imagined by Mrs. Gu were sometimes too specific, so specific that Gu Xie vaguely felt that he really had a brother who was cherished and held in his hands.
Sometimes Gu Xie would think that if this child really existed and then left, and he had really interacted with this child, then he might also collapse like Mrs. Gu.
Thinking in this way, Gu Xie gradually understood Mrs. Gu's breakdown. She had been with the child day and night for ten months, but the little life she had been looking forward to was gone all of a sudden. Coupled with her fragility after giving birth, she was tortured by this pain to the point of insanity.
As a result, Gu Xie became even more concerned about his mother, almost to the point of being afraid of everything.
People are too fragile, just like his little brother whom he has never met. Before he even noticed, before he could spread his leaves towards the sun, he had already withered.
Mrs. Gu had complained enough and became happy again. She casually put the drink in her hand into the shopping cart.
"Then Xiao Xie, be obedient at home, and we'll bring Coke back to make your favorite Coke chicken wings."
Gu Xie agreed and then said.
"Dad's plane will arrive tomorrow. Don't do this next time. Dad is very worried about you. He just told me that you didn't answer his calls."
"I know. I'm with Xiao Wang. He can do anything. There's a reason why I don't answer his calls. If I answer, he'll definitely nag me for a long time. I don't like to hear him talk about this—"
Mrs. Gu's eyes unconsciously passed over the crowd and suddenly stopped.
Her eyes were fixed on one point in the crowd, her hand slowly dropped, and she let go of the phone.
Gu Xie could only hear a series of crashing sounds. His heart tightened and he raised his voice.
"Hey, what's wrong? What happened?"
After a while, the phone heard another sound. It was the sound of a shopping cart being pushed, and the driver, whose tone sounded uncertain.
"Madam suddenly ran to the vegetable section. Did she seem to see someone she knew?"
"Okay, Xiao Wang, thank you for taking good care of my wife. Don't hang up the phone yet. I'll drive over right away."
As Gu Xie was speaking, the car had already started and drove out of the garage. He had dealt with similar situations many times over the years, especially in the past few years. At that time, Mrs. Gu's condition was the most serious. She would often be talking and laughing one second, and cry hysterically the next. Mrs. Gu did not trust other people, and only relaxed a little with the comfort of Gu's father. Gu's father never asked others to help with Mrs. Gu's affairs, but he had limited energy after all, so Gu Xie began to help his father take care of his mother when he was still a child.
Mrs. Gu walked too fast and her high heels twisted, causing her to fall forward. She subconsciously grabbed the sleeve of the person in front of her.
The other party instinctively turned around and supported Mrs. Gu.
The phone was still connected. Xiao Wang followed Mrs. Gu closely. Gu Xie could clearly hear the conversation between Mrs. Gu and others amidst the noisy noises.
"Do I know you? Do you know me?"
There was silence for a while, and then a hoarse and cold voice was heard from the other side, like the sudden downpour of cold rain on a sultry summer afternoon.
"No, ma'am."
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