Chapter 12
Edward Quan ·
“Are you asking me to leave?”
I hurriedly shook my head.
“No!”
His expression softened a little.
But I immediately added:
“I’m only asking you to step outside. If you refuse to leave, then I’ll have to kick you out.”
Gu Mingzhe: “…”
My mother: “…”
Baozi: “…”
The old man looked at me.
The smile on his lips gradually disappeared.
But in the end, he still turned around.
“All right.”
Before leaving, he looked at Xia Siyu.
His gaze sent a chill down my spine.
Because for a moment—
He didn’t look like a grandfather worried about his granddaughter-in-law.
He looked like a man who had just realized his secret was about to be exposed.
Chapter 15: A Lie That Lasted Twenty-Three Years
Only after Old Master Gu left did Xia Siyu gradually calm down.
The doctor checked her condition again.
He confirmed she could speak briefly.
But she wasn’t to talk too much.
Gu Mingzhe sat beside the bed.
“Siyu, I’m here.”
She looked at him.
Her expression was complicated.
Then she turned to my mother.
“Auntie…”
My mother immediately began to cry.
“Siyu!”
The two of them held hands.
Neither could find any words.
I stood nearby, feeling as though I had accidentally opened a door to the past.
After a long time, Xia Siyu looked at me.
“You…”
I bent down.
“Yes?”
“The bracelet…”
I understood at once.
I took the silver bracelet from my handbag.
Xia Siyu looked at it.
Tears welled in her eyes again.
She gave a slight nod.
Then whispered:
“That’s it…”
I asked:
“What’s special about this bracelet?”
Xia Siyu closed her eyes.
It was a long time before she spoke.
“Inside…”
I looked at the bracelet.
“Inside?”
“There’s… something…”
I immediately handed it to Gu Mingzhe.
He examined it.
The bracelet looked entirely ordinary.
But there was a tiny seam on the inner side.
He gently turned it.
Click.
The bracelet opened.
Inside was an extremely thin piece of metal.
My eyes widened.
“Oh my gosh!”
Gu Mingzhe took it out.
It was an old data-storage device, tightly sealed.
I was stunned.
“What is this?”
My mother shook her head.
“I don’t know either.”
Xia Siyu looked at the device.
Her voice was weak.
“Evidence…”
Gu Mingzhe immediately called a technical expert.
But before he could leave the room, Xia Siyu suddenly took his hand.
“Mingzhe…”
He turned back.
“I’m here.”
She looked at him.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“You… have to… believe me…”
He leaned closer.
“I believe you.”
She shook her head.
“Your father…”
Gu Mingzhe stiffened.
Xia Siyu used all her strength to speak.
“He… knows…”
“Knows what?”
She looked at me.
Then at my mother.
Finally, she managed to say:
“My mother’s… accident…”
I was stunned.
Her mother?
That meant Xia Qinglan.
The woman who had had an accident more than twenty years ago.
Xia Siyu continued:
“It wasn’t… an accident…”
The room fell utterly silent.
Gu Mingzhe stood motionless.
I felt every hair on my head stand on end.
Twenty-three years.
One accident.
Three months ago.
Another accident.
The same family.
The same secret.
And the same man at the center of it all.
I slowly turned toward Gu Mingzhe.
He looked at me.
Neither of us spoke.
But we both understood.
We had just touched a truth someone had tried to conceal for more than two decades.
Chapter 16: A Birthday Party Turns into a Trial
Three days later.
Old Master Gu hosted a grand party at the villa.
Officially, it was to celebrate Xia Siyu waking up.
But I knew—
That was not the real reason.
Because that very morning, Gu Mingzhe had called me up to his office.
“Ms. Song, I want you to come with me tonight.”
I immediately asked:
“Does it count as overtime?”
He looked at me.
“Yes.”
“At time and a half?”
“Double.”
I immediately stood straight.
“What do you need me to do, President Gu?”
He took out a box.
Inside was the data-storage device recovered from the silver bracelet.
“We recovered the data.”
I held my breath.
“What’s on it?”
He looked at me.
“Forged share-transfer agreements.”
“Bank transaction records.”
“And a recording.”
I immediately asked:
“What recording?”
Gu Mingzhe fell silent.
Then he opened his computer.
A man’s voice rang out.
“As long as Qinglan can no longer testify in court, this will be over.”
I went cold all over.
That voice.
I’d heard it before.
It was Old Master Gu’s voice.
But that wasn’t all.
Another woman’s voice sounded.
“Are you sure?”
Old Master Gu answered:
“Just do exactly what we agreed.”
I looked at Gu Mingzhe.
He sat motionless.
His face was pale.
I didn’t know how to comfort him.
In the end, I only said:
“President Gu…”
He looked up.
“Yes?”
“Would you like a sausage?”
He: “…”
I explained seriously:
“Whenever I’m sad, eating a sausage makes me feel better.”
Gu Mingzhe looked at me for a long time.
Then he laughed.
But there was bitterness in that smile.
“Thank you.”
I nodded.
“You’re welcome.”
He looked at the recording.
After a long while, he said:
“Tonight, I’ll ask my father about everything.”
I paused.
“You’re going to confront him in front of everyone?”
He nodded.
I thought about it.
Then asked:
“Do the police know?”
“Yes.”
“Has the evidence been backed up?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure everyone at the party will be safe?”
Gu Mingzhe looked at me.
His expression gradually changed.
“Are you worried about me?”
I immediately nodded.
“Of course!”
He seemed a little surprised.
But I continued:
“If anything happens to you, who’ll pay my salary this month?”
Gu Mingzhe: “…”
He rubbed his forehead.
“I’ll try to stay alive until payday.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Good.”
That evening.
The Gu family’s villa blazed with light.
The guests filled the place.
Major shareholders.
Business partners.
Family members.
Everyone was there.
I wore a pale-blue dress prepared by the secretary.
As soon as I stepped inside, I heard whispers.
“Isn’t she the girl from the kidnapping case?”
“I heard President Gu thinks highly of her.”
“Someone said she’s an expert investigator.”
Me: “…”
I’m just a new employee!
Why did everyone keep promoting my job title?
Just then, Old Master Gu stepped onto the stage.