Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Su Shengli wasn't the only one breaking down in the dead of night.

At the shareholders' meeting convened by the Su Group, major shareholders, led by Wu Yue, pointed fingers and unleashed a torrent of abuse at Su Wanlin.

"I told you from the start, keep your family's private affairs out of the company! You learned your lesson last time, yet you're at it again!"

"What did I say? You can manipulate your fake son, Su Shengli, however you want. After all, you've raised him for nearly twenty years; he eats your food, lives under your roof, and has to obey you. But Gu Yihong? You knew last time he wasn't someone to mess with, yet you still didn't back off in time. Do you have to completely ruin the Su family and wipe out all our shareholders' interests before you finally learn your lesson?!"

Spittle flew onto Su Wanlin's face. The usually arrogant Su Wanlin could only force a smile and endure it.

A flicker of satisfaction crossed Wu Yue's brow. He sneered at Su Wanlin, then continued in a cold voice, "You're so impressive, aren't you? The high and mighty head of the Su family. We're just old friends of your father, relying on decades of past goodwill to voice our complaints, mere useless people who depend on you to make money. No wonder you didn't listen to me last time."

"Since you don't take us old uncles seriously, we won't waste words this time. Tell us, how will you compensate us for the losses we've incurred? Don't even think about trying to gloss over this!"

Even though Su Wanlin knew he would pay a hefty price today, he hadn't expected them to be so brazen.

They demanded not only compensation for hundreds of millions in losses but also insisted on meddling in several of the Su Group's upcoming lucrative projects.

Su Wanlin's face darkened, a fleeting shadow of malice in his eyes.

These old vultures, seizing the opportunity to extort him!

If he didn't need to stabilize the capital behind Wu Yue and the others—to project a false image of internal stability to the outside world and restore market confidence—he wouldn't have bothered humoring them.

Just wait. Hmph. He would kick them all out, sooner or later.

A dark thought crossed Su Wanlin's mind, but his expression only chilled for a moment—a deliberate show for those opposite him.

He forced another smile, his tone tinged with difficulty. "Uncle Wu, perhaps we can discuss this further. The goose that lays golden eggs is still here; there's no need to kill it for meat so soon, right?"

...

By the time he saw them off, it was already past ten at night.

Back in his office alone, Su Wanlin thought about the hundreds of millions and projects he had just promised away and couldn't help but let out a humorless laugh.

Indeed, one couldn't control their expression when utterly exasperated.

He chuckled once, then sat back at his desk to continue working.

His assistant knocked, bringing him his belated dinner.

Before leaving, the assistant timidly asked if he should arrange a car to take him home.

Su Wanlin waved him off casually, telling the assistant to leave first.

As midnight approached, the entire Su Group building was deserted, and the world plunged into darkness.

Su Wanlin didn't turn on the lights. He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing down at the city's seemingly bustling yet cold and beautiful nightscape. After a long while, he finally heard a 'ding' from his computer.

The message he had been waiting for... had finally arrived.

Su Wanlin eagerly turned and walked to his desk. Bending down, he opened the newly transmitted file on his computer. When he saw the highlighted lines, his pupils constricted sharply.

The next second, with a *bang*, he swept everything off his desk in a fit of rage.

In the darkness, Su Wanlin gasped for breath, his expression twisted in fury.

The man who had managed to control his emotions even after being extorted for hundreds of millions and several lucrative projects by the shareholders was now utterly unable to suppress the surging anger in his chest.

But merely throwing things off his desk wasn't enough. Su Wanlin quickly walked into the lounge, and another loud *bang* echoed as he slammed the door shut.

The lounge was sparsely furnished: a bed, a wardrobe, a wine rack, and a boxing set specifically for venting anger.

Su Wanlin didn't turn on the lights. He went straight to the wine rack and pulled out a bottle of red wine. Irritated, he loosened his tie and took off his suit jacket.

He tilted the wine bottle directly to his mouth, chugging several large gulps without a care for appearances.

Red wine flowed down his chin and into his eyes as he tilted his head back, but the burning sensation of the alcohol didn't make Su Wanlin close them.

He stared intently at the ceiling, the lines he had just read flashing through his mind.

*“Mr. Su, Gu Yihong is not your son at all. The true young master is Gu Yubai, who grew up with him. The recent online rumors and Zhou Jiarou’s appearance were all orchestrated by this Gu Yubai.”*

*“Furthermore, it seems Gu Yubai learned some shocking secrets from Zhou Jiarou. He deliberately exposed himself to us.”*

The moment he read those two sentences, Su Wanlin's mind exploded.

Many past events flashed through his mind. He frowned, his emotions complex, until finally, he stared blankly, with only one thought remaining in his head:

He had been played...

With the red wine bottle empty, Su Wanlin, his eyes heavy, put on his boxing gloves.

No one would believe that the head of the Su family would be boxing in his office in the dead of night, would they?

His lips curled into a sneer as the strange, oppressive anger in his chest finally subsided.

His expression returned to calm, his face as cold as ice.

Cold rationality flooded back into his mind, and Su Wanlin suddenly noticed many details.

No wonder the hacker who leaked the story online had appeared at the recognition banquet at such a convenient time.

No wonder Zhou Jiarou had appeared so naturally at the banquet, clutching Su Shengli and weeping incessantly.

All of this was indeed orchestrated.

But the mastermind wasn't Gu Yihong, as they had assumed—it was someone else entirely.

Su Wanlin himself had only realized something was amiss after being played and suffering heavy losses.

By the time he ordered an investigation, it was already too late.

In the darkness, Su Wanlin held a cigarette between his fingers.

He returned to the messy office, reconnected his computer, and stared intently at the reopened file. After a long silence, he let out a cold chuckle.

Gu Yubai.

His true son.

Old Zhang, the new butler, was useless; the recognition had gone wrong from the very beginning.

Gu Yihong, presented openly, was a trap. His true son, with his superior cunning, had humiliated the disdainful Su family without even making an appearance.

That slap truly stung.

Su Wanlin felt he wouldn't forget this lesson for at least five years.

His son, Gu Yubai, was reportedly this year's top scorer in Mingcheng's college entrance examination.

Even though he had been estranged, his mind was sharp enough—so sharp that he had brought this scheme right to Su Wanlin's doorstep.

Deliberately exposed...

Heh, wasn't this implying that if Gu Yubai hadn't wanted to, his people would never have known who the mastermind truly was?

Such arrogance. Su Wanlin's gaze fell back on the previous sentence.

His eyes deepened once more.

What secret could Gu Yubai have learned from Zhou Jiarou? The only connection between the Su family and Zhou Jiarou was that 'accident' in the delivery room over a decade ago.

Zhou Jiarou... Su Wanlin closed his eyes again.

Gu Yubai's deliberate exposure wasn't arrogance at all; he was making a deal with Su Wanlin.

Either the truth would be exposed, causing the Su family to suffer even more and fall completely, or they would reach an agreement, letting the Gu brothers off the hook. The choice was Su Wanlin's.

But in reality, Su Wanlin had no choice at all.

He quickly pulled out his phone and called a subordinate stationed elsewhere.

"Pull back our people stationed in Haikou. From today onward, none of you are to make contact with Gu Yihong or... Gu Yubai. From now on, they have nothing to do with the Su family."

"Oh, and remove the bodyguards around Su Shengli too. From now on, don't interfere in anything between him and his birth mother, Zhou Jiarou. We're not villains; how could we keep a mother and son apart?"

Of course, Zhou Jiarou wasn't Su Shengli's real mother. But from now on, she had to be.

This bomb, deliberately sent to the Su family by Gu Yubai, would eventually explode. The choice was simple: sacrifice Su Shengli alone, or let the entire Su family be buried with him. There was no need to hesitate.

In less than two seconds, Su Wanlin made the decision to completely abandon Su Shengli.

After all... Su Shengli was just barely useful trash.

------

Gu Yubai was busy too.

With less than a month left of summer vacation, Gu Yubai planned to get his driver's license before the semester officially began.

He had just contacted a driving instructor and paid for two people's lessons when Gu Yihong suddenly backed out, telling Gu Yubai he wouldn't be able to return for a while.

"Got a sudden call from my aunt—she fell down the stairs and broke her leg. I have to go see her."

Gu Yihong grumbled, "Last time, I promised to go abroad with her, but I got cold feet at the airport. She was furious. If it weren't for our blood ties and me being the only family she cares about, she probably would've cut ties with me right then."

"But don't worry, big brother, I'll be back soon. Has my university acceptance letter arrived yet? Make sure to keep it safe for me. I also sent you a gift—watch for it."

Speaking of acceptance letters, there was that package that had arrived a few days prior.

He and Gu Yihong had applied to the same university. Mingcheng University was a comprehensive institution, best known for its law and finance departments. Beyond that, its chemistry program—for students pursuing academic careers—was also quite prestigious.

In his previous life, after leaving the Su family, Gu Yubai had originally applied for chemistry. But when his acceptance letter arrived, he found he'd been assigned to finance instead—Su Wanlin had someone change his application after discovering he was the top scorer.

This time, with Gu Yihong standing in for him during the family reunion, Su Wanlin only realized something was wrong after the acceptance letters were officially issued.

At this thought, Gu Yubai's lips curled into a mocking smile.

Then, remembering Gu Yihong's law school acceptance letter, his eyes softened slightly.

In their past life, after losing his memory, Gu Yihong had gone abroad and studied liberal arts, never getting to study the law degree he'd wanted.

Gu Yubai had kept his law school acceptance letter for years—this time, it had finally reached its rightful owner.

When he thought about it, it was really quite perfect. After being reborn, the two brothers had finally realized their dreams and embarked on a new path.

Even though Gu Yihong wasn't home, Gu Yubai went about his life unhurriedly.

He spent nearly the entire day at the driving school, only returning home after dark.

In less than a week, Gu Yubai had completed all the required hours for both the written test and road test and scheduled them for the same day.

With his past life's driving experience, he passed the exams smoothly.

That day, as soon as he returned home and walked through the living room, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

Yu Li's door, which had been closed for days, was finally open.

But there was no one inside. The bed, with sheets neatly spread, was empty—the bedding had been taken away, leaving the floor messy.

Gu Yubai's eyes widened. Instinctively, he searched the house before belatedly realizing the door had been locked when he returned.

Yu Li wasn't home. He might have... already moved out.

For some inexplicable reason, Gu Yubai felt a pang of panic.

He pulled open the closet door and saw the suitcase was missing.

Ever since their barbecue by the river, Yu Li had been gone for days.

That night's interaction seemed like a fleeting dream, leaving no trace behind—except for a giant panda plushie.

Yu Li had stayed at his place for quite some time.

He was going to move out eventually. Gu Yubai hadn't paid attention, but maybe Yu Li's place was ready.

He couldn't hide his disappointment.

Before the feeling could sink in, a familiar, deep, and pleasant voice suddenly came from behind him.

Yu Li's tone was full of amusement and teasing.

"Could someone as tall and well-built as me really hide in such a small closet?"

Gu Yubai whipped his head around.

Yu Li, whom he hadn't seen in weeks, was leaning against the doorframe. He wore a simple white shirt and black pants, the sleeves rolled up to reveal pale, muscular arms.

Under the light, he looked as flawless as jade porcelain.