Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Gu Yubai jolted awake from his sleep.

He suddenly realized who the slightly overweight man he’d glimpsed in the car’s headlights, sitting beside Su Shengli in the back seat, was.

This man had appeared in his previous life too.

Before… Su Wanlin and Song Manman’s plane crash, Su Wanlin had completely lost his mind after Su Linyuan’s car accident left him crippled. During that tumultuous period, every employee of the Su Group walked on eggshells around him, trembling with fear. It was during this volatile time that Gu Yubai saw a photo of this man.

Su Wanlin was in a towering rage.

“I gave you half a month! How is it that you still haven’t found this gardener surnamed Liao?! I refuse to believe a living person can just vanish without a trace—did he sprout wings and fly away?!”

His eyes were dark and menacing as he glared at his secretary.

“Go. If conventional methods can’t find him, then contact those in the grey market. I refuse to believe this man is worth more than me, the rightful heir of the Su Group. Discreetly increase the bounty; I want this person to disappear from this world without a sound.”

The fact that even the usually gentle and restrained Su Wanlin couldn’t hide the ruthlessness in his heart showed just how formidable this man truly was.

At the time, although Gu Yubai was highly valued by Su Wanlin within the Su Group, many matters didn’t pass through his hands. As a businessman, Su Wanlin knew many unsavory figures who operated outside the law. While he knew them, he rarely got his hands dirty, usually just maintaining connections to gather information.

But this time, he was clearly exasperated, no longer maintaining his facade of righteousness.

The secretary stumbled out of Su Wanlin’s office in a panic, colliding with Su Shengli, who was about to enter to report. A photo slipped from the files the secretary was carrying and fell to the floor.

Gu Yubai bent down, picked it up, and personally handed it to the secretary.

His tone was gentle, yet he casually probed, feigning indifference, about what had angered Su Wanlin so much recently.

“...N-no, it’s nothing serious. Mr. Su is just upset with the poor work ethic of some subordinates. Nothing major has happened in the company.”

The secretary’s face was flushed with embarrassment. He forced a strained smile at Gu Yubai, sidestepped him, and hurried away.

Since nothing significant was happening in the company, Gu Yubai didn’t bother asking what was wrong with Su Wanlin.

He quickly forgot about the photo. However, not long after, Su Wanlin and Song Manman died unexpectedly in a plane crash. At their funeral, the secretary was dazed and unresponsive to anyone.

On the same day, Su Shengli accidentally drowned in a swimming pool.

The next day, the secretary resigned and fled. Gu Yubai sensed some hidden secrets about the Su family from this man’s actions, but he didn’t pursue it further. After all, the Su family was now under his control, and some things that should have vanished and never seen the light of day were best left buried forever.

It wasn’t until just now that Gu Yubai suddenly recalled the identity of the middle-aged man from his memory.

This man must be connected to Su Linyuan’s car accident. His surname is Liao, and he is a gardener. Su Wanlin hated him intensely.

But seeing him unexpectedly with Su Shengli today, Gu Yubai began to suspect that Su Shengli had orchestrated Su Linyuan’s car accident in their previous life.

This speculation... was very likely true.

Gu Yubai only knew that the middle-aged man and Su Shengli became acquainted later, but he hadn’t realized that this man had already appeared before Su Shengli at this early stage.

What exactly were they planning?

Gu Yubai tilted his head slightly, too wired to sleep.

Had Su Wanlin truly sought out this gardener Liao solely because Su Linyuan was crippled in the car accident? Was there something else involved?

Gu Yubai thought of Yu Li’s closeness to Old Master Su and felt that Yu Li might be interested in this person.

He got out of bed, picked up his dust-covered tablet, and sketched the middle-aged man’s features from memory.

The key features were his fierce, malevolent “sanpaku” eyes, and his slightly overweight, dark-skinned physique.

People with malevolent eyes are usually ruthless; they are demanding of those around them and their surroundings, typically enjoy superior living conditions, and are strict with their own bodies. Yet, this man was overweight, indicating that despite his ruthlessness, he also indulged in pleasure. His dark skin suggested he spent a lot of time outdoors.

These three characteristics combined were unusual.

Gu Yubai wanted to ask Yu Li if he recognized this person. But just as he took a photo of his sketch, before he could send it, his phone suddenly rang. It was the manager of the nursing home where his adoptive father, Gu Mingliang, resided in the neighboring city.

The moment he answered, a frantic voice came through.

“Mr. Gu, two hours ago, someone set fire to the facility. Your adoptive father’s floor was the main target. Thankfully, our security guards discovered the fire in time and prevented it from spreading further. However, your adoptive father suffered burns on his legs. Doctors are examining him now, but he’s stable.”

“If… if you’re free, it would be best if you could come over. We’d like to discuss this with you in person.”

Fire… a fire!

Gu Yubai bolted upright.

He instinctively checked the time, realizing it was only four in the morning.

Gu Yubai then looked at the date, and his pupils constricted sharply.

It had happened earlier.

Gu Yubai hadn’t expected his adoptive father to suffer the same fire, even in a different location.

The fact that it happened even earlier than in his previous life proved that his adoptive father’s death in the last life was… man-made.

This was too much of a coincidence.

He had just encountered Su Shengli and the man beside her last night, and now his adoptive father had an accident. Although Su Shengli’s methods were childish, she had a rather shrewd, capable, and far-sighted helper by her side.

This person had been hiding in the shadows. If Gu Yubai hadn’t stumbled upon him by chance today, he wouldn’t have connected him to his past-life memories and discovered his identity.

Gu Yubai’s eyes darkened. He put on his shoes and clothes, quickly brushed his teeth, and turned to leave. His gaze fell on Gu Yihong’s tightly closed door. After a slight hesitation, he decided not to wake him.

His adoptive father being unharmed was likely true; this time, their ultimate target was himself.

Sure enough, the moment Gu Yubai’s car entered the highway, a semi-trailer that had been resting nearby immediately sped up behind him. This semi-trailer flagrantly disregarded highway rules. Gu Yubai was driving in the leftmost fast lane, and the semi-trailer, violating the rule that large vehicles should only drive in the two rightmost lanes, accelerated directly toward Gu Yubai.

If he had still doubted whether Su Shengli had the guts to harm someone, he now knew just how audacious foolish people could be.

Had Su Wanlin arranged for Su Shengli to be taken away before his own plane crash in the previous life simply because he feared Su Shengli would interfere with the Su Group under the guise of being an adopted son? Or because he thought this person was too foolish and would cause significant losses to the Su Group?

Unlikely.

What, then, had driven the cold-hearted Su Wanlin, who only ever treated Su Shengli as a pet, to ruthlessly eliminate him?

Gu Yubai had no answer before, but recalling the middle-aged man he saw tonight, and connecting it with Yu Li and Old Master Su’s disdain for Su Shengli, an invisible thread immediately connected everything in his mind.

Had Su Shengli crossed Su Wanlin’s bottom line long ago?

Perhaps Su Wanlin only realized it later, which is why he acted so decisively and without hesitation.

The highway, of course, was not deserted; there were other cars besides Gu Yubai’s and the semi-trailer behind him. Even if Su Shengli wanted Gu Yubai dead, she couldn’t make it too obvious. The semi-trailer had only a brief window to hit Gu Yubai.

Gu Yubai floored the accelerator, quickly overtaking countless cars ahead and leaving the semi-trailer far behind.

The semi-trailer, in its attempt to force Gu Yubai off the road, had swerved into the far-left fast lane, which was not meant for it. Another small car ahead was speeding by, and the heavy semi-trailer couldn’t change lanes in time, so it had no choice but to slow down abruptly.

When the semi-trailer driver looked up again, the black car he had been following had vanished.

The wailing sirens of police cars echoed from behind. Before long, the semi-trailer, which had violated highway rules for large vehicles, was pulled over at a service station. Several police officers, holding their credentials, surrounded the truck, their expressions serious as they looked at the driver.

“We’ve received a report that your identity is suspicious. Please step out of the vehicle for inspection.”

The driver instantly panicked, instinctively dialing a number on his phone.

“You never said I’d get arrested!”

Liao Anyang heard the driver’s frantic shouting and immediately sensed trouble. His tone turned menacing as he threatened the man.

“You’d better not rat me out! If you keep your mouth shut, it’s just a traffic violation—a brief detention at most. But if you mention me, think carefully about your family’s lives!”

With that, he hung up. Liao Anyang’s face turned pale, then purple. He stared at his phone for a long time, then took out the SIM card, snapped it in half, and threw it into the sewer.

-----

Gu Yubai never went to the nursing home.

He circled back on the highway and returned directly. Along the way, he received a call from an ambulance driver at Mingcheng Military Medical Hospital, informing him that the vegetative patient, Gu Mingliang, had already been admitted to the inpatient ward.

Without even going home, Gu Yubai went straight to complete the admission paperwork for his adoptive father.

The security here was far stricter than at Mingcheng Central Hospital or other nursing homes. The patrolling guards were all licensed security guards who were military veterans, and every patient and visitor had to undergo rigorous registration and screening.

This time, his father’s transfer was even more covert. Even if someone had been watching the nursing home, they likely wouldn’t know where the ambulance had taken the patient.

Gu Yubai had left early in the morning, and by the time he finished everything and returned home, it was only nine o’clock. Classes at school were scheduled to start the next day, so both Gu Yubai and Gu Yihong needed to check into their school dorm rooms that night.

Just as he stepped out of the elevator, he ran into Yu Li at his doorstep—frantic, disheveled, and already kicking his door repeatedly.

The usually composed and dignified Yu Li, who during the day was always dressed in full suits or dress shirts with slacks, his hair neatly styled with gel, now looked completely... disheveled.

He was wearing a set of black long-sleeved silk pajamas, though in his haste, half of the shirt was messily tucked into his pajama bottoms.

His feet were in slippers, and his hair was a mess, as if he hadn’t had time to groom himself.

Worse still, the normally steady Yu Li had lost all composure, violently kicking at the door.

Gu Yubai: “…”

Was the world ending?

Or was this Yu Li’s true nature?

The gloom that had weighed on Gu Yubai since waking up finally lifted a little. The corners of his eyes curved slightly, and he felt a bit lighter.

“Did an asteroid hit CEO Yu in the head or something? Why else would he suddenly start pounding on his neighbor’s door? Aren’t you afraid I’ll call the police?”

Yu Li whipped around. Seeing Gu Yubai standing there unharmed, a flash of relief crossed his eyes.

He strode forward and pulled Gu Yubai into a crushing hug, resting his chin on Gu Yubai’s head. Gu Yubai tilted his face up slightly, feeling warm droplets fall from his forehead.

Yu Li’s arms trembled slightly as he held him.

Gu Yubai asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

Yu Li’s hands clenched tighter, pulling him even closer.

After a long pause, Yu Li spoke, his voice muffled.

“I thought you were in trouble.”