Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Su Linyuan immediately flared with anger. He pressed his lips together, took a deep breath, and then leveled a dark glare at Gu Yubai.

"Gu, I'm not joking with you. Su Shengli has disappeared. Can you tell me what he was like the last time you met?"

Worry creased Su Linyuan's forehead.

Gu Yubai raised an eyebrow, his lips quirking in amusement.

"If you care so much about Su Shengli, then why didn’t you speak up when the Su family insisted on kicking him out for being a liability?"

"Officially, even the police didn’t charge Su Shengli with anything, did they?"

Gu Yubai’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

Su Linyuan went rigid, and Gu Yubai continued.

"Wasn’t he your favorite brother? Even though you’re not related by blood, you grew up together as childhood companions. Didn’t you always say he was the only brother you recognized, that shared blood didn't matter as much as real bonds? So... why did you cave in so quickly?"

Gu Yubai’s words cut deep, showing no mercy.

As he listened, Su Linyuan suddenly recognized those words—he realized they were what he had once said to Gu Yihong.

Was this karma coming back to bite him?

"Who are you to mock me!" Su Linyuan gritted his teeth.

"What do you know? The affairs of the Su family aren’t something some nobody student like you could possibly understand. I... I was in an impossible position."

His tone grew firmer.

"The Su family has already gone above and beyond for Su Shengli. I know you have it out for the Su family because Gu Yihong is a Su by blood, but be honest with yourself—before Su Shengli was outed as the nephew of the murderer who killed my grandmother, didn’t the Su family always side with him in every dispute?"

His voice lowered slightly. "Even now, knowing his true origins, the Su family hasn’t given him any grief because of past grudges. They didn’t even take back the deeds and titles in his name, nor the entertainment company they established for him."

"In the media, everyone hails the Su family's generosity. We simply don’t want to stay connected to the bloodline of our enemies—what’s wrong with that?"

Su Linyuan’s words were heartfelt, swaying the crowd. Some even looked sympathetic, as if ready to speak up for him.

Gu Yubai paid no mind to the onlookers. After hearing Su Linyuan out, he asked,

"If that’s the case, then why are you here looking for Su Shengli now?"

"What, is he no longer the nephew of your family’s enemy, but your beloved younger brother again?"

Gu Yubai’s expression was mocking, and Yu Li couldn’t help but let out a snort of derision beside him.

Su Linyuan jerked his head up, as if only now noticing Yu Li standing near Gu Yubai. His face registered shock.

"Patriarch Yu... what are you doing here?"

He truly hadn’t expected Yu Li to be with Gu Yubai.

But on second thought, perhaps it wasn’t so strange—at the Su family’s charity gala, Gu Yubai had attended as Yu Li’s assistant.

Back then, because Su Shengli had picked a fight with Gu Yubai, he had been severely reprimanded by their grandfather, made a spectacle of himself.

But now, why were these two together again? Why would Yu Li attend a small company’s employee dinner?

What exactly was their relationship?

At this moment, Su Linyuan’s focus shifted from searching for Su Shengli to speculating about Yu Li’s presence.

"Patriarch Yu, I only came to ask Gu about Su Shengli’s last known whereabouts," Su Linyuan said, his shoulders slumped.

"However tangled his relationship with the Su family is, we grew up together. Even if I tell myself to forget him, I still care about his safety."

Yu Li took a step forward, his smile gentle.

"I understand your concern for your brother, but Yubai is an outsider with no ties to the Su family. How would he know anything about Su Shengli?"

"Last time, I happened to see Su Shengli as well. He... seemed perfectly fine. What? Has he really disappeared now?"

Yu Li played dumb.

Su Linyuan remained downcast, his face full of worry, but he watched out of the corner of his eye, carefully studying Yu Li’s expression.

Seeing that Yu Li lacked the cutting edge of Gu Yubai, maintaining his usual polished facade, Su Linyuan eased up a fraction.

His expression turned sorrowful.

"He sold all his properties, cars, and other assets. Even the entertainment company the family had just transferred to him was handed off to strangers. He even quit film school. I was busy with other family matters and lost track of him, and before I knew it, Su Shengli was gone."

"I thought Gu might know something, so I came to ask after work."

Gu Yubai crossed his arms lazily.

"Some might say you're asking—I'd say you're accusing."

Just then, Gu Yihong, catching wind of the argument, approached. He barely glanced at Su Linyuan before locking eyes with Gu Yubai.

Gu Yubai gave a slight shake of his head, signaling Gu Yihong not to interfere. Understanding, Gu Yihong simply crossed his arms and stood behind Gu Yubai, watching Su Linyuan with an amused gaze.

Su Linyuan shot Gu Yihong a cold look, devoid of any complicated emotions one might expect toward a "blood-related" brother.

In fact, Gu Yubai noticed that Su Linyuan seemed more emotionally affected by him than by Gu Yihong.

Lowering his eyes, Gu Yubai realized something.

He chuckled softly but asked nothing, turning to leave instead. Gu Yihong quickly followed.

Yu Li, seeing this, gave Su Linyuan a thin smile.

"President Su, it seems you won’t find the answers you seek here."

"However, I do happen to know a little about Su Shengli’s whereabouts. Rumor has it that after selling all his assets in Mingcheng, he left the country."

"Perhaps... he wanted to leave this place of sorrow behind."

Yu Li’s meaningful gaze made Su Linyuan deeply uncomfortable.

If not for the fact that Yu Li had only recently returned to the country, Su Linyuan might have suspected he knew about the dirty secrets behind the Su family’s recent turmoil.

But that was impossible.

Yu Li was merely a distant relative of the Yu family—not the patriarch. How could he possibly know the Su family’s inner workings?

Su Linyuan let his heart settle back into place.

"Director Yu..."

Yu Li had just returned after sending Su Linyuan away when he noticed Gu Yubai thoughtfully rubbing his chin.

Gu Yubai looked up with a smile playing on his lips and asked, "Do you think Su Linyuan genuinely doesn’t know I’m his brother, or is he just pretending?"

Yu Li replied indifferently, "Does it matter? It doesn’t affect your life anyway."

"People who profit from the system won’t go out of their way to stir up trouble."

Gu Yubai nodded. "I know the logic, but I still feel a twinge of sadness for Su Shengli. He wasn’t like me—someone who never had expectations of the Su family. He used to be utterly convinced that he was the treasured favorite."

"After all, he’s only eighteen."

Gu Yubai sighed, though his face showed no sympathy.

Eighteen was a terrifying age—demanding unconditional love from family while callously treating ordinary lives as worthless as weeds, arranging for someone to vanish at a whim.

He didn’t pity Su Shengli’s fate.

When dogs bite dogs, it has nothing to do with bystanders. Gu Yubai only regretted that despite Su Shengli’s crimes, there was no evidence to convict him. Even now, someone else was taking the blame for him, allowing him to sell off all his assets and live comfortably, merely disappearing from Mingcheng’s circle of power and influence.

Someone called for Gu Yubai from a distance, and he stood up to walk over.

But was Su Shengli truly content to flee so shamefully?

Rather than believing that, Gu Yubai suspected Su Shengli had developed a deep hatred for the Su family but lacked the means to retaliate, choosing instead to retreat into the shadows until he was strong enough to strike back.

What would become of the Su family then?

Gu Yubai had his suspicions but remained outwardly indifferent.

After Su Shengli’s complete disappearance, Gu Yubai’s life finally seemed to emerge from the Su family’s whirlpool. None of them reappeared in his world again.

-----

Time passed steadily, and soon it was winter during Gu Yubai’s spring semester of his sophomore year.

With winter break approaching, Gu Yubai and Gu Yihong had already arranged to visit their adoptive father abroad. Yu Li had handled all the arrangements for the domestic company well in advance.

As soon as the break began, the three boarded a chartered jet to Jasmine Country.

Unlike winter back home, Jasmine Country was situated on a small island with a temperate climate year-round, temperatures hovering around 25-26 degrees Celsius. The pleasant weather meant towering, verdant foliage and vibrant flowers lined the streets all year.

Thanks to this ideal environment, the world’s top pharmaceutical and chemical research labs, as well as premium medical resorts catering to the wealthy, were concentrated here.

Before this year, aside from an annual trip back to the ancestral home, the Su family patriarch had spent nearly the entire year recuperating here.

Coincidentally, Gu Mingliang, Gu Yubai’s adoptive father, had also ended up here after much being transferred between facilities.

During their last visit, Gu Yubai and Gu Yihong had heard that a mysterious tycoon had invested heavily in the sanatorium, gathering the world’s top doctors and scientists to research rare diseases in Jasmine Country—with neurology specialists being crucial.

Gu Yubai still remembered the staff excitedly told him that Gu Mingliang was one step closer to waking up.

This time, the reason they hadn’t lingered in the country was because the sanatorium director had personally called Gu Yubai, reporting that Gu Mingliang’s brainwaves had shown markedly increased activity. They asked if the family could spend more time with him to further stimulate his consciousness.

The brothers naturally cleared their schedules without hesitation.

Gu Yubai was in a better position—once his company stabilized, he only needed to check in on operations twice weekly. The rest of his time was split between classes and chemical research in a lab coat. Gu Yihong, however, had passed up a coveted internship opportunity at a prestigious law firm.

In truth, both knew Gu Mingliang’s awakening was unlikely to happen soon. Yet Gu Yubai didn’t try to dissuade Gu Yihong, understanding all too well how desperately his brother wanted their family life to return to what it was before the gaokao.

They would never give up on Gu Mingliang.

When the plane landed, they were greeted by surprisingly the old butler who had served the Su family patriarch for years.

Ever since the Su family expelled Su Shengli and he subsequently vanished, the patriarch had completely disengaged from managing Su Group’s domestic affairs.

He had effectively become a background character, detached from the Su family.

The butler had someone take their luggage. Gu Yubai tilted his head and casually asked,

"How’s the old man’s health these days?"

He had seen the patriarch during his last visit, who had looked ruddy-cheeked and benevolent then.

In his previous life, the patriarch had died from a fall down the stairs. But this time, since Gu Yubai hadn’t even been in the country at the fated time of death, the patriarch had already lived over a year longer.

The butler smiled. "Same as always. As long as he stays at the sanatorium without anyone deliberately provoking him, I’d say he has at least ten good years left."

A decade...

Gu Yubai nodded with a faint smile. "Has news from the Su household back home reached his ears?"

Half a month ago, Su Wanlin and his wife Song Manman—once the model of marital devotion—had suddenly filed for divorce.

This couple, so alike in their moral bankruptcy that even the patriarch had despaired of them ever splitting unless the world ended, had begun fighting incessantly. The entire high society knew their marriage was on the verge of collapse.

Su Wanlin, renowned as a devoted husband and father, had taken a college student as his mistress, flaunting her openly without regard for Song Manman’s feelings.

But Song Manman wasn’t about to be outdone. Though she didn’t keep a public lover, she frequented high-end male escort clubs, often photographed by paparazzi in smoke-filled private rooms surrounded by bare-chested, sculpted men.