Chapter 89
Chapter 89
Chapter 89
"Are you certain none of your men acted without authorization and took Su Linyuan away?"
Su Shengli stood by the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor of Su Group's headquarters. His expression was calm as he gazed outside, but his heart was involuntarily filled with panic.
How could he just vanish?
Where the hell is Su Linyuan?!
Though it was still afternoon, there was no trace of light left in the sky.
Storm clouds hung heavy over the city, and rain lashed down as thunder rumbled overhead. The entire city looked like a flooded 3D diorama, everything laid bare before his eyes.
Yet Su Shengli’s heart was far from certain at this moment.
Unease gnawed at him.
The raging storm felt like an omen to Su Shengli.
With no leads on Su Linyuan’s whereabouts from his collaborators, Su Shengli thought for a moment before calling the people he had stationed at the airport.
"Has Gu Yubai landed yet?"
His contact replied: "Mr. Su, I just checked. The airline said there were no passengers with the surname Gu today. Could the date be wrong?"
Su Shengli made a noncommittal sound, speaking leisurely, "Ah, is that so? Let me check again. I’ll get back to you later."
His forehead creased in a deep frown.
Nothing?
How could that be?
His intel from the sanatorium said Gu Yubai was supposed to return today.
Gu Mingliang was about to wake up, and the two brothers had agreed not to return together for their psych evaluations, staggering their schedules instead.
Su Shengli lowered his eyes and dialed the psychological clinic near Mingcheng University.
"Hello, this is Mr. Gu, who scheduled a follow-up appointment for tonight. Given the heavy rain in Mingcheng, I wanted to ask if your clinic is still open this evening?"
The receptionist's sugary voice came through: "Mr. Gu, didn’t you reschedule for tomorrow afternoon?"
"Oh, really? I must have forgotten. Alright, thank you."
As he hung up, Su Shengli exhaled sharply, the tension in his heart easing slightly.
The tension that had coiled in his chest since Su Linyuan’s disappearance loosened just a bit.
Gu Yubai was keeping to his schedule for the follow-up appointment. It seemed he truly hadn’t paid any attention to the recent turmoil in the Su family.
Had Gu Yubai cared one whit about the old master of the Su family, he wouldn’t have remained indifferent to the series of tragedies—the patriarch nearly choking to death at his birthday banquet, Su Wanlin being crippled in a car accident, and now Su Linyuan vanishing without a trace.
If Gu Yubai had cared even a little about the Su family, he wouldn’t have been so completely unfazed!
His lips twisted in a mocking smirk.
He drummed his fingers on the desk as he set his scheme in motion.
He called his airport contact again.
"His flight is tomorrow afternoon. Wait at the airport and see if he’s returning alone. Don’t tip him off."
As soon as he hung up, Su Shengli dialed another number.
"The plan remains unchanged, but postpone it to tomorrow night."
"Also, prepare a few things for me—I need them tonight."
-----
There was a beat of silence before the person on the other end replied quietly, "Understood."
Some of the tension eased at knowing Gu Yubai’s impending return.
But sleep still eluded Su Shengli.
The original plan called for the old master of the Su family to die from suffocation at his birthday banquet, Su Wanlin and Song Manman to perish in a car accident, and Su Linyuan to be trafficked to some backwater nation as an organ harvesting victim.
Leaving Su Shengli to seize complete control of Su Group and all the Su family’s assets.
After that, whether he chose to focus on business or indulge in reckless extravagance would be entirely his decision—the dead would be beyond caring.
But every single Su was still breathing! Su Linyuan had even gone missing!
Su Linyuan’s disappearance wasn’t part of Su Shengli’s plan, sending ice water through his veins.
After Su Linyuan vanished, his path to seizing power had been disturbingly smooth!
The old master, who had always prioritized Su Group’s succession, hadn’t uttered a word of protest to his ascension.
Not only that, but even Su Shengli himself had remained deafeningly silent.
These two weren’t dead yet!
As the ones who cared most about the Su family’s future, they weren’t ones to go quietly.
The longer Su Shengli dwelled on it, the more something felt off.
He felt like he’d entered a Schrödinger's paradox—unsure whether he was being overly paranoid or if someone was truly waiting to play the oriole following the mantis.
He even began to suspect that his collaborators were playing him for a fool.
Did they really not know Su Linyuan’s whereabouts?
They had committed their fair share of crimes, after all.
Su Shengli’s eyes darkened. He understood better than most the kind of people he was working with.
Before Liao Anyang was imprisoned, these people had recruited him to plunder Su Group’s interests.
They were like ravenous vultures, not only wanting to bleed the Su family dry to transform their business model but also aiming to pick the Su bones clean.
As their Trojan horse for devouring the Su family, Su Shengli was their tool.
Not that Su Shengli minded - he despised the Su family. He didn’t mind collaborating with these villains, nor did he care about the Su family’s future once it fell into his hands.
Now, the vultures had their claws in Su Group, and the Su family members had felt Su Shengli’s vengeance.
But where exactly was the problem? Why this gnawing dread instead of triumph?
It must be because those who were supposed to be dead are still alive!
If Su Linyuan had indeed been transported abroad as planned to serve as a short-lived organ donor, then the old man and the disabled one still in the nursing home would be putty in his hands. Su Shengli could handle them as he saw fit.
Su Shengli wanted nothing more than to look down on Su Linyuan and Su Wanlin, mocking them for never expecting such a day would come.
These two high-and-mighty men would now have their lives, emotions, and fates entirely in the hands of a bloodline they had once looked down on—their enemy.
Yet why, despite everything going so smoothly, was he still so uneasy?
After further contemplation, Su Shengli decided to take his frustrations out on someone else first.
Su Linyuan’s disappearance was out of his hands, and Su Linyuan and Su Wanlin were still out of reach overseas. But Gu Yubai, who was returning tomorrow...
Hah, who made him unlucky enough to carry the blood of the Su family in his veins?
Even though Su Shengli knew full well that Gu Yubai had always held the Su family in contempt.
---
Gu Yubai truly hadn’t expected someone like Su Shengli to be waiting for him in Mingcheng.
His return this time wasn’t just for his final psychiatric check-up—it was also at Yu Li’s invitation to pick out wedding rings together.
Yes, wedding rings.
Though Gu Yubai hadn’t attended the engagement ceremony, the ring had long been hung around his neck—the gold-encased jade pendant Yu Li had given him, strung on a red thread and never removed since.
The one used at the engagement ceremony on the Yu family’s Iceland estate had actually been a fake.
Gu Yubai could have returned to Mingcheng a day earlier, as his psychiatric follow-up was originally scheduled for yesterday afternoon. But plans changed when his adoptive father, Gu Mingliang, suddenly gripped his hand with such force that both Gu Yubai and Gu Yihong nearly thought he had regained consciousness.
After a medical examination, the doctor confirmed that while his consciousness was still recovering, the patient’s reactions had recently become more pronounced.
The diagnosis suggested it would take at least another half month before Gu Mingliang would become aware of his current state and slowly open his eyes.
Gu Yubai was forced to postpone his flight, returning on an early morning flight the next day.
By the time he landed, it was already 1 PM. Yu Li was waiting outside the airport, planning to drive them first to the psychiatric clinic before heading back to their residence near Mingcheng University.
The following day, Secretary Jin had already arranged for representatives from major jewelry brands to visit, showing Gu Yubai and Yu Li design references and options for their wedding rings, giving them ample choices.
Gu Yubai had no objections. As soon as he stepped into the airport lobby, he spotted Yu Li waiting for him.
The two approached each other, exchanged a smiling embrace, then walked out hand in hand, swinging their clasped hands.
The therapy session was routine.
By the time they left, Gu Yubai was utterly exhausted. Sitting in the passenger seat, he was nearly asleep if not for Yu Li keeping him engaged in conversation.
Back at their residence, Gu Yubai perked up slightly.
Yu Li took out steak and noodles from the fridge, preparing a hybrid meal of steak and greens with noodles and a fried egg for each of them.
After dinner, before they could cuddle for long, Yu Li’s assistant called, summoning him to a company meeting.
Gu Yubai yawned, waving Yu Li off. “Go ahead. I’ll wash up and sleep.”
He wasn’t a workaholic, and the sight of Yu Li reluctantly changing into dress shoes amused him, a smirk playing on his lips.
Yu Li gave him one last kiss before Gu Yubai locked the villa door and headed upstairs for a shower.
With the air conditioner set to the perfect temperature, Gu Yubai closed his eyes under the covers, his consciousness sinking into darkness almost instantly.
Just before losing consciousness completely, he faintly registered that his drowsiness had come too quickly—suspiciously fast.
But the next second, he was out cold.
Upstairs fell completely silent. Then, the villa suddenly lost power. Yu Li's long-term bodyguard, stationed nearby, frowned but before he could call to inquire, everything returned to normal.
Through infrared imaging, the guard could make out a figure lying on the bed in Gu Yubai’s room and relaxed.
Gu Yubai dreamed he was lying on a small boat rocking unsteadily on the ocean.
The boat was eerily quiet, but the surrounding waters were violent.
Sharp-shelled crabs, shrimp, and hideous fish kept slamming into him, leaving bruises as if his skin had become paper-thin.
In his sleep, Gu Yubai couldn’t help but frown.
His consciousness gradually sharpened, but his body felt paralyzed, weighed down by an invisible force. Despite his frantic efforts to open his eyes, his eyelids remained immovable, though his mind screamed in protest.
A cold laugh suddenly sounded beside him.
“How much sedative did you even slip into his bed? Why hasn’t Gu Yubai woken up after all this time?”
The familiar voice sent Gu Yubai's heart racing, as if a needle had pierced his brain.
Su Shengli!
Why had he kidnapped him?
Su Shengli’s tone was cold and commanding as he berated another person, making Gu Yubai realize there was a third person nearby.
The third person replied calmly, measured.
“Master Su, before assisting you in kidnapping Mr. Gu Yubai, Chairman Zhang specifically instructed that considering Mr. Gu’s current position—as the future partner of the Yu Family Patriarch overseas—he is under constant surveillance. Getting him out wasn't easy, so we had to use a strong dose.”
“Moreover, the Yu family will soon notice he's missing. So even if you wish to vent your anger, Chairman Zhang ordered me to keep you in check.”
“At most, within three days, Mr. Gu must be returned unharmed to Patriarch Yu. Otherwise, the hounds under his command will come after us without mercy.”
Su Shengli scoffed, unmoved.
“If I can’t hurt him, what’s the point of kidnapping him? Some kind of game?”
“You’re not worried about Yu’s hounds—you’re afraid I’ll kill Gu Yubai in a rage and ruin your plans to take over the Su family’s assets, aren’t you?”
In the corner they hadn’t noticed, Gu Yubai made his breathing shallower.
Suddenly, he realized who was backing Su Shengli.
Chairman Zhang?
Was this the one who had been aiding Su Shengli all along, arranging murders and other crimes behind the scenes?
The shadowy organization led by the so-called "Director Zhang," who helped Su Shengli evade imprisonment for his crimes and then assisted him in rising within Su Group to gradually devour its assets, is undoubtedly formidable.
From their earlier conversation, it appears that Director Zhang's primary goal in collaborating with Su Shengli is to seize Su Group's interests and successfully legitimize their operations.
Clearly, Su Shengli showed no concern for Su Group's interests, fully compliant with their plans. In return for his compliance, they assist him in certain matters.
For instance... despite knowing that Gu Yubai is under 24-hour surveillance by Yu Li's people, they still fulfilled Su Shengli's wish by finding an opportunity to abduct him.
Gu Yubai: "..."
So, should he later pretend not to know that Su Shengli was behind his kidnapping, or should he pretend not to know... that Su Shengli was the one who kidnapped him?
Gu Yubai mulled over their conversation and let out a quiet sigh of relief, knowing his life wasn’t in danger.
He struggled slightly, only to realize he was tightly bound by ropes.
He froze immediately. Even when the pressure on his body faded and he fully regained consciousness, he made no movement.
Gu Yubai eavesdropped on Su Shengli’s movements.
Su Shengli remained silent for a long time. After about an hour, the lurching car suddenly stopped, and Gu Yubai heard Su Shengli coldly order the other person.
"Didn’t you say I shouldn’t reveal my identity? Get me my mask and hat."
The next second, Gu Yubai felt someone touch his chest. The person’s fingers lightly brushed his arm a few times before pausing for two seconds and gave a cold chuckle.
Gu Yubai’s arm muscles tensed, his tension spiked.
But it was Su Shengli who had laughed. Nonchalantly, he lifted Gu Yubai by the shoulders while the other person grabbed his legs.
Just like that, the two carried him out of the vehicle.
Gu Yubai heard the creak of an old iron door, followed by echoing footsteps—a sound only possible in a vast, empty space.
Clearly, only the three of them were here.
Two kidnappers, and him.
Gu Yubai wasn’t sure how much time had passed since he lost consciousness.
But it couldn’t have been more than three hours, because Yu Li would officially finish his shift by then and come looking for him in the bedroom.
The fact that Su Shengli was still here undisturbed, without any alerts, proved that Yu Li hadn’t yet gotten off work.
Three hours...
Even by car, his location had to be limited. First, areas near Mingcheng’s highways were ruled out. The busy downtown was also impossible. He was likely in some small town in Mingcheng.
A town with various factories and few residents.
Otherwise, someone would have already noticed Su Shengli’s sketchy activity.
With a loud *thud*, a cushion was abruptly thrown onto the ground.
Gu Yubai’s thoughts scattered. His eyebrows twitched, and he couldn’t help but wear a sardonic smirk.
Kidnapping him, yet taking the time to prepare a cushion first?
Is this even a real kidnapping? A prank? Or just an attempt to scare him?
Dust flew up. Gu Yubai held back a cough, but Su Shengli coughed twice before suddenly letting go and dumping him forward.
Gu Yubai: "…Huh?"
The sensation of weightlessness lasted only a moment before he landed on a thin padding. His own muffled grunt echoed in the air as his body ached sharply, forcing his eyes open.
His brows instantly furrowed.
The next second, Su Shengli—now wearing a mask and hat—stepped forward. With a cold laugh, he bent down, gripping Gu Yubai’s chin with icy fingers, his glacial stare piercing him, filled with open contempt.
"What’s wrong? Done pretending now?"
Gu Yubai leaned back, avoiding Su Shengli’s hand. He coughed lightly, then lifted his eyes to meet Su Shengli’s directly.
With a wry smile, he said, "Doesn’t Second Young Master Su already know why I didn’t open my eyes?"
His taunting look suggested he knew the other man was all bark, no bite.
His smile was one of smug assurance.
Su Shengli gnashed his teeth, glaring hatefully at Gu Yubai before suddenly raising a hand and pointing at the silent man in black nearby.
"You. Get out."
The man hesitated. Gu Yubai glanced at him indifferently before refocusing on Su Shengli.
"Logically speaking, now that Su Linyuan has disappeared, you’re the most legitimate candidate to take control of Su Group. Shouldn’t you be on top of the world? Why do you seem... not very happy?"
Su Shengli let out a cold laugh, his expression shifting to one of disbelief as he stared at Gu Yubai.
"On top of the world? Where did you get that idea? Do you think I’m someone who is profit-driven by nature?!"
His voice was seething.
"Of course I am! But more than profit, I want to see every Su down to the last ruined!"
He abruptly bit off his words, turning a cold gaze toward the man in black.
Seeing that Su Shengli was still somewhat composed, the man lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, then turned and left, leaving the two of them alone in the empty warehouse.
Once the man was gone, Su Shengli’s mocking act vanished completely.
His expression turned icy as he stared at Gu Yubai, his tone even colder than before—like a flame abruptly smothered in ice, instantly extinguished.
This was the real Su Shengli.
He spoke coldly: "You don’t actually think I’m stupid, do you? Before I could even send Su Linyuan away, he disappeared. Gu Yubai, tell me—was Su Linyuan hidden away by the old man and Su Wanlin?"
"Why? I don’t know where I slipped up. Why are you all suddenly wary of me?"
"Where is Su Linyuan? I’m truly... furious he slipped away."
Su Shengli was like a viper, tightly coiling around the Su family.
He had sworn vengeance that he would ensure the Su family were destroyed. It was as if he had chosen this fate for them—unchangeable, a goal he would chase endlessly.
Gu Yubai went quiet for a moment, his eyes unflinching in their honesty.
"I really don’t know where Su Linyuan is. You know better than anyone what my relationship with the Su family is like. Aside from this inescapable blood relation, we’re mere acquaintances."
He felt a ridiculous sense of uncanny familiarity.
And finally understood why he had suddenly been kidnapped by Su Shengli.
It turned out Su Shengli wanted to find Su Linyuan’s whereabouts by kidnapping him.
Gu Yubai felt completely innocent.
Su Shengli stared at Gu Yubai for a long moment before finally standing up straight.
His tone was indifferent: "You’re not entirely innocent either. It's your own fault for having Su family blood running in your veins. After all the suffering I’ve endured, it's only natural I'd take it out on you."
"You actually knew, didn’t you? Your adoptive father..."
"The car accident that left him in a vegetative state, even the fire at the rehabilitation center in the city near Mingcheng—I was behind it all."
Su Shengli’s lips suddenly curled slightly, his eyes filled with amusement.
"Pity you’ll never find any evidence linking it to me. Hah."
He had already realized that Su Shengli was completely different from the person he had been years ago. Back then, as a child, he had cherished family bonds, worrying less about the True Young Master reclaiming wealth and status and more about losing the Su family’s affection due to bloodline.
Now, Su Shengli kept claiming his heart had been broken by the Su family, yet his eyes revealed nothing but mocking detachment.
He didn’t care about wealth, didn’t care about family—now, all he cared about was when those who had betrayed him emotionally would pay the price.
His gaze was completely cold.
Gu Yubai thought that the Su family had indeed underestimated this person before. No wonder they were paying such a heavy price now—some crippled, others weakened, and one even missing.
Gu Yubai remained silent.
Su Shengli saw the surprise in Gu Yubai’s expression and finally let a triumphant smile spread across his face.
He looked at Gu Yubai with amusement, suddenly felt like talking.
"I think now that you’re the only one in this world who can truly understand me. Because no one truly understands unless we’ve experienced similar circumstances. Heh, you’re the True Young Master, I’m the false young master. See? We’ve hardly spent time together, yet you know exactly what I'm thinking."
A hint of obsession and madness gleamed in Su Shengli’s eyes as he studied Gu Yubai intently, as if seeing an overlooked plant suddenly bloom into the most understanding flower in the garden.
Su Shengli didn’t like this beautiful flower, but he was astonished that it understood him so well—that it actually knew what he was thinking.
"If you weren’t the True Young Master, and I weren’t the false one, maybe we could’ve been friends."
"Compared to you, the rest of the Su family is more foolish. They actually thought I had ill intentions toward them, so after returning, I’d carefully sow discord. Heh, they think too complicated. If I want them to suffer, I don’t need their complicated business tactics."
"Times have changed. If they all just die, won’t I get everything I want?"
As Gu Yubai listened to Su Shengli’s rambling speech, an inappropriate thought popped into his head—a comment he’d once seen in a TV drama.
*Huanbi’s palace intrigue mindset meets Meng Jingxian’s domestic scheming brain.*
Applied here, it was Old Master Su and Su Wanlin’s refined business tactics colliding with Su Shengli’s blunt, ruthless approach.
Seeing Gu Yubai still silently watching him, Su Shengli chuckled.
"Of course, I don’t actually care about wealth. I’m not Su Linyuan, the heir who’s been lectured since childhood about the importance of money by the old man and his father. And I’m not you, raised in an ordinary family, never having much money to spend growing up."
"Heh, I’ve never lacked houses, cars, jewelry, or savings, so why should I care about the profits the Su family obsesses over? I originally planned to give Su Group away once I got it, but then I thought—why hand it over when I can let the Su family watch it fall apart before their eyes?"
"Generations of the Su family’s efforts wasted, watching themselves slowly become beggars—just imagining the expressions on their faces makes me happy!"
Su Shengli was genuinely delighted now.
Gu Yubai looked at him as if observing a sane madman.
Why tell him all this about the Su family?
Even if this kidnapping was just to test whether Su Linyuan’s disappearance was due to Su Wanlin and Old Master Su catching onto Su Shengli’s intentions, there was no need to stare at Gu Yubai with such intense curiosity.
Because he had never been treated with genuine familial love, because he had never received sincere, selfless affection from his family, Su Shengli had become warped and cruel.
This reminded Gu Yubai of his previous life.
He, too, had once been briefly trapped in the Su family’s fake affection.
But Gu Yubai had received complete, genuine love from his adoptive father and Gu Yihong. He knew what real familial love was, so he quickly snapped out of the Su family’s illusions.
Su Shengli wasn’t so lucky.
He had never experienced true affection, never known what real family love was. Abandonment twisted him into vengeance.
It wasn’t entirely his fault.
The Su family on the other end of the scale were to blame too—they had been too cold.
If they had given even a little of the attention they devoted to business profits to Su Shengli, if they had loved him sincerely instead of treating him like a stray dog, perhaps things wouldn’t have escalated to this deadly feud.
Su Shengli suddenly smirked, as if recalling something.
"At the old man’s birthday banquet last time, if you hadn’t interrupted my little rescue attempt, that old bastard would’ve been dead already. You can't help meddling, don’t you?"
Gu Yubai: "..."
Outside, the sky was darkening—someone had probably noticed his disappearance by now.
He glanced up at Su Shengli and sure enough, saw the man’s expression shift as he checked his phone, followed by a flash of gritted teeth.
Su Shengli glared at Gu Yubai furiously: "I knew you were important to Yu Li, but not this important! It hasn’t even been three hours, and someone’s already tracking us down!"
"What the hell is on you?!"
He lunged forward, roughly shoving Gu Yubai down and straddling him to search his person.
Gu Yubai finally felt a headache coming on. Struggling, he tried to stop Su Shengli’s movements, shouting:
"Nothing! There’s nothing on me!"
"Instead of suspecting a tracker on me, maybe consider that your own side slipped up."
Su Shengli paused, his lips curling into a sneer before his movements slowed deliberately.
"True. You’re Yu Li’s future husband, genuinely in love. Of course he wouldn’t plant a tracker on you without a word—that’d just be insulting, wouldn’t it?"
He looked at Gu Yubai mockingly.
Gu Yubai pretended not to catch the sarcasm.
The third man from earlier reentered, his expression grave, eyes urgent.
"Su, time's running out. The Yu family has already traced the route of our previous car. At best, we can hold onto Gu here for two days, and we need to move quickly now. Otherwise, if the Yu Corporation detects even the slightest irregularity, none of us will get out clean!"
"There's another option—we retreat now and leave him here alone."
Su Shengli's eyes turned sharp, a flicker of killing intent in his eyes.
"You’re all fucking useless!"
He was genuinely furious, his icy gaze shifting back to Gu Yubai. Yet, he ignored the suggestion to take the second option.
"Tch, he knows I took him. If we leave him here and Yu Li finds him, we won’t even get two days to work with."
Su Shengli lowered his eyes. "I know a good place. Take him there."
He cast one last glance at Gu Yubai, his gaze filled with ruthless determination.
Gu Yubai’s gut twisted with dread.
The next second, a towel clamped over his face, and once again, he lost consciousness.