“I’m your Brother He, not your real brother. You have to understand that.”
He Zhichu refused.
Gu Nianzhi let go of his hand in embarrassment. She stole a glance at He Zhichu and saw that he had lowered his eyes and was expressionless. She had no choice but to find a way out. “Haha, I was just saying so. The He family has such a high threshold, so I can’t get in… Please don’t take offense, Young Master He. I’m not that lucky to be Young Master He’s biological sister.”
He Zhichu’s brows gradually furrowed. He grabbed Gu Nianzhi’s hand and pressed it against his chest. He said in a low voice, “… Don’t pretend to be naive. Do you not know what I mean?”
Gu Nianzhi blinked her big eyes with all her might. Her long eyelashes fluttered like two rows of small fans. Her lips curled up cutely and revealed the faint dimples on her lips.
“Young Master He, did you forget that you told me to treat you like a brother? You didn’t keep your word!”
She was talking about when they were in the opposite world.
He Zhichu was at a loss for words for a moment.
It was now and then.
At that time, he had made up his mind not to come back. Of course, he could only settle for the second best. He wanted to be Gu Nianzhi’s only family member and watch her and Huo Shaoheng spend the full moon together.
But now, Huo Shaoheng couldn’t come over, and neither could Gu Nianzhi go over. So, why couldn’t he be with her?
He Zhichu gazed at Gu Nianzhi’s subtle smile and touched her face. “… I know it’s still too early to say this. No matter how long it takes, I’ll wait for you.” With that said, he immediately turned and left, his footsteps still somewhat flustered.
Gu Nianzhi stared blankly at He Zhichu’s back. After a while, she went to the door and closed it.
Leaning against the door, she looked at her own room. Although it was almost exactly the same as the small apartment she had in there, she knew that it was different. No matter how similar it was, it was still different.
..
He Zhichu rushed back to the capital overnight. When he got home, it was already two in the morning.
He entered the house and asked casually, “Is my father asleep?”
The orderly quickly said, “Reporting to the Chief, General He is still in the study!”
“You’re still awake so late?” He Zhichu frowned. “Didn’t I tell you? I wanted to urge the chief to rest earlier. His health isn’t good…”
“Reporting to the chief, we urged him, but every time you want to come back, the chief will wait for you.”
He Zhichu closed his eyes and asked, “Other people? Are they all back?”
The orderly looked at He Zhichu carefully. After pondering for a moment, he asked,”… Are You referring to Mrs. Qin? She hasn’t come back yet.”
He Zhichu’s expression suddenly turned cold. “Who told you to talk about Mrs. Qin?”
There was only one “Mrs. Qin” in this family, and that was his mother, Qin Suwen.
Qin Yaoguang had married into the family when he wasn’t at home. He Zhichu didn’t believe that his father, He Chengjian, hadn’t instructed him on how to address her.
The orderly scratched his head and said in a low voice, “… It was Miss Wen who instructed us to address her as “Auntie Qin” in the past. We used to address her as “Auntie Qin”, but when Miss Wen addressed her as “Auntie Qin”, it was a form of address between relatives. We… We have to address her as “Mrs. Qin”.”
He Zhichu huffed. “Wen Shouyi is no longer a military officer, nor is she my personal secretary. Pass down the order, and her words will be nullified.”
The orderly quickly saluted and said loudly, “Yes, Chief!”
After explaining the matters at home, He Zhichu went straight to He Chengjian’s study on the second floor and gently rang the doorbell.
He Chengjian saw that He Zhichu had returned from the video and pressed the button to open the door.
The door to the study opened silently. He Zhichu walked in and closed the door behind him.
He walked around the multi-treasure pavilion, which was used as a partition. He Zhichu walked to the inner room and saw He Chengjian sitting behind the desk. He looked up at He Zhichu with his presbyopia glasses on.
He took off his glasses and pointed at the chair in front of him with a smile. “Sit, Ah-Chu. It’s so late yet you’re still here to see me. I’m very happy.”
He Zhichu: “…”
I guess you won’t be happy later.
He placed the evidence he brought back from C City on He Chengjian’s desk.
It was just a small flash drive.
“Dad, I went to C city and learned some interesting things. Are you interested in taking a look?” He knocked on the desk with his hand and asked calmly.
“What is it? If you think it’s interesting, then it must be very interesting.” He Chengjian laughed as he plugged the flash drive into his laptop and played it.
He Zhichu leaned back in his chair and put his hands on the armrests. He said coldly, “This is what my people found out.”
“Look at what your precious wife has done from the moment Nianzhi went to C City.”
He Chengjian looked at the evidence displayed on the computer. She had instructed Wen Shouyi to call the four big law firms in C City and hint that they shouldn’t hire Gu Nianzhi. She had gone to C City with grandfather Qin to apologize, but in reality, she went to humiliate her. After being humiliated by Gu Nianzhi’s retort, she was still unwilling to give up and tried to cause a bigger scene, but Old Master Qin stopped her.
He Chengjian’s face darkened. “So, she still interfered in Nianzhi’s matters?”
“Yes, you personally promised that you would never interfere in Nianzhi’s matters outside. You also guaranteed that Mrs. Qin and Wen Shouyi wouldn’t interfere in her matters.”
He Zhichu’s voice was even colder. He said sarcastically, “But look at them now. They both feigned compliance with ulterior motives. They don’t even take your words to heart.”
He Chengjian couldn’t take his eyes off the video of Gu Nianzhi butting heads with Qin Yaoguang in the meeting room.
He couldn’t help laughing when he heard Gu Nianzhi say that Qin Yaoguang was an “earthworm turned into a spirit.” He pointed at Gu Nianzhi’s image on the computer screen and laughed. “This child is so mischievous! I can’t believe she thought of that!”
He Zhichu didn’t laugh at all.
He looked at He Chengjian coldly. “You think It’s funny? ! You think it’s funny to see so many grown men bullying a little girl?!”
“Why are you in such a hurry?” He Chengjian rolled his eyes at He Zhichu unhappily. “Look, she’s not at a disadvantage. Let me tell you, people must be able to remain calm in the face of threats, to remain calm in the face of danger, to remain calm in the face of adversity, and to remain determined in the face of adversity. Only then will she be able to rise above others.”
“Nianzhi, she really is a piece of unpolished jade…” He looked at her thoughtfully. “In her current state, she is indeed worthy of being the young madam of the He family.”
“Even if she isn’t so capable, she is still worthy of being the young madam of the He family. Because other than her, I will not marry anyone else,” He Zhichu said casually. It was as normal as saying that if it was cloudy, it would rain, and if it was sunny, the sun would rise.
He Chengjian glared at him. “Do you think I’m blind?! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone to so much trouble to get her back!”
He Zhichu was at a loss for words. He raised his left index finger and rubbed it against his nose. He coughed lightly. “She’s a qualified young madam. What about the madam? Do you think she’s qualified?”
It was obvious that the “she” He Zhichu was referring to wasn’t Gu Nianzhi, but Qin Yaoguang.
He Chengjian lowered his eyes and found it hard to believe. “I thought she was just a straightforward person who did research and didn’t have a lot of complicated thoughts. I didn’t expect her to be so harsh on Nianzhi.”
“Yes, perhaps she can’t treat Nianzhi as her own daughter, but there’s no reason for her to treat Nianzhi as her enemy.” He Zhichu slapped his desk and said angrily, “How could she not know what it means for a young woman who has just started her career to be prevented from finding a good job?”
“She keeps saying that she doesn’t treat Nianzhi as her own daughter, but whenever something happens, she has to mention it again. She’s afraid that others won’t know that Nianzhi is her biological daughter!” He Zhichu lowered his voice. “Haven’t you ever advised her not to go crazy?”
He Chengjian smiled wryly. “… She didn’t go crazy before Nianzhi came back.”
He Zhichu:”…”
Gu Nianzhi had been sent to their home by Gu Xiangwen when she was six years old. In the past six years, Qin Yaoguang had visited her more times than he could count on his hand.
At that time, she had treated Gu Nianzhi with a businesslike attitude. Although she hadn’t been enthusiastic, she hadn’t been as unreasonable as she was now.
Seven years later, when Gu Nianzhi had grown up and returned, she unexpectedly wasn’t even be able to maintain her business-like attitude.
He Zhichu stood up. “I still plan to move out. Dad, I don’t want to interfere with your life, and you shouldn’t interfere with me in the future. Really, if I move out, it will be good for me, for you, and for the family.”
“Ah-Chu!” He Chengjian quickly stood up and looked at him anxiously. “I haven’t told you my decision yet, so why are you in such a hurry?”
“I have no intention of forcing you to make any decision for me.” He Zhichu looked at his father calmly, “It’s true. I just can’t control myself, especially after I saw the video of her trying to set Nianzhi up. I can’t bear to live under the same roof as Mrs. Qin, as if nothing had happened.”
“I only understand now why Nianzhi really wanted to leave this house.” He Zhichu was a little disappointed. In the end, he still couldn’t give her a true sense of security.
She couldn’t relax like she could when she was with Huo Shaoheng.
But it didn’t matter. This also explained why Nianzhi couldn’t fall in love with him yet.
If he knew what was wrong with him, he would be able to correct himself and do better.
On that day, she and he would naturally be together.
..
The next day, He Chengjian took his bulletproof car and went to the He family’s cemetery.
The best tomb in the tomb was for Qin Suwen, and the one next to it was for himself.
He placed a bunch of flowers in front of Qin Suwen’s tombstone. He Chengjian took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the photo on Qin Suwen’s tombstone.
The woman in the photo had a plain appearance. She had thin eyebrows, light-colored lips, and a slightly high nose that looked a little out of place on her relatively flat oval face. Her eyes were neither big nor small, and her eyelids were always drooping. She looked at people as if she was mocking them.
No one would have thought that this appearance would make the elegant, handsome, and arrogant He Chengjian, the only son of the He family, dive headfirst into love. He was so in love with her that he couldn’t extricate himself.
He even broke off the engagement with his fiancée, Qin Yaoguang, who was even more beautiful and was from the prominent Qin family, then turned around to marry an orphan from the Qin family’s orphanage, Qin Suwen.
However, He Chengjian knew that his wife, Lan Xinhui, was smart and sensible. He didn’t even think that she wasn’t good-looking.
In his eyes, her thin eyebrows were like a distant mountain, her light-colored lips were like clear water, her tall nose was imposing, and her mocking expression was quirky.
Not to mention that when she shone in court, she was simply charming.
He looked at the photo of his wife and said in a low voice, “Su Wen, I know that you don’t like to owe people favors. Yaoguang saved Zhichu’s life, but I can’t let Zhichu be unhappy because of outsiders. I think you will understand.”
After returning from the cemetery, he went to the Qin family’s private hospital to see Qin Yaoguang.
Qin Yaoguang had just returned from C City. She planned to stay in the hospital for a few days before returning home.
When she heard that He Chengjian had come to see her, she was extremely happy. She didn’t even comb her hair and ran to the door barefoot. She extended her hand joyfully, “Chengjian, you came to see me!”
He Chengjian nodded buy didn’t hold her hand. He said lightly, “How are your injuries?”
Her hand was much better now. There was only a thin layer of gauze on her palm.
Qin Yaoguang felt sweeter in her heart. She smiled and walked in with him while saying, “I’m much better.”
Wen Shouyi walked out of Qin Yaoguang’s ward and said with a smile, “General He is here.”
He Chengjian glanced at Qin Yaoguang.
Qin Yaoguang quickly said, “Shouyi is my assistant now.”
He Chengjian grunted but he didn’t go in. He said, “That’s good. Ask her to go to the He family’s house to pack up your things, then take them away.”
“Huh? Why do you want her to take them away?” Qin Yaoguang was a little dumbfounded. She had just fallen from the great ecstasy of He Chengjian taking the initiative to see her. Her mind was muddled and she couldn’t think clearly.
“There are some problems between us that can’t be reconciled. We will temporarily live separately,” He Chengjian said this and turned to leave.
