On the other side.
The Gu residence.
Old Master Gu had long predicted that someone would make a move on Gu Mang. Thus, when the Gu residence received news of the attack on Gu Mang in the middle of the night, the butler did not disturb his rest and only reported the matter to him the next morning when they went for a walk.
Of course, that included the news of half the Leng manor burning down and Huo Zhi, the Head Elder, and members of the Leng family suffering from burns of varying severity.
“The fire was huge. Everyone is talking about the Young Master now,” said the butler.
“And yet they thought that the Gu family wouldn’t be able to stage a comeback after we fell from grace.” A small smile formed on Old Master Gu’s face. Be it Gu Mang or Gu Si, they’ll be able to help the Gu family return to its former glory.
“The Young Lady and the Young Master are quite ruthless.” The butler was quite shocked by the news himself, but upon recalling how Gu Mang had barged into the 102 Research Base alone and nearly destroyed it, he understood how Gu Si was able to do such a thing.
When Old Master Gu spotted two Madagascar Periwinkles blooming in the garden, he picked up a pair of scissors and began pruning the plant. “Is Gu Mang’s hand injury serious?”
The butler respectfully answered, “According to her medical record, she’s suffering from a bone fracture and she received seven stitches, but as you know, she recovers quickly, so this sort of injury is nothing to her.”
“She won’t be able to do anything for the time being, then.” Old Master Gu nodded, his displeasure shown on his wrinkled face when he remembered that the Elders’ Association was currently preparing for Base 102’s assessment.
“Are you worried that the Elders’ Association won’t let the Young Lady take the assessment? The original deal was that she would take first place in the individual portion of the medical competition.”
He hummed an assent.
“It was the Young Lady’s idea to skip the training and agree to the assessment. To be honest, she’s still a little lacking at the moment. Since she’s injured, she should take the chance to attend the training first. That way, she’ll have a higher chance of passing the assessment.”
The butler’s words assuaged Old Master Gu somewhat. That’s true. A few more days won’t make any difference when I’ve already waited for so many years.
However, the thought of the rebellious siblings brought a frown to his face once more. He stared at the sharp thorns on the branches of the periwinkle plant, deep in thought. “I have to think of a way to get rid of their thorns.”
I might have gotten rid of Gu Zhen and Bai Xu, but I’ll be inviting trouble for myself if the siblings suddenly turn their backs on me. Although they’re much more capable than Gu Yin, they’re not even half as obedient as she is.
The butler was in no position to comment on this matter, so he stayed silent.
A gleam flashed across Old Master Gu’s turbid eyes as he reached out to break a thorn from the branch. He stared at the thorn in his hand. “If I can force her to come back and wipe Lu Chengzhou’s memory of her, then I can also make her stop rebelling against me, right?”
“Of course,” replied the butler with a slight bow of his head. Knowing how vicious Old Master Gu could be better than anyone else, he reckoned that nothing could escape his control. That included Gu Mang and Gu Si.
Old Master Gu laughed and tossed the thorn into the flower pot before putting his hands behind his back. He had once more assumed his usual amicable expression.
…
Meanwhile, at Jijing Island’s General Hospital.
Huo Zhi had been given treatment for the minor burns he suffered on his arms and hands. His bald subordinate, whose burns were slightly more serious than his, could still move about freely.
The Head Elder, who also suffered minor burns, looked solemn as he stared at the white bandage on his leg. He dared not even imagine what would have happened to him had his subordinates not tried their best to protect Huo Zhi and him.
Gu Si. The name brought up complicated feelings in him. The Elders’ Association had their eyes on him and tonight’s events had proven that he was akin to a sharp knife. However, they had not expected the sharp knife to hover above their necks tonight.
The doctors put the medicine and gauze away on a plate. Then, one of them said with trepidation, “We take our leave.”
Nobody paid any attention to him. It was only after the bald man waved his hand that the group of doctors hurriedly left in relief.
The atmosphere was quiet, heavy, and stifling.
The Leng family has no doubt suffered the greatest loss tonight. I wonder how many people and how much property they’ve lost. The Head Elder turned to face his subordinate. “How is Leng Xuan doing?”
“Elder Leng’s burns are rather serious as she was doused with gasoline,” said the subordinate. “It’s a good thing that she’s not in a critical condition, though. The medical association is already arranging for a skin implant surgery for her.”
The Head Elder nodded. “I hope she’s learned her lesson this time. She’d better not go provoke Gu Mang and Gu Si again.”
Huo Zhi looked at his bandaged hands. “Can we postpone Gu Mang’s assessment and let her recover from her injury first?”
The decision for Gu Mang to take the assessment should she take first place in the medical competition was jointly agreed to by Huo Zhi and the entire Elders’ Association. Thus, they needed everyone’s agreement to postpone it. Naturally, the Gu family, who were waiting to see Gu Mang’s potential, would not agree to it. The same went for the Bai family, which fully supported her.
“Are you telling me that she’s able to take part in the competition with an injured hand?” Mockery and fury filled the Head Elder’s voice. We might have underestimated Gu Mang’s talent in medicine, but there’s no way she can do the final round’s clinical simulations with only her left hand. Regardless of the price Leng Xuan has paid, she has achieved her objective of stopping Gu Mang from participating in the competition and the assessment.
Of course, the most important thing was that the Head Elder could not allow Base 102 to fall into Gu Mang’s hands. He needed Leng Xuan’s medicine to control the siblings and it just so happened that Gu Mang’s injury reminded him that they still had a chance to make other arrangements.
…
Meanwhile, in Gu Mang’s ward.
Yang Tianming cast a complicated gaze at Gu Mang, who was slowly eating her breakfast. “Are you sure you want to continue participating in the competition?”
“Yes,” replied Gu Mang before sipping a mouthful of the blood-nourishing soup.
Old Master Bai and the others remained calm and silent, for they would support Gu Mang in whatever she did.
She wants to do the surgery with one hand? Shen Qianzi secretly scoffed when she took a look at Gu Mang’s bandaged hand. The judges might not allow her to do that. Even if we’re operating on animals, we can’t take their lives lightly.
Professor Xue advised Gu Mang, “But your hand… Why don’t you just forget about the competition?”
“Exactly. You’ll be able to easily enter the Jijing Special Institute, so it doesn’t matter whether you take part in the competition or not,” Qiao You said. All it takes is a word from the Bai family for her to enter the most prestigious school in the world. It wasn’t easy for us to enter the finals and our biggest competitor, M University, has been eliminated. What do we do if her participation causes us to lose the competition?
While looking down, Gu Mang tugged her lips into a wicked and arrogant smirk. “They went to great lengths to stop me from taking part in the final round, but they didn’t know that it all depends on my mood.”
Gu Si’s eyes shone in admiration as he looked at his sister like the little fanboy that he was. Other than Lu Chengzhou, I’ve never seen my sis falling into anyone’s hands before! The nerve of those trashy people to scheme against her!
Bai Sui, who was in the middle of pouring a cup of water with his back facing everyone, paused for a moment as amusement shone in his eyes.
The corner of Yang Tianming’s lip could not help but twitch when he saw how arrogant Gu Mang was. “Are you sure you want to participate?” Although Gu Mang remained silent, he understood what she meant. “Alright, I got it.”
Everyone showed varying expressions upon hearing this.
