Chapter 25

Chapter 25

After the butler and his men finished their work and entered the house, they found that both masters had gone to their own rooms. One was doing push-ups in the gym, and the other was watching a movie in the leisure room.

The one doing push-ups had definitely made it harder than usual, hooking his feet up on an elevated surface, keeping his lower body farther from the ground than his upper body, putting most of his weight on his arms.

Meanwhile, the other one was watching a movie he never watched before—horror movies, ghost films.

What's up with that?

The butler asked Rong Yu'an, "Master Rong, would you like me to prepare a fruit platter and some drinks for you to enjoy while watching?"

Holding a pillow, Rong Yu'an said, "No need, butler. What's Brother Han doing right now?"

The butler replied, "The master is working out."

Hearing this, Rong Yu'an awkwardly replied, "Oh, okay."

When they split up earlier, he said he needed to burn off some energy—so that's what he meant.

Now Rong Yu'an suddenly got why nature has this endless cycle of life. When you really like someone, you can't help but be drawn to them. You want to touch, to hug, even to—

Rong Yu'an licked his lips. The ghost movie was on, but all he could think about was how their breaths had mingled in the living room.

Oh no, oh no. Can he even wait until they're married?

No wonder storybooks always talk about lovers sneaking around. In his world, couples had to go to their own room to show affection even after marriage, or else people would say they were behaving badly. But when you really love someone, how can you hold back? They're not machines you can just switch on and off.

That urge to protect and get close to someone you really like—maybe it's just built in.

Rong Yu'an secretly kissed the bear pillow on the lips, making a "mwah" sound. But this felt nothing like kissing Gu Shenhan—no comparison.

No comparison, no comparison. Gotta stop thinking about it!

Rong Yu'an turned off the ghost movie, patted his cheeks, and texted Yan Yu on WeChat.

So the next morning, Yan Yu drove himself over to Cuixi Garden.

Rong Yu'an met him in the yard, but instead of going inside, they sat in the sun and talked. He asked Yan Yu if he knew what was going on with the Fei family.

"Brother Xiao'an, you really want to get involved in this?" Yan Yu thought the matter would have been dropped after last night. He advised, "Better not. What if it makes things even messier?"

"I'm not planning to interfere with Fei Wenxi. I want to meet his wife instead. Think about it—she's paralyzed, has to keep the truth from her kids, and take care of herself. She's gotta need help. If Fei Wendong's wife can handle it, then I'll drop it. If not, then it's just doing a good deed. You know, it's easy to help someone who's already doing well, but hard to help someone in need. Now's the time to check on her."

"What do you mean?"

"I just mean it's better to have more friends than enemies. Sometimes you shouldn't burn bridges."

He wanted to see what the Fei family situation was really like.

Yan Yu said, "If Brother Han asks, don't rat me out, okay?"

Rong Yu'an replied, "Don't worry, I know how to handle him. He won't really stay mad."

No matter how serious, I can just kiss him and it'll be fine!

If one kiss isn't enough, two! That'll put out all his fire!

Yan Yu nodded, deciding to take the risk with him.

Getting the address of Fei Wenxi's home was a piece of cake for him, because he knew how to find Fei Wendong.

He called the public number for Haihe Commerce and Trade, told whoever answered that he had an appointment with Fei Wendong yesterday and could solve the company's urgent crisis.

The company was in serious trouble, and that didn't just affect the boss—employees were about to lose their jobs. So when he said that, someone contacted Fei Wendong. Soon, Fei Wendong called Yan Yu back.

Yan Yu and Rong Yu'an recognized his voice right away—it had become pretty unforgettable.

Fei Wendong also recognized Rong Yu'an's voice and asked nervously, "Mrs. Gu, how is it? Has Mr. Gu agreed to help?"

Rong Yu'an said, "He has his own considerations. I'm calling because I want to meet Fei Wenxi's wife. I might not be able to help with business matters, but I might be able to assist with other things—like the fact that you've been hiding the big trouble at home from the children. I could offer some help there."

After a short hesitation, Fei Wendong sent an address. Yan Yu quickly nodded from beside him to say he could find it. Then the two young guys headed out to Fei Wenxi's home.

On the way, Yan Yu was still nervous: "Brother Xiao'an, do you think there will be any danger?"

Rong Yu'an said, "No, I'll protect you if something happens."

"Ah?! You? Protect me?"

"Yeah. I was able to fight back against a knife-wielding attacker even when I was drugged. You have to trust me."

Yan Yu had never thought about it from that angle, and found it somewhat novel. Rong Yu'an looked thin and weak, but now that he thought about it, he seemed not so fragile after all.

He asked, "Can you carry someone as heavy as me?"

Rong Yu'an replied, "Of course. Carrying someone as light as you is a piece of cake. If I lift you upright, I might even be able to lift you with one arm."

Yan Yu: "...??"

Indeed, being able to ride a horse and beat Gu Chengfeng meant he had some skills.

The two arrived at Wutong Courtyard, the neighborhood where Fei Wenxi's family lived. On the way, Yan Yu and Rong Yu'an had discussed whether they needed to register entry, but when they arrived, they found it was an old residential area without a gate guard. They drove straight in and only needed a password at the building entrance.

Yan Yu rang the doorbell of Fei Wenxi's apartment, and soon someone opened the building door for them.

The Fei family lived on the fifth floor, and there was no elevator. Rong Yu'an found climbing the five flights easy, but Yan Yu was out of breath by the top, which confused Rong Yu'an a little.

Wasn't he just nineteen? How could he get tired from climbing stairs?

But before he could dwell on it, the door to Fei Wenxi's apartment opened.

Inside, there was only Fei Wenxi's wife, Chen Min.

She was paraplegic, completely immobile from the waist down, and was now sitting in a wheelchair. Both Rong Yu'an and Yan Yu had expected her to look as disheveled as Fei Wendong at least, given the disaster in her family. But she had kept herself clean and tidy, just a little thinner.

She was much prettier than they had imagined, with a hint of resilience in her brows.

"Please, come in and sit down," Chen Min said, pointing to the gray fabric sofa. "Sorry, it's inconvenient for me to go out now, so I don't have much to offer you—just some water."

"It's fine. We came rather suddenly, so we apologize for the intrusion," Rong Yu'an said, taking a brief look around the room. The apartment was small—what they would call a two-bedroom-one-living-room arrangement here, but the living room was tiny, and with just the three of them, it almost felt crowded. In the corner stood an old electric fan, and the floor tiles were worn and dull.

"Isn't there anyone here to take care of you?" Yan Yu asked.

"I can manage on my own," Chen Min said. "I heard from my brother-in-law that you wanted to help me. But given my situation, I'm too ashamed to accept your help, especially from you, Mrs. Gu. I'm sorry—my husband did such terrible things."

"He will answer for his own mistakes. I didn't come to hear your apology. I have some questions."

"What question was that?"

"I heard from Mr. Fei Wendong that your daughter is in poor health but very studious?"

"Yes," Chen Min said. "My daughter has severe anxiety."

"Sorry, what kind of anxiety are you referring to?"

Yan Yu quickly chimed in to explain.

After listening, Rong Yuan found it a bit odd: "That doesn't add up. Didn't Fei Wenxi know your daughter has anxiety?"

Chen Min said, "He knew. He can be rash and reckless sometimes, but he's always been good to us three. He knows exactly how things are at home."

Rong Yuan said, "But he held a knife to threaten me. Wasn't he worried about breaking the law and his daughter finding out? What if someone filmed it?"

Everyone here has a phone and can post videos online. And if he hadn't resisted, Fei Wenxi would have taken him to threaten Gu Shenhan.

Chen Min was silent.

Rong Yuan continued, "And your husband kept saying my husband left your family no way out. But as far as I know, he didn't. He just told his people to stop handling your transport business after you were a month overdue on payments, right? That's not really wrong."

At worst, it was a bit heartless. But Gu Shenhan is so good at making money; he's no saint!

Chen Min looked puzzled, as if thinking. After a moment, she said, "But our furniture was held up in Brazil for a long time. Our paperwork was all in order, but when it arrived at Santos Port, the officials said our packaging had pest problems and didn't meet ISPM15 standards, so they refused to let us unload. It was a wooden packaging quarantine issue. Brazilian customs is very strict about this, and we always take it seriously. We couldn't have made such a mistake.

Later, we couldn't unload the ship, and the storage fees kept piling up, so we decided to ship it back. But President Gu refused and demanded we pay the arrears and shipping first. My husband's older brother contacted your husband many times about this, but it all came to nothing."

Rong Yuan said, "Just once."

He remembered—he was having breakfast with Gu Shenhan then. He asked, "Are you sure the person Fei Wendong later contacted was actually my husband?"

Chen Min said, "That's what Fei Wenxi told me when he came back."

"Where are those furniture pieces now?"

"Half were sold cheaply in Brazil, and half were destroyed by local customs."

Thinking about how all their life's savings were invested in this, plus the loans, Chen Min couldn't help feeling heartbroken. If this deal had gone well, the Fei family's future would have been much smoother. But now everything had turned out like this. Now, let alone the future, they couldn't even afford the children's tuition. If it hadn't come to this, her husband wouldn't have...

Rong Yuan still felt something was off. But the focus of his visit wasn't just this one thing, so he asked Chen Min, "How do you talk to your daughter without her catching on?"

Chen Min said, "Either I pretend to be asleep in bed beforehand, or I sit somewhere to eat. But it probably won't last much longer. Since I'm always at home, the kids are sure to get suspicious."

Every time she video-called, she only moved her upper body and never changed positions. Doing it three or four times is fine, but if it continued, it would seem odd, especially since she wasn't someone who normally stayed home all day.

Rong Yuan asked, "Do you want to keep hiding it from her?"

Chen Min said, "If I could, I'd hope she never finds out. My child is very strong-willed and responsible. I'm afraid that if she knows, she'll blame herself for everything."

Chen Min hadn't cried before, but when she said this, she couldn't hold back her tears: "Mrs. Gu, I know what Fei Wenxi did was terrible. But can you please talk to President Gu and at least leave the Fei family a way out? Now that I'm like this, and Fei Wenxi is inside, if no one helps my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, the Fei family is truly finished."

Rong Yuan said, "But Fei Wenxi knew your daughter was ill and still took such a risk. That shouldn't have been his intention. So doesn't the person who talked him into it care about you?"

Hatred flickered in Chen Min's eyes—clearly not aimed at Rong Yuan. But she didn't dare to say anything else.

In fact, she didn't know much either. She wasn't sure who was behind it all. But she was certain her husband had been deceived; otherwise, with his brains, he'd never have come up with an idea like that or ended up being manipulated.

Now the kids were still outside, and they couldn't even keep them safe.

Rong Yuan asked, "Do you want to see your husband?"

Chen Min said, "If I said I didn't, I'd be lying."

Rong Yuan said, "Let me handle this. Go see him."

Chen Min couldn't believe it: "Are you serious?"

Rong Yuan nodded.

Chen Min asked, "What's the catch?"

Rong Yuan said, "No conditions. If I have to name something, then have your husband keep to what he said. We don't need to know who put him up to it, and we don't want your children to be in danger. He just has to pay what he owes. Also, if you ever need help with anything in life, you can contact me."

Chen Min said, "I don't understand."

Rong Yuan said, "You don't need to understand. None of it matters."

He just felt that what he had seen here was more hypocrisy than truth. Second Uncle's family was like that, and the Gu mansion was the same. And Zheng Weiping, the major shareholder of Qianhai, wasn't any good either, and Lin Xiaomei wasn't either.

He didn't know what the Fei family used to be like, but he saw familiar figures in Fei Wendong, even though he was an outsider, in the way they loved and cared for each other.

His second brother could be a bit impulsive, but he would always step up to protect him first. His younger brother and sister, even though they hadn't grown up themselves, always wanted to protect him.

Gu Shenhan said no one's umbrella lasts forever. If the wind got too strong, better to tear it down early and save some energy to keep going.

Had Gu Shenhan ever seen someone as his umbrella, only for that person not to protect him?

And in the Rong family, the "umbrellas" at home never stopped loving him. So he wanted Gu Shenhan to understand that from now on, he could become his umbrella.

Though that would take some time.

That evening, as soon as Gu Shenhan returned, the butler snitched, complaining about that "umbrella," saying Rong Yuan and Yan Yu had been out all day and only came back not long ago.

By then, Yan Yu had already fled. Gu Shenhan pulled Rong Yuan into the study on the third floor: "Spill it. Where did you go fooling around?"

Rong Yuan said, "Honey, this world is so amazing!"

Gu Shenhan glanced at him while untying his tie: "Stop changing the subject. Where did you go?"

Rong Yuan said, "There are high-tech prosthetic legs in the world! They let people who can't walk stand back up!"

Gu Shenhan used the untied tie to pull his young wife closer: "Are you asking for a spanking?"

Rong Yuan was stunned: "We have that kind of thing in this house?!"

Gu Shenhan pressed the young man against the cabinet and kissed him, punishing him for being disobedient. He kissed for a long time: "We didn't before, but now we do."

Rong Yuan was dizzy from the kiss, his raised face as red as a ripe tomato: "But that won't stop family mistakes... Aren't you encouraging me to make mistakes?"

Gu Shenhan buried his face in Rong Yuan's neck and chuckled deeply: "Who sent you to tame me? Don't move. If you keep moving, I'll be the one wanting to make a mistake."

Suddenly, Rong Yuan felt something hard and hot pressing against him and instantly became perfectly still.

Gu Shenhan said, "I've found two well-reputed wedding planning companies. Let's meet them when you have time?"

Rong Yuan nodded carefully, looked down, and asked, "Maybe I should... leave first?"

Gu Shenhan lightly brushed the tip of the tie against Rong Yuan's nose: "Sooner or later, I'll devour you completely."

Rong Yuan's heart pounded hollowly as he took the tie from around his neck, looped it around Gu Shenhan's, pulled him close, and kissed him. "I'll be waiting."

Gu Shenhan was speechless.

He pressed his tongue against his teeth, desperately wanting to go back to the day they first met and slap his past self for digging himself into this mess.

Wait—what was he about to ask again?

.

Five days later.

A professional rehabilitation therapist accompanied Chen Min to the detention center where Fei Wenxi was held.

Chen Min was wearing an electronic exoskeleton leg. With the therapist's help, she could walk slowly on her own.

Fei Wenxi knew someone was coming to visit him. He thought it was his older brother, but he never expected it to be his wife. The surprise and joy overwhelmed him, and he was both crying and laughing at the same time.

"You... how did you get this?"

Chen Min said, "It was Mrs. Gu who helped."

Fei Wenxi asked hesitantly, "Which Mrs. Gu are you referring to?"

Chen Min said, "The male wife of Mr. Gu Shenhan, Rong Yuan."

Fei Wenxi still couldn't believe it. "How could he ever help us? Does he have any conditions?"

Chen Min shook her head. "I didn't believe it at first either. I thought he wanted us to do something for him. But no. He just helped me get this, and he also told me to tell you to stick to your original statement. He knows our difficulties and isn't asking you to do anything."

Fei Wenxi gripped his hair tightly, his eyes bloodshot and strained. "How are the children?"

Chen Min said, "They're all fine for now. Mrs. Gu also invested in our furniture company. Big brother and his wife can finally breathe easier, and the children's tuition has been covered. Mrs. Gu said that since he now has a share in the furniture business, even if we're a year late on shipping fees, the boss wouldn't dare demand payment."

Fei Wenxi's remorse peaked instantly, and he couldn't help but slap himself.

But remembering his lawyer's instructions, he couldn't say much to his wife. He just kept tugging at his already short hair with his handcuffed hands.

By now, he vaguely understood the truth about the wood packaging being infested with worms back then, but knowing now was useless.

Later, he would settle this score with Gu Chengzhi, one by one, clearly!

Fei Wenxi said, "Tell Mrs. Gu for me that I, Fei Wenxi, don't have the face to see him. But in the future, if he ever needs anything, I'll go through hell or high water without batting an eye."

Chen Min nodded and left with those words.

It happened to be that same day that Gu Chengzhi's personal income tax issues were finally investigated.

They didn't unearth much tax evasion, but his stealing from his own family was exposed. And the company's shareholders found out about it.

The old man himself ordered that there would be a family dinner at the mansion on Monday evening, and everyone must attend.