Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Rong Yu'an brought the seawater home and, following Gu Shenhan's advice, he held off using it. Instead, he waited until 7 o'clock sharp to test the water that Lian Dong had fetched from the nearby seaside.

He was surprised to find that the effect was exactly the same.

Coincidentally, the younger Rong Yu'an also went to the lake where he was rescued early in the morning, collected some lake water, and it had the same effect. This delighted both sides immensely.

After learning about this, Gu Shenhan fetched tap water from home and asked Rong Yu'an to test it. It turned out to be useless.

"How about I have someone dig a pond for you in the yard?" Gu Shenhan suggested. "Would water from outside do the trick?"

"Nah, not a good idea. Winter's coming soon. If it freezes over, breaking ice would be more trouble than just fetching seawater. Besides, ponds attract mosquitoes in summer, and it's not safe with kids around. We can talk about it when the children are older."

"Alright, I'll listen to you."

Gu Shenhan told Xiao Ke to bring some seawater each time he visited, so they'd always have it and Rong Yu'an wouldn't need to go to the beach. After they got back, Rong Yu'an ran a slight fever, which had Gu Shenhan worried sick.

Luckily, it wasn't bad enough to need meds. The fever went down during the night, and no other symptoms appeared.

The next day, Rong Yu'an began embroidering the hem of the horse-face skirt at Bishui Bay. Gu Shenhan didn't want him to go, especially after hearing that the main branch was watching Bishui Bay. It made him nervous.

But Rong Yu'an figured it'd be a waste to let the house sit empty after buying it. Currently, two of the three villas were essentially vacant. Only one was being used by Yan Yu and Lin Xiaotang as both home and workspace.

Gu Shenhan drove Rong Yu'an there himself and looked around the place. "From now on, I'll pick you up and drop you off every day," he said.

Rong Yu'an smiled and kissed Gu Shenhan on the cheek. "Thank you, honey."

Gu Shenhan pointed to the other cheek. Rong Yu'an quickly planted another kiss there. "Alright, I'll get to work now. Make sure you have a good lunch."

Gu Shenhan nodded and waited until Rong Yu'an entered the house before taking a stroll around the villa area with Xiao Ke. Before heading to the company, he told Xiao Ke, "Add four more people to the security detail here. See if you can find some trustworthy guys to handle An An's safety. As long as they're trustworthy, I'll pay five times the going rate, and I want them to stick around long-term. Preferably, they should be able to travel abroad without issues. Also, ask Yan Kai to come up with a new security plan."

Xiao Ke thought for a moment. "Planning to keep them after the baby arrives?"

Gu Shenhan squinted slightly, then stubbed out his cigarette. "Yes. A three-month probation period. That should be just right."

He hadn't directly told Xiao Ke about Rong Yu'an's special situation, but Xiao Ke, being a former reconnaissance soldier, was particularly perceptive about his surroundings. Gu Shenhan had never intended to keep it a secret forever.

Now that Xiao Ke had brought it up, Gu Shenhan continued, "In three months, I'll most likely take him abroad. So don't use anyone with a sensitive background."

Xiao Ke said, "I understand. But suddenly adding too many people might raise suspicion with the main branch. The ones I trust are reliable, but they'd need to finish their current assignments first. I'll ask them first. If they agree, we'll stagger their arrivals and have them stationed at Bishui Bay as security personnel."

Gu Shenhan thought that was a good plan.

Rong Yu'an, on the other hand, didn't dwell on it. Sure, the main branch was annoying, especially Gu Chengzhi, but he figured they wouldn't go too far—we live in a lawful society.

Rong Yu'an watched as Lin Xiaotang printed the pattern onto the fabric, then began embroidering according to the design.

Lin Xiaotang prepared a cup of hot milk for him, along with a small dish of nuts and a little spoon, so he wouldn't get the fabric dirty.

"You're so thoughtful," Rong Yu'an said to Lin Xiaotang. "Xiao Yutang is good at making friends, and I'm the one reaping the benefits."

"We're the same. As long as you're doing well over there, he'll make friends with your contacts too." Lin Xiaotang looked curiously at Rong Yu'an's belly. "Are you really pregnant?"

"Huh?"

"The baby." Lin Xiaotang pointed at Rong Yu'an's belly. "I have a feeling what you and Han told each other was true. Could it be that people from your world are naturally different? Last time, Xiao Yu and I brought back a large portion of food, and you two still didn't have enough. You never used to eat that much."

"...Yeah."

"Are you saying that Xiao Yu'an might have a hard time over there because he can't have children?"

"Probably not. My cousin is an oddball—his thoughts and interests are always unconventional. People say he'll probably never marry or have kids, but I can tell he treats Xiao Yu'an very well. Maybe they just click. From what I know about him, he wouldn't care about this. That time at the seaside, he was the one helping hold the paper down and even writing for him. Think about it—if Xiao Yu'an could tell my cousin that he's not me, then they must be very close."

"That's good to hear." Lin Xiaotang had always been afraid that his friend was truly dead. Now, knowing he's alive and doing well—that's already an unexpected blessing. And he's still in the Marquis's manor, still able to stay in touch—it feels like a dream.

"I've asked him to write you a letter. I'll copy it out for you so you can see it when it arrives."

Lin Xiaotang quickly nodded: "Then I'll go wake up Xiao Yu."

Rong Yuan was both amused and exasperated: "After all this time, he still hasn't adjusted his schedule."

"He had adjusted quite a bit of it. But a few days ago, he met some gaming friend somewhere—seems they really hit it off—and now his schedule's all thrown off again. We'll take it slow. Anyway, all his clients are night owls too."

Rong Yuan smiled and continued embroidering.

Lin Xiaotang spoke up then: "Oh, by the way, Xiao An, if it's not convenient for anyone else to take care of you, I'll do it." He glanced at Rong Yuan's belly with a small smile: "Just think of me as your own brother from your family."

Rong Yuan nodded, a warm feeling spreading in his heart.

Before long, Yan Yu came downstairs with a messy mop of golden hair, shuffled like a zombie to the kitchen for a slice of bread, ate it, then went to shower and change. When he came back down, he finally looked like a normal young man. He first checked the shop for any messages, then started preparing materials to make clothes.

Rong Yuan asked him: "Xiao Yu, why did you eat so little?"

Yan Yu said: "If I eat too much now, I won't have room for the good food Brother Xiao Tang will make at lunch."

Lin Xiaotang, who was sketching a design nearby, said: "Then you'll be disappointed today. We've already had lunch."

Yan Yu said: "Liar! I saw the bowl with soaked silver ear fungus, ribs, and corn. You even soaked beans—lunch must be five-color grain rice."

Lin Xiaotang was impressed: "You sure pay close attention."

Yan Yu chuckled and continued working on his fabric pieces.

Since they were in the early stages, it wasn't good to list just one or two items for sale. They decided to design the first batch and then list them all at once. At least ten pieces.

The weather was also getting colder, so they could start making things like cloaks and padded jackets and skirts.

At noon, Lin Xiaotang made four dishes and a soup, and even baked small cakes. There was also yogurt fruit salad—a very lavish meal.

He usually cooked a lot, but the two of them would finish it without much left over. With this much food, Yan Yu worried they wouldn't finish it. But Rong Yuan ate enough for two people and still looked like he could have more.

Someone so slim, eating that much—Yan Yu remembered that Rong Yuan hadn't been like this before.

"Xiao'an Gege, aren't you feeling stuffed?"

"Not at all. Xiao Tang's cooking is really tasty."

"Then eat more. Brother Han said we have to fatten you up."

Rong Yuan ate two more chicken wings, his appetite enormous.

But someone else found even drinking water painful.

Gu Mingchuan had someone investigate the Bishui Bay matter, wanting to know who gave such an expensive gift to Gu Shenhan and Rong Yuan. But after finding out, he felt he'd have been better off not knowing.

He never expected that Gu Shenhan was a shareholder in the Tianque Group. Not the biggest one, and even among the shareholders he seemed insignificant—but Tianque's market value was higher than Lianshan's! And the CEO of Tianque had a close relationship with Gu Shenhan; Bishui Bay was a gift from this person.

That meant Gu Shenhan's net worth was now hundreds of times higher than what they had originally thought!

And yet he dares to fight for the Gu family estate with the rest of them—there's no way he can swallow that.

Gu Mingchuan said, "He's way too greedy! He marries a man who can't have kids—what's he gonna do with all that money, take it to the grave?!"

Gu Chengzhi felt even worse than his old man.

If this was really the case, then no matter how hard he tried, he could never be better off than Gu Shenhan.

He truly couldn't understand why all the good stuff went to Gu Shenhan.

Since childhood, the old man and old lady had always favored and cared more for Gu Shenhan.

He also hated calligraphy, but he'd been patiently practicing since childhood to win the old lady's favor, yet she never seemed to like him much. Instead, she valued Gu Shenhan even more, and all he did was grind the ink.

Now that Gu Shenhan has a foothold at Tianque, the old man and old lady actually still think about putting him in charge of the Gu family!

"Wait, Dad, you said earlier that he's more than just close with Yan Que?"

"Yes. The old man said Gu Shenhan once sponsored someone, and if I'm not mistaken, that person should be Yan Que."

"One of the units in the three-unit villa at Bishui Bay has the owner listed as 'Yan Yu'."

Gu Chengzhi realized something crucial and sprang up from the sofa.

"Where are you going?"

"Something came up! Don't wait for me for dinner!"

Gu Chengzhi went out, got into his car, and dialed a number. "How's it going with the guy I told you to reach out to? Any progress?"

A fairly young male voice on the other end replied confidently, "I've got it under control, Bro Gu. Progress is good—we've been doing dungeons together every day, and we've even agreed to meet up for fun when we have time."

"Have you met him in person?"

"No. This kind of online romance is like gambling—the thrill is in not knowing the outcome. If I keep some mystery, he'll stay curious. So I had a friend get his game account for me. I bet it won't be long before he takes the bait. By then, I'm sure I'll get the answers to whatever you want to know."

"No need to ask."

"Not ask? I don't understand."

"Sell me your game account. I'll pay three times the market price."

"..."

"Five times."

"But if you don't normally play games, he'll be able to tell as soon as you start playing."

"Don't worry about that. I'm buying it for my own use. Also, have you exchanged any other contact methods?"

"Not yet."

"Send me the game account, password, your recent chat history, and your bank account number. The more information, the more money you get."

There was a moment of silence on the other end. "My account's market price is 13,000."

Gu Chengzhi said, "Send me the chat history. If the content is detailed enough, I'll give you 200,000. But remember, keep your mouth shut. If a single bit of this leaks, not only will you not get the money, but you can also kiss your future goodbye."

Two hundred thousand was a fortune for a college student from an average family. Besides, the account was actually not even worth 13,000.

The other person only hesitated briefly before agreeing, "I told him we'd run a dungeon tonight. After we finish, I'll save more chat logs and send it all to you."