How could Qin Jingzhou easily agree to Gu Sheng’s request to move in?
But letting his Cheap Son move into the Experts’ Residential Complex was at least a gesture of paternal care; he wouldn’t completely ignore this foolish son of his. After all, since Gu Zhiyuan’s parents had moved to the Capital, they lived right next to the Experts’ Complex—it was convenient, and official security was easier to coordinate.
That said, as Gu Sheng was his son, it was impossible for the authorities to truly ignore him or to not keep him on the priority protection list.
It was just that he had made it clear in advance: “My son needs more rough experience out in the real world, a little hardship won’t hurt,”—even his precious biological daughter had gone through a scary but ultimately harmless test. So the authorities sought his opinion, then focused only on ensuring personal safety, doing their best not to interfere otherwise. That’s how Gu Sheng ended up with acute poisoning, and... at his young age, is now infertile.
At dinner one night, when this topic came up, Mi Xiaoxiao bluntly mocked her brother: “Play near the river, and you get what's coming to you.”
She dared to tease him like this only because Doctor Nian had told them her brother’s condition wasn’t serious. With some rest and care, he’d be fine.
Gu Zhiyuan sincerely said, “That’s why keeping yourself clean is about protecting yourself.”
Just then, the staff in charge of protecting Gu Sheng sent their report for the day.
Gu Sheng, after moving into the sanatorium, immediately went for another check-up and looked for two experienced senior doctors to help with his recovery. After their examinations, both old doctors said his condition wasn’t serious—a little recuperation would set things right. Only then was he able to relax.
After reading the report, Ling Jing smiled. “Look at his behavior after the setback. He’s clearly not lost his mind. The reason Elizabeth keeps refusing Mr. Zhang is because he actually does have psychological problems.”
Qin Jingzhou also chuckled. “He flirts with madness and stupidity without the slightest hesitation—this child’s got potential.”
Ling Jing rested her chin on her hand and said, “If he can win your favor, what’s a bit of ruined reputation? The group’s stock price is down, Old Master Gu is really anxious, but Gu Sheng can handle the pressure.”
Gu Zhiyuan joined in, “Becoming an ordinary run-of-the-mill capitalist... the kind with grandfathers and grandmothers looming above—how could that ever be more fulfilling than being a mecha pilot or engineer destined for the history books?”
Hadn’t the Elders always admitted they’d wanted to pilot a mech themselves—was that a joke?
He looked at Mi Xiaoxiao and grinned. “My family has a modest fortune. My parents know a little about things here, yet they’d sell the pots and pans to support you if needed... My dad even says, he can’t be bothered to bicker with Old Master Gu over a few pennies anymore—it’s just a waste of time.”
Ling Jing also smiled. “Your dad has a good temper. I already blocked his side long ago. Then I had my secretary inform them I have no emotional attachment over there, and no relatives of theirs are to use my name for anything. The secretary knows what to do.”
Gu Zhiyuan became thoughtful. “I see.”
Little Aunt’s words weren’t just idle talk, and they were meant to be heard. When he thought about all those greedy and shameless half-siblings on his father’s side, he realized—he really should do as Little Aunt said, cut ties early for everyone’s sake.
After dinner, he relayed Little Aunt’s meaning to his dad.
Gu Zhiyuan’s dad had long planned to rely on his half-sister—just one or two projects that slipped through her fingers would be enough to live comfortably for a lifetime. But with his son now living at his sister’s place, he didn’t need to curry favor anymore. Too much flattery might just backfire.
After hearing his son talk about his sister’s attitude toward the Gu family, Gu Zhiyuan’s dad actually let out a sigh of relief. “I haven’t dared to sever ties outright, afraid your little aunt and in-laws would think we were being ungrateful after becoming successful.”
Gu Zhiyuan laughed, “Dad, you can relax now.”
Meanwhile, over at the sanatorium, Gu Sheng was on the phone with his grandfather, explaining the reasoning behind his actions.
Face to face over a video call, he solemnly declared, “My dad is a genius.”
He did not elaborate on what sort of “black technology” his father possessed.
Because, deep down, he admired strength by nature—even after his grandfather passed the family business to him, his heart still leaned toward his own father.
Before his grandfather could react, he poured out everything—how Elizabeth had threatened him with the child in her womb, how he’d suffered acute poisoning... If you can’t afford to offend someone, you can still run away, can’t you?
On the crystal-clear screen, his grandfather’s face suddenly changed.
For once, Gu Sheng was secretly pleased. His grandfather had always hoped he and Elizabeth would end up together, and recently had been advising him to try to meet Elizabeth’s demands, saying, “Women think all sorts of things when they’re pregnant, be more understanding and considerate.”
After a while, his grandfather finally asked, “You need approval to visit your father? Even getting outside the complex requires inspection?”
Gu Sheng replied, “Yes.”
His grandfather asked again, “Elizabeth has been using you from the very beginning... to approach your father?”
Gu Sheng responded, “That’s what I think.”
Grandfather said with conviction, “Seems you’ve discovered something extraordinary at your father’s place.” Then, he quickly smiled. “Looks like old age really is catching up with me.”
Gu Sheng laughed as well.
He knew that if his grandfather had truly possessed any “respect the strong, protect the weak” qualities, he would never have become a capitalist. Even if his grandfather was displeased, he would still say, “You’re always your father’s real son” …
Yet, unexpectedly, after a while, his grandfather spoke again—and what he said was, “Just do as you think best. I’ll give the board an explanation.”
Gu Sheng thought that was fine too.
If he absolutely had to choose between the Gu Group and his father’s connections and technology, he’d always pick the latter. He was sure his grandfather understood this as well.
At last, Grandfather said he would return and oversee matters personally. Grandfather and grandson bid each other farewell and ended the call.
As soon as Gu Sheng had finished, his assistant knocked at the door. Turned out Elizabeth had finally realized he’d blocked her, circled around, then managed to contact him again, immediately blowing up and calling him an irresponsible scumbag!
Elizabeth was her tycoon father’s favorite daughter, and despite being in her early twenties, she had extraordinary experience—there was no sort of man she hadn’t encountered.
She’d had more than a few crazy suitors, and as for scumbags... they were everywhere.
Now, calling him a “scumbag”—a term not all that harsh—was clearly a sign she didn’t want an all-out confrontation. It also meant Elizabeth had run out of tricks.
Seeing right through his old flame, Gu Sheng had no intention of dealing with her directly, and instead sent his assistant to ask, “Mr. Zhang is missing, are you completely at a loss?”
Gu Sheng had hit the nail on the head.
Elizabeth and Mr. Zhang had placed an order on the darknet, hiring a squad of experienced mercenaries to come to Hua Country.
She hadn’t met them, but Elizabeth was confident in the squad’s fighting ability. In some smaller countries, they could take control of key figures with minimal coordination.
She thought sending these veterans after Mi Jingzhou was overkill; she just needed to wait for good news.
But patiently wait she did: after half a month, there was still no news, and nothing had come back from Hua Country either... She couldn’t help feeling anxious, and getting others to contact Mr. Zhang didn’t lead to anything. It was now clear to her that the entire squad had been wiped out—they must have all met their end in Hua Country.
She had left Hua Country early, so there was no risk of being tracked down. Still, all her arrangements in Hua Country were lost, and she was determined to struggle on: the child in her belly was her last hope.
Once Gu Sheng knew she was pregnant, he did become more agreeable, but every time she brought up getting blueprints from Mi Jingzhou, he would dodge the issue, refusing to approach Mi Jingzhou for the sake of the child.
With nothing happening on Gu Sheng’s side, and Mr. Zhang failing to check in at the appointed time, Elizabeth realized she couldn’t handle things alone, and decided to ask her parents for help.
She took some parts from Mr. Zhang’s custom prosthetics and went to her parents' farm.
Her parents had invited some experts over. Upon seeing the parts in her hands, the experts were all stunned.
It wasn’t until she saw how the experts couldn’t put her samples down that she admitted—even if she didn’t want to—she had underestimated the value of Mi Jingzhou’s technical patents... Gu Sheng probably had no clue, but Mr. Zhang was different.
She remembered when the mercenaries had first arrived in Hua Country, Mr. Zhang had set up a specific time to contact her.
Mr. Zhang had said: Mercenaries are just in it for money; there’s no guarantee they won’t betray them if they’re caught. He had stopped taking his meds on purpose, allowing himself to slip into a sick episode, so if he ever got turned in, nothing much could happen to him, at worst he’d be locked up in a mental hospital. His family had plenty of money and power—inside a mental hospital, it was easy to communicate with the outside world...
The problem was Mr. Zhang had now vanished completely, just like the mercenaries!
After the experts her father called left quickly with the samples, she pulled her father aside for a thorough discussion.
Her father’s first reaction was that Mr. Zhang was probably dead, even though the Zhang family seemed to be doing fine.
Her father advised her to maintain her relationship with Gu Sheng as best she could, then introduced her to a well-connected young man from Hua Country’s elite circles.
It happened that Gu Sheng was ignoring her that day, so she contacted this “promising young talent” her father recommended.
But the moment they met, she couldn’t help but frown—the man was exactly the same type as Mr. Zhang, as if he would cause a car accident just to eliminate a romantic rival!
Their indescribable but instantly obvious creepy expressions made Elizabeth’s skin crawl. She couldn’t help but wonder if these were the only men she could attract.
The man smiled. “My cousin is actually a member of Mi Jingzhou’s team. You could help me contact Gu Sheng—we need to find out just what Mi Jingzhou is working on.”
So, in the arms of this recently arrived Mr. Nian, Elizabeth replied to the message sent by Gu Sheng’s assistant: “Where is Mr. Zhang now? If you know where he is, I might consider giving you some of the guardianship rights.”
Shortly afterward, they received the assistant’s reply: “He’s in my father’s laboratory.”