novelraw Chapter 276 - 265: Origins
Chapter 276 - 265: Origins
"You mean this photograph?" Gu Xi took the old photo out of her dimensional space and pushed it across the table to the man.
The man lowered his gaze to the photograph, concealing the complicated emotions in his eyes.
In that dilapidated little shop, all the posters were fake. Only this photograph... was real.
After a long moment, he stared at the photo and began to speak slowly. "This is the one... Back then, it kicked up a vicious storm online. Several top celebrities got dragged into it, especially Huo Heng’s fans..."
"Wait." Qi Xiang suddenly cut him off. Drawing on her years of experience as a gossip-monger on forums, she keenly sensed something was off. "You seem to know a lot about this."
The man was surprisingly forthcoming this time.
"Of course. You could say I was one of the people involved back then." He looked up at Gu Xi, his voice slow as he spoke through the flickering firelight. "I was Huo Heng’s manager."
Qi Xiang and Qin Yi glanced at each other and asked in unison, "What’s a manager?" For young people of their generation, the word... was completely foreign.
The man: "..."
The man took a deep breath and decided to skip the topic. He continued, "After this blew up, it became a huge deal. Huo Heng’s rivals were fanning the flames from behind the scenes, and a lot of the brands he was partnered with started calling to ask what was going on..."
Huo Heng was the hottest male celebrity at the time and the man’s cash cow. He had numerous endorsement deals, and if those contracts were terminated, both the company and he would suffer catastrophic losses.
He asked Huo Heng for an explanation.
But Huo Heng, who had always been obedient, remained silent.
"Later, as things escalated, the company saw which way the wind was blowing and decided to abandon Huo Heng. They planned to pin all the losses on him..." The man trailed off, lost in his memories.
Qi Xiang tutted. "Spoken like true heartless capitalists."
The man snapped out of his reminiscence. "Just then, a woman came to me... That was when I learned that the pregnant woman in the photo was actually Huo Heng’s sister."
"And the wife of the Gu Family’s eldest son."
"And the Gu Family was one of the most powerful, high-society families in Jingcheng at the time," the man said slowly, his expression complex.
’Although he didn’t know the specifics of the plan his superiors had with that person, the saying goes that the hatred for one’s mother’s killer is irreconcilable!’
’What’s more, Gu Xi had been plotted against like that while she was still in the womb... Meanwhile, the adopted daughter who had taken Gu Xi’s place had been doted on by the Gu Family all these years. She later married the renowned Mr. Liu in a grand ceremony.’
’All these years, the fake heiress had lived a pampered life, while Gu Xi...’
Through the flickering firelight, the man looked up at Gu Xi. Her face was perfectly calm, betraying no emotion.
’But anyone in her shoes would surely not let this go.’
’Once Gu Xi finds out the truth... with her abilities that have long since broken all limits, I doubt even a behemoth like the Gu Family could withstand her wrath!’
’Otherwise, why would the Gu Family have gone to such great lengths to plot against and erase all traces of the Blood-colored Asura’s existence?’
’Weren’t they just afraid that if the truth ever came out, Gu Xi would come back for revenge?!’
The man had a faint suspicion that his superiors planned to drop the bombshell about Gu Xi’s identity at this moment to pull the rug out from under the Gu Family.
’...With more and more plants successfully undergoing reverse evolution, a new era was on the horizon. And the Gu Family... it was time for them to make way for others.’
The man looked up at Gu Xi. "Miss Gu, although the Central Base’s data center was rebuilt only a few years ago and isn’t connected to the pre-apocalypse internet, meaning a lot of things can no longer be verified..."
"But I can guarantee that every word I’ve said is true," the man said earnestly. "Many young people were fans of Huo Heng back then. I imagine quite a few of them are still alive. If you don’t believe me, you’re free to investigate."
The man wasn’t afraid of Gu Xi investigating, because everything he said was true.
Gu Xi lowered her eyes and poked at the fire, not saying a word.
The others couldn’t help but look at each other. They never expected Gu Xi to have such a melodramatic backstory...
Wei Heng and Qi Xiang both looked at Gu Xi with a hint of worry.
Gu Xi’s emotional state had been unstable recently. Before Shen Yue left, he had reminded them to keep an eye on her. If she lost control, they were to get her away from there as quickly as possible...
Just then, Gu Xi looked up and asked, "And what happened after that?"
"After that..." The man’s expression was complicated. "I only found out later that the reason Huo Heng stayed silent and refused to explain was that he didn’t want to drag his sister, Huo Zhen, into it."
"Because even though Huo Zhen had married the eldest son of the Gu Family, the marriage was never acknowledged by the family’s head."
"The Gu Family felt that Huo Zhen, an orphan, was unworthy of the heir they had so carefully groomed, even though she was already pregnant with Mr. Gu’s child..."
The man looked up at Gu Xi.
Gu Xi tossed aside the tree root in her hand and met his gaze calmly. "What are you trying to say?"
"On the day the apocalypse broke out, Huo Zhen was about to go into labor, but Mr. Gu was stuck at the old Gu Family residence." The man seemed to drift back into his memories, his tone slowing.
"Chaos was already starting to break out. Huo Zhen couldn’t give birth on her own, and after trying to call Mr. Gu countless times without getting through, she called Huo Heng..."
He took a deep breath. "Later, I was the one who drove Huo Heng there. That day..."
Because chaos had erupted outside, they were delayed on the road and took some time to reach Huo Zhen’s apartment.
Unexpectedly, on the way to the hospital, Huo Zhen’s water broke. The car got stuck in traffic, and monsters that attacked people on sight started appearing outside...
Amid the chaos, Huo Heng entrusted his sister to his manager, then got out of the car to act as bait, luring the monsters away.
As the memory reached this point, the man closed his eyes. "...But in the end, I failed to live up to Huo Heng’s trust."
"You ran away," Qin Shi said, looking up and staring at the man. Her tone was calm and cold. "In that situation, you abandoned a pregnant woman who was about to give birth and fled on your own."
"Yes." The man didn’t deny it, his eyes fixed on Gu Xi. "Miss Gu..."
Gu Xi remained silent, but Qi Xiang leaned in. "From the sound of it, you must feel pretty guilty about Huo Heng, right?"
"Yes." The man nodded. Just as he was about to say something, Qi Xiang asked with a baffled look, "Then I’m curious. If you feel so guilty, how have you been living with a clear conscience all these years, wearing his face to survive?"
"And even trying to use his face to get on Gu Xi’s good side?" Qi Xiang stared at him with an expression that screamed, ’I don’t get it, but I’m utterly shocked.’
The man: "..."
Just as he was about to explain, Zhang Wen suddenly interjected, "I know the answer to this one."
Seeing everyone’s eyes turn to him in unison, Zhang Wen put down the chicken bone he had picked clean, wiped his greasy mouth, and puffed out his chest. "Obviously, he’s trying to pull a switcheroo and latch onto Miss Gu’s coattails."
Whether it was the Blood-colored Asura who single-handedly slayed the Zombie Emperor back then, or the Gu Xi who had now solved the problem of reverse evolution in mutant plants, she was without a doubt the biggest, most powerful patron one could find in this day and age!
It was perfectly understandable that this self-proclaimed manager would want to ride Miss Gu’s coattails.
Qi Xiang thought that made a lot of sense.
She looked the man up and down for a moment before stating with certainty, "So you knew from the very beginning that pretending to be Gu Xi’s uncle wouldn’t work?"
Her tone was absolutely certain.
The man lowered his gaze to hide his shock. This was indeed his Plan B. After all, once you knew that Gu Xi was the Blood-colored Asura, it was hard not to get other ideas.
Especially for someone like him, who had personally witnessed the peak of the Blood-colored Asura’s power.
Besides, he didn’t see anything wrong with leaving himself a way out.
He just never expected Qi Xiang to see right through his little scheme.
Qi Xiang stood up, clapped her hands, and circled the man. She tutted lightly. "I’ll give you this, you’re pretty clever."
’Too bad that when you use your cleverness in the wrong way, you just end up outsmarting yourself.’