novelraw Chapter 138 You Regret It?
Chapter 138 You Regret It?
A dark glint flashed in Gu Yanshen's eyes.
"Everyone does everything for a profit." His voice turned cold. "Didn't Su Lanzhi protect her son after acknowledging him?"
Lin Chen was stunned for a moment.
Gu Yanfeng.
Su Lanzhi's son. Gu Yanshen's cousin.
That young man who had always been well protected by the Su family and had never been implicated.
"She'll be out in three years." Gu Yanshen's tone carried a hint of barely suppressed resentment. The resentment was restrained, yet like magma beneath the earth, calm on the surface but scorching hot underneath.
Lin Chen looked at him.
Looking at his taut jawline, and at his slightly clenched fingers hanging by the table.
"You..." Lin Chen hesitated before speaking, "Are you still reluctant to harm Gu Yanfeng?"
Gu Yanshen remained silent for a few seconds.
Those few seconds felt like an eternity.
Then he finally spoke, his voice so calm it was as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.
"He is innocent."
He looked at Lin Chen, and there was something complicated in his eyes.
"The harm done to the children should not be borne by them."
Lin Chen sighed.
He knew where Gu Yanshen's bottom line was. He was ruthless and decisive in the business world, never showing mercy to his enemies, but there were some things he simply couldn't do. Those were things his grandmother had taught him, a sense of propriety etched into his very bones.
Gu Yanshen took something out of his pocket.
Place it on the table.
The jade bead gleamed with a cold, eerie light, its rounded shape seemingly concealing some unspeakable secret.
"This is?"
Lin Chen leaned closer, his pupils suddenly contracting.
He had seen that bead before.
On Liu Lin's wrist, on that priceless jade bracelet.
"Liu Lin's?"
Gu Yanshen did not speak.
But his silence was the best answer.
Lin Chen's expression changed.
"Did Song Zhihe give it to you?"
"Aunt Yun gave it to her." Gu Yanshen's voice was very low. "A person with amnesia hid this bead for three years."
Lin Chen's mind raced.
Su Lanzhi. Liu Lin. Aunt Yun. Jade beads.
Those previously vague clues, those scattered fragments, suddenly took on a faint outline.
He looked up at Gu Yanshen.
"you say……"
He didn't finish speaking.
Gu Yanshen did not respond.
a long time.
Gu Yanshen finally spoke.
"Lin Chen".
"Um?"
"Do you think I've been too lenient with them?"
The sound was very soft.
It was so light it was as if she were asking herself.
He did not answer.
He just looked at Gu Yanshen.
Watching the light in those eyes gradually cool down.
"What about Ranran?"
Lin Chen put down his phone; the unread text message was still lit up on the screen—from Lu Xiran, asking why he hadn't come home yet. He didn't reply, but instead looked up at Gu Yanshen.
"Did you tell Ranran about Aunt Yun?"
Gu Yanshen looked away from his phone screen; the familiar profile picture was still flashing in the chat window. He typed a few words, then deleted them, and finally placed his phone face down on the table.
"no."
His voice was soft, tinged with weariness.
"If I tell her, she'll definitely want to come with me no matter what. I don't even know what I'll face in that place, Li Fengche. I can't let her take any more risks."
"Lin Chen," Gu Yanshen suddenly looked up, a rare look of confusion in his eyes, "Tell me, have I hurt her again?"
Lin Chen did not respond.
"Even though I haven't sorted everything out, I still couldn't resist and got back together with her." Gu Yanshen's voice deepened, as if he were talking to himself, "I thought I could control myself. I thought that as long as she didn't know what happened, she could stay safely by my side. But every time I see her, I just..."
He didn't continue.
Lin Chen knew what he wanted to say.
Every time I see her, I can't help myself. I can't help getting close, I can't help hugging her, I can't help wanting to meld her into my very bones. The defenses I built up over three years are as fragile as paper in front of her.
"Gu Qishan, Gu Qisheng, Gu Qiran," Gu Yanshen's voice suddenly turned cold, "behind them are the Liu family and the Su family. The network of relationships those people have formed through marriage is far more complex than we imagined. For three years, we've protected the Gu family, kicked them out of the core, and brought down the Su family. But the Liu family…"
He paused.
"The Liu family remains deeply entrenched and is buying Gu's shares through various channels in an attempt to regain control."
Lin Chen listened without interrupting.
He knew all this. For the past three years, every step he took had been like walking on thin ice. On the surface, things seemed calm at the Gu family's residence, but the behind-the-scenes struggles never ceased.
"Actually," Gu Yanshen suddenly smiled, a very faint smile, so faint it was almost imperceptible, "Song Zhihe is right."
Lin Chen frowned.
"What?"
"The best way is—to kill me." Gu Yanshen's voice was so soft, as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself. "Once I'm gone, Gu Qishan will be the sole heir. All those people's problems will be solved."
The office was silent for a few seconds.
Lin Chen looked at him.
"Do you regret keeping her by your side again?"
Gu Yanshen did not answer immediately.
"I..." He opened his mouth, but couldn't finish the sentence.
He remembered how she nestled in his arms last night, so small and soft, her breathing as even as a child's. When she slept, her brows would relax slightly, and the corners of her mouth would unconsciously turn up, as if she were having a sweet dream.
He remembered the message she had sent him earlier that day—having dinner with Fang Rui, located at Yunyuji. It was an ordinary sentence, yet he could imagine her tone of voice. She must have been pretending to be casual, but actually waiting for him to reply with "Come back soon."
He did not reply.
He didn't know how to reply.
Tell her he's investigating Aunt Yun? Tell her what the name Li Fengche means? Tell her those people might still be watching from the shadows, ready to use her as leverage against him at any time?
He said he couldn't bring himself to say it.
"She's too beautiful," Gu Yanshen's voice lowered, almost inaudible, "and too fragile."
"Perhaps," Lin Chen said slowly, "she isn't as fragile as you think."
Gu Yanshen raised his head.
"Yan Shen, she always manages to grow stronger in adversity." Lin Chen's voice was calm. "Whether it was being chased by Lu Hao back then, or being pushed away by you three years ago, she survived it all. She didn't break down, she didn't give up, and she didn't even blame fate."
He paused.
"She just keeps moving forward. Keeps living, keeps reading, and keeps becoming a better version of herself."
Gu Yanshen did not speak.
"Her resilience isn't what you see," Lin Chen said, looking at him. "She's no longer that little girl who needed your protection."