novelraw Chapter 172 Who is that person?
Chapter 172 Who is that person?
"First?" Lu Xiran's voice came from her chest, muffled, carrying a hint of doubt, a hint of grievance, and something else she couldn't quite explain. When she looked up, her eyes were already red.
"What do you mean by 'first'?" Lu Xiran looked at Gu Yanshen. "You'll let me go back when you don't need me anymore?"
He didn't speak.
He couldn't bring himself to say it. His fingers gripped the hem of her dress so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"I'll go back after you've had a good sleep." She turned her head away, her voice stiff, as if she were sulking, or as if she were trying to convince herself.
He opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Lin Chen knocked on the door and came in.
He stood at the doorway, saw two figures intertwined, and paused. "Song Kexin requests to see you."
Gu Yanshen didn't turn around. "I'm busy," he said coldly.
He didn't want to see her, didn't want to hear her speak, and didn't want her voice to taint this place.
Lin Chen didn't leave. "She said she knew something about Song Zhihe," he paused, "including Ranran's..."
Gu Yanshen's fingers tightened. He felt the body in his arms tense slightly, like a string being plucked. He pressed her against his chest, preventing her from looking up.
"You go first," he said.
Lin Chen glanced at him and closed the door.
The office fell silent.
Lu Xiran wriggled out of his embrace and looked up at him. "About me?"
"It's nothing." He lowered his head, forehead to forehead. "I'll handle it."
"Gu Yanshen," she called his name. "Why do you hide everything from me?"
Lu Xiran's voice was very soft, as if she were asking something she already knew the answer to, "You really don't trust me that much?"
He didn't speak.
"Can't I know what Song Kexin knows?" She pushed him away, the force not strong, but it made him take half a step back. Her hands fell to her sides, her fingers curled up, with nowhere to go.
His eyelashes trembled. "Ranran," he called her, his voice low, as if pleading with her not to ask anymore.
"I'm going to see her first." His voice was terribly hoarse. "You wait here for me."
"Eat first, then we'll go." She lowered her head and stopped arguing.
After Gu Yanshen finished eating, Lu Xiran sighed softly, "Go ahead."
"Wait for me to come back." Gu Yanshen glanced at Lu Xiran, then pushed open the door and went out.
Song Kexin was curled up in the corner of the office sofa, her whole body huddled together, knees pressed against her chest, her hair hanging down in disarray, obscuring half her face. She remained motionless, like a piece of discarded luggage.
The sound of the door opening made her jump. She looked up and saw Gu Yanshen walk in, and almost instinctively stood up from the sofa. Her movement was so quick that her knee hit the corner of the coffee table, causing her to wince in pain, but she didn't cry out. She just stood there, looking at him.
"President Gu." When she uttered those two words, there was a tremor she herself was unaware of—not fear, but the tremor of someone who had been buried in the dust for too long and was finally seeing a glimmer of light.
Gu Yanshen sat in the farthest place from her, his fingers resting on the armrest of the sofa, tapping lightly, one tap at a time.
"What do you want to say?" His voice was very calm, as if he were asking how the weather was today.
Song Kexin raised her head, her lips moving slightly. "President Gu, please save me."
He didn't speak. His fingers continued to tap on the armrest, one tap after another, not heavy, but like some kind of countdown.
"I know Song Zhihe's secret."
His fingers paused for a moment, then continued tapping. He glanced at his watch; the movement was casual, almost impatient. Song Kexin's eyes followed his fingers; she knew his patience was dwindling.
"Mr. Gu, Song Zhihe deceived you both eight years ago and three years ago."
Eight years ago.
three years ago.
These two points in time were like two needles, piercing his ears that he didn't want to hear anymore. His fingers finally stopped.
"explain."
"Mr. Gu, please save me." Song Kexin's voice trembled, and she leaned forward, as if pleading, yet also terrified. "Yu Yuli isn't human... he's not human... if you save me, I'll tell you everything I know!"
He made a move to leave. His body moved only slightly, and Song Kexin's voice changed tone.
"I know you don't love Song Zhihe!" she practically shouted, her voice echoing in the empty office. "But don't you want to know what she did to Lu Xiran?"
He stopped.
"What did you say?"
"I...I once heard her say—" Song Kexin's voice trailed off, almost inaudible, "As long as that person is still around, even if Lu Xiran returns to your side, she will never be able to give birth to your child."
The office fell silent. So quiet that you could hear Song Kexin's rapid breathing, and the faint sound of his fingers gripping the leather armrest. Something was churning in his eyes, like an undercurrent, like magma, like fire about to burst from the ground.
"Who!" The word was squeezed out through clenched teeth.
"I didn't hear..." Song Kexin slumped back into her seat, as if all her strength had been drained. Her back hit the sofa armrest, she bounced slightly, and then shrank back. "I really didn't hear... She only said one sentence and then hung up. I only know that person was at the Gu family's house."
"And..." She bit her lip, hesitating for a long time, as if weighing the consequences of speaking out. "Li Fengche contacted her."
How did you know?
"Yu Yuli." Her teeth chattered as she uttered those three words. "Yu Yuli is Li Fengche's henchman. Song Zhihe is in cahoots with them. I begged her to save me, but she looked at me like I was trash." She raised her head, a thin layer of tears glistening in her eyes, beneath which lay hatred. "Like I was trash."
Gu Yanshen looked at her without saying a word.
"And another thing." Her voice suddenly changed, becoming very soft, as if she were revealing a long-hidden secret. "Eight years ago, Song Zhihe wasn't pregnant with your child at all."
His eyes flickered.
"That child is Gu Yanbo's." She said, emphasizing each word. "She drugged you that day, but you were too drunk and passed out. She couldn't do anything. I even helped clean up the mess. She kept trying to find another opportunity afterward, but she never succeeded." Her voice trailed off, becoming so soft it sounded like she was talking to herself. "Later, she got together with Gu Yanbo. The child is Gu Yanbo's."
Gu Yanshen leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. He suddenly felt that this matter was so distant, as distant as something from a past life.
Eight years ago, he thought he owed Song Zhihe something. But now, he doesn't even care about being deceived. It's been too long.
"So it wasn't Gu Yanbo who forced her." Song Kexin shook her head. "She got together with Gu Yanbo on her own."
He sighed, his eyes deep. "Who is that person in the Gu family?"