Back Then, I Adored You

After he finished speaking, Gu Yusheng slammed down the phone viciously.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Zhi’ai asked.

Gu Yusheng was clearly annoyed; he took two drags on his cigarette before he could even move his lips. He said nothing, though, and finally tapped twice on his phone before passing it to Qin Zhi’ai, nodding to her to listen to it for herself.

It was a voice recording.

After a buzzing sound, Qin Zhi’ai heard the familiar voice of Zhou Jing. “This is the photo of the old chairman of the Gu Company. Take a look at the bottom…”

After 10 seconds of silence, another male voice spoke. “I’ve committed this to memory. Now what do you want me to do?”

“I want you to look for a suitable opportunity to create a car accident.” It was still Zhou Jing’s voice.

“A car accident? But he’s so old and could easily die,” the man said hesitantly.

“Don’t worry. I’m not asking you to kill someone, only to run him over…” Zhou Jing sounded exceptionally cold as she said this, as if running someone over was like drinking a cup of tea.

“Don’t worry. The car will not really knock him down. At that moment, Xiaokou will rescue him… Of course, you cannot drive slowly—the effect must be that Old Master Gu is in imminent life-threatening danger and that Xiaokou saves his life in an instant. Old Master Gu must be made to like and trust Xiaokou more than anyone else…”

“But he’s still a senior. Even a slight fall could have dire consequences for him.”

For Zhou Jing’s purposes, the man was becoming difficult, and she suspected he wanted more money for the job. “Don’t worry. You will be handsomely rewarded. After this matter is settled, Old Master Gu will definitely support the marriage between Xiaokou and Mr. Gu. At that time, the entire Gu Company will be within Xiaokou’s reach. You are aware that Xiaokou will be in a position to offer you anything you might desire, aren’t you?”

The man continued. “Old Master Gu is from a from a family of prestigious socialites, and I will never have access to him. That’s what I want, but he’ll never meet with me.”

“Don’t worry. I’m here, and I manage Old Master Gu’s schedule.” This time, the person who spoke was Liang Doukou. “I’ve already thought through this. Old Master Gu is into Buddhism. During Chinese New Year, I can bring him to the temple to pray. On that day, I will try my best to delay our return to the city until night time. I will then notify you of our route and, depending on what that is, will entice him to get out of the car at a convenient, agreed-upon location…”

After a pause, apparently assuming that the man’s queries were satisfied by Liang Doukou’s plan, Zhou Jing resumed. “Here is $200,000 cash. I’ll give it to you now as the deposit. When you’ve completed this task, you’ll receive at least twice this amount.”

The man finally agreed. “Okay.”

The voice recording stopped, and Qin Zhi’ai looked up in disbelief. Although she had just heard it explained, she still had to verify the facts. “So Grandfather Gu’s car accident during last year’s Chinese New Year was not an accident? It was intentionally designed and executed?”

Gu Yusheng maintained a dark look on his face. His lips were taut and he gave no reply.

Pursing her lips, Qin Zhi’ai murmured quietly, still in disbelief, “Liang Doukou has certainly been cruel in the past, but I’ve always thought that her worst was causing me to spill hot coffee and tea onto Grandfather Gu back when I worked at Hui Shi. I never would have expected her to put his life at dire risk to manipulate his feelings…”