Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The three of them soon arrived at the Gu Family residence.

Old Master Gu, Gu Zhishu’s father, had already received a call from the police. He had been informed that his son, who had been missing for nearly ten years, was dead.

“Actually, I guessed it a long time ago… that he might already be dead.”

Old Master Gu was in his sixties, with graying hair and a deeply haggard appearance. Accompanying him was his biological son, Gu Zhiyu, who looked to be only in his twenties.

Upon learning that Nan Mu was the founder of Nan Huan Group, Gu Zhiyu warmly handed over a business card. While his father spoke, Gu Zhiyu sat quietly to the side, brewing and pouring tea for everyone.

“I adopted Xiao Shu from Happiness Orphanage when he was seven years old. That boy was smart from a young age; I never had to worry about his studies. He was so bright as a child that his teachers wanted him to skip grades, but I felt a child should experience the joys of childhood, so I insisted he follow the standard school progression.”

“I remember it very clearly. The year Xiao Shu graduated from high school, his school organized a physical examination. It was during that check-up that they found something-they said there was a shadow on his brain. I took him to the hospital the very next day. At first, they couldn’t even find anything specific, but later the hospital brought in experts. A few days later, they called us to say there was indeed a lesion in the brain and told us to schedule surgery as soon as possible.”

“We asked the doctor then if the surgery could cure him. The doctor said that if there was no recurrence afterward, it could be cured. However, at that time, there were only a few months left before Xiao Shu’s college entrance exams. If he had the surgery, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to take the exams that year. Xiao Shu felt that since the lesion didn’t seem to be affecting his daily life, he insisted on waiting until after the exams to have the operation.”

“I blame myself! If only I had insisted on the surgery right then and there…”

At this point, Old Master Gu sighed and rubbed the corners of his eyes, consumed by self-reproach.

“After Xiao Shu finished his exams, the hospital quickly scheduled the surgery. The operation was a complete success. But for some reason, Xiao Shu kept suffering from headaches afterward. I originally thought it was an issue with the surgery, but the hospital stood firm that the operation had been successful. Later, they suggested that perhaps the delay before the surgery had exacerbated the brain lesion.”

“But those were all just guesses… For a while, my wife and I were convinced it was a surgical error. But we later found out that the hospital had performed two surgeries that day. The other patient’s condition was even more serious than Xiao Shu’s… they were already having headaches before the surgery. Yet, after the operation, that patient recovered quickly and was discharged. Same doctor, same team, same equipment-everything was identical…”

“I suppose it really was just Xiao Shu’s bad luck… It was brain surgery, after all. The hospital said it was best not to perform consecutive invasive surgeries in a short period, so after that, we switched to conservative treatment. The treatment process was undoubtedly painful. In fact, before Xiao Shu went missing, he had told me similar things several times-asking if he could give up on the treatment, saying it hurt too much and he couldn’t take it anymore. By then, he had been tormented by the illness for three or four years…”

“How can any parent stand by and watch their child die? But aside from staying by his side and comforting him, I was truly powerless. It went on like that for about half a year. The weather was starting to get warmer during that period. I thought I would head home to grab some fresh clothes for him. Who would have thought that by the time I returned, Xiao Shu was no longer in the hospital? I couldn’t find him anywhere…”

“At first, I thought he had just gone out somewhere to clear his head. But I waited until dinner time, and he still hadn’t returned. I felt that something was wrong, so I started calling everyone I knew, asking if Xiao Shu had gone to see them. But I didn’t get any news. By ten o’clock that night, I felt certain something had happened to him; otherwise, there was no way he wouldn’t have returned to the hospital or at least called by that hour. I called everyone in the family to go look for him. We searched until the next day, and then I went to report it to the police.”
“All these years, there was never any news…” Old Master Gu said, his voice thick with regret. “Because Xiao Shu had mentioned wanting to give up on treatment before, we all thought… we thought he couldn’t take it anymore and took his own life. We never imagined… we never could have imagined he was actually murdered!”

“It’s all my fault! All my fault! If only I hadn’t stepped away that afternoon!”

As Old Master Gu spoke, he began to beat his chest and weep bitterly. It was clear that even though the boy was adopted, he truly loved Gu Zhishu.

Seeing Old Master Gu lose control of his emotions, Gu Zhiyu and Fang Yue each took a side and helped him back to his bedroom.

While the others looked after Old Master Gu as he lay down to rest, Fang Yue went to the bathroom. Gu Zhiyu led Nan Mu and Qiu Ziyu back to the coffee table.

“My dad has always blamed himself, feeling like he didn’t look after my brother well enough. Don’t be fooled by the fact that one of us was adopted and the other is biological. If my dad really had to choose between me and my brother, he would definitely choose my brother. I was mischievous growing up, and I couldn’t compare to him in school. My dad often said that my brother’s IQ made him seem like the biological son instead.” Gu Zhiyu let out a small, melancholy smile. “I was born less than two years after my brother was adopted. When my dad was young, he was busy with his research, so my brother was always the one taking me out to play… Then he went missing. Even though everyone knew about his condition and that he couldn’t survive long outside the hospital… before we knew what happened to him, I used to fantasize that maybe one day he would just suddenly come back, appearing right in front of us. I never expected… I never could have imagined he actually…”

“My condolences.”

After Qiu Ziyu spoke, he instinctively glanced at Nan Mu before pulling the photograph out of his pocket. “By the way, I wanted to ask-do you recognize this person?”

Gu Zhiyu leaned in to take a look. “Oh, this photo… it’s Sister Miao.”

“You know each other?”

Gu Zhiyu hesitated for a moment. “I suppose so… she seemed to be my brother’s friend. The first time I met her was also at the hospital; she came to visit him. But I got the feeling that my brother and her weren’t very close at first.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because the two of them just sat there, and there didn’t seem to be much to say. Sister Miao brought some fruit, but the visit felt very formal, almost like a routine. But I can’t say for sure, because when Sister Miao left, my brother stood by the window and watched her until she was gone… I can’t quite describe the feeling.”

“Have you never heard Old Mr. Gu mention her?”

“Who? Sister Miao?” Gu Zhiyu looked surprised. “My dad shouldn’t know her, right? Sister Miao visited a few times, but my father was never there.”

As soon as he said this, Nan Mu knew that Gu Zhiyu was unaware that his father had once adopted Wen Miao as well.

“Then when was this photo taken?” Qiu Ziyu followed up.

Qiu Ziyu was still holding the photo, so Gu Zhiyu couldn’t see the writing on the back. He thought for a long while before giving a vague timeframe. “I remember it wasn’t summer yet, because I was still in school and only had time on the weekends… One day, my brother suddenly asked me if I wanted to go to the Botanical Garden. It wasn’t until we got there that day that I realized Sister Miao was coming along too.”