Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Gu Hong arranged a new hotel for me.

It was quite luxurious, though located in a rather remote area.

After staying for one night, she arranged for someone to take us to the airport the following evening.

Before we set off, Gu Hong found it hard to part with her son. She hugged and held him, tears streaming down her face.

Xie Ye, who stood a head taller than her, pushed his suitcase forward with a look of helplessness. “Didn’t you say Auntie Que is amazing? With her around, you can rest easy. No one would dare bully me except her.”

…Was that even something a human would say?

The key was that Gu Hong actually nodded through her sobs. I felt absolutely nothing toward this mother-son duo and was the first to get into the car.

Just as I sat down and prepared to close my eyes for a nap, I heard Xie Ye shouting from outside the car, “Oh, right! I finished off all the velvet antler wine at home yesterday. Buy some more for Grandpa.”

“You child, why did you drink so much?” Gu Hong choked out.

“…The pressure is too high. I might be feeling a bit weak lately.”

“Son, my dear son, promise Mama you’ll stay alive,” Gu Hong wailed.

Me: “?”

Fine. Given that this pair’s brain cells operate on a different frequency than normal people, let me give you a brief introduction to the background of the story.

The Gu Family built their fortune in Rongcheng through electronic chips; they are considered industry giants.

Gu Hong is the daughter of the former president of the Gu Corporation, Gu Wenying, and is currently the actual controlling shareholder within the Gu Family business.

Xie Ye is her only son.

According to Gu Hong’s own account, their family offended some people due to industrial conflicts and interests.

Her husband, Xie Yanzhi, was originally a physics professor. Three months ago, he went abroad for an academic symposium and died on the spot in a car accident on his way back.

Although it was ruled a traffic accident, Gu Hong didn’t believe it. The sharp intuition she’d honed over years in the business world told her this was definitely not simple.

To prevent Xie Ye, her only offspring, from being harmed as well, she wanted to send her son to his uncle’s place in Beijing.

When Gu Hong met me, she grabbed my hand and pleaded, “Chen Qi, you must help me get my son there safely. Sister Hong can only count on you now.”

I had no reason to refuse her. After all, Xie Ye was Professor Xie’s son.

However, upon arriving at the airport, the moment the Gu Family’s car drove off, Xie Ye started acting up. He slapped his forehead and said, “Crap, I forgot the plane tickets at home.”

I looked at him coldly. “You can check in with your ID card.”

“What a coincidence, I forgot my ID at home too.” Xie Ye looked at me with a fearless smile.

He then hailed a taxi, put our luggage in the trunk, and told the driver to go to the train station.

An hour later, we arrived at the train station. Young Master Xie paid the fare in cash, but didn’t even enter the station. Instead, he led me into a passenger van parked by the roadside, carpooling with others to the South Bus Station.

When we reached the South Bus Station, he told me to wait for him. He disappeared for about ten minutes and emerged from the darkness driving an ordinary Volkswagen.

We then drove halfway around the city’s ring road. On a small path off the Yongyun Line, he swapped cars with someone for a Buick. Finally, we meandered onto County Road 306 and merged onto the G151 heading east.

After this series of erratic maneuvers, it was already the early hours of the morning. As the car sped along the highway in the dead of night, Xie Ye tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, looking perfectly composed.

Sitting in the passenger seat, I lit a cigarette, took a few drags, and flicked the ash out the window.

“Does your mother know you’re doing this?”

“Of course.”

He said candidly, “This was our plan. Taking a plane so openly makes us too big of a target. If our whereabouts are exposed, there could be danger.”
“So cautious? It seems your family has offended someone with quite a bit of clout,” I said, raising an eyebrow.

Xie Ye nodded. “If it were just some ordinary person, my mother wouldn’t have come looking for you.”

He had a point.

With the Gu Family’s status, there was no type of bodyguard they couldn’t hire. The fact that they’d gone all the way to find a pickpocket showed that Gu Hong was truly terrified.

Xie Ye glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “You’re quite calm, Sister. As expected of a disciple of Chen Erwu from the Kuncheng Natural Gate.”

I looked at him sideways, displeased. “First of all, Chen Erwu’s name isn’t for a junior like you to throw around. Second, you should be calling me ‘Auntie.'”

“Oh, sorry.”

He arched an eyebrow and replied with mock seriousness, “First, I didn’t mean to disrespect Master Chen. Second, given the relationship we’ve had and the fact that you’re only seven years older than me, I can’t call you ‘Auntie.’ It would feel a bit… incestuous.”

“Of course, you can keep calling my mom ‘Sister.’ You do your thing, I’ll do mine. We’ll each have our own way of addressing people without interfering with each other.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit. Your mother must have told you-I don’t have much patience.”

I let out a cold laugh. “If you want a safe trip, you’d better stop acting like a brat. Once I get you to your destination, we’re done with each other.”

Xie Ye didn’t speak. After a long silence, he let out a sigh so soft it was almost inaudible. “I hope so.”

I soon realized what he meant by “I hope so.”

The direction the car was heading was not toward Beijing.

I didn’t have a habit of prying into other people’s business, but I couldn’t help but frown. “Aren’t you and your mother hiding a bit too much?”

Xie Ye remained calm. “I wasn’t trying to hide anything from you. The thing is, Sister, you never really cared about my family’s mess in the first place.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what I said. From the moment you arrived in Rongcheng, you just nodded at everything my mother said. You didn’t ask anything, and you didn’t offer any opinions the whole time. A sharp person like you didn’t keep quiet because you didn’t have suspicions; it’s because you’re utterly indifferent. You don’t take our situation seriously at all. To you, it makes no difference where I’m being sent.”

He hit the nail on the head again. I had to admit, the kid was good at reading people.

I sneered. “Whether I take it seriously is my business. Your lack of transparency is just plain rude.”

“Fine, I apologize on behalf of myself and my mother. You want transparency? I’ll tell you everything right now. Do you want to hear it?”

Xie Ye’s voice was steady. I believed that he really didn’t intend to hide anything from me anymore, but he was right-I didn’t want to hear it.

I had suffered a great deal in my life because of meddling in other people’s business. From the day I was expelled from my sect at seventeen for causing trouble, I had sworn never to stick my neck out for anyone again.

Once I repaid the favor I owed Gu Hong and her husband, I wouldn’t owe anyone anything.

And with some things, knowing too much only adds to the burden without providing any real benefit.

This Gu Family matter, at its largest scale, was likely a business dispute involving life and death. I had no intention of getting dragged into it.

So, I replied tonelessly, “My job is to get you to your destination. I’m really not interested in anything else.”

Xie Ye curled his lips, revealing his sharp canines in a grin. “Sister, I’m starting to like you. You’re really badass.”

“I’m quite fond of you too, my ‘dear nephew.’ That brainless look of yours is also quite charming.”

“…”