In the evening, while his parents were out for social engagements, Gao Ning sneaked out and drove to Xia Zhu's house.
On the way, he called Mr. Jin: "Mr. Jin, what exactly are you playing at? Why did you have my dad come over today?!"
Mr. Jin replied with a smile: "It seems your dad has already noticed? Oh, brother, this is all for your sake. Think about it, with just the two of us, how can we handle Chu Yuxuan? We need your dad's help, don't we?"
Gao Ning retorted angrily: "So, you planned everything—the contract termination with Xia Zhu and today's dinner? The goal was for my dad to deal with Chu Yuxuan?! You… you didn't tell me this from the start! Didn't you say you had a way to deal with Chu Yuxuan? Why are you dragging my dad into this now?"
Mr. Jin said: "Bringing your dad into the fold increases our chances of success. Brother, it's not that I'm criticizing, but your dad is getting old, lacking the courage and decisiveness of his younger years. With the constant infighting within the Chu family, why should we be afraid of them? We just need to think of a way to exploit their internal conflicts. Just wait, don't rush. We've got the timing and the place, now we just need the right people."
"How can I trust you now?"
"You can choose not to believe me, and I can call off the plan. But you should understand, that Chu guy will probably not let your family off easily, hehe…" Gao Ning was instantly frustrated, but it seemed there was no turning back now. After a long silence, he reluctantly compromised: "You have to make sure you can take him down!"
Mr. Jin vowed: "That's a given! Chu Yuxuan is notoriously lecherous and superficial; dealing with him is easy."
Gao Ning pondered: "Mr. Jin, what exactly is your grudge against him?"
There was silence on the other end before Mr. Jin's sinister voice came through: "Don't ask questions that you shouldn't!"
About twenty minutes later, Gao Ning arrived at Xia Zhu's house. However, after nervously entering the password he had memorized, it showed that the password was incorrect.
Gao Ning was immediately flustered, trying the password several more times with no success. When he was at home earlier, he had wanted to explain things to Xia Zhu, but both his calls and WeChat messages were blocked, and even Xia's mother's calls went unanswered.
Now, the door code had been changed!
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Gao Ning pounded on the door, shouting: "Xia Zhu, give me a chance to explain!"
"Three years ago, I was blinded by my own faults, but… I really love you now! Only you!"
"Xia Zhu, don't doubt my love for you, okay? I'm begging you, let me explain to you face to face! Open the door!"
Inside the house, Xia Zhu leaned against the sofa with a bottle of wine in hand, her eyes vacant and looking lifeless. Xia's mother, who was beside her, really wanted to open the door but was hesitant, recalling how Xia Zhu had forced her to ignore Gao Ning's calls in the afternoon. She could only sit there anxiously.
Outside the door, Gao Ning continued: "Xia Zhu, I know you're at home. I'm begging you, just let me see you!"
"My head was injured by Chu Yuxuan; I just woke up from the hospital and rushed here as soon as I opened my eyes. Xia Zhu, my head is spinning… Please open the door, just let me see you, okay?"
Xia's mother held her daughter's hand anxiously: "Bean Zhu, Ning'er is hurt. Just let him in and let him explain! You've been in love for so many years; there's no knot that can't be untied. Listen to me, okay?"
Xia Zhu suddenly smiled strangely, tears flowing uncontrollably, but she said nothing.
At that moment, she inexplicably thought of Chu Yuxuan, and those two years. The awkward guy who never spoke sweet words or made explanations, who just obediently followed her and was always accommodating. But that person was buried in the past and in an unsatisfactory marriage!
Life, if only it were as it was at first sight, what sorrowful autumn winds blowing on painted fans. All beginnings are gentle, but how many endings match the beginning? The events of fate, whether they are deep or shallow, are all determined by destiny.
Rather than saying Xia Zhu was buying false pearls, it was more like fate was toying with her.
Her left hand held confident love, her right hand held unattainable moonlight, what she liked she couldn't get, and what she got she didn't like. Now that the moonlight finally shone on her, sacrificing everything to reach it, she found it was given to her only because someone else didn't want it.
Is it pitiful? Is it sad? Is it hateful? Ha… Some lives are destined to be filled with regrets and regrets.
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
The penalty for Xia Zhu's breach of contract was not paid on time. Chu Yuxuan showed no mercy and ordered the artist management department to freeze her, also telling Zhao Yanan that if she tried to terminate the contract again, they wouldn't even discuss it and would go straight to court. Regardless of how much could be claimed in the end, just the legal proceedings alone could drag it out for years.
Wrongdoing has consequences.
But Chu Yuxuan was puzzled by the fact that Gao Ning and Mr. Jin had been very quiet lately, with no actions at all. He wondered what these two idiots were plotting. Or perhaps, Gao Zhensheng was keeping a tight watch on Gao Ning, not letting him cause trouble?
That old fox was cautious and patient, and wouldn't easily go against the Chu family, so it wasn't out of the question.
Without the interference of petty characters, Chu Yuxuan was quite relaxed, spending his days walking around the company, annoying Zhao Yanan, then going to the hospital to visit Chen Qiang with some gifts.
Currently, this was the most important thing.
Recently, the doctors had suggested that family members should talk more with Chen Qiang, which would help his cognitive abilities. This task naturally fell to the chatty Chen Ting, who talked from morning till night about childhood events, recent news, the story of how Chu Yuxuan saved her, and how Chu Yuxuan paid the medical bills, among other things. In short, it was all about expressing gratitude towards Chu Yuxuan.
This approach proved effective. Chen Qiang's recovery was good; although he still had difficulty speaking, he could respond to others by moving his fingers or blinking. His thinking had basically returned to normal.
Just yesterday, Chu Yuxuan thought for a long time and decided there was no need to wait any longer. He straightforwardly said to Chen Qiang: "I'm looking for Chen Hong to ask one thing, which is closely related to my mother's death. Qiangzi, he was my mother's driver, so he must have seen who kidnapped her! Rest assured, I won't blame him for leaving my mother behind and escaping; that's human nature, and most people would do the same. I just want to know who kidnapped my mother and what exactly happened that night. That's all. I swear I won't harm him. You have to believe me!"
However, despite Chu Yuxuan's earnest appeal, Chen Qiang still claimed not to know.
But his eyes seemed to show some guilt and internal struggle.
At this moment, Chu Yuxuan was frowning in his office, smoking a cigarette and lost in thought.
The Third Brother was also troubled, mumbling: "I'll get him out of the hospital tonight, stab him a few times, no, until he talks, damn it, he really doesn't know what's good for him!"
Chu Yuxuan flicked the ash from his cigarette, his expression serious: "Yes… I really can't afford to waste any more time! I need to think of another way…"
Just then, Chen Ting called. Chu Yuxuan immediately perked up, feeling nervous: "Hello? Tingting."
"Brother Chu, my brother said he wants to see you. He gestured for a long time before I understood; it was hilarious, hehe…"