Volume One, Chapter 15: The Farther Away from the Gu Family, the Better
Page (1/3)
Lu Xiaoqian nodded. “She will. She will hate her for the rest of her life. She hated your mother every day she was alive, and she will go on hating her even after your mother has left this world.”
Lu Xiaoqian found a photograph in the album.
It showed the very note she had handed to Su Qiuyu.
A name. A telephone number.
“Jiang Hongfang came to see me,” Lu Xiaoqian said. “This was the number she gave me.”
“Why did she come to you?”
“She wanted me to help her harm your mother, but I refused. Over the past twenty-odd years, she came to me eight times in all. The last time was just last week.”
Su Qiuyu was startled. “She knew my mother was still alive?”
Lu Xiaoqian’s expression turned sorrowful. “Didn’t I tell you? Even if your mother had already left this world, she would still hate her. She came to ask where you and your mother had ended up. Judging by the look on her face, perhaps she meant to throw paint, feces, or even dog’s blood over the place. Or perhaps she wanted to hire someone to perform rituals that would leave the dead forever unable to rest.”
Lu Xiaoqian turned and took Su Qiuyu’s hand. “Qiuyu, she hates you too.”
Su Qiuyu recalled the past. “If she has hated me for more than twenty years, why didn’t she hurt me when I was very young? I would have been easiest to deal with then. But when I was growing up, I never seemed to feel anyone watching me from outside—or harboring any hatred toward me.”
“Because your grandfather was still alive then. After he died, there was no one left who could restrain her. Qiuyu, if she really was the one who abducted your mother, then it is highly possible that she discovered by accident that the two of you were still alive after coming to see me.”
The time on the phone was 5:17 p.m.
Su Qiuyu rose. “I’ll think of something. Auntie Lu, get some proper rest.”
Lu Xiaoqian suddenly said, “That little girl from the Gu family—Jiang Hongfang must have been the one who told her I was staying at this sanatorium!”
Su Qiuyu paused and looked at her. “May I ask why you tried to hurt her?”
The teacup still sat on the bedside table. Lu Xiaoqian’s gaze drifted away. “Because I wanted to drive her off. She had the Gu family behind her, and she brought far too many of them with her. I couldn’t let the Gu family know that you were still alive.”
Su Qiuyu froze. “Auntie Lu…”
Lu Xiaoqian let out a long sigh, then looked up and smiled at her. “It’s all right. Let the Gu family come after me if they want. I’m only an old woman with one foot in the grave. I’ve scraped by for more than twenty years, and now there’s nothing left for me to fear. Live well and protect yourself. Stay as far away as possible from that Gu family. Don’t forget—you were given a second chance at life.”
“Mm.”
“Has your chest still been hurting these past few years?”
“It’s fine as long as I don’t get caught in the rain. In winter, I use a few warming patches.” Su Qiuyu smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ve taken very good care of myself.”
Page (1/3)
Page (2/3)
Lu Xiaoqian smiled. “Good. Go find your mother. If Jiang Hongfang really was responsible, you don’t need to worry too much. Jiang Hongfang hates her, but she won’t beat her or kill her. What she hates most is your mother’s pride and unyielding spirit. Until she breaks that spirit, her hatred will never fade. But your mother… even if she lost everything, she would still be proud. In the end, all she would have left would be that unbreakable spirit.”
Outside the door, Shao Shanshan seized the caregiver, Chen, and demanded to know who the old man and middle-aged woman inside were.
Chen had no answer.
Shao Shanshan was furious, and vented all the anger in her heart on the caregiver.
Her phone suddenly rang. It was Gu Moting.
Shao Shanshan turned and walked away. Only when she reached the supply room at the end of the corridor did she take a deep breath and compose herself before answering.
The moment she picked up, Gu Moting’s cold, low voice came through. “You’re at Little Peach’s grandmother’s sanatorium?”
“Yes, Senior. How is Little Peach? Is she feeling any better?”
“Leave immediately.”
Shao Shanshan paused, frowning. “Why? She hurt Little Peach so badly, and Little Peach is only four years old! How could someone of her age bring herself to treat a little girl so—”
Gu Moting cut her off coldly. “What does this have to do with you?”
Shao Shanshan fell silent. But soon, anxiety sharpened her voice. “Senior, you can’t put it that way! I watched Little Peach grow up. For the past four years, I’ve been with her almost every day. I already regard her as family! Now that someone has hurt her—”
“Leave while you’re still able to walk on your own. Don’t wait until I send someone to escort you out.”
The call ended.
Gu Moting sat in his car, his dark eyes fixed coldly on the sanatorium gates.
A half-smoked cigarette rested between the fingers of the hand he had draped casually over the steering wheel. Its ember glowed dark red and deep blue, flickering on and off.
The streetlamps had come on, casting a muted golden light over the road. He and the car were as still as though they had melted into the bleak, desolate landscape of late autumn.
Shao Shanshan gripped her phone, grinding her teeth in anger.
She raised her head and glared toward Lu Xiaoqian’s room.
Damn old woman. Damn old woman!
Just then, the two people who had gone inside earlier emerged.
They looked like father and daughter. The old man was in his eighties or nineties, with one foot already in the grave.
Page (2/3)
Page (3/3)
The daughter was in her forties or fifties. She had an air of refinement, and the first impression she gave was that, in her youth, she must have been the artistic, literary type.
Shao Shanshan immediately picked up her handbag. Her high heels struck the floor with crisp, rapid clicks as she hurried over. “Stop!”
The old man was discussing music with Su Qiuyu. He did not care much for heavy metal and was asking whether she could recommend any pleasant folk songs.
At the shout, “Stop!” the old man did not realize it was directed at him. Su Qiuyu lowered her voice. “Ignore her.”
The old man nodded. “All right!”
Shao Shanshan shouted angrily, “Stop! Didn’t you hear me?”
Quite a few people nearby turned to look.
The old man said to Su Qiuyu, “Quick, quick, let’s go.”
Hearing the sharp click of high heels hurrying after them, the old man grabbed Su Qiuyu by the wrist. “Run!”
But one elevator was on the eighth floor and the other on the second, and Shao Shanshan caught up with them in the end.
“Why are you running?” Shao Shanshan demanded angrily. “Are you feeling guilty?”
The old man gasped for breath, shot her a sidelong glance, and ignored her.
Shao Shanshan immediately turned her attention to Su Qiuyu, but the old man blocked her view. “Don’t pay any attention to her.”
Su Qiuyu nodded.
Shao Shanshan circled around to stand in front of them. The old man shielded Su Qiuyu and turned his back toward her.
Shao Shanshan sneered. “Only thieves act this guilty! What is your relationship with Lu Xiaoqian? She injured a child from my family. Were the two of you involved as well—did you participate in planning it? I have every reason to suspect that you tried to abduct my child and extort money from us! If you refuse to tell the truth, you can both come with me to the police station!”
As she spoke, she dialed 110 on her phone, then lifted her head. “I’m giving you one last chance. Otherwise, I’ll report you for attempted extortion! You’re both old enough that you may not be able to survive a prison sentence, but you’ll still have to pay compensation. Aren’t you afraid of dying without leaving a single penny for your descendants?”
She spoke with righteous conviction, her threats delivered as though they were unquestionable facts. Yet when she finished, she found the old man frowning at her, his lips drawn back in a grimace, staring at her as if she were an idiot.
Page (3/3)