29 The Bait

Wang Chengmao stared at Wang Hongzhi with a heavy gaze. "Did the second son of the Gu family tell you this again?"

Wang Hongzhi hung his head low.

A father knows his son best; seeing his expression, Wang Chengmao understood everything. He asked again, "Was that rotten idea of stealing Gu's data and then reneging on the debt also cooked up by the second Gu son?"

Wang Hongzhi kept his head buried, remaining silent.

"Speak!" Wang Chengmao finally roared in fury.

"So what if it was?" Wang Hongzhi snapped his head up, his face flushed with defiance. "The Gu Corporation is currently in the hands of a greenhorn. Rongsheng is a respectable company; are we supposed to be afraid of him?"

"You are all a bunch of idiots!" Seeing his son's pathetic, incorrigible attitude, Wang Chengmao turned blue with rage. "You spend every day with that fool of a second Gu son, and your brain has rotted along with his. You look down on Gu Zhixu, but do you think you can outplay him? The three Gu brothers combined couldn't outmaneuver that kid; who do you think you are?"

Regardless of his background, Gu Zhixu was recognized by the elder Mr. Gu himself as his own grandson. Before passing away, Mr. Gu had bypassed his three carefully groomed sons and handed the Gu Corporation to this newly found grandson—proof enough that this young man possessed far more capability than his three uncles.

Facts had borne this out: since Gu Zhixu took the reins, the Gu Corporation had flourished, and its assets had continuously appreciated. He was capable, intelligent, decisive, and ruthless; even the old veterans who had dealt with him held him in high regard.

In contrast, Rongsheng was plagued by internal conflicts, its operations were deteriorating, and its market share was being steadily eroded by competitors. What did they have to contend with the Gu Corporation?

Moreover, Rongsheng was clearly in the wrong this time. Even if the Gu Corporation were determined to strike, others would only watch from the sidelines; Rongsheng would be lucky if they didn't kick them while they were down.

But Wang Hongzhi could not grasp any of this. Hearing his father belittle him, he exploded, "What’s so great about a bastard? You value that bastard so much—are you planning to bring back your own illegitimate children to inherit the business?"

"You beast! What nonsense are you spouting?" Wang Chengmao grabbed a discipline ruler from the table and struck him hard. "How did I ever raise such an idiot? From today on, get out of Rongsheng!"

"Half of Rongsheng belongs to my mother," Wang Hongzhi said, unmoving as he took the blow, staring at Wang Chengmao word for word. "If you want me out to make room for those bastards, keep dreaming!"

With that, he stormed out of the study.

Wang Chengmao glared at his son’s retreating back, his lips trembling and his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. For a long while, he seemed drained of all strength, his shoulders slumping as he let out a long sigh and collapsed onto the blood-stained sofa.

Wang Hongzhi marched out in a rage, blood winding down his arm and leaving a trail of jarring droplets on the floor. The housekeeper was frantic, trotting behind him but not daring to reach out, only able to watch in dismay as the wound continued to seep. After much persistent pleading, he finally followed him to have the wound dressed.

***

Wang Hongzhi had the housekeeper bring him a new phone. The moment he turned it on, it began to vibrate incessantly; several bank notifications informed him that all his personal accounts had been frozen.

He bit down on his back molars, the muscles in his cheeks bulging.

After a long while, he let out a scoff. With such hesitation and timidity, it was no wonder Rongsheng was failing. The old man might fear Gu Zhixu, but he, Wang Hongzhi, did not.

He pulled up a phone number and dialed. The moment the call connected, the anger on his face vanished. He lifted his chin and said arrogantly, "Hello, Xiao Huo? Let's meet up and discuss that biotech project I mentioned to you last time."

***

In the parking lot of the Chenxing University Affiliated Hospital, a Maybach sat in a corner.

"Mr. Gu, our tracking shows that the biotech data ended up in the Park Villa District." Yang Wen, the special assistant to the CEO of the Gu Group, sat in the driver's seat and spoke softly to Gu Zhixu in the back. "We have confirmed through geolocation that the property belongs to the second Mr. Gu."

Gu Zhixu wore a cheap polo shirt, creating a sharp contrast with the luxury car.

"I see," Gu Zhixu replied calmly. "The second Gu does not have dark web access. Can you track the person who hired Fable?"

There was an unspoken rule on the dark web: no one could purchase the employer's information directly from the source. Therefore, investigating this had to be done on their own.

Yang Wen shook his head regretfully. "The trail went cold at the second Mr. Gu's place; the final destination of the data is unknown."

Gu Zhixu closed his eyes slightly and rubbed his throbbing temples.

His grandfather had been hospitalized recently, and he spent every day by his bedside. Even with professional nurses and caregivers, his grandfather was his only remaining kin, and he only felt at ease when he could watch over him himself. Fortunately, Fable had done him a great favor, allowing him to use a leg injury as an excuse to recover at home, otherwise, he would have been stretched too thin.

He pondered for a moment. "Gu Tingzheng doesn't have a company in his own name. Keep a close watch on all tech-related firms. If any biotech projects are initiated, report to me immediately."

Yang Wen nodded in understanding. He put away his files, his professional, composed expression fading as he asked with concern, "How is Grandpa Shen?"

Gu Zhixu leaned back into the seat, his tense frame relaxing, his tone becoming much lighter. "He’s been recovering quite well these past few days. He was moved to a general ward yesterday, and the doctor said he should be able to be discharged and go home to rest in a few days."

"That's wonderful," Yang Wen said with a genuine smile. He suddenly remembered something. "By the way, I heard that Ms. Qiao lost both her parents at a young age. After being raised by Ms. Yu until she was twelve, she was adopted by a wealthy businesswoman from the country of Lin. Although that woman didn't send her to school for a formal education, she did settle a great deal of wealth on her. Materially speaking, Ms. Qiao should be well provided for and live a worry-free life."

Gu Zhixu had previously instructed them to respect Qiao Youyan's privacy and avoid excessive investigation, so they had only sent people to make basic inquiries in the Chenli University residential area.

Hearing that Qiao Youyan, like himself, had lost both parents, Gu Zhixu thought of the woman he had met twice.

She possessed a fresh, pure temperament, with clear eyes that held an untainted innocence, and her pitiable demeanor made one feel a sense of tenderness. Who would have thought that such a small, fragile woman could perform CPR for a full five minutes? No wonder her arms had been trembling slightly when he met her that morning.

However, since she wasn't short on money, he would have to put more thought into her thank-you gift.

Gu Zhixu thought for a moment and said to Yang Wen, "Keep an eye out for a gift for Ms. Qiao as well. See what young girls are interested in nowadays—something unique and novel, but not too expensive."

It wasn't that he was stingy with money, but the gift needed to be sincere while remaining consistent with his "Shen Xiyuan" persona. He wasn't ready to expose his position as the head of the Gu Group to his grandfather yet.

"Understood," Yang Wen nodded, then added, "One more thing: Ms. Gu asked me to pass on a message. She will be hosting an auction on the 'Voyage' cruise ship on the 26th of this month and hopes you can attend in person."

The Ms. Gu mentioned by Yang Wen was the only daughter of the elder Mr. Gu. Since Gu Zhixu had returned to the Gu family, only this aunt had shown him genuine care and concern. Combined with the fact that her husband had a history with him, Gu Zhixu was exceptionally close to them.

For such social obligations, Gu Zhixu never easily refused, nor would he let his aunt lose face.

Gu Zhixu calculated the dates in his mind. Today was the 20th, and his grandfather was expected to be discharged on the morning of the 27th. He pursed his lips. "Go and make arrangements. Apply for the round-trip route as soon as possible to ensure that we can return immediately once the auction ends."

Auctions were usually held in the evening; as long as he could make it back to the hospital by the next morning, losing one night was not a problem.

As Yang Wen was about to agree, a phone rang inside the car. It was Shen Xiyuan's phone, and Yang Wen immediately fell silent.

Gu Zhixu cleared his throat and answered. "Auntie Liu."

His voice was gentle and clear, vastly different from his low, authoritative tone as Gu Zhixu.

"Little Shen, just wanted to let you know, Professor Shen has finished his breakfast and his clothes have been changed. I'm going to head back now to wash the laundry, then I'll prepare lunch."

"Alright, Auntie Liu, thank you for your hard work. Go ahead, I'll be up shortly," Gu Zhixu said, his tone mild and polite.

He hung up, gave Yang Wen a few final instructions, adjusted his demeanor back to that of Shen Xiyuan, and took advantage of the lack of onlookers to step out of the car and leave.