Chapter 101: Almost Starved to Death
"So you do know him." The corners of Gu Yunqi’s lips lifted. His voice was perfectly calm, but the chill in his eyes was about to spill over.
Uncle Zhang shook his head, his face a mask of terror. He struggled relentlessly. "Second Young Master, I don’t know him! I really don’t!"
Gu Yunqi paid him no mind, instead looking at the two men holding him down. "Take him to your place for now."
The two men glanced upstairs, then hauled the man away.
Uncle Zhang shouted and struggled the entire way out.
"What a son of a bitch! The young miss suffered so much because of him! He deserves to be sliced into a thousand pieces!" Uncle Fu’s gaze on Gu Zhao was filled with heartache, and tears welled in his eyes.
"WOOF WOOF WOOF!" The Tibetan Mastiff ran over and nudged him with its head, its eyes full of displeasure. ’Curse the man, that’s fine! But why bring dogs into it?!’
Uncle Fu staggered from the impact, his building wave of sorrow awkwardly broken.
"You can’t learn from him in the future! He doesn’t even know how to be a decent dog." With his emotions stuck in limbo, all he could do was lecture the Tibetan Mastiff.
The Tibetan Mastiff was not pleased.
Gu Xulin took out his phone and called the police.
Gu Yunqi: ???
"Is your brain waterlogged again?"
’Every powerful family has connections. Gu Xulin’s move is utterly pointless.’
Gu Xulin gave him a look that said, ’You just don’t get it.’ After hanging up, he declared proudly, "When it comes to making trouble for the Ye Family, it’s not about being effective. It’s about being annoying!"
"We can’t let them have a moment’s peace before we find enough evidence to send them to prison!"
A light bulb went off in Uncle Fu’s head.
"Young Master! Leave it to me! I’ll find a team to keep an eye on the Ye Family 24/7! We’ll report them every single day!"
Gu Yunqi lowered his gaze. ’Maybe I could hire someone to overwater the Ye Family’s money tree until it dies.’
’Cut off their fortune at the root. Let them starve.’
Just then, Gu Xulin scooped Gu Zhao into his arms, a little curious. "Who told you about something that happened so long ago?"
’It couldn’t have been the puppy. It’s not even as old as Gu Zhao.’
Gu Zhao pointed to the turtle, which was craning its neck. Its small eyes were watching the direction Uncle Zhang had been taken, looking quite satisfied.
"Huh, so it was him. Back when you were missing, he was always chasing and biting family members."
The old turtle heard this and rolled its eyes. ’I was trying to warn you all, and you thought I had rabies! You even wanted to throw me out!’
"He bit pretty much everyone except me," Gu Xulin said smugly.
Gu Yunqi, who was about to step inside, paused. "Oh? And I wonder who it was that found a single shoe in the dog kennel and assumed his little sister had been eaten by the dog."
"Then pried open the dog’s jaws and shoved his head in, scaring the poor dog so much it bit you. The only reason the turtle didn’t bite you is because you were in the hospital."
"You even developed a phobia and would run from any animal you saw. He couldn’t have bitten you if he’d wanted to; he’d have had to catch you first."
Gu Xulin stiffened, his defenses completely shattered. "You just love running your mouth, don’t you, Second Brother?! Why can’t you be more like Eldest Brother!"
Eavesdropping from the third floor, Gu Xingyu silently nodded. ’That’s right, Second Brother should learn to be as composed as me!’
"Learn from Eldest Brother’s sewer-dwelling spirit! Out of sight, out of mind!"
Gu Xingyu: ...
The corners of Gu Yunqi’s lips lifted as he pointed upstairs. "You’d better sleep with one eye open."
Gu Xulin panicked. He’d forgotten his eldest brother was home.
’Socially anxious and holds a grudge...’
Gu Zhao stood to one side, rubbing her chin. ’Why did the Ye Family kidnap me in the first place? And they supposedly abandoned Ye Zuiyi, but now they’ve taken her back and cast me aside. What’s the deal with that?’
’Do they not cherish things once they get them?’
’But whether it’s because they’re fickle or they just enjoy the chaos, Gu Zhao was furious! Because of their meddling, the original owner of this body is gone! And now I can’t properly enjoy the fortune from either side!!’
’Damn it!’
’I’ll have to find some time to go and ’repay’ the Ye Family for this!!’
Having had their fill of the drama, the servants dispersed. Gu Xulin pulled Gu Zhao into the house.
Gu Jiao cheerfully tried to follow them inside, but Uncle Fu blocked her way with a smile and an outstretched arm.
"Please head home, Miss Gu Jiao."
Gu Jiao’s face fell. "Uncle Fu~ Just let me in. I’ll bring you some spicy strips next time."
Uncle Fu hesitated for a moment, but his loyalty to his employers won out over his craving for junk food.
"You must have earned a good bit today, so hurry on back. Next time, I’ll treat you to some milk tea." Uncle Fu reluctantly rejected his junk food buddy.
Gu Jiao was once again kicked out of the Gu residence.
The moment she stepped outside, she was met by a beaming middle-aged woman, who looked at Gu Jiao with great satisfaction.
"You stayed for a long time today. It seems you’ll be able to warm those brothers’ hearts very soon."
Gu Jiao’s expression was full of anticipation as she waited for the woman’s next words. As expected, the woman said exactly what she wanted to hear.
"Not bad, not bad at all. You stayed for over an hour today. Here’s ten thousand for your allowance."
"Thank you, Mommy!" Gu Jiao was ecstatic. ’Now I have money to treat my idol to spicy strips!’
’I’m going to travel the world with my idol eating every kind of spicy strip, and kick all the heartless brothers to the curb!’
...
「The Ye Residence.」
The moment Ye Zuiyi was brought back to the Ye residence, she felt a sense of unease.
’I wonder if Eldest Brother will punish me this time...’
Ye Zexi walked into the Ye Family’s villa dejectedly. The moment he stepped through the door, he saw a figure standing in the living room.
A flash of panic crossed his face. "Eldest Brother..."
Ye Zuiyi followed him in, her head bowed, and stood behind Ye Zexi.
Hearing their voices, Ye Jincheng turned around. Only then did Ye Zexi notice the ruler he was toying with in his hand.
He started to panic. ’Eldest Brother is truly angry.’
"Eldest Brother!"
Ye Jincheng looked coldly at Ye Zuiyi and Ye Zexi. "Come here."
The two of them shuffled over slowly. Ye Zexi stepped in front of Ye Zuiyi. "Eldest Brother, don’t blame Yibao. It was my fault, I was too impulsive..."
’For Eldest Brother to be this furious... it seems the Ye Group must have taken a hit, too.’
Ye Jincheng didn’t bother speaking. He brought the ruler down hard across Ye Zexi’s back.
Ye Zexi let out a muffled grunt. Ye Jincheng showed no mercy; he had put his full strength into the blow.
He then turned to Ye Zuiyi, and this time, he spoke. "You are a young lady of the Ye Family, yet you were out making a scene like a madwoman, with no regard for your image."
Ye Zuiyi bit her lip, lowering her gaze to conceal the hatred in her eyes—hatred for Gu Zhao, and for Ye Jincheng.
"Defiant?"
"I wouldn’t dare."
Ye Jincheng brought the ruler down on her back. "You’ll endure it whether you’re defiant or not!"
"Brother!" Ye Zexi cried out, his heart aching for her.
Just then, a middle-aged man with a kind face came down the stairs. "Alright, alright, that’s enough. Stop hitting them if they know they were wrong."
He looked at Ye Zuiyi with a doting expression.
"Does it hurt? Don’t blame your brother. He’s just angry from having to clean up your mess."
Ye Jincheng stood to one side with a smile playing on his lips, a mocking glint in his eyes.
Ye Zuiyi, looking aggrieved, nestled into Father Ye’s embrace.
Each person had their own agenda. Only Ye Zexi was completely oblivious.
"Eldest Brother, do you think Gu Zhao really doesn’t want to acknowledge us as her brothers...?"
At his words, Ye Jincheng and Father Ye exchanged a look.
Just as Father Ye was about to speak, the butler came running in. "Sir, the police are here!"
「Two hours later...」
Everyone in the Ye family looked numb.
The doorbell rang again. This time, the butler didn’t even bother announcing them and just led the visitors in.
"What are we being reported for this time?" Ye Zexi asked, sitting on the sofa in a daze.
The officer paused, taken aback, but quickly became serious again. "We’ve received a report that you’ve been appearing in public without clothes, disturbing the peace."
Ye Jincheng let out a laugh of pure exasperation.
They’d had several waves of visitors in just a short time. It started with a normal investigation into a child abduction report, but the rest were for suspicions of animal abuse, eating live mice, releasing harmful gases, and disturbing the peace!
And now this! Public nudity?!
Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the old Gu residence was one of joy and harmony. Well, it was for Gu Zhao, Gu Xulin, and Uncle Fu. Gu Xingyu, on the other hand, felt like he was about to melt down.
Gu Xingyu sat in a corner, wishing he could curl into a ball and wedge himself into a crack in the wall.
The moment dinner was over, Gu Xingyu vanished with a WHOOSH.
"Has anyone ever considered him for undercover work? Forget getting his cover blown, they wouldn’t even be able to find him," Gu Zhao commented, chewing on a piece of fruit with her cheek resting in her palm.
Uncle Fu, who was furiously typing on his phone, replied without looking up, "You may not know this, Young Miss, but the Eldest Young Master actually tried. He hid himself so well for several days that while no one could find him, he couldn’t overhear any intel either."
"He nearly starved to death."
Gu Zhao: ...
As night fell, everyone retired to their rooms. Gu Xulin, however, snuck out, drove his car to a corner just outside the manor, and parked.
Sitting in the car, he stared at the main gate. ’Based on what I’ve learned about Gu Zhao these past few days, she’s definitely going to go after the Ye Family.’
’If not tonight, then tomorrow. Since I don’t know when she’ll make her move, I have to resort to the dumbest plan.’
’A stakeout. Waiting for Gu Zhao.’