Ch 147: Gu Yuanyang Isn’t The Gu Family’s Biological Child
“If this is what you think, then Mom agrees.”
The woman nodded with a bitter expression.
So Gu Yuanyang pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, opened it, and said to the woman, “Here’s three hundred and fifty yuan; that’s all the money I have on me right now.”
The woman’s gaze shifted to the handkerchief; her breath grew heavier. She clenched her fist, squeezed her palm, then reached out to take the handkerchief. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Mom will absolutely not come looking for you again after taking the money. Mom will leave now. Child, you must take care of yourself in the future.”
Gu Yuanyang watched the woman’s departing back view; her thin frame appeared somewhat desolate.
He felt extremely repressed internally, yet also slightly relieved. He had given her the money, hoping the woman would keep her promise.
For the next few days, the woman’s trace was indeed not seen. Gu Yuanyang relaxed completely, but a few days later, while he was working in the Office, someone from the Security Department came looking for him, their expression somewhat strange.
“Comrade Gu, someone is looking for you outside.”
Gu Yuanyang’s brow jumped. Seeing the other person’s expression, he immediately felt a bad premonition. “What does the person look like?”
“They look to be about fifty years old, dressed rather plainly.”
This was already a very conservative description. To say plainly dressed actually meant unpresentable. After the Security Department member finished speaking, they tentatively asked, “Comrade Gu, you should go out quickly; she looks quite anxious.”
Gu Yuanyang’s facial expression was unpleasant, but he still managed to force a smile.
“Okay, thank you for your trouble. I’ll go out now.”
Upon leaving the gate, the woman was immediately visible. Gu Yuanyang didn’t say a word; he went directly to the nearby alley.
Seeing the woman follow him in, he gnashed his teeth and questioned her angrily, “Didn’t you say that you would cut off contact after taking the money? I’ve already given you the money; what else do you want?”
The woman shrank her shoulders and stammered an explanation. “I didn’t want to, but the hospital said your father needs surgery. The last money was only enough for medicine; the surgery will cost at least one thousand yuan.”
“What? One thousand yuan?”
Gu Yuanyang couldn’t help but raise his voice. His monthly wage was only sixty or seventy yuan; this was almost a year and a half of his wages.
He wasn’t originally short of this amount of money, but he didn’t have the habit of saving. He had spent all the money his family gave him. Now, it was a drop in the bucket; worrying was useless.
“I know one thousand yuan is a lot, but that’s your father. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have given birth to you. Child, we can’t just watch him die.”
As the woman spoke, she couldn’t help but cover her face and weep.
Gu Yuanyang irritably kicked the corner of the wall. He really wanted to say who cared if he lived or died; he hadn’t raised him a single day.
But seeing the woman’s frantic appearance, he was afraid that if he refused, she would immediately spread the matter.
“Don’t cry. Even if you cry, I can’t come up with that much money.”
Gu Yuanyang looked at her with a cold face. “I gave you all my savings the last time we met; I have no money left.”
The woman’s crying paused. She said hesitantly, “How is that possible? The Gu Family… isn’t the Gu Family very rich? It’s because the Gu Family is rich that Mom risked everything to switch you over for you to enjoy a good life. It’s only one thousand yuan; you should be able to get it very easily, right?”
“So what if the Gu Family is rich? That’s not my money.”
Gu Yuanyang roared in a low voice, feeling like he was going crazy.
“You are the Gu Family’s son. If you ask for money, won’t they give it to you? You can’t be so selfish. Are you ashamed of me and your father and don’t want to acknowledge us? Child, you can’t be so unconscionable. Back then, your father and I did that wicked thing for you. Now that you’re living a good life, you can’t just stand idly by, can you?”
The woman became more and more excited; her eye sockets reddened.
Seeing that he couldn’t reason with her, Gu Yuanyang said coldly, “If I suddenly asked for so much money, wouldn’t my family suspect something? Don’t threaten me; threats won’t work. I can only borrow money from someone; I’ll take however much I can get. When I give the money to you, you must guarantee that you will never bother me again. Even if you come again next time, I won’t give you any money!”
Whether it was his biological father’s serious illness or this woman using excuses to ask him for money, he didn’t want to get involved. It was a bottomless pit. If he continued to yield, they would only harass him again and again.
“Wait here.”
Gu Yuanyang dropped those words, asked the woman her usual address, and then took leave to return to the Compound.
His mood was bad; he couldn’t focus on his job at the Workplace.
After returning to the Compound, Gu Yuanyang found his childhood friend. Afraid of being overheard by his friend’s family members, he quickly pulled him outside.
“What’s wrong with you? Why are you in such a hurry?”
Deng Zhiwen had just finished eating when he was pulled out.
“Zhiwen, I’ve run into a pressing matter. I want to borrow some money from you.”
Gu Yuanyang spoke with embarrassment. From childhood to adulthood, he had never borrowed money from anyone; on the contrary, many people had borrowed money from him.
Now that he was facing difficulties, he had no choice but to ask. Deng Zhiwen was a friend he had grown up with since they were children; he believed Deng Zhiwen would help.
“Okay, how much do you need?”
“One thousand yuan.”
“One thousand yuan? What do you need that much money for? What happened? Didn’t you get some female comrade pregnant and have to pay for it?”
Deng Zhiwen was startled; his eyes widened, and he asked with a hint of teasing.
Gu Yuanyang didn’t know how to explain; this kind of thing definitely couldn’t be told to others; no one else could know except him.
While he was hesitating, Deng Zhiwen turned and went into the house. When he came back, he directly handed Gu Yuanyang a handkerchief.
“Here, exactly one thousand yuan. It’s the private money I saved over these years. Remember to pay me back when you’re more financially stable.”
Deng Zhiwen patted his shoulder. “No matter what happens, don’t worry. We brothers are here for you; we won’t ignore you.”
Gu Yuanyang was naturally grateful. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he hurried away.
This scene happened to be seen by Zhou Xiaofei. She had come back today to try to build connections with Gu Sisi, to see if she could use her as a breakthrough point.
As soon as she entered the Compound, she saw Gu Yuanyang furtively pulling Deng Zhiwen out, as if they were plotting something. She leaned closer to listen and discovered that Gu Yuanyang was actually borrowing one thousand yuan from someone.
She was shocked. When she came to her senses, she found that Gu Yuanyang had already left, and she was extremely curious, so she stealthily followed him.
Could it be that Gu Yuanyang had a change of heart? Was he borrowing money to spend on her?
Gu Yuanyang rode his bicycle out the gate; Zhou Xiaofei quickly followed behind.
Because he was worried, Gu Yuanyang didn’t notice anyone behind him. Zhou Xiaofei followed him all the way, and he didn’t notice.
Finally, Gu Yuanyang stopped at the entrance of the Guest House. Zhou Xiaofei quickly hid behind a tree.
After a while, a middle-aged woman came out of the Guest House and stood beside Gu Yuanyang.
This woman’s hair was slightly gray; her body was stooped, and her eyes were red and swollen but full of shrewdness. The two of them didn’t know what they said, but Gu Yuanyang was seen frowning as he stuffed the money into the woman’s bosom and then turned to leave.
It was clear that their communication wasn’t very pleasant.
However, after Gu Yuanyang left, the woman immediately changed her expression, happily taking the money and preparing to go home.
Seeing this, Zhou Xiaofei felt anxious and quickly ran over, grabbing the woman’s arm.
“Auntie, I have a question for you. What did that male comrade say to you just now?”
The woman looked at Zhou Xiaofei warily, pretending not to hear, and tried to bypass her to leave.
Zhou Xiaofei was anxious in her heart; she had a gut feeling that something important had happened. She stood in front of the woman and refused to let her leave.
Knowing that this person loved money, she quickly rummaged through her pockets and took out thirty yuan. “Auntie, if you tell me what happened, this thirty yuan is yours.”
A flash of contempt crossed the woman’s eyes; she clearly looked down on the thirty yuan.
“Are you trying to get rid of a beggar? I don’t want your money. Get out of the way, or I’ll call for help.”
The woman was very cautious. After saying this, she tried to leave.
Zhou Xiaofei panicked and quickly took out more money from her pocket.
“This should be enough, right?”
If it weren’t for her genuine curiosity, Zhou Xiaofei wouldn’t be willing to spend so much money.
The woman looked at the money in her hand and was somewhat moved. This was all money! Although she now had another one thousand yuan, this money had to be used for her old man’s medical treatment.
For the sake of her family, she couldn’t even afford to buy a new piece of clothing. If she could take this money, she could buy herself a new set of clothes.
Even though she was greedy, the woman didn’t immediately accept the money; instead, she cautiously probed, “Do you know that young man? What’s your relationship? Why are you so curious?”
Zhou Xiaofei thought, she definitely couldn’t tell the truth. If she told them about their relationship, would this old woman still tell her the truth?
After thinking it over, she had to make up an excuse. “Auntie, to be honest, I like that male comrade; I’ve liked him for a long time. I happened to pass by today and saw you two were acquainted, so I wanted to ask. I’ve known him for quite some time, but I’ve never seen you before.”
Zhou Xiaofei’s mind worked quickly, and she made up a reason casually.
The woman was not a fool and naturally wouldn’t reveal the truth. Seeing that this woman knew her son, if this woman was gossipy and told the Gu Family, how could they continue to mooch off them in the future? Let alone one thousand yuan; they probably wouldn’t even get one yuan.
“So that’s how it is. That young man is my son’s classmate. Something happened to his family, and he came to deliver some things. Actually, I don’t know him very well.”
After the woman finished speaking, she reached out her hand. “I’ve told you everything. Can you give me the money now?”
Zhou Xiaofei was about to explode. This old woman looked honest, but she didn’t tell the truth! What kind of nonsense was delivering some things?
It was clearly money, a full one thousand yuan!
Feeling like she had been tricked, Zhou Xiaofei’s face turned dark, and she directly put the money back into her pocket.
“Auntie, you’re not telling the truth! If you don’t want to say it, then forget it; I won’t force you.”
Zhou Xiaofei wasn’t a sucker. She wouldn’t let two lies steal her money. This money was what she had painstakingly extorted from Zhang Zhiyuan, selling her looks.
When the woman heard Zhou Xiaofei say this, she also got angry and couldn’t help but yell, “You lunatic! Are you playing with me? Get lost! If you bother me again, I’ll teach you a lesson!”