The people in the living room heard Gong Hengye’s voice.
He Lihua and Wen Gou, seeing that it was Gong Hengye who had arrived, hurriedly stood up.
“Old Ninth is here.”
Wen Gou’s smile toward Gong Hengye was far more ingratiating than the one he had given Gong Yuanren. He nodded and bowed, yet still tried to maintain an air of seniority by calling him “Old Ninth,” which only made him appear all the more ridiculous.
He Lihua, on the other hand, remained much more composed. She smiled gently as before and greeted, “President Gong.”
Gong Hengye didn’t even spare them a glance. He walked over and sat down on the sofa opposite them, then turned his head to look at the old master seated in the main position. “Didn’t you say you weren’t feeling well? Why aren’t you resting properly early in the morning? What did you call me here for?”
The expressions of the Wen couple shifted slightly, and Wen Gou’s smile stiffened. “Is the old master unwell? That’s truly our fault. We hadn’t heard about it before coming…”
Gong Yuanren waved a hand dismissively, not wanting to hear any more. “It’s nothing serious.”
He glanced at Gong Hengye. “The Wen couple came to thank you for Wen Yue’s matter.”
Wen Gou quickly chimed in, “Yes, yes, yes. Yueyue’s matter really troubled Old Ninth.”
Gong Hengye casually crossed his legs and finally gave Wen Gou a direct look. Despite his seemingly careless posture, his gaze was exceptionally sharp.
Wen Gou’s expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly added, “I heard Old Ninth even rushed back from abroad specifically for this. I really don’t know how to thank you enough.”
Even Wen Yue, sitting beside Gong Hengye, turned her head in surprise to look at him.
He was abroad at the time and rushed back specifically for this?
So it’s true—he really is the white moonlight!
Gong Hengye withdrew his gaze from Wen Gou and looked back at the old master. “Is that all? Don’t you know how many matters are waiting for me to handle at the company? The time I’ve spent here listening to his worthless thanks is already enough to bankrupt the Wen family. Didn’t you know that?”
Wen Yue beside him: “…”
So domineering!
Wen Gou, on the other hand, nearly lost his composure, his smile growing even stiffer. “President Gong really knows how to joke…”
He finally didn’t dare call him “Old Ninth” anymore.
Gong Yuanren also coughed and glared at Gong Hengye. “What nonsense are you talking about? Bankrupt the Wen family? The sky hasn’t even turned cold yet!”
Gong Hengye casually replied, “Oh, then we’ll talk about it when the sky turns cold.”
Wen Yue: So being a domineering CEO is hereditary, right?
Wen Gou and He Lihua forced a smile.
If they couldn’t tell that the father and son were mocking them, they would have wasted these decades of their lives.
Wen Gou was so stiff he didn’t know what to say. He Lihua gently tugged at his sleeve, pulling him back to sit down, then spoke with a smile, “Actually, we came for another matter as well. We’ve already mentioned it to the old master earlier—it’s about the marriage alliance between our two families.”
Gong Hengye turned his gaze toward her, waiting for her to continue.
He Lihua: “Yueyue has already passed away, but the marriage alliance still stands. So we thought it might be better for Xi Xi and Gong Chen to marry instead.”
Gong Hengye rested his elbow on the arm of the sofa, lazily propping up his forehead with his hand.
He didn’t speak, but his mind was already racing.
This development did align with the plot progression he had seen.
Next, Gong Chen would likely refuse, Wen Xi would be heartbroken, the elders from both families would force the issue, and Gong Chen would go mad and drug him.
Normally, after learning about the plot development, he should oppose this.
As long as he didn’t agree to this marriage alliance, Gong Chen would have no chance to drug him, and he wouldn’t become that brain-dead male lead.
But…
Gong Hengye’s gaze lightly swept over Wen Yue beside him.Somehow, I feel it wouldn’t be so bad to tie Gong Chen and Wen Xi together?
He remained silent, and Gong Yuanren couldn’t help but ask, “Old Nine, what do you think about this?”
Gong Hengye replied, “Shouldn’t this be asked of Gong Chen? What he thinks is what matters most, isn’t it?”
Wen Gou quickly added, “A Chen is definitely willing. He and Xi Xi have long been in love with each other.”
“Is that so?”
Gong Hengye raised an eyebrow in doubt. “He and Wen Yue are engaged, so how is it that he’s in love with someone else?”
Wen Gou chuckled. “Isn’t that just how feelings are? An engagement is one thing, but emotions are another. A Chen and Yueyue’s engagement was arranged too early, but we all know very well that he likes Xi Xi. It’s only because of the engagement that the two children have been holding back—they don’t want to hurt Yueyue, after all.”
Gong Hengye drew out a light, airy “Oh,” his gaze flickering toward Wen Yue.
She kept her eyes lowered, revealing no emotion.
When it came to Wen Yue, Wen Gou seemed to have a lot of grievances and continued grumbling, “I just never expected Yueyue to be so deeply scheming.”
Beside him, He Lihua chimed in, “Yes, Yueyue has always been a scheming child since she was young. We treated her no differently than our own daughter, but she always felt we favored Xi Xi. She never considered how much suffering Xi Xi endured growing up outside, while she herself enjoyed the life of the Wen family’s eldest daughter all these years—the best food, clothes, and everything. But all of that should have been Xi Xi’s in the first place.”
As she spoke, He Lihua observed Gong Hengye’s expression. Seeing no displeasure, she continued, “Even when she made things difficult for Xi Xi or competed with her, we never blamed her.
Xi Xi has always treated her like a real sister. Even though she likes A Chen, she never dared to say it, swallowing all her bitterness herself, afraid Yueyue would misunderstand.
Sometimes, my heart aches for Xi Xi. I don’t know how much she suffered over the years to become so sensible.”
He Lihua said all this partly because she found it strange.
Who was Gong Hengye? To rush back from abroad overnight just to collect Wen Yue’s body?
When she heard about it, she was shocked.
She couldn’t help but wonder if there was some hidden relationship between Gong Hengye and Wen Yue.
And now, seeing Gong Hengye in person, her thoughts grew even more active.
Gong Chen was good, but what about Gong Hengye? Wouldn’t that be even better?
Her Xi Xi was so outstanding—even matching Gong Hengye would be more than enough.
If Gong Hengye could truly take a liking to Wen Yue, then he should like Wen Xi even more.
Thinking this, she couldn’t help but add, “Actually, Yueyue’s suicide probably has something to do with those things online. That child left home without a word back then, and who knows what she was up to outside, stirring up all this messy business.”
Hearing this, Gong Hengye seemed to finally show some interest, lazily asking, “Are you talking about that ‘casting couch’ video that surfaced the day she killed herself?”
Over the past two days, he had looked into it carefully and seen the so-called video of Wen Yue engaging in a casting couch.
For several days now, the online abuse against Wen Yue hadn’t lessened; instead, it had grown fiercer because of her suicide.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, he asked curiously, “How can you be so sure it’s her?”
Was Gong Hengye really interested in Wen Yue?He Lihua had deeper schemes in mind, yet her face showed a hint of sorrow. “At first, I didn’t believe it either. After all, she was a child I raised with my own hands, and I didn’t want to believe she could become like this.”
Since the person was already dead, in He Lihua’s eyes, Wen Yue would have to bear the blame steadily.
She sighed. “When the video first surfaced, people even mistook it for Xixi. Xixi swallowed sleeping pills over this matter, but fortunately, her assistant found her early and nothing serious happened. It was only later when A Chen told me that I realized the person in the video was actually Yueyue.
That silly child Xixi would rather die than expose Yueyue. If A Chen hadn’t told the truth, we would all still be kept in the dark.”
Wen Gou caught the underlying meaning in his wife’s words and quickly added, “That’s right, President Gong should also know that in that circle, how many people without connections can stay clean? Yueyue was a stubborn child. She’d rather accompany those old men than come back and ask us for help.”
He Lihua pretended to wipe her eyes. “I truly regret it now. If I had known she was an ungrateful wretch, I shouldn’t have taken her out of the orphanage back then. The orphanage director told me at the time that Yueyue’s mother was a streetwalker, and no one even knew who her father was. She abandoned her at the orphanage gate right after giving birth.
I felt sorry for her back then, but now I realize that like breeds like—genes really are hereditary. I spent over a decade painstakingly teaching her, but it still couldn’t overcome the lowly genes of her mother, that inferior—ah—”
He Lihua let out a sharp cry, her voice abruptly cutting off as she stared in disbelief at Gong Hengye, her mouth agape.
Her face was drenched, tea leaves clinging to her hair, dripping wetly downward.
Wen Gou panicked, hurriedly grabbing tissues to wipe the water off He Lihua. “What is the meaning of this, President Gong?”
Gong Hengye: “?”
How was he supposed to know what it meant?
He silently stared at the two trembling paws still gripping his wrist.
It was these two paws that had suddenly grabbed his hand just as he picked up the teacup and, without hesitation, splashed its contents toward the opposite side.
He hadn’t even reacted in time.
He tilted his head and glanced at Wen Yue.
Wen Yue’s small face was tense—or rather, her entire body was rigid.
Meeting Gong Hengye’s gaze, she slowly retracted her hands, gritting her teeth softly. “Her mouth was too dirty. I was just washing it for her.”
Gong Hengye lightly pursed his lips, calmly setting down the empty teacup. “Her mouth was too dirty. Needed a wash.”
He Lihua and Wen Gou: “?”
Their expressions completely changed.
Was Gong Hengye really having an affair with that girl Wen Yue?
Even Gong Yuanren looked at Gong Hengye in surprise. This kid was actually standing up for Wen Yue to this extent?
Gong Hengye could probably guess what they were thinking. If he were an observer, he’d think the same.
But he had no patience to engage in their pretense. “If you called me here just to spout this nonsense, I’m sorry, but I’m very busy.”
He then glanced at the old man. “If you don’t want the Gong Corporation to collapse or be usurped, don’t call me back for these irrelevant people and matters in the future.”
With that, he stood up. “I’ll take my leave first. Do as you please.”
He turned and left, got into the car outside, and told the driver to wait.
Only then did Gong Hengye speak. “Explain.”Wen Yue appeared beside him, pouting, “Didn’t you say you’d always care for me from now on? She said those things about me, about my birth mother, and you’re not angry at all? Were you just fooling me when you said you’d care for me?”
Gong Hengye: “…”
Well, he had brought this upon himself.
Wen Yue then whispered, “Uncle, is my mother really like what she said?”
She lowered her gaze, picking at her nails as she mumbled, “She never told me before.”
Even though one can’t choose their parents, if it were true, she would still feel ashamed in front of Gong Hengye.
It seemed like this was the first time she truly understood He Lihua.
The woman she had called “Mom” for 21 years, the gentlest person in her heart—only now did she realize that He Lihua’s gentleness was actually a knife, one that could hurt her at will.
Gong Hengye couldn’t answer her, so he said, “Whether it’s true or not, we can find out by investigating.”
For Gong Hengye, investigating someone’s background wasn’t difficult.
Wen Yue hesitated for a moment but finally said, “No need to investigate.”
If it were true, she didn’t want him to know.
Gong Hengye nodded, “Alright.”
To him, her matters were naturally her own decisions.
However, Wen Yue’s mood didn’t improve. She remained sullen the entire morning.
She didn’t even watch her favorite brain-dead idol drama, just curled up on the sofa in Gong Hengye’s office, lost in thought.
Every time Gong Hengye glanced over, intentionally or not, he could see her dazed, silly expression, lost in who knows what thoughts.
He felt a bit helpless. During a work break, he searched online: How to cheer up a young girl?
The answers were varied, but none were suitable for Wen Yue, who was currently just a soul.
Until he suddenly saw an advertisement for “Cloud Aurora.”
It was a new attraction recently launched by the largest amusement park in the capital, claiming to let people experience the feeling of walking among the clouds and touching the Aurora.
Gong Hengye felt a slight stir in his heart. For some reason, he thought Wen Yue would like this attraction.
He sent a message to Li Rui, asking him to book tickets for that evening.
Although confused, Li Rui complied.
After that, Gong Hengye became even busier, trying to finish work early so he could leave on time and take Wen Yue there.
However, in the afternoon, Gong Hengye received a call saying that Gong Chen had gone missing.
The development of the plot was sometimes unavoidable.
After he left the Gong family, the matter of the engagement was left to Wen Yue’s parents to discuss with Gong Chen’s parents, who naturally agreed without hesitation.
But unexpectedly, Gong Chen refused.
He said he didn’t like Wen Xi, only saw her as a sister, and wouldn’t marry her.
Then, he pulled out the IV needle from the back of his hand and, while no one was paying attention, left the hospital. No one knew where he went.
Most importantly, he took “Wen Yue’s” ashes with him when he left.
Listening to the voice on the phone, Gong Hengye instinctively looked at Wen Yue.
Then he noticed that Wen Yue, who had been dazed for almost the entire day, finally reacted, staring intently at him.
She must have heard the voice on the phone too.
Gong Hengye’s expression darkened.
She really did care about her former fiancé.
He coldly said, “Let him do as he pleases.”
After hanging up, he stood up and said to Wen Yue, “I have a meeting. After it’s over, we’ll leave work, and I’ll take you somewhere.”
Wen Yue asked curiously, “Where?”
“You’ll find out when we get there.”When Gong Hengye reached the office door, he turned back again and said to her, just like last time, “Stay put and don’t run around.”
And Wen Yue, just like last time, nodded obediently, “Okay.”
This time, Gong Hengye didn’t check his phone for surveillance footage during the meeting.
He didn’t want Wen Yue to occupy too much of his thoughts and disrupt his work rhythm.
Besides, he thought, since Wen Yue was in a bad mood today, she probably wouldn’t run off.
But when Gong Hengye returned to his office after the meeting, he found, just like last time, that Wen Yue was gone.
Gong Hengye stood at the office door, his expression turning completely cold.
Li Rui, following behind him, reminded him, “Boss, the night tickets for the amusement park you asked me to book…”
Gong Hengye replied flatly, “Do I look like I have nothing better to do?”
Li Rui was taken aback. Gong Hengye walked into the office and said, “Have the PR department come up.”
Li Rui, “…Okay.”
He retreated with a strange expression on his face.
Gong Hengye sat back down behind his desk, closed his eyes, his brows and eyes filled with indifference.
There was one thing He Lihua was right about.
She really was an ungrateful little wolf.
If she loved running off so much, then she shouldn’t come back.
He worked overtime until nine o’clock. When he left the company, the sky began to darken again, as if a storm was brewing.
The weather forecast had been quite accurate lately—thunderstorms were expected to last for nearly ten days.
As Gong Hengye was about to get into the car, he glanced up at the gloomy sky.
Then he withdrew his gaze and bent down to enter the car.
Why should he care whether she lived or died!