Gu Yan didn’t wait for him to finish speaking before hanging up the phone directly, her gaze fixed on Qu Xiao.
For a moment, everyone’s eyes fell on Gu Yan, none of them understanding what she meant by this.
Qu Xiao simply looked at her, then picked up his phone to make a call.
They did indeed have a transaction scheduled in a few days, and regardless of whether what Xu Tao had just said was true, he couldn’t let Liang Yan fall into danger.
The call was quickly answered, and a somewhat muffled voice came through—clearly someone who had been asleep and woken by the phone.
“Brother, what’s wrong?”
Qu Xiao’s voice was low as he said, “A Yan, put aside what you’re doing and return to the country tomorrow.”
“Return to the country?” Liang Yan was clearly taken aback, jolting fully awake. “Brother, why come back now? Don’t we have a transaction in three days?”
Qu Xiao withdrew his gaze from Gu Yan, his tone carrying a note of seriousness. “There’s someone around us with divided loyalties. Come back first. Dump that batch of goods into the sea—don’t keep them with you.”
Liang Yan fell silent for a long moment, then said somewhat unwillingly, “Brother, that batch cost thirty million. Just throw it into the sea like that?”
Qu Xiao didn’t even lift his eyelids. “Yes, straight into the sea. Leave the others there. Bring back a few people you trust, and don’t take a commercial flight—use my private jet to return.”
Liang Yan gave a soft “mm” of acknowledgment. Though he agreed, he still felt resentful and considered moving the transaction date forward.
Qu Xiao didn’t need to guess to know what he was thinking. His voice turned cold as he said, “If you don’t listen to me, you won’t need to follow me anymore in the future.”
He hung up the phone, and soon Liang Yan sent him a message: [Brother, I’ll dump the goods into the sea right now. I’ll return to the country as soon as it’s light.]
Qu Xiao replied: [Be careful on the way. Contact me immediately if anything happens.]
[Okay.]
Qu Xiao put his phone back in his pocket and noticed that Gu Yan’s hand holding the phone had turned red from the cold.
He still couldn’t stop himself from walking over, tucking her hand into her coat pocket. “Wait for me at home. I need to go back to the Old Mansion. We’ll talk about everything when I return.”
Gu Yan sniffled, looking at him pitifully. “Uncle Qu, can we go get our marriage certificate first?”
Qu Xiao looked at Gu Yan with a complicated expression.
Seeing that he didn’t respond, Gu Yan reached out and tugged at the corner of his clothes. “Uncle Qu, I want to stand by your side legitimately. Is that okay?”
Qu Xiao simply watched her, and after what felt like an eternity, he finally reached out and grasped her shoulders.
“Gu Yan, have you thought this through? With me, Qu Xiao, there’s only widowhood, no divorce.”
Gu Yan nodded with utmost seriousness. “I’ve thought it through.” She had made up her mind ever since her rebirth.
“Alright then, let’s go to the civil affairs bureau.” As he spoke, he took her somewhat chilly hand and led her toward the car.
Gu Yan, beaming like a flower, wrapped her arms around his. This man would soon be her legitimate husband.
Watching them get into the car, Liang Yueran finally snapped out of it and hurriedly opened the passenger door to climb in.
She wanted to follow and see what mischief this woman Gu Yan was up to now.
The car was enveloped in silence.
Gu Yan clung to Qu Xiao’s arm, leaning against his shoulder, and smiled contentedly.
Qu Xiao couldn’t quite figure out what was going on with her and couldn’t help asking, “Why didn’t you let me help you find your two brothers?”
Gu Yan immediately straightened up upon hearing this.
Right, she had been so focused on getting married to Qu Xiao that she completely forgot about her two foolish older brothers.
Thinking back to her parents’ hesitant expressions when she went home to get her household registration booklet this morning, how could she have forgotten?
Watching Gu Yan suddenly act like she was having a seizure, Liang Yueran couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
She truly couldn’t understand why her cousin would like such a crazy person.
Gu Yan took out her phone, found her eldest brother Gu Tingyan’s number, and called him.
The phone kept ringing, but no one answered.
Frowning, Gu Yan hung up and directly sent a message:
[Gu Tingyan, if you don’t call me back soon, I’ll tell Dad that you leaked the company’s secrets. You can just wait to be removed from the Family Tree and become a criminal.]
Not long after sending this message, her phone rang. The caller ID showed it was her eldest brother.
Gu Yan answered the call, and the person on the other end anxiously asked, “Xiao Yan, how did you find out? Did… did Master Qu tell you?”
“Nonsense! Listen, you and Second Brother better come back quickly. Some things have to be faced. If you make Mom cry her eyes out, Dad and I will never forgive you.”
“Also, when you come back, go straight to the villa. I’ll be back later too. I haven’t told Dad about this yet, so think carefully about what you’re going to say. And stop calling him Master Qu—I’m about to get married to Uncle Qu. Okay, we’ll talk more tonight.”
After hanging up, Gu Yan noticed that both Liang Yueran and Qu Xiao were staring at her, especially Qu Xiao, whose eyes were full of confusion.
Gu Yan knew he must be wondering how she knew about her eldest brother’s situation.
She briefly explained to him that her eldest and second brothers had been taken gambling, fell into a trap, and became addicted to drugs. During withdrawal, her eldest brother ended up revealing company secrets.
Liang Yueran’s mouth fell open in shock. She couldn’t help but ask, “How do you know all this?”
Gu Yan suddenly realized that, logically, she shouldn’t know any of this. In her previous life, she had only learned about it when her eldest brother returned and told her himself.
It was only later that Xu Tao revealed that Qu Xiao was the one who got her brothers addicted.
Remembering Qu Xiao’s inherently suspicious nature, Gu Yan broke out in a cold sweat. Would he suspect she was an imposter and torture her for answers?
Qu Xiao looked at her, his brow slightly furrowed. “Are you cold?”
Gu Yan subconsciously nodded and leaned back against his shoulder. “Uncle Qu, why aren’t you asking me how I know all this?”
“That’s your privacy. I don’t need to know everything.”
Gu Yan’s nose tingled, and she nearly burst into tears. He had given her the utmost respect.
She must have been blind in her previous life—to have such a good man and still think about running away.
After a long silence, Qu Xiao asked in a low voice, “Since you know your eldest brother is addicted to that stuff, didn’t you suspect it was me? Including the things found during the search of the Gu family company?”
Gu Yan shook her head. “I know it wasn’t you.”
Qu Xiao said nothing more and began resting with his eyes closed. There was still a tough battle ahead later.
When they arrived at the civil affairs bureau, Gu Yan suddenly remembered something and stood still, looking at Qu Xiao.
Liang Yueran stared at the motionless Gu Yan and couldn’t resist cursing, “Gu Yan, if you dare play my cousin for a fool, I’ll strangle you.”
Qu Xiao’s heart tightened, and he averted his gaze from her. “Having regrets?”