Hearing this, Old Madame Gu’s originally extremely restless and irritable mood suddenly calmed down.
She simply said in a very bland tone, “The flower fairy is gone.”
Gu Qingze walked up to Old Madame Gu and said softly, “The flower fairy just went back to rest. Shall we go back and rest as well?”
Old Madame Gu obediently nodded and was supported by Gu Qingze back into the house.
As soon as they came out, Gu Qingze spotted several people wearing white lab coats.
His brows furrowed slightly, and he cast a glance toward Su Shimu.
Su Shimu instantly understood, waving his hand to signal those people to conceal themselves first.
More than half of the servants who had originally been in the house had also cleared out.
Entering a room decorated in an antique and elegant style, Gu Qingze helped Old Madame Gu lie down.
“Grandmother, would you like to eat something?”
Old Madame Gu lay down, looked at Gu Qingze, and suddenly asked, “You look so familiar. Have I seen you before?”
Of course you have.
Gu Qingze thought to himself.
“I am Gu Qingze, your biological grandson.”
Hearing this, Old Madame Gu nodded doubtfully, gestured with her hands to show two different lengths, one large and one small, and shook her head.
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“My grandson is not this big.”
Gu Qingze chuckled softly. At least she no longer remembered only a non-existent granddaughter.
“I grew up in your dreams.”
Gu Qingze sat on the chair beside the bed and began telling stories to Old Madame Gu.
The contents of the stories were targeted; they were about past events of the Gu family, including tales of his parents and his grandfather.
He handpicked interesting anecdotes to tell. He had been reciting this monologue since he was a child, so he was extremely familiar with it.
In the past, Old Madame Gu would recall a bit, then remember him and the Gu family, but later on, she simply listened to them as novel, fresh stories.
Why novel?
Because she would forget everything the moment she finished listening.
Before long, Old Madame Gu closed her eyes. She had fallen asleep.
Gu Qingze’s voice grew softer and gradually faded into silence.
He stood up, walked outside with light, cautious steps, and the moment he crossed the threshold, his expression reverted to his usual detached and aloof ice-berg persona as President Gu.
Housekeeper He stepped forward and bowed respectfully. “Head of the family, has the old madam fallen asleep?”
With a cold gaze, Gu Qingze acknowledged it with a hum, lifted his eyes to look at the doctors whose hair was slightly graying, and said in a calm tone, “I hope the medication brought this time can actually be of some use. You are all top-tier experts in related fields globally. Since the project’s inception, I do not wish to pour my painstaking efforts into a void without hearing even the slightest echo.”
“Of course.” One of the doctors stepped forward to reply.
“Go on in.”
Gu Qingze stepped aside to clear the path.
Old Madame Gu’s room had undergone custom renovations. Aside from the area where she lay, every other section could automatically retract, revealing modern medical equipment completely contrasting with the room’s interior design style.
Gu Qingze slowly walked over to a wooden sofa and sat down, silently staring at his leather shoes.
There was a bit of mud on his shoes, tracked over from the backyard just now.
Su Shimu held a tablet in his hand. After finishing the handover, he looked toward Gu Qingze, put away the tablet, and walked over.
“President Gu.”
Su Shimu habitually addressed him as President Gu.
“Speak.”
“Johnny’s side suddenly proposed terminating the contract, and they are willing to pay the penalty for breach of contract.”
Hearing this, Gu Qingze’s gaze instantly darkened. Without looking at Su Shimu, he kept his head lowered. “The reason?”
“They claim the equipment malfunctioned and that everything produced is defective.”
Only a ghost would believe that!
Gu Qingze roughly guessed what was going on. Most likely, a few people who did not know whether they were living or dying had caught wind of the news and wanted to use such tactics to pressure him.
And Johnny was simply a foolish dupe who was easily hoodwinked.
“Drag it out for now. Issue appropriate threats; they should still offer a higher quotation on their end.”
Hearing this, the corners of Su Shimu’s lips and eyes curled upward. Just as he thought, as expected of President Gu!
It was likely that soon, President Gu would simply acquire the relevant company and research it independently.
“Understood.”
After an unknown amount of time, that door finally opened.
Seeing this, Gu Qingze stood up and walked over.
“How is it?”
“Post-medication test results show that the ratio of Aβ42 to Aβ40 exhibits a decreasing trend, and signs of hippocampal atrophy have been slightly alleviated. The medication must not be stopped for the upcoming period, and this should alleviate the old madam’s symptoms to a great extent.” (Don’t look too closely into it; I made this up.)
Listening to this, the cold expression on Gu Qingze’s face softened slightly.
“Mhm. Send the test report to Assistant Su later. For this period, you will temporarily stay here.”
“Understood, Mr. Gu.”
Gu Qingze went inside and sat quietly beside Old Madame Gu for a while, then stood up and led Su Shimu outside.
The sky outside had grown completely dark.
Housekeeper He followed them out, a trace of reluctance in his eyes. “Head of the family, it is so late. Please stay here for the night.”
Gu Qingze paused slightly. On the surface, he still wore no expression, but internally, his inner stick figure was crying tears of sorrow. He wanted to stay too, but there were still a few punk kids waiting for him to deal with them, so he couldn’t stay tonight even if he wanted to.
“Housekeeper He, please take good care of the old madam.”
With that, he stepped into the night scenery of the sea of flowers.
The moon hung high, and light clouds drifted past.
Along the long avenue flanked by a ten-li peach blossom grove, only a single car was driving.
Su Shimu sat in the driver’s seat and glanced at Gu Qingze through the rearview mirror.
Gu Qingze had his eyes closed, feigning sleep.
Su Shimu suddenly spoke up. “President Gu, actually you could have stayed at the Rose Manor tonight. Matters over there are not urgent, and someone else can handle them if you issue the instructions.”
Hearing this, Gu Qingze opened his closed eyes and chuckled softly. “Shimu, having stayed by my side for so long, you should know that this is not the reason I am leaving.”
Hearing this, Su Shimu withdrew his gaze and said nothing more.
Indeed, that was not the reason he was leaving.
Every time Old Madame Gu finished a course of treatment, she would go through a period of madness upon waking up. In the beginning, Gu Qingze would drop all his work to come and accompany Old Madame Gu.
But later on, there was no later on.
Su Shimu did not know what had happened behind those continuously shut doors, he only knew that every time Old Madame Gu recovered, President Gu would plunge into a prolonged period of severe emotional depression.
On one accidental occasion, he caught sight of President Gu with red-rimmed eye rims, looking as though he had been crying.
That was the first time Su Shimu had ever seen Gu Qingze like that.
In his impression, Gu Qingze had always worn an aloof and ruthless ice-berg face. That was his first time witnessing another side of President Gu.
Ever since, Gu Qingze always chose to leave at this exact moment.
Housekeeper He would be the one going inside instead, and Old Madame Gu’s episodes of madness turned out to be much milder.
“Are we heading back to the Jingyuan Villa?”
“Mhm.” Gu Qingze responded softly and closed his eyes once again.
When they finally arrived at their destination, it was already three o’clock in the morning.
Su Shimu looked back and saw that Gu Qingze’s eyes were still closed; it looked as though he had fallen asleep.
Just as Su Shimu was about to call out to Gu Qingze, his gaze accidentally caught sight of something that had no business appearing here.
A bouquet of pink hyacinths.