The shock was so overwhelming that his expression froze, like he was wearing a lifeless human-skin mask.
“Thud!”
“Crash—!”
Gu Zhenghong’s knees buckled, his eyes lifeless. Even as he collapsed and knocked over an entire cabinet of medical supplies, he didn’t notice.
“Dean Gu! Dean Gu! Are you alright?!”
Doctor Zhang rushed to support him, only to realize in shock that the old man’s eyes were completely hollow, like a mist-covered void.
He looked like an old fish stranded on the shore, his throat convulsing as if he wanted to scream, but not a single sound came out.
His world was spinning, everything collapsing.
A piercing ringing echoed in his ears, and even Doctor Zhang in front of him appeared doubled in his vision. His mouth hung wide open, unable to utter a word, while tears streamed down his face in large drops.
Doctor Zhang froze for a moment. As a doctor, he recognized this condition immediately—
This was silent screaming.
A reaction he had seen countless times—family members collapsing after hearing a patient had died during surgery.
This was complete psychological collapse.
The despair was so great that they couldn’t even scream. An overwhelming hopelessness crushed their chest, to the point it became life-threatening.
In extreme cases, the body could even begin shutting down.
It took quite a while before Gu Zhenghong finally recovered a bit. With trembling hands, he gripped Doctor Zhang’s arm.
“Doctor Zhang… this isn’t funny… How could Xiao Cang’s mother be gone? Just a few days ago I visited, and she was doing fine…”
He was so agitated, he didn’t even notice his fingernails digging into Doctor Zhang’s flesh, or the pained expression on his face.
“Dean Gu, please, calm down first—”
Doctor Zhang tried to soothe him but stopped mid-sentence. Seeing the old man this way, on the brink of collapse, he realized that trying to console him might backfire.
Better to just tell him the truth.
“Dean Gu, Mr. Ye’s mother… she really has passed. In fact… the entire hospital already knows…”
“BOOM…”
Another wave of shock hit. Gu Zhenghong nearly fainted.
It felt like the sky had fallen.
Like lightning crashing down from the heavens.
He stumbled out of the room. There were still many nurses on night duty in the hospital, and he asked each of them.
The answers were all the same.
“Yes, Mr. Ye’s mother, Ms. Zhou, has passed.”
“Doctor Zhang personally signed the death notice.”
“Her body was taken to the mortuary and later claimed by the family. That was days ago!”
“As for the cause of death…”
The nurses hesitated, glancing cautiously at Gu Zhenghong.
“The cause of death! Say it!”
Gu Zhenghong was crying, his voice almost a roar.
Only then did the nurses gather the courage to speak. “She… she passed because the Life-Saving Medicine wasn’t administered in time. It was taken by Director Gu… for her White Moonlight…”
“RUMBLE!!”
The words were like a blade stabbing through Gu Zhenghong’s chest.
His vision went dark, and he gasped for air, body trembling uncontrollably. He could barely stay standing.
That choking pressure surged through his entire body. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Ye Cang’s mother had died because the medicine didn’t arrive in time—
Because his granddaughter, Gu Yuyao, had taken it to save her so-called White Moonlight!
Gu Yuyao…
What on earth had his precious granddaughter done?
Suddenly, another horrifying realization hit him. His entire body broke into a cold sweat.
No wonder Ye Cang wanted a divorce!
It wasn’t because Gu Yuyao fell for someone else—
And to make it worse, she did it for another man!
Double betrayal!
No wonder Ye Cang had taken his mother away. What he carried that day… was her corpse!
How desperate must he have been back then?
No wonder Ye Cang was so cold toward their family.
No wonder they couldn’t reach him these past days.
No wonder Gu Yuyao’s hundreds of calls went unanswered.
…
There were too many reasons.
It all pointed to one truth—his granddaughter had caused the death of Ye Cang’s mother, just to save her White Moonlight!
“Xiao Cang… our family wronged you…”
Gu Zhenghong collapsed to his knees in anguish, screaming into the air.
“Pu!”
His grief overwhelmed him, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
All the doctors and nurses around him, including Doctor Zhang, could only sigh with sorrow. “What a sin… What could be more important than a human life?”
Yet until now, Director Gu had been kept in the dark.
The real tragedy was that it was her own doing.
Her mind was entirely on her White Moonlight. How could she spare a thought for anything else?
If she had cared even a little about Ye Cang or his mother, this wouldn’t have happened.
…
Meanwhile, Ye Cang and Qin Junfei had arrived at No. 18 Yong’an Road—the funeral venue.
Inside the funeral home, black wreaths filled the halls. The air was heavy, gloomy with death.
After the funeral, his mother would be transported to the nation’s only Cryogenic Preservation Center.
“Besides my father, executives from Platinum Palace will also attend the funeral,” Qin Junfei said softly, walking to Ye Cang’s side.
But Ye Cang didn’t respond. He quietly walked to the ice coffin, gently laying his hand on it.
His gaze was sharp, like blades, and he muttered, “Gu Yuyao, I’ll wait for you until noon tomorrow.”
This was the only chance he would give her to confess and atone.
“If you don’t show up by noon… you’ll never see my mother again.”
Miss this opportunity, and she would regret it for a lifetime.
…
That night was long.
No moon. Thick clouds blanketed the sky.
Yet across Jiang City, massive changes unfolded.
Main roads were cleared of vehicles.
Pedestrians were forced to evacuate.
And then—the entire city fell into darkness.
It was as if the power had been cut city-wide.
But Jiang City was not lifeless. Quite the opposite.
Bright beams of light flashed from all directions, forming glowing lines across the city.
Convoys roared through the streets, emblazoned with the emblem of Platinum Palace.
When Platinum Palace moves, the entire city steps aside.
This was the largest-scale mobilization since Platinum Palace had settled in Jiang City.
The city was in complete chaos.
All major forces watched intently, though no one knew what was happening.
They only knew one thing—
…
Along the way, the convoy passed by Gu Family Hospital.
Inside, Gu Zhenghong looked like he had lost half his life. His face was pale, and he looked ten years older.
His worldview had collapsed.
He couldn’t accept the truth: that his own granddaughter had caused the death of Ye Cang’s mother.
“Atonement… I must atone…”
“No matter what, I’ll kneel before Ms. Zhou and beg her forgiveness!”
With trembling hands, he picked up his phone and called Gu Yuyao.
But he didn’t know—at that very moment, Gu Yuyao and Gao Yanqing were partying in an underground nightclub.
Because the club was built below ground, they were completely unaware of what was happening above.
Gu Yuyao, in her fiery dress, danced tightly against Gao Yanqing to the beat of the music.
Qiao Mohan, still traumatized by Qin Junfei’s presence, had gone home early, leaving them undisturbed.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed.
“Yuyao, your phone!” Gao Yanqing shouted into her ear.
She pulled it out to look—only to see it was her grandfather calling.
Her face immediately fell.
“Ignore it.”
She powered off the phone, tossed it into her purse, and went back to dancing with Gao Yanqing.
…
Back at the hospital.
Gu Zhenghong was stunned.
His unfilial granddaughter dared ignore his call?
Furious, he kept dialing.
He even asked the doctors and nurses to help call her.
But Gu Yuyao had already powered off her phone. She wouldn’t hear a thing.
Everyone around him was panicking.
…
Emboldened by alcohol, Gao Yanqing whispered in Gu Yuyao’s ear, “Yuyao, I’m going for a follow-up check-up tomorrow. You’ll come with me, right?”
That woke her up instantly.
Right! She had almost forgotten—tomorrow was Brother Yanqing’s appointment.
But she had also agreed to go to No. 18 Yong’an Road to pick up Ye Cang’s mother…
The timing conflicted.
After a moment’s hesitation, Gu Yuyao made her decision—she would go with Brother Yanqing.
That was far more important!
Everything else could wait.
After all, wasn’t that why she’d taken the Life-Saving Medicine from Ye Cang’s mother in the first place? To save Yanqing?
In her heart, Brother Yanqing always came first. No exceptions.
As for Ye Cang’s mother…
It was just picking someone up. Anyone could go.
Did it really need her, personally?
It’s just picking someone up.
It’s not like it’s Ye Cang’s damn mother’s funeral.
Why must she go?
Heh…
Gu Yuyao thought it over and decided—she’d send her bestie Qiao Mohan to pick up Ye Cang’s mother instead.