According to the original story, after Su Mei rejected Grandpa Gu, the old man left Kangcheng in anger. However, just one week later, Gu Ziyan suddenly disappeared and never appeared in Sheng Xia’s sight again. It was only through their homeroom teacher that she learned Gu Ziyan had quietly returned to Yanjing at some point and would be taking the college entrance examination there.
And until the moment Sheng Xia received her death ending in her previous life, the two of them never crossed paths again.
This time, however, she was living at the Gu residence. She couldn’t wait for Gu Ziyan to disappear so she could finally go on a massive shopping spree.
Time slipped away amid Sheng Xia’s eager anticipation. Three nights later, a group of uninvited guests appeared at the Gu residence. Caught completely off guard, Sheng Xia was knocked unconscious by a sleeping agent. Just before losing consciousness, she sighed inwardly.
Damn! I got careless…
Gu Ziyan, on the other hand, woke up the moment the intruders entered the house. His room was right next to Sheng Xia’s.
Carefully opening his door, his clear eyes showed no sign of being affected by the sleeping gas.
Looking at the five men dressed in black before him, Gu Ziyan’s expression turned cold and stern, completely different from his usual cheerful and gentle demeanor.
“What people sent you here? If you’ve got something to say, say it. If you’ve got crap to spit out, get on with it.”
The black-clad men exchanged glances before one of them stepped forward. He looked at Gu Ziyan with approval and spoke respectfully.
“Young Master, even after all these years in Kangcheng, your vigilance hasn’t diminished. It’s me.”
As he spoke, he removed the covering from his face, revealing a rugged, stubble-covered face.
Gu Ziyan recognized him immediately, but his guard remained up. His body stayed tense, ready to fight at any moment.
“What could possibly require breaking in during the middle of the night and drugging me with sleeping gas?”
The bearded man, Xu Dayou, coughed awkwardly before replying.
“Well… the Old Master was worried that you still hadn’t cooled off and wouldn’t be willing to return with us, so… we had to resort to this.”
A trace of confusion flashed through Gu Ziyan’s eyes.
“Go back? The college entrance examination is right around the corner. Why would I be called back now of all times?”
“That involves military intelligence, so I don’t know the details. The only order I received was to bring you back to Yanjing before noon tomorrow. Young Master, please don’t make things difficult for us.”
Xu Dayou scratched his head awkwardly, looking thoroughly troubled.
Military intelligence? What did that have to do with bringing him back to Yanjing?
Back then, he had made it clear he would never return to that family. So what exactly was this all about?
While Gu Ziyan was lost in thought, Xu Dayou’s honest and harmless expression instantly disappeared.
He rushed forward at lightning speed. As his hand flipped over, a compact tranquilizer gun appeared in his palm.
Gu Ziyan’s expression changed drastically as he immediately bent backward and retreated.
Xu Dayou closed the distance in a flash and pulled the trigger.
A tranquilizer dart shot out and struck Gu Ziyan in the waist. The powerful anesthetic took effect immediately.
His eyes widened in disbelief as he collapsed to the floor.
He had trusted Xu Dayou too much. The moment he relaxed his guard, the man had seized the opportunity.
Just wait until I recover. I’ll make him pay for this.
Filled with unwillingness, Gu Ziyan finally closed his eyes.
While sighing repeatedly, Xu Dayou helped Gu Ziyan to his feet and called for his subordinates to assist him. His sudden series of actions left everyone completely stunned.
Who would have thought their usually honest-looking boss had been acting the whole time? His innocent and straightforward performance had been absolutely flawless.
Seeing the four men staring at him strangely, Xu Dayou’s old face reddened. He roared:
“What are you all looking at? So what if I naturally have an honest face?!”
The four immediately shook their heads, not daring to comment.
Only the youngest-sounding member spoke up.
“Boss, if you could handle him alone, why bring an entire squad? This Young Master doesn’t seem as impressive as the rumors claim.”
“Bah! What do you know?” Xu Dayou shot back. “Don’t let his age fool you. When he was fifteen, he single-handedly beat an entire squad of us. Even I wasn’t his opponent. He grew up in the military. If that incident hadn’t happened, he never would’ve left Yanjing and followed Old Master Gu to this Kangcheng.”
He continued, “Even five against one wouldn’t guarantee we’d take him down smoothly. If I hadn’t taken advantage of the fact that he trusted me and caught him off guard, do you think this would’ve gone so easily? Once we get back, who knows how he’ll deal with me? Just wait. None of us are getting away from this.”
Looking at the sleeping young man before him, Xu Dayou let out another long sigh.
Everyone knew the Young Master hated evil and always rewarded and punished fairly.
Once he returned, Xu Dayou was probably finished.
With a mournful expression, he instructed his men to erase all traces of their presence before the five of them quickly departed with Gu Ziyan.
At the nearest helipad, a helicopter had been waiting for them the entire time.
By late morning, Sheng Xia was awakened by the continuous ringing of her phone.
She sprang upright and looked around.
Her room showed no signs of having been disturbed.
She immediately rushed outside and searched the entire house.
There wasn’t a single person there.
Where was Gu Ziyan?
He had really disappeared!
Oh yeah!
The phone continued ringing from her room. Sheng Xia returned and picked it up.
It was a call from Teacher Zhao, their homeroom teacher.
Since neither she nor Gu Ziyan had shown up at school that day, and neither of them could be reached by phone, Teacher Zhao had become worried that something might have happened.
Sheng Xia lied and claimed she was sick, then directly requested leave.
She had no intention of returning to school before the examinations anyway.
Teacher Zhao didn’t say much and approved her leave request.
Unable to get any information about Gu Ziyan from Sheng Xia, she simply reminded her to study hard before ending the call.
Meanwhile, Sheng Xia was now certain that Gu Ziyan had truly disappeared.
His phone remained unreachable.
Suddenly, inspiration struck.
Noticing several missed calls from Su Mei, she quickly called back.
The call connected almost immediately, and Su Mei’s anxious voice came through.
“Hello, Xia Xia! Are you alright? Teacher Zhao said you didn’t go to school today.”
Smiling, Sheng Xia used the same excuse to reassure her mother before casually changing the subject.
“Mom, are you staying with Grandpa Gu right now? Could you hand the phone to Grandpa Gu? I need to talk to him about something.”
“Oh, the old man is here. We’ve been unable to contact either you or Ziyan, and he’s been worried about you too. Here, talk to him.”
A moment later, the familiar aged voice sounded from the receiver.
“Hello? Sheng Xia? Are you alright?”
Listening to the familiar voice, Sheng Xia spent a moment working up her emotions.
Then, in a tentative voice carrying a hint of tears, she asked:
“Grandpa Gu, I’m fine, but the Class Monitor is missing. We can’t find him anywhere at home, and Teacher Zhao can’t find him either. What should we do, Grandpa Gu?”
Gu Qing fell silent for a moment before replying,
“Sheng Xia, don’t worry. Ziyan will be fine. Stay at home, focus on preparing for your exams, alright? Let Grandpa Gu look into the situation first. I’ll call you back later.”
Without waiting for her response, Gu Qing hung up.
Still holding Su Mei’s phone, he immediately dialed a string of numbers.
The moment the call connected, his tone turned hostile.
“Speak. Was it you who took Ziyan away? You didn’t even bother informing me. What, do you think I’m dead?”
“I, Gu Qing, may have retired, but that doesn’t mean I won’t tear all pretenses apart with you!”