4 – She Brought Back a Boy
Chi Yu looked extremely frail.
The moment Gu Yuan took his hand, it was as if he had grasped a lifeline, finally unable to hold on any longer, and fainted.
His hand was fair and slender, warm as jade when held. Gu Yuan’s fingertips brushed against the webbing between his thumb and index finger, as well as the sides of his index finger.
Still smooth, no calluses.
She also glanced at his other hand.
She even picked up the phone from the ground and flipped through it.
Nothing was out of place.
Gu Yuan temporarily set aside her suspicions.
The identity of Chi Yu was flawless—his history was fully documented, and people who knew him were scattered across the nation.
And Bei Chen’s power lay in the Bay of Evil.
He wouldn’t possibly have the leisure to spend so much time and energy, over so many years, persistently, meticulously, and personally creating a real Chi Yu…
Just to weave an elaborate deception.
He wouldn’t risk his life, reducing himself to such a frail state…
Just to put on a show for her.
He wouldn’t spend all these years, unwavering as a decade, waiting in the Yan Nation…
Just to await her return.
Then he must be insane.
Gu Yuan bent down and lifted him into her arms.
She was trained, so it wasn’t difficult, but at this hour, the hospital was closed and the clinic was shut, so she had no choice but to bring him back to the villa and drag her private doctor out of sleep for overtime.
Gu Yuan’s figure gradually disappeared.
The burly men who should have been scared off by her quickly peeked out from around the corner not far away, then cautiously retreated back.
They relaxed with immense relief.
The man leading them wiped the sweat from his face—his solid muscles were covered in beads of sweat. “Not bad acting from your big bro, right?”
“Brother Li’s acting is indeed excellent.”
The subordinates nodded.
Li Ye couldn’t help but sigh that he was practically a world-class superstar wasted on the assassin profession, when the next second he heard them add,
“But compared to the Pavilion Master, you’re just a nobody…”
Li Ye: “…”
…The superstar dream shattered.
He twitched the corner of his mouth, retrieved the weapons they had hidden in the corner, and glanced in the direction Gu Yuan had disappeared, his expression complicated. “Of course—our Pavilion Master is a true acting emperor…”
“Brother Li, what exactly are we doing?”
The subordinates were still baffled.
Hadn’t they taken a massive one-hundred-million-dollar contract to assassinate the bounty target?
How did they end up killing the employer instead?
And then they were forced to dig deep for their acting talents, performing a mutiny drama of defying their superior right in front of the person they were supposed to kill.
It was a real ordeal for them.
They felt like they might not live to see tomorrow’s sun.
Li Ye held his sniper rifle in one hand and stroked his bushy beard with the other, looking contemplative, while the subordinates waited solemnly.
Li Ye’s eyes lit up. “Big bro’s got it!”
The subordinates: “What?”
Li Ye mysteriously beckoned them closer, then hooked one of them by the neck and said, “Because Gu Yuan’s identity is no simple matter…”
A subordinate scratched his head. “What’s so complicated about it?”
“Useless! You haven’t figured that out?!”
Li Ye smacked their thick skulls. “Have you forgotten?”
“Nineteen waves of assassins came for Gu Yuan before, and all of them failed. Plus, the gun she was holding just now was a Yan Nation military model… What does that tell you?”
The subordinates looked blank. “What does it tell us?”
Li Ye pressed his forehead. “Are you all stupid?!”
The subordinates thought for a moment, then nodded. “If we weren’t stupid, what would we need you for, Brother Li?”
Li Ye choked on his words, could only rub his face, and continued, “This means Gu Yuan is someone from the Yan Nation’s military, and judging by her strength, she’s likely high-ranking…”
“That bounty post on the dark web earlier was clearly a sting operation. Now do you understand why the Pavilion Master had to put on that act?”
Li Ye’s throat was getting dry from talking. He saw the subordinates’ faces light up with sudden realization, and then they said:
“We don’t know.”
Li Ye: “…”
He was furious and gave each of them a knock on the head. “A spy! A spy! The Pavilion Master is going to infiltrate the Yan Nation’s military as a spy!”
The subordinates clutched their heads, looking enlightened. “So that’s it! The Pavilion Master is brilliant!”
Li Ye gave them a cold, sidelong glance.
The subordinates quickly added, “Brother Li is brilliant too! The way you and the Pavilion Master coordinated just now was flawless! Your acting was extraordinary!”
The flattery finally hit the mark.
Li Ye nodded approvingly, like a teacher pleased with a student.
“Alright, wrap it up.”
He waved his hand, signaling them to leave.
But one subordinate’s brain suddenly had a flash of insight. “But the one running the sting operation was Gu Yuan. Why did the Pavilion Master kill our employer?”
Li Ye froze. Right…
He racked his brain for an answer.
Then he looked at the subordinate like he was an idiot. “Isn’t it obvious? The poster, Gu Zhi, is Gu Yuan’s fourth uncle. They’re clearly in cahoots. Killing him was to make an example of him…”
The more Li Ye thought about it, the more convinced he was.
Look at how harmonious, friendly, and loving the uncle and niece were at the banquet! And just now, when Gu Zhi died, Gu Yuan chased them with such grief and fury!
If that wasn’t family love, what was?
The subordinate scratched his head. Was that really it?
…
Iris Manor, Villa District.
Gu Yuan got out of the car, and under the astonished gazes of countless servants and gardeners, she carried an unconscious young man out from inside the vehicle.
“Miss, let me take him.”
Both the butler and the driver stepped forward. Gu Yuan was about to hand the boy over to them, but she noticed Chi Yu’s hand had unconsciously grabbed onto her clothes.
“I’ll do it myself.”
Everyone paused mid-motion, watching in bewilderment as she carried him into a guest room.
“Go call Dr. Ryan.”
The butler nodded. “Yes, Miss.”
Ryan was a world-renowned psychiatrist and her personal physician. Surgery wasn’t his main specialty, but he was more than capable of handling minor injuries.
Gu Yuan placed Chi Yu on the bed in the guest room.
She pried open his hand that was clutching her clothes and heard footsteps approaching from the doorway.
Ryan, who had been dragged over in his pajamas, was a middle-aged man in his forties. His white coat was thrown over his sleepwear, and his blond hair was still a mess.
He yawned and said to Gu Yuan in accented Chinese, “Darling, it’s one in the morning. I’m off duty already…”
“Take care of him.”
Gu Yuan gestured to the young man on the bed.
Ryan glanced at the person on the bed, then at her, and shook his head. “Yuan, per my contract, I’m only required to treat one patient—you.”
Gu Yuan said, “Triple overtime pay.”
Ryan immediately stepped forward to examine Chi Yu, assuring Gu Yuan as he worked, “Darling, don’t worry. I’ll give you back a lively, bouncing boyfriend…”
“Ryan, don’t make jokes like that.”
Gu Yuan said helplessly, then turned and walked out.
Ryan shrugged nonchalantly at her words, humming a tune as he disinfected and applied medicine.
Le Meng and the others were almost back.
“Sister Yuan, we didn’t catch them…”
Her expression was a bit dejected, and even the big bow tied in her hair drooped down.
Gu Yuan wasn’t surprised. She patted her head and told her about Chi Yu’s situation before saying, “Get some sleep early. We’ll verify his identity tomorrow.”
Le Meng poked her head in from the guest room doorway, glanced at the handsome young man on the bed, and tilted her head in surprise. “Sister Yuan, since when did you become so kind?”
Could it be that she was swayed by his looks?
Gu Yuan said without batting an eye, “Your sister has always been a good citizen who loves to help others.”
Le Meng fell silent for a moment.
—Loves to help others, to the point of helping them go to their graves?