kingnovel Chapter 1428 Yunrui's Sincere Devotion: 2 No Debts Between Us
Chapter 1428 Yunrui's Sincere Devotion: 2 No Debts Between Us
These words struck like a thunderbolt, instantly shattering Bai Xiuxian's last shred of hope. She sprang up from her chair, but her knees buckled, and she knelt on the cold mahogany floor with a thud. The dull thud of her knees hitting the ground made the tea room tremble.
She scrambled to Gu Mingcheng's feet, gripping his trouser leg tightly with both hands, her nails almost digging into the fabric, her knuckles turning white from the force. "Mr. Gu, Mr. Gu! Please spare my life! I promise I'll never appear before you again!" Her voice was sharp and broken, filled with desperate sobs.
"Please forgive me this time, for the sake of our past relationship..."
Her body trembled like fallen leaves in the autumn wind, her teeth chattered as she spoke, and a few strands of her carefully styled hair fell down, sticking to her face which was covered in tears and foundation, making her look utterly disheveled.
The mention of their past relationship caused Gu Mingcheng's body to stiffen abruptly. His hands, hanging at his sides, unconsciously curled up, his knuckles turning white as if they were about to break.
He looked at the woman before him, so humble she seemed to be in the dust, and images from twenty years ago flashed uncontrollably before his eyes: when he was framed and lost his identity, when Gu Ze didn't rely on the Bai family's power, when Gu Yunxi's mother...
It has to be said that Bai Xiuxian's past kindness to the Gu family has indeed given her the right to speak!
He slowly raised his hand, his fingertips stopping an inch from Bai Xiuxian's shoulder, but then he suddenly clenched his fist and pulled it back.
Gu Yunxi saw this movement, suspended in mid-air, clearly—his father, always calm and decisive, had never hesitated like this before; those trembling fingertips concealed surging old feelings and inner struggle...
The tea room was eerily quiet, with only Bai Xiuxian's suppressed sobs and the rustling of ivy leaves in the wind outside the window. Even the air seemed to have turned into a thick paste, making it hard to breathe.
Gu Yunqian frowned and stepped forward, trying to pull Bai Xiuxian away, but Gu Mingcheng stopped him with a look.
Gu Mingcheng turned and walked back to the tea table, picked up the purple clay teapot that had been with him for many years, and slowly refilled the empty teacup. The tea flowed down the spout, but because of his slight trembling hand, most of it spilled onto the tablecloth, the dark water stains like an unhealable scar.
"You did help me a lot back then." His voice was terribly hoarse, his gaze fixed on the Biluochun tea in his cup, his blurry reflection shimmering in the liquid. "Now you want to use our past kindness to make up for everything you've done..."
Bai Xiuxian tried to argue, but Gu Mingcheng slammed his teacup on the table with a loud clang that startled everyone. Tea splashed out, scalding his hand, but he seemed oblivious, his eyes sharp as knives: "But you shouldn't have, absolutely shouldn't have, set your sights on Yunxi!" He pointed at Gu Yunxi, his voice suddenly rising, "She's the lifeblood of the Gu family! If you touch her, you're making an enemy of the entire Gu family!"
Gu Yunxi turned her head away, looking at the bright sunshine outside the window, but her eyes couldn't help but well up with tears.
She recalled the Hong Kong dim sum that Bai Xiuxian bought for her when she was a child, and the scenes of the two of them planting flowers in the garden. Those warm memories have now turned into sharp thorns.
But she could not forget the fear in Black Rock Village, nor the innocent people who lost their lives because of inferior materials. She knew that Gu Mingcheng's decision was right—justice would never be compromised because of personal feelings.
Gu Yunqian stepped forward and handed Bai Xiuxian a tissue. His voice was calm but firm: "Come with me to the police station. Confessing your crimes is the best outcome for you."
Bai Xiuxian didn't take the tissue; she just collapsed to the ground, letting her tears flow freely. Finally, with Gu Yunqian's help, she walked out of the teahouse, looking utterly dejected.
The wooden door creaked shut, shutting out her cries. The tea room finally returned to silence, but with a heavy, settled atmosphere...
Gu Mingcheng looked at the spilled tea on the table, slowly squatted down, and picked up the teacup shards that he had just knocked and cracked.
His finger was cut by a sharp shard of porcelain, and blood dripped onto the fragments, mixing with the tea. Gu Yunxi wanted to help, but he stopped him: "I can do it myself." He picked up the pieces slowly, as if gathering up torn pieces of old affection, or as if severing all ties to the past.
Three days later, while Gu Yunxi was debugging equipment in the laboratory, he overheard a news broadcast coming from the next office: "Breaking news from this station: Bai Xiuxian, a well-known Hong Kong businesswoman, has been arrested by the police on suspicion of providing substandard building materials, commercial fraud, funding kidnapping, and money laundering, among other crimes. Investigations have confirmed that Bai Xiuxian has used her building materials business for many years to transfer illicit funds to foreign forces, involving a total of 5 billion yuan. Her previous donation of 500 million yuan has been identified as illegal proceeds and will be specifically used for the aftermath of the Hong Kong Hung Fook Yuen fire and for compensation to the victims. Currently, based on clues provided by Bai Xiuxian, the police have launched a transnational manhunt for the fugitive suspect Lin Xu, and the case is under further investigation..."
The news anchor's voice was calm and even, but Gu Yunxi remained stunned for a long time. She walked to the window, looking at the distant sky; the sun was shining brightly, and a gentle breeze was blowing...
The days passed peacefully like this. In the spring courtyard, the magnolias faded, and the roses bloomed, climbing all over the courtyard fence. The pink flowers crowded together in a lively atmosphere, attracting bees and butterflies to dance among the flowers.
After get off work, Gu Yunxi would always tend to the flowers and plants in the courtyard with Ye Muxue.
When summer arrives, the grape trellis in the courtyard is laden with lush green grapes. Gu Mingcheng specially built a bamboo bed under the grape trellis, and in the evening, the family would sit on the bamboo bed to enjoy the cool air.
Gu Yunqian would bring over a projector and show old movies on the wall, while Gu Yunxi would bring chilled watermelon and plum juice. Ye Muxue sat to the side, fanning everyone with a palm-leaf fan. A gentle evening breeze, carrying the fragrance of grape leaves, dispelled the summer heat...
Perhaps because Gu Jia encountered too many hardships this summer, the temperature rose instead of falling during what should have been autumn.
In what should have been winter, withered sycamore leaves rustled softly against the iron windows of the meeting room.
Qi Ruixiang sat on the cold metal chair, a thin layer of ash covering the glass in front of him. He took out a notebook and a voice recorder from his canvas bag, his fingertips tracing the words "Hongfuyuan Fire" on the notebook—these three words had been a heavy weight on his heart ever since he raised his phone stand at the fire scene. Now that Bai Xiuxian was caught, this months-long pursuit was finally coming to an end.
The meeting room was lit in a stark white light, casting cold shadows on the walls.
Qi Ruixiang subconsciously straightened his faded denim jacket, placed the voice recorder in the center of the table, and pressed the record button. A soft "click" sounded, exceptionally clear in the quiet space.
He looked up at the entrance, and the moment the metal door was pushed open, a damp, musty smell wafted out, and Bai Xiuxian's figure appeared in the doorway.
Qi Ruixiang had long forgotten when he last saw Bai Xiuxian.
The person before me was no longer adorned with her usual high-end suits or exquisite makeup. She wore a gray-blue prison uniform, her hair was cut short to her ears, and the white hair at the roots was clearly visible. Her once meticulously cared-for hands now had very short nails, and her knuckles had a dark bluish tinge.
She walked to the chair opposite the glass, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly sat down. Her hands unconsciously rested on her knees, and she gripped the seams of her prison uniform tightly. She was a completely different person from the confident woman who waved at the building materials press conference years ago.
“I thought it would be someone from the Gu family coming to see me.” Bai Xiuxian spoke first, her voice hoarse like a rusty piece of iron. Her gaze swept over Qi Ruixiang’s canvas bag and landed on the old recorder. A complicated look flashed in her eyes. “I didn’t expect it to be you, Reporter Qi.”