Chapter 7: Am I Your Target?

For some reason, watching Gu Mingchen’s actions, Xie Ting’an suddenly recalled how Gu Qiu once boasted that Gu Mingchen had an IQ over 140 as a child. Whatever he wanted, no matter how difficult, he could find a way to get it.

The current situation indeed made it hard to discern his true intentions.

“President Xie, President Xie, listen!” Sun Zong reacted, his fingers trembling, “He wants to break off the engagement with my Sun family!”

“I heard.” Xie Ting’an paused, noticing the old butler’s health value drop a bit more, then turned to look at Sun Zong.

“Is the Sun family willing to break off the engagement?”

“We’re more than willing.” Sun Zong pressed his hands to his chest, almost in tears.

“Then both parties are in agreement.” Xie Ting’an raised his hand, signaling Sun Zong to bring over the contract to dissolve the engagement and hand it to Gu Mingchen.

“Does the Gu family have any amendments to the contract brought by Sun Zong to dissolve the engagement?”

Gu Mingchen took the contract with both hands, quickly scanning through it, flipping pages swiftly, reading ten lines at a glance.

“I have an opinion on the contract. I hope to add an additional clause.” Gu Mingchen turned to the last page of the contract, where there was a blank space for additions, enough to write.

“Go ahead.” Xie Ting’an watched Gu Mingchen. He had to admit, if Gu Mingchen were to inherit the Gu family in the future, he would handle things much more efficiently than Gu Qiu, but this was not a good thing for the Xie family.

“I agree to break off the engagement, but the condition is that my fiancée cannot have any other engagement or get married within the next four years.”

Gu Mingchen stated his condition, and Sun Zong immediately put on a bitter face. Xie Ting’an glanced at Gu Mingchen, vaguely guessing his thoughts.

Perhaps in Gu Mingchen’s plan, he could turn things around in four years, and by then, he would be of legal marriage age. This clause was just short of explicitly stating “rekindle the old flame.”

“Four years, isn’t that a bit long?” Sun Zong frowned, trying to negotiate with Gu Mingchen.

“My child can’t wait that long for you. If you want to achieve something, two years should be enough, right?”

“No need to wait for me. She can date freely, but she can’t get engaged or married.” Gu Mingchen’s attitude was firm, “Four years, not a day less.”

She can date, just not get engaged or married?

Sun Zong looked innocently at Xie Ting’an, seemingly seeking some justice. Xie Ting’an remained calm, with a faint smile on his face, showing no intention of forcing a decision.

“Alright, alright then.” Sun Zong gritted his teeth and reluctantly agreed.

Gu Mingchen added the clause to both copies of the contract. After both parties confirmed it, Xie Ting’an scanned the contract again, raising his eyebrows slightly, then looked at Gu Mingchen, who was about to sign, and turned to Sun Zong.

“Sun Zong, from what I’ve observed, you were the one who initiated the breakup.”

Xie Ting’an paused, “According to Rong City’s customs, the party initiating the breakup should return the engagement gifts, but since Gu Mingchen’s condition is excessive, we won’t delve into that.”

At the mention of engagement gifts, Sun Zong’s face turned a shade paler, but upon hearing “won’t delve into that,” he immediately beamed with joy.

Xie Ting’an knew Gu Qiu well. For his son’s engagement gifts, he not only had to give them but had to give them generously, preferably making it known to everyone. He had seen the gift list in several groups before, and it included not just real estate, sports cars, and cash, but even gold measured by the kilogram.

“Though there’s no need to return them,” Xie Ting’an’s tone softened, “the Gu family is in a difficult situation now. Sun Zong should at least make a gesture to avoid gossip.”

“This… a gesture must be made.” Sun Zong wiped the sweat from his forehead, took out a checkbook from his inner pocket, hesitated for a moment while writing the amount, then his eyes shifted, and he wrote two checks, tearing them off and placing them in front of Gu Mingchen.

“This one is a check for twenty thousand.” Sun Zong shook the first check, his gaze filled with disdain as he looked Gu Mingchen up and down.

“To be honest, the first time I saw you, I thought you were nothing special.” Sun Zong freely criticized the person in front of him.

“You act polite, but your eyes are cold, too proud to see anyone. At that time, the Gu family was doing well, so I had to praise you against my conscience, afraid of offending you, young master.

Now that the Gu family is gone, take a good look at yourself in the mirror. This twenty thousand is what I think you’re worth!”

Sun Zong slapped the check onto the contract. Gu Mingchen looked at the check in front of him, silent.

Sun Zong picked up the second check, which had noticeably more zeros than the first.

“This one is a check for two million.” Sun Zong looked at Xie Ting’an with a flattering expression, “It’s compensation I got for you because of President Xie’s face.”

As Sun Zong was about to slap the check onto the contract again, Gu Mingchen suddenly picked up the contract, leaving Sun Zong to slap the air.

“This one.” Gu Mingchen put away the twenty thousand check, his expression calm.

“Is enough.”

“Huh?” Sun Zong was stunned, unable to believe it as he looked at Gu Mingchen, then at Xie Ting’an, his eyes filled with resentment.

“President Xie, he’s not giving you any face.”

Xie Ting’an remained calm, his gaze casually sweeping over the old butler’s health value, which had dropped to 29, and waved his hand dismissively.

With the twenty thousand compensation written into the contract, Gu Mingchen signed his name without hesitation, and Sun Zong quickly signed, afraid Gu Mingchen would change his mind.

Each party held a copy of the contract. Sun Zong happily put away his copy, then casually tossed the marriage certificate to Gu Mingchen, a triumphant smile on his face.

“Gu family boy, give up. Even if you have another four years, I won’t think anything of you. You’re not worthy of my Sun family. You’re only fit to wallow in the mud, live in such a shabby place, and watch the person you like live happily with someone else.”

Gu Mingchen’s hand holding the marriage certificate paused, his grip so tight that veins bulged. Xie Ting’an watched as he picked up a pair of tongs, lifted the stove lid, and with the other hand, held the red marriage certificate over the charcoal fire.

The flames quickly engulfed it, burning the marriage certificate to ashes in seconds. The paper ash, carrying sparks, floated up and scattered with the winter wind. His blue eyes, behind the ashes, were as cold as thick ice on a lake.

Sparks blew out at Xie Ting’an’s feet and extinguished. Xie Ting’an’s lips curled slightly, even a bit eager to see how Gu Mingchen would act after taking over the Gu family when Gu Qiu returned.

Would he go after the Sun family first?

Or would love conquer the hatred at this moment, and he would choose to continue the alliance with the Sun family?

With a “ding,” Xie Ting’an heard a long-lost notification sound in his mind.

[Congratulations to the host for successfully completing the task.]

Listening to the voice in his mind, Xie Ting’an loosened his tie and quietly awaited the results.

[Task rewards being distributed: Item +1, Money +66,666 RMB, Achievement Value +50, Data Point +1.]

[Congratulations to the host for achieving “Others Feast, I Flip the Table.”]

[Congratulations to the host for receiving the achievement reward: .]

[Detected that the host has data points greater than or equal to two, activating data point management mode.]

[Detected that the host has unused data points…]

Before the series of electronic sounds ended, Xie Ting’an saw the deep red number above the old butler’s head drop again. The old man, unable to support himself any longer, leaned back weakly.

Xie Ting’an instinctively stepped forward quickly, supporting the old man. Gu Mingchen turned around, realizing the old butler’s condition was off, and immediately helped support him from the other side.

Seeing the old butler’s pale face, Xie Ting’an finally understood.

When his own health value was at 28, he lost consciousness upon climbing into bed, not falling asleep as expected, but fainting.

“Call an ambulance.”

Xie Ting’an released his hold, handing the old man over to Gu Mingchen. Manager Liu immediately dialed the emergency number. Sun Zong, half-believing, stepped forward to take a look, realizing the old butler’s condition wasn’t an act, and panicked a bit.

“President Xie, you saw it, I didn’t touch him!”

Xie Ting’an ignored Sun Zong, a thought suddenly crossing his mind about the girl’s previous complaints. He unbuttoned the old man’s clothes and indeed saw bruises from beatings on the old butler’s chest and abdomen.

Gu Mingchen was clearly unaware of the Gu family’s relatives causing trouble for the house. Seeing the old butler’s injuries, his eyes instantly darkened.

“This wasn’t my doing.” Sun Zong stepped back a few steps, quickly distancing himself.

“President Xie, the ambulance can arrive in fifteen minutes at the earliest.” Manager Liu reported to Xie Ting’an, holding the phone.

Xie Ting’an looked at the health value above the old butler’s head. In the time it took to make the call, it had dropped another point. At this rate, the old butler wouldn’t last until the ambulance arrived.

“Take our car and drive him there.” Xie Ting’an buttoned up the old man’s clothes, “I’ll cover the fines, just hurry.”

For the second time in one day, they entered the hospital. The old butler had a liver rupture due to external injuries, and his condition was critical. He had already been taken into surgery. Xie Ting’an sat outside the operating room, faintly hearing Gu Mingchen on the phone, seemingly arranging for the surgery fees.

Earlier, seeing the situation, Sun Zong, eager to clear his name, stammered about having urgent matters at home and had the car turn around before reaching the hospital. Xie Ting’an didn’t insist on keeping him, as dozens of eyes had witnessed that he hadn’t touched the old butler.

In the novel, the old butler died from old age and overwork. Now it seemed that wasn’t accurate. Xie Ting’an absentmindedly fiddled with the gold ring in his pocket, pondering the issue.

The novel stated the old butler’s cause of death was what Gu Mingchen told Sun Zong. Logically, after the old butler’s death, Gu Mingchen should have seen the injuries on the old man’s body, so he shouldn’t have hastily concluded the cause of death.

Or perhaps…

Xie Ting’an paused, suddenly recalling the scene in the novel where Gu Mingchen, after taking over the Gu family, hosted a family banquet on the island, systematically destroying the Gu family’s collateral branches.

Thinking back, after the old butler’s death, Gu Mingchen clearly knew the old man didn’t die naturally but didn’t know the culprit. So he told Sun Zong a different cause of death, likely to test him, but found it wasn’t him.

Later, when Gu Mingchen went blind, he was taken in by people in the urban village. People in the urban village, like that girl, clearly saw the Gu family’s collateral members attacking the old butler. Gu Mingchen likely identified the culprits then, but being disabled, he couldn’t retaliate and had to endure.

When he took over the Gu family, after careful planning, he orchestrated the bloody family banquet on the island.

Thinking this through, everything made sense. Xie Ting’an couldn’t help but admire Gu Mingchen’s patience and scheming in the novel. He could have immediately targeted the collateral members after taking over the Gu family, but he didn’t. He revealed nothing, leading them to underestimate him, ultimately luring them to the island where they all met their demise at his hands.

Xie Ting’an’s eyes flickered, as if suddenly realizing something, he slowly picked up the gold ring in his hand.

If he remembered correctly, Gu Mingchen had taken it out in the time it took him to turn around and walk a few steps.

In that short time, he couldn’t have returned to the dilapidated house to retrieve it. The fact that he could produce it so quickly meant he had been carrying this gold ring, along with his family ring, on him at all times.

Aside from the reason of guarding against thieves, Xie Ting’an looked at the gold ring, feeling a chill down his spine.

Could it be…

That he was also on Gu Mingchen’s list of targets for revenge?