Chapter 9

Gu Shisheng sat in the chair, fingers interlaced on the desk, his gaze calm and steady as it fell on his father. Slowly, he spoke.

“What if Mu Beichen isn’t satisfied with this engagement?”

His voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried a weight that couldn’t be ignored.

He went on, “It seems there’s some messy entanglement between Mu Beichen and Xu Xueqing.

“Not only that—today, right in front of everyone, he drank a cross-cup toast with that woman. His friend even openly said that he and Xu Xueqing were the real pair, and he didn’t deny it for even a moment.”

At this point, Gu Shisheng’s tone sharpened slightly.
“Chu Wei was standing just outside the door. She heard everything—and then ran out in tears.”

After hearing his son’s words, Gu Lin shot to his feet in a fury. His palm slammed onto the desk with a resounding bang.

“This is true?” he roared, his anger blazing.

“I’ll go find Mu Junze right now and get an explanation. How dare he let his son hurt Chu Wei like this? Does he think he’s worthy of her parents’ trust?”

As he spoke, he forcefully rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to storm off and fight Mu Junze on the spot.

In stark contrast to his father’s agitation, Gu Shisheng remained utterly composed.

He didn’t even rise from his seat—just glanced at Gu Lin with mild disinterest and said casually,
“If you go charging over there now, the Gu family line will end with me. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Don’t forget—Grandfather’s dying wish was for me to marry early and continue the family line.”

“My wife can only be Xia Chu Wei. The mother of my children can only be Xia Chu Wei,” Gu Shisheng stated with quiet firmness.

Gu Lin snapped his head around and glared fiercely at his infuriating yet oddly beloved son.

He slammed the door with another loud bang, as if venting all his frustration into the sound.

None of it seemed to faze Gu Shisheng.

Watching his father storm off, his lips curved ever so slightly into an almost imperceptible smile.

He glanced at his watch, silently calculating.

Sure enough, it was no more than a quarter of an hour before the study door flew open again. Gu Lin strode back in, face dark with anger, and dropped heavily into the chair, glaring at his son like he was itching to give him a beating.

“When did this start? When did you develop feelings for Chu Wei? You’re an old bull after young grass—don’t you feel the slightest bit ashamed?”

His voice trembled with fury as he jabbed a finger at Gu Shisheng.

But Gu Shisheng only shrugged, answering with infuriating calm,
“Today. That’s when. And didn’t you and Mom have a twelve-year age gap? You weren’t embarrassed, so why should I be?”

Gu Lin nearly leapt out of his chair in rage. He hadn’t expected his son to drag him into the comparison.

“You… you’re just twisting logic!” he sputtered, pointing at Gu Shisheng, his whole frame quivering with anger.

Shisheng chuckled lightly. “Dad, isn’t that as good as agreeing to help me?”

Gu Lin glared, then let out a helpless sigh. “You’ve already threatened me with ending the Gu bloodline—what choice do I have?”

If that really happened, he’d be remembered as the sinner who let the Gu family die out—how could he face the ancestors?

And truthfully, it was rare for his son to take a liking to someone. If he didn’t help push things along, the boy might just stay single forever—and how could he face his wife if that happened?

The thought made Gu Lin frown. He looked at his son seriously and asked,
“Tell me honestly—have you been thinking of marrying Chu Wei for a long time?”

He asked because he couldn’t help recalling how, over the years, his son had never dated anyone.

With Shisheng getting older and still showing no signs of interest, Gu Lin had even considered investigating his son’s closest friends.

At the question, Gu Shisheng slowly looked up, a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth. “I’m not as depraved as you think. She wasn’t even of age before—how could I have had any thoughts like that?”

His tone was edged with exasperation, as if baffled by his father’s suspicion.

“And besides,” he added, “it’s not like Mu Beichen was the only one engaged to Chu Wei. She and I had an engagement too—childhood sweethearts, in fact!”

Gu Lin snorted, clearly unconvinced. “What nonsense. Since when? How come I’ve never heard of this?”

“When Chu Wei was just born, Mom and Aunt Xia agreed I should take care of her—and that she was my little bride-to-be.

“As long as she was willing to marry me when she grew up, Mom said she’d personally go and propose,” Gu Shisheng said with a perfectly straight face.

At his words, an old memory surfaced in Gu Lin’s mind—his late wife once telling him that Chu Wei had inherited her parents’ fine looks, a true little beauty in the making. She had joked, half-serious, that they should bring her into the family for Shisheng.

But at the time, he’d worried that Xia Sheng wouldn’t agree—after all, he adored his daughter, and locking in her marriage so early might not sit well with him.

So the matter had been buried and never spoken of again.

Yet now, after all these years, things had somehow circled back to the same point. He couldn’t help but think—maybe this was fate.

“Has Chu Wei agreed to marry you?” Gu Lin asked with concern.

Shisheng shook his head lightly. “First, get the approval processed as soon as possible. I told her she has two weeks to think about it.

“If Mu Beichen can’t handle his mess with Xu Xueqing properly, there’s no way he can win her back.”

His tone was confident—almost certain.

“But don’t forget,” Gu Lin warned, frowning, “Chu Wei’s feelings for Mu Beichen run deep. If she still chooses him in the end… you know the Mu family feels they owe her.

“If she wants to marry him, unless Mu Beichen’s ready to be disowned, he’ll have no choice but to bring her home as his wife.”

His voice carried a weight of worry—he truly feared his son might end up with nothing but an empty dream.