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“I’m back, Xiao Bao,” Zhang Zhilin said, smiling when he saw Xiao Bao. Gu Jing, seeing her son’s reaction, knew deep down that bringing the child back was the best choice.
“It’s good that you’re back.”
Hearing this, Gu Jing let out a sigh and looked at Wang Jinhe, saying, “In the future, we might trouble you again, Xiao He.”
“We don’t mind the trouble. Have you sorted out everything on your end?” Wang Jinhe asked, looking at them.
Gu Jing nodded, not going into details. Seeing her response, Wang Jinhe didn’t press further.
“Mother, is brother going away again in the future?” Xiao Bao asked when he heard their conversation.
“He’s not going away anymore. We’ve decided he won’t leave anymore. Jinhe, we know that Su Yu has excellent knowledge. Can we have him teach Xiao Zhi alongside Xiao Bao in the future?” Gu Jing asked Wang Jinhe.
After returning, Zhang Zhilin resisted books for a while, and Gu Jing could only place her hopes on Su Yu and Xiao Bao.
Wang Jinhe couldn’t make promises for Su Yu, so he just watched him.
“It’s possible, but I usually start teaching Xiao Bao very early. In addition to academics, there’s also martial arts training. The child will have to stay here,” Su Yu said.
He wouldn’t go to Zhang’s house specifically to teach Zhang Zhilin; if she wanted him to learn, the child would have to stay here.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Bao’s eyes lit up. Could his brother really stay at their home?
Even Zhang Zhilin, with great anticipation, looked at the Gu Jing couple. Seeing their expressions, Gu Jing and her husband felt a bit melancholic. “You just want to be with Xiao Bao,” they said.
“Mother, is it okay?”
“Xiao He, it looks like we might trouble you again,” Gu Jing felt a bit embarrassed, but now, it was beneficial for Xiao Zhi to be with Xiao Bao.
“It’s alright, Xiao Bao also needs a playmate. Growing up together as friends is a good thing,” Wang Jinhe said, shaking his head.
He agreed so readily mainly because Zhang Zhilin was obedient and often managed himself without needing much supervision from them.
“Xiao Zhi, you need to behave well here, okay?” Gu Jing said. She and Zhang Qin had other matters to attend to.
This time, although they had completely severed ties with the Gu and Zhang families, but there were still some matters to be resolved.
“Mm,” Zhang Zhilin nodded.
“Xiao He, can you come with me for a moment. There’s something I want to talk to you about,” Gu Jing considered for a moment and decided to tell Wang Jinhe everything that needed to be said.
“Sure.”
Wang Jinhe led Gu Jing to the foot of the mountain. “Sister Jing, this time when you went back…”
“Whoever thought that going back this time would be another hell for Xiao Zhi. I used to think the people from the Zhang family were bastards, but after going back this time, I realized that the Gu family members aren’t any better, especially my father.” Just the thought of those months sent shivers down Gu Jing’s spine.
Wang Jinhe looked at Gu Jing in astonishment. “What happened?”
“Because of Xiao Zhi’s talent, my father made him learn everything he was supposed to learn in the next ten years. Every day, it was just studying. If he didn’t do well, he would be punished. We didn’t know about this when we were dealing with matters at the Zhang family. Later, when we went to the Gu family, we found that Xiao Zhi’s eyes had lost their former sparkle, becoming empty. He turned into a lifeless shell. Even his candies were lost by the Gu family, and I searched for them for a long time but couldn’t find them,” Gu Jing regretted listening to Grandpa Gu and bringing Xiao Zhi back.
He had finally recovered a bit.
“Why?” Wang Jinhe frowned at Gu Jing. “Doesn’t he know that forcing the growth of a seedling won’t work?”
What was Grandpa Gu thinking? How could he do such a thing to Xiao Zhi?
“He said Xiao Zhi is the heir he is training,” Gu Jing said, self-mockingly.
“Heir? Is he really nurturing an heir this way?” Wang Jinhe laughed bitterly. Grandpa Gu was truly a complete bastard.
“He said he wanted to train an heir surpassing Su Yu, but Su Yu’s talent is innate. By forcing Xiao Zhi like this, what can he possibly achieve in the end?” Gu Jing couldn’t fathom it.
Su Yu could achieve three consecutive victories because of his natural talent. Nobody saw how diligently he studied, yet he performed exceptionally well. Even after becoming a top scholar, he didn’t attend the Imperial Academy much, but he could still excel in the provincial exams and the imperial exams. Could such achievements be attained merely through coercion?
Surpass Su Yu?
How was that even possible? Su Yu hadn’t even studied properly; even if Xiao Zhi surpassed him, what use would it be? Other than destroying a child’s natural talents, what else could he accomplish?
“Doesn’t he realize that doing this will directly ruin Xiao Zhi?”
Gu Jing forced a smile. “All he wants is for Xiao Zhi to surpass Su Yu. So, Zhang Qin and I took Xiao Zhi away, completely cutting ties with the Gu family.”
“I don’t want my son to be anyone’s heir. I just hope Xiao Zhi can live a happy life. He has endured too much hardship. In the future, I only wish for him to do what he wants and live the life he desires,” Gu Jing said earnestly.
Wang Jinhe frowned, feeling a sense of annoyance. The members of the Gu family were truly shameless.
“No wonder you said you wouldn’t be going back there,” she remarked.
“We have already severed ties with both the Gu and Zhang families. But there are still some matters to settle so we might become busy for a while. We have no choice but to leave Xiao Zhi here. It’s the only way for me to feel at ease,” Gu Jing said with a bitter smile.
Wang Jinhe nodded in understanding. “Alright, you can leave him here.”
She felt some sympathy for Xiao Zhi. What kind of people had he encountered?
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank us.”
After having dinner, the Gu Jing couple exchanged a few words with Zhang Zhilin and then left. Once Zhang Zhilin fell asleep in his room with Xiao Bao, Wang Jinhe shared the information Gu Jing had given him with the others in the family.
Su Xi rolled his eyes dismissively at the absurdity of the situation. “Trying to surpass Su Yu? Grandpa Gu really has some imagination.”
His grandson had always played while studying, absorbing knowledge effortlessly. Su Xi had never seen him seriously studying anything. For Grandpa Gu to force a child to learn what would take several, or even ten, years of study – wasn’t that insane?
“This kid is just a freak. His talent is truly exceptional, beyond what most people can achieve. Looking at the current situation, the only one I see potentially surpassing Su Yu in the future is Xiao Bao. Besides him, it’s difficult for anyone else to even come close.” Su Xi had observed Xiao Bao’s recent progress in his studies. His dedication mirrored Su Yu’s childhood efforts, he might even be more formidable than Su Yu.
What did this mean? It meant that in the future, Xiao Bao’s achievements might directly surpass his father, Su Yu.
“You’re praising Xiao Bao too much, Brother Su,” Grandpa Wang chuckled, shaking his head.
Was Xiao Bao really that exceptional? He was just a kid; how could he be that impressive?
Although he felt quite pleased upon hearing this, deep down, he couldn’t fully believe it.