Du Yunyan continued to write letters to Gu Wenxi as usual, but he didn’t tell him about meeting his biological father. He didn’t intend to acknowledge that man, nor did he want Gu Wenxi to get involved in their affairs. As for the threats Lu Changming made to him, after the past few days, he completely disregarded them. Life had to go on as usual, and if it came to the point where he had to give up everything, so be it. The busy daily routines at the inn during the day diluted any underlying anxiety, and as time passed, days turned into months in the blink of an eye.

He counted the days, and when it was almost time to go find Gu Wenxi, he started packing his bags. Gu Wenxi hadn’t eaten much of the early-picked bayberries, so Du Yunyan made some of them into dried fruit to bring for him to try.

Two days before leaving, when there was less activity in the afternoon, Du Yunyan went to visit Aunt Liu’s house and asked them to help take care of Yangyang and Beibei.

“When are you leaving?” Aunt Liu asked warmly.

“The day after tomorrow.”

“Then you can rest assured.”

“Thank you. Oh, Aunt Liu, there’s something else I want to trouble you with,” Du Yunyan said apologetically, “In a few days, there might be a letter for me. I told the postman to deliver it here if it arrives. Could you please help me receive it?” He didn’t tell Gu Wenxi in advance that he was going to S City, and Gu Wenxi had recently sent him a letter again.

“No problem,” Aunt Liu replied in her husky voice. “Yunyan, I just dried some tea leaves. Take some with you and have it with Mr. Gu.”

Du Yunyan felt uncomfortable asking for help, so he declined, “No need, Aunt Liu. We can buy some outside.”

“You won’t find the same quality as ours outside,” she called Uncle Sheng over, picked tea leaves from the backyard, and soon handed them to Du Yunyan. “Give my regards to Mr. Gu. You young people have a long way to go.”

“Yeah, I will.”

Du Yunyan had never mentioned his relationship to Uncle Sheng and Aunt Liu. He wasn’t sure how much this elderly woman had guessed or heard. Her face was covered in wrinkles, and her eyes, accustomed to the vicissitudes of life, had a keen insight, but she wouldn’t point out many things directly.

The village chief heard that Du Yunyan was going to S City, so he specially came to the inn the morning before.

“Is everything packed for the trip?” The village chief was also someone who worried easily and couldn’t help but ask a few more questions.

“Yeah, I packed everything yesterday,” Du Yunyan said, wondering why he came specifically to see him off, “It’s not like I won’t come back.”

The village head clicked his tongue and frowned, “Aren’t you always asking me to come by often?”

“Yeah, why don’t you usually come?”

“Alright, don’t make fun of me,” the village chief lowered his head, “Who knows if you’ll want to stay or not in the future.”

Du Yunyan felt there was more to his words. “Village chief, do you know something?”

The village chief couldn’t keep secrets, and after being stared at by him for a while, he couldn’t help but say, “Yunyan, we’re so close, and I don’t need to keep anything from you. There’s something about our village and even the county’s future development… It may not necessarily be a bad thing, after all, that—”

“Is it… someone is coming to invest and develop here?” Du Yunyan sighed inwardly. It was bound to happen.

“You know?” The village chief nervously looked at him, his eyes drooping slightly.

“I could tell from your tone,” Du Yunyan smiled faintly, “It’s okay, I have an idea.”

“Yes, don’t worry too much,” the village chief said with a serious tone, “The county has been looking for cooperative enterprises for a while now. Even if we don’t have the Gu corporation, they’ll find someone else. The president of the Gu corporation isn’t just a profit-seeking businessman—”

“What did you say?” Du Yunyan thought he misheard, “Which company in the county is planning to cooperate?”

“It’s the Gu corporation, the largest in S City. There are only a few like them in the whole country. You know Gu corporation plans on leveraging inherent advantages, without disturbing the villagers’ normal lives, and they even want to invest in rebuilding roads for us… So, I say, the benefits should outweigh the drawbacks, right?”

Du Yunyan fell into a daze, not hearing the rest of his words at all, until he felt a heavy pat on his shoulder.

“Yunyan, are you alright?” The village chief asked anxiously, “Did you hear what I said? Don’t worry too much for now.”

Du Yunyan’s eyes shifted, “When did this happen?”

“It was just decided, we’re about to sign the contract, but there shouldn’t be any issues.”

“Oh,” Du Yunyan nodded, suppressing the surge in his chest, “I’m just a bit surprised.”

“Don’t say you’re surprised, I am too. When they approached us in April, the county leadership didn’t want to cooperate, but suddenly this month, they agreed. Anyway, let’s think positively about everything!”

“That’s for sure.” Du Yunyan’s expression softened, and the old village chief was also relieved, so he left after sitting for a while.

After seeing him off, Du Yunyan stood at the door for a while, his head spinning from this sudden turn of events.

Did the Gu corporation’s sudden interest to cooperate be because of Gu Wenxi’s involvement? He hadn’t mentioned anything about this aspect in their usual contacts, but now that he was taking over most of the Gu company’s affairs, he couldn’t possibly be unaware.

If it was Gu Wenxi’s doing, it made sense why.

He hadn’t told Gu Wenxi about Lu Changming because he didn’t intend to seek help from the Gu family.

He was someone who submitted to fate. What was destined to be lost, he wouldn’t strive for, especially not using Gu Wenxi. Their relationship was far more important than those external things.

Did Gu Wenxi already know? And how much more did he know?

Du Yunyan understood him. Gu Wenxi’s personality wasn’t that forgiving. If he knew, it was highly likely that he would take the initiative to intervene.

He couldn’t wait to see him, not just because of the longing during this time but also to quickly clarify the truth.