Chapter 368: For Her to Decide

Jiang Lai had no obsession with returning to the Gu family, nor any obsession with the surname Gu.

She only wanted to know why she had been found by Dean Mom on a snowy day.

Clearly the old master of the Gu family still did not know this, and could only watch helplessly as Jiang Lai and Ke Zhongying politely nodded to him and left by car.

The driver nearby suggested that having Gu Sen, her biological father, go find Jiang Lai would be more persuasive.

The old master thought this reasonable; since he was already out, he might as well drop by the hospital to see what Gu Yinxue's situation was.

What situation could Gu Yinxue have? The attending doctor said the same thing over and over: do not let the child suffer any emotional shock.

Gu Yinxue had a congenital heart condition. Call it serious and it was serious—incurable for a lifetime. Call it not serious and it was not serious—as long as she took care normally and was looked after carefully, that was enough.

The suddenness of heart disease was too high; one careless moment and the person could simply be gone.

Gu Yinxue sat on the hospital bed with a pale face. The whole family was silent. The question she had asked that morning still had no answer, but in truth everyone knew perfectly well.

Gu Sen was not someone who would talk nonsense.

The key lay in Song Shiwei's silence. Neither Gu Zhiyan nor Gu Yinxue understood why their mother would fall silent.

The eerie atmosphere was only broken when the old master arrived. Gu Yinxue called out weakly, "Second Grandpa."

The old master of the Gu family offered a brief word of concern: "Stay calm in all things. You know your own body and condition best. Gu Sen, come out with me."

The slap mark on Gu Sen's face was gradually fading after icing and applying medicine; from a distance it was fine, the trace not very obvious.

"Did you know about Jiang Lai and Ke Zhongyu's relationship all along? And were you also clear about Jiang Lai's abilities?"

Those two brief questions made Gu Sen feel as if he had plunged into an ice cellar. A flash of panic crossed his eyes as his brain raced to figure out who had delivered Jiang Lai's background to the old master.

He had clearly sealed everyone's lips.

Gu Hai had also promised him.

Who could it be?

Gu Kai...

He should have thought of it. That day at the Nian Family, although Ke Zhongyu had only mentioned the three characters "Dr. Jiang," Nian Jingchuan had brought up Jiang Lai's R&D project. If Gu Kai followed those two clues to search for information, it would not take long to lock onto her.

Only two or three days had passed—wasn't that too fast?

The old master of the Gu family took one look at Gu Sen's expression and knew he had guessed right. Of course he knew why Gu Sen had concealed Jiang Lai's situation, and was therefore very angry.

"Gu Sen, you always make choices that are detrimental to the Gu family. Marrying Song Shiwei, abandoning politics for business, and not acknowledging your daughter."

"I have already seen Jiang Lai."

Gu Sen held his breath and asked nervously, "Second Uncle, what are you going to do?"

The old master of the Gu family: "Acknowledge Jiang Lai and bring her back."

Gu Sen's heart went half cold: "How do you plan to acknowledge her? On what grounds?"

The old master of the Gu family glanced at him: "Switched at birth."

Truly, what one fears most is exactly what comes.

This was exactly what Gu Sen feared.

He did want to acknowledge Jiang Lai and bring her back, but nothing had been properly arranged yet.

Just the day before, the old master was still saying to treat that child as dead. After learning that Jiang Lai had her own abilities and connections, he immediately changed his tune, saying he wanted to bring her back.

The old master cared about the Gu family's face—how could he possibly reveal what happened back then?

But Jiang Lai had most likely already guessed it.

What Ms. Nian had said when she came to him, plus Ke Zhongyu's methods, and Chongying throwing a childish tantrum and giving them attitude—all of it was enough to show that they had more or less found out everything.

If the Gu family and the Nian Family had not been so close, Ke Zhongyu might not have found it so easy to investigate. But Nian Zhaoning knew far too much about him and the Gu family's affairs.

"Second Uncle, I do not agree with using this reason to bring Jiang Lai back."

"You don't agree?" the old master said coldly. "If you don't agree with this reason, then what reason? That she was abandoned by her biological..." He stopped short.

Song Shiwei walked out of the hospital room and stood not far away, staring at the two of them, her face frighteningly pale.

The old master of the Gu family fell silent the moment he saw Song Shiwei. Gu Sen glanced at his wife, then continued to the old master: "In any case, we cannot use this reason to acknowledge her. If she is to be acknowledged, it should only be after she knows what happened back then, and she decides for herself whether or not to return."

"I didn't raise her, and the Gu family didn't raise her. Neither I nor the Gu family can force her to make any decision."

"Gu Sen, why must you be like this." The old master was furious. "If Jiang Lai's surname were Gu, your family would be back on the right track, do you know that? Even if your son passes the exam, with all those messy affairs he had in A City with that woman, whether he can pass the review is still uncertain. Why must you..."

"Second Uncle." Gu Sen's tone was firm. "This time I still stand by my opinion. I was the one who did wrong back then. It was my lack of thorough consideration that led to this whole series of events. If Second Uncle truly wants to expel me from the Gu family, I have no objection."

After saying that, he walked toward his wife.

The old master of the Gu family was so angry he could not even steady his cane. How could he possibly expel Gu Sen from the Gu family?

Back then, the Gu family had tried letting a branch line go into business, but they lacked the talent. It was Gu Sen who succeeded in business instead. Gu clan Tourism and Culture was not unable to expand—it dared not expand, fearing it would draw scrutiny, so it always stopped at a measured point.

But to let Gu Sen's line no longer serve in politics left them unwilling. Wasn't that equivalent to the great tree of the Gu family having a branch chopped off, leaving half of it bare on one side?

It would look bad to outsiders, and the Gu family itself needed to develop across the board to be truly flourishing with lush branches and leaves.

Come to think of it, Jiang Lai's appearance actually filled the gap in the Gu family's academic path.

She had to be acknowledged.

She must be acknowledged.

The old master of the Gu family was determined to acknowledge Jiang Lai and bring her back.

Jiang Lai had been busy all day. Ke Zhongying could not take her shopping or on a night stroll, so instead she found a restaurant and sat at a second-floor seat, enjoying the night view while eating dinner.

Jiang Lai asked her, "Is it okay that you're not going back for dinner?"

Ke Zhongying: "I'm staying until after the Lantern Festival, it's fine. Grandpa, Grandma, and my mom and dad are keeping each other company. Come to think of it, my mom and dad seem to have argued these past couple of days—or maybe they didn't. I don't know what's going on."

Jiang Lai looked at her in surprise—so her uncle and aunt argued too.

"Never mind those two; they can sort out their own affairs themselves." Ke Zhongying swished a slice of mutton and placed it in Jiang Lai's bowl. "Eat up. Or are you waiting for my brother? My brother had quite a temper today—he's probably off destroying something somewhere. He won't stop until he gets the result he wants."

"Destroying what?" The words had barely left Jiang Lai's mouth when a shadow fell over her. She looked up—Ke Zhongyu had arrived.

The man still bore a hint of fierceness in his brow; he indeed looked like he'd just returned from causing trouble.

Jiang Lai shifted to the side, Ke Zhongyu sat down, still carrying a chill.

"Why aren't you eating?"

"Jiang Lai, sis, is waiting for you."

Ke Zhongyu glanced at his sister, forgiving her for having just badmouthed him in front of Jiang Lai.

Jiang Lai set out his bowl and chopsticks, then asked him: "How did you guess someone would come looking for me today?"

Ke Zhongyu frowned slightly: "Who from the Gu family came?"

Ke Zhongying: "Old man, he hasn't left the house in years, yet he personally came over. Fortunately, after Jiang Lai refused, they didn't come strong; otherwise I'd be afraid I couldn't stop them."

Ke Zhongyu looked at Jiang Lai: "You've seen the person, what do you feel?"

Jiang Lai shook her head: "Nothing much."

Ke Zhongyu: "Their motive in recognizing you is not pure."

Jiang Lai: "Because of you?"

Ke Zhongyu: "It's because of yourself; you will strengthen the Gu Family, the Gu family will arrange a path for you, and in a few years you'll be in a high position."

A harsh truth: good positions are basically hereditary, just like good positions within a company also rely on internal referrals.

Ke Zhongyu: "No problem, I'll take care of it."

Seeking power for Jiang Lai is his honor.