Chapter 414: Unexpectedly admitted

B City.

Gu Hui, who went to pick up the Song family's elders, smiled and explained that Gu Sen was too busy to come in person.

The elders' thoughts were no longer on whether their son-in-law would come to pick them up, but on what exactly was going on between Jiang Lai and Gu Yinxue!

What do you mean not switched at birth, but abandoned!

They definitely needed to get to the bottom of it.

After the elders got in the car, the Song patriarch said to Gu Hui, "Take us to the Gu clan."

Gu Hui hesitated: "Is there something you need to see Gu Zong about? It'll be quitting time soon anyway; you can see him at home."

Song patriarch: "Can't wait; just take us there directly."

Gu Hui glanced at the elders' solemn expressions, said nothing more, and guessed that something must have happened on this trip to A City, so he intended to find Gu Sen and get to the bottom of it.

Gu Hui asked while driving, "Did the elders see Jiang Lai?"

The elders said nothing.

After a while, the Song matriarch spoke: "We saw her, and we learned some things we shouldn't have."

Gu Hui instantly understood.

Jiang Lai had told them everything she knew.

Gu Hui continued, "Why didn't Zhi Yan come back with you? Is something holding him up?"

The Song matriarch shook her head: "He's not a child; it's perfectly normal for him to have his own affairs."

Gu Hui smiled: "You're absolutely right."

And so they remained silent all the way.

The car stopped in the parking lot beneath the Gu clan's headquarters; Gu Hui got out to open the door and quickly sent a message to Gu Sen on his phone.

Gu Sen had just finished talking with the lawyer when he saw the message that the elders had arrived upstairs; he immediately gestured for the lawyer to leave.

The elders came out of the elevator and happened to run into the lawyer waiting for the elevator; even though they didn't know him, his attire made it obvious he was a lawyer.

The Song patriarch wondered, "A lawyer? Why is Gu Sen suddenly seeing a lawyer?"

Nothing had happened recently with the Gu clan, but the Gu family had run into trouble, and seeing a lawyer at this time… the Song patriarch had a vague suspicion.

Gu Hui didn't answer; instead, he politely escorted the elders to the office and then closed the door.

"Dad, Mom." Gu Sen rose, personally poured two cups of water for the elders after they sat down, then sat opposite them, saying, "Are you still adjusting to the back-and-forth? Why not go home first to rest?"

The Song patriarch got straight to the point: "Regarding the mix‑up of Jiang Lai and Gu Yinxue, are you still hiding something from us?"

Gu Sen looked at the elders, also forming a guess, but did not answer directly.

Only when the Song matriarch spoke did she say: "Jiang Lai said she wasn't switched at birth—she was abandoned."

Gu Sen showed no surprise; that night Jiang Lai had gone to see the old master to ask about the past, and the old master couldn't keep it from her—he would inevitably reveal at least part of the truth.

Jiang Lai was fully aware of having been abandoned; if the old master hadn't revealed that crucial fact that night, she would not have left the old residence so easily.

So Jiang Lai already knew, which is why he didn't bother to repeat it.

Now, faced with the elders' questioning, Gu Sen admitted: "Yes, it wasn't a mix‑up."

"Why?" the Song matriarch was the first to speak; Gu Sen's deep gaze met hers, making her heart skip, and she speculated even more about her own daughter.

The Song patriarch fell silent for a moment, then countered: "Was it Shiwei who abandoned her?"

Gu Sen lowered his eyes and nodded: "Mm."

The Song patriarch and matriarch instantly couldn't stay seated, glancing over repeatedly, wanting to speak but holding back.

They also knew that abandoning a girl was something their daughter could do.

Gu Sen told the elders, "Please try to persuade Shiwei; maybe your words will reach her. She fears Jiang Lai's return, she dares not face Jiang Lai, and she dares not face her former self."

The Song matriarch flared up: "How can you blame Shiwei alone? She did it for your own good, thinking that if you had two sons you'd still have face, and your branch would be more numerous."

Gu Sen looked at the Song matriarch, his eyes involuntarily turning colder: "I said back then we didn't need this—sons and daughters are equal. Shiwei didn't listen, and you elders didn't either."

The Song matriarch wanted to say more, but the Song patriarch stopped her, saying, "We'll go persuade Shiwei—who would reject their own biological daughter to get close to a false one? What would that make us?"

Having said that, he walked away.

It was almost quitting time; Gu Sen didn't go back with them, but he still had Gu Hui send the elders home. After they left, he called his son.

"Why didn't you come back?"

"I don't want to." Gu Zhiyan suddenly called out "Dad," then fell silent, finally uttering three words: "I was wrong."

Gu Sen was taken aback.

His son had seemed obedient growing up, but deep down he was rebellious; Gu Sen had expected Gu Zhiyan to rebel wildly during adolescence, never imagining it would wait until he was thirty to begin.

The rebellion hadn't lasted long before… it subsided?

"What happened?" Gu Sen softened his voice, showing concern.

Gu Zhiyan fell silent again, unable to say what had happened: "From now on I will follow every arrangement the family makes."

Then the phone hung up.

Gu Sen had originally wanted to tell his son whether he'd considered that once you go off track, it's hard to return to the original path.

But now the harder part is Song Shiwei.

Song Shiwei had finally hoped for Jiang Lai to leave B City so she could catch her breath; her son took her parents to A City, then they came back, but her son didn't return.

Those who didn't come back stayed silent; those who did returned with stern faces, as if she had committed some unforgivable deed.

"Dad, what's with that expression?"

The Song matriarch grabbed her daughter's arm and dragged her to the balcony, ignoring the cold wind, and demanded directly: "Jiang Lai and Gu Yinxue weren't switched at birth, were they? Wasn't it you who took Jiang Lai out and abandoned her?"

Song Shiwei trembled all over, panic flashing in her eyes; she quickly tried to pry her mother's hand off, but her mother only gripped her tighter.

"Tell me honestly—was it you who abandoned her? Was it?"

Song Shiwei opened her mouth, but at first no sound came out; she hurriedly shook her head: "No, no, no—it has nothing to do with me. The mix‑up story, everyone says it was a mix‑up! Who's been feeding you nonsense?"

"Calm down a bit!" Granny Song tightly grabbed her arm, "Don't act crazy and stupid with me. You lost it back then, and now you've found it again. Why won't you acknowledge Jiang Lai? Why insist on mixing with a fake? You don't get close to the capable, valuable true daughter, but all day you just coax that Gu Yinxue. Song Shiwei, have you filled your head with shit?"

Song Shiwei's forehead was poked.

In an instant, it made her angry.

Yes!

Yes, I lost it!

She admitted it unexpectedly.

Song Shiwei's face gradually turned ferocious: "I don't want this either, I don't want this either, but why is she a daughter? Why! I've been hoping for a son for so long! I even picked names: the older brother would be Gu Zhiyan, the younger brother Gu Zhiyan."

She spoke and smiled happily.

She and Gu Sen would be the Gu family's ultimate victors.