Chapter 458: Jiang Lai Meets Gu Sen

Gu Sen didn't meet Song Shiwei face‑to‑face; instead he went to the balcony, and seeing the scene made Song Shiwei's heart ache, she wiped away a tear and left first.

She stepped out of the place, saw Gu Yinxue waiting by the roadside, and dutifully called out, "Mom."

Song Shiwei wiped a tear and asked, "How did you get here?"

"I'm worried about you; Wu Ma said you've been unwell lately, I'm very concerned, but Dad made me move out, and I can't go back. Thinking you're not at home, I came to keep you company," Gu Yinxue naturally slipped her arm around her, "Mom, is Dad okay? Is he sick?"

Song Shiwei, wanting to save face before her daughter, shook her head and said, "I twisted my ankle by accident; the doctors here are more reputable, so I was sent here."

Gu Yinxue's face showed worry: "Then can I go see Dad? I know he doesn't want to see me, but I'll sneak a look."

Song Shiwei still shook her head: "Wait a little longer."

Gu Yinxue felt something odd inside, yet although she hadn't been expelled from the Gu household, she didn't stay there, so many matters were separated from her; a single message from Wu Ma alone couldn't accomplish much.

"Mom, you haven't mentioned me to Dad lately, have you?"

Song Shiwei didn't dare to bring up her daughter's matter.

She thought Gu Sen's uproar was all because of the daughter.

Moreover, Jiang Lai, her biological daughter, was like a mental demon to Song Shiwei, and she dared not mention her.

Gu Yinxue had been driven out of the house by Gu Sen himself; Song Shiwei was now busy figuring out how to persuade Gu Sen not to act rashly, busy mending the marital rift, and dared not bring up Gu Yinxue upsetting Gu Sen.

Even a casual mention today made Gu Sen utter countless heart‑less words.

Her husband was heartless, the son ignored her, leaving only the adopted daughter for company; Song Shiwei suddenly felt desolate.

The two's front foot stepped away, a car's rear wheel halted at the sanatorium entrance; Jiang Lai and Ke Zhongyu got out of the vehicle, followed by Nian Jingchuan and Cui Moyuan.

Cui Moyuan carried a fresh fruit basket, clearly on a visit.

Nian Jingchuan asserted his status, and the four entered in order; he said, "Everyone's here, you two should come with me to see my old superior, there's no harm."

"This is paving the way for the kids."

Jiang Lai said, "Thank you, uncle."

Nian Jingchuan subconsciously looked at his great‑nephew, and based on his knowledge of him, whenever Jiang Lai called them "uncle and aunt," the kid couldn't keep his mouth shut.

After looking, he indeed found it to be so.

Ke Zhongyu held Jiang Lai's hand, followed behind the uncle and aunt, and saw two gray‑haired elders playing chess; one wouldn't let the other take back a move, the other cursed the other as a "stinky chess bucket."

After seeing the four, one laughed, "That Nian family kid came with his wife; are those two behind his son and daughter‑in‑law?"

"Indeed, it's a blind eye; that's his great‑nephew and great‑nephew's wife!"

"Yo, that Ke family brat is already at marrying age?" followed by a huge eye roll.

Jiang Lai was initially a bit nervous, but hearing those words from afar instantly reminded her of her mentor and Shen Lao, and she relaxed at once.

Getting closer, she saw two elders: one missing an eye, the other with prosthetic legs; after learning their identities, Jiang Lai felt only reverence.

After a brief stay, the uncle let Ke Zhongyu take her for a walk, and the two elders nodded.

After leaving, Jiang Lai and Ke Zhongyu, following the specific information Ms. Nian gave, found the place where Gu Sen was confined—a two‑story cottage; as they approached, bodyguards stared and tried to stop them.

Ke Zhongyu stepped slightly forward, not blocking Jiang Lai but in a protective stance: "I'm here to visit the patient; I'm Ke Zhongyu."

Ke Zhongyu's illustrious name gave the bodyguard's tiger‑like frame a startled shiver.

The bodyguard, under pressure, said, "Only direct relatives may visit; otherwise it hinders the patient's recovery."

Ke Zhongyu looked at Jiang Lai and said, "Her name is Jiang Lai; your Gu patriarch just a month ago grandly brought someone back."

Jiang Lai calmly met the bodyguard's gaze.

The bodyguard immediately said, "I'll make a call."

They weren't worried about the patriarch finding out; rather, Jiang Lai, being his biological daughter, being here and being barred made things unclear.

Especially with Ke Zhongyu beside Jiang Lai, a little media spin would settle it.

Gu's patriarch sometimes truly thought that Nian Zhaoning's son was purely a threat to the Gu family!

Even a daughter of the Gu family who had been wandering for twenty‑eight years could be found.

The bodyguard heard the patriarch angrily say, "Jiang Lai may enter, but the two aren't married, so Ke Zhongyu cannot."

Ke Zhongyu, that kid, is full of tricks; what if he conspires with Gu Sen?

Actually Jiang Lai also wasn't at ease; she originally thought the father‑daughter relationship couldn't be repaired, yet the first thing she did after returning clearly was to go find her father?

Well done, that earlier call deliberately mentioned Gu Yinxue to divert disaster elsewhere.

The bodyguard let only Jiang Lai inside.

Ke Zhongyu said in a low voice, "If she goes in all fine and comes out all fine, and something happens, even a slight bad mood, my bodyguards with the media will immediately surround the place."

The bodyguard trembled all over.

Jiang Lai pinched Ke Zhongyu's finger, then released: "Go sit in the pavilion; there shouldn't be any mosquitoes yet."

Ke Zhongyu patted the back of her head: "Go calmly; call me if anything."

"I understand." Jiang Lai knew that as soon as she called, Ke Zhongyu would appear.

She entered under the bodyguard's guidance, passed the living room, and slowly ascended to the second floor.

The closer she got to Gu Sen, the tighter Jiang Lai's heart became.

She wasn't as calm as she had imagined.

At a door, the bodyguard said the person was inside.

Jiang Lai took a silent deep breath, and after pushing the door, expected to see a despondent elder, but instead saw a gray‑haired person, clearly under surveillance yet leisurely pruning a potted plant.

Jiang Lai silently exhaled a sigh of relief.

After releasing that breath, she was momentarily stunned.

Did she worry that much?

Gu Sen thought it was another bodyguard checking that he hadn't done anything dangerous, so he didn't look up, thinking to go along with them.

But the sound of footsteps seemed off.

The bodyguard's footsteps were heavy, but these footsteps were light.

He turned his head and saw his biological daughter standing in front of him.

Gu Sen's hand trembled; the sharp scissors stabbed the back of his hand, cutting a wound that gradually oozed tiny beads of blood.

He rose too fast, also knocking over the potted plant in front of him; soil covered the tops of his shoes.

Gu Sen opened his mouth in disbelief: "Jiang, Jiang Lai, you—how did you get here?"

He even began to stutter.

Jiang Lai looked at his state, a hint of complexity rising in her heart.

Gu Sen hurriedly asked again: "How did you find your way here? What did they tell you? What did they do?"

Jiang Lai heard his voice still fairly strong, yet he looked unsteady on his feet, with black-and-white hair, cloudy eyes, and an anxious expression…

His throat felt as if something were blocking it.

Gu Sen saw she hadn't spoken for a while, and didn't feel right pressing further; father and daughter just remained silent.

After a long while, Jiang Lai opened her mouth: "How are you?"

In an instant, Gu Sen's nose tingled.