Chapter 459: Male Chauvinism

Jiang Lai sat down slowly, her gaze falling on Gu Sen's hair—black strands mixed with white, like snowflakes landing on it; she wished she could reach out and brush them away.

"Have some hot water." Gu Sen personally poured water, placed it in front of Jiang Lai, then fetched a broom, set the knocked‑over potted plant aside, and swept the dirt off the floor.

Gu Sen had always been served by others since childhood, so even sweeping the floor made him look clumsy, but his clumsiness meant he would sweep a few more times, and it would become clean.

When walking, his leg still limped.

Jiang Lai watched silently, not knowing what to say, and even the thought of drinking water was absent.

After sweeping, Gu Sen sat down and also didn't know what to say; he had already answered his daughter earlier, saying he was fine here, but his daughter hadn't yet told him how she had found this place.

So Gu Sen asked again: "You came here, they didn't do anything to you, did they? Like discussing terms with you or something."

Jiang Lai shook her head: "No."

Gu Sen rubbed his hands on his knees up and down, then responded with an "Oh."

Jiang Lai reached for the water, took a sip, and added: "We only found out from the old gentleman at the gate."

Gu Sen stared blankly for a moment; this indicated they had secretly sought him out, and his heart felt sour along with his nose.

"Do you still want water? There's no other fresh juice here, only water." His voice betrayed a hint of awkwardness.

Jiang Lai said: "I won't drink any more."

"Oh." Gu Sen's voice sounded a little disappointed; he changed the subject: "How did you find this place?"

Jiang Lai answered truthfully: "Ms. Nian and her group found you, but they were stopped and told that your health was poor, you needed rest, and you couldn't see outsiders."

She didn't mention that they were immediate relatives.

She herself didn't know why she hadn't said it; realizing this, she felt a bit like she was trying to hide something obvious—like the saying "three hundred taels of silver buried here."

Gu Sen: "Zhao Ning and Ke Yue?"

Jiang Lai nodded: "Mm."

Gu Sen suddenly chuckled: "I haven't lived these sixty years in vain." Zhao Ning and Ke Yue, these two friends, remain loyal to him; Gu Hui has been by his side for years, always looking out for him; his son has returned from the wrong path; the daughter lost years ago is now before him—none of it is bad.

Gu Sen: "Since you could find this, you must also know what's been happening with the Gu family lately, right?"

Jiang Lai nodded: "I know a bit."

Gu Sen directly told Jiang Lai: "I know everything Gu Yinxue did to you; I've already expelled her from the house, any of my property is now unrelated to her, I've withdrawn the funding for her photography studio, but she used a scandal from twenty‑eight years ago to hold sway over the old gentleman, so I expect he will lend a hand regarding the studio."

Before Jiang Lai and Ke Zhongyu arrived in B City, they had already figured out the situation of most of the Gu family members.

Jiang Lai said: "Her photography studio hasn't been affected at all."

"I guessed as much." Gu Sen knew the old gentleman would spare no expense to cover up this scandal; even though twenty‑eight years have passed, even if it were exposed now it wouldn't be worse than before, yet the old gentleman would still protect the Gu family's reputation.

Once a certain social circle is reached, reputation becomes the most important thing; credibility is the fundamental hard currency in an acquaintances‑based society.

At high status, names are weighed; among acquaintances, trust is weighed.

"That's the Gu family's business, nothing to do with us." Gu Sen looked at Jiang Lai: "When you first came back, you didn't change your name or surname, nor did you transfer your household registration; as long as you don't say you're a Gu family member, they'll rush to claim you, which would only make them lose their dignity."

Jiang Lai listened quietly, already sensing something from his words, and calmly pointed out: "You want to leave the Gu family."

"Mm." Gu Sen didn't tell Jiang Lai whether he had formed the idea of taking her back from the Gu family by force or under the pretense of a mix‑up; of course, the real decision to sever ties completely with the Gu family came after learning that the old gentleman had deceived him from above, his younger brother had schemed against him from below, and even his wife of over thirty years had turned vicious.

It wasn't for Jiang Lai.

It was for himself.

To give his later years peace.

Jiang Lai took another sip of water and sat there quietly.

Gu Sen hesitated repeatedly, then asked her: "Do you know about your own situation?"

"I know a little." Jiang Lai lifted her eyes: "Because I'm a girl, she abandoned me; you went looking for me, didn't find me, because someone prevented you from looking—the old gentleman and your political rivals."

"You missed one." Gu Sen thought of his younger brother Gu Hai, of that night in the ancestral hall, those cold words made him feel chilled: "And my younger brother, Gu Hai."

Jiang Lai's body jerked slightly—not from doubt, but she let out an "Oh" and the two words: "No wonder."

No wonder, at the previous academic forum, when Gu Hai saw her he had that expression—not shock or suspicion, but a complex feeling hidden in the depths of his eyes.

Including the day she returned to the Gu family, most people showed welcome on their faces; regarding the mix‑up, they were merely shocked; Tang Yun, that aunt, even showed regret, but Gu Hai, this paternal uncle, remained cold and indifferent, actually not welcoming.

The reason actually lies here.

He also participated in those events back then.

"Sorry."

Suddenly, three heavy words reached Jiang Lai's ears; she turned toward the source of the sound.

Gu Sen's eyes reddened: "All your tragedies are my doing; your mother is my wife, you are a girl because of my genes, what hindered me from finding you was my birth into the Gu family, my younger brother, who bullied you was my son, who plotted against you was my adopted daughter."

Each of those had a Gu Sen in front.

Jiang Lai silently gazed at her biological father before her, suddenly understanding why he had grown so many white hairs in just three days—these weren't white hairs, they were his repentance.

"Have you always been like this?" Jiang Lai couldn't help but say, "Taking everything upon yourself."

The duty to uphold the family's reputation, the duty to care for wife and children, the responsibility for losing the daughter, the cause of the present situation—even the fact that she is a daughter—she feels it's all due to her chromosomes.

Jiang Lai felt that this biological father of hers was a typical male chauvinist, not the derogatory kind of male chauvinist.

He takes everyone under his wing, prefixing his name to theirs, so he creates favorable conditions for them and must also care for and protect them; if he fails, it's all his fault.

Jiang Lai didn't know how to comfort him; this mindset, deep‑rooted for sixty years, might need another sixty years to be enlightened.

She looked at Gu Sen, who had been stunned by her question, and seriously asked: "So now that I've come back to collect debts, to deal with those you protect, do you have anything to say?"

Gu Sen gazed at his daughter's clear, earnest eyes and shook his head: "No."

"You deal with me, and I have none either."

"Mm." Jiang Lai's "mm" refers to the earlier statement, not the later one, but she didn't explain and went on to ask: "Are you sure you have no objections to anyone?"

"None." Gu Sen answered just as bluntly.

Jiang Lai asked him: "Do you know that Gu Yinxue had already done a paternity test before I returned?"

Gu Sen nodded: "It was discovered not long ago; after she came back from G Province, she did it in B City."

"Hmm?" Jiang Lai suddenly felt puzzled; what Assistant Zhou found here was done in A City.