Chapter 178

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

"Brother, inside are Gu Electronics' new product proposals from last month. Competition is fierce, and prospects aren't optimistic."

Gu Xuan Xu spread his hands, his casual, devil-may-care manner exactly like a certain elder in the family.

Gu Xuan Yu lowered his head to flip through the documents handed over. "You're the person in charge. What do you think?"

Gu Xuan Xu frowned and shook his head on his own. "It differs somewhat from the imagined finished product. I don't suggest putting it into production right away."

At least not for now—it would definitely lose money. Gu Xuan Xu didn't mind losses within the normal range, but this kind of obviously fruitless haphazard proposal was better off dropped.

Gu Xuan Xu, with several years of experience, was no longer the naive rookie who knew nothing back then. After years of tempering and learning inside Gu Electronics, to put it without exaggeration, he was now a slippery old hand that ordinary people couldn't easily frame.

Gu Xuan Yu said helplessly, "What about Xuan Ting's matter? Capsizing in a gutter."

Gu Xuan Xu:...

"Brother, you don't hit a person in the face, and you don't expose someone's shortcomings when bringing up old matters. Why bring up that cousin from Second Great-Uncle's family out of the blue?"

Puffing his cheeks slightly childishly, Gu Xuan Xu said he was only being considerate of family face, which was why he was maneuvering tactfully with him. If it were anyone else daring to dig a pit and bury him, he would have settled accounts long ago.

Gu Xuan Yu raised an eyebrow, looking at his second brother's flustered appearance, and kindly reached out to pat his shoulder.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not saying anything about you, just reminding you that one must guard against others."

Grandfather's health hasn't been good these days. These past years, quite a few family members have entered Gu Electronics.

Xuan Lin, Xuan Kai, and Xuan Jie from Second Uncle's family; Xuan Lu and Xuan Chen from Little Uncle's family; Xuan Ting and Xuan Hao from Great-Uncle's family; plus the three of us."

So many people, all targeting Gu Electronics—one must be on guard at all times and prepared every day.

Before Gu Xuan Yu entered Gu Electronics, there were Gu Xuan An and Gu Xuan Ning. Later, these two left with the Eldest Aunt, leaving Gu Xuan Yu as the only young family member in Gu Electronics.

After that came Xuan Xu and the others growing up, entering Gu Electronics wave after wave, finally forming the current situation.

Gu Xuan Xu scratched his head and muttered softly, "Xuan Ting and Xuan Hao from Great-Uncle's family really have inherited Second Great-Uncle and Great-Uncle's true skills."

That underhanded path was slick indeed. If I hadn't kept an extra eye open in advance, I would definitely have suffered a loss.

It was just a gossip headline anyway. Gu Xuan Xu wasn't worried that something fake could ferment and expand, but it was just nauseating—he hadn't been able to eat for three days.

Gu Xuan Yu:...

What could Gu Xuan Yu say? He could only say this was a traditional skill of Second Great-Uncle's branch.

After all, relying on this craft, they had taken quite a bit of advantage from the main branch.

Some things, though buried in the long river of history with time, still left traces—dig carefully enough and you could find some clues.

Gu Xuan Yu was a few years older than Gu Xuan Xu, and Shen Yao occasionally chatted with him about these things too.

The closer the relatives, the more one must guard against them, because only they can stab the deepest and hurt the most.

"Alright. Knowing they don't walk the straight path, keep your distance from them in the future."

Gu Xuan Yu had Gu Xuan Xu take the proposal back, and also reminded him about returning to the Old House this afternoon.

"Is Xuan Yan coming too?" Gu Xuan Xu thought that with his sister's personality of never being willing to suffer a loss, going to the Old House would make for a good show.

The Old Lady was of advanced age, and her behavior was becoming increasingly muddled. Some things, whether they could be said or not, she blurted out all.

As juniors who had long since moved out, he and his brothers were most impatient dealing with these things, but there was no choice—they had to grit their teeth and go.

"Go. Whether early or late, you have to go. You can't avoid being lectured."

Gu Xuan Yu picked up the phone to notify Gu Xuan Yan, while Gu Xuan Xu stood behind, firing off nonstop.

In the afternoon, the unlucky three siblings gathered and each drove to the Old House.

They arrived just in time. Li Shuli sat in a wheelchair, pushed out by the nurse caring for her to get some air.

Li Shuli, already ninety years old, couldn't resist the slow decline of her organs no matter how robust her body was.

Her early shrewdness and dominance had receded, and now she was becoming increasingly muddled.

The three siblings exchanged glances, went over normally to greet her, and were then called to stop and told to act with love and not target family members too much.

"Great-Grandmother, you're absolutely right. When I see Xuan Ting and the others later, I'll definitely pass on your words faithfully." Xuan Yan wore a beaming smile, showing no trace of her displeasure when she first got out of the car.

But the yin-yang sarcastic tone was very much her style—she gave no one face.

"Yes, Great-Grandmother. Xuan Ting and them really did go too far."

"I'm still their first cousin, after all. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I'd be on the news headlines." Gu Xuan Xu didn't forget to tear open his own wound first and play the victim.

Seeing the younger brother and sister had said enough, Gu Xuan Yu hurriedly steered the off-topic conversation back so both sides could save face.

The three siblings turned and entered the house, walking away cleanly and decisively, leaving Li Shuli beside them not even a chance to speak.

Li Shuli:...

Li Shuli couldn't help but complain to the nurse beside her, but the nurse was a worker with a worker's spirit, taking her employer's money and completely minding her own business.

No matter how Li Shuli spoke, after saying it for a long time with no one responding, she stopped opening her mouth. After all, talking to oneself still tested one's thick skin.

"Grandmother"

The first thing the three did upon entering was go see Zhou Min Hui.

Unlike Li Shuli, Zhou Min Hui's attitude toward them was still decent.

Compared to the boring things Li Shuli said, Zhou Min Hui cared more about their health, company matters, and their respective love lives.

Well, she didn't seem much better than Li Shuli. Xuan Xu and Xuan Yan hid behind Gu Xuan Yu, muttering softly. Once back at the Old House, the two were like hedgehogs covered in thorns, always in a stage of bristling outward.

The reason was also that the atmosphere at the Gu Family Old Residence really wasn't good.

All three were crafty people, gifted with extraordinary talent since childhood. One sentence could automatically conjure up eight layers of meaning.

Whether Grandmother truly cared about them was clear to all, and there was no need to insist on speaking it out.

The adult world is far more complex than a child's; leaving some face for each other appropriately is good for both sides.

"Xuan Lu and Xuan Chen keep mentioning you two whenever they come back, saying we're all family, so we still have to help out a bit."

Zhou Min Hui awkwardly touched her nose; saying too much easily makes one embarrassed, even though favoring Gu Jingmu is the most natural thing Zhou Min Hui has ever done.

"Grandmother, did Xuan Lu and Xuan Chen really say that? Then they've truly grown up.

Just a few days ago Father and Mother were still saying Little Uncle always likes to be slipshod in doing things."

Xuan Lu and Xuan Chen are both Gu Jingmu's children; their inherited bad habits are exactly the same.

Xuan Xu mastered Xuan Yan's skill of speaking the opposite of what she means, opening her mouth to spout nonsense.

Zhou Min Hui was flustered into a loss, and the key was Xuan Yan took the opportunity to laughingly hook her arm through hers, acting spoiled and acting cute.

Good grief, this move of theirs is simply identical to the method they used against Li Shuli before.

"Grandmother, rest assured, we are family," the Bible that Little Uncle and them habitually keep on their lips — how could they not know it.

Life back at the Old House is indeed boring enough; whether it's the elders living in the Old House or the peers, meeting is mostly all kinds of testing and targeting.

When the time is short it still feels amusing; when the time is long only boredom remains.

Xuan Yan propped her chin, "Truly envy Father and Mother being able to go out and travel to relax.

Unlike us, dealing with the Company and dealing with the family, when will there be an end to it."

Xuan Xu cooperated with Xuan Yan in a duet, "According to Great-Grandmother and Grandmother's meaning, they can no longer restrict Father and Mother."

Bully the weak, fear the strong; the three of them don't have hard enough wings yet, so they still have to endure."

Xuan Yan followed with a hmph, "Truly don't understand what's good about maintaining such a superficially bright and beautiful family," it's all illusion, a bubble that bursts at a poke.

Xuan Yu finished the call, turned her head and told them to hurry back to their respective rooms to rest.

"One circle has one circle's rules; we are in such a circle, unless oneself is strong enough to break the rules, otherwise one must lower one's head and obey."

One cannot always think of wantonly destroying something; one must know the price of destruction is far greater than maintenance.

Xuan Xu and Xuan Yan, when facing their own big brother, will obediently listen; this is a habit they've cultivated since childhood.

Each returned to their room to rest, nurture their spirits full, and still have to deal with the Old House's troubles.

Far away on a small island vacationing, Shen Yao and Gu Jingrun, the two of them, couldn't know their own three brats' miserable plight.

Even if they knew, this pair of unscrupulous parents would only cover their mouths and snicker secretly.

This is all a necessary path of growth; Shen Yao and Gu Jingrun both understand this.

"Does Director Shen really not fear?" Gu Jingrun leaned close to Shen Yao, the two faces touching, the gesture incomparably ambiguous.

"Fear, hope Xuan Yu and them can hold on, don't let me down."

Shen Yao smiled radiantly, thinking to herself that conquering the realm is easy but guarding it is hard; this saying she only truly felt the real meaning of today.

Different from the previous several worlds, the social system determines the social structure; the existence of the financial consortium system ensures the importance of choosing the correct successor.

For Shen Yao's Perfect Group to develop long and enduring in this Shijie, it must choose one capable successor after another to inherit and develop.

Shen Yao now has three children; guaranteeing a level bowl of water while choosing the most suitable person to take over the Group can only be done by selecting the best.

As for how to select the best? The Old House and Gu Electronics are precisely the occasions specially used for tempering; the victor becomes king.