Chapter 163: Thunder of the Past: The Truth of Mother

Gu Yunci held Meng Shutang's hand and descended the spiral staircase step by step, and everyone's gaze was instantly captured by this eye‑pleasing scene.

"They weren't wearing those clothes just now, were they? They've been up there so long—could they still be up there…"

"Talking about how big brother stole his younger sister seven years ago, I think these two are the real pair."

"I feel the same; a person who can even kill his own mother—what does it matter if he monopolizes someone!"

…

Gu Jin Xing stood still, his gaze fixed rigidly on Gu Yunci and Meng Shutang.

The two truly were a perfect match of talented gentleman and beautiful lady, a pair made by heaven.

Yet within a single hour they had changed into brand‑new garments, dignified and proper, completely unlike their earlier appearance.

A sudden heaviness settled in his heart, a wave of rancid sweetness and malice surged to his mind, and the unbearable images of men and women tangled to death on the bed erupted uncontrollably in his thoughts.

As he lost his reason, the memories from seven years ago crashed down like a breached flood.

Gu Yunci dragged Meng Shutang away in front of all the guests, while the guests whispered to each other, cast veiled glances, and stifled giggles that seemed vividly present before their eyes.

Those humiliations, resentments, and hatred completely spiraled out of control at that moment.

His blood surged backward, his temples throbbed wildly, and he exploded like ignited gunpowder, going utterly mad.

He stepped up to Gu Yunci and said, "Gu Yunci, stealing your brother's woman is fun, isn't it?"

Gu Yunci seemed to have waited a long time for this moment; he stood there calm and composed, without a trace of embarrassment from being rebuked.

"Your woman? Have you ever cherished Tang Tang even a little!"

"How could I not love her? I held her in the palm of my hand; if you hadn't snatched her away, we would have been the happiest couple in the world."

It was as if something exploded in Gu Jin Xing's chest, a bone‑shattering pain sending him completely out of control.

"You, as the leader, still enjoy the whole family's favor!

Why do you also try to steal my woman from me?"

As he spoke, he grabbed Meng Shutang's hand, trying to pull her over here.

Gu Yunci wrapped his arms around Meng Shutang's waist, pulling her behind him, his arm shielding her front, giving Gu Jin Xing no chance to touch her.

If it were before, Meng Shutang would certainly have stood on Gu Jin Xing's side.

But now she sees Gu Jin Xing's true nature, cowering like a little bird behind Gu Yunci, denying Gu Jin Xing any chance to touch her.

Gu Yeheng had been discussing matters with others; hearing the two brothers argue, he came over.

"What are you two arguing about now?"

Gu Yeheng stood at the foot of the spiral staircase, and when Gu Jin Xing turned his gaze, he saw Gu Yeheng standing there, rebuking him.

In an instant, a scene from twenty‑three years ago flashed in Gu Jin Xing's mind.

He strained to suppress himself, not wanting to look at Gu Yeheng or recall the events of twenty‑three years ago.

Seeing them freeze, Gu Yeheng, like in childhood, grabbed Gu Jin Xing and said, "The preparations over there are ready; hurry and go make a wish."

From childhood to now, no matter what friction arose between Gu Yunci and Gu Jin Xing, in Gu Yeheng's eyes, only Gu Jin Xing could be at fault.

Gu Yunci is the eldest son, the face of the Gu family; he cannot be wrong.

The decades‑long grievance hidden deep in his heart erupted at that moment; Gu Jin Xing roared, his voice hoarse and sharp, "I will not make a wish! This family hasn't been a home since twenty‑three years ago, and you don't deserve to be my father. Today is my birthday and also my mother's death anniversary; twenty‑three years, I've had enough of your pretence."

The whole venue erupted in murmurs; Gu Yeheng's complexion changed, and he sternly rebuked Gu Jin Xing, "Did you drink too much? What nonsense are you spouting?"

Gu Jin Xing stood there, his sideburns a little tousled, looking somewhat deranged.

"Twenty‑three years ago, you had an affair with my piano teacher, and my mother caught you in bed. She made a huge scene at home, you were angry and ashamed, and you wrestled with my mother."

My mother broke free, and you made me hold her… Mother, fearing she'd hurt me, told me to step aside.

I had just let go of her, and you, fearing the truth would be exposed, reached out to pull her again…

Thus, to avoid you, Mother stepped back and rolled down the spiral staircase, her head striking the steps, blood continuously flowing.

Your first reaction wasn't to save Mother but to tell me not to say you saw the piano teacher,

At this point, Gu Jin Xing suddenly broke down and sobbed, "I was only five then; I watched Mother stop breathing, watched you tell everyone that it was me and Mother struggling at the staircase, and that Mother slipped and fell."

"For twenty‑three years, you've lived under the titles of good husband, good man, good father—have you ever thought about how your son has been living!"

Over all these years, labels like "little bastard," "ungrateful wolf," and "matricide" have nailed him tightly to a scaffold of shame.

No one listened to a single defense from him.

Even his beloved older brother, because of their mother's death, began to keep distance from him.

He was abandoned by the whole world and driven completely mad.

Especially as he aged a little, more and more people described Gu Yunci as sensible, noble, and dignified, while he seemed forever just a background figure.

He began to crazily snatch everything belonging to Gu Yunci—clothes, pocket money, the family's scant concern…

Even when these couldn't fill his emptiness, he deliberately caused destruction, confronting everything; he wanted to use this extreme snatching and rebellion to howl against the world's injustice toward him since he was five.

Watching the beams of gazes projected at him, Gu Yeheng's brows lowered slightly, his eyes sweeping with a long‑standing cold edge, "Who taught you to say that?"

He refused to admit it; he intended to use that sentence to strip his affair and Chu Fu's death cleanly.

Gu Jin Xing saw this, let out a cold laugh, and slammed a water cup from the table down.

"Gu Yeheng, if you want to keep it hidden, you must not do it yourself."

"Your affair that caused my mother's death—today I will expose it, making everyone see your true face."

Slap— Gu Yeheng raised his hand and slapped Gu Jin Xing.

The surrounding clamor felt like a hand tightly gripping Gu Yunci's throat.

He stood between Gu Yeheng and Gu Jin Xing, frozen there, his mind a blank.

Gu Jin Xing's heart‑rending words slammed down, his brain buzzed, instantly empty.

Twenty‑three years.

In those twenty‑three years, everyone told him that his mother had accidentally slipped and fallen to her death from the spiral staircase.

Until this moment, the truth was like a dull blade, ruthlessly tearing open that veneer of gentility and refinement.

He did not rush forward to stop any of them, nor did he even shout.

Only his face drained of blood bit by bit, from the tips of his ears to his fingertips, growing cold inch by inch.

In his mind rose the image of his mother as she had been alive, recalling how she always liked to hold him while they watched the sunset, recalling the face of Gu Yeheng sobbing uncontrollably at the funeral that day.

Scene after scene, heavy and ironic.

Everyone thought he would fly into a rage, lose control, but he did not.

He merely, when Gu Yeheng again raised his hand to strike Gu Jin Xing, walked over slowly and stood silently half a step beside his younger brother.

He lifted his eyes to look at him, his voice low, without a ripple, "So, my mother back then, was not an accident."