Chapter 61: Obstruction Failed, the Process Changed for Her

"It's very strange. Miss Meng's traces after going abroad seem to have been deliberately covered up. Our people can't find a single clue no matter how hard they look."

Qin Zheng told the truth.

"I understand," the man said coldly.

"Then, President Gu, should we continue investigating?"

"Investigate."

The man hung up the phone.

After buying the house, Meng Shutang and Chen Man came out of the Housing Administration Bureau.

"What exactly was the matter you called me about that day?"

Meng Shutang: "You have a wide network of contacts. I want to ask you to help me find my father."

Chen Man: "What do you want to find him for? Your aunt has been lying in the hospital for so many years. You've had it so hard, and he's never once shown his face."

"In my opinion, you should just consider him dead!"

"That way, you won't have to support him in his old age."

"I used to give up on finding him too, but I discovered that every time I sit by my mom's bedside, as long as I mention my dad, my mom has a reaction."

"That day I told Doctor Huo about this, and Doctor Huo also suggested I find my father and have him come visit my mom. With the combined treatment of awakening drugs and neural therapy, maybe my mom could create a miracle."

"Comatose for fourteen years, waking up within three months!"

"Really?"

Chen Man also found it incredible.

Meng Shutang nodded. "I couldn't believe it either, but Doctor Huo said with certainty that for a vegetative patient to wake up requires the right timing, the right conditions, and the right people. If relying solely on medication were effective, they would have woken up long ago."

Chen Man nodded. "Alright. As long as he's still in Jiangcheng, I'll dig three feet into the ground to find him."

The following Monday.

Seeing Gu Yunci outside the storage room, Meng Shutang took the property purchase contract out of her bag. "Returning this to its rightful owner."

The purchase contract still had Gu Yunci's name on it.

The staff member who had delivered these at the time said they could assist her with changing the contract holder and handling related procedures such as obtaining the property deed later.

Having been away for four years, she hadn't done any of these things.

So the house still belonged to Gu Yunci.

Gu Yunci looked at the contract being handed to him. A thousand words came to mind, yet suddenly he couldn't speak a single one.

"I never explain anything, but this time I want to explain."

"At the time, I told Qin Zheng to find someone to change the name before giving it to you. He might have misunderstood or had too much on his plate..."

Meng Shutang shook her head. "President Gu, I don't want your things. Whether it's the purchase contract or the property deed, I won't take either."

"I am always grateful that when my mother was critically ill, you stepped in to save her."

After saying that, she turned and entered the work area.

But during her work, she discovered that a court bead was missing relevant documentation.

This documentation was very important. Without it, the item could not be donated.

She called Zhou Songyan to ask, and Zhou Songyan said he had never seen these.

She then asked Bai Cixian, who said that this batch of artifacts had always been in the storage room and had never been put on display. They weren't sure what might be missing.

She also asked Lu Shenyang, who said the museum didn't have them either, but he could help her ask around.

A few hours later, Lu Shenyang replied that he couldn't find them.

But he told her not to worry; he would think of a way later.

On the spiraling split-level open staircase, Gu Yunci took out his phone and called Qin Zheng. "Help me book the earliest flight to Yancheng."

Gu Yunci very much wanted Meng Shutang to stay at the Gu Clan longer, so that they could have more time together.

Even if she found him annoying and despised him, he still welcomed it all.

But he also couldn't bear to see Meng Shutang frowning with worry and getting anxious over work.

So, he flew overnight to another city to the home of a leading authority in the antiquities field. He arrived at midnight.

In the rustling autumn wind, he stood all night beneath the osmanthus tree at the door.

All just to find documents and ask for information.

After obtaining them, he flew straight back to Jiangcheng without stopping.

He didn't return to the Gu Clan, but went directly to the Palace Museum and gave these materials to Lu Shenyang.

Lu Shenyang held the materials in his hand. "Why don't you give them to her yourself?"

Or rather, why not find someone else—why did it have to be him?

After all, every time he stood together with Meng Shutang, Gu Yunci's face turned as ugly as a pig's liver.

"I don't want her to know I did this." He paused. "Only if you give them to her will she not suspect me."

With anyone else, Meng Shutang would get to the bottom of it.

Only Lu Shenyang had the ability to accomplish this.

After saying that, he turned and left.

Lu Shenyang held the materials in his hand, suddenly feeling they were somewhat heavy.

In the afternoon, he found time to make a trip to the Gu Clan.

Meng Shutang had assumed he was there to check on the progress of the artifact restoration and appraisal. When she saw the complete materials he handed over, she said, "Brother Shenyang, this is wonderful. You've really helped us out tremendously."

Lu Shenyang pressed his lips together, wanting to tell Meng Shutang the truth.

But remembering what Gu Yunci had said—that he didn't want Meng Shutang to know he was the one pulling the strings—he swallowed it all back.

Lu Shenyang sat in the rest area for a while, then left.

That day, Meng Shutang sent the complete data to Bai Cixian.

Because Zhou Songyan was absent, Bai Cixian had the most complete data on hand.

After glancing at it briefly, Bai Cixian said the data was incomplete and asked her to revise it.

Meng Shutang immediately realized Bai Cixian was blocking the process.

Lu Shenyang does things carefully; it's impossible he would send over an incomplete document.

"Bai Manager, would you like to take another look?"

"This was personally delivered by Minister Lu during his spare time; we've already filled in the missing parts."

"Miss Meng, this is the Gu Clan, not a museum."

"Can that material apply to us?"

Having said that, she hung up the phone directly.

Just then, Gu Yunci came over again.

Seeing her furrowed brows, the man asked, "What's wrong?"

Meng Shutang turned her laptop toward him, saying, "We were missing an important piece of data earlier; we've filled it in, but when we sent it to Bai Manager, she still said it was wrong."

The man sat down opposite her, and as he flipped it open to look,

"The missing data was personally delivered by Minister Lu; from a professional and prudent standpoint, I don't think your conglomerate understands cultural relic restoration and authentication better than a national museum."

The man heard that, lifted his eyes, and glanced at her.

But Meng Shutang stood firm, righteous and unyielding, neither humble nor arrogant.

She had seen many instances of process-blocking, but someone as unprofessional as Bai Cixian was still a first for her.

She also waited for the man to fly into a rage, scolding her, a small business owner, for having the nerve to judge the Gu Clan.

"Ms. Meng, don't be angry; the data is complete, it's the company's process that's problematic."

Having said that, he pulled the computer closer, "Use your computer for a moment."

He downloaded the Collaborative Operations Platform COP, logged in, and changed the management permissions from Zhou Songyan and Bai Cixian to himself.

"From now on, I will personally handle the work here."

"If there are any issues, we can discuss them."

After finishing, he returned the computer to Meng Shutang.

"President Gu, this is your internal office software; I deleted it."

Saying that, she clicked the mouse.

Gu Yunci raised his hand and pressed down on hers.

"Don't delete it; we'll need it later."

Both suddenly realized something; Meng Shutang hastily pulled her hand back, and the man also slowly withdrew his hand.

Meng Shutang lifted her laptop and stood up.

The man also stood up to leave, but upon reaching the door he suddenly turned around, "Ms. Meng, I know you want to finish this project quickly; actually, I feel the same way."

"What do you think of us meeting every three days to connect and check? If there are any problems, we can communicate promptly."

Meng Shutang thought briefly, "Okay."