Chapter 145: Father and Son Playing Chess

A Zhong couldn't help but shiver upon hearing this.

Ever since the Madam died, Gu Tingyan had become increasingly cold and ruthless in his dealings, making it impossible for anyone to guess what he was thinking.

A Zhong still went ahead and contacted several renowned specialists for Gu Yichen.

Perhaps, once Gu Tingyan returned, the young master would want to treat his leg.

Gu Yichen returned to the classroom and had just sat down at his desk, feeling dazed; he hadn't seen wrong, the woman at the school gate was indeed Qin Shu.

He wouldn't fail to recognize his own mother.

That was his mother.

Gu Yichen didn't understand what had happened four years ago; everyone said Qin Shu had died, and even his father had accepted her departure.

Everyone said she was dead.

But now, she had returned.

Gu Yichen was very certain he hadn't seen wrong, but what exactly had happened over these four years, where had his mother gone, and why had she never come to see him?

His mother must hate him, given the cold and indifferent words he had said to her back then.

Gu Yichen hadn't followed Qin Shu when she left the Gu Family, but had chosen to stay; she must have been heartbroken by him.

That was why she didn't want to come see him.

Mother didn't want him anymore.

Gu Yichen's long eyelashes trembled slightly, his eyes looking blankly ahead, while his fingers unconsciously picked at each other under the desk.

This was his psychological reaction to extreme anxiety.

His little deskmate next to him saw him staring ahead, as if in a trance.

Lu Keke reached out and touched his arm, saying in a milky voice, "Classmate Gu Yichen, a very beautiful sister came to see you today."

Lu Keke frowned, feeling that the beautiful sister looked very familiar, but she had been too young at the time, and her memories of Qin Shu had faded somewhat over these four years.

Gu Yichen's hand-picking motion under the desk paused, and he looked up in a daze.

"What is her name?"

Lu Keke shook her head: "She didn't say."

Remembering something, he scrambled to take out his phone, pulled up a photo of Qin Shu from four years ago, and handed it to Lu Keke, his knuckles turning white from his grip.

"Is it her?"

Seeing this familiar photo, Lu Keke's eyes brightened slightly; she widened her eyes and looked at Gu Yichen: "That's Auntie Qin Shu!"

In the photo, Qin Shu's hair was shorter than it was now, styled in large waves, with red lips, her stunningly beautiful face seeming to glow.

But the beautiful sister who came to find Gu Yichen today was bare-faced, with long, straight, ink-black hair, her delicate and pretty features carrying a touch of innocence, with less aggressiveness.

Seeing this photo and thinking of the woman's familiar face, Lu Keke immediately recognized it was Qin Shu.

Gu Yichen stared at Lu Keke: "Is it really her?"

The boy's eyes were red at the corners, his voice trembling slightly: "Are you sure?"

Mother had come to find him.

She didn't not want him.

Lu Keke nodded with great certainty: "Yeah, it's her!"

Gu Yichen's lips curled slightly as he put away his phone: "Thank you, Lu Keke."

After school.

A Zhong drove over to pick up Gu Yichen; he opened the car door and noticed that the young master was in a much better mood than before.

A Zhong gratifiedly helped the young master into the car and drove home.

He had said it, hadn't he? There was no such thing as an overnight grudge between a father and son.

The CEO only had this one precious son; he loved him too much to ever leave him to his own devices.

A Zhong took Gu Yichen to Gu Tingyan's villa and greeted Lin Jingshu at the Old Residence.

Lin Jingshu said calmly on the other end of the phone: "That's fine, let the father and son get closer."

"I happen to be busy lately, so let him stay at Tingyan's place."

Gu Yichen sat in the car listening to their conversation, looking out the window with not a ripple of emotion in his eyes.

He didn't care where he stayed.

Having received Lin Jingshu's permission, Gu Yichen stayed at Gu Tingyan's villa.

A Zhong closed the car door and walked over to carry Gu Yichen's schoolbag: "Go on in, your dad is already back."

As soon as Gu Yichen entered the room, he smelled the aroma of stir-fried dishes; four dishes were laid out on the table, all of which were Gu Yichen's favorites.

Hearing the movement at the door, Gu Tingyan untied his apron and walked out carrying a bowl of pork rib and corn soup.

The man's cold, detached gaze landed on Gu Yichen, his voice indifferent: "Go wash your hands and eat."

Gu Yichen turned and went to the bathroom; by the time he came out, A Zhong had already left.

Only the father and son remained in the villa; Gu Tingyan sat at the table eating expressionlessly, and when he saw him come out, he gave him a faint glance.

Gu Yichen didn't call out to him either, sitting straight down in his chair; the father and son ate in silence, each sitting on one side.

Gu Tingyan's voice was low: "Do you want to study abroad?"

Gu Yichen's hand gripping his chopsticks tightened, and he refused without a second thought: "I don't want to."

Gu Tingyan set down his bowl and chopsticks and looked up at him: "Give me a reason."

The boy's delicate, youthful face looked very similar to the cold and ruthless man in front of him, as if cloned from the same mold.

They were father and son, and they were so alike.

Gu Yichen's expression was cold, his voice indifferent: "I want to stay in Beijing; Mother's presence is here."

"I don't like foreign countries, and I can't accept the dietary habits there."

Gu Tingyan took an exam paper from the chair beside him and placed it on the table: "I think you need a change of environment."

That math exam paper had a maximum score of one hundred, and Gu Yichen only scored 32.

Gu Yichen lowered his eyes: "I will do well next time."

Gu Tingyan crumpled the exam paper and threw it into the trash can, saying coldly: "Get into the top three of the grade, otherwise, there is no room for negotiation regarding you going abroad."

The man's pitch-black, bright eyes looked exceptionally dark and terrifying; he raised his eyes to meet his father's cold gaze, his body stiffening slightly.

Gu Yichen's eyelashes trembled slightly, feeling as if those pitch-black eyes were looking through his body and seeing through his mask of pretense.

Gu Yichen had scored poorly on purpose.

He was born with natural intelligence; with his cleverness, a third-grade elementary school exam paper was simply an appetizer to him.

His level was already far beyond elementary school.

He had been disguising himself for these four years, attempting to shake off Lin Jingshu's control.

Lin Jingshu had a strong desire to control Gu Yichen precisely because he was different from others; she worked hard to cultivate him, believing that in the future, he would only surpass his father, Gu Tingyan.

Gu Yichen did not want to live that kind of life anymore, but he was still young and lacked the ability to resist Lin Jingshu.

Gu Tingyan had lived in the Gu Family for so many years and had not escaped the Gu Family's control; seeing him, Gu Yichen felt as if he were seeing his own future life of being manipulated.

Living like a puppet, unable to even decide his own marriage and children, only able to serve as a dog raised by the Gu Family.

Gu Yichen could never forget everything that happened at the Gu Family Old Residence four years ago; that quiet, terrifying night almost swallowed his mother.

The younger sister he was supposed to have died the moment she was born.

On that snowy day, Qin Shu lay on the ground covered in blood; that kind of loneliness and helpless terror was bone-chilling, like cold wind blowing into the gaps of his bones.