Chapter 784

Due to a strong cold front, the temperature in Yanjing plummeted at night, and goose-feather snowflakes began to drift in the sky.

Ye Chen's phone received a push notification saying that Yanjing had issued a blue alert for a blizzard from tonight through tomorrow daytime.

Wearing only a thin layer of clothing, Ye Chen stepped out onto the guest room balcony, his mind filled entirely with his parents.

Tomorrow, he would go to pay his respects at his parents' grave.

This matter had been shelved in his heart for eighteen years, and every time he thought of it, it felt like a bone stuck in his throat.

Just as he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard Gu Qiuyi's voice, "Brother Ye Chen, aren't you cold wearing so little?"

Ye Chen looked back and saw that Gu Qiuyi had already entered the room at some point and arrived at the balcony door.

Gu Qiuyi hurriedly explained, "Sorry, Brother Ye Chen. I knocked on the door just now, but no one answered, so I pushed the door open and came in myself."

Ye Chen smiled slightly and nodded gently, "It's fine. Why do you need to be so polite with me?"

Gu Qiuyi's pretty face suddenly flushed with two rosy clouds.

She walked up to Ye Chen and asked him, "Brother Ye Chen, were you thinking about something just now?"

Ye Chen nodded, "Thinking about some things from the past."

Gu Qiuyi gently touched his hand, then held it and did not let go, saying gratefully, "Brother Ye Chen, my father's condition is all thanks to you. Thank you for saving his life!"

Ye Chen said sincerely, "Nannan, Uncle Gu is my father's good brother and also an elder I respect. Reason and sentiment dictate that I cannot just watch him be critically ill. If I didn't have the ability, that would be one thing, but since I have this ability, naturally I must save him."

"Mm-hmm!" Gu Qiuyi nodded heavily and said, "Brother Ye Chen, how many days can you stay in Yanjing this time? You won't be leaving right after accompanying my father to the board meeting and paying respects to Uncle Ye and Auntie Ye tomorrow, will you?"

Ye Chen said, "I have some private matters the day after tomorrow, and I will be heading back after I finish them."

Gu Qiuyi's expression became somewhat regretful and sad. She looked up at him with clear and eager eyes and asked, "Brother Ye Chen, can't you stay for a few more days? It's almost the New Year. Why don't you stay at my house until after the New Year before leaving?"

Ye Chen gave a dry laugh, "There are still twenty days until the New Year. If I don't go back at all, I won't be able to answer to your sister-in-law."

Gu Qiuyi said with a pout, "I don't acknowledge her as my sister-in-law, and you aren't really my brother either. You are the fiancé I decided on since I was a child!"

Ye Chen shook his head helplessly and smiled, "Fine, whatever you say."

Gu Qiuyi suddenly felt a bit disappointed and thought to herself, "Every time I chat with Ye Chen, he always uses various ways to remind me of the fact that he is already married! But doesn't he know that the commands of one's parents are greater than heaven? At the very least, I have been telling myself this for so many years. Why can't he be like me?"

Thinking of this, Gu Qiuyi couldn't help but sigh. She held Ye Chen's hand and couldn't help but exert some force, her tone carrying a bit of resentment as she said, "Brother Ye Chen, you are the Young Master of the Ye family and so capable. The small Jin Ling cannot contain you. Sooner or later, you will still have to return to Yanjing."

Ye Chen was slightly stunned and said indifferently, "Whether I return or not, we'll talk about that later."

……

That night, Ye Chen had an absurd dream.

In the dream, his parents had not passed away, and he was still that Young Master of the Ye family, already grown into an adult, receiving thousands of gazes in Yanjing and capable of summoning wind and rain.

In the dream, he was wearing a well-fitted suit, carrying a groom's boutonniere, and leading a luxurious motorcade to this super-large villa of the Gu family.

And inside the villa, Gu Qiuyi was wearing a holy white wedding dress, sitting on the bed in her boudoir, looking at him with a smile as beautiful as a flower.

Afterward, a group of young men and women he didn't recognize egged him on to search everywhere for Gu Qiuyi's red shoes.

When he found Gu Qiuyi's red shoes and personally helped her put them on, the scene immediately flashed to the wedding venue.

The wedding in the dream was grand to the extreme.

Ye Chen's parents were both there, their faces always wearing happy and kind smiles.

When the wedding music played, Gu Yanzhong took Gu Qiuyi's hand, stepped forward to him, and smilingly handed Gu Qiuyi's hand to him.

Afterward, the two said their wedding vows, exchanged wedding rings, and kissed each other.

Then, the emcee asked Gu Qiuyi to turn her back to the bridesmaids and throw the bouquet.

However, the one who caught the bouquet was actually Xiao Churan!

And Xiao Churan, having caught the bouquet, didn't have the slightest look of joy; on the contrary, her expression was very resentful……

Ye Chen met her eyes and couldn't help but shudder, suddenly opening his eyes, only to realize it was just a dream.

He was shocked by the absurdity in the dream and was stunned for several minutes before gradually coming back to his senses.

Seeing the sky outside the window gradually brightening, he sighed, got up to wash and brush his teeth, and walked out of the room.

Downstairs, Lin Wanqiu was preparing breakfast with the servants.

Gu Yanzhong had already risen early, sitting in the living room in high spirits, holding a cup of coffee and reading the latest newspaper from this morning.

There aren't many people left these days who still like to read newspapers.

Gu Yanzhong was one of them.

Seeing Ye Chen come downstairs, he immediately waved at him with a smile and said, "Chen'er, come here!"

"Okay, Uncle Gu." Ye Chen responded and walked over.

On the sofa, Ye Chen sat down beside Gu Yanzhong.

Gu Yanzhong handed the newspaper in his hand to him and said with a smile, "Look at the front page."

Ye Chen took the newspaper and looked at the front-page headline, where a line of large characters stood out: "Chairman of Gu Group critically ill, trillion-dollar group fears being left without a leader."

Ye Chen couldn't help but frown and said, "Is this newspaper being too irresponsible with its words?"

Gu Yanzhong smiled slightly and said, "This must be the work of my two younger brothers. First, they release the rumor that I am critically ill, then let the shareholders and the market lose confidence in the Gu Group, and let securities institutions lower their expectations for the Gu Group's stock price and performance. Once that happens, the Gu Group's stock price will inevitably trigger a decline."

As he spoke, Gu Yanzhong looked at his wristwatch and smiled, "It's eight-thirty now, and there is one hour until the market opens. By then, the stock prices of all listed companies under the Gu Group will definitely plummet, perhaps even hit the limit down."

Ye Chen couldn't help but frown, "Uncle Gu, they are also shareholders of the Gu Group. Doing this, aren't they losing their own interests?"

Gu Yanzhong shook his head and smiled, "For major shareholders, a small drop in stock price is actually quite irrelevant."

As he spoke, Gu Yanzhong explained, "Look, if the stock price falls now because of the news of my critical illness, the ones most anxious are the retail investors and small shareholders. Seeing the money in their hands decrease, they will definitely express their dissatisfaction through various channels;"

"And since the stock price is falling because I am critically ill, this blame must be borne by me. So, by then, they can better incite other shareholders to force me to step down together, because the market is currently uneasy about me. Only when I step down can they breathe a sigh of relief."

"Once they successfully achieve their goal and kick me out of the board of directors, the stock price will rise back up. So for the two of them, there is basically no actual loss. This tactic is called borrowing a knife to kill someone."