Chapter 32: You also have a younger brother who is abroad

This cry from Mao Xinci was heartfelt, filled with sincere devotion.

Her daughter, however, was stunned.

“Boss Gu?”

This was the first time she had heard this name.

…

At eight o’clock the next morning, the drunken man who had slept through the night finally woke up, feeling stomach pain as he rubbed his belly.

He had drunk too much yesterday and eaten greasy food, and because Mao Xinci didn’t care, his meals were irregular.

He suddenly felt a bit displeased, sitting up in bed and shaking his head.

Mao Xinci should have come back last night, but he had fallen asleep too early, hadn’t talked to her, and hadn’t said what dishes she would cook today.

Yesterday, he had treated a fellow disciple, but today was truly important.

His old boss was coming over.

He had boasted to his old boss that the best dishes in his home were cooked by his wife, especially the sweet and sour pork ribs.

The old boss was also pleased and said he wanted to come to his home and try the homemade food.

He hadn’t even told Mao Xinci to go buy some vegetables and fruits to entertain the guests…

The man got up from the bed, opened the door, and went out.

The living room was empty and quiet.

There was no sound of Mao Xinci bustling in the kitchen.

He froze for a moment, turned his head, and looked at the crib, which was also empty.

There was no sign of his daughter.

What’s going on?

This strange scene left him frozen.

He tried to recall whether his older daughter had any activities at school today, and Mao Xinci had gone with her.

Thinking of this, he stood in the living room, hands on hips, and grabbed his phone to call Mao Xinci.

But he couldn’t get through.

The phone was off.

The phone was off.

The number you dialed is unavailable.

A mechanical female voice repeated over and over, and the man furrowed his brow tightly.

What was Mao Xinci doing again?

So unreliable, not telling him when she went out, didn’t she know there was something important today?

Suddenly, he had an impulse to look back at his daughter’s room, instinctively pressing the door handle.

The man’s pupils shook.

Empty!?

The entire bedroom was completely empty!

Where did everyone go?

He panicked, frantically calling Mao Xinci, calling her parents, calling the school teacher.

But it wasn’t until he called the teacher that he heard some unbelievable news: “Ah, your daughter asked for leave today, and she might transfer schools. Didn’t you know about this?”

The man stood frozen in place, as if struck by lightning.

What’s going on?

What happened?

Why is everyone gone?

Where did they go?

Transfer schools?

Transfer to what school?!

Mao Xinci didn’t take the high-speed train.

This time, she had hired a freight truck, and before dawn, she had already packed up her things and put them in the truck’s trunk.

It was much faster to drive on the highway to Haishi, only about four to five hours.

She had brought everything with her and had successfully made a bold escape.

Her daughter was sitting in the seat, her bangs blowing in the wind.

Up until now, she was still staring blankly at her mother.

She didn’t say much and didn’t ask anything.

There was even a slight excitement about the unknown future.

Looking at the distance, her lips curled into a small smile.

At this moment, Mao Xinci felt relieved that she had made this choice.

She had always been worried that if she couldn’t maintain the family, making her daughter a child from a broken home would hurt her.

But her daughter’s reactions had repeatedly made her realize that maintaining the family wasn’t what made her daughter happy.

It was her own personality and freedom that could bring her joy.

How does one destroy a mother?

Perhaps it requires many steps societal exclusion, family exploitation, emotional neglect, intentional violence, numb living, and repetitive household dilemmas.

This is the most ordinary marriage, the most ordinary yet the most destructive to one’s willpower.

But how to rebuild a mother?

Her child wasn’t living well, and that was enough.

She severed all contact.

After arriving in Haishi, her assistant Xiao Zhao sent Mao Xinci information about a house for rent.

Mao Xinci decided to first visit schools.

Once she confirmed there was a school that could accept her daughter’s transfer, she immediately paid the tuition fees.

After confirming there was a spot and her daughter passed the exams, she chose a house closest to the school.

Mao Xinci’s daughter looked blankly as her mother busied herself.

It wasn’t until she saw her mother chatting with the head of the teaching department and walking out of the office, telling her to pick up the uniform with the form, that she suddenly realized her fate had truly changed.

Because of a certain Boss Gu.

Gu Zhaoping didn’t intend to change anyone’s fate; she just thought it was appropriate and offered the corresponding conditions.

Being selected through her review process wasn’t easy, and she would give the most reasonable compensation according to the market.

Gu Zhaoping valued her time greatly, and those who could provide value to her were also precious. Recognizing their value was also recognizing her own value.

…

Later, after Tan Li returned home, he covered his injured face, gritting his teeth and shouting, pointing at the bag.

The amateur had really done some damage.

Those words made his face darken again.

Although the video of the private fan had spread online, the public opinion about Gu Zhaoping wasn’t terribly bad for now, there were still those who were following, particularly those who were concerned about the potential fight between the Tan Family Dojo’s master and Gu Zhaoping.

Even though no one took it seriously, this was still an interesting spectacle.

[The blogger hasn’t gone live in a while, could it be that they’re really going to fight?]

[Hurry up, I’m really waiting. What’s Gu Zhaoping’s skill level? Can she win with just a move or two?]

[Wasn’t Brazilian jiu-jitsu the strongest self-defense technique for women? What if Gu Zhaoping really knows it and can stop the coach?]

[I’ve been saying that these self-proclaimed promoters are truly up to no good, trying to stir up trouble. What if something happens during the fight? I keep saying the best self-defense technique is to run! Don’t struggle, just run from the bad guy…]

[…]

[Stop arguing, stop arguing. Is the blogger online? Has Tan Li from the Tan Family Dojo really arranged to fight Gu Zhaoping?]

The online rumors were chaotic.

Various voices were heard.

Most people were just watching the drama, and no one really believed that this arrangement would actually come true.

Since the post was made yesterday, Tan Li’s personal account had been constantly active, shouting and sharing his techniques and posting his recruitment flyers.

He was really taking the idea of jumping around and making noise to the extreme.

However, after that day, for some reason, he didn’t post anything else.

Some netizens couldn’t help but ask him: [Teacher Tan, why aren’t you posting anything? Did Gu Zhaoping’s words intimidate you?]

Just then, Tan Li, who had been as quiet as a chicken, suddenly seemed to have been poked at a sensitive spot and immediately jumped out to reply to the comment.

[Stop asking! Stop asking! Every day you just like to watch the excitement online, can’t you focus on your own studies? Do you have anything serious to do?]

Tan Li cursed loudly, and you could even feel his anger.

[Stop caring about others fighting, you should use that time to improve yourself!]

The netizens were confused.

He wasn’t just casually asking a question to watch the excitement like before, was he?

Wasn’t Tan Li the one who had passionately insisted on fighting Gu Zhaoping?

What was going on?

Why had his attitude suddenly changed?

Now he was acting like he was all about self-improvement?

Who exactly needs to improve here?

The netizens were so angry they could spit blood!

A large group of people who had been watching the drama before started flooding in, attacking Tan Li, calling him irresponsible and just jumping on the hype, not taking responsibility for the matter.

Tan Li looked at the comments and felt his anger rising.

He didn’t dare look any further and directly threw his phone away.

You love watching the drama!

You’re the one watching the drama, but what about me?

If you keep making me watch this, I’ll make sure the whole village sees the drama!

The discussions online were so lively, and it was only at this point that Fang Yining realized how fast the situation had changed.

She was very surprised.

“Has Zhaoping learned jiu-jitsu? And chess, stargazing, does she mean astrology?”

Fang Yining was a bit stunned.

She had known Gu Zhaoping for so many years, and recently they had been hanging out almost every day, closer than a mother and daughter, so she definitely couldn’t have not known.

Unless Gu Zhaoping had secretly studied while she was asleep.

She called Gu Zhaoping: “Zhaoping, where did you learn so many skills from?”

Fang Yining was confused,

“Wait, are these real skills? How come I didn’t know? You’ve been hiding this from me? Now it’s all over the internet and it’s making me curious.”

Gu Zhaoping didn’t respond directly, casually saying,

“I learned them in college.”

She had been abroad during college and hadn’t really been in contact with Fang Yining for a while, so it made sense that she didn’t know.

Fang Yining was even more confused.

She remembered that during college, Gu Zhaoping was always buying things for her.

They traveled to islands every vacation.

Forget it, whatever her sister says, she’ll support her even if she’s just pretending.

“Alright, did you and your third brother agree on this? He’s been in North America, right? He’s probably more familiar with you than Gu Zhaoye. I’m just afraid he’s rebellious and might expose your secrets.”

Fang Yining muttered with concern, but Gu Zhaoping wasn’t worried about any secrets being exposed.

She was very skilled in the things she could do, and she only shared them when she had reached a professional level.

However,

“Third brother?”

Gu Zhaoping paused.

“Yeah, Gu Zhaosi, he’s been studying at the music academy, right? He should be graduating this year. Who knows, maybe he’s coming back to develop in the country. Does your family know about this?”

Fang Yining continued, seeming a bit proud.

She thought that Gu Zhaosi was the most handsome of the Gu family, and his personality was much more likable than the other three brothers.

“Gu Zhaosi is studying at a music academy. I remember he and Chu Yanze are alumni, right? Same year, but Chu Yanze dropped out earlier. I’m not sure if they still keep in touch, though.”

Gu Zhaoping paused, then remembered that she did have a younger brother.

“Well, I’m not sure,” she replied.

Gu Zhaoping scribbled her name on a piece of paper, not feeling threatened by her brother.

“Whatever.”

The next episode was still some time away, but the production team suddenly released a preview.

The vlogs of all the guests were being aired, and the heat was rising again.

I didn’t expect the update to come so quickly!

The production team is really working hard.

It would be best if they updated three times a day.

The entire internet was buzzing again!

This time, the main topic was about the groupings, and many fans had some concerns about them.

Although the criticism of Gu Zhaoping had died down a little, they still couldn’t accept her being paired with Chu Yanze for so long.

And across the ocean, in another country.

A young man under 20, drying his hair with a towel, looked slightly irritated as he walked out of the bathroom.

The apartment was on a high floor, and the light was bright.

He was wearing gray shorts, half-naked, showing off his slim muscles, and walked across the carpet to answer a phone call.

“I know, I know, I’ll come back after I get my graduation certificate.”

“I still have my graduation ceremony.”

“What’s wrong with doing music? Does doing music make you inferior?”

“Haha.”

“I don’t care,”

Gu Zhaosi said as he sat on a snow-white sofa, wiping his short hair with a towel and lazily leaning back, revealing a clear, handsome face.

If someone with sharp eyes saw him, they would notice that he looked a lot like Gu Zhaoping, though he resembled their mother, Mrs. Hua, more than Gu Zhaoping.

At that moment, Gu Zhaosi’s face showed an expression of frustration, as if he wanted to take on the whole world.

Recently, no one could get him out for anything no partying, no racing, no travel, no exhibitions.

He had to write his thesis.

Looking at the open laptop on the table, with a blank white document on the screen, it was as empty as his brain.

Gu Zhaosi just wanted to die.

His thoughts were all over the place as he said,

“So what if Gu Zhaoping and Gu Zhaoye fight? Even if she beats the other person to death I’d just send her a message from across the ocean: Safe travels.”

“Hey, hey, hey, but Zhaosi, hey, hey, hey…”

Not listening to the other side, Gu Zhaosi decisively hung up the phone, sat back on the carpet, rubbed his hair, and continued staring blankly as he wrote his thesis.

This thesis was so hard to write.

After writing just six words, his hands hovered over the laptop keyboard, then he lifted his head and suddenly turned on the TV.

He needed some news for company.

The foreign news wasn’t interesting.

He didn’t want to watch anything about shootings or presidential campaigns, so he directly cast it to domestic channels.

He skillfully opened a gossip website and began reading about the latest celebrity scandals.

The first headline was about Gu Zhaoye and his white moonlight, Ruan Nian.

Gu Zhaosi had no interest at all.

He had been hearing about this nonsense for years, since high school, and now his family had probably forced him into some arranged marriage.

They even had a three-year-old child, but those two were still involved in some passionate and troubled love affair.

This stupid thesis was even more annoying.

What was the point of researching the differences in the pop music scenes of two countries and their cultural influences?

Who let you choose this topic?

Now all the little boys back in China were probably your research material.

Gu Zhaosi expressionlessly clicked the mouse, but suddenly, he heard a familiar, yet completely unexpected name come up from the screen.

“…According to my sources, Gu Zhaoping, the young lady, not only behaves arrogantly on this show, causing frequent disputes with Ruan Nian, but on the internet, the public opinion has caused quite a stir. Also, it’s rumored that she has some different relationship with the popular young star, Chu Yanze…”

“…As for what kind of relationship it is? Stay tuned for my next bold expose…”

Gu Zhaosi raised his head and suddenly saw a screenshot from a fan’s private video.

The two of them were sitting at the same table, eating.

Gu Zhaoping seemed to be listening to someone speak, lazily propping her head, while Chu Yanze was turning his head to look at her, with a serious expression.

He didn’t know the context, but to an uninformed person, it seemed like they were very close, even with a hint of intimacy.

Gu Zhaosi suddenly stood up, his knee hitting the table, causing him to jump in pain.

He fell back onto the sofa, gasping for air, and shouted, his voice rising in anger:

“Chu Yanze!”

“You son of a bitch, you dropped out and came back to the country, and now you’re chasing my sister?”

“Are you shameless?!”

He was his archenemy!

His archenemy!!