Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire
Chapter 325 - Chapter 325 Chapter 314 Life Is Like a Play Its All About

Chapter 325: Chapter 314: Life Is Like a Play, It’s All About Acting Chapter 325: Chapter 314: Life Is Like a Play, It’s All About Acting Guh Xiuxiu chatted non-stop with He Mingzhu, reminiscing about their childhood. As the conversation progressed, He Mingzhu’s eyes grew moist.

After chatting for quite some time, Guh Xiuxiu seemed tired. He Mingzhu helped her upstairs and waited for her to fall asleep before leaving.

Aunt Mei watched her drive away before turning to go back upstairs. Locking the door behind her, she whispered, “Old lady, the young miss has left.”

Only then did Guh Xiuxiu open her eyes, however, she didn’t get up, but in a very low voice said, “Mingzhu’s sudden visit this time must mean He Zhuliang has become suspicious of me. He is a distrustful man, and even if Mingzhu says my mind is unclear, he won’t fully believe it; he will have someone test me.”

Aunt Mei, having served by Guh Xiuxiu’s side for many years, naturally understood the He family well, “Old lady, what should we do next?”

Guh Xiuxiu replied, “We can only proceed with caution. Luckily, Jiaxin is touring in Europe. That girl’s social circle has always been narrow, aside from her connections with Nie Zhan and Su Heyuan, she didn’t mingle deeply with others. He Zhuliang shouldn’t suspect her.”

She hadn’t kept the incriminating evidence at the old mansion but had hidden it in a bank safety deposit box, just like her private savings. Aunt Hong, under the guise of grocery shopping, had given the password and key of the safety deposit box to the person Jiaxin spoke of and hadn’t managed anything thereafter. Such a secretive approach would be undetectable to He Zhuliang, and with Jiaxin in Europe, he had no way to probe her. As long as they didn’t slip up, they could weather this crisis safely.

Aunt Mei knew very well of He Zhuliang’s ruthlessness and that a blunder could indeed result in a fatal outcome. This was why the old lady had never dared to make a will, fearing that she and Miss Cousin might meet with foul play.

That evening, Lu Jiaxin called and upon hearing Guh Xiuxiu’s heavy nasal voice asked, “Aunt Grandma, are you sick? Did you see a doctor?”

Guh Xiuxiu chuckled, “I’m fine, just caught a cold from the wind. Fourth Aunt always used to mock me, saying that when I die without children, no one would even notice if I started to smell. But I have Mingzhu, you, and Haifan. I’m sure my later years will be very happy.”

Seeing that she specifically mentioned Lu Mingzhu, Lu Jiaxin kept the conversation to daily life and didn’t mention the He family or its affairs. After a long talk, Guh Xiuxiu, saying she was tired, finally ended the call.

The next morning, Li Xuanqi came to visit. She hadn’t come when there was no trouble in the previous years, so her visit during this time was clearly not with good intentions, like a weasel paying a visit to a chicken for the New Year.

Upon entering the living room, Li Xuanqi saw Aunt Mei feeding Guh Xiuxiu.

Normally, Guh Xiuxiu ate very elegantly, taking small bites. But now, Aunt Mei fed her a mouthful and she would take it, chewing with big bites, completely devoid of her usual image.

Li Xuanqi put down the nourishments she had brought and, sitting opposite, cheerfully called out to Fourth Great Aunt. However, Guh Xiuxiu, engrossed in eating pastries, did not even glance at her.

Aunt Mei apologized with a look of regret, “Please don’t mind, ma’am. Ever since the old lady moved back, she sometimes recognizes people and sometimes is confused. We went to the hospital for a check-up a few days ago and the doctor asked us to ensure she takes her medication on time and to take good care of her.”

This was no lie. Even with regular medication, Guh Xiuxiu would occasionally fail to recognize people, and she visited the hospital for a check-up last week. The doctors had no solution for this condition as there was no cure for this disease; medication was merely palliative. If she wanted to maintain a good quality of life in her old age, she needed attentive care from those around her.

Thinking of how meticulous Guh Xiuxiu had been in her youth, where not a single wrinkle was permitted on her clothes, it saddened Aunt Mei deeply to see such a fastidious person unable to care for herself in old age, and her tears came immediately. Unable to contain herself, she let the tears fall.

Li Xuanqi, watching her cry, felt slightly less suspicious and asked, “I heard from a friend that Fourth Aunt went to the hospital last week, was it for a check-up?”

Aunt Mei felt a pang of tension–just as the old lady had suspected, they were indeed being tested. She said, “She went to see Doctor Ge and came back after getting medicine. With the old lady in this condition, we didn’t dare to stay out too long.”

Continuing, she couldn’t help but sigh and added, “The seasons are about to change and the old lady has lost weight since last year. She needs new autumn clothes. Young Master Cousin has also grown taller and needs new clothes. I can’t leave her side right now, so we have to wait until Miss Cousin comes back to buy them.”

At a time like this, one had to remain calm and behave as normal; showing any sign of weakness or panic would be tantamount to a confession.

Li Xuanqi inquired, “Why did Lu Jiaxin suddenly run off to Europe?”

Aunt Mei shook her head, indicating she didn’t know, “Miss Cousin has always been very independent; she doesn’t like the old lady managing her affairs. We learned about her relationship with Nie Family’s third young master from the newspapers, just like you. We only knew she went to Europe for a holiday when she called from Venice.”

Indeed, Lu Jiaxin had not informed Guh Xiuxiu of her vacation plans. She felt it was unnecessary given Guh Xiuxiu’s condition.

Li Xuanqi hinted with a meaningful tone, “From the way you talk, it sounds like you do not like her?”

Aunt Mei quickly shook her head, “Not at all. Miss Cousin is just a very independent person who doesn’t like being controlled. She’s very kind and filial to the old lady. It’s just that she’s too strong-willed. The old lady is quite worried how she’ll fare once she steps out of school.”

If Lu Jiaxin were to work for a company, her stubborn nature could indeed lead to setbacks. But, she saw herself as a boss, so setbacks simply did not apply.

Li Xuanqi nodded and suddenly said to Fourth Aunt, “Old Master, your husband was framed and taken away by ICAC. Fourth Aunt, if the old master can’t come back, what will happen to the whole family?”

Hearing this, Guh Xiuxiu dropped the cake in her hand, rushed over, and grabbing Li Xuanqi’s arm demanded, “Old Master, what happened to him?”

As Li Xuanqi saw the deep worry for her own husband in her eyes, her heart sank heavily.

Seeing she wasn’t speaking, Guh Xiuxiu shook her more vigorously, “What’s happened to the old master? What’s happened to him? Why aren’t you speaking? Have you gone mute?”

Aunt Mei hurried over to comfort her and said, “Aunt Grandma, don’t worry, the eldest young madam was just joking with you. The old master went to play golf with friends and will be back later.”

It was only then that Li Xuanqi realized that Gu Xiuxiu had mistaken her words to mean her husband was the deceased old master.

Guh Xiuxiu let go of Li Xuanqi and looked at Aunt Mei with a mix of belief and doubt, asking, “Is what you said true? The old master really went to play golf and didn’t deceive me?”

Aunt Mei cajoled her, saying, “Aunt Grandma, how dare I deceive you? When the old master comes back later, he will surely bring back your favorite Jujube Flower Cake.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Xiuxiu immediately lost interest in the cake and declared she wanted to change into a beautiful dress to look stunning when the old master returned.

Li Xuanqi stood up and said, “Aunt Mei, let me help the old lady upstairs to change clothes!”

“Alright.”

Once upstairs, Gu Xiuxiu took out a treasure blue peony cheongsam. After changing into the cheongsam, she sized up Li Xuanqi and said, “Xuanqi, your waist has gotten at least a whole size thicker than before you had children. Men all like women with pretty figures. You should maintain a good figure.”

Li Xuanqi’s mind involuntarily went to the mistress and the illegitimate children outside, and her eyes nearly blazed with fire, “Fourth Aunt, you needn’t concern yourself with this.”

Guh Xiuxiu nodded her head, then opened the jewelry box, “Huh, where did my pearl necklace go? Aunt Mei, Aunt Hong, come quickly, help me find the necklace that the old master gave me.”

Li Xuanqi’s expression became somewhat unnatural. That necklace of one hundred and eight South Sea pearls given by Old Master He had already been sold by her.

Aunt Mei quickly came forward and managed to calm Gu Xiuxiu down after a while so she stopped demanding to look for the pearls.

Li Xuanqi couldn’t sit still either, worrying that if the old lady started looking for other jewelry that was also missing, she might go crazy and start hitting people.

After escorting her downstairs, Aunt Mei apologetically said, “Madam, I’m sorry, but that’s how the old lady is now, often confused in her memory. The young madam came over yesterday, and she still thought she was attending school, holding her hand and talking for a good while.”

By this time, Li Xuanqi had dispelled her suspicions; with Gu Xiuxiu in this ghostly state, she could hardly harm the old master. Convinced of this, she left without looking back.

However, He Zhuliang was suspicious, and his lawyer had bribed the driver, Hu Ming, and the caregiver to spy on them. Hu Ming reported that there was nothing unusual about Gu Xiuxiu and Aunt Mei during this period, no strangers had come to the Guh Residence, and neither of them had any contact with strangers. The caregiver had also secretly observed Gu Xiuxiu and Aunt Mei and even tapped their phone, but found nothing.

With the words of Hu Ming and the caregiver, He Zhuliang completely dismissed his suspicions about Gu Xiuxiu.

After putting aside the hotel business, Nie Zhan started arranging affairs within his own company so that he could go to Romantic Country to find Jiaxin. However, he wanted to surprise Lu Jiaxin and had not told her in advance.

As the day was coming to a close, Nie Zhan asked Wang Yadan to stay behind, “You’ve known Jiaxin for quite a while now. What do you think I could give her that she would like?”

Wang Yadan smiled and said, “Boss, actually, you don’t have to give her anything. Miss Lu will be very happy just to see you.”

“I want to prepare a gift that she likes.”

After thinking for a moment, Wang Yadan said, “From the few times I’ve interacted with her, I’ve noticed that Miss Lu really likes watches. She’s not much interested in branded clothes, handbags or jewelry.”

“Besides watches?”

Wang Yadan indicated there was nothing else, saying, “Boss, I think for someone like Miss Lu, who is capable and good at making money, what she really wants is a boyfriend who is wholeheartedly good to her.”

What woman doesn’t want her boyfriend to be completely devoted to her? It’s just that sometimes when they know he can’t do it, they settle for wealth instead. Lu Jiaxin has the confidence to desire a faithful relationship.

Nie Zhan felt good, “Since we’re dating, of course, it has to be wholehearted.”

He was pursuing Jiaxin with the goal of marriage, which should be enough to prove his sincerity. Hmm, if it’s not enough, he’ll keep trying; he was sure to win her over one day.

Wang Yadan felt envious.

Just then, the phone rang; it was Nie Jingwen calling, “Ah Zhan, do you have plans tonight? If not, I’ll treat you to dinner.”

“Where?”

Hearing that it was a newly opened Japanese restaurant, Nie Zhan readily agreed. If it were the Nie Family Old Mansion, he wouldn’t go. Until his aunt changed her attitude, he wouldn’t return unless it was necessary.

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