Earth – Junhi country – Star city
The Gu family mansion.
After deciding what to do tomorrow, Gu Zhongchen went to the dining room to have dinner.
Entering the dining room, Gu Zhongchen saw his parents already sitting at the dining table. They were strangely silent.
Not giving their silence any thought, Gu Zhongchen sat down in a chair and started eating.
At that moment, his father asked him, "Chen'er, how was your day?"
Normally his mother would ask such questions. However, Gu Zhongchen thought that she was still mad at him. He didn't give the matter much thought and said, "It was good. Had an important meeting today."
Hearing that, Gu Changsheng nodded, recalling the call in the morning. "Yes, Assistant Zhou told me about it in the morning. Is everything alright?" Gu Changsheng asked, worried about his son's business.
Hearing about this, Gu Zhongchen nodded and said, "Everything is alright. Just found some spies in the company. I didn't want to take any legal actions. So I told the assistant to call you and ask you to handle the matter."
"Hm, good. Having a scandal like this would make companies less trusting towards you. I have already handled the matter. They won't have an easy time in the future, so don't worry," Gu Changsheng said with a reassuring smile.
Gu Zhongchen smiled and said, "Thanks, dad."
Gu Changsheng then asked, "Also, this afternoon, Assistant Zhou mentioned that you are having a problem with one of the companies you invested in. Something about them doing something illegal?"
Hearing that his father knew about this didn't surprise Gu Zhongchen. Assistant Zhou used to work for his father before. Assistant Zhou would always inform his father if something big was happening in his company. However, Gu Zhongchen didn't mind. Having his father look out for him was somewhat reassuring. Gu Changsheng also didn't interfere with any of his decisions, only offering some advice and help if he asked.
"Yes, it was the pharmaceutical company Shi Laboratories. They were doing something illegal. Likely unauthorized human experiments. I had some people in the company. They informed me about this. The government is likely investigating them. So, I sold all the shares of the company with some others to make it look less suspicious." Gu Zhongchen explained calmly with a smile.
Hearing this, Gu Changsheng was relieved. He smiled and said, "You did good. Being associated with something like that, even if you were not involved, would have cost you a lot. You handled it well," praising him on how he handled this situation.
Gu Changsheng was very happy hearing how his son handled this matter. He felt his son was getting better at running his business. He felt relieved knowing the Gu Industries would be in good hands in the future.
He was always worried that his son didn't take his work seriously and always slacked off. Now seeing him change like this, he was relieved and felt one of his worries go away.
"If you need any help, just ask," Gu Changsheng said, telling his son to ask for his help.
Gu Zhongchen smiled, feeling warm, and said, "Don't worry, if I can't handle something, I will ask you for help."
The father and son duo kept talking about business matters.
While they were immersed in talking about business, Shui Qingxia's face was slowly darkening. She felt her husband was becoming increasingly incompetent. He was steering the conversation in a completely different direction.
Getting more angry, she silently kicked his leg under the table. Feeling the kick, Gu Changsheng exclaimed in pain.
Seeing his father exclaim in pain, Gu Zhongchen frowned and asked, "Is everything alright, dad? Why are you shouting in pain?"
"It's probably some muscle pain. You know your dad is getting old," Shui Qingxia replied, not letting her husband answer. She then gave him a silent glare.
Feeling his wife's venomous glare, Gu Changsheng quickly nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes, it's the old age. Don't worry."
Gu Zhongchen, seeing everything was alright, nodded and said, "Okay then. You should take care of your body more from now on, dad."
"Don't worry about your father. He will be alright," Shui Qingxia said, taking control of the conversation, not wanting them to steer it onto other subjects.
Shui Qingxia then asked her son with a probing expression, "What about you, Chen'er? Are you alright?"
Gu Zhongchen was confused. He replied, "I am fine."
"Really? Then why did you not go on the date in the afternoon? You don't have to hide it from us. If you and Xu Xialing are having some arguments, you can tell us. Or is it that she doesn't love you back that's troubling you? Don't worry, she will eventually warm up to you," Shui Qingxia said, worried for her son.
Hearing her say that, Gu Zhongchen had a sudden realization. He realized why his parents were acting so weird since he returned home.
Gu Zhongchen was a fucking simp for Xu Xialing. The original Gu Zhongchen would have never forgotten about his date with her.
Realizing his mistake, Gu Zhongchen immediately started acting.
He put on a sad and defeated face and said, "I guess I can't hide things from you, mom."
Seeing her son with such a sad and defeated face, Shui Qingxia felt like crying and immediately got up to hug her son.
Seeing that his act was working, Gu Zhongchen then sighed in sadness and said, "Yes, there is a problem. I am tired. Tired of trying to win her heart. I feel like giving up."
Hearing their son sounding so defeated, the hearts of the Gu couple ached. Gu Changsheng, trying to encourage him, said, "Don't worry, son. She will eventually warm up to you. You know how she is."
"If you want, we can break the engagement agreement," Shui Qingxia said, prioritizing her son's happiness.
Gu Zhongchen then showed them a sad smile and said, "No, I still love her. If she can't love me back after marriage or she wants to break it, then we can go our separate ways."
While saying that, he thought, "Sorry mom, can't have you breaking the engagement. I already have plans to use her against the protagonist."
Hearing her son say that, Shui Qingxia said, "Okay, I won't break the engagement. But if you need someone to talk to, know that your father and I are always here."
Gu Changsheng nodded, agreeing with her.
Seeing his acting worked, Gu Zhongchen inwardly sighed in relief and said, "Alright, I will. Anyway, I am feeling full, so I will go now. Good night." He then got up and went out of the dining room.
Seeing their son leave, the Gu couple looked at each other and sighed. They were worried about him.
Back in Gu Zhongchen's room, he was cursing himself. He thought, "Damn it. I almost exposed myself. Luckily they bought my excuse."
Thinking about this, Gu Zhongchen went into the bathroom. After taking a long bath, he came out and changed into something comfortable. He then went to sleep.
---
Next day at 6 a.m.
Gu Zhongchen woke up and went inside the bathroom to freshen up. After changing into a white shirt and blue jeans, he went out of his room to go get the cultivation manual.
On his way, he saw Sebastian. "Good morning, Sebas," Gu Zhongchen greeted.
"Good morning, young master," Sebastian greeted back. He then asked, "Should I prepare breakfast for you?"
"No need. I will be going out for a bit. I will be back after some time," Gu replied.
"Should I get the driver for you?" Sebastian asked again.
"No, I will drive myself." Saying that, Gu Zhongchen went to the garage. Inside the garage, he took the keys to his Bugatti Divo and went inside the car.
He then started the car and went out. The place where the cultivation manual was, was about an hour's drive from the mansion.
After an hour, Gu Zhongchen arrived in front of an old-looking bookshop. This was where the protagonist found the cultivation manual. The shop sold books. The shop owner sold old books. The protagonist, for no reason at all, came to this shop and discovered this cultivation manual. Of course, it was all because of fate.
Gu Zhongchen got out of the car and entered the shop. After going to the old books section, he started to search for the cultivation manual.
After searching for a bit, he found what he was looking for. He took out an old book. The name of the book was The Journey of Li Miao. However, that was just a disguise.
The book was currently sealed. After unsealing the book, the real contents of the book would be revealed.
The real name of the book was The Five Elements Energy Cultivation Manual. It was one of the best, if not the best, cultivation manuals in this world.
After taking the book, Gu Zhongchen went to the cashier counter and bought the book.
After that, he went back to his car and went home.
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Hey guys. Hope you liked the chapter. See you on the next one. Bye.