After obtaining Shenghui, Wang Ning’an did not personally remain in charge of the company as he had before. Instead, he handed the company over to people he trusted. Peng Yang also became the head of the secretary department. Wang Ning’an himself withdrew from Shenghui and, according to his grandfather’s wishes, entered Gu Corporation, immediately assuming the position of executive president upon arrival.
His arrival made all the Gu family branches nervous, especially Gu Ping. Originally, he had wanted to use Yu Hongming’s hand to suppress Wang Ning’an. If Wang Ning’an had lost power at Shenghui, then even if he later entered Gu Corporation, the higher-ups’ expectations of him would naturally decrease, which would benefit Gu Ping greatly. But he had never expected Wang Ning’an to stage such a beautiful comeback.
Gu Ping could only feel that old fox Yu Hongming was all appearance and no substance. Unfortunately, within Gu Corporation, Gu Ping himself did not have many allies.
Gu Shouzhuo was an unfathomable old man. Gu Corporation had been founded entirely by him, yet unlike ordinary people, he never allowed family members to enter the company casually, nor would he deliberately promote them. Anyone who wanted to enter Gu Corporation had to rely on their own ability. Thus, even though the Gu family was enormous, very few members had actually entered Gu Corporation.
Gu Ping knew things could not continue like this. That evening after returning home, he discussed matters with his father, Gu Jiaqing. The next day, Gu Jiaqing quietly left the imperial capital for another location.
What neither of them knew was that the moment Gu Jiaqing departed, someone immediately informed Wang Ning’an of his whereabouts.
…
That evening, Wang Cheng invited Wang Ning’an over to the apartment he shared with Chu Yifeng for a barbecue. Recently, Wang Cheng had been in an excellent mood, so he decided to host a barbecue gathering. Before this, he had already invited everyone he could think of. Wang Ning’an happened to have something he wanted to discuss with him, so he agreed.
By evening, the apartment quickly became lively.
Originally, Wang Cheng had wanted Chu Yifeng to invite Shen Yuan as well, but Shen Yuan already had plans that night.
There was an abundance of barbecue ingredients, rich and varied. Wang Cheng had not prepared everything alone. David had arrived the earliest, so he had also helped out. Lamb, beef, chicken legs, and chicken wings were piled high. Once brushed with the seasoning Wang Cheng had prepared, the flavor became indescribably delicious.
“Second Brother, the seasoning you made smells amazing and tastes so good. I’m on summer vacation now and don’t really have anything to do. Next time, teach me too so Mom and Dad can try it,” Zheng Jingxue said while her mouth trembled from the heat, though she still could not stop stuffing grilled meat slices into it.
“No problem. Come over another day and I’ll teach you,” Wang Cheng replied.
Huang Tong’an also shuffled over shamelessly. “I want to learn too.”
Wang Cheng looked at him in surprise. “No way. Young Master Huang, you’re the type who has servants waiting on you hand and foot. Why would you need to learn barbecue?”
Huang Tong’an coughed lightly. “My girlfriend’s a foodie.”
Immediately, Wang Cheng gave him an ambiguous grin. “Not bad. Since when did you get a girlfriend? And you didn’t say a word.”
“What do you mean I didn’t say a word? I wanted to introduce her to you. But you suddenly went abroad without a word and stayed away for so long. I didn’t even know when you’d come back,” Huang Tong’an complained while staring at him resentfully.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Wang Cheng raised both hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, I’ll teach you.”
After overhearing them, David immediately leaned over and said, “I don’t want to learn. Can I just eat?”
“In your dreams.” Wang Cheng poked him in the forehead.
Compared to the noisy liveliness on their side, Zheng Jing’en and Wang Ning’an across from them ate quietly, only exchanging a few words occasionally. Perhaps it was just an illusion, but Wang Cheng felt the scene between the two unexpectedly harmonious.
Chu Yifeng raised a freshly grilled chicken leg in front of Wang Cheng. Seeing him staring at his two older brothers, he said, “Suddenly realized your two brothers are handsome?”
Wang Cheng withdrew his gaze and glanced at him before lifting the half-eaten tofu skewer in his hand to Chu Yifeng’s mouth as a reward for his hard work.
“They were already handsome to begin with.”
Chu Yifeng naturally returned the favor by feeding him something else.
Once Wang Cheng finished eating, he noticed everyone had stopped moving and was staring at the two of them. His face heated up slightly, yet he still said seriously, “What are you all looking at? Never seen handsome guys before?”
Zheng Jingxue burst out laughing while biting her chopsticks.
Everyone else smiled knowingly as well. It wasn’t that they had never seen handsome guys before—it was just rare to see two handsome guys openly showing off their affection like this.
The barbecue lasted from seven until past nine. No matter how much food had been prepared on the table, it was all wiped out by everyone. After resting until after ten, Huang Tong’an and David left first.
Though both appeared carefree and easygoing, they were actually quite thoughtful. They could tell Wang Cheng and the others had important matters to discuss, and as outsiders, they worried it might be inconvenient for them to stay.
Wang Cheng inviting them over for a barbecue had already made them both pleasantly surprised and happy.
Especially Huang Tong’an. Ever since learning Wang Cheng’s identity was no ordinary one, he had actually become embarrassed to contact him frequently, afraid others would say he was only trying to curry favor with Wang Cheng. Another reason was that Wang Cheng was genuinely busy. Through newspapers and news reports, he had also learned quite a bit about the Zheng family and Zhou family matters.
After taking a sip of water, Wang Ning’an finally brought up the reason he had come.
“Do you know about Old Madam Gu?”
“You mean that old lady from the Gu family?” Zheng Jing’en asked.
Wang Ning’an nodded.
“I know a little about her,” Zheng Jing’en said. “Apparently, she’s a devout Buddhist. Every year she goes to Fahua Temple on Fo Mountain to worship, and each stay lasts over half a year.”
Fo Mountain was one of Huaguo’s famous mountains. On the mountain stood a temple called Fahua Temple, extremely famous throughout the country. Every year, many Buddhists went there to worship. There were even lay practitioners who cultivated there while keeping their hair. Because of the temple’s tranquil environment and beautiful scenery, many people chose to stay there for several days.
Old Madam Gu was one of them.
Her maiden name was Mu Yao. She was Gu Shouzhuo’s second wife. After her son passed away, Old Madam Gu began practicing Buddhism. It had already been over twenty years now. Every year, she spent nearly half her time residing at Fahua Temple, living a peaceful life of vegetarianism and Buddhist worship.
Wang Ning’an had discovered that Gu Jiaqing’s destination was precisely Fahua Temple on Fo Mountain. He clearly could not have gone there merely to worship Buddha, so Wang Ning’an concluded he must have gone to see Old Madam Gu.
“Wait a minute. Gu Jiaqing and this Old Madam Gu shouldn’t really have much of a connection, right? Why would he go looking for her? Don’t tell me he thinks she’ll help them?” Wang Cheng asked curiously.
“That’s exactly what puzzles me,” Wang Ning’an admitted. He could not think of any reason Old Madam Gu would help Gu Jiaqing, but since Gu Jiaqing dared to seek her out at Fahua Temple, he clearly had some confidence.
“There may be some hidden secret between them. If Old Madam Gu cooperates with Gu Jiaqing, what benefit would she gain other than Gu Corporation? But she already has one foot in the grave. Even if she wanted Gu Corporation’s wealth, she couldn’t take it with her.”
“What about Old Madam Gu’s maternal family?”
Zheng Jing’en said, “As far as I know, her maternal family died out over ten years ago.”
“With the Gu family backing them, how could they possibly disappear?”
“That’s a story from a very long time ago.” Zheng Jing’en had only learned of it from his grandfather.
Roughly eighteen years earlier, Old Madam Gu’s son had only been dead for a few years. The blow to the husband and wife was still severe. Yet at that very time, Old Madam Gu’s maternal family began eyeing Gu Corporation.
The Mu family had once been a prominent clan decades ago, but later, for reasons unknown, they offended someone and gradually declined. By the end, only Old Madam Gu’s elder brother’s branch remained, totaling merely five people.
With Gu Corporation’s support, the Mu family lived comfortably. The problem was that they developed greedy ambitions toward Gu Corporation.
Gu Shouzhuo was no ordinary man. He knew all about the Mu family’s schemes. He never took their methods seriously and had even decided to spare them out of regard for his wife. Yet they insisted on courting disaster themselves. In the end, the Mu family either died or went to prison. Their family was completely destroyed.
If that were the case, then Old Madam Gu cooperating with Gu Jiaqing actually made sense. Gu Shouzhuo had been the one responsible for the Mu family’s destruction. Even though the Mu family had brought ruin upon themselves first, if Old Madam Gu could not let it go and wanted revenge against Gu Shouzhuo, it would not be impossible.
News soon came back from the people Wang Ning’an had sent to investigate: Gu Jiaqing had indeed managed to persuade Old Madam Gu. On the third day after he left, Old Madam Gu ended her Buddhist retreat and returned to the imperial capital.
The first moment Wang Ning’an saw Old Madam Gu, he disliked her.
Perhaps because she spent years facing solemn and sacred Buddhas, Old Madam Gu gave off an especially stern and rigid feeling. Even after learning that her husband had found his son and grandson who had been separated from him for over fifty years, she showed no unusual reaction whatsoever.
The butler, Lü Yi, explained that Old Madam Gu had become this way after her son died and assured Wang Ning’an she was not deliberately targeting him, asking him not to overthink it.
Yet less than two days later, this Old Madam Gu began interfering in Gu Corporation’s affairs.
Wang Ning’an was not surprised in the slightest.
Back in her younger days, Old Madam Gu had been known as a capable and virtuous helper. During the early days when Gu Shouzhuo founded Gu Corporation, she had contributed greatly as well. Later, for the sake of her son, she gradually withdrew from the company to focus on being a wife and mother.
Only after her son’s accident, when the Mu family developed ambitions toward Gu Corporation, did she involve herself in company affairs once again. Several of the company’s executives had been promoted by her years ago.
The moment she took action, Gu Ping received a promotion. Furthermore, some executives began handing opportunities to him. One new project, which Gu Ping had originally been completely unqualified to participate in, was also handed over to him.
All signs indicated that Old Madam Gu intended to support Gu Ping’s rise to power.
Futile Devices Scans 
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