Futile Devices Scans

Wang Ning’an handed over the briefcase in his hand. The assistant froze for a moment before hurriedly taking it from him. Wang Ning’an glanced at him. In the end, he still was not Peng Yang, who had followed him for quite some time.

Wang Ning’an was the Executive President of the Gu Corporation. The authority he possessed was second only to the chairman himself. However, the internal power structure of the corporation was intricate and tangled. Even though he was Gu Shouzhuo’s biological grandson, no one had immediately chosen a side when he first entered the company. Most people still maintained an ambiguous attitude.

The Gu Corporation was unlike ordinary companies. Although Gu Shouzhuo had founded it single-handedly and held enormous influence within it, his authority was not absolute.

The true core of the Gu Corporation was its research team. Many years ago, people had already recognized the team’s value. There were countless forces hoping to get a share of the profits. Although Gu Shouzhuo’s control had prevented too many outside forces from getting involved, there were always gaps and oversights. So while Gu Shouzhuo still appeared to control the research team on the surface, many hidden dangers remained beneath.

There were also problems within the company itself. Although Gu Shouzhuo had prevented members of the Gu family from directly participating in or fighting over company matters, the upper management was sharply divided into factions. On the surface things seemed calm, but beneath that calmness, fierce struggles constantly surged.

The executives who managed to secure a foothold within the company were all far from simple figures. Their vision stretched much farther than narrow-minded fools like Gu Ping.

Gu Ping was merely a loser. If he were compared to a dish, then he was nothing more than an appetizer before the main course. Likewise, defeating someone like him was nothing worth feeling proud about.

Completely unaware that he had never once been taken seriously, Gu Ping continued indulging in his daydreams.

Both Gu Ping and his father pinned all their hopes on Old Madam Gu, the only person capable of helping them. Unfortunately, the outcome still disappointed them. Old Madam Gu sent someone to pass along a message: even if they exposed certain matters, she would no longer help them.

The father and son were both shocked and furious, unable to understand why Old Madam Gu had suddenly changed her attitude. Even so, they still did not reveal the secret. A trump card only retained value if it was saved for the right moment.

Sadly, Gu Ping never lived to see that day.

Another mistake occurred at work, causing losses to the company. The first time, he had been given another chance. The second time, there was none. In the end, the company decided to fire him.

To Gu Ping, it felt like a bolt from the blue. Over the years, he had worked diligently for the company and had never made any major mistakes. Why was it that after Wang Ning’an arrived, he encountered trouble twice in a row? Thinking back to how Wang Ning’an had schemed against him previously, Gu Ping once again blamed this incident on him. He was convinced Wang Ning’an must have secretly orchestrated it again.

This time, however, he truly wronged Wang Ning’an.

Unwilling to accept it, Gu Ping stormed directly into Wang Ning’an’s office. Since he had already been fired from the company, he no longer had anything to fear. Inside the office, he made a huge scene, accusing Wang Ning’an of using despicable means to eliminate him as a rival, repeatedly setting traps to frame him. He called him a vile petty man who was unworthy of the position of Executive President.

The commotion drew employees from outside the office, all stretching their necks to peer inside. For many of them, it was their first time witnessing such drama in person, and their curiosity exploded. Before long, even employees from the lower floors had heard about it.

Wang Ning’an did not bother arguing with him. He instructed his assistant to escort Gu Ping out, but Gu Ping refused to leave and continued cursing him. In the end, security guards were forced to come upstairs and drag him away.

As for Gu Ping’s accusations of being framed, the company bulletin board soon posted the full explanation. Gu Ping himself had misread the numbers in the report. There had clearly been eight zeroes, yet he had overlooked one.

As a result, the submitted figures ended up missing a zero, directly causing the losses.

Dinner at the old estate was always served at six-thirty. At six-twenty-five, Wang Ziyu knocked on the door of Wang Ning’an’s study to call him downstairs for dinner. The siblings headed downstairs together.

Wang Ziyu was already in her sophomore year of college. During the National Day holiday, instead of returning to Shanhai City, she chose to stay in the Imperial Capital and accompany her grandfather. It was a suggestion their parents had made voluntarily. So now there were four people living in the old estate. The fourth was Old Madam Gu, who had recently returned from worshipping at the temple.

Gu Shouzhuo and Old Madam Gu were already seated at the dining table.

Old Madam Gu’s expression remained indifferent. From the very beginning, she had shown no trace of joy or welcome toward the siblings. None of them found it surprising.

Wang Ning’an and Wang Ziyu were Gu Shouzhuo’s biological grandchildren, yet they shared no blood relation with Old Madam Gu. Moreover, if her own son had not died young, everything Wang Ning’an now possessed might have belonged to her son instead. Her thoughts were therefore not difficult to guess.

But was that truly the case?

Wang Ning’an casually glanced at her. He had not spent much time with Old Madam Gu, but he had already figured out her attitude. On the surface, she appeared detached from worldly matters, wholeheartedly devoted to Buddhism. In reality, however, she cared deeply about his father and about the fact that he had returned to the Gu family and acknowledged his ancestry.

For now, there were still some matters he had not fully understood. Therefore, as long as she did not come looking for trouble first, he had no intention of openly tearing apart relations either.

The bodyguards at the gate did not stop them. After Gu Jiaqing and his wife entered, they saw four people seated in the living room: Third Uncle, Old Madam Gu, Wang Ning’an, and Wang Ziyu. The atmosphere was heavy and oppressive. The moment they noticed their son being restrained by two bodyguards, they hurried over.

“Third Uncle, A’Ping has already been fired from the Gu Corporation. Why are people still being sent to seize him? Could it be someone has once again spoken ill of him in front of you? A’Ping must have been wronged. Third Uncle, you must clear his name!”

Gu Ping’s mother, Su Dan, hurriedly spoke up. While defending Gu Ping, she simultaneously hinted that a villain was trying to harm him. That villain was obviously Wang Ning’an.

Seeing that nobody spoke, Su Dan turned toward Old Madam Gu.

“Third Aunt, you know A’Ping’s character. He’s such a simple child. How could he possibly do something bad?”

At that moment, a mocking laugh suddenly rang through the living room.

Su Dan looked over and discovered it had come from Wang Ning’an’s younger sister. Instantly displeased, she thought that while she might still fear Wang Ning’an somewhat, a weak little girl was not worth taking seriously.

Immediately, she snapped, “What are you laughing at? Didn’t your parents teach you not to interrupt when elders are speaking?”

“Well, I’m truly sorry about that. When it comes to people like you, my parents really never taught me to be polite.”

The moment Wang Ziyu thought about how Gu Ping had actually tried to kill her older brother, it felt as though a ball of fury was burning inside her chest. If her brother had not been skilled behind the wheel, he might have lost his life. Even now, recalling it still terrified her. If her brother had not stopped her from telling their second brother and parents for fear of worrying them, she would have exaggerated the entire story and spread it everywhere.

Su Dan angrily cursed, “You ill-bred little savage!”

Gu Jiaqing tried to stop her, but it was already too late.

The pressure in the living room instantly dropped to freezing point. Calling Wang Ziyu ill-bred was equivalent to insulting Gu Shouzhuo’s upbringing. If she wanted to criticize Wang Ziyu, she had chosen the wrong place.

Without backing down, Wang Ziyu retorted, “Even a savage is still better than your son hiring killers to murder someone. If my brother hadn’t been lucky enough to survive, do you think simply dragging him here would have been enough? He should count himself fortunate he wasn’t forced to pay with his life!”

“What nonsense are you talking about? How could my son possibly hire someone to commit murder?”

Su Dan refused to believe her words at all. If such a crime were confirmed, Gu Ping would very likely end up in prison.

Gu Jiaqing, however, was not as ignorant as his wife. The moment he saw his son’s pale and shrinking expression, he immediately knew there was a ninety percent chance the accusation was true. His own face turned white.

“How is it impossible? If the evidence weren’t solid, do you think we’d randomly frame your son? Don’t assume everyone is like you people. You should be grateful my second brother doesn’t know about this yet. Otherwise, his methods definitely wouldn’t be as gentle as ours.”

Wang Ziyu pressed forward aggressively. Her words were not a threat but the truth. To both Wang Cheng and Wang Ning’an, family was their reverse scale. But to her, family was also her reverse scale.

Gu Jiaqing looked toward his silent Third Uncle. Knowing he was the one truly in charge here, he immediately pleaded, “Third Uncle, there must be some misunderstanding here…”

After dinner, Old Madam Gu returned to her room.

Once she left, Wang Ziyu finally let out a sigh of relief and quietly said to Wang Ning’an, “Big Brother, I don’t like this Old Madam Gu.”

“I don’t like her either, so just ignore her,” Wang Ning’an said indifferently. “In the future, if it’s only the two of you at home, try not to speak too much with her.”

“It feels really strange,” Wang Ziyu muttered. “If we have to be this careful while living together as family, I’d rather just move back to the dormitory.”

Wang Ning’an gently patted her head, though a determination impossible for anyone to see through hid within his eyes.

“There’s no need to worry, and no need to feel awkward. You are Grandfather’s biological granddaughter. This place is your home. Even if someone has to leave, it definitely won’t be you.”

Wang Ziyu felt there was hidden meaning behind his words. She did not understand all the twists and turns involved, but as long as she did not drag her older brother down, she was willing to do anything. If Old Madam Gu posed a threat to him, then she would not be polite to her either.

Two days later, Wang Ning’an nearly got into a car accident.

On his way to work, the brakes in his car suddenly failed. Fortunately, he had not been driving very fast. In the end, he managed to stop the car by grinding it against a roadside wall.

His car had only been sent in for maintenance a week earlier. There was no way the brakes could suddenly malfunction on their own. Someone had clearly tampered with them.

When Gu Shouzhuo learned about this, he flew into a rage and immediately ordered an investigation.

The trail eventually led to a servant at the old estate. The servant had only been hired temporarily half a month ago. At the time, his background check had come back clean with nothing suspicious, so if he dared tamper with Wang Ning’an’s brakes, he had most likely been bribed.

The moment he heard he could end up in prison, the servant panicked and confessed everything. Someone had indeed paid him to find an opportunity to tamper with Wang Ning’an’s brakes, promising an even larger reward if the job succeeded.

Following the clues step by step, they finally uncovered the mastermind behind it all—Gu Ping.

Gu Ping was seized directly inside his home. Both his parents had been there at the time. At first they thought it was a kidnapping and were so frightened they hurriedly drove after the vehicle. Yet when the car carrying their son finally stopped in front of the Gu family estate, Gu Jiaqing and his wife were both stunned.

Could the person who had ordered their son captured really have been Third Uncle himself?

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