Fu Bing looked at the arriving Gu Yazheng, who seemed much more exhausted than when she had seen him last on Yunding Mountain.
Gu Yazheng looked at the person beside Fu Bing. "I want to talk to you alone."
"I don’t remember us having anything to talk about."
"Don’t you want to know something about your mother?"
"She never told me before she died. I should respect her wishes," Fu Bing said indifferently, closely watching Gu Yazheng’s reaction.
Gu Yazheng hadn’t expected Fu Bing to react so calmly to matters involving Fu Ya. He said angrily, "You’re her daughter! How can you be so indifferent to her affairs?!"
"I know very well what kind of person my mother was; I don’t need to learn about her from others. Besides, how can I be sure that what you say is true?" Fu Bing had never heard her mother mention any specific man; she always kept things vague.
She had only learned about the existence of Gu Yazheng and Ren Ye after doing some research.
She couldn’t comprehend her mother’s thoughts. If her mother didn’t want her to know, she was willing to respect that.
"Did she not tell you because she wanted to protect you?" Gu Yazheng grew more furious. "You think a woman as good as her wouldn’t have met other good men? Ren Ye was willing to remain unmarried his entire life for her. Do you think others couldn’t see her charm? It was all for you! She didn’t want to go back to Jiangnan, and that was also for you!"
Fu Bing’s heart tightened, but her face remained calm as a breeze. "How can you prove that what you say is true?"
"I know you’re not her biological daughter. She found you at a defunct orphanage and brought you home. At first, she raised you while trying to find your relatives. Then, one day, she just stopped..."
His words sent Fu Bing into her memories.
Back then, she was tired and hungry, able only to curl up in a corner of the orphanage, too weak even to cry for help. Just when she thought she would starve to death, she saw her mother in a simple dress. Her mother was surprised to see her. Then, she picked her up and fed her a cup of yogurt. Her embrace was so fragrant and warm. Her voice was also very gentle. After meeting her mother, she finally had a home.
Fu Bing snapped out of her memories and asked coolly, "Why did she stop looking?"
"Because your origins hide a huge secret. She was afraid you would be in danger."
"Why are you telling Xiaobing all this?" Ren Ye’s voice came from the doorway.
Gu Yazheng glared at the now-recovered Ren Ye.
He was in his fifties, scholarly, efficient, and with a net worth of over a hundred billion. After so many years, among himself, Ren Ye, and Fu Ya, he was the only one who was mundane and dull. Ren Ye and Fu Ya had both found peace and freedom in their lives.
"Even if Xiaobing personally experienced those events, they have nothing to do with her. All of Fu Ya’s choices were her own; Xiaobing was just a child at the time." Ren Ye looked at Fu Bing. "I didn’t tell you because your mother mentioned it. I respect her, so these matters will not come from my lips."
Ren Ye shook his head at her, then said to Gu Yazheng, "Let’s have a proper talk."
Gu Yazheng followed Ren Ye out reluctantly.
The moment Ren Ye got into the car, his expression turned cold. "Don’t think I don’t know what little scheme you’re hatching. The money originally allocated to you was given to Xiaobing, and Fu Ning is locked up, so you’re upset. You deliberately came here to cause Xiaobing more trouble."
Gu Yazheng snorted. "Am I that despicable in your eyes? Regardless, Fu Bing is Sining’s savior. What’s wrong with me coming to check on her?"
"You’d better genuinely think so. Xiaobing has me, Old Jiang, and Rong Shizhi behind her, and perhaps even Qin Jinhai. Are you sure you want to provoke her?"
"If you really care about her so much, why didn’t you help when her reputation was ruined and everyone turned against her?" Gu Yazheng sneered. "Now that you see her climbing back up, you’re cozying up to her. Ren Ye, aren’t you shameless?"
"If it weren’t for my efforts and another force back then, Fu Bing’s sentence would have been far longer than three years." Ren Ye’s sharp gaze swept over Gu Yazheng. "You were once the closest person to Fu Ya, yet you didn’t care in the slightest about her daughter’s case. Afterwards, you even wanted to exploit her. Just how blind was Fu Ya to choose you?"
"So what if you’ve outdone me your whole life? Fu Ya chose me in the end!" Gu Yazheng huffed. "You still lost to me."
Ren Ye shook his head with a smile, his sharp words piercing Gu Yazheng’s heart like a dagger. "And then, you married the woman Fu Ya hated the most!"
"Outsiders say I remained unmarried my whole life for Fu Ya, and that Fu Ya didn’t marry because of you. I know my own heart best. I haven’t found a woman who moves me more than Fu Ya, so I’d rather be alone than settle for less. The reason Fu Ya didn’t marry was Xiaobing; she was afraid Xiaobing would be bullied if she met a bad man. Yet you’ve been smug about this for twenty years."
"So you want to raise a daughter of unknown origin, just like Fu Ya did?"
"And why not? Fu Bing is the person Fu Ya cared about most. What’s wrong with me helping her go further, within my capabilities?"
Gu Yazheng couldn’t stand Ren Ye’s calm and unconcerned demeanor, as if nothing could shame him.
Ren Ye seemed to see right through him. "You seem to be deliberately ignoring something."
"Xiaobing saved my life. It’s hardly surprising that I treat her well. As for you, if you intend to use your connection with Xiaobing, you’d better figure out exactly what you want. You can’t have it both ways."
Ren Ye looked down on Gu Yazheng’s character: passive and easily swayed by others. Without Fu Ning, the Gu Family would have collapsed long ago. Many people were reluctant to take on the title of the wealthiest person, but Fu Ning naively accepted it. She got her wish: all eyes were on the Gu Family and her, constantly under scrutiny. Even projects they couldn’t handle, they had to grit their teeth and take on. The Gu Family Hospital was a case in point. Originally under no pressure, they insisted on expanding by opening a branch specializing in plastic surgery. They diverted funds from the main hospital to cosmetic procedures, causing both the main hospital and the branch to suffer simultaneous cash flow shortages. To turn a perfectly good situation into such a mess truly took some kind of talent.
Gu Yazheng stared at him and asked warily, "Are you giving me advice? You’re being that kind-hearted?"
"I still need you to get your act together and go deal with Ren Shu and Ren Yue. Those two are just like you: mediocre abilities but boundless ambition—classic examples of wanting to have their cake and eat it too. It’s best if you lot get entangled with each other and stop bothering me with trivial matters."
Gu Yazheng was so angry he wanted to kill Ren Ye. "I really should have poisoned you when you were hospitalized."
"That’s why you’ll never amount to anything. I was hospitalized for six months, and you still couldn’t bring yourself to act." Ren Ye’s expression suddenly changed. "Get out of the car. I’m sick of looking at you. I’ll figure out a way to handle your funds. But if you come looking for Xiaobing again, your hospital can just wait for bankruptcy."
Gu Yazheng finally managed a smile. "Then I’ll be waiting."
Ren Ye didn’t even bother to look at his worthless smile.
The driver, already used to their interactions, asked, "Sir, are you really going to help President Gu with his cash flow?"
"If President Gu doesn’t get the money, he definitely won’t let this go."
"A true fool couldn’t have held the position of the wealthiest man for so long. He’s probably using this opportunity to unload quite a few properties. Three billion can be scraped together by selling a few dozen houses. Gu Yazheng isn’t short of houses."
The driver chuckled. "That’s a huge hit for him."
"Without Fu Ning by his side, he wouldn’t dare to have such a large capital shortfall, and Gu Si’an wouldn’t let him take such a risk."