Zong Yanxi was extremely nervous as she stood there, wondering how she was supposed to face the man. She did not have to wait long for the door to open.
The man standing before her was someone who had watched her grow up.
A year was not a long time but neither was it very short. A lot of things had happened during that time. Having seen the darker side of humanity, she had changed significantly. She was not the same innocent woman that she was back then.
Dressed in a suit, Guan Jing looked pretty much the same as she remembered him since young. The only difference was the wrinkles on his face, signs of the passage of time.
He moved aside slightly so she could enter. “Come in.”
Biting her lip, Zong Yanxi greeted him softly, “Uncle Guan.”
He grunted in reply.
She stepped inside his room, noting how the layout was exactly the same as hers.
“I…”
“Just ask what you want to know,” he directly stated. He sighed and continued in a gentler tone, “You little brat, you made all of us worry so much. As they say, wisdom comes with age. You refused to listen to us back then and look where that’s gotten you!”
She bowed her head, already expecting he would lecture her.
“Uncle Guan.” She lifted her head to smile at him. “Can we not talk about the past anymore?”
He sat down. “Finally realized what was going on, have you? Then let me handle this matter. You should go back-”
“Uncle Guan,” she cut him off. “How could I let you clean up the mess I made? I’m a grown adult now. I can settle my own problems.”
He watched her for several long seconds, his gaze causing a shiver to run down her spine.
“Uncle Guan?”
He stood up and walked toward a locked cabinet. Taking out a USB drive, he handed it to her.
She accepted it, asking, “What is it?”
“See for yourself.” He pushed his laptop toward her.
Suspicion rising in her, she plugged in the USB drive and opened up the folder.
She played the video inside, her eyes widening at what she saw.
“Isn’t this…”
It was a video of Ling Wei abducting her from the villa one year ago.
“How did you get this?” she demanded.
“The moment that we realized that something had happened to you, we rushed over as quickly as we could. Unfortunately, we were still too late. Luckily, someone managed to save you. You even had him tamper with the evidence so that you could fake your death. However, has it never occurred to you whether that man had the means and connections to do that for you?”
In truth, she had not expected that Gu Xian would be able to cover everything up completely that even Jiang Mohan would be tricked.
However, she had only thought about that after she had already enlisted Gu Xian’s help.
“Then what about the man and the woman who died in the fire?”
“They were actually the two men who abducted you. We deliberately said that it was a man and a woman to cover up your fake death.” Guan Jing could still remember the terrifying look on Zong Jinghao’s face back then. He had been working for Zong Jinghao for more than half his life and had thought he had seen everything.
Yet that was the only time he had seen the other man kill someone without any hesitation.
Letting the two men die in the fire was merely to give them a taste of what it was like to be burned to death.
“The only reason we didn’t move against Ling Wei was because of you.” He took a sip of water.
At the time, they had done a lot of things to hide the fact Zong Yanxi had faked her own death. They had gathered the evidence showing her murder and had contacted the hospital for her. They had even arranged for her to get into Rui Mei.
They had discovered Jiang Mohan’s identity a long time ago. Several times, they had wanted to tell her the truth. However, their talks always ended on a sour note as she refused to listen to them no matter what they said.
Afterward, they realized that she really did love Jiang Mohan. The rest of the world could have burned down around her for all she cared.
Thus, their reason for telling her the truth changed.
Because of this, Zong Jinghao had done a lot of things, such as leaving Wanyue Group to her. Unfortunately, at that point, they had merged most of their businesses with a foreign company called Rui Mei.
Eventually, Wanyue Group was nothing more than an empty shell as it had no core businesses of its own.
They were also behind Zong Yanxi being able to get into Rui Mei successfully. Her being in charge of dealing with Hengkang Group was part of their doing as well.
She had not known that Guan Jing was in charge of Rui Mei nor that it was a Zong family business.
Guan Jing’s voice was meaningful as he commented, “Actually, what happened might have been for the best. If not for what you’d gone through, how would you have understood how sinister humans could be? Your parents went through a lot in their youths, way more than you ever did. That’s why they hope that you’ll learn and grow from this experience.”
“Why did you all hide the fact I was alive?”
“Isn’t it safer for you now that you’re ‘dead?’“ he retorted.
That was the only reason that Zong Jinghao had helped her in covering up the truth that she was alive.
If everyone thought that she was dead, nobody would be out to get her when she came back to the city. She would be safe and free to do as she pleased.
“Mr. Zong thought that Jiang Mohan would fall in love with you. He’d thought that even if Jiang Mohan still held a grudge, at most he would take the company away from you. Mr. Zong most definitely did not expect that there would be such a scheming and wicked woman by his side. Your mother has been giving your father the cold shoulder for over a year because of him agreeing to let you marry back then.”
Zong Yanxi pursed her lips but remained silent.
“Hey, do you remember what happened at the charity gala?” Guan Jing decided to tell her everything. “We found that ring at the crime scene.”
Zong Yanxi was quick to catch on this time. “You were the one who raised the bidding price?”
“Yes. I wanted to see if that man were so blinded by his hate and thirst for revenge that he would lose his humanity. Thankfully, it would seem that he’s not completely heartless. I still managed to trick quite a hefty sum from him, which I donated to those in need.” Guan Jing leaned back against the couch.
Dreams Foundation was founded by Sang Yu.
Due to her own background, she had founded Dreams Foundation to help those in need. With the help of Shen Peichuan and Zong Jinghao’s capital investment, the charity organization had developed nicely.
Now, it was a well-known organization and had helped a lot of people.
Sang Yu’s old primary school was now fully equipped with amazing teachers and other resources. The school mainly helped those children that came from poorer households.
Other than giving birth to two kids for Shen Peichuan, the success of Dreams Foundation was definitely one of Sang Yu’s greatest achievements in life. It was a dream come true for her.
Now, Zong Yanxi was finally beginning to understand that her so-called road to revenge had already been paved out for her. All she would need to do was follow it.
Exasperation and annoyance welled within her. She had always been pampered since young. Whatever she wanted, she would get. She never really had to worry about anything. After what happened a year ago, she had thought she could finally rely on herself.
In the end, it was all a lie. Even now, she was still being protected by her family.
She was a strong woman. That was why she had pretended like nothing had happened even though she had ventured close to the realms of death.
Guan Jing had not thought that she would figure things out so quickly.
If it were not for Gu Xian, Zong Yanxi would not have come searching for Guan Jing so soon either.
Nonetheless, she was thankful for all that she had. Now, she knew everything.
Hold on, I completely forgot my main purpose for coming here!
Remembering that Gu Xian was still drunk in her room, she was at a loss for what to do.
Guan Jing was a man with a family now.
“Hey Uncle Guan? When are you going back?”
“I haven’t finished settling things here yet.” He glanced at her curiously. “You’re worried about me?”
“I’m just scared that you being away from home for so long will affect your relationship with your wife.”
“You’re that concerned about me?” He was visibly surprised and flattered at the thought.
She chuckled wryly, wondering how she should phrase her question.
