On the top floor of a five-star hotel, a grand and lavish celebration banquet was being held.
In the magnificent banquet hall, the female host raised her voice excitedly.
“Please give your warmest applause to Mr. Yu Yan, the future largest shareholder of the Yu Group!”
Yu Yan appeared in a striking red velvet suit. Standing on the stage, he gave everyone a simple greeting.
“I’m very happy to be working with both our new and longtime shareholders from now on. I hope the Yu Group will continue to grow and restore its former glory!”
Next came Cheng Yan, Yu Yan’s closest friend and most trusted business partner. However, he said only one sentence.
“No more speeches! Tonight, nobody leaves until they’re drunk! Hit the music!”
The atmosphere immediately came alive, and the lights shifted into a dazzling display of colors.
Yu Yan popped open a bottle of champagne. Foam sprayed high into the air before falling onto his clean, handsome face. He had finally tasted the sweetness of victory.
Yu Yan was so happy that he could barely contain himself.
This was the happiest day of his life, because he had finally driven the man responsible for his mother’s death out of the Yu family.
For all these years, he had been waiting for this day, the day he would officially take control of the Yu Group.
An assistant brought over a box filled with cash. Yu Yan excitedly climbed onto a banquet table, grabbed stacks of money, and threw them into the crowd below.
Countless red banknotes filled the air. The crowd nearly went wild. People pushed and fought over the money, each one trying to grab as much as possible.
But that still wasn’t enough.
Yu Yan ordered his assistant to bring over another box, this one filled with gold bars. He raised the bottle and took a large drink, then began throwing the gold bars into the crowd below the stage.
The crowd immediately burst into loud applause and excited laughter…
When the party finally quieted down a little, Cheng Yan walked over with a glass of wine in his hand.
“Congratulations, President Yu. I never thought even the great President Gu would let you play him like this.”
Yu Yan laughed and raised his glass to clink it against Cheng Yan’s.
“It was all thanks to President Cheng’s help.”
“I’ve had someone watching Gu Xichao all day. He hasn’t even made a single phone call. I thought he would at least come here and cause a scene.”
Yu Yan casually swirled the wine in his glass. He did not even bother looking up.
“Why would he come here? To beg me to take him back?”
Cheng Yan laughed softly.
“Still, he used to care about you… very much. When you first entered the entertainment industry, he gave you every good opportunity he had.”
“That was his own choice. When two adults stay together, it’s simply because they both need something from each other.”
Yu Yan finally looked up, but there was not a trace of emotion in his eyes.
Cheng Yan raised an eyebrow.
“You really don’t feel even a little guilty toward him?”
Yu Yan put down his glass. The corners of his lips curved into a faint smile, and his tone was so smug that it made him sound rather punchable.
“Guilty? Cheng Yan, if both sides agreed to it, then who owes whom? He gave, and I accepted. It was nothing more than a transaction. I took what he gave me and used it to achieve my goal. That was my own ability. If he gave away everything and ended up with nothing, then he can only blame his bad luck. Who told him to be so stupid?”
With that, Yu Yan walked toward the center of the dance floor.
Under the constantly changing lights, the red suit on his body looked even more dazzling. His back was straight, yet distant.
From beginning to end, Yu Yan showed no regret or concern at all. It was as if Gu Xichao, along with everything he had sacrificed for him, was nothing more than a speck of dust that Yu Yan had casually brushed off his road to success.
Cheng Yan stood still and watched Yu Yan walk away for a long time.
The coldness that came from the very bottom of Yu Yan’s heart sent an involuntary chill through him.
At the same time, dusk was falling over Xilin Manor.
Gu Xichao sat silently in the large living room on the first floor. A half-burned cigarette rested beside him as his cold eyes quietly took in the wreckage before him.
Shards from the floor-to-ceiling windows glittered across the floor, scattered among rose petals as red as blood.
Bloodstains were mixed with shell casings left behind after the explosion. All the expensive furniture and priceless antiques had been reduced to a pile of junk that looked no different from a landfill. Even the crystal chandelier on the ceiling was missing half of its pieces and seemed ready to fall at any moment.
Gu Xichao himself had not escaped unharmed.
A long streak of blood ran across his face. His white shirt had already been stained red, and one of his legs was so badly injured that he could no longer stand. At that moment, all he could do was remain seated.
His assistant, Kevin, rushed in from outside, gasping for breath as he called out loudly.
“President Gu!”
Gu Xichao took a drag from his cigarette without looking at him.
“Go on. What did you find?”
“President Gu, everything Zhou Yu said was true. The valuation adjustment agreement you signed wasn’t for six hundred million yuan. There was an additional clause attached to the contract, and the stated capital was leveraged ten times over!”
“In other words, you invested six hundred million yuan, but what you actually signed was a contract worth six billion! Every cent of it was invested just as the Song Group’s stock collapsed.”
“Yu Yan tricked you into signing it. Three days later, something happened to the Song Group, your position was liquidated, and Chaoyang Investment collapsed as well!”
Kevin turned to the next page of the file, his voice growing lower as he continued.
“Cheng Yan, Yu Yan’s closest friend, was the one controlling the entire deal. He took all the bonds and shares you lost. Then, from an ordinary fund manager, he suddenly became the owner of Yanfeng Investment.”
“One of them used your money to take back the Song Group. The other used your money to climb even higher.”
“President Gu… Yu Yan and Cheng Yan worked together to set this up. All the money Chaoyang lost was divided between the two of them!”
“And that’s not all. Several Chaoyang shareholders have already begun legal proceedings. Their accounts were wiped out just like Zhou Gui’s, and they’re demanding that you personally take full responsibility for compensating them.”
“The CDS contract was signed in your name. Chaoyang only made the payments on your behalf… so legally, you are the person primarily responsible…”
Kevin closed the file, his teeth chattering.
“President Gu, why don’t you leave the country? I’ll book a flight for you right now!”
Kevin had followed Gu Xichao ever since graduating and helped him build his business from the ground up. He was the most loyal subordinate at Gu Xichao’s side.
But even in his wildest dreams, Kevin had never imagined that Gu Xichao, a man who had always been decisive and powerful in the business world, would one day lose to a pretty little canary who only knew how to whisper a few sweet words beside his pillow.
Gu Xichao finished his cigarette and slowly crushed it out beside the bloodstain on the sofa’s armrest.
He looked at the mess in front of him and suddenly let out a quiet laugh. It was faint and carried no warmth at all.
“Where is Zhou Gui?”
“The bodyguards have him restrained. As you instructed, I didn’t call the police.”
“Bring him to me.”
“President Gu, are you planning to…”
Kevin seemed to have guessed what Gu Xichao intended to do.
“Besides Zhou Gui, who else went bankrupt when Chaoyang’s account was wiped out? Who else was dragged down because of me?”
Kevin’s lips moved slightly.
“…There are three other business partners. Including two smaller organizations connected to them, at least four or five different groups are looking for you right now.”
“Where is Yu Yan?”
“He’s… at the celebration banquet…”
“Hah.”
Gu Xichao let out a soft laugh. At last, he raised his head. There was not a trace of hesitation in his eyes.
“Make a complete list of all the personal assets under my name. Right now. Do it immediately.”
“President Gu! You started with nothing and spent so many years building everything you have. Are you really going to…”
Kevin understood very well that after Chaoyang’s collapse, it was not only the major shareholders who would come demanding an explanation.
There were also countless smaller shareholders. They had used financial leverage and ended up losing everything they owned. Among them were desperate people with nothing left to lose.
Today, it was Zhou Gui. Tomorrow, it could be Zhang Gui. The day after that, another Li Gui might appear.
If this continued, would Gu Xichao ever be able to live in peace again?
“Just do as I say. Try to calm the major shareholders down first. This house can’t be kept either. Tell someone to bring over some gasoline.”
After Kevin left, Gu Xichao slowly braced himself against the sofa and struggled to stand.
He staggered a few steps before crouching down and picking up a card that had fallen from a bouquet of roses Yu Yan had given him not long ago.
Gu Xichao gently brushed the dust from the card. Five words appeared clearly before his eyes:
Xichao, I love you.
The words were as sharp as a blade stabbing straight into his eyes.
For a moment, Gu Xichao’s heart hurt as if it had been cut open.
His mind clearly told him that he should hate the man who had destroyed everything he had built. Yet he could not stop himself from remembering the countless warm days and nights he had spent with Yu Yan in this house.
“Xichao, do you like me? How much do you like me?”
“Don’t stay up so late working anymore. Come to bed early tonight, okay?”
“When are you finally going to take me out? Xichao…”
“Why are you so good to me, Xichao?”
“Gu Xichao, do you like this position?”
…
Yu Yan’s voice seemed to still echo throughout the house, but none of it could ever come back.
Gu Xichao had truly felt Yu Yan’s happiness and sadness. He had seen Yu Yan’s bright smile and heard every sweet word he had whispered into his ear.
Could all of it really have been fake?
Then what had been real?
If all the warmth and intimacy they had shared during those two years together had only been an act, then Yu Yan, once an unknown young actor, had already become the “Best Actor” in Gu Xichao’s heart long ago.
“Yu Yan, you hid it so well… and you fooled me so badly…”
Gu Xichao pushed open the bedroom door and looked up at the empty ceiling.
They had once projected images of the northern lights onto that very ceiling.
It had been an aurora that belonged only to the two of them.
He pulled back the covers and lay down on the bed again.
Yu Yan had personally chosen the four-piece bedding set. He liked the smooth satin fabric and had said that it felt cool and comfortable to lie on.
Gu Xichao buried his face in the pillow, held the blanket tightly, and took a deep breath. The bedding still seemed to carry the scent of that person.
The small fishpond outside the bedroom had also been built especially for Yu Yan.
Gu Xichao had worried that Yu Yan would feel bored living there, so he had a small pond built where Yu Yan could feed the fish whenever he had free time.
Just like that, Gu Xichao slowly walked through every corner of the house that had once held the warmth of their days together.
Everywhere he looked, there were beautiful memories that belonged to the two of them.
He could not forget them, but he could not let them go either.
Gu Xichao no longer wanted to investigate anything else related to Yu Yan.
For now, he only wanted to settle all the debts as quickly as possible and then leave this place.
It was not long before Kevin returned.
Zhou Gui was pinned to the floor by the bodyguards. There were several injuries on his body, but they were all superficial and could not compare to the gunshot wound he had left in Gu Xichao’s leg.
The wound on Gu Xichao’s leg had only been roughly bandaged. The bleeding had stopped for the moment, but the bullet had not yet been removed.
Gu Xichao insisted on dealing with everything there before going to the hospital. Kevin knew there was no changing his mind, so he had no choice but to give in.
“Zhou Gui, how much do I owe you?”
Kneeling on the floor, Zhou Gui spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Gu Xichao, back then, we shareholders handed over everything we owned for you to invest because we trusted you to make money for us. But you let some little celebrity fool you into losing it all, and now you’ve left us with nothing too! How do you still have the nerve to sit there and talk to me?”
“Smack!”
Kevin raised his hand and slapped Zhou Gui hard across the face.
“Just answer whatever President Gu asks you. What’s the point of saying all this nonsense? Do you want to die?”
Gu Xichao waved his hand, signaling Kevin to stop.
Then he looked coldly at Zhou Gui and asked again.
“Tell me. How much do I owe you?”
Zhou Gui spat out a bloodstained tooth and shouted:
“One billion yuan!”
Gu Xichao did not even blink. He simply turned and gestured to Kevin.
“Give it to him.”
Those few words stunned everyone present, including Zhou Gui himself.
Given Gu Xichao’s personality, Zhou Gui had expected him to fight to the death. He had never imagined that Gu Xichao would agree to repay him so quickly.
Kevin’s voice trembled.
“But President Gu…”
“Transfer my personal assets to him.”
Gu Xichao continued in front of everyone, his expression unchanged.
“Not just Zhou Gui. Compensate the other partners and organizations for however much they lost. I’ll sign the documents immediately.”
“What?!”
Everyone there was shocked.
No one knew exactly how much personal wealth Gu Xichao had, but the man before them remained so calm that it seemed as though he had merely poured away a glass of water.
No one knew what he was truly thinking at that moment.
Before long, Gu Xichao had finished signing a stack of documents.
Without holding back, he threw them straight into Zhou Gui’s face and said coldly:
“Zhou Gui, I’m agreeing to compensate you today not because I’m afraid of you, but because I want everything to end here.”
“The same goes for the other partners. You can come here and cause as much trouble for me as you want, but I hope you won’t bother Yu Yan again.”
At the mention of that name, a faint trace of emotion finally appeared on Gu Xichao’s usually calm face.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and slowly continued:
“…If any of you dare touch even a single hair on his head, then everything I’ve given you today, I will make you repay a hundred times over.”
“This is not a warning. It’s an order.”
Gu Xichao did not speak loudly, but his voice was enough to send a chill deep into the bones of everyone who heard it.
He had entered the investment world at eighteen and spent ten years fighting his way to where he was today, becoming the founder and largest shareholder of Chaoyang Investment. Gu Xichao’s true methods had never been as harmless as his handsome, pleasing appearance suggested.
He had never been someone people could easily provoke.
If others found Gu Xichao easy to get along with, it was only because he was willing to lower himself and be tolerant toward them.
There was only one other special case.
That was when he loved someone…
This was the last thing Gu Xichao would ever do for Yu Yan.
Holding the signed contracts in his arms, Zhou Gui hurriedly left Xilin Manor.
Before long, the other partners also received the compensation they were owed, along with Gu Xichao’s order.
After all the documents had been signed, the house quickly became empty.
Only Kevin remained, carrying cans of gasoline and pouring them everywhere as Gu Xichao had instructed.
Through his tears, Kevin asked:
“President Gu… do you really want to do this? This house is worth more than ten million yuan…”
“I don’t want to keep anything connected to him.”
Not even himself.
The strong smell of gasoline quickly filled the entire house and the area around it.
Standing outside the gates of Xilin Manor, Gu Xichao asked:
“Kevin, is my new identity overseas ready?”
“Everything has been prepared exactly as you instructed.”
“Good. After today, you’ll be free too.”
Kevin still had a family to take care of, so he could not follow Gu Xichao abroad. Because of that, Gu Xichao had left him five million yuan, enough for him to live peacefully in the country for quite some time.
Countless stars filled the night sky like pieces on a chessboard, sparkling endlessly into the distance.
Gu Xichao stood alone outside the large villa and turned back to look at it one last time.
A gentle breeze blew past, softly moving the strands of hair across his forehead, as if tenderly caressing the sorrow written across his face.
Then he turned and walked away.
Gu Xichao casually lit a cigarette and raised his head, exhaling a stream of white smoke toward the sky. A moment later, he threw the lighter in his hand behind him.
“Boom!”
Flames shot into the sky behind him, lighting up the night as brightly as day.
The villa worth tens of millions of yuan was burned to the ground by his own hand.
Along with it went every trace proving that Gu Xichao and Yu Yan had once been together.
All their beautiful memories…
Were burned to ashes that night.
Gu Xichao had been able to hold on, and now he could let go.
Yu Yan…
From now on, we will never see each other again.
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