Deadly Trap

Chapter 104, Chapter 103: Farewell or Not?

This chapter can be listened to with Mika Nakashima's "Yuki no Hana".

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In early April, Minzhou remains a steel jungle, with its imposing riverside buildings standing tall. The city's glitz and glamour are shrouded in mist and clouds, spring rain falls like tears, and the pear blossoms, most renowned in Minhang, are in full bloom.

It's a pity that we should seize the day while there are still flowers to pluck, lest we break branches in vain when there are no flowers left.

North of the city, the Minxiu and Lanzhou mountains rise, their light ink-like slopes stretching to the city's outskirts. The Lanzhou Mountain Cemetery is perpetually covered in evergreen pines and cypresses. Before her, the green grass was damp, and a chill swept over her from under the black umbrella, causing Su Li to instinctively pull her plain white shawl tighter around her.

Today, she wore her hair up in a bun, looking elegant and unadorned. Her pure black dress hung like paper, highlighting her thin and sleepless face, making even the tombstone in front of her appear desolate and gleaming.

Finally, Su Li slowly lowered her eyes.

"Then, let's say goodbye."

The sound of raindrops was drowned out by the umbrella.

"……Um."

This answer was almost imperceptible.

In the rain, even his skin appeared soft and pale. His familiar face nodded, his handsome features undiminished, only now much thinner and pale. His phoenix eyes, hidden beneath the umbrella, remained aloof and indifferent; yet the sharp lines of his lips softened.

The black V-neck T-shirt accentuated his figure, until it boldly exposed his sexy and beautiful long neck, revealing an extra seam. It stretched across the side of his neck in a menacing manner, yet it blended seamlessly with his body, making it a striking sight from any angle.

Speechless, Su Li silently sketched him for a long time. Her heart pounded wildly, and she wanted to confirm everything with her eyes. Perhaps it was a dream, Su Li pinched herself hard again; the pain shot into her heart, yet tasted sweet. Only then did she feel relieved and walk away from the cemetery.

In the small Roman-style memorial pavilion, Gu Zhipei, in his wheelchair, was waiting for her.

One standing, one sitting, two generations gazed at each other from afar. The familiar figure stood alone in the rain, seemingly silent. Su Li knew that for eleven years, he had felt ashamed to return to his sister's grave, and not simply because of her murder.

He felt guilty.

He knew himself all too well. From the age of ten, he had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of being the "good older brother" in his mother's dying words; his world had once revolved meticulously according to the responsibility of raising his younger sister. He escaped to the riverbank to watch the flowing water, just to be himself for a mere ten minutes.

How could he not want to escape, not feel confused and lost about the future?
But his sister's death unexpectedly allowed him to rediscover his life, and even himself. This deep guilt, and the self-reproach he felt for being relieved and selfish, were things he only confided to Su Li in the dead of night.

Now, he finally has an explanation, an ending.

He crouched down in my line of sight. Inside his trench coat, he carefully lifted out a small pot of delicate, pale white daisies, still in bud. Without a word, he buried his head in the soil, carefully planting the flowers in the spring mud in front of the grave.

But, regarding Tang Quan's death, the police...

"You've made up your minds? You're not coming back?"

The voice drifted softly into Su Li's ears, and she couldn't help but be stunned. That simple question concealed such profound thoughts.

Of course, Gu Zhipei was unaware of this. It was precisely because the underworld was declining that that person was finally able to withdraw and completely pass the burden to Dai Ze.

Recalling his appearance, Su Li's haggard face finally regained its radiance after a month, flushed with a blush. She smiled slightly, gently crouched down, and, supporting herself on the wheelchair, softly answered:
“Old sir, how could that be? He just wanted to catch his breath, go out and change his environment, and also accompany me to school for three years, just to clear his mind.”

As she spoke, Su Li's gaze was as warm as the sun. She smiled warmly again, then added in a relaxed tone:
"He can come and go at any time. Don't worry, sir."

"That's good. That's good."

Nodding repeatedly, his lips moving incessantly, Gu Zhipei murmured softly. He was already an old man in his nineties, senile; how many more three-year periods did he have left?

In a person's life, when he looks up, he is like these evergreen pines and cypresses.

"A family is a person; without people, a family is nothing." The child had told him this himself. Gu Zhipei was shrewd all his life, so how could he not know that the child was only using the Gu family to get them to come back for the New Year?

But when the whole city was filled with bad news, he thought that he had spent his whole life trying to lose everything.

In the endless darkness, Gu Zhipei locked himself away, pondering day and night: his life, his only daughter, his grandson. What was the purpose of the family he held so tightly in his hands, the family he would never relinquish?

Until, he wept bitterly and begged Heaven for forgiveness, asking for another chance to make amends.

After the sale, Gu Zhipei has meticulously divided the Gu Family's Thousand-Year Hualong Group. Now, he dedicates himself solely to philanthropy. Next, he plans to leverage the Gu family's generations of collections to establish educational partnerships and poverty alleviation programs, and to open up intellectual property rights…

The four major financial groups that controlled Minzhou's economy withdrew from one of them in a dramatic fashion, but this was of no concern to Gu Zhipei.

Later, the first thing he did was rush into the hospital and, despite the other party's strong objections, personally touch his bedridden grandson Tashi all over.

Thinking of this, Gu Zhipei stroked his cane and smiled kindly. Gently, he patted Su Li's hand beside him:

“If he gets too bold overseas and tries to bully you in some way, you should tell Grandpa. Grandpa will fly over there and teach him a lesson in person.”

With a slight smile, Su Li ignored Gu Zhipei and said, "How could that be?"

"Wow." Gu Zhipei glanced sideways. He wasn't oblivious to Su Li's implied meaning in those two words: regardless of whether that person would or would allow her to be bullied; and as for the empty words of "teaching a lesson," she would just listen to them without question.

What a delicate and charming girl!

Unable to resist looking up, Gu Zhipei carefully examined Su Li: before him was clearly a delicate, harmless, and remarkably young face. Su Li couldn't help but be secretly astonished: Gu Zhipei was an elderly man in his eighties, frail and aged; yet those cold, phoenix eyes, inherited from his bloodline, were strikingly similar in shape and appearance between their folds.

"You, my little girl."

After a slow pause, Gu Zhipei didn't rush to continue.

Through wind, frost, rain, and snow, he has traversed nearly a century, witnessing countless people in the business and political arenas. With just one glance, he knew his grandson had not misjudged him.

Gu Zhipei knew that it would be too shallow to express gratitude now, given the reason why someone would fight tooth and nail to survive. The girl wouldn't even take it to heart.

If they're willing to have a child in the future, it will surely be smart and beautiful. Then the Gu family will be...

Quickly, Gu Zhipei banished the thought from his mind: this was a private matter between the two of them. He really should change his patriarchal ways.

Staring intently at Su Li standing beside him, Gu Zhipei solemnly added his earlier words after a long while:
"My dear, remember this: no matter what fate brings, as long as I am alive, you will always have a maternal grandfather. Even if he passes away one day, the Gu family will always be your own home. I mean what I say."

"Do whatever you want, whatever you love. Got it?"

Su Li was surprised. These words carried immense weight and couldn't have been more sincere. She had long known that she had no one to rely on; in this world, she neither demanded nor dared to ask for anything, always relying solely on herself.

But who is born cold-hearted?

If, deep down, she truly had no longing for attachment... who would have thought that Gu Zhipei would directly see through her deepest secret?

Outside the memorial pavilion, a light drizzle was falling. The slender, thinner figure slowly rose from the tomb. His shoulders were broad, his steps still composed, and he held an umbrella in one hand, growing larger and larger in the sight of the two generations of grandfather and grandson.

"Mu Fei".

Without even opening her umbrella, Su Li ran down the steps and into the rain. She rushed forward, stretched out her arms, and hugged him tightly.

He is a person who is always harsh on himself; he was discharged from the hospital only a few days ago, and his proud figure clearly shows that he was seriously injured. How could he recover so quickly?

But he had to stand there for a long time in the chilly spring air.

"All done? You've finished talking?"

Full of heartfelt longing, Su Li spoke her words, yet they remained imperceptible, as gentle as a spring breeze.

"Ah."

Under the umbrella, Gu Mufeng's gaze towards her couldn't be more tender.

He removed his mud-caked gloves, his palms weakly sweating. In the gentle spring rain, he and Su Li embraced each other, their lives and warmth overflowing.

Breathing in her scent, feeling her embrace, Gu Mufeng knew all of Su Li's unspoken worries; and he had already devised a perfect answer to those worries. He no longer needed to restrain himself, no longer needed to weigh the pros and cons, no longer needed to make sacrifices.

He would no longer let Su Li pinch herself to confirm that he wouldn't leave.

He held up his umbrella, shielding Su Li and Gu Zhipei from the wind and rain, and walked slowly at the very back. The rain shrouded them as they continued on their way. The wet cypress trees drooped, revealing the glistening pavement beside the cemetery.

On one side of the tree-lined avenue, Welsh, now a retired personal assistant, stood impeccably dressed in a suit, alongside Gu Zhipei's team. Behind them, a brand-new night-blue Panamera and two other pure black Maybachs stood in a row, waiting quietly.

Unlike when they arrived, a police car was now parked blatantly at an angle in front of them. It showed no mercy, blocking the entire lane with its flashing blue and red lights, obstructing their path.

Instinctively, Su Li froze.

She stopped in her tracks without realizing it. Reaching out, she grabbed Gu Mufeng's clothes to stop him.

But Gu Mufeng seemed to have made a calm and resolute decision. He firmly grasped Su Li's fingertips. In that instant, he let go, walked straight past Su Li and Gu Zhipei, and strode forward without looking back.

"Gu Mufeng".

"Chief Cheng."

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Next chapter: A Perfect Strategy
[Author's Note | Chapter 103]

How could the author bear to hurt Pear Baby's heart so badly?

Actually, the author had already written the complete tragic ending, which was originally intended to be a tragic one. But after finishing it, the author felt incredibly empty. It seemed that logic dictated the ending, but emotions were screaming in resistance. The author couldn't bear to look at Su Li's desolate appearance any longer.

Gu Mufeng's death was an inevitable consequence of his revenge, a fate he couldn't escape nineteen years after his mother's death. I think Su Li's appearance must have changed something about him. If it weren't for his promise to Su Li by the sea on a summer night, he would have undoubtedly chosen to give up on himself.

But how could he bear to hurt Li Bao's heart so badly?

So, please allow me to give them a happy ending.

The next chapter is the perfect exit of "Minzhou's Great Schemer". Someone really went to great lengths to achieve their wish of being with Su Li.

Let me know your thoughts on the ending in the comments!
Vote for this young couple!