Chapter 355 Hand Her Over to Me

Lu Haochen had been awake for long, but he was not willing to get out of bed. He kept staying in bed until the doorbell rang. He knew it was Du Huayue, so he got up and opened the door.

Du Huayue saw that Lu Haochen was still in his pajamas and his hair was tousled. He looked as if he had just gotten up from the bed. Du Huayue said, “President Lu, we have to figure out what to do about Xiaoxian!”

“What can I do?” Lu Haochen said grumpily, “You saw what happened yesterday. She chose to leave with Gu Nianbin.”

Du Huayue muttered, “I think Niannian doesn’t want to go with him.”

“So what if Niannian doesn’t want to go with him?” Lu Haochen said angrily, “Can she influence Xiaoxian?”

“In the beginning, Xiaoxian didn’t let you go to our home because Niannian was making a fuss at home. She called you when she had no other choice. That was how you and Xiaoxian got closer.” Du Huayue felt that they could give this a try.

“That was what she did to me, but how can it be the same to Gu Nianbin?” Lu Haochen rolled his eyes at Du Huayue. With this IQ, he was fated to be just a security guard for the rest of his life!

Du Huayue did not understand. “How is it different?”

“She loves Gu Nianbin. She doesn’t love me. That’s the difference!” Lu Haochen didn’t plan on saying this at first because it hurt too much to admit.

Du Huayue was dumbfounded. He was silent for a moment before he said, “Then what should we do now? Are we just going to leave like this?”

“No.” Lu Haochen tossed a cigarette to Du Huayue. He leaned against the bed and lit one himself. He was feeling down in the dumps. He didn’t manage to say any of his carefully prepared words before Gu Nianbin ruined everything. It felt like such a pity when he thought about it.

However, based on Du Xiaoxian’s actions last night, he felt it probably would not have made any difference even if he had said what he wanted to say. Du Xiaoxian had a one-track mind. He would not be able to change her mind with words. He had to think of another way.

Only after he finished smoking the cigarette dejectedly did he think of asking Du Huayue, “Is your injury alright?”

“It’s fine.” Du Huayue touched the bruise at the corner of his eye. “Of course nothing serious since it was a two-versus-one fight. Gu Nianbin is naturally the one who’s suffering!”

“I think the one who’s suffering is Xiaoxian,” Lu Haochen said regretfully, “I landed quite a heavy punch.”

Du Huayue was furious. “She asked for it. She deserves what she got! Nothing good will happen to her as long as she’s with Gu Nianbin. I’ve never seen someone acting so possessed.”

Lu Haochen narrowed his eyes and looked out of the window. He suddenly said, “You’re free to do what you want to do today. I’m going to head out for a while.”

“President Lu, where are you going? You don’t know this place well. Why don’t I go with you?” Du Huayue continued, “After all, this is Gu Nianbin’s territory.”

Lu Haochen disagreed. “He’s not a Mafia boss. Do we really need to be so cautious?”

“You have to tell me where you’re going. I’m the deputy captain of the security team. I’m responsible for your personal safety.”

“I’m going to meet Gu Nianbin,” said Lu Haochen. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to fight him. I just want to talk.”

“Alright, then. Tell me a time. I’ll head over if you’re not out by that time.”

Lu Haochen finally laughed at that. “I didn’t know that you’re so dedicated to the job. It seems like I’ll have to promote you to captain when we return.”

Du Huayue scratched his head in embarrassment. “President Lu, please don’t misunderstand. I didn’t mean that. I’m just worried…”

“Alright, let’s leave it at that.” Lu Haochen waved his hand. “I’ll call you when the time comes.”

After he got changed, Lu Haochen hailed a cab at the hotel’s entrance and set off for Gu Corporation.

Since Du Xiaoxian wouldn’t listen to reason, he was going to look for Gu Nianbin and have a man-to-man talk with the latter.

However, the receptionist refused to let him in when he arrived at Gu Corporation because he did not have an appointment. Lu Haochen was not upset. He smiled and said, “Please call and tell him that Lu Haochen would like to see him. I’ll leave if President Gu really refuses to see me.”

He looked like an extremely capable gentleman. His eyes were so beguiling when he smiled. The receptionist was so captivated that she nodded. “Alright, Mr. Lu. I’ll ask him for you.”

The call went through. As expected, Gu Nianbin invited him to head in.

Lu Haochen winked at the receptionist, and then walked in with a bright smile.

When Lu Haochen walked into the president’s office, Gu Nianbin was writing something with his head lowered. When Gu Nianbin heard the door open, he looked up and called his secretary to prepare some tea.

He got up and invited Lu Haochen to sit on the sofa in the reception area. “President Lu, you wouldn’t come to see me unless you had a good reason. If you have something to say, just spit it out!”

Lu Haochen laughed. “President Gu, I didn’t expect you to be more impatient than me. You’re right. I came to see you because I have something to discuss with you.”

“I’m all ears.”

“You flatter me!”

The two of them exchanged pleasantries with forced cheer. Even the secretary who entered to bring them their tea would not have suspected that these two had gotten into a fight yesterday. They were being so friendly and polite to each other on the surface.

Once the secretary left and shut the door, both of them instantly put on frosty expressions. It was as if they felt there was no need to pretend anymore.

“What do you have to say, President Lu?”

“President Gu, I’m sure you know very well that I’m here for Xiaoxian,” Lu Haochen spoke frankly, “I remember you’ve said that there’s no chance of you getting back with her. In that case, please let her go. Let me take her with me.”

“No problem,” Gu Nianbin spread out his hands and responded bluntly, “Take her with you. To be honest, her appearance in front of me every day is really such an eyesore.”

“If that’s the case, then I would like to ask you for a favor.”

“Go ahead.”

“Please tell Du Xiaoxian plainly in front of everyone that you no longer love her. Tell her to stop pestering you and make her give up on you. Even if you have to use the cruelest words in existence, please make her leave. Is that okay?”

Gu Nianbin picked up his cup and took a sip of tea. He slowly shook his head. “I’ve already tried what you suggested. It’s no use. She’s not determined to stay with me. She won’t leave Niannian. Since Niannian is part of the Gu family, my parents regard her more important than their own lives. It wasn’t easy to get her back, so it’s practically impossible for Du Xiaoxian to take her away. I really can’t do anything about this.”

Gu Nianbin’s words sounded reasonable. The Gu family would not let Gu Niannian go, and Du Xiaoxian would not leave her daughter. This was why they were stuck in this situation.

Lu Haochen stared at the cup of tea in front of him. A faint cloud of white steam engulfed the cup. The green leaves swirled around in the brown tea. The petals of the small white flowers extended beautifully as the fragrance of the tea permeated the air. He stared at it for a long time before finally picking up the cup to take a sip. “This tea is really fragrant.”

Gu Nianbin replied indifferently, “Isn’t jasmine tea always this fragrant?”

Lu Haochen smiled, “No matter how fragrant the jasmine tea is, it’s just an ordinary kind of tea. President Gu, for you to serve it to your guests, isn’t that a little…” He did not finish his sentence but his meaning was clear.

Gu Nianbin merely smiled and did not respond.

Lu Haochen continued, “Xiaoxian also likes to drink such fragrant tea. She used to drink this tea every day when she worked in my company. I see now that she was influenced by you.”

Gu Nianbin finally snapped. “President Lu, if you have something to say, please spit it out. Don’t beat around the bush!”

“Okay, I’ll be upfront with you.” Lu Haochen stared into Gu Nianbin’s eyes. “Is Xiaoxian inseparable from Niannian, or are you the one who’s inseparable from Xiaoxian? You appeared out of the blue last night. Were you afraid that Xiaoxian would take Niannian away, or were you afraid that I would take Xiaoxian away? If you still love Xiaoxian, please treat her well. She’s so kind and never stands up for herself. How could you be so ruthless as to torture such a sweet and innocent woman?”

Gu Nianbin sneered. “That’s nonsense!”

“I know why you broke up back then.” There was a hint of anger in Lu Haochen’s eyes. “She sacrificed herself to protect you. But you don’t have any sense of gratitude. Instead, you’re biting the hand that feeds you. I pity her because she’s still completely devoted to you even after all these years. I honestly think that it’s such a waste. She gave birth to a baby and worked so hard to raise her child all alone. After much difficulty, your family was reunited and she thought you would all live happily ever after from then on. But you killed her hope. You torture her and make her suffer… You really don’t deserve her love!”

“That’s enough!” Gu Nianbin suddenly shouted. “What right do you have to teach me a lesson? She thought that she could make me happy by sacrificing herself, but she didn’t ask me if I was happy. She was presumptuous, thinking that she could save everyone and that was the right thing to do! Everyone says that she’s good-hearted and kind. But is she really that kind? Why would she force me into such a desperate situation if she were really that good-hearted?”

“Is that why you’re taking revenge on her?!” Lu Haochen also raised his voice. “You’re doing this to take revenge on her, aren’t you? You want her to feel the same pain you experienced, don’t you? Since you can’t forget her and still love her so much, why can’t you treat her better? You’re a man. How can you be so petty with a woman?”

“I’ve never said that I love her!” Gu Nianbin’s voice became louder. “I stopped loving her a long time ago. That selfish and self-righteous woman! I fell out of love with her a long time ago. The sight of her now repulses me. I wish I never have to see her again for the rest of my life. Do you want to take her away? Go ahead. Take her away! Take her far away so I never have to see her again!”

Lu Haochen did not show any weakness and said angrily, “Then let her go on account of the fact that you used to be in love. Don’t make her suffer and cause her such sadness. She’s still young and can pursue her own happiness. Do you have the gall to let her waste her life on you?” He took a deep breath, and his tone gradually calmed down. “President Gu, to be honest, I love her very much. I’ve never loved another woman like this. I’ll be good to her if you’re willing to let her go. If you really don’t love her and you guys aren’t able to go back to how you used to be, I beg you, hand her over to me. Let me make her happy. I believe that she’ll be happy with me!”

The room fell into silence for a long time after he said that. Gu Nianbin sat there with his eyes narrowed as if he was considering it. However, he also seemed to be in a daze.

Lu Haochen’s gaze was fixed on Gu Nianbin the whole time. What he wanted to know most was whether Gu Nianbin still loved Du Xiaoxian or not.

If Gu Nianbin still loved her, he would give her up. If Gu Nianbin didn’t love her, he would take Du Xiaoxian away no matter what. However, Lu Haochen couldn’t tell because he couldn’t read Gu Nianbin’s true thoughts despite his sensitive insight.

After a long time, Gu Nianbin finally spoke, “We’ll never work out. I knew that we were over from the day she left. It’s your business if you want to love her. It has nothing to do with me. I can’t help you.” After a pause, he continued, “It’s Niannian’s birthday in two days. You were like a father to her for a while. Come and join us. She’ll be very happy to see you.”

Seeing him like this, Lu Haochen knew that there was no point in continuing. He could only stand up and say, “Thank you for inviting me. I’ll be there.”