That afternoon, Gu Wei Ting's car was parked in front of the police station.

Within just second of his arrival, the Chief of Police rushed out to greet him. "General Gu, why didn't you tell us in advance that you were coming here? I could have sent a car over to pick you up!"

Giving the eager man a quick glance of acknowledgement, Gu Wei Ting promptly headed inside the station with a wooden expression. Following closely behind him, the Chief of Police instructed his subordinate to serve a Gu Wei Ting a cup of tea.

Seeming somewhat perturbed, Gu Wei Ting waved his hand in refusal and said almost incoherently 'there's no need.' Then looking squarely at the man in front of him, he resorted to not beating around the bush and bluntly asked, "What I've mentioned to you last time, how is it coming along?"

"We've been keeping surveillance on it at all time. Please wait a moment, I will retrieve the data."

In just a short moment, the Chief of Police meticulously collated all the statistical data before handing it over to Gu Wei Ting.

These were all the recent call records collected through Bai Han Qi's phone number. The main reason why he did not hara.s.s Bai Han Qi for information was so that he could quietly play out this plan in his own way. If he were to march to Bai Han Qi's home, he was afraid that the disturbance would inadvertently alert him.

"We've organized the data in accordance with the frequency of each call from long to short distance. Generally speaking, the phone numbers that had a high frequency of calls were usually within Beijing. In all, not many were from outside of the province. In additions, the majority of calls were only made once and each time it lasted less than 10 seconds. We've concluded that those might have been made to the wrong numbers."

Gu Wei Ting carefully examined the numbers from top to bottom, until he sharply focused his eyes on the fifth phone number.

"What area did this number come from?" Gu Wei Ting asked, keeping his mind open to any loophole.

The Chief of Police took a gander at it, "Oh, this is from Qingdao, Shandong. It's considered to be one of the cities that has very frequent calls within the province."

Gu Wei Ting narrowed his eyes in contemplation as brilliant rays of light silently flashed across his eyes, carrying with it a sense of fear that would wring anyone asunder.

—–

Once again, Gu Yang was summoned by Gu Wei Ting to the military base.

"Have you been busy lately?" Gu Wei Ting asked with a considerably soft tone.

Hearing that, Gu Yang faintly replied, "It's been good. I have some people help out with specific projects so I only need to gather and report the collected materials."

"There's a small matter that I want to trouble you with, but I'm not sure whether it's convenient for you or not."

"Hehe. Uncle, there's no need to be so polite with me."

Gu Wei Ting smiled and said, "You're an adult now. It's only normal that I should also be courteous when speaking to you. Besides, you already have your own career. I can't just conveniently take advantage of you just because we're related. Nor can I randomly waste your time!"

"It's fine, I'm not busy. Just be direct with what you have to say," Gu Yang replied.

Noting Gu Yang's carefree att.i.tude, Gu Wei Ting's complexion slightly changed as a strange look of complication took root in his gaze.

"Have you had any contact with Gu Hai?"

"No", Gu Yang replied sternly.

Gu Wei Ting nodded his head, "Okay then. Since you're not busy, help me search for Gu Hai and bring him back. I don't want to use my personal power to search all over the country for him. This would be a disadvantage to my reputation if it were to leak out and worse, this kind of situation is completely unacceptable in the army."

"Where am I supposed to find him? He had already cut off all contacts with us. At this point, looking for them is like trying to find a needle in a haystack."

"I'll give you a clue. They are in Qingdao, Shandong."

After hearing those words, Gu Yang was still able to perfectly disguise the surprise that beckoned to shoot out from within his eyes. "How do you know that they're in Qingdao?" Gu Yang asked while feigning ignorant.

"Through investigation." Gu Wei Ting replied matter-of-factly.

Silence overtook Gu Yang.

"If I continue with the investigation, I’ll definitely be able to find their exact location but I don't want to personally handle this matter. Don't ask me for the reason. I'm feeling really uneasy at the moment. In short, I have confidence in you and I want to entrust you with the task of dealing with this strenuous ordeal."

A sense of guilt squirmed its way into Gu Yang's conscience as he watched the uneasiness riddling Gu Wei Ting's face.

"Since he has done something like this, you're still acknowledging him as your son?"

"If I acknowledge it, he is. If I don’t, then he isn’t." [1]

While Gu Yang continued to ponder on that phrase, Gu Wei Ting had already walked out of the room.

"General!"

The person standing in front of Gu Wei Ting was a man name Hua Yun Hui, a subordinate that he had personally enlisted to receive special force training. Normally, Gu Wei Ting does not call on him for a.s.sistance. The only exception to this would be when Sun Jingwei had his hands full, Gu Wei Ting would then hand over some missions for Hua Yun Hui to handle.

"I have a mission for you."

Standing perfectly straight, Hua Yun Hui focused all his attention on his commanding general before he spoke in a seemingly monotone voice. "Yes General. I am at your service."

"You can relax a bit." Gu Wei Ting's large hand pressed on Hua Yun Hui's shoulder, "This mission involves my family matters, so there's no need to be so serious."

"Family matters?" Hua Yun Hui asked with curiosity, "Isn't Sun Jingwei always in charge of your personal matter?"

"He has his hands full lately."

The truth was, Gu Wei Ting does not fully trust Sun Jingwei anymore.

"There's someone I want you to keep an eye on. It doesn't matter what method you use, you must keep surveillance on his whereabouts 24/7. Don't let him out of your sight."

Hua Yun Hui's nerves immediately tensed, "Who?"

"My nephew, Gu Yang."

—

When Sun Jingwei saw Gu Wei Ting returned, he rushed to him and asked, "General, where did you go just now?"

Gu Wei Ting's stern gaze immediately swept towards him, "What happened?"

"Just now, your wife came to look for you."

"Jiang Yuan?" Gu Wei Ting's brows wrinkled into a small frown, "When did she came here?"

"She just left a moment ago. I let her wait in the room but, once she saw that you weren't here, she immediately left. General, you should show more concern towards her. When something of this nature happens, it's only normal that everyone will find it hard to take. After all is said and done, she is a nonetheless a woman. Psychologically, she won't be able to handle certain things as well as you do. When I saw her a moment ago, I can tell that her mental state doesn't look too well at all."

Glancing away, Gu Wei Ting did not say anything else. He continued to busy his time away with work late into the night before he eventually instructed the chauffeur to take him home.

Even as the darkness rolled into the night sky, Jiang Yuan has yet to be taken in by slumber. She sat alone in the dining room lost in thought.

When she heard the door opening, she slowly raised her head for a look.

As Gu Wei Ting walked in, he casually turned his head for a glance and saw Jiang Yuan sitting not too far way. The dim lighting casted against her form revealed the paleness that masked her delicate face. Jiang Yuan stood up and slowly walked towards Gu Wei Ting, her appearance was sickly and drained, unlike her usually lively self.

"Have you eaten? If not, I'll go cook something." She asked as she does every day.

Just as Jiang Yuan was about to turn away, Gu Wei Ting grabbed hold of her hand, "Don't worry, I've eaten."

The only word that came out of Jiang Yuan's mouth then was "oh".

In the past, Jiang Yuan had always longed for Gu Wei Ting to return home as soon as possible, just like an imperial concubine longing for the Emperor to personally come to her. Every night, she would lay on the bed and hope for a day where if she were to wake up in the middle of the night, the pillow beside her would unexpectedly be occupied by another person. However, even though Gu Wei Ting was calmly beside her now, she still felt nothing but emptiness.

"It's quite late already. Why aren't you sleeping yet?" Gu Wei Ting asked while taking in the details of her face.

Letting out a faint smile, Jiang Yuan said almost incoherently, "I can't sleep."

The Jiang Yuan in Gu Wei Ting's mind was always full of life and energy. Simply put, she was straightforward, outspoken and quick to word her thoughts when needed. When she is feeling uneasy about something, gritting her teeth and fuming with anger was one of her many actions but when she consumed with happiness, she would dance around. In all, she can sometimes be vicious and lovely at other times…..so it was quite rare to see her rather quiet like this.

Gu Wei Ting held Jiang Yuan's hand and asked with a soothing tone, "Why can't you sleep?"

"I miss my son." Jiang Yuan answered honestly.

Gu Wei Ting slowly closed his eyes and willed his heart rate to slow down at the anger that seemed to rose within him. For the past few days, his words were too harsh when he had randomly bellowed in anger. Thinking about his own previous actions now, he suddenly began to hate those kinds of interactions.

"You didn't go see Ban Han Qi?"

Jiang Yuan shook her head.

Gu Wei Ting was somewhat flabbergasted. Based on Jiang Yuan's personality, it would have not been a surprise if she had gone to the Bai's home and cause a complete mess.

"Why didn't you go?"

Glancing over at him with delicate eyes, Jiang Yuan softly replied, "For the past few days, I've been thinking about the words that Lao Bai said. He said the reason Luo Yin has feelings towards another man was because he has a mother that's neglects him, which in turn caused him to start rejecting women."

"That's utter nonsense!" Gu Wei Ting said angrily. "What type of objective reasoning is that? The truth is there, is only one reason. The two of them are b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!"

Jiang Yuan maintained her silence.

Calming himself down, Gu Wei Ting lit a cigarette and slowly smoked it.

Without any warning, Jiang Yuan started to sob spasmodically.

Gu Wei Ting turned his head for a glance, while his brows slightly pinched together.

"Look at yourself, what are you crying for? You're already an adult…come here. Don't cry anymore…." said Gu Wei Ting as he pulled out a tissue and wiped Jiang Yuan's tears away.

Even then, Jiang Yuan continued to sob sporadically while saying, "I suddenly feel that my son is pitiful. Before, when he was sensible, I've never once thought that he was pitiful. But now that he has done something like this, I suddenly feel especially sorry and regretful. Every night, I would dream of him. And in it, he's out in the world, alone and famish. He's only 18 years old…other kids his age are still in their parents' embrace, asking for something to eat and drink. Yet, my 18 years old son is wandering alone. Even though he has a home, he cannot return to it."

Gu Wei Ting's heart softened, however his tone is still as stern as ever.

"They brought it upon themselves. It is really worth it for you to be sorry and regretful?"

With her tears stained face, Jiang Yuan turned to face Gu Wei Ting, "Lao Gu, have you ever thought why our sons' relations.h.i.+p became like this? Doesn't it have a direct relation with our marriage?"

"What are you trying to say?" Gu Wei Ting's vision gradually sank. "We’re married. Does it make any sense for you to say these things now?"

"I don't regretting marrying you. I've just been thinking why Xiao Hai grew to like Luo Yin and why Luo Yin had also grown to like Xiao Hai. As I kept thinking about it, I only found one possibility. That is, these two boys both lacked maternal love. For Xiao Hai, his mother pa.s.sed away and Luo Yin was not with me since he was little. So, when they're together, they must have felt a bit of sympathy for each other."

"There are many people out there that lack maternal love. How many of them would actually do something like that?"

With emptiness coloring her eyes, Jiang Yuan picked up a pillow and held it against her chest.

"Lao Gu, did you know why Gu Hai suddenly changed his att.i.tude towards you?"

Gu Wei Ting has always held some suspicions regarding this matter. At first, he wanted to ask about it, but as time went by, he thought that it was superfluous, so rather than mentioning it again, he merely took it as his son had finally gotten over it.

"It's because Luo Yin found out the truth about Gu Hai's mother's death."

Gu Wei Ting's body shook in shock as he stared at her in incredulity. Suddenly, his pupils seemed to have split open, paving way for a luminous light to shoot out towards Jiang Yuan's face.

"What did you say?"

Jiang Yuan choked in between sobs as she spoke, "Sun Jingwei didn't want me to tell you. He was afraid that you'll be upset and suffer again. And… I didn't want to tell you either because I was afraid you'll keep thinking of her. But now, I'm even more afraid that my son will suffer. He is the only person in this world that has my blood."

Translator's Note:

[1]認則有，不認則無 – To acknowledge it means that it exists. To not acknowledge it means it doesn’t.

This is the closer translation of the phrase that Gu Wei Ting said, but due to the awkwardness and cryptic meaning that it gives to the overall translation, its been changed. Do take note, this translation might change. – Sae

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