Chapter 159 - 159: Covered His Tracks

Translator: _Min_

Lin Sheng’s anxiety escalated, but he quickly regained his composure. Trusting that Gu Dai was not easily fooled, he speculated, “Miss, have you already thought of a way to deal with this?”

Gu Dai shook her head honestly, “1 haven’t thought of a countermeasure.”

Lin Sheng grew even more puzzled.

Gu Dai softly added, “Zhou Ci isn’t investing to exact revenge on behalf of Song Ling. I know his purpose for investing, and it doesn’t affect the project.”

The truth was that Zhou Ci’s investment was primarily aimed at her, Gu Dai.

However, she couldn’t reveal this fact, as it might keep Lin Sheng up at night with worry.

While Lin Sheng was not losing sleep over it, he was nevertheless deeply concerned. He considered advising Gu Dai to steer clear of such risky individuals.

Noticing Lin Sheng’s apprehension, Gu Dai smiled reassuringly, “Don’t worry, Uncle Lin. Zhou Ci can’t deceive me.”

Seeing Gu Dai’s confident demeanor, Lin Sheng finally felt at ease.

Switching topics, Lin Sheng reported on an earlier task assigned by Gu Dai, “Miss, regarding your request to investigate the whereabouts of the former employee, Liu Nian, I’ve found nothing. It’s as if he doesn’t exist in this world; I couldn’t trace him at all.”

Gu Dai’s eyes slightly narrowed as she softly responded, “Alright, Uncle Lin, you can return to your work now.”

Once Lin Sheng had left, Gu Dai closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. She had suspected that search for Liu Nian would be fruitless.

After all, according to her original hypothesis, Liu Nian might have been involved in the cruise ship incident. If that were the case, her father, Gu Ming, would have definitely covered his tracks, making him untraceable.

Gu Zhi furtively glanced around. Seizing the moment when no one was paying attention to her, she quietly slipped out of the villa and into a small neighboring house.

When Liu Min spotted Gu Zhi, she rushed over and hugged her tightly, “Zhizhi, you’ve lost—”

Taking a good look at Gu Zhi’s plump face, Liu Min couldn’t finish her sentence. Confused, she asked, “Zhizhi, how did you gain so much weight?”

A flash of resentment crossed Gu Zhi’s eyes as she sobbed, “Mom, Gu Dai has a chef prepare every meal for me. It’s either lobster or abalone, all sorts of extravagant foods!”

Recalling her own meager meals of pork since she was thrown out of the villa, Liu Min felt a pang of envy, “From what you’re saying, it sounds like Gu Dai is treating you quite well.”

Gu Zhi looked at her mother with disbelief, exclaiming, “Mom, how could you think Gu Dai is treating me well? I believe she just wants the chef to fatten me up, make me fat and ugly!”

Liu Min felt a surge of indignation, “That’s terrible! Gu Dai is actually forcing you to eat?”

Nodding, Gu Zhi felt a twinge of guilt. The truth was, Gu Dai hadn’t forced her to eat; she simply couldn’t resist the temptation.

Seeing her mother’s rising anger, Gu Zhi continued her lament, “Not only is she forcing me to eat, but she also has Wu Zhen supervise me as I work. Look, Mom, I’ve even developed calluses on my hands!”

Liu Min looked at Gu Zhi’s hands, her heart aching even more, “Just hang in there, Zhizhi. Your dad and 1 are already thinking of ways to get you out.” “How much longer will it take?” Gu Zhi asked impatiently.

Liu Min averted her eyes, murmuring, “I’m not sure.”

The glimmer of hope in Gu Zhi’s eyes vanished instantly. She shrugged off Liu Min’s hand and yelled resentfully, “It’s all your fault, you and Dad are so useless! I’ve been waiting, always waiting. When will it end? If you two were competent, 1 wouldn’t be humiliated by Gu Dai!”

Just as she yelled this, Gu Ming arrived at the doorway. Already annoyed these past few days, hearing Gu Zhi’s words darkened his face even more.

Barging in, he stormed up to Gu Zhi, raised his hand, and slapped her. “If we’re so useless, go find someone competent to help you!”

Feeling the burning pain on her cheek, tears started to roll down from Gu Zhi’s eyes. She lowered her head, her heart filled with intense resentment.

Gu Ming continued, his voice icy, “If you hadn’t taken Gu Dai’s belongings, would you be in this situation?”

Lifting her head, Gu Zhi glared straight at Gu Ming, retorting, “But many of the things that went missing were sold by you!”