Chapter 75 Gu Fei Learns Lin Qingyan’s True Identity
Hanging up the phone, Gu Fei couldn’t help but clench his phone.
He could feel his heart beating faster than usual. Looking at the beautiful red roses, silent for a moment, his throat tightened, and he heard his own not-so-calm voice, “Turn the car around, go back to the company.”
The driver in the front seat looked at the man in the back seat through the rearview mirror. He seemed to be still calm and composed, which the driver found strange, but still responded, “Okay, Gu Ye.”
They were already halfway through the journey. It would take another hour to get back to the company. Gu Fei turned his head to look at the scenery outside the window, his deep eyes revealing complexity, his lips slightly pursed, no longer sleepy.
More than an hour later, the car pulled into the underground parking lot of Gu’s Group headquarters. Gu Fei got out of the car, without lingering, strode towards the elevator.
The driver remained in the car, looking strangely at the man’s quickly disappearing back. This was the first time he had seen Gu Ye in such a hurry. What happened?
The elevator doors opened, and Assistant Yang Jing was waiting outside, saying to Gu Fei, “Gu Ye, the two guests have been waiting in your office.”
Gu Fei hummed in response, without stopping, walking straight to the CEO’s office.
Two people were sitting on the sofa in the reception area: a man in his thirties and a woman in her forties. She slumped her shoulders, her hands clasped tightly together on her lap, her expression uneasy.
When Gu Fei walked in, the two on the sofa immediately stood up. The young man was the one who had just called Gu Fei. His name was Lu Xiu, a private investigator and also a rich second-generation, with extensive connections.
Lu Xiu greeted Gu Fei and then introduced the woman who was still bowing her head, “Gu Ye, she’s the nurse I mentioned on the phone, Qin Qiushui.”
Hearing this, Qin Qiushui raised her head and met Gu Fei’s gaze. This handsome young man exuded a cold and imposing aura, his eyes even colder and more intimidating. She was startled and quickly lowered her head again.
Gu Fei merely glanced at her, then nodded slightly to Lu Xiu, “Have a seat.”
The three sat down on the sofa. Gu Fei sat opposite Qin Qiushui, his gaze sharp as ice. Without saying anything unnecessary, he directly ordered, “Qin Qiushui, tell me everything that happened back then.”
Qin Qiushui trembled, hesitating to speak, turning her pleading gaze to Lu Xiu beside her. Lu Xiu smiled at her gently, “It’s alright, tell me. Repeat what you told me.”
Qin Qiushui lowered her eyes, not daring to meet the man’s gaze across from her. Hesitantly, she began to speak, “It was nineteen years ago. At that time, I was a young nurse in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department of Nancheng First People’s Hospital…”
Even after nineteen years, Qin Qiushui could never forget what happened that day. Every time she remembered it, she was tormented by endless guilt, unable to sleep.
While not as wealthy as the Gu family, the An family was also a well-known family in Nancheng. That year, Mrs. An, Song Shuman, gave birth at Nancheng First People’s Hospital. She successfully delivered a baby boy.
On the same day, another woman in labor was sent to the hospital: Lin Qingyan’s mother, Zhou Yuelian. She also successfully delivered a son.
A major traffic accident occurred at the same time, many people were injured, and hospital beds were in short supply. Zhou Yuelian and Song Shuman happened to be in the same ward.
The two women in the same ward naturally interacted. Zhou Yuelian learned that Song Shuman was the wife of a wealthy family and had a happy family. Her husband and two sons visited her every day, and the newborn baby was the family’s precious darling.
Zhou Yuelian, on the other hand, was alone and lonely. She had given birth, but her husband didn’t care at all. He only cared about drinking, eating, whoring, and gambling, and hadn’t even visited her once at the hospital, forming a stark contrast to the woman in the next bed.
Zhou Yuelan felt hatred and resentment. She was unhappy. Because of her husband who was always drinking and gambling, their family was impoverished, even struggling to pay the hospital bills. Her poor newborn son would not have a happy life in such a family.
So she conceived a wicked plan. She almost spent all her savings, bribing the nurse at the time—Qin Qiushui—with five thousand yuan. She asked Qin Qiushui to secretly switch her baby with Song Shuman’s.
The act was smoother than expected; no one noticed. To this day, the An family is still in the dark, treating the switched child as their own son.
Their biological child, however, ended up in such a miserable family, living a similarly miserable life since childhood.
The happiness that originally belonged to him – a happy and harmonious family, a wealthy life, the love of his parents and brother – was all taken by another completely unrelated person because of a malicious exchange…
…
“I’m sorry…” Qin Qiushui stammered, recounting the truth of that year. Her head bowed even lower, tears of fear, self-blame, and guilt streaming down her face. She clutched at her clothes tightly, “I know I’m guilty, and I didn’t want to do it, but my father was ill at the time, and needed money for treatment…”
Five thousand yuan was a considerable sum of money back then. It was because of that five thousand yuan that her father’s illness was cured, but her life would never be stable again; she would always live in remorse.
Qin Qiushui had considered telling the truth to the An family, but she feared the consequences, afraid of taking responsibility. She hid like a cowardly mouse.
Until nineteen years later, Lu Xiu found her.
“Gu Ye, that’s the whole story.” Lu Xiu sighed almost inaudibly. He couldn’t feel any sympathy for this woman. This ridiculous story, like a cheesy TV drama, had actually happened in reality.
TV dramas are fine; the audience might scold a few times and then forget. But in reality, it brought immense, irreparable trauma to a family and the child who was switched.
If the An family knew that the child they had loved for so many years was not their own, and that their biological child had suffered so much all these years, how much pain and self-blame would they feel?
The most tragic was the An family’s swapped child.
Gu Fei remained silent. He didn’t speak; his already cold and serious face tightened, his jawline clenched. He clenched his fists, his usually calm eyes now filled with surging anger.
“Five thousand…” His voice was icy cold, his chest rising and falling. He stared at the woman bowing her head and crying, his eyes covered with a layer of gloom, saying in a low voice, “For five thousand yuan, you ruined that child, even a family.”
Gu Fei was trying his best to control his emotions. Anything related to Lin Qingyan, he couldn’t maintain his usual indifference and calmness. Moreover, this matter also involved the An family.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Qin Qiushui cried agitatedly, even kneeling in front of Gu Fei, “I was wrong, I was really wrong, it’s all my fault. I’ve lived in guilt all these years, and haven’t had a single happy day…”
The woman in front of him cried sadly, but Gu Fei remained unmoved. This woman did not deserve sympathy, even less forgiveness. She had the chance to make amends, to tell the An family the truth anytime, but she didn’t.
What self-blame and guilt? Those were just excuses for a selfish person to deceive themselves.
Those who do wrong must accept punishment.
“Don’t do that, get up quickly.” Lu Xiu helped Qin Qiushui up. Gu Fei didn’t want to see her anymore, so he asked Lu Xiu to take her out. The office finally fell silent, but Gu Fei’s mind was a mess.
After a while, Lu Xiu returned, “Gu Ye, what are you going to do about this?”
He had actually been following Lin Qingyan’s news, knowing that the child had participated in a talent show and was very popular with the audience. Most importantly, An Jing, the mentor on that show, was from the An family, and the fake An family’s youngest son was also there. The relationship between the biological and the fake sons wasn’t good, and their fans were constantly arguing.
If the truth were revealed, it would undoubtedly cause a great sensation.
In fact, Lu Xiu was even more curious about the relationship between Gu Fei and Lin Qingyan. He had known Gu Fei for quite some time, and this was the first time he had seen him so concerned about someone.
Just now, after Gu Fei learned the truth, that cold, murderous look…Lu Xiu recalled it, goosebumps forming on his arm.
Gu Fei suppressed his emotions, his eyes still showing anger, saying coldly, “Keep an eye on Qin Qiushui, and…record a video of her repeating the story of that year.”
“Okay.”
“Thank you, you can go busy now.”
“Okay, Gu Ye, if you need anything, you can contact me again.”
After Lu Xiu left, Gu Fei sat in silence. He lowered his eyelashes, rubbing his aching temples. His jawline was still tense, as if a fire was burning inside him, unable to be extinguished. His heart couldn’t calm down for a long time.
Gu Fei had once guessed that Lin Qingyan was adopted by the Lin family, but he never imagined that he had been maliciously switched, and that he was actually the An family’s child. No wonder Lin Qingyan’s appearance had a slight resemblance to the An family members.
Thinking of this, Gu Fei couldn’t control his anger. His Qingyan should have grown up happy, carefree, instead of suffering grievances and being forced to grow up in such a family.
He even wanted to tell everyone the truth immediately.
However, he needed evidence.
Gu Ye was used to having absolute certainty and being foolproof before doing anything.
After calming down for a moment, Gu Fei took out his phone and called An Yu. An Yu was very surprised after receiving the call, “My god, Gu Ye actually called me?”
Gu Fei didn’t waste words, “Come out, I’ll treat you to dinner.”