Chapter 36: Cheap Toy
Gu Xinglan couldn’t see the expression in Qin Wan’s eyes at this moment, but he could see his long, slender eyelashes trembling gently.
Gu Xinglan took a deep breath.
“Fine. The favor debt you owe me is wiped clean.”
Hearing this, Qin Wan immediately looked up. “Really?”
Gu Xinglan nodded.
Qin Wan’s eyes lit up. “Does that mean… you’re agreeing to let me go?”
The words Gu Xinglan feared most had ultimately been spoken.
The expression on his stunningly handsome, sharp face grew increasingly ugly.
A myriad of complex emotions layered over it, tangled together in an indescribable mess.
He stared at Qin Wan for a moment before spitting out three words coldly.
Pausing after each word: “In your dreams.”
Qin Wan’s small face instantly collapsed, his brows furrowing deeply. “But you just agreed to—”
Gu Xinglan coldly cut him off.
“Qin Wan, I said your favor debt is cleared. But you still owe me several million in compensation. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
“So until it’s paid off, you belong to me. Don’t even think about going anywhere.”
These words were like a basin of ice-cold water, ruthlessly extinguishing the newly ignited spark of hope in Qin Wan’s heart.
He lowered his eyes and remained silent.
Gu Xinglan reached out a finger and gently nudged the boy’s jaw, forcing him to look up.
“Look at me, Qin Wan.” His gaze firmly locked onto those dark pupils. “When are you going to learn to be a bit more obedient?”
Qin Wan’s lips were pressed tightly together.
He didn’t answer.
Gu Xinglan noticed something crystalline slowly forming in those clear black eyes.
The tip of his pretty little nose was slightly red.
Gu Xinglan spoke, his voice softening without him even realizing it: “If you obediently listen to me, I will let you see Zhou Rong.”
Hearing this, Qin Wan looked up, a flash of surprise in his eyes, accompanied by a trace of doubt.
“Y-You’re telling the truth?”
Gu Xinglan nodded. “Once you can get out of bed and move around, I’ll take you to her.”
Qin Wan realized something. “Rong Yi is also in this hospital?”
“Yes.”
“But don’t get any other ideas,” Gu Xinglan warned.
“If you secretly meet with her without my permission, I’ll immediately transfer her away to a place where you’ll never see her again.”
Qin Wan shook his head frantically. “I won’t! I won’t! Just letting me see her is enough, I promise I won’t be greedy!”
He spoke with desperate urgency, his small face flushing slightly red in an instant.
Gu Xinglan lowered his eyelids.
“Qin Wan, if you just listen and stay obediently by my side, I will… treat you a little better in the future.”
These words didn’t sound like a command or a threat; rather, his tone carried a hint of gentle coaxing.
Qin Wan’s lips pressed together slightly. He nodded, his voice hollow and weak: “Okay, I understand…”
The tension between Gu Xinglan’s brows eased a bit.
He reached out and gently stroked the boy’s somewhat messy black hair.
“Rest well. I have a meeting this afternoon. I’ll come back after work.”
“The caregiver will take good care of you. I had Zhang Sao stew some ginseng soup; they’ll bring it over later, drink it while it’s hot.”
Qin Wan wanted to say, “You’re busy, you don’t have to come,” but he held it back.
He knew that if he said that, it would likely just anger him again.
The narrow tails of his eyes drooped slightly, and he murmured his thanks softly: “Thank you, Gege.”
Gu Xinglan’s gaze swept over the card Qin Wan had left aside.
He picked it up and placed it on the bedside table.
“Keep this too, no need to exchange it. Both the three million and the clearing of the favor debt count.”
After saying that, he stood up and strode away.
The hospital room returned to silence.
Qin Wan let out a deep sigh.
Regarding Gu Xinglan using him as bait for a fishing expedition, naturally, he felt terrible inside.
But he understood that to Gu Xinglan, he was nothing more than an easily acquired, cheap toy.
By holding his absolute weakness, the man could demand anything from him and do whatever he pleased.
So there was nothing to complain about.
Thinking like this, he felt a sense of relief.
Reflecting on it, although he had suffered a brutal beating, at least Gu Xinglan had agreed to wipe out his favor debt.
He even got a massive sum of three million.
He glanced at the high-quality black bank card resting on the bedside table.
He couldn’t help but think of Sheng Siyue.
He had also given him a card, containing two million.
His brother had given him his entire life savings so that he could settle down and survive.
That card was heavy with deep affection and loyalty.
But Gu Xinglan—he set up a trap, calculated the risks but missed a crucial detail, used him as bait, and placed him in mortal danger.
This was merely compensation.
Even though it had an extra million, this card held absolutely no weight.
At the thought of Sheng Siyue, that delicate, handsome, and gentle smiling face appeared before Qin Wan’s eyes again.
He wondered how his brother was doing now.
Was he living well?
Did he miss him…
The light in Qin Wan’s eyes dimmed.
In the afternoon, the gold-medal caregiver tended to Qin Wan with the utmost attentiveness.
The doctors and nurses also popped in frequently, checking on his condition with eager dedication.
Zhang Sao delivered the ginseng soup; it was still made with her secret recipe featuring white truffle.
Qin Wan loved the flavor and drank the entire thermos.
Seeing that his complexion was still somewhat haggard, Zhang Sao felt her heart ache.
“Xiao Qin Xiansheng, you rest and recover well. I’ll make you ginseng soup every day!”
Qin Wan felt a warm glow in his heart and smiled at Zhang Sao. “I appreciate the trouble. Thank you.”
In the evening, Gu Xinglan returned.
In his hand, he carried an exquisite cake box.
Seeing him enter the ward, the caregiver tactfully excused herself.
“Gege,” Qin Wan greeted, his voice lazy.
In truth, he didn’t want to see him.
“I brought you some cake. They say eating sweets can make people feel better,” Gu Xinglan said.
This little piece of trivia was something he had just learned while chatting with Li Ye a moment ago.
Gu Xinglan had spent the entire afternoon in a meeting in the corporation’s boardroom.
The focus of the meeting, naturally, was passing a public judgment on Gu Xinglin.
When he played the audio recording of Gu Xinglin privately torturing Qin Wan for a false confession in the conference room, it instantly caused an uproar.
The person in question, Gu Xinglin, was absent, but none of the board members present dared to ask where he was.
Only Gu Xinglin’s father, Gu Jun, stated that he had lost contact with his son since noon, and anxiously asked Gu Xinglan for his whereabouts.
Gu Xinglan politely informed him that if the father didn’t know where the son was, he certainly wouldn’t know either.
With the defendant absent, the trial proceeded as usual.
Gu Xinglan announced the revocation of all of Gu Xinglin’s shares and stripped him of all his positions within the corporation.
Aside from Gu Jun, no one else raised any objections.
The motion was passed with an overwhelming majority.
After the meeting, sitting in the chair in his office, Gu Xinglan’s mind uncontrollably drifted back to Qin Wan.
He wondered if the pain for that bruised and battered little pitiable thing had eased somewhat by now.
His handsome little face seemed to constantly sway before his eyes.
That thin, dark red gash on one side of his cheek made his heart inexplicably ache.
The muscles in his jaw twitched.
So, no matter how he dealt with Gu Xinglin next, it wouldn’t be excessive.
The disciplinary action taken during the meeting just now was merely the surface punishment.
That was just the beginning.
The real show was yet to come.
But while he could ruthlessly punish Gu Xinglin for his crimes, what about his own?
Qin Wan’s injuries, to a certain extent, were caused by him.
The light in Gu Xinglan’s deep phoenix eyes flickered uncertainly.
He suddenly realized that he seemed to care entirely too much about that little liar.
With his usual temperament, in order to achieve his goals, anyone was expendable.
Even if it were his own biological grandfather or father, if they blocked his path or displeased him, they had to die.
Yet now, seeing Qin Wan injured, his heart simply could not settle.
Gu Xinglan let out a deep breath.
He left the company a bit early and went to Li Ye’s restaurant.
It wasn’t yet peak dinner hours, so Li Ye sat in a private room chatting with him for a while.
“Qin Wan was injured by Gu Xinglin,” Gu Xinglan said faintly. “Although they are external wounds, his body… has many gashes. Some are very deep and bled a lot.”
He spoke in an even tone, as if merely stating a fact.
But as friends for many years, Li Ye knew his emotional state was quite off at this moment.
After all, someone like Gu Xinglan would never easily concern himself with whether others were injured or not.
“That child was likely pushed to the brink of desperation, which is why he acted so recklessly without regard for the consequences.”
“Gu Xinglan, if you like him, treat him well. There are many ways to win someone’s heart. You don’t necessarily have to use force.”
Gu Xinglan was silent for a moment before letting out a scoffing laugh.
“Li Ye, do you remember many years ago I mentioned a kid who scammed me out of my phone?”
Li Ye thought for a moment and nodded. “Mn, I remember. Your dad punished you by making you kneel for a long time and killed your dog. You told me.”
Gu Xinglan pursed his lips. “That little liar is Qin Wan.”
Hearing this, Li Ye was thoroughly shocked.
“Oh? Such a coincidence?”
Gu Xinglan’s eyes darkened slightly. “That incident had a massive impact on me. It’s been seven years; although I don’t mention it, I’ve never been able to let it go.”
“I didn’t expect him to crash directly into the muzzle of my gun on his own. So, do you think I’ll easily let him off?”
The light in Gu Xinglan’s phoenix eyes grew colder.
Li Ye fell silent.
Since Gu Xinglan and Qin Wan had an old grievance from years ago, it was hard to say.
Everyone in their circle knew how ruthless Gu Xinglan’s nature was.
He held grudges, and he would never easily let go of anyone who had hurt him.
Li Ye couldn’t advise him further.
He suddenly had a subtle premonition.
The entanglement of gratitude and resentment between Gu Xinglan and Qin Wan would be long-lasting and unceasing in the days to come.
Li Ye pursed his lips. “Gu Xinglan, if it weren’t for that collision by Qin Wan, the situation with your Gu Corporation wouldn’t have become clear so quickly.”
“From this perspective, he actually did a good deed.”
Hearing this, the light in Gu Xinglan’s eyes shifted slightly, and the corner of his lips curled into an almost imperceptible arc.
“Mn, true.”
After speaking, he turned and walked toward the ward next door.
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