Chapter 41: Refusing to Yield

Gu Yao was stunned for a full two or three seconds after hearing him say this. No matter how vivid her imagination was, she found it hard to fathom what Su Zhou and Gu Shisheng could possibly be doing together. Had they secretly fallen in love and eloped?

"These two... they aren't hiding anything from us, are they?" She asked, frowning after a moment of silence.

On the other end, Su Yu sounded somewhat helpless as he reassured her, "Don't worry, I can guarantee that their relationship is still just that of ordinary friends..."

After both sighed, Gu Yao said, "Alright, come over. I'll take leave and try to get out as early as I can."

As she stood up to leave her office, she inwardly cursed that brat Gu Shisheng a hundred times. Was this kid addicted to running away from home?

Su Yu arrived half an hour later. Gu Yao was waiting at the entrance; seeing him, she hurried over, opened the car door, and hopped in, asking, "Do you know what their route is?"

"I can still track Su Zhou's phone for now." Su Yu tossed a tablet to her. On it, a winding line showed they had already covered a long distance, nearing the boundary between Y City and A City. They were moving quite fast.

"How long have they been gone?" she asked again.

"About four hours or so." Su Yu accelerated slightly, and the scenery outside flew by in reverse.

Gu Yao leaned back against the seat, silent and frowning as she thought. It was the peak of rush hour, and the surrounding traffic was gradually thickening, noisy and chaotic.

She sighed, "Slow down. Chasing them is a minor matter; don't put yourself in danger."

"I know," he replied in a deep voice.

Remembering something, he asked, "Does your mother know about this? Will she blame you?"

Gu Yao bit her lip. "I haven't told her yet. Let's try to find them first. It would be best if we could bring them back."

As for whether she would be blamed, she didn't answer, because the answer was certain. It would inevitably lead to another big scene of shouting and chaos. She would just have to wait and see; she was used to it anyway.

"What about you? Will your mother be very angry?" she asked casually.

Su Yu chuckled at this. "My mother? If she could control Su Zhou, that kid wouldn't be the way he is now. Dropping out of school, idling about—she never managed him. This time will be the same. I bet in a few days she'll have come to terms with it and will be bragging to everyone: 'My second son is so capable, he drove to Tibet all by himself!'"

Gu Yao was amused by his tone and laughed. "Isn't that good? At least her mindset is positive."

They chatted a bit more, but traffic began to clog up ahead. Rows of cars were bunched together, barely moving for a long time.

Gu Yao glanced at the tablet and suddenly said, "Hey, Su Zhou's trail suddenly disappeared."

Su Yu took a look and tossed the tablet aside. "His phone is off. I don't know if the battery died or if he finally developed a bit of caution. I suspect the former."

He never had much faith in his brother's intelligence and was merciless in his teasing. Gu Yao found it funny and picked up her phone to call Gu Shisheng again, but it remained unanswered.

She had started calling the moment she heard the news. Gu Shisheng was likely avoiding her calls for fear of being scolded. Feeling a surge of irritation, she put her phone down and suddenly said, "Forget it, let's stop looking. Let's go back."

Once traffic began to move, Su Yu turned the car onto another road to head back. He then sought her opinion: "They have to withdraw money along the way, so their trail will be exposed. I'll have people keep an eye out. If it comes to it, we can just have someone go grab them."

"Forget it," Gu Yao said, shaking her head with little interest. "Let them be. Those two brats will learn once they taste some hardship."

She didn't know what had gotten into people lately, but there was a sudden trend of going to Tibet, claiming it could "purify the soul." Young people were flocking there, even quitting their jobs to go. Not to mention the harsh climate and road conditions, which easily caused altitude sickness, what would happen even if they really went? Could a single trip truly change a person?

Gu Yao couldn't fathom it. She didn't know what those two were thinking; it was infuriating that she, as the elder sister, had to clean up their messes.

"I'll go talk to my mother. She should be at a business engagement right now." Having said that, Gu Yao called her mother's driver. After confirming the location, she told Su Yu, "Go to the Star Cloud Hotel."

Upon arrival, she got out. Seeing Su Yu looking worried and wanting to follow, she pushed him back into his seat with a smile, leaned over, and kissed his lips with a queenly air. Pulling back, she tapped his lips with a slender finger. "Be good and wait here. I'll be down in a moment."

The man's large hand gripped her waist, pulling her onto his lap, and he deepened the kiss without conceding. He then chuckled, "Go on. I know you don't want me too involved in this family business."

"Hmm, it's embarrassing. It ruins the tall, impressive image I have in your heart," Gu Yao pouted. After stepping out of the car, she put on her coat with a flourish and walked into the building with long strides.

Seeing her demeanor, Su Yu knew she was prepared and felt relieved.

Having already asked the driver, she knew her mother, Qin Manfeng, was entertaining at the top-floor restaurant. She called ahead, notifying the secretary to bring her mother out for a moment, saying it was urgent.

After taking the elevator up and waiting a while, her mother approached with the click of high heels. Upon seeing her, she frowned, "What is it? Why are you in such a rush?"

Her cheeks were flushed from drinking, but she remained sharp. After decades of navigating the business world, she had mastered the art of holding her liquor. At over fifty, she still maintained her figure and appearance well.

"Gu Shisheng has run away," Gu Yao looked at her and said bluntly, without beating around the bush.

"What did you say?" Qin Manfeng arched her brows, her beautiful eyebrows knitting together. She immediately pulled out her phone and dialed. "Go check where Gu Shisheng went! Quickly!"

After hanging up, her gaze shifted to her daughter with suspicion. "How do you know? Did he discuss this with you?"

"Why would he discuss it with me? Isn't he an adult? Can't he make his own decisions?" Gu Yao's gaze was calm and unyielding. "As for how I know, don't ask. I naturally have my ways."

She didn't mention Su Zhou, knowing that doing so would implicate Su Yu, so she chose not to invite that trouble.

"Sheng-sheng is closer to you than to me; he discusses everything with you," her mother remarked, eyeing her with skepticism.

"Oh, and have you ever reflected on why that is?" Gu Yao smiled. The two of them drifted off-topic, turning the conversation into a debate, and both inadvertently pushed the search for Gu Shisheng to the back of their minds.

"You aren't his mother; you have no responsibility toward him, so you are naturally more lenient. Children don't understand, but one day he will surely realize who really had his best interests at heart," her mother said coldly.

Gu Yao raised an eyebrow. "Whether it's for him or for me, your actions aren't just strict—they are demanding. You impose your own desires and requirements upon us and claim it's for our own good, but do you know that a child's mental health is more important? If one doesn't feel happy inside, everything else is empty talk."

She rarely spoke to her mother at such length; she was usually silent, feeling it was futile. But inspired by Su Yu, she felt it was better to speak her mind clearly.

Her mother was surprised to see her like this, her face darkening further. "Are you trying to fight me to the end? Your own mother?"

"Also, regarding what you said last time about regretting giving birth to me, I want to give you a formal answer," Gu Yao continued, ignoring her question. "I've thought about it myself, and my conclusion is: I am grateful that you gave birth to and raised me, but the path I've taken since then is my own. Regardless of the outcome, it is my own affair, so you need not regret it."

She had never expressed her views so clearly and freely. After finishing, she felt refreshed and offered a polite smile. "Mother, if there is nothing else, I'll be going now."

Outside the glass doors of the hotel, a black car was parked. A tall man was standing by it, watching her. She quickened her pace, walked over, and gently hugged him.

"How did the conversation go?" Su Yu stroked her hair.

"Hmm, it felt quite good. At least I said what was on my mind." Her head was buried in his chest, her voice muffled.

"That's good." Su Yu nodded, his strong arms holding her tightly as he gave a slight nod toward the front as a greeting.

At the edge of his vision, by the hotel entrance, a woman's figure flashed by. Qin Manfeng, who had followed her daughter out, watched the two embracing sweetly. She was silent for a moment, then turned back, an unreadable emotion in her eyes.

"President Qin..." the secretary trotted after her, asking with concern.

When Gu Shisheng woke up, he felt the environment was wrong; it felt like he was in a moving vehicle. At first, he thought he was just hungover and disoriented, but when he rubbed his eyes and looked again, he bolted upright from the backseat.

In the dilapidated little van, Su Zhou was humming a tune while operating the steering wheel. Outside the window, it was pitch black; there wasn't even a streetlight to be seen. He had no idea which remote road they were on.

"What's going on?" Gu Shisheng patted his head, feeling a dull ache. Vague memories of before he got drunk surfaced—he seemed to have... agreed to something incredible.

"You're awake? There's a carton of milk in the bag in the backseat. Toss it to me," Su Zhou said, glancing at him in the rearview mirror.

Gu Shisheng rummaged through the messy pile of items for a long time before finding the milk and handing it forward. Su Zhou freed one hand to take it and bit it open, drinking it down in gulps.

In the small cabin, the sound of his swallowing was exceptionally clear.

While Su Zhou was drinking, Gu Shisheng rolled down the window and squinted out into the night. The night wind made him shiver, and he quickly rolled it back up, asking cautiously, "Where... are we going?"

"To Tibet," Su Zhou replied, having finished his drink. He tossed the empty carton away, and the car sped up a bit more.

Gu Shisheng was stunned, and his sense of foreboding grew stronger. "And now? Where are we?"

Su Zhou began bobbing his head to his humming again, answering in the gaps, "Hmm... let's see. We're moving fast. We've been driving for about five hours. We've left Y City and are about to enter A City."