Chapter 50: Set Off at a Moment’s Notice ⑦

Su Zhou had been a mischievous child since he was little. With a straightforward temperament, he loved to play and laugh. Having experienced hardly any setbacks, he had grown up with effortless ease. Undoubtedly, such a child was happy, but at the same time, his stress tolerance was rather weak, making him much more prone to a sense of defeat.

Su Yu was well aware of this. Therefore, he had always kept a close eye on his younger brother, hoping that he would go through more experiences and grow stronger. This was precisely why he had later stopped pursuing him and allowed him to come to Tibet along with Gu Shisheng.

Yet, after only a few months apart, this kid had become worried and burdened with secret troubles. Finding this somewhat surprising, Su Yu remained silent, calming his mind to listen attentively.

Opposite him, Su Zhou stared at the stove fire, seeming to sink into his memories. After a moment, he continued, "Brother, I think I told you before that when I first started working on the assembly line, the coworker next to me was a boy named Jiang Sheng. He was only eighteen, and his family was very poor, so he had dropped out of school early to work. He was a good person with a simple, honest nature, and he helped me a lot. Whenever I was daydreaming or made a mistake, he was always the one to correct it."

Su Yu nodded slightly. "You only told me that he was a very good person; you never mentioned anything about daydreaming."

Su Zhou grinned somewhat self-consciously. "Of course I wouldn't dare tell you that, for fear you'd scold me..."

After saying this, his expression plummeted, quickly sinking back into a dejected state as he let out a deep sigh. "Yet, such a good person was ruined by me."

His words sounded somewhat ambiguous. Su Yu raised an eyebrow, fixing his younger brother with a piercing gaze.

Unaware of Su Yu's expression, Su Zhou continued his narrative on his own. "Later, after I promised you to work hard, I never slacked off again and was diligent every single day. Coupled with a bit of cleverness, during a meeting once, I offered the factory director some management suggestions. He was so pleased that he promoted me to workshop supervisor. Although I no longer had to work on the assembly line after that, I always stayed in touch with Jiang Sheng, meeting up for lunch sometimes. Once, I saw that his mood was off, and his eyes were swollen as if he had been crying behind people's backs. When I asked him what had happened, he told me his father had fallen gravely ill and they had no money for medical treatment. At the time, I still had some money on hand, so I withdrew it and gave it to him, telling him to take it back for his father's medical care first and pay me back whenever he had money in the future."

Up to this point, the story was still quite positive. Su Yu listened quietly, with a gut feeling that a twist would follow. He had no objections to his brother's actions; on the contrary, he thought he had done the right thing.

Although busy with work, Su Yu himself was usually willing to set aside time to do some charity work. The most fundamental quality of a person was kindness. If one lost that, then no matter how successful one's subsequent career might be, it would be utterly useless.

As expected, Su Zhou sighed again, his tone filled with self-reproach. "Jiang Sheng refused to accept it at first. With no other choice, I told him about my family's financial situation, made him write an IOU, and forced him to take the money. It finally managed to stabilize his father's condition, and he thanked me profusely. Because of the change in his attitude, other coworkers noticed and kept asking me what was going on. At first, I didn't answer, but later, during a casual chat with people, I accidentally let it slip."

Su Yu frowned. "You shouldn't have said that."

People are inherently prone to greed, especially when it comes to such unearned, ill-gotten gains—they flock to it like ducks to water.

Su Zhou nodded listlessly. "Brother, if only I had your brains, things wouldn't have ended up in such a mess later on. I didn't pay much attention when I said it, but by the next day, the news that I had given Jiang Sheng money had spread everywhere. People started flattering me, competing to pour their hardships out to me, hoping I would fund them too. As if that weren't enough, what was worse was that Jiang Sheng was subjected to severe ostracization. No one would speak to him, and they seized every opportunity to bully him, claiming he was scheming and had deliberately fabricated the illusion of his sick father to scam money, and even demanding that he share the money with them."

Accustomed to the fickleness of the world, Su Yu was not surprised by such an outcome. Nodding calmly, he asked, "And then?"

"And then?" Su Zhou looked blank for a moment, seemingly reluctant to recall the outcome. After a brief pause, he said, "Jiang Sheng was forced to resign. When he went to work at a construction site, he accidentally fell from a scaffolding and was paralyzed for life. When his father heard the news, his condition worsened, and he passed away shortly after... All of this happened because of me. After I first learned the news, I was depressed for about a week. Then I sold my car and my valuables, giving everything to Jiang Sheng's family as compensation, and bought a used van and drove away. I just felt I had no face left to stay in City Y."

Facing his younger brother, who was trapped in guilt and unable to break free, Su Yu did not offer comfort. Staring intently at him, he said calmly, "This is indeed your responsibility. Since you chose to help him, you should have kept your mouth shut. You are no longer a child; you should have some understanding of certain things in society, rather than being so undisciplined with your tongue."

"Yes, I know."

Facing his younger brother, whose head was bowed lower and lower, Su Yu finally changed the subject and asked sternly, "But the past is the past. Even regret is useless. I will ask you only one question: do you intend to remain dejected like this, spending the rest of your life in self-blame?"

Only then did Su Zhou slowly raise his head, a glimmer of hope showing in his eyes. "I don't want to. Brother, help me."

"I cannot help you. This is the exact same logic as your internal knot—ultimately, you must rely on yourself." Su Yu shook his head, but finally added, "I can only offer you an opportunity: come back with me, enter the company to start from the bottom, and learn how to be a manager."

When he turned and prepared to walk upstairs, Su Zhou suddenly called out, "Brother."

Su Yu stopped and turned to look at him.

Su Zhou hesitated before continuing, "I regret not staying to help you back then."

Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "It's not too late to start now."

The two brothers met each other's eyes in silence, understanding one another in the quietness.

Just as Gu Yao was heading upstairs, she received a call from Yi Xun. After chatting for a few moments, she reached her bedroom door. Upon walking in, she discovered that Gu Shisheng had followed her inside as well.

Surprised, she turned to look at him, finding it odd. Why wasn't this kid going back to his own room to sleep, following her over here for what?

Gu Shisheng smiled at her, shamelessly sat down beside her, and feigned deep interest in the painting hanging on the wall.

After a brief chat, Gu Yao finally hung up the phone, moved a bit further away in disdain, and asked her younger brother, "What is it?"

Gu Shisheng looked aggrieved. "Can't I come find you for a chat if there's nothing wrong? You're too heartless, Sis."

"In the middle of the night? Out with it, what's your scheme?" Gu Yao didn't believe his excuse for a second.

"Well, it's just... Sis, have I been away for so long? Did anyone ask about me?" Gu Shisheng finally asked with hesitation.

"What do you mean?" Gu Yao raised an eyebrow, sensing something amiss.

Seeing her expression, Gu Shisheng felt his face flush involuntarily. He hurriedly stood up and headed for the door. "Nothing, Sis. I was just asking casually. I'm going back to my room to sleep!"

Even after he closed the door, Gu Yao remained sitting on the bed, deep in thought. Something was wrong—very wrong—though she couldn't quite pinpoint where the issue lay.

Could this kid have a girlfriend? But if that were the case, the two of them could just contact each other directly. Why would Gu Shisheng make a special trip to ask her?

When Su Yu entered the room, he saw her staring blankly at the painting on the wall, her delicate brows knitted in utter perplexity.

He walked over, sat down beside her, and casually pinched her delicate cheek. "What are you thinking about?"

Gu Yao turned slightly, seamlessly leaning into his embrace with her arms automatically wrapping around his waist, and looked up to ask, "You're done talking? How did it go?"

Su Yu stroked her hair, smiled, and said, "Not bad. That kid Su Zhou is willing to listen to reason."

She nodded, burying her face in his chest as she quietly pondered her own thoughts.

Come to think of it, she and Su Yu were quite similar—manifested specifically in the fact that neither of their younger brothers was particularly easy to manage.

After resting for a night at Namtso Lake, they woke up early the next morning to witness a breathtaking sunrise before setting off by car once again.

The weather wasn't very good. Halfway through the drive, a sandstorm unexpectedly kicked in. Su Yu hurriedly rolled up all the windows tightly, yet the car's interior remained permeated with the smell of dust and dirt. Choking on the air, the group had no choice but to put on masks.

Visibility dropped significantly, and passing vehicles all turned on their high beams so that they could barely make out shadowy shapes. Su Yu slowed the vehicle down, concentrating fully on the road ahead without daring to let down his guard.

Pebbles and sand pelted the car, making a sound resembling raindrops. Gu Yao glanced back; both younger brothers in the back seat wore deeply preoccupied expressions, rendering the atmosphere inside the vehicle somewhat heavy.

Entering Qinghai territory next, the group made brief stops whenever they encountered scenic spots before pressing on with the journey. On the whole, they didn't waste much time and returned to City Y in a little over ten days.

Throughout the trip, Gu Yao had contacted Yi Xun a few times and sensed that her mood was somewhat low, so she kept it in mind. Upon returning home, she first took care of washing clothes and taking a bath. Utterly exhausted after the commotion, she lay down for a sound sleep and visited Yi Xun's home the next morning.

As for Gu Shisheng, that fellow sneaked back home in disgrace. Contrary to his expectations, their mother did not scold him this time; instead, she adopted an unprecedented tactic—treating him with icy indifference, almost as if she didn't have this son at all.

At first, Gu Shisheng felt quite liberated, but by the second day, his skin was crawling, and he called his sister for help.

At that moment, Gu Yao was standing outside Yi Xun's front door, preparing to knock, and casually told him over the phone, "I'm coming to see Yi Xun right now. I'll talk to you later."

Gu Shisheng fell into an eerie silence.