Chapter 11: Ghosts of Poverty

“Did something happen?”

Shen Qing asked, vaguely sensing that something was off with Gu Qingnan’s mood.

“It’s nothing,” Gu Qingnan said with a smile before Shen Qing could speak again.

“Good night.”

The night was late, so Shen Qing felt awkward pressing further and stepped out of the room.

After washing up and lying down in bed, Gu Qingnan remained unable to fall asleep for a long time.

Wei Nianxi could never tolerate a grain of sand in his eyes, yet Ji Wen had worked by his side for eight full years.

He did not doubt Ji Wen’s competence, but the likelihood of never making a mistake over eight years under such high-intensity work was minuscule.

Moreover, right when he and Wei Nianxi got married, Ji Wen had gone drinking to drown his sorrows.

Wei Nianxi had always detested people getting too close, especially him, yet Ji Wen could enter and leave his bedroom at any time…

Previously, he had always assumed that if there were anything between Wei Nianxi and Ji Wen, Wei Nianxi would have had no need to enter an arranged marriage with him, so he had never overthought it.

Yet now…

***

When Gu Qingnan woke up the next day, Wei Nianxi was already gone.

During the morning, Gu Qingnan kept Wei Yeban company.

In the afternoon, he went to the company as usual.

When he arrived, Fu Lichun was at the front desk chatting with several colleagues who had also been present the night before.

Seeing Gu Qingnan walk through the door, the group shut their mouths at once.

Gu Qingnan paid them no mind, walking straight toward the elevator.

Incidents like this were nothing new, and he had long grown accustomed to them.

He had considered resigning, but this job was very important to him; he needed money.

More accurately, what he needed was the sensation of being able to earn money and holding money in his own hands.

Wei Nianxi was actually not stingy with him at all: luxury cars were his to drive at will, a lavish mansion was his to live in freely, and the attire he wore to balls and banquets was entirely custom-tailored, with cufflinks and brooches bearing exorbitant values.

Right around the time they had first married, Wei Nianxi had even handed him a black card.

Gu Qingnan had never specifically checked the credit limit on that card, but knowing Wei Nianxi’s style, anyone could deduce that the ceiling was extraordinarily high.

Yet none of that truly belonged to him.

If Wei Nianxi so wished, he could take everything back at any moment.

What he needed was money that was entirely his own.

Back when his mother’s second round of surgery began, they had already run out of money.

He was still a minor back then; even if he skipped classes and dedicated all his time to odd jobs, the money earned in a month was not enough to cover a single week of his mother’s medication.

Left with no choice, he had to thicken his skin and beg for loans from his uncle’s house time and time again.

In the beginning, he could still step past their door, but later he did not even have the qualification to enter.

Later still, he was not even permitted to enter the residential compound.

So he could only keep vigil at the compound gates, chasing after their cars again and again…

After learning of his family’s circumstances, the compound security guards would sometimes deliberately pretend they had failed to stop him, letting him slip through.

Yet that did not mean he would certainly obtain any money that day.

He remembered one instance where he loitered stubbornly from the afternoon until night, refusing to leave no matter what.

That had infuriated Dong Jiao so much that she grabbed a nearby broom and beat him relentlessly.

Only after returning did he realize that a long gash had been sliced into his arm, bleeding continuously.

Reluctant to spend money on hospital registration, he pressed tissues against it to stop the bleeding.

Yet the cut was too deep and long, and after sitting in the stairwell for a long time, the blood still had not ceased.

In the end, a nurse noticed him and secretly bandaged the wound for him.

On that day, he had secured five hundred yuan.

The memories of that period were etched too deeply.

The terrifying dread of losing his only remaining kin at any moment due to a lack of money had been burned into his soul…

To the point where throughout his entire university years, he had bolted awake from nightmares countless times, tossing and turning sleeplessly through the night in helpless panic.

During college, he had worked desperately not only to repay debts, but largely because the tangible reality of being able to make money and having money could ease the terror in his heart.

It functioned just like Wei Yeban’s little rabbit, serving as a vital source of comfort.

After marrying Wei Nianxi, his condition improved considerably since he no longer owed external debts, yet he still frequently woke up startled in the middle of the night.

Consequently, it had not been long before he began sending out resumes.

Yet because of Wei Nianxi, large corporations dared not hire him, while smaller firms either showed suffocating enthusiasm or were scared away entirely.

Later, Wei Nianxi somehow heard about this and instructed Ji Wen to arrange employment for him.

The job Ji Wen arranged for him was this very position.

General Manager, an annual salary in the millions, flexible hours, and close to home.

At the very beginning, he had actually been quite pleased, for with his academic background and fresh graduate status, finding such an exceptional job would have been impossible.

Yet he soon discovered that he was unwelcome across the entire company.

He had thought about asking Ji Wen to switch jobs, but ultimately gave up on the idea, knowing that even if he changed jobs, his predicament would not alter in the slightest.

Fortunately, over the three years he had saved a substantial amount of money, and coupled with Wei Yeban’s birth, he had not experienced those nightmares for a very long time.

Entering his office, Gu Qingnan focused his attention on processing the documents before him, aiming to return home early.

Wei Yeban’s condition was noticeably improving.

Thinking of Wei Yeban, his movements involuntarily grew lighter and swifter.

***

At the Wei Family Headquarters.

Inside Ji Wen’s personal office.

Ji Wen watched the video footage before him with knit brows.

“When did this happen?”

“Last night…” the person before the desk answered with a guilty conscience.

Ji Wen had previously instructed him to keep a closer eye on Gu Qingnan.

Yet if the villa staff had not drawn a blank on what Gu Qingnan liked—prompting him to look into Gu Qingnan’s colleagues instead—he still would not have known about this incident.

Ji Wen set down the tablet.

“How many were involved?”

The subordinate replied, “Mainly two: the receptionist Fu Lichun, and the head of the production department, Fu Haoyang.”

“Fu Haoyang is Fu Lichun’s uncle by marriage.”

“The other two in charge of the handover are ordinary employees, though they are quite close with Fu Lichun.”

“Relying on her ties to Fu Haoyang, that Fu Lichun often snacks and binges dramas at the front desk during work hours…”

The Wei family was a massive enterprise; while few people visited the company where Gu Qingnan worked on normal days, it was nonetheless a corporate branch headquarters.

If Wei Nianxi caught sight of such a receptionist, everyone in the company would suffer the consequences.

“Gu Qingnan didn’t do anything about it?” Ji Wen frowned.

“He did intervene, and Fu Lichun seems to have held a grudge against him because of it, but…”

The subordinate trailed off.

Gu Qingnan’s position had always been awkward.

Ji Wen said, “Fire everyone involved and every single bystander who stood around watching the spectacle.”

“Understood.”

The man looked at Ji Wen.

Leaving the others aside, the head of the production department was an important position, and logically, a secretary like Ji Wen possessed no authority to decide his fate.

However, Wei Nianxi had always treated Ji Wen differently from everyone else.

Ji Wen checked the time.

“You may go.”

With that, he stood up and walked out.

Wei Nianxi should be finishing up on his end.

When he stepped through the door, Wei Nianxi happened to set down his pen.

Ji Wen organized the documents on the desk, preparing to take them out for distribution.

“Did you find anything?” Wei Nianxi asked.

Ji Wen’s movements paused for a brief instant.

“My apologies.”

Wei Nianxi looked over.

It was rare for Ji Wen to fail at handling a task.

Ji Wen lowered his gaze.

“He has virtually no social life.”

Wei Nianxi withdrew his gaze.

Ever since their marriage, Gu Qingnan was either looking after him or taking care of Wei Yeban, and indeed had never been seen with any friends; furthermore, this question was distinctly personal.

As for the Gu family, they were unlikely to know either.

Wei Nianxi pondered for a moment before speaking.

“In that case, prepare a share transfer agreement.”

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