Chapter 543 — Two Possibilities

"Made it official? Official how?" Gu Pengzhan asked.

"Boyfriend and girlfriend, of course!" Zhong Yongliang made himself sound easy about it. "Think about it, Uncle Gu. What else could a boyfriend and girlfriend be?"

"Then why is she at your house? Why didn't she come with you?" Clearly, Gu Pengzhan did not believe a word of it.

"She... she was tired, she fell asleep! You know how girls are. The first time they do that sort of thing, they're not really up to moving around!" Zhong Yongliang said, a little embarrassed. "For one thing, she was too shy about it, and for another, I was afraid she'd be uncomfortable on her feet, so I just let her stay home and sleep it off, get some rest..."

"Oh? Is that so?" Gu Pengzhan's frown deepened. He did not believe his daughter would casually sleep with some other boy. She was grown now, true, but this was no casual matter. Even if someone told him Gu Mengyao and Wei Zhao had done such a thing, he would have his doubts, let alone with Zhong Yongliang, whom she had never once warmed to. Unless his daughter had been drugged... Wait. Drugged? Could Zhong Yongliang have used some trick? At the thought, fury surged up in him. If this brat dared do such a thing, Gu Pengzhan would throw away his whole vast fortune if he had to, but he would see the boy dead.

Seeing the look on Gu Pengzhan's face turn unfriendly, Zhong Yongliang's nerve faltered at once, but he did not want to back down, so he could only say, "Uncle Gu, don't worry, Yaoyao is fine. She's just a little tired, that's all. She's asleep..."

"Then tell me, how did the two of you get together? And how did my daughter come to say yes?" The more Gu Pengzhan looked at Zhong Yongliang, the more certain he was that something was wrong. He had ridden the business world for many years; how could he not read a face?

Never mind a green high-schooler like Zhong Yongliang. Even the old foxes of the business world would find it hard to hide their cracks from Gu Pengzhan once he set his mind to watching. So Gu Pengzhan was convinced that Zhong Yongliang had not been telling the truth.

Of course, the lie could be one of two kinds, and Gu Pengzhan could not be sure which. The better case: nothing had happened to his daughter at all, and Zhong Yongliang was merely bluffing. The worse case: half of what Zhong Yongliang said was true, he really had done something to Gu Mengyao, only perhaps by means that would not bear the light.

"Uncle Gu, you know I've been courting Yaoyao all along! We're about to graduate, aren't we? I figured if I didn't confess now, I'd never get the chance!" Zhong Yongliang had long since prepared his story, so when Gu Pengzhan asked, he spoke fluently. "A few days ago, on the campus tree-planting day, I put on a confession show, fireworks blazing, a night without end! I spelled out 'Yaoyao I love you' in fireworks, five characters, and the whole school was there, teachers and students both, they can all bear witness! And so Yaoyao was moved, she accepted my confession, and became my girlfriend!"

"Is that so?" Seeing Zhong Yongliang speak so smoothly, Gu Pengzhan half believed him, believed, that is, that he really had put on such a show, not that his daughter had accepted the confession.

"Of course! Yaoyao was moved to tears!" Zhong Yongliang said smugly. "Like the saying goes, utter sincerity will split stone. I chased Yaoyao for three years. Even a stone woman would have been moved!"

"Oh. And then the two of you went and checked into a hotel today?" Gu Pengzhan nodded and asked mildly.

"Heh... not a hotel, my house..." Zhong Yongliang nodded, embarrassed. "Uncle Gu, I'm sure you've been through this age yourself. Yaoyao and I have made it official, so the rest follows naturally... But don't worry, I'll take responsibility!"

"Oh." Gu Pengzhan nodded.

Just when Zhong Yongliang thought he had more or less passed the test, he heard Gu Pengzhan demand sharply, "Yaoyao went to a hotel with you. Did Xiaoshu go too?"

"Ah? That... Xiaoshu..." Sweat sprang at once onto Zhong Yongliang's forehead. Yes, if Gu Mengyao had gone off with him, then what had Shen Yushu been doing? Clearly Gu Pengzhan had tried to reach Shen Yushu first, and found her unreachable too.

His original plan had not included Shen Yushu. He had meant only to get Gu Mengyao to follow him up the mountain alone, and then lock her away. Who would have thought that when he spoke with Gu Mengyao, she did not send Shen Yushu away, and that curious girl Shen Yushu had tagged along up the mountain after them, which left Zhong Yongliang no choice but to lock Shen Yushu up as well.

Otherwise, what if Shen Yushu got out and spread the word?

At first Zhong Yongliang had thought it was merely one more person locked up, nothing serious, no real effect on his chances. But now, with Gu Pengzhan asking, he realized he had been wrong, he had thought it too simple. If Gu Pengzhan could not find Gu Mengyao, the first person he would think to call was naturally Shen Yushu.

And since Shen Yushu had vanished too, his earlier lie collapsed on its own. There was no need to bring Shen Yushu along to a hotel with Gu Mengyao. No one would bring a third party along for that sort of thing. Was he hoping to kill two birds with one stone? Zhong Yongliang would have liked to, but it was only a thought. He knew it was impossible.

Besides, he felt nothing for Shen Yushu. He avoided her when he could. To play at two birds with one stone with her would be courting death.

"What? Nothing to say? Your lies weren't well designed? Can't speak?" Gu Pengzhan gave a cold snort. To dare show such petty tricks before him, the boy truly thought the business world was simple.

"Fine. Since you've seen through it, all the better. Saves me the trouble of making up more lies!" Zhong Yongliang simply tore off the mask, past caring, ready to go down with the ship. "I've got Yaoyao and Xiaoshu locked up! But don't worry, I won't hurt Xiaoshu. It's only Gu Mengyao I love..."

"What have you done to Yaoyao?" Gu Pengzhan shot to his feet. He had not expected Zhong Yongliang to be so bold as to abduct both Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu. But what Gu Pengzhan did not know was what the boy had actually done to his daughter.

"Done? What could I have done?" Now that the mask was off, Zhong Yongliang dropped his former deference and crossed his legs with a smirk. "A boy and a girl alone together. What do you suppose they can do, Uncle Gu?"

Gu Pengzhan's face went dark. He had not expected Zhong Yongliang to be so brazen as to force himself on her. "You dare?" he thundered.

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