“Click.” Suddenly, someone took a photo of them. Looking up, both Gu Jinghan and Gu Yuanyuan were surprised to see Cheng Lin. Gu Yuanyuan approached and asked, “Cheng Lin, what are you doing here? Are you following me?” “I’ve been wronged. I’m here for a vacation. I didn’t know you were here. I was just as surprised to see you,” Cheng Lin explained. Gu Yuanyuan was skeptical, “Who did you come with?” “I’m alone,” Cheng Lin replied. Gu Yuanyuan rolled her eyes, “Yeah, right. Who are you fooling? Traveling alone? You’re stalking me!” “Yuanyuan, don’t be rude,” Gu Jinghan came over to stop his daughter, “This is a tourist spot; if you can come, so can others.” Seeing her father wasn’t taking her side, Gu Yuanyuan got angry, “He’s stalking me, and you’re a cop, arrest him!” “Have you forgotten? I’ve resigned,” Gu Jinghan reminded her. Gu Yuanyuan: “…” “I don’t care, I just don’t want to see him,” Gu Yuanyuan said in frustration. Cheng Lin said, “Yuanyuan, don’t worry, I’ll follow you, but I’ll do my own thing, and you do yours, we won’t interfere with each other.” “You better remember what you said,” Gu Yuanyuan huffed off. Gu Jinghan patted Cheng Lin on the shoulder, “Don’t take it to heart; she doesn’t mean it. Enjoy your vacation, I’ll keep an eye on her.” Cheng Lin watched the father and daughter walk away and grinned. Gu Yuanyuan was right; he did follow her here. Yesterday, when he saw in the group chat that Gu Yuanyuan was coming to Guilin, he waited at the exit early in the morning and followed them as soon as they left. He wasn’t afraid of Gu Yuanyuan’s temper; he just wanted to be close to her.
In Xincheng, inside a luxurious villa: “Brother, the cop who arrested your brother has resigned and taken his daughter on a trip to Guilin.” Liu Changmin, who was embracing a woman, asked, “Guilin?” “Yes.” Liu Changmin’s eyes turned cold, “Gather a few skilled guys, we’re going to Guilin. I want to avenge my brother!” “Yes!”
After a day of fun, when they returned to the hotel around 6 PM, Gu Jinghan had the dinner sent to their room. As they were about to go back to their room, they saw Cheng Lin. “Why are you here? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t follow me?” Gu Yuanyuan asked irritably. Cheng Lin looked innocent, “I didn’t know you were staying here. What a coincidence.” “Coincidence, my foot! You must have followed me, Cheng Lin, do you believe I’ll call the police on you?” Gu Yuanyuan snapped. Cheng Lin hurriedly said, “Yuanyuan, if you feel I’m bothering you, I’ll leave.” “Cheng Lin, you don’t have to leave; the hotel isn’t owned by us. Stay if you want,” Gu Jinghan could see that Cheng Lin liked Gu Yuanyuan and meant her no harm. Cheng Lin thanked him, “Thank you, uncle.” Gu Yuanyuan shot Cheng Lin a glare and turned to leave. “Yuanyuan, where are you going?” Gu Jinghan asked. Gu Yuanyuan, angrily, said, “If he doesn’t leave, I will.” “Uncle, I’m sorry, I’ll leave,” Cheng Lin felt guilty. Gu Jinghan said, “You don’t have to leave; Yuanyuan is just talking. But Cheng Lin, let me ask you something.” “Please, uncle.” “Do you like Yuanyuan?” Gu Jinghan asked directly. Cheng Lin was taken aback, then nodded, “Yes, uncle, I like Yuanyuan. I did follow her here this time; she’s right about that. But I can assure you, I would never hurt Yuanyuan, nor do I expect anything in return. I just want to be near her, even if I do nothing but watch from afar.” “I believe you won’t do anything to harm Yuanyuan, but any smart person wouldn’t do anything in front of an ex-cop. But I’m curious, you come from a good family, you’re handsome, why choose Yuanyuan when you could have any girl from a similar background?” Gu Yuanyuan’s prickly demeanor would wound anyone who got close. Cheng Lin replied, “Actually, uncle, my friends have asked me this too. I don’t know why I like Yuanyuan; it’s just an instinct to want to be near her, to protect and care for her.” “I understand. As long as you don’t hurt Yuanyuan, I won’t stop you from being close to her. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll really need to take care of her,” Gu Jinghan hinted. Cheng Lin didn’t catch the implication, just thinking that Gu Jinghan had accepted him, and was overjoyed, “Uncle, please check on Yuanyuan; she’s alone in a strange place, anything could happen.” “Alright, you go back and rest, I’ll check on her,” Gu Jinghan said, turning to follow her.
Gu Yuanyuan hadn’t left the hotel; she was sitting in the lobby on the first floor, waiting for Gu Jinghan to come after her and coax her, but he never did, which made her very angry. “Hey, beautiful, why are you sitting here alone? Who upset you?” A man approached to strike up a conversation. Gu Yuanyuan was about to curse, but when she saw how handsome he was, like a TV star, her heart skipped a beat, and she swallowed her words, saying instead, “No one, just tired, resting here.” “You’re here for a vacation, right? So am I. My name is Wu Tianwei,” Wu Tianwei sat down and smiled. Gu Yuanyuan said, “Yes, for a graduation trip.” “What a coincidence, me too, from Zengcheng. Where are you from?” Wu Tianwei asked. Gu Yuanyuan, feeling a liking for him, answered honestly, “Xincheng, my name is Gu Yuanyuan.” “Gu Yuanyuan, what a nice name. You’re so pretty; your family lets you travel alone?” Hearing him compliment her beauty, Gu Yuanyuan felt pleased, “I came with my dad.” “With your dad? You’re an adult, still traveling with your dad? We all come with friends or classmates,” Wu Tianwei laughed. Gu Yuanyuan clenched her fists, “It’s my first time traveling alone, so my dad came along, but I usually go out by myself.” “Even alone, you should have company. How about this, join me tomorrow? We have a group, it’s safer and more fun with more people,” Wu Tianwei suggested. Gu Yuanyuan agreed without hesitation; she couldn’t refuse an invitation from a man she liked.
Gu Jinghan, catching up, saw his daughter laughing and chatting with a man, his face immediately darkened. This man was a stranger to his daughter but not to him; it was the same scoundrel who had once deceived her. Gu Jinghan quickly stepped forward and pulled Gu Yuanyuan up, “Let’s go back.” “I’m not going back,” Gu Yuanyuan shook him off; she wanted to talk more with Wu Tianwei. But without another word, Gu Jinghan dragged her away. Wu Tianwei wanted to chase after her but decided against it after a moment’s thought; after all, he had already added Gu Yuanyuan on WeChat, so there was no rush. Such a naive girl must be easy to deceive.
“Don’t associate with him,” Gu Jinghan said to Gu Yuanyuan upon returning to their room.
“Why?” Gu Yuanyuan retorted.
“He’s not a good person.”
“Not a good person? You don’t even know him, and you can tell he’s not good just by looking at him? Have you become so obsessed with being a cop that you think everyone is a criminal, ready to be arrested?” Gu Yuanyuan was furious. She believed he was just trying to control her, not allowing her to make friends, using such excuses.
Gu Jinghan didn’t want to argue with her. He extended his hand, “Give me your phone, delete his WeChat.”
“No!” Gu Yuanyuan stepped back, refusing.
Gu Jinghan moved forward, snatched her bag, took out the phone, and deleted Wu Tianwei’s WeChat. He was quick, and by the time Gu Yuanyuan reacted to stop him, it was too late. She glanced at her phone, her face flushed with anger, “Gu Jinghan, I hate you!” With that, she ran back to her room and slammed the door shut.
Gu Jinghan took a deep breath; let her hate him, as long as she was safe. He returned to his room, lay on the bed, and images flashed through his mind: Gu Yuanyuan’s despair and helplessness after being deceived by Wu Tianwei, her terror and desperation if she were kidnapped and her organs harvested, Cheng Lin’s breakdown upon seeing Gu Yuanyuan’s corpse, and the original owner’s remorse and anger upon learning of his daughter’s fate…
