Gu En’s expression faltered. His face turned pale in a flash, and when he began to speak, he stumbled over his words, "Dad, what did she say to you?"
"She said you are concealing your true age. What’s going on? And why does she know your affairs so well?" Gu Hengyuan looked at his son with a headache, "Aside from our own family, nobody in our compound knew about your childhood history. Maybe for ordinary families, concealing age is no big deal, but for a family like ours, taking one step could be like taking a thousand steps. There’s no turning back, so we can’t afford to make any missteps! What’s the issue with your age?"
"Dad, I don’t know~" Gu En shook his head, fear creeping into his heart, "I hate her so much, I couldn’t have possibly told her about my affairs, could I? Dad, she went to C Province during the summer break. Could she have found out?"
"Even if she found out, what’s this about your age?"
"Dad, I don’t know, I really don’t know." Gu En broke down in tears as he spoke, "When I was born, my parents didn’t care for me because I was a girl. Before joining the Gu family, I never celebrated my birthday, and no one told me how old I truly was. As a child, my days were spent working, being scolded, and beaten. After being sold off, my life was a struggle for survival. When you asked about my age, I didn’t even know how old I was. At that time, there were many kids about my height but were only six years old. Hence, I thought I was six too."
Gu En’s tears only intensified as he spoke, as he choked out, "Dad, I don’t know how old I am. Is there something wrong with my age?"
"Enough, let’s not talk about her," Gu’s mother came over sympathetically, holding Gu En’s hand, "It’s not your fault. Your dad’s temper flared up, and we don’t know what your classmate said to him. His mood has been off since the phone call."
"What else could it be? It must be the things Gu En did this spring! Now, we have given her something to hold over the Gu family!" Gu Hengyuan sighed.
"Hengyuan, after all, the He student is only nineteen years old and came from a rural area. We ruined her ventures, and she loaned so much money from the bank. If her business collapses, she can’t pay it back even if she works herself to death. We can’t blame her for threatening us with this." Gu’s mother also sighed heavily.
"She said, if her life is ruined, she will drag the Gu family down with her." Gu Hengyuan stated, "So, should we just walk away?"
"Dad, who knows if she can successfully run the Lanteng Company. A small therapy pavilion should not grow as big as Lin Chan’s company. Maybe, she just wants to lift herself out of poverty? How much can a nineteen-year-old girl really accomplish?" On hearing the phrase ’drag down with her’, Gu En’s nerves tensed, "Dad, I know it’s because of me that the Gu family missed this opportunity. I’m sorry."
"Our Gu family needs to tread carefully now, a single misstep will cost us greatly." The grandmother looked at Gu En and then spoke to the senior Gu, "Talk to the newspaper, and act according to He Zhilan’s wishes. Issue a clarification and apology letter. We need stability more than anything right now. Like Gu En said, the Lanteng Company... we don’t know how it will turn out in the future."