A BITTER LIFE

PART 28

Elsewhere, while Cheng and Haikuan were resting, Cheng noticed his husband's silence. "Love, is something bothering you?" Cheng asked, grabbing Haikuan's attention as he was deep in thought. Haikuan sighed before speaking.

"I talked to Yibo." Cheng just looked at him, waiting for him to continue. Haikuan told him everything Yibo had said. "Why is he suddenly thinking about divorce? I don't understand your brother. Your mom talked to him before, didn't she? but he still doesn't want to believe, now that someone who looks like Zhan appears, then he will realize that Liying is not really a good person" Cheng said.

When Cheng mentioned Zhan, Haikuan held Cheng's hand. "Love, what did you feel when you first saw Gu Wei?" Cheng looked at Haikuan curiously but answered. "He's Zhan, but when he introduced himself as Gu Wei, I noticed their differences. Zhan is sweet and cheerful, even at first glance. Meanwhile, Gu Wei smiles, but it seems like he's going through something, he's aloof. And he's scary too especially what he said when liying came" Cheng explained.

Haikuan took a deep breath. "I talked to Mom." Cheng frowned. "About what?"

Flashback:

"You know, ever since Zhan disappeared, we haven't stopped looking for him. If your brother can't do it because of his unfounded anger over a photo, then we will. It's a promise we made with your father and Zhan's parents. For 11 years, I haven't stopped searching for Zhan, but no matter what we do, we can't find him, as if someone knows our every move," Katrina explained.

"11 years? But Mom, Zhan has been missing for 16 years?" Haikuan asked, puzzled. Katrina looked away before speaking again. "Five years ago, your Aunt Cassandra (Lay's mom) came back, and you know how close we are. I went to her house to surprise her, but I was the one who got surprised. I was about to enter, but I stopped when I heard a voice inside mentioning Zhan. The door was slightly open, so I could see inside." She took another deep breath before continuing.

"I was devastated by what I saw. Zhan, with long hair, extremely thin, and his body was dirty as if he hadn't bathed in years, was being calmed down by them because he was crying as if he was terrified. I didn't go in and listened to their conversation. I learned he had been abused, with not a day passing without him being hurt, leaving marks on his back. I covered my mouth and was about to go inside, but I stopped when I heard who had kidnapped him." Katrina paused, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Liying, my sister, the one who ordered to kidnapped me. I don't know why she did it, and she was there while the kidnappers tortured me." Shaking with emotion, Katrina accidentally dropped the flowers she was holding outside the house and quickly left Lay's house.

After that, I followed them to another country to keep an eye on his condition. I found out that they needed to send him to rehab for a few months, along with therapy, because of the trauma he went through," Katrina explained, unable to hold back her sobs.

"Mom, did you ever try to tell Yibo about all this?" Haikuan asked, looking at her with concern. Katrina met his gaze. "I tried once, but your brother told me that Ebisu died 15 years ago, that the man he chose killed him, and that I should never bring it up again. Liying has completely poisoned your brother's mind, which is why I'm so surprised that he's now considering divorcing her" Katrina said.

"But Mom, how did Zhan become Gu Wei? Yibo mentioned to me that he had Gu Wei's background checked, and it turns out he's really a doctor," Haikuan asked, confused. Katrina wiped her tears. "There really is a Gu Wei who exists in this world, and he is a doctor. That's all I know." She replied.

End of Flashback

Cheng broke down into tears after hearing this. "Are you saying my cousin is alive?" he asked, crying. "Yes, he's alive. Gu Wei and Zhan are the same person. However, everything is still unclear because what Mom told us is based only on what she heard and saw," Haikuan said sadly. "Does Yibo know about this? Why hasn't he done anything to that evil woman? If I see her..." Cheng's anger flared up, but Haikuan held his hand. "Love, no one knows about this, and Yibo can't find out. It's better if we don't let Liying know that we're aware of what she did. Gu Wei came back for revenge on his sister. What kind of sane sibling would harm their own brother!?" Haikuan said, also sharing the other reasons why their mother hasn't intervened.

Meanwhile, Eros and Gu Wei were locked in a silent gaze, and Yibo slowly leaned in to kiss him, but Gu Wei turned away. "I can manage now," he said, pulling back slightly. Before Yibo could react, Gu Wei got out of the car, leaned against it, and lit a cigarette.

After a few seconds, Eros also got out and invited Gu Wei inside. Gu Wei told him to go ahead, saying he'd finish his cigarette first. "Okay, do you want anything to eat?" Eros asked. Gu Wei looked at him and smiled. "Whatever's easy for you to cook, I'm not picky," he said with a smile. Yibo nodded and went inside.

As soon as Yibo was out of sight, Gu Wei spoke into his phone. "How's your new friend?" he asked the person on the other end. Haoxuan and Jiyang immediately apologized, causing Gu Wei to laugh. "You almost had me convinced," he said.

Earlier, after Liying left the auction and hadn't gone home yet, she waited outside to confront Yibo and Gu Wei. When she saw them approaching their car, she immediately grabbed Gu Wei by the hair and cursed at him. However, Gu Wei managed to land a slap on her, and Haoxuan and Jiyang rushed in to defend Liying, arguing that Gu Wei was wrong for getting involved with a married man and that Liying had every right to be angry.

"You don't know how she went crazy after you left. Now that we've won her over, what's your plan?" they asked.

"She needs money, so I want you to buy shares from her. Match the amount she needs, and I'll send you a clothing design that you can present to her," Gu Wei instructed, causing Jiyang to smile. "Good thing I studied fashion design," he said with a laugh.

"Alright, I’m heading inside now."

"Wait, where are you?"

"You guys have GPS, right? You can track me," Gu Wei chuckled. "You knew?" Haoxuan exclaimed in surprise. "Yeah, it's okay. I understand why you're doing it. Thanks," Gu Wei said before hanging up and heading into the house.

When Gu Wei entered, he found Eros in an apron, cooking. He couldn't help but stare at Yibo's back as he worked. "You have no idea how much I've missed this. I thought I'd never see you cooking for me again," Gu Wei whispered, lost in thought, not realizing that Yibo had been calling his name. "Wei², are you okay?" Yibo's voice snapped him back to reality, and he quickly looked away. "Am I too handsome that you're staring at me?" Yibo teased.

Gu Wei rolled his eyes. "You're so ugly that can't help but look at you" he retorted before sitting down on the sofa.

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