Inheritance

Gu Qingzhou's departure was sudden. Before this, apart from a few team leaders, no one else in the company had received any news. So, when a short, fat middle-aged man came to the company the next morning to announce he was temporarily taking over Gu Qingzhou's work, it caused a bit of a stir, more or less.

The new leader was short and fat, his figure somewhat resembling a Maitreya Buddha, but his smile didn't hold much kindness. Instead, it was rather cunning. His eyes darted around the office, first sizing up all the female colleagues before he retracted his gaze. He coughed twice and said, "This was all very sudden, so you may not have received the news. Due to some personal reasons, Manager Gu has to go home to handle some matters. During this period, I will be taking over his work. My surname is Liu, Liu Kangming. You can just call me Manager Liu. I'll need you all to free up some time. Let's have a regular meeting at three in the afternoon so I can familiarize myself with the situation."

After speaking, without the slightest bit of awkwardness, he hugged a cardboard box full of personal belongings and went straight into the office with the little admin assistant.

Fang Qia, who always had the most gossip, pursed his lips at the sight and whispered to the others, "So pretentious. I heard he was sent here from the company headquarters for sexually harassing a female subordinate. If he weren't related to a big boss up top, he would've been fired long ago."

Li Si'ao frowned upon hearing this. "You should stay away from him in your free time, lest he takes advantage of you. He looks like a total lecher to me."

Fang Qia muttered, "More than just looking like a lecher, he's not as handsome as Manager Gu either."

Although it was wrong to judge a book by its cover, after getting used to the tall and handsome Gu Qingzhou, suddenly having a bald old man was really hard to adapt to.

Jiang Xu hadn't slept last night and had dozed off for a while after coming to the company early in the morning. He was currently hunched over his desk drawing. Without looking up, he said, "They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Shouldn't you think Li Si'ao is the most handsome?"

"You talk too much." Fang Qia shot him a light glare, then took the drawing from Jiang Xu's hand to have a look. "What are you drawing? Isn't the Huaji project finished already? And you haven't taken on any new client orders recently."

Jiang Xu twirled his marker pen. "Just doodling. I'm free anyway."

On the paper was a hand-drawn interior design rendering. Fang Qia vaguely remembered seeing Jiang Xu draw it before, but it hadn't been colored then. Looking closely now, it was a minimalist Nordic style, using many neutral colors for a soft transition. The main theme was blue tones, which looked simple and comfortable at a glance.

Fang Qia found it inexplicably pleasing to the eye. "Hey, why don't we decorate our marital home according to this drawing when Si'ao and I get married? You can be our designer."

Seeing Li Si'ao's face turn bright red, Jiang Xu nearly burst out laughing. "You two are designers yourselves. Why hire me? It's a waste of money."

Fang Qia thought so too and returned the drawing to him. "Your style has changed quite a bit, but I feel it looks better than before."

Jiang Xu buried his head and continued drawing. "What style do I have? It's better to design your own marital home. No one understands your needs better than you do, hmm?"

In their line of work, whatever style the client wanted, they would design accordingly. Unless they became famous in the future, they had no autonomy in their choices.

Fang Qia said thoughtfully, "Not really. In the past, when I drew, I only pursued a sense of design and aesthetics. But a home is a place for people to live. I still want to make it a bit warmer."

Upon hearing this, Li Si'ao glanced at her, then shyly scratched his head and looked away.

The little admin assistant went in to help the new Manager Liu tidy up his desk. When she came out, her face was dark. She took two tissues and wiped her hands in disgust. A male colleague couldn't help but ask, "Hey, what's wrong with you? Did that old guy take advantage of you?"

Seeing the office door was closed, the little admin assistant said irritably, "What 'take advantage of'? Isn't he just a department manager? Why is he putting on such airs? Once I went in, he had me tidy this and that. I got my hands all dusty moving things, and he even told me to make him a cup of coffee every morning from now on. He's really treating me like his personal secretary."

Everyone clicked their tongues first, then comforted her, "Count your blessings. At least he didn't ask you to clean his office. That would be even worse. You'd be doing the janitor's work too. Doing two jobs for the pay of one."

The little admin assistant rolled her eyes. "I'll just quit at worst. So what if he's the leader? A leader can't bully people like this. When Manager Gu was here, he cleaned his own office. I never saw him ask me to tidy up."

Jiang Xu, listening from the side, thought that Gu Qingzhou was quite diligent. But this newcomer didn't look like someone easy to deal with. He would probably stir up some trouble for a while.

A new broom sweeps clean. Liu Kangming wasn't very competent, but he was well-versed in the ways of officialdom. Determined to establish his authority, he would come out of his office every few minutes to do an inspection round, then say a few pretentious words. Fang Qia couldn't even be bothered with him, directly putting on his headphones to listen to music and covering his ears with his long hair.

Liu Kangming noticed the banana plant in the corner. "This banana plant has all withered. How ugly it looks sitting here. What will customers think when they see it? Someone come move it down and throw it away later. Replace it with another pot."

'How could it not wither in the dead of winter? It'll turn green again in the spring,' Jiang Xu thought. He couldn't help but roll his eyes, hoping Gu Qingzhou would come back soon. The thought of having to make a living under such a leader made him want to change jobs.

The situation with the Gu Family couldn't be called optimistic either; it could even be described as a complete mess. After all, anything involving money becomes complicated. It was already late at night when Gu Qingzhou's plane landed. He didn't even have time to go back to the old family home and rushed, travel-worn, straight to the hospital.

At that time, Old Master Gu had already fallen into a coma. He hadn't been able to eat anything for the past few days and was clearly on his last legs. Relatives from both direct and collateral lines, whether he knew them or not, were all eyeing the inheritance covetously, wanting a share of the spoils. The originally spacious high-end hospital room was packed with people, making it seem cramped all of a sudden.

The hospital corridor was silent. The floor reflected the bright incandescent lights above, casting a cold paleness. Only the faint echo of footsteps could be heard. The driver led Gu Qingzhou to the front of the hospital room and then stopped. "Little Director Gu, almost everyone is here. The lawyer is also inside. It's not convenient for me to go in. Mrs. Gu is waiting for you."

Hearing this, Gu Qingzhou seemed lost in thought for a moment before pushing the door open and entering. In an instant, a dozen pairs of eyes inside turned to look at him. Various ambiguous gazes intertwined into a dense net, all filled with calculating assessment from behind.

Mother Gu was sitting on a chair by the bed wiping her tears. Seeing Gu Qingzhou arrive, she shot to her feet subconsciously, her expression one of relief.

Gu Ting, the son of the first wife, was five years older than Gu Qingzhou. He was already married with children but idled his days away doing nothing. He said pointedly, "Qingzhou, you're here so early. Dad woke up just now and was asking about you."

Mother Gu grabbed Gu Qingzhou's wrist, calmly pushed through the crowd, and pulled him to the most conspicuous position by the bed, ensuring that the old master would see him the moment he woke up. Hearing Gu Ting's words, she wiped her tears with a handkerchief and said, "As soon as your younger brother heard the news, he immediately took a plane overnight to rush back. Look how thin he's become."

Gu Qingzhou glanced at the old man with a withered face and hair on the hospital bed, his gaze freezing for a few seconds before moving away. Although he wasn't very close to his biological mother, he wouldn't undermine her in front of so many people. He closed his eyes faintly and said nothing.

There were a few younger sisters to the side, but because they were married daughters and their birth mothers were of unknown origin, they had little right to speak. They could only sit quietly on the sofa, crying real or fake tears. Besides Gu Qingzhou and a lawyer who was to read the will, basically everyone in the room had red-rimmed eyes.

The old master wasn't awake, so they could only wait. Wait for him to wake up, or wait for him to breathe his last.

The hospital room had limited space. Those who found a spot sat, and those who didn't, stood. But not a single person showed a hint of impatience. They stared at the constantly moving wall clock. In the extreme silence, one could even faintly hear the tick-tock of the clock hands, as if symbolizing the passing of the old man's life on the bed.

Outside the window, the night surged. The moon hung high in the treetops, yet it only cast down a bleak and cold loneliness.

At three in the morning, Old Master Gu woke up. He opened his eyes, and his murky gaze brightened for a moment, making him look quite energetic. Those who didn't know better secretly worried that he might still have some days left to live. Those who understood knew this was a final burst of energy before death.

The old master was still a bit muddled when he spoke, his voice hoarse, like a worn-out old box. He couldn't get up, so Mother Gu helped raise the bed a little. They only heard him ask confusedly, "Is everyone here..."

Hearing this, Mother Gu immediately pulled Gu Qingzhou over. "Old Master, everyone's here. Qingzhou heard you weren't well and was worried sick the whole way."

Old Master Gu laboriously turned his head for a look and met Gu Qingzhou's calm face. One pair of eyes was clear and clean, the other murky and old. They were two completely different people, but upon closer inspection, the indifference within them seemed to overlap faintly.

Old Master Gu nodded. "It's good that you're all here..."

As if to put on a show for him, several of his children at the side began to cry out loud on purpose. Gu Ting also squeezed out a couple of tears, moved closer to the bed, and called out mournfully, "Dad..."

Old Master Gu glanced at him, then looked at the rest one by one, finally turning his gaze to the lawyer. He then let his eyelids droop wearily and said, "My days are numbered. There are some things left. Divide them properly, so you brothers don't fight. Read the will in my presence. What belongs to whom, belongs to them. Don't fight, don't snatch. Don't become a laughingstock for outsiders."

As he finished speaking intermittently, several gazes inconspicuously gathered on the thin document in the lawyer's hand. An invisible smell of gunpowder seemed to fill the air as their eyes met.

The smell of disinfectant filled Gu Qingzhou's nostrils. His left hand was held in a tight grip by Mother Gu. The woman was so nervous she didn't even notice her nails digging into her son's flesh, causing a burning pain.

Gu Qingzhou didn't know what he was thinking. His mind was a mess, filled with many things. He watched the lawyer open the blue file with Old Master Gu's tacit approval and begin to read the will. The distribution of shares, the distribution of property, the distribution of businesses—the words came out one by one, like a cold, emotionless mechanical sound.

What Mother Gu cared about most were the company shares. The old master currently had four officially acknowledged sons, but only Gu Qingzhou and Gu Yan had joined the company. Although Gu Ting was the son of the first wife, he had always been a good-for-nothing, only waiting for his dividends every year. The old master couldn't be so blind as to hand the company over to him, right?

Mother Gu unconsciously squeezed Gu Qingzhou's hand tighter and tighter, cold sweat beading on her forehead as she stared motionlessly at the lawyer's opening and closing mouth...

56% of the shares...

Gu Ting got five percent, Gu Yan got thirty-five percent, Gu Qingzhou got fourteen percent, and Gu Min, being young, only got two percent...

Fourteen percent?!

As Mother Gu listened, she seemed to suddenly realize something. Her eyes shot wide open, and she subconsciously looked at the person on the hospital bed, crying out in astonishment, "Old Master?!"

Among the brothers, Gu Yan had the most shares. Wasn't this equivalent to handing the company over to him? And what about Gu Qingzhou? To be a major shareholder?

Mother Gu was not satisfied with this result. Not satisfied at all. Besides her personal grudge with Gu Yan's birth mother, it was also because Gu Yan was the most hostile towards her. Now that he was in charge of the company, was there still a way for her and her son to survive?!

Seeing her lose her composure, Gu Qingzhou lowered his voice slightly and said, "Mom—"

In fact, the current result was already beyond Gu Qingzhou's expectations. He wasn't close to his family and hadn't expected to get anything. He had only come to see the old master one last time, but he never thought he would be given over ten percent of the shares.

He didn't care about these things, but Mother Gu was neither content nor resigned.

She was now Mrs. Gu, firmly seated in the position of the house's matriarch. Her son was promising and capable, and she herself had the status of the official wife. Why on earth was the company given to Gu Yan?