Qin Yue met Gu Xingdong's emotionless gaze and knew he wasn't joking. While her heart ached, a flicker of anger ignited within her. She tilted her head back, fighting back tears, and said, "You want to know Chen Lishu's whereabouts? I can't answer you directly. You can come with me to find He Lei; perhaps he will tell you the answer!"
Gu Xingdong wouldn't easily trust this woman. Just as he was about to employ some unconventional methods, Qin Yue, sensing his intentions, quickly continued, "I have no idea where He Lei took Chen Lishu. If you don't believe me, kill me! Even if you kill me, you won't get the answer you want. Although I'm not He Lei's biological daughter, your actions are undoubtedly provoking him. If you want to know Chen Lishu's exact location, that will be impossible! I know you're a smart person; you know what decision to make."
Gu Xingdong stood up, looking at Qin Yue as if she were an ant. He said emotionlessly, "Lead the way."
----
At the villa.
Qin Yue put away her aggrieved expression, pushed open the door with a smile, and saw He Lei sitting on the sofa. She then acted coquettishly, "Godfather, I'm back. I've brought Brother Gu back with me too."
Seeing Gu Xingdong's arrival, He Lei showed no surprise. He leaned back lazily in his chair, crossed his legs, and took the initiative. "Little Gu, I've heard about your wife's situation. I even sent people to investigate the matter immediately after it happened! According to my subordinates, your wife was abducted by a group of human traffickers and was apparently sold to a mountainous area. To be honest, I don't think you need to rescue her."
Gu Xingdong listened to He Lei's words, his hands clenched into fists, his bones cracking. If not for the residual consciousness reminding him that he had to find out Chen Lishu's location today, he feared he wouldn't be able to control himself and would have killed He Lei! Thinking of this, Gu Xingdong suppressed the inappropriate look in his eyes and said respectfully, "Whether to rescue her is my business. Please tell me Chen Lishu's exact location, Commander He. I will always remember your great kindness!"
He Lei juggled a walnut in one hand and rested the other on the sofa cushion. He then put on a pretense of earnestly persuading him. "The person has been sold to a poor mountain village for so long. Who knows if anything inappropriate has happened? Little Gu, I admire your abilities. I can't just stand by and watch you have your life ruined by gossip! Give up on Chen Lishu. At most, I'll find some people to send her some money to live comfortably there as compensation. Of course, I'm not helping you for free. My daughter really likes you. As long as you marry Qin Yue, I'll handle all your troubles, ensuring you have a worry-free life and a happy family for the rest of your days!"
Gu Xingdong, unable to bear it any longer, took a step forward, grabbed the ashtray from the coffee table, and smashed it heavily onto the table. Leaving behind a shard, he pointed it directly at He Lei's neck, "Don't think I don't know this is all your plan! I don't have the patience to waste any more time with you!"
This sudden turn of events startled both of them. Qin Yue anxiously reprimanded, "Brother Gu, can't we discuss things properly? Why do you have to do something so foolish? If this gets out, will you still want your position as commander?"
Gu Xingdong paid no mind to Qin Yue's dissuasion. Seeing that He Lei remained silent, he tightened his grip on the shard, and blood immediately began to well up. The stinging sensation jolted his mind. He Lei gritted his teeth, a flicker of fear in his eyes, but he quickly calmed down. He Lei threatened, "Little Gu, I advise you not to act rashly! Even if you know I did this, so what? The key is you have no evidence! Have you considered whether you can leave this villa unharmed if you kill me? Don't forget you have an elderly mother and two children. If something happens to you, your family won't be able to live in peace!"
Hearing He Lei's words, Gu Xingdong's reason slowly returned. He casually threw the shard to the ground and said expressionlessly, "Everything will be repaid. I will make you pay the price!" With that, he turned and left the villa.
Watching Gu Xingdong's retreating figure, He Lei angrily stood up and kicked the coffee table violently, venting his frustration. "He's still threatening me and telling me to pay the price! I'd like to see what that brat can do to me." Qin Yue quickly went to He Lei's side, gently patting his back, and spoke kindly of Gu Xingdong, "Godfather, please calm down! Gu Xingdong still has some value to us. Don't you want to get his inheritance? Be patient, and all your wishes will come true!"
----
Meanwhile, in Guijia Village, Chen Lishu had no idea that Gu Xingdong had gone to He Lei's house to cause a scene and almost did something irreversible to save her. With her phone confiscated and her legs inconvenient, she had been like a fish on a chopping block for days, at the mercy of others. As she lay bored, staring at the ceiling, the door was pushed open. Tian Tian walked in unsteadily, carrying a bowl of coarse grain. "Stepmom, Great-Grandma asked me to bring you food." After finishing her weak sentence, Tian Tian placed the bowl heavily on the bedside cabinet.
Seeing Tian Tian's unusual state, Chen Lishu frowned, pulled her into her arms, and felt her forehead. "What's wrong? She doesn't have a fever!" Just then, Wang Yuhua entered, leaning on her cane. She glanced at Tian Tian with exasperation and said, "Don't worry, she's not sick. She's just starving because there's nothing in her stomach."
Starving to death?! Hearing this, Chen Lishu paused, then shouted at the unhurried Wang Yuhua, "Then what are you standing here for? The child is starving to death, quickly get her something to eat!" Wang Yuhua pouted indifferently. "Food? She's just a little girl. Let her starve to death. We can't take our rations out for her to eat and suffer ourselves!"
Chen Lishu ignored Wang Yuhua's malicious attitude. She then picked up the bowl from the bedside cabinet, scooped up some food, and prepared to feed Tian Tian. Seeing this, Wang Yuhua stamped her feet in anger. "Are you crazy? This food is for you to nourish your body and give us a fair-skinned, chubby great-grandson in the future! Do you know that our rations are running low? The pigs we raised, for some reason, all got sick overnight. We won't have any pigs to sell in the future, which means our source of income is cut off! We have very little left to eat ourselves, so why bother with a lowly girl! Put the food down quickly and don't worry about her. Just find a place to bury her if she dies."