Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - 3 002 Ruyi Pawnshop Chapter 3: 002: Ruyi Pawnshop Chapter 3: 002: Ruyi Pawnshop Doctor Qiao finally finished giving his instructions.

Changling and Jiahui then pushed open the door and entered Old Mr. Gu’s room.

The young man who had been shouting “Fourth Brother” outside was also in the room, squatting by the bed and speaking to the old man, “Grandpa, Fourth Brother has arrived, he’s downstairs.”

Old Mr. Gu’s time was drawing near, and Mr. Xie from the Xie Family was the only guest who had been invited and did not carry the Gu surname.

Nurses were indispensable by the old man’s side. Changling stayed in the room for the duration of one bottle of medicine, after which Jiahui took over. During this time, quite a few members of the Gu Family came and went.

However, Mr. Xie had not come over yet.

The area set aside for the nurses to rest was on the left side of the corridor. If you walked in further, you would pass by a study room. It seemed to be a study room, as the door was not fully closed. When Changling walked past the door, he could see the bookshelves by the wall and hear the voices inside.

“I am also part of the Gu Family. With the Old Master critically ill, why shouldn’t I be here?”

The one speaking was called Gu Shangbin.

Changling had heard some things about the affairs of the Gu Family while he was at the hospital. The eldest and second sons of the Gu Family were both very incompetent, unable to safeguard the family business. Old Mr. Gu had made a will long ago, dividing his property evenly among the grandchildren, each grandchild receiving one portion, regardless of age.

The Gu Family had three grandchildren, two boys: the eldest grandchild Gu Kaiyun, and the youngest, Gu Yihuan.

Although Gu Shangbin also bore the surname Gu, he wasn’t born from the legitimate Madam Gu, but was an illegitimate child that Gu Yihuan’s father had outside. He had heard the news from somewhere and had come running.

The person who went to Moon Cave Gate to fetch Mr. Xie was Gu Yihuan, the youngest grandson of the Gu Family, very young, just over twenty.

“You shameless thing, you don’t even bother to look at yourself; how could someone like you be worthy of the Gu surname?”

Gu Yihuan was the youngest in the Gu Family, the most loved one, and also the one who was the most spoiled and willful. He had always loathed his father’s illegitimate child. If it weren’t for his cousin and Fourth Brother being present, he would’ve resorted to fists long ago.

Gu Shangbin was thick-skinned, with a streetwise aura, and very shameless: “Whether I’m worthy or not, my surname is still Gu.”

“You—”

Gu Yihuan’s fist was already raised but was held back by his cousin, Gu Kaiyun, “Xiao Huan, we still have a guest downstairs.”

Unlike Gu Yihuan, Gu Kaiyun was the eldest son and grandchild. His emotions were stable, and he had a good temper.

Gu Yihuan snorted irritably and then fell silent, grinding his teeth and radiating a cold air, wishing to freeze the shameless illegitimate child to death.

Gu Kaiyun presented a check: “Take the money and leave quietly.”

This wasn’t the first time Gu Shangbin had come to ask for money. Today, the elders of the Gu Family clan were all present; it wasn’t suitable to make a scene, nor was it appropriate to let outsiders witness a joke.

But Gu Shangbin was uncooperative and threw the check onto the table: “Who do you think you’re looking down on? I’m not a beggar.”

Clearly, Gu Shangbin had come for his share of the inheritance, relying on his Gu surname.

Is it the amount that you’re not satisfied with?

The voice sounded like silver falling on jade, a voice that even Heaven would reward with a meal, instantly grabbing everyone’s attention.

Gu Shangbin followed the voice and looked over: “Who are you?”

It was Mr. Xie.

He was originally making tea, standing alone on the side.

He set down the teapot and slowly lifted his head: “If you’re not satisfied, you can fill it in yourself.”

Gu Shangbin had never seen him and thought he was just a tea server, behaving very arrogantly: “A tea server like you has no place speaking about Gu Family matters.”

The room was filled with a faint scent of tea.

Mr. Xie stood up and walked over. Gu Yihuan immediately moved aside to give him space.

“You claim your surname is Gu,” Mr. Xie sat down, between Gu Yihuan and Gu Kaiyun, leaning back slightly in a very relaxed posture, “have you done a DNA test?”

Before Gu Shangbin could speak, he followed up: “And who did the test for you?”

“This is something everybody already knows, why would I need a DNA test.” When Gu Shangbin was thirteen, his mother brought him to the Gu Family to recognize his lineage. Old Master Gu didn’t acknowledge him, but Second Mr. Gu did.

“If you wish to inherit the estate,” Mr. Xie seemed very skilled at negotiations, measured in his approach, and advancing step by step, “then this step is unavoidable.”

“Fine, let’s do the test.”

“If the test shows you don’t bear the Gu surname,” Mr. Xie said halfway and then paused.

“What nonsense are you spouting!”

“That’s fraud.”

“You’re talking nonsense!”

As if an invisible hand had seized Gu Shangbin’s throat, he breathed rapidly, his face turning pale with urgency.

Mr. Xie handled the situation with ease, step by step, laying out a path for the man – a path that led to death: “You will go to prison for fraud.”

Gu Shangbin panicked, his voice rising uncontrollably as he bluffed, “I am a member of the Gu Family!”

It was as if Mr. Xie hadn’t heard him, continuing with his hypotheticals, his voice a gentle baritone that felt soothing yet somber, “You will die in jail.”

“I...”

Mr. Xie looked at him: “It could be an accident, or you might die from illness.”

The once-argumentative Gu Shangbin instantly fell silent.

Mr. Xie pushed the cheque towards him, his neatly trimmed fingers lightly resting on the paper, composed from start to finish:

“The will is legally binding. If you want your share, you have to follow the proper procedures.”

You had to play by Mr. Xie’s rules.

If he said the DNA didn’t match, it didn’t match; if he said you weren’t part of the Gu Family, then you weren’t; if he said you would go to prison, then that was your fate; and if he said you’d die in jail, it wasn’t a joke.

Who was he?

Gu Shangbin finally realized that this man was more than just a tea server.

“I am a member of the Gu Family.”

This time, Gu Shangbin’s voice was not as loud as before. Despite the calm and slow-spoken words of the other party, they sent chills down his spine, like a venomous snake crawling up his back.

“It’s not for you to decide.”

Afterward, the study fell silent.

Wen Changling recognized the voice, eloquent and elegant, belonging to the incense-lighting Mr. Xie. It seemed Mr. Xie was not a man to play by the rules; he was gentle but also incredibly cruel.

At three o’clock and four minutes past the hour in the afternoon, Old Mr. Gu passed away peacefully.

In the evening, after the rain had stopped, Wen Changling and a colleague headed back to the hospital. She was holding a lot of things, including equipment and a medicine chest, walking at the back of the group.

Just as they were leaving the main gate, the impatient Jiahui hurried her from the car.

“Changling.”

Almost simultaneously, a young man’s voice called out from the other end.

“Xie Shang.”

At both ends of the street, the two turned their heads simultaneously and their gazes met. Seconds later, they calmly looked away from each other as if they had never made eye contact.

Wen Changling now knew the name of Mr. Xie, Xie Shang.

She quickened her pace, got into the hospital’s car, and left with her colleagues.

*****

When did you start to notice someone?

— It starts when I turn around the moment someone calls her name.

Xie Shang’s car was parked across the street from the villa. Gu Kaiyun approached him, “Xiao Huan told me that your pawnshop moved. Why did you suddenly relocate?”

Xie Shang joked, “Business wasn’t good, it’s tough to run a shop.”

Gu Kaiyun obviously didn’t believe this, “Where have you moved to?”

“Lotus Pond Street.”

Twenty days prior—

Ruyi Pawnshop was still located in the bustling Zhangjiang Commercial District. Its sign, made of sandalwood, stood out against the modernity of the surrounding area. High-rises loomed, cars and people bustled about, yet the solitary single-story Ruyi Pawnshop, with its modest exterior, occupied a spot worth its weight in gold, causing passersby to pause and take a second look.

Despite its prime location, Ruyi Pawnshop wasn’t doing good business. The entrance was often deserted, even the spider plants by the door drooping listlessly. The owner of Ruyi Pawnshop was surnamed Xie, with a single character for a name – Shang.

Xie Shang’s maternal family, the Su Family, had started their business with pawnbroking. As the pawn industry declined, the Su Family shifted to investment banking, with only Ruyi Pawnshop still being operated. After more than a dozen generations, once the pawnshop reached Xie Shang’s hands, its nature changed: no longer solely pawning goods for goods or money, anything could be pawned if Boss Xie was so inclined. To exaggerate, even the living could be pawned for the dead.

But Boss Xie had one rule: he only accepted pawns that were dead.