JOH CH86: The Plot

Gu Yuanting had no concept of family affection.

His biological mother passed away from illness not long after giving birth to him. His stepmother soon married into the family, bringing with her an illegitimate son who was a few years older than him. When he was still very young, his stepmother sold him off. He had no time to form any emotional attachment or longing for his birth mother before he was forced to struggle just to survive.

So, the word “mother” meant little to him. He neither harbored fantasies nor felt any longing—just a sense of unfamiliarity.

As for other “relatives,” there was even less to say.

Gu Yuanting’s previous life was different from this one.

In his past life, after being abandoned by “Father Su” and “Mother Su,” he stayed for a while in an orphanage, then wandered outside for some time. At seventeen, by coincidence, the Gu family discovered him and took him back.

During the journey, he received a little care and thought he was finally going to have a home and family. But reality was nothing like that. After bringing him back, Grandfather Gu—seeing that he was crippled in his left leg—treated him coldly, even with disgust, believing that a disabled heir tainted the family’s bloodline.

At that time, Gu Mingfeng had not yet been diagnosed with lung cancer, and the Gu family already had a dazzling heir. Father Gu never paid attention to this son. Gu Yuanting was completely neglected, thrown into a corner of the Gu household. The care he had received on the journey felt like an illusion, and his treatment plummeted to rock bottom.

Grandfather Gu’s attitude was the family’s wind vane. Other “relatives” treated him like a stranger. The neglect, mockery, and humiliation he suffered because of his disability made him wake up completely. He began to lie low, quietly biding his time.

A few years later, as the Gu family’s third-generation heir, Gu Mingfeng was diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer. Just like in this life, Grandfather Gu believed Mingfeng’s death was inevitable and began searching for a new legitimate heir. His gaze fell on the crippled Gu Yuanting.

Gu Yuanting began to receive attention and was often scrutinized by Grandfather Gu. But a year later, as Mingfeng’s treatment progressed well and there was a real chance of recovery, Grandfather Gu quickly resumed his disdain for Yuanting and once again focused on Mingfeng.

However, since Grandfather Gu had already invested heavily in Yuanting over the past year and discovered that his aptitude was exceptional, Yuanting’s treatment was still slightly better than before.

Later, many events unfolded, and Gu Yuanting eventually grew strong. Ten years later, he became the head of the Gu family. His stepmother had long been sent to prison by him; Father Gu was locked away in a mental hospital; Gu Mingfeng died in a hospital room; and Grandfather Gu ended his life in a nursing home.

The trafficking ring from back then had long been destroyed. Yuanting made sure they were “well taken care of” in prison. Anyone who had ever crossed him met a bad end—including the “Su Yiran” of his previous life.

In those early years of struggle, to survive and climb upward, he had done many bad things. His conscience had been gone for a long time.

After exacting all his revenge, he didn’t feel the exhilaration he had imagined—only emptiness. He had gained everything he had once desperately wanted, but his mentality grew even more twisted. He wanted revenge on society, revenge on everyone. With even less conscience than before, he committed more terrible acts.

Eventually, an opponent appeared—someone who seemed blessed by fate. Everything this person did went smoothly; even if temporarily defeated, they always managed to turn the tables and strike back.

In the end, their clashes dragged in more conflicts. His opponent gained hold of extensive criminal evidence against him. Yuanting’s path turned toward failure, ending with everyone abandoning him.

Before coming to this parallel world, during an intense manhunt, he had just blown up the yacht his opponent was on. Without checking the opponent’s fate, he drifted back to an isolated island overseas, entered the small villa there, and set himself on fire.

Yuanting felt no deep hatred for Grandfather Gu—only coldness and estrangement. For Father Gu, there was the same coldness, that same unfamiliarity, and a faint disgust.

As for his “elder brother” Gu Mingfeng, in his previous life they had been bitter rivals, battling back and forth. Combined with his stepmother’s influence, they had been enemies.

But after being reborn in this life, he no longer had any residual hatred for Mingfeng. All debts had already been settled in his previous life.

However, Mingfeng’s unforgivable mistake was reaching into City A and nearly harming Ranran. Thinking back to that parking lot incident still made Yuanting uneasy. If not for that event, perhaps he would never have returned to the Gu family, and he could have stayed with Ranran every moment.

The tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease.

After returning to the Gu family, he quickly made a move to accelerate Mingfeng’s lung cancer progression, forcing him into frequent hospital visits with no strength for anything else.

Before long, the cancer advanced from early to mid-stage, and now to late stage. Mingfeng could only lie in bed, barely clinging to life.

Apart from his initial interference, Yuanting had done nothing further, leaving Mingfeng to waste away in the hospital. He had no intention of doing anything else—until today…

Because of Mingfeng, his darker side might be exposed to Ranran.

He knew that, to an ordinary person, he was abnormal. That’s why he always restrained himself before Ranran, hiding it, pretending to be normal.

He never thought there was anything wrong with his past self. Even his failure, abandonment, and final self-immolation felt neither tragic nor pitiful to him—it was simply a natural conclusion.

A lifetime of darkness, despair, weariness of the world, and emptiness—finally, the sensation of fire burning his skin had even brought him a strange pleasure.

He had thought it was the end, but it turned out to be a new beginning.

Yuanting hugged Ranran tightly.

In front of Ranran, he always felt a sense of shame, as if someone who had done all manner of evil was unworthy of him.

He had never revealed his other side to Ranran. He feared scaring him, and feared… that Ranran would not accept him, and leave.

Yuanting kissed Ranran lightly.

He didn’t want to lose him.

Since that was the case, he would destroy the source that might expose him. The decision was made in his heart.

---

The next morning, when Su Yiran woke up, Ting-ge still had his eyes closed. Yiran leaned in and kissed him, then got up to make breakfast.

But at Yiran’s kiss, Gu Yuanting awoke, pulling him into a gentle kiss. “Morning, Ranran.”

“Morning.” After a bit of affectionate banter, Yiran said, “Let’s get up. I’ll make you breakfast. What do you want to eat?”

“Millet porridge,” Yuanting replied. “And potato cakes.”

Yiran agreed. They got up together, brushed their teeth and washed up, changed clothes, and went downstairs hand in hand. In the kitchen, Yiran cooked while Yuanting helped.

After breakfast, Yuanting told Yiran, “I need to go out for something. I’ll be back for lunch.”

Yiran thought nothing of it, assuming it was work. After seeing Yuanting off, he wandered around the villa, thinking about adding decorations to make the room warmer without seeming out of place.

Not long after, the butler approached. “Sir, the Second Miss is here, asking to see you. Should I…?”

Yiran paused. He knew this Second Miss was Yuanting’s half-sister—Mingfeng’s biological younger sister—unmarried and living in a villa on the outskirts of the Gu estate.

Ting-ge had just left, and now she came looking for him. What could it be about?

After a moment’s thought, he shook his head. “I won’t see her. Please send her back.”

The butler followed orders and went out to ask the Second Miss to leave. Yiran listened to the sounds outside and heard a girl’s crying and shouting. He frowned—what was going on?

Worried about an uncontrollable scene, he stepped outside, but saw nothing unusual—just the butler standing beside a curly-haired girl, seemingly asking her to leave. The girl was crying and shouting as if being dragged away by force.

Even the butler seemed surprised by her reaction, looking a little dazed.

Yiran was also stunned: “…”

When the Second Miss saw him come out, she stopped crying and shouting, calmly wiped her tears, and smiled faintly at him. “Mr. Su, good thing you came out.”

“…What do you want?” Yiran asked.

“Can we talk inside?” she said.

Since she’d already seen him, blocking her outside and refusing seemed pointless. Curious now, Yiran agreed.

In the reception room, the butler stayed by Yiran’s side for his safety.

The Second Miss got straight to the point: “I want to ask you to save my big brother.”

Yiran didn’t understand. “I’m not a doctor. You’d be better off finding one.”

Her voice grew agitated. “So you’re just like Gu Yuanting—determined to kill my brother? My mother did wrong, but it has nothing to do with him!”

Hearing Ting-ge accused like that—of attempted murder, no less—was no small matter. Yiran grew angry. “Second Miss, you can’t throw around accusations like that. I could sue you for defamation.”

She froze at his words, calming slightly. Then, after a pause, she gave a strange smile. “So… you don’t know what kind of person Gu Yuanting really is?”

“My brother was in early-stage lung cancer, with good treatment results—he could have been cured! But Gu Yuanting secretly made his condition worse. He’s the one who put my brother in this state. Are you just going to stand by and watch him die?”

Yiran didn’t believe a single word. He saw no need to continue, since they stood on opposing sides. “Please leave. I have things to do.”

The butler, who had been listening in with cold sweat on his back, quickly stepped in. “Second Miss, you’re being foolish again. You should leave now.”

He called two servants to “escort” her out, then offered Yiran an apologetic smile. “Sir, the Second Miss is mentally unstable. She often talks nonsense. Please don’t take it to heart.”

The Second Miss grew anxious. Just then, her phone buzzed with a new message. She opened it, and her expression changed drastically.

Her hand holding the phone trembled, her lips quivered. “Gu Yuanting… is going to kill my brother… Look at this message! P-please, save him…”

This time, her tears poured down in a rush, her voice full of despair and fear—utterly different from her earlier feigned crying.