Reluctantly Willing

Chen Chen brought the cash to the Gu Group’s building. He was now the full representative of Gu Jun to exterminate the contract.

Arriving at the chairman’s office, Chen Chen explained everything. None of the others had imagined this would happen.

Gu Jun had taken this position in April. It was only August, but he’d rather breach the contract than stay.

Half of the board was left behind by Old Mr. Gu. They didn’t have their own opinions. Old Mr. Gu was the leader. They had to get his permission to vote.

Gu Jun had planned everything. While Chen Chen submitted the request to quit, he hurried to explain everything to Old Mr. Gu at the Gu house.

By the time Chen Chen made it to the old house, Old Mr. Gu had already received the request. Now, he stood on a redwood chair, waiting for Chen Chen.

“Sit,” the authoritative yet casual voice commanded. Chen Chen carefully sat somewhere further from Old Mr. Gu. “I heard that Gu Jun wants to leave the Gu Group. It’s not impossible. Did you bring the fine?”

Chen Chen handed Old Mr. Gu the property list. He’d already filled in the two million while doing the form.

The data analysis and property plan were all present. All the properties were written clearly. After Old Mr. Gu read carefully, he realized that his son was a bit more skilled than he’d thought. When he’d created the chairman contract back in the day, he’d done it to prevent his descendants from escaping and emptying out the family’s wealth for their own desires. He didn’t think that his son would be the first to break the rule.

“You’ve taken care of everything.”

“Sir, Mr. Gu told me to tell you that his future glory and humiliation all have nothing to do with the Gu family.”

“Nothing to do with the Gu family! I spent so much to cultivate him and he’s going to labor like a regular worker now? I want him to be respected and powerful and take the Gu Group to the top!” Old Mr. Gu’s voice trembled.

Chen Chen was covered in cold sweat. Old Mr. Gu had been the chairman for more than 40 years. He obviously had the might for this position.

“You’d have to ask Mr. Gu about this. I’ve said everything that he told me. Please return the contract now.”

In the beginning, Old Mr. Gu didn’t want to go to court because he thought Gu Jun couldn’t find the money and would surrender. He’d really underestimated Gu Jun.

“Are you sure he won’t regret this? You should know that Gu Jing is in jail, but if Gu Jun leaves, I’ll be able to bail him out to become the heir. By then, one would be in heaven while the other will be in hell.”

Chen Chen’s eyes darkened. Raising his head, he looked straight at Old Mr. Gu. “I’m sure Mr. Gu won’t regret it. Perhaps he thinks that this is his best choice.”

Old Mr. Gu didn’t think so. Gu Jun would have a hard life now. He would know in a few years. Gu Jun was just doing this because he didn’t want to get married. He wanted a happily ever after with An Xiaoyan, but how many people could actually find true love?

The contract was in the safe. Chen Chen hurried away after he got it, afraid that Old Mr. Gu would change his mind.

Chen Chen mailed the contract to the address that Gu Jun had provided. He’d finished his mission. Just then, his phone rang. His last paycheck had arrived.

Old Mr. Gu personally went to the city jail. The jail had already been notified by the officials. Old Mr. Gu walked in with his cane, tapping on the smooth ground.

It had only been four months, but Gu Jing was already unrecognizable. His eye sockets sunk in and he’d lost weight. His face was sallow and his eyes looked menacing.

“Are you here to laugh at me?” The darkness of the jail had infected Gu Jing. He acted like everyone was out to get him.

“I’m here to tell you good news.”

Gu Jing’s eyes were guarded. Other than Gao Shan, no one had come to visit him all this time. He was marked with bad luck, so no one wanted to get close to him.

“What good news? Can I leave early? Did Gu Jun get in trouble?”

“Both.”

Old Mr. Gu’s seriousness didn’t seem fake. Gu Jing grasped the bars and pressed his face forward. His eyes were bloodshot. “Really?”

“Really. Soon, you can return to the Gu Group as the chairman and enjoy unparalleled authority. However, you must sign the contract first.”

Gu Jing grabbed the pen and signed the contract without even reading it. Then he yelled, “Let me out! I can finally leave! The chairman position is mine!”

Old Mr. Gu was satisfied that Gu Jing had no hesitation. Taking the contract, he said, “Your time will be up in a few days. Then you can return to the Gu Group. I will announce this publicly. Please wait patiently for a few days.”

“I’m the chairman of the Gu Group now?”

“Yes, you now have the highest power!”

I’m the chairman now, Gu Jing thought. I have the power. Gu Jun would forever be under his feet. He was now the one on top.

A moment before, he’d been sitting in jail, staring at the cold wall. Now, he was standing at the top of the food chain again. The huge difference made him inexplicably happy.

Seeing him like this, Old Mr. Gu just thought that he was overly-happy and didn’t think much about it.

Since Gu Jing was now the chairman, he would be in charge of everything. Compared to Gu Jun, Gu Jing’s biggest weakness was that he wouldn’t look into the future. He only cared about the short-term benefits. This was the main reason why he’d failed.

Ever since Gu Jing was thrown in jail, Gao Shan was too scared to go out. She didn’t want to run into people she knew and have them say that she married a criminal. Even the Gao family as a whole was looked down on. Father Gao had worked hard for his daughter. After knowing that it had all been futile, he’d disowned her in anger.

Now that Gu Jing was back, he would take revenge on everyone who’d mocked him before.

Gao Shan was now five months pregnant. Seeing Gu Jing return, her tears flowed. She hadn’t waited for nothing.

Gu Jing went home powerfully. Earlier, the servants wouldn’t work hard. They were harsh to the Gao Shan too. She was just a spoiled princess and only knew how to spend money. She didn’t know how to run a home. After she’d been rejected by An Xiaoyan, she didn’t know how to deal with anything.

“Jing, you’re back?”

“I’m the chairman of the Gu Group now. I’m going to make those disloyal liars and mockers all pay! Where’s Gu Jun? Wasn’t he the chairman? Why isn’t he doing it anymore? If he doesn’t have the skills, why did he take the position? Did he think that he’s powerful just because he got chosen?”

Gu Jing yelled in the living room. Gao Shan stood to the side, a bit scared of this version of Gu Jing.

She always knew that Gu Jing was an ambitious guy who was jealous of Gu Jun. Before, the jealousy was only jealousy. He wouldn’t hurt anyone. Judging by his tone now, something bad might happen soon.

“Gu Jing, look at our baby. He’s five months old now. It wasn’t very obvious when I went to see you before, but it’s bigger now.”

Gao Shan’s words couldn’t get Gu Jing’s attention. He didn’t seem to hear her. He kept reading the things Old Mr. Gu had sent him about being the chairman.

He turned around powerfully and said to Gao Shan, “I’m the chairman now. Our child will be the chairman in the future. My child’s child will also be the chairman. This way, no one can steal the position from our family. Gu Jun’s retard son has no chance. I, Gu Jing, am the final choice.”

The paper listed the shareholders. Looking at the names, Gu Jing said to Gao Shan, “Look at this Zhang Guo. I told him clearly that if he voted for me, I would give him shares. He didn’t vote for me, but I’ve returned to the position now. I should punish him, right? Oh yes, yes, and this Li Fa… I’d negotiated everything with him. If they’d all voted for me, I wouldn’t be in jail. If I can’t live well, they can’t either.”

Gao Shan was scared. Judging from Gu Jing’s words, he wanted to take revenge. Gao Shan called out to him many times, but he didn’t reply. He kept mumbling about this person or that. Scared, Gao Shan urged him upstairs.

This couldn’t be Gu Jing. She’d married Gu Jing and she knew what kind of person he was. He wasn’t this scary.

At the shareholder meeting on Monday, Old Mr. Gu personally led Gu Jing into the room.

The moment he entered the room, some people paled from terror while others were shocked. Gu Jing hadn’t returned to the company in such a long time. People started gossiping that he wasn’t a shareholder anymore. Now that he was back, things seemed to be even more dangerous.

Those who’d voted for Gu Jing but then backed out felt like their hearts would jump out of their throats.

“I will announce something now. Gu Jun had voluntarily quit. The current chairman will be my nephew, Gu Jing. I hope he will lead the Gu Group to a more brilliant tomorrow.”

The people applauded and Old Mr. Gu left after the announcement. He’d retired on the surface. This meant that he couldn’t appear at the office every day.

Next, Gu Jing began to speak. “Fellow shareholders, I, Gu Jing, am back now. You better be careful.”

They’d been nervous when Gu Jun had become the chairman. Now that it was Gu Jing, they were also nervous, afraid that something would go wrong.

The work which had piled up from Gu Jun only took Gu Jing a day to complete. He stood at the top of the city and looked down at the people who were the size of ants. His shallow heart was satisfied.

Those people would get it now. It’s your fault for looking down at me and mocking me.

…

The contract was mailed to An Xiaoyan but it was made out to Gu Jun. When An Xiaoyan saw that it had been mailed from A City, he didn’t understand why it was here. He didn’t pry into Gu Jun’s private matters though. He decided to have Guo Guo bring it back at night.

When Guo Guo gave Gu Jun the document, he relaxed completely. His contract had been mailed back without any changes.

Lifting Guo Guo up by his arms, Gu Jun twirled in the living room, making Guo Guo laugh loudly.

“Son, your dad’s gonna have a new life now.”

“Daddy, haven’t we always been living like this?”

“It’s different,” Gu Jun said seriously.

It was different. He wasn’t weighed down by anything now. He didn’t have to marry Xiu Yijian and wouldn’t be repressed by the shareholders or Old Mr. Gu. He and Guo Guo were truly free now. He would use his life to love the person he wanted to and try his entire life to keep An Xiaoyan by his side.

Work was hard and he had to use public transportation since he didn’t have a driver anymore. He was also a single father. However, he was happy.

He didn’t know anything about the changes within the Gu Group. He had no reason to find out.