Love For Life

23. Xia He's Mother

The cup hit the floor and shattered into pieces, and Yang Qinglian froze in place. She didn't expect that Gu Zechuan would be so rough as to hit the cup in her hand away, and she didn't expect that the Gu Zechuan who had always been so gentle and kind to her would yell at her so harshly.

''Zechaun, please, you have to face the truth, Mrs. Xia may be gone, but you still have me! Don't do this to yourself, don't drown yourself in alcohol. Please, just eat something...'' Yang Qinglian said, maintaining her fake concern in her voice. As long as Gu Zechuan was willing to eat, then she would have all the chances in the world to spike his food, or his alcohol.

''I. Said. Get. Out! What part of it do you not understand?'' Gu Zechuan rose sharply, and smashed an empty wine bottle on the floor. The bottle shattered into tiny fragments and flew off in all directions, and some of the shards barely missing Yang Qinglian's skin, grazing against it and almost drawing blood.

This frightened Yang Qinglian truly and completely. She scurried out of Gu Zechaun's room, fearful that she might actually get hurt.

On the fourth day, Xu Feng finally brought Gu Zechuan the good news. He finally found where Xia He's mother lived.

When Xu Feng came to Gu Zechuan's house and into his room, all that was there was an empty shell of a man, drowning in a sea of alcohol. The great Gu Zechaun, reduced to nothing but a rundown drunkard, wasting his life away shoving down yet another bottle of spirit down his throat.

How did the indomitable President Gu ever become like this? Xu Feng could not believe what his eyes were seeing.

By now, through his investigations, he had known that Xia He had passed away, but what he could never have expected was that Gu Zechuan would become so depressed from it. Because mere days ago, even the very people that he presided over in his own company couldn't stand just how badly he had treated Xia He.

''Mr. Gu, I found out where Mrs. Gu's mother is living. Do you wish to go there now?'' Xu Feng asked, respectfully.

As soon as Xu Feng finished speaking, Gu Zechuan leaped off the floor, the light of intelligence returning to his eyes. He said, with great urgency in his voice. ''Yes! We will go now!''

''Yes, Mr. Gu. I shall ready your car at once!'' Xu Feng went immediately to make preparations.

Gu Zechuan looked at himself, and thought that if he was going to see Xia He's mother, he mustn't let her see in the state that he was in now, depressed in despair and covered in alcohol.

So he took a quick shower, quickly but thoroughly washed off the stench of alcohol from himself, shaved his unkempt and disheveled face clean, and made sure he was impeccably dressed before walking out of the door.

At Gu Zechuan's utter and complete transformation, Xu Feng stared in wide eyed bewilderment. From the looks of it, he must have treasured Mrs. Gu immensely. But, why didn't he do so when Mrs. Gu was still alive? Xu Feng gave his head a shake. It is but human nature, discovering how much something meant to them only after having lost them.

In the car, as Xu Feng drove, he reminded Gu Zechuan, ''Mr. Gu, it was Mrs. Gu's mother. She could be rather emotional, so when she sees you... Please do be considerate towards her. She just lost her daughter.''

''Of course, I will. Do you truly think that I would yell and throw temper fits at my very own mother-in-law? Come to think of it, any results on your investigation on Yang Qinglian?'' Gu Zechuan said, his vice cold as usual.

At the mention of Yang Qinglian's name, Xu Feng's expression scrunched into a complicated knot. He investigated her, and indeed he had found out everything about her and what she had done. But, he remained unsure of just how he would possibly break it to Gu Zechuan, because Yanf Qinglian had quite literally cheated on him.

And that man, Yang Qinglian's ex-lover, he was inferior to Gu Zechuan in just about every way there was. He truly could not understand just why Yang Qinglian would even bother to keep in touch with him even after she had Gu Zechuan.

''I found out everything about Ms. Yang, but...'' Xu Feng stopped here, glancing at the rearview mirror to check on Gu Zechuan's expression, unsure if whether he should continue or not.

''Go on.'' Gu Zechuan said.

Xu Feng had no choice but to continue, ''Ms. Yang has been secretly seeing a man. She had been seeing him since about three or four years ago.''