Upon arriving at the main hall, Gu Zit'an was already waiting. Tea was set on the coffee table, with a butler standing nearby. He nodded respectfully upon seeing Bai Cha.
"Has Gu Mingze returned?" Bai Cha asked directly. "I haven't been able to find him these past few days. The last surveillance showed him returning home."
Gu Zit'an was taken aback. He remembered Gu Mingze returning home and assumed Bai Cha was aware. However, hearing Bai Cha's words, Gu Mingze seemed to have… run away from home?
Before Gu Zit'an could speak, Gu Nutao frowned, his tone laced with displeasure. "Is that brat causing trouble for Miss Bai? That useless thing, besides running away from home, has no other skills. Miss Bai, don't worry, we'll immediately send people to bring him back…"
"Patriarch Gu, I'm asking if you are aware of Gu Mingze's whereabouts." Bai Cha interrupted Gu Nutao, her brow twitching almost imperceptibly.
"Uh, this… we are not aware." Gu Nutao was momentarily stunned by Bai Cha's interruption. He exchanged a glance with Xue Jian, and Bai Cha clearly saw the impatience and confusion in their eyes. "That brat has a rebellious streak, no one can control him. He's just useless and knows how to cause trouble…"
"Dad."
"Patriarch Gu."
Gu Zit'an and Bai Cha spoke almost simultaneously. Gu Nutao, interrupted again, was left with a breath stuck in his throat, his face turning pale then flushed.
Cold sweat broke out on Gu Zit'an's back. He knew what had been happening recently, and he knew Bai Cha wouldn't be in a good mood. Furthermore, Bai Cha was protective, and Gu Zit'an held her in awe. His father's unbridled words made Gu Zit'an extremely uneasy.
Besides, even if you thought about it from another angle, Gu Mingze was his brother, a member of this family. Even if he had to be reprimanded, he shouldn't be spoken of so poorly in front of an outsider.
"Where is Gu Mingze's room?" Bai Cha no longer wanted to stay at the Gu family's residence. Gu Mingze had returned, yet neither his parents paid him any mind. How could they be parents? Besides being useless and causing trouble, what else could they say?
Every word from Gu Nutao made Bai Cha feel stifled. If Gu Mingze were still in the Gu residence, Bai Cha would have wanted to take him away immediately.
"I'll lead the way." Gu Zit'an quickly stepped forward, fearing his father would continue to step on Bai Cha's nerves. He quickly led Bai Cha to the second floor, to the innermost room.
Gu Zit'an hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door. He knew his brother had returned, but his relationship with Gu Mingze was a bit awkward, so he hadn't interacted much with him. Therefore, he had no idea if Gu Mingze was in the room wallowing in despair or had already left.
As he knocked, the door suddenly opened. It wasn't locked and was slightly ajar. The sudden opening startled Gu Zit'an. He quickly looked back at Bai Cha and, seeing no particular reaction from her, breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's good that brat is sensible and knows how to tidy his room." Gu Nutao also followed, and upon seeing the neat room, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Cha walked in. The room had clearly just been cleaned. Everything was neatly organized, so clean that dust hadn't even had time to settle, or perhaps, it was so simple that there wasn't much to organize.
The room was truly small. For such a large residence as the Gu family's, it was evident that this was the smallest room. A single bed that could only accommodate one person, a low bedside table, a two-tiered computer desk, and a small bookshelf. It looked truly basic. Perhaps only the high-quality solid wood material made it seem like it wasn't the treatment of an ordinary citizen.
The room was like a small box, with white walls and wooden floors, devoid of any other color. Even the green plant on the desk had withered, leaving only dry branches.
This was a room with no merits other than its soundproofing.
Bai Cha walked to the balcony, the place Gu Mingze had told her he liked the most.
The small balcony had no chairs, only a small floor cushion on the ground where sunlight fell. Apart from that, it was blocked by tall buildings, leaving no other light. This room was shaded and rarely saw the sun. Each day, only for half an hour would sunlight illuminate a corner of this balcony.
Bai Cha could even imagine a teenager, huddled in the dim room, gazing enviously at the sunlight and climbing ivy on the opposite high wall, lost in thought.
"I will return."
A small note was neatly pasted on the balcony. As Bai Cha's fingers touched it, it spontaneously combusted into ashes and dispersed into the air.
For some inexplicable reason, Bai Cha felt a pang of sadness. She had lost something, while Gu Mingze had never possessed it. For a moment, Bai Cha couldn't distinguish whether it was more painful to have experienced sweetness and then lost it, or to have never experienced sweetness and struggled in the mud.
It seemed like six of one, half a dozen of the other.
"Master." Lucifer placed a hand on Bai Cha's shoulder, jolting her out of her reverie. Behind her, Gu Nutao's reprimands and Xue Jian's agreement buzzed in her ears, making her head ache.
"Lucifer, I didn't protect him well." Bai Cha let out a long sigh and gently turned. Gu Nutao carelessly stepped on the floor and walls that Gu Mingze had cleaned, rummaging through the room with expressions of disdain and accusation.
Bai Cha adjusted her trench coat, squeezed past Gu Nutao, and quickly left with Lucifer. She didn't want to stay there for another moment, fearing she might lose control and act out.
"Miss Bai, rest assured, that useless trash is not worth it. Gu Zit'an is a hundred times better than that good-for-nothing brat. Miss Bai only needs to focus on cultivating Zit'an. I recall Zit'an is also on your team for the World Championship…"
From the room, down the stairs, and to the door, Gu Nutao continued to talk incessantly. Gu Zit'an's face grew paler, and even Xue Jian could sense the barely suppressed anger radiating from Bai Cha.
"Bang!"
The door frame shattered in response. Gu Nutao's scolding abruptly stopped. Gu Nutao came to his senses, only then realizing the thick, unresolvable killing intent in Bai Cha's eyes.
"Gu Mingze is the secretary I personally selected as my heir. He has made outstanding contributions to the Shadow faction and is one of the best in logistics. If you no longer want him, I can arrange for him to sever ties with you. However, you, Gu Nutao, are not qualified to criticize him in front of me."
Gu Nutao was clearly stunned. He hadn't expected his seemingly useless son to receive such high praise from someone as powerful and capable as Bai Cha. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Gu Mingze is more outstanding than any of you. He is loyal, righteous, and resilient—qualities that parents unworthy of the title like you will never possess."
"Gu Zit'an, you too. You are a good person who remains silent. You are always silent, but he is different. He stands by me and speaks for me, so he is my person."
"He is steadfast and hardworking, surpassing any of you. You, all of you, will never be able to compare to him."
When Bai Cha was brought back by Lucifer, everyone noticed something was different about her.
Indeed, it was Lucifer who brought Bai Cha back.
For the first time, everyone saw Bai Cha with her eyes closed, looking tired and sleepy. However, Lucifer remained as gentle as ever, politely nodding and greeting everyone before leading Bai Cha into the room.
The next day, Bai Cha stood before everyone as usual to conduct training, leading them back to the training ground. Everyone tacitly maintained silence, not mentioning what happened last night.
Even though she had an unpleasant interaction with Gu Zit'an the previous day, Bai Cha still called Gu Zit'an to train with everyone, correcting their mistakes, as if nothing had happened. Zhi Yue was also the same. However, after several days, both of them appeared distracted.
After Zhi Yue and Gu Zit'an were easily defeated by others once again, Bai Cha could no longer hold back and directly clapped her hands to call a halt.
"Stop! Gu Zit'an, Zhi Yue, how did I teach you? Such a large vital point and you missed? Can you miss a stationary target and expect to survive on the battlefield? Zhi Yue, where was the demeanor of a world-class expert just now? You almost tripped yourself. Don't you want the ranking anymore?" Bai Cha sternly rebuked, tapping the bamboo whip in her hand.
Zhi Yue flinched and immediately came to her senses, lowering her head to apologize. "Yes, I'm sorry, I was distracted."
"I'm sorry, I'll be careful next time." Gu Zit'an also quickly apologized.
More apologies.
Bai Cha's head ached from the repeated apologies. She flicked the bamboo whip again, holding her temples with a hint of helplessness. "Sorry, it's always sorry. How many times have you apologized to me this week? When will you learn from your mistakes? If you don't get a good ranking and face criticism, it's your own fault, not mine."
Zhi Yue and Gu Zit'an lowered their heads, not daring to speak.
"In the World Championships, there are world-class experts. They would never make such basic errors. The two of you are practically giving points away to your opponents." Bai Cha sighed in frustration. "If you are too tired and need rest, then take leave and rest properly. If you are training, then train properly, don't be absent-minded."
"Cangliu is dead, and you're not even sad?" Zhi Yue lowered her head. Bai Cha couldn't see her reddened eyes, but she could hear the sob in Zhi Yue's voice.
Zhi Yue was that kind of person, passionate like fire, pursuing what she wanted with absolute enthusiasm. Even if she couldn't obtain it, she would enthusiastically dedicate everything, even if the object of her affection was an eternally unmelted block of profound ice.
But now, that person had suddenly disappeared, and Zhi Yue was truly lost and helpless.
She felt an emptiness in her heart, an emotion that could not be vented. Cangliu's death was directly caused by the Bright Faction, meaning it was directly related to her parents. As their daughter, did that mean she also had a part in Cangliu's death?
Zhi Yue's mind was in a mess. Latent admiration, intense grief, and wavering faith almost made her unable to think. She even spoke carelessly to Bai Cha: "He was so good to you, always by your side, dedicating himself to you. You never even glanced at him. Even now that he's dead, you refuse to mourn for him?"
Bai Cha: "..."
The training ground fell silent. Everyone looked at the silent Bai Cha, afraid to speak. Lucifer's expression immediately turned grim, a hint of killing intent in his smile.
Zhi Yue might not know, but everyone in the Shadow faction absolutely knew how much Bai Cha valued each of them. No matter how angry Bai Cha usually was, any good news from them could improve her mood, even if it was just a trivial matter.
Everyone knew how strong Bai Cha's sense of responsibility was. Otherwise, she wouldn't have persevered and climbed her way up at the age of twelve. Cangliu was dead, and Bai Cha was undoubtedly the most self-blaming.
Besides, even if she was sad, she couldn't show it publicly, right? If the leader couldn't get over it, what about the others? Did Zhi Yue have any emotional intelligence to bring this up at this moment?
Everyone muttered their thoughts.
"In the months after my father's death, I led the national team to achieve third place in the World Championships, and I personally advanced into the top three globally. So, according to you, am I unfilial?" Everyone was terrified, but Bai Cha wasn't angry. She merely asked calmly.
"I..." Zhi Yue couldn't speak. She also realized that what she had said was excessive.
"The preciousness of rare resources in the World Championships doesn't need me to explain to you. If we win first place this time, the rewards will double. This can shorten our country's development by at least ten, or even a hundred, years." Bai Cha's words were very rational, so rational that they were almost cold-blooded, making Zhi Yue shiver. "Zhi Yue, can you distinguish between personal affection and national interest?"