Transmigrated as the Villain’s Cannon Fodder Ex-Husband - Chapter 12

Staring at the letter in the bodyguard’s hand, Gu Jia’s thick eyelashes fluttered slightly.

The bodyguard immediately understood the signal, placed the item on the desk, and bowed before exiting the office.

…A letter from Yi Sen to Lu Ming?

Reaching out to pinch a corner of the letter, Gu Jia felt the turbulence in his heart was much calmer than before. After choosing to fall out with the “Old Money” families, his marriage to Yi Sen existed in name only.

That night, not even Jiang Wen’s drugs could force the “truth” out of Yi Sen. Gu Jia could only conclude one of two things: either his ex-husband had become so calculating that he could deceive even him, or his brain really was ruined from the drowning.

After experiencing cycle after cycle of disappointment and hope, his feelings for Yi Sen had gradually become numb.

If his hatred right after rebirth stemmed from a bone-deep love, now, looking back on the events of his previous life, Gu Jia felt a sudden sense of detachment. It was as if he were an actor at the end of a movie, taking his final bow.

Gu Jia had lost the strength to be angry.

He reached out and unfolded the A4 paper. Gu Jia lowered his eyes and scanned the words one by one.

“…” His elegant eyebrows gradually twisted.

On the paper, words cut out from a newspaper were pasted together to form a short sentence: 【Just for my sake, make peace with President Gu.】

Putting the letter down, Gu Jia picked up his phone and called Assistant Jiang.

“President Gu!”

Jiang Mingze answered with some excitement, thinking Gu Jia had changed his mind. He was about to speak when he heard the voice on the other end say: “Before the end of the week, install surveillance cameras inside and outside the mansion. Link them to my phone.”

Jiang Mingze: ?

“…Understood.”

The next day. At the Yi residence, dozens of kilometers away.

In the front hall, two rows of rosewood chairs were lined up. Servants in uniform quietly served tea before bowing out. Several men who clearly looked like they possessed immense net worth sat in the chairs. One middle-aged man clenched his fist and, unable to endure any longer, slammed the table.

The water in the tea bowls splashed.

“He’s barely made a name for himself, yet he dares to insult the Old Money at the engagement banquet? And now he’s house-arresting Young Master Yi to threaten us?!”

“I’ve said for years that this man was a disaster. We should have gotten rid of him long ago,” a young man next to Qian Zheng, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, remarked as he picked up his tea, his tone laced with a certain chill.

“You’ve all seen the contract. It’s practically a slave treaty. Are we really just going to sign it?” Qian Zheng’s tone grew more agitated, nearly cracking the table beneath his hand.

“Old Qian, don’t get worked up yet.” The man sitting opposite the two toyed with the walnuts in his hand and smiled. “Elder Yi hasn’t spoken yet. We aren’t at the point of signing contracts just yet.”

Qian Zheng let out a cold snort and turned to look at Lu Ming, who was standing at the entrance.

If it hadn’t been for this youngster coaxing them, saying things like “the future trend of the real estate industry is high-end residential areas” and “land prices will rise further,” he wouldn’t have gotten so caught up in the heat of the moment. Now, they were in this predicament.

The others also had their own private thoughts and fell silent.

Standing in the shadows of the doorway, Lu Ming looked at the three men in the hall, his face wearing a somewhat apologetic smile suitable for a junior. Turning away, however, the smile on the youth’s face turned stiff.

Originally, if the development project had proceeded smoothly, he wouldn’t just have built connections with the Old Money; he would have established a preliminary foothold in the real estate industry his first step toward revenge.

It was supposed to be a modest project that wouldn’t attract much attention. Even a subsidiary under the Gu Group had expressed an intent to collaborate. However, Gu Jia had suddenly reneged, insisting on a fight to the death and even kidnapping Yi Sen as leverage.

He didn’t understand.

Having survived major storms, Lu Ming was not a man who gave up easily. He still had unfulfilled wishes and believed that he would ultimately succeed.

Months ago, Yi Sen had accepted a private invitation from him. They had gone to a deserted aquarium together. Under the witness of the dolphins, Yi Sen had gently written a sentence in the palm of his hand.

It was that sentence that had made his heart skip a beat.

If he signed the contract now, Yi Sen would be in danger. If he didn’t, all his hard work would go to waste.

Lu Ming couldn’t decide or rather, he habitually chose to leave the decision to fate. After all, he was always favored by destiny.

As he was thinking, footsteps echoed outside the hall. A well-dressed elderly man walked to the end of the rosewood chairs. Facing the heads of the Old Money families, he pulled a thin piece of paper from his sleeve.

“Gentlemen, a letter has arrived from the Master.”

Entering the new century, the Yi family seemed stuck in the previous era. Whether it was the decor, the servants’ behavior, or the ancient methods of communication, they felt out of place. Strangely, no one present objected.

Several men set down their tea and stared unblinkingly at the old man. He unfolded the letter and slowly read out the words.

Once he finished, the air in the front hall instantly froze. Lu Ming’s lips trembled, Qian Zheng stormed off in a huff, and the heads of the Bai and Zhou families both looked pale.

For the first time, fate had not stood by Lu Ming’s side.

That evening.

Zhao Yisen sat on the floor, taking a bite of a sandwich. An empty plate sat before him. Starting two days ago, around mealtimes, food would be quietly slipped under the door.

The cold-hearted Big Boss had finally found his conscience.

He guessed it was another of Gu Jia’s confidants. Over the last few exchanges, Zhao Yisen had even developed a certain rapport with the person, even folding a paper crane out of a newspaper and leaving it at the door as a small token of thanks.

Sure enough, the meal he received this morning was even more lavish.

After being stuck in the master bedroom for three or four days, Zhao Yisen was genuinely bored. After finishing his sandwich, he slumped onto the bed. Feeling that he hadn’t exercised enough, he arched his back, deciding to mimic a fish swimming.

Unfortunately, the original owner’s abdominal muscles couldn’t support the movement. Zhao Yisen only held it for a moment before collapsing onto the bed. Turning his head, he caught sight of the medicine bottle on the nightstand.

I’m probably lacking vitamins.

He reached out for the bottle. Out of sheer laziness, after opening the cap, he tilted it directly into his mouth.

However, the next moment, the bedroom door was pushed open.

“…?”

Gu Jia was holding the “plea for help” in his hand. He saw Zhao Yisen lying on the bed in a bizarre posture, pouring an entire bottle of Jiang Wen’s drugs into his mouth as if they were vitamin tablets.

The scene before him overlapped instantly with the memory of Yi Sen taking his own life in the previous world.

Gu Jia’s pupils constricted.

“Have you lost your mind?!”

Without a second thought, he rushed forward, snatched the bottle from Zhao Yisen’s hand, and gripped his chin with a death-grip, forcing him to spit the pills out.

Zhao Yisen felt his jaw go stiff. Then, he lost all control over his lower face, and the pills clattered onto the floor.

His jaw was dislocated.

Looking up, he saw that Gu Jia’s face was darker than the bottom of a pot, his eyes filled with a deep, smoldering rage. If looks could kill, Zhao Yisen felt he would have already been hacked into pieces.

Zhao Yisen: ?

It’s just some vitamin tablets! At most, I just accidentally took a few too many. Is there a need for such a fuss?

Over the last few days, he felt he had been very considerate of his fiancé’s feelings—he had voluntarily stayed locked up and lived off dry noodles. Zhao Yisen felt a bit wronged by the shouting.

But his jaw was still in Gu Jia’s hand, making it impossible to speak. He tried to pry Gu Jia’s hand away, but the man’s fingers, though slender, were as heavy as a thousand pounds. He couldn’t budge them an inch.

In his anxiety, the last white pill in his mouth popped out: “Whah are you doing? It’s juht vihtamin thablets!”

“…”

After a moment of silence, the hand gripping his chin loosened slightly.

Zhao Yisen: ?

The youth’s face was small and delicate. Gripped by the chin, he frowned, his light purple eyes flickering with a piteous, moving light.

Gu Jia released him and glanced at the white pills scattered across the floor. He looked up at the thin, fragile person sitting on the edge of the bed in black pajamas. The exposed skin was smooth and fair. The youth’s eyes were slightly red and his mouth was agape as he glared at Gu Jia, yet there was no threat in the look.

Gu Jia’s expression shifted in a flash. He said tonelessly: “Even vitamins can kill you if you eat too many.”

Zhao Yisen cradled his jaw, not quite believing Gu Jia’s excuse. Like an angry and confused kitten, he squinted at Gu Jia for a while. He wanted to speak, but to his horror, he found he couldn’t move his jaw. He began gesturing frantically for Gu Jia to find someone to pop it back in.

Gu Jia: “…”

Thinking the Big Boss didn’t understand, Zhao Yisen’s gestures became even more frantic.

The next moment, Gu Jia sat down beside him and looked at him.

“There’s no one else here.”

The suit the man was wearing was cold, bringing a chill with it as he sat. Facing Gu Jia’s face which hit every one of his aesthetic preferences Zhao Yisen instinctively froze and leaned back slightly. “…Then whah do I do?”

After a moment of silence, Gu Jia raised his hand and slowly held Zhao Yisen’s shoulder. Then, that slender, well-defined hand slid forward from his shoulder.

Gu Jia’s movements were slow slow enough that if Zhao Yisen wanted to dodge, he could have escaped at any time.

Gu Jia waited for a long time. When he found that his ex-husband, who hated physical contact the most, showed no intention of dodging, his gaze darkened.

Opposite him, Zhao Yisen completely entranced by the man’s beauty let Gu Jia do as he pleased.

The sound of a heartbeat no one knew whose filled the room.

Gu Jia, expressionless, suddenly jerked his hand.

Crack.