Transmigrated as the Villain’s Cannon Fodder Ex-Husband - Chapter 13

The sound erupting from the master bedroom startled the birds outside the window into flight.

Zhao Yisen felt as though his face was about to split apart. He bared his teeth in a pained grimace as he looked at Gu Jia… he really shouldn’t have let himself be blinded by beauty and entrusted his precious chin to someone else.

Gu Jia withdrew his hand and shot a glance at Zhao Yisen, asking indifferently, “Does it really hurt that much?”

Zhao Yisen: ?

He forced a fake smile and raised his hand. “President Gu, why don’t you try it yourself?”

Gu Jia’s hands looked slender, but when he exerted force, blue veins instantly bulged beneath his pale skin. For a split second, Zhao Yisen felt his small life was about to flash before his eyes.

The comment was meant to be a flippant remark; he assumed Gu Jia wouldn’t take the bait. But just as he was about to continue nursing his own jaw, the man opposite stared at him for a moment and suddenly leaned in.

The cold moonlight plated Gu Jia’s silhouette in silver. The man’s features were exceptionally handsome, presenting an overwhelming sense of attractiveness at such close range.

Zhao Yisen looked into Gu Jia’s eyes.

Those dark gold pupils were calm on the surface, but a closer look revealed a bone-chilling coldness that made one instinctively want to flee.

? He couldn’t help but be startled.

Seeing that Zhao Yisen remained frozen, Gu Jia’s eyes darkened. He straightened his back, his expression returning to its usual indifference.

He knew he was just acting.

During their scuffle, the medicine bottle that had fallen to the floor rolled with a soft clatter. The newspaper letter in Gu Jia’s hand had also fallen at some point, perfectly blocking the bottle’s path.

Clink.

The tiny sound felt exceptionally loud in the quiet bedroom.

Gu Jia finally remembered the purpose of his visit. He let out a cold laugh. “…I didn’t expect you to be capable of writing a ransom note.”

The pain in his jaw was gradually fading, replaced by Zhao Yisen’s look of total confusion. What ransom note?

Gu Jia: “…”

Picking the letter up from the floor, he held it in front of Zhao Yisen’s face, wordlessly gauging the other’s reaction.

Catching sight of his “masterpiece” without warning, Zhao Yisen’s ears turned beet red, making him look like a startled and humiliated little pigeon.

The mansion’s guard captain the “Bro Guard” he had spoken of didn’t he vow to keep his secret?!

The pure and foolish college student Zhao Yisen finally realized: you can’t trust anyone surrounding a Big Boss.

As the flush on his face deepened, his eyes filled with genuine bewilderment. He frowned slightly—but how did this become a “ransom note”? Isn’t this how characters in novels send messages to the outside world?

As if reading his unspoken thought, Gu Jia flicked his wrist, peeling off a loosely pasted character for “peace” with his fingertip. His tone was icy.

“Do you know why people use words cut from a newspaper?”

“…”

Gu Jia then provided his own answer: “To hide one’s handwriting, so that no clues about the sender’s identity can be found through their script.”

The man’s emotionless voice vibrated in Zhao Yisen’s ears.

Zhao Yisen felt something was wrong but couldn’t put his finger on it until he realized the actual problem.

He was the one being “kidnapped.” Oh.

!!!

Zhao Yisen’s face turned scarlet. He felt like a student who had tried to be clever by copying someone’s homework, only to copy the wrong answers and get caught red-handed by the teacher.

How embarrassing!

Zhao Yisen was naturally thin-skinned, and now his face was dyed a vivid peach-blossom pink. He wished he could find a crack in the floor to crawl into.

Gu Jia watched him with an indifferent gaze, his mood neither good nor bad.

Zhao Yisen was drifting in an ocean of awkwardness.

He covered his face with one hand, feeling the adrenaline spike in his blood. He scrambled to snatch the letter from Gu Jia’s hand, wanting to destroy the evidence of his dark history, but the man was faster, instantly pulling it back.

“You…”

Zhao Yisen glared at Gu Jia in annoyance, forgetting to call him “President Gu,” showing zero self-awareness of his status as a hostage.

As for the “kidnapper,” Gu Jia, his focus didn’t seem to be on the letter either. He kept his hands behind his back, his gaze falling calmly on the teeth-baring little rabbit before him.

“…”

While the two were at a stalemate, a knock suddenly sounded at the door. The rhythm was precise, like a form of Morse code.

Gu Jia had minored in mathematics in university; besides math, he had studied cryptography and was highly sensitive to various encryption algorithms.

Zhao Yisen didn’t catch the nuance at all, thinking the sound was no different from the previous times food had been delivered.

Hearing someone arrive, his eyes lit up as if catching a liferaft, determined to score a point back.

Unsure of who had lent him the courage, Zhao Yisen crossed his arms and said with a hint of mockery, “President Gu, you clearly acted like you wanted to starve me to death, but behind my back, you sent someone to sneak me food.”

The air in the master bedroom went dead silent.

As the blood drained from his forehead, Zhao Yisen sensed a subtle, dangerous shift in the atmosphere.

…Did he say something wrong?

The knocking outside grew more urgent, as if pressuring the people inside to open up.

Meeting Zhao Yisen’s clear eyes, Gu Jia’s voice became even colder.

“I never ordered anyone to bring you anything.”

Since his rebirth, Gu Jia felt nothing but hate for his ex-husband. Even if that hatred was silently shifting, he had spent years in the business world; once he decided on the hostage plan, he would never risk exposure by letting a subordinate feed Yi Sen.

“…” Hearing this, Zhao Yisen was stunned.

Before he could even process who had actually been bringing him food, the door was gently pushed open.

A familiar silhouette appeared before Zhao Yisen.

Wang Baobao was busy scanning the corridor and the first floor of the mansion while muttering under his breath: “Young Master, I finally found you! You have no idea—I’ve been lurking around here for days before I finally caught this chance!”

He was wearing something akin to a ninja suit, standing at the door with his back to them like a meerkat on lookout.

The room was silent as a tomb.

Wang Baobao, completely unaware of the disaster behind him, continued to grumble: “President Gu actually forbid people from feeding you! Your health is so poor  what if you starved to death?!”

“I really didn’t think President Gu could be such a cold-blooded, flower-destroying, tiger-that-eats-its-own-cubs kind of person—”

“Young Master?”

After rambling for a long time without a response, Wang Baobao felt something was off. He turned around, coming face-to-face with Gu Jia’s emotionless eyes.

“…”

He cut off mid-sentence as if slamming on the brakes. He suddenly felt like vomiting. His life flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern. Catching his young master’s gaze behind Gu Jia, he offered a weak smile

Zhao Yisen understood that look.

Find a place with nice scenery and bury him.

Haha.

Wang Baobao slumped against the door like a wilting willow.

Gu Jia, holding the letter between his fingers, rose and walked to the door, his expression unreadable. “You sent for him?”

Seeing Wang Baobao’s deathly pale face, Zhao Yisen hesitated for a moment. Unable to bear it, he simply nodded, taking the fall.

Wang Baobao’s eyes brimmed with tears: “…Young Master.”

After a long pause, a faint voice came from above: “Want to leave this place?”

Zhao Yisen paused for a heartbeat, then nodded vigorously.

Gu Jia’s gaze was indifferent, as if recalling the past. He glanced at Wang Baobao, walked out, and tapped on the wooden railing of the corridor.

The lights of the mansion flared to life. Several bodyguards emerged from the entrance. Gu Jia pointed at Wang Baobao, his voice as cold as a blade that had been gutting fish for years.

“Lock them both up together.”

Zhao Yisen: “…”

He knew it a loose tongue leads to no good end.

Master and servant were finally reunited, though the manner of the reunion was somewhat pathetic. Zhao Yisen took out his precious, dwindling stash of snacks and shared them with his unlucky butler.

Wang Baobao accepted them with a face full of shame.

The next day.

Online, posts regarding the Gu Group and Lu Real Estate were being suppressed one by one.

Gu Jia sat in his office, his fountain pen tapping rhythmically against the desk. The head of the PR team standing before him was breaking into a cold sweat; he thought that suppressing the rumors was a good thing for the company, so why did President Gu still look so displeased?

Not long after, Jiang Mingze rushed into the office, his face a mix of joy and sorrow.

Gu Jia waved his hand, and the PR spokesperson fled as if receiving a royal pardon.

Assistant Jiang then pulled several sheets of paper from his briefcase. “President Gu, the Old Money families backing Lu Real Estate are willing to sign the contract… but they have a few conditions.”

Gu Jia looked up. “Speak.”

“First, the development project for the suburban villas must continue. This project is tied to their cash flow; it cannot be halted.”

“Second, Young Master Yi’s safety must be guaranteed. They won’t sign unless they see him in person.”

After finishing, Jiang Mingze looked up uneasily. He still felt that this “drain the pond to catch the fish” method was unsustainable.

Gu Jia’s deep gaze swept across the office, settling on Jiang Mingze. His tone was inscrutable. “…Did the Yi family say nothing about calling off the engagement?”

His fingers gripped the fountain pen so tightly his knuckles were white. Even though he had gotten what he wanted, he felt a heaviness in his chest.

Jiang Mingze also found it strange. “No.”

“…”

He added, “Not only that, but Mr. Yi sent someone to deliver something.”

Stepping outside, Jiang Mingze took a black box from a bodyguard. Though large, the box was light. He stepped forward and placed it in front of Gu Jia.

He lifted the lid.

Inside lay an empty, black-and-gold picture frame.

Gu Jia: “…”