War of Roses: The Proud Tycoon，Please Surrender!-Chapter 272: Dad’s surname is Gu, Mom’s surname is Yan
The waiter stopped with Gu Yan at the door of the private room at the end of the corridor, politely knocked on the door, "Young master, Miss Gu is here."
There seemed to be a pause inside, and then a voice came out, "Please let Miss Gu in."
"Yes."
The waiter pushed open the door, stepped aside to let Gu Yan in.
Gu Yan walked in unceremoniously and immediately saw the man seated and brewing tea.
The man was backlit, making it difficult to see his features clearly, giving off an unreal, ethereal presence.
Gu Yan had no interest in observing what he looked like; her mood was extremely poor, she just wanted to know the reason behind everything.
The man poured a cup of tea for the teacup in front of him, and another for the empty seat opposite, put down the teapot, then leisurely raised his head to look at Gu Yan.
The man’s cold demeanor softened slightly, "You’ve come, please sit." He gestured to the seat opposite.
Gu Yan stared at him for quite a while, the anger she held had nowhere to go, yet seeing this man, she inexplicably couldn’t lash out.
She went over, sat opposite him, and directly asked, "Who exactly are you? Why did you send me those things? What’s your purpose?"
The man faced her questioning without urgency or anger, first signaled the waiter who brought her to close the door and leave, then looked at her, taking a slow sip of tea.
The butler sitting by the side kept his head slightly lowered silently, the young master was making a good first impression in front of Miss Gu.
Appearing tastefully elegant?
The butler wanted to laugh but remained serious.
The young master casually glanced past him, and the butler sat upright.
The man looked at Gu Yan, his mouth curved softly, answering her question, "My name is Yan Shuo, I am your... cousin."
Cousin?
Gu Yan was stunned, then found it amusing, "What cousin? If you want to lie, find a better reason, I was orphaned since childhood, my dad was an orphan, my mom had no family, where would I have cousins or any relatives?"
Because her parents had no relatives, she became helpless, sent to an orphanage, adopted by Gu’s father.
When she mentioned her background, a trace of pain flashed in Yan Shuo’s eyes, he sighed slightly, "Xiao Yan, your mother was my aunt, back then, she insisted on marrying your father. Grandpa disapproved because your father had nothing at the time, fearing she would suffer hardships. But she insisted and eloped with him. Grandpa was furious and no longer acknowledged her as his daughter, but he always secretly kept track of her."
What he said, Gu Yan couldn’t understand a word, she came to question him, why did it turn into a family reunion?
So, she still had relatives?
In this world, there were blood-related kin?
In Gu Yan’s heart, an indescribable emotion overflowed, swelling, full, burning yet cold, alternating temperatures, making her very uncomfortable.
"So, what else do you want to say? Do you think I’ll be moved to acknowledge you just by what you say? Why should I believe you!"
Yan Shuo took a photo out from the file bag beside, handed it to her, "Look at this."
Gu Yan lowered her eyes, staring at the photo passed over, reaching out, slightly trembling.
This was an old-fashioned photo, probably taken twenty or thirty years ago.
There were many people on it, appearing to be a family portrait.
Gu Yan quickly found a vastly familiar yet slightly unfamiliar face among the people in the photo.
She parted with her mother more than ten years ago, she was only nine at the time, now she could hardly remember what her mother looked like, but in such an old photo, she could still instantly recognize this was her mother when she was young.
Her mother was beautiful and intellectual, with an elegant demeanor, possessing a grace that surpassed even the upper-class circles of the past and present.
Growing up, Gu Yan always wanted to be a woman like her mother, unfortunately, her family suffered a huge upheaval, she became who she is today, didn’t even graduate college, let alone cultivate herself.
Since nine, she didn’t retain a single thing from her home, everything was either taken by her dad’s company people or destroyed, leaving not even a photo.
Over the years, she tried hard to remember her parents’ faces, which grew increasingly blurred with time.
Now, seeing her mother’s photo, it felt like a lifetime ago.
The mother in the photo might have been the little princess of the family, not yet twenty, wearing a qipao, smiling warmly and carefree.
As far as Gu Yan remembered, she hadn’t seen her mother in a qipao.
Even when she and her dad had already carved out a world, her mother was never extravagant.
Gu Yan stared at the photo, unblinking, her eyes reddening.
Yan Shuo watched, regretting with a sigh, "I remember as a child, auntie often played with me, when I got scolded by my parents, it was auntie who pleaded and comforted me, my parents were often busy with work, barely having time with me during the year, but auntie was with me every day, to me, she was closer than my parents, unfortunately, later she left, and I never saw her again. It’s been over twenty years, I can hardly remember auntie’s face."
Yan Shuo spoke with a hint of self-mockery.
When he was a child, his aunt treated him so well, yet he had forgotten her appearance. He couldn’t even recognize her photo in his grandfather’s study.
No wonder he felt such an inexplicable sense of familiarity and closeness; it turned out she was the aunt he had secretly missed all these years.
Back then, when he heard the news of his aunt’s death, he was studying abroad and almost flew back. His parents stopped him. He only knew that the entire Yan Family was engulfed in sorrow that day. By the next day, everything returned to normal, and his aunt’s name and affairs became a taboo not to be mentioned in the Yan Family.
As time passed, it seemed that everyone in the Yan Family had forgotten that they once had a daughter who was dazzling and beloved by many.
They just didn’t expect that, just like him, they had hidden this person deep in their hearts.
Gu Yan quietly looked at the photo, as if wanting to take one more glance, desperately trying to remember the appearance of her mother, fearing that she might gradually forget again.
Yan Shuo looked at her, his expression softening, "I never expected that aunt had a daughter. Grandpa never told me."
If he had known earlier...
After finding out she was his aunt’s daughter, he immediately investigated her life over the years. Knowing how much hardship she had endured, he felt very distressed.
If he had known earlier, he would never have allowed her to suffer any harm or grievance.
He hadn’t been able to repay his aunt, but what he owed her, he would repay a hundredfold or thousandfold to her daughter. He would do everything possible to make it up to Gu Yan.
Gu Yan also nodded blankly, muttering, "No wonder when I was little and asked my mother why she had no family, she would secretly shed tears. So that’s how it was."
Gu Yan, with her father’s surname Gu and her mother’s surname Yan, was named Gu Yan.
She always thought it was just an expression of her father’s love for her mother, never realizing it contained her parents’ feelings for the Yan family.
Her mother felt guilty towards her family and never mentioned it even until her death. She thought her family didn’t want her, so she never brought it up either.
But she didn’t expect that while she missed her family, her family was also thinking of her.
Unfortunately, her mother no longer knew.
Yan Shuo felt a slight wrench in his heart.
The butler, listening to their conversation, reminisced about the exceptionally intelligent and understanding young lady of the past, feeling a pang of regret.
"Xiao Yan, do you believe what I’ve told you?" Yan Shuo asked.
Gu Yan shifted her gaze from the photo to Yan Shuo. The cold expression she had earlier had unknowingly softened, and she nodded lightly, "Mm."
Yan Shuo smiled faintly.
He found himself inexplicably nervous while looking into Gu Yan’s eyes, which was unlike him.
But so what? From this day forward, Gu Yan would be his beloved sister. He would always protect her, give her the best life, and compensate for the suffering she had endured over the years.
"Xiao Yan, come back to the Yan Family with me."
Back to the Yan Family?
Gu Yan instinctively resisted, yet longed for it.
She had been alone for so many years. Now, knowing she still had relatives, she couldn’t help but feel a joy beyond words. However, some things made her afraid to face them.
"I..." Gu Yan hesitated, "I don’t want to go back now, I need to think about it."
Yan Shuo looked at her, his gaze deep and profound, a different kind of depth from Tang Yuxiu. Tang Yuxiu was like the peak of a snow-capped mountain, distant and daunting and unfathomable, while he resembled a deep pool, unfathomable.
"Xiao Yan, is it because of Tang Yuxiu?"
Gu Yan frowned, said nothing, still gripping that photo tightly.
Yan Shuo seemed capable of seeing through her thoughts, leaving her with nowhere to hide, causing Gu Yan to avert her gaze.
Yan Shuo said, "Xiao Yan, all these years, we didn’t know of your existence, which is why you suffered so much. It was our fault."
She should have been the princess adored by the Yan Family, yet she had wandered outside, enduring endless hardships. Both he and his grandfather felt guilty and pained.
Gu Yan shook her head, "It’s okay, I’m living just fine."
"Yes, precisely because you are doing fine, we want you to be even better in the future," Yan Shuo said. "Tang Yuxiu is not the right person for you, Xiao Yan. Now, while it’s still early, cut it off."
Gu Yan bit her lip, recalling the documents she had ripped apart and thrown away, and looked at Yan Shuo with eyes that were both confused and full of longing, "Tell me, those things aren’t true, I don’t believe they’re true."
"Xiao Yan, the materials I gave you documented everything clearly with evidence. Don’t deceive yourself. Leave Tang Yuxiu and return to the Yan Family. It’s better to suffer a short pain than a long one."
Gu Yan shook her head, her gaze bewildered and helpless, "I don’t want to leave, nor do I want to believe it..."
Seeing her like this, Yan Shuo felt a stir of compassion, but sometimes it was necessary to be firm.
