Chapter 226: The Secret Gu Yang Knows

The hotel Gu Yang arranged for Su Yan was not far from the publishing house or his dormitory.

Lu Feng was smiling throughout the entire process, looking as if he had seen right through him.

Gu Yang treated him like thin air and proceeded to check the three of them into their rooms.

Ma Chulong and Ma Chulan were very tactful, using the excuse of needing to unpack their luggage to stay in their respective rooms.

Lu Feng was also left in the car by Gu Yang, while he himself went to Su Yan's room.

There were too many things he needed to talk to her about properly.

"Yan Yan, what exactly happened with Uncle Su?" Gu Yang had already asked his parents and Su Yao.

His parents knew nothing at all about what had happened, and although Su Yao had told him everything he knew, Gu Yang was still puzzled as to how they had ended up in such a remote wilderness and met with an accident.

"Su Mo went crazy. She kidnapped my dad and used him to threaten me into going there. My cousin arrived just in time later on."

Su Yan had already guessed that he would ask, so she had prepared her explanation in advance.

After all, Su Yao hadn't seen her and Ma Chulong dealing with the Feng family, which saved her a lot of explaining.

Intuition told Gu Yang that things were not that simple, but since Su Yan was only willing to say this much for now, there would be no use in pressing her further.

"Then, how is Uncle Su's condition now?"

At the mention of Su Jianguo, Su Yan's expression darkened slightly.

"His life isn't in danger, but I don't know when he will wake up."

The debt owed to her father—she would settle it with the Feng family sooner or later!

This was the first time Gu Yang had seen her with such a dark expression, and he felt a faint sense of discomfort in his heart.

"Uncle Su will definitely be fine."

Su Yan nodded. "My cousin and the others are looking after the family. I came here this time to handle some matters."

She had already said this during their phone call, but Gu Yang still didn't know what those matters were.

"Yan Yan, can you tell me?"

He asked tentatively, knowing that if she didn't want to say, she absolutely wouldn't.

Su Yan's eyes flickered slightly. "It's about my mother."

Gu Yang froze; he never expected it to be this.

Su Yan continued, "I suspect my mother didn't die of illness."

Gu Yang's breath hitched, and his expression changed instantly.

"What do you know?"

Seeing his reaction, Su Yan raised an eyebrow. "Are you hiding something from me?"

Gu Yang hesitated, appearing as if he wanted to speak but couldn't.

A shadow crossed Su Yan's eyes. She had prepared herself for anything, but she had never imagined he would be keeping something from her.

"What do you know?"

She shot the question back at him, her voice heavy.

Gu Yang sighed inwardly. This girl was far too shrewd; even a minute change in his expression would be caught by her.

It wasn't that he intended to hide it from her, but rather that the three elders in his family almost all knew about this matter. Since even Uncle Su had chosen not to speak, he could only suppress it.

But now, it was clearly impossible to keep it hidden.

"Yan Yan, calm down first. Let me explain it to you slowly."

Su Yan just stared at him.

"Where should I even begin." Gu Yang looked conflicted, and it was only after a few seconds that he continued, "That year, I had just turned twelve. At that time, Auntie Kong was still alive, and you were not yet five years old. You know our two families were very close; we were together almost every day."

Su Yan had absolutely no memory of what he was saying. Ever since her mother passed away, she had suffered a severe illness and subsequently lost all her childhood memories.

She hadn't realized that she had been with him every day when she was little?

"Auntie Kong was in very good health back then. Her relationship with my mother was like that of biological sisters; they talked about everything. One day, when I came home from school, Auntie Kong was there, but her expression was completely different from usual. She seemed to be saying something to my mom, even wearing a look of terror on her face. However, when they saw me return, they stopped talking. Although I felt something was wrong, I didn't think much of it."

A trace of regret appeared on Gu Yang's face as he spoke.

Su Yan still did not interrupt him.

"I didn't see Auntie Kong again for the next half month. I even asked my mom, and she told me then that Auntie Kong had gone back to her maiden home." Gu Yang remembered this point very clearly.

During those days, he had seen Su Jianguo once. Su Jianguo looked more than just haggard; he looked completely worn down.

At twelve years old, he was neither a child nor an adult, but he was old enough to realize when adults were acting strangely.

"Are you sure she went back to her maiden home?" Su Yan lost her composure.

She had previously heard her father recount the story of how he and her mother met. If her father's account was correct, her mother should have been estranged from her maternal family. How could she have suddenly gone back?!

"I'm sure, because Auntie Kong didn't go back by herself; she took you with her." Gu Yang's answer contained too much information.

Because she had gone too, he was able to remember it so clearly.

Because even back then, she had already become very important to him.

Su Yan could no longer think about that. Why did her mother take her back? What exactly happened during that time? Why did she have no memory of it at all?

"And then?"

Her voice was visibly agitated.

"Half a month later, Auntie Kong and you returned. I wanted to go see you, but my parents stopped me. They said both Auntie Kong and you were sick and needed rest." Gu Yang slowed his pace, constantly monitoring her reaction, fearing she wouldn't be able to handle it.

"For the next few days, I went to your house every day, but Uncle Su kept the gates closed. The next time I saw Auntie Kong was ten days later, and that was the last time I ever saw her."

Gu Yang paused here. Even after all these years, recalling it still made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

The Kong Xiangrou that Gu Yang saw had been tortured by illness until she was unrecognizable, but Su Yan's situation was equally grim.

She had a constant fever and could no longer recognize anyone.

At that time, Su Jianguo was in a terrible state. After burying Kong Xiangrou, he took Su Yan around to seek medical help, and eventually, he encountered a sorcerer.

It was that sorcerer who told Su Jianguo that if he wanted Su Yan to live, he had to send her away from his side.

At twelve years old, Gu Yang was powerless to stop anything; he could only watch helplessly as the semi-comatose Su Yan was sent away.

Su Yan's hands clenched into fists. So, her mother's death actually had something to do with her maternal family!!

And it wasn't just her mother; even she had likely endured something terrifying to end up in that state.

"That is everything I know." Gu Yang wanted to comfort her, but he understood that no matter what he said now, it would be in vain for Su Yan.

"Then do you know where my mother's maiden home actually is?" A fire burned in Su Yan's eyes.

The only thing she couldn't be certain of right now was: was her mother actually a member of the Kong family?!

(End of Chapter)