October 18, 1995.
January 1, 1997.
August 28, 2009.
February 13, 2010.
These dates are as deeply engraved and vivid as a brand in Ethan Gu's twenty-three years of life.
The first date was the date his biological mother died.
The second date was the date he would welcome his stepmother.
The third date was the day he had a falling out with the Gu family because of Trevor Zhou and was sent abroad.
The fourth date was the first Spring Festival he spent alone abroad, and it was also the time when he began to dream.
---Until now, he still prefers to call it a dream.
A nightmare.
There weren't too many accidents in Ethan Gu's life.
The death of my mother when I was five was one, and meeting Trevor Zhou when I was twenty was another.
The first accident caused the relationship between Gu Dashao and his father to deteriorate and eventually they became disgusted with each other. The second accident caused this already frozen relationship to explode. All the turbulence hidden under the calm surface surged out, splashing countless injuries.
It was difficult for Ethan Gu to express his feelings towards Trevor Zhou.
Maybe it's out of curiosity, maybe it's to try something new, maybe it's a choice made out of boredom, or maybe it's as casual as supporting a star and keeping a lover.
Or maybe, more or less, there is always some emotion.
He had no intention of making this relationship public at first. As the eldest son of the Gu family, even if he had a cold relationship with his family, he always carried the expectations of the Shen and Gu families, as well as the earnest teachings of the old man.
But due to a man-made accident, this relationship was made public.
In this circle, they -- the so-called second-generation princelings -- are not as unscrupulous as outsiders imagine: they do have access to more people, but all their rules of conduct are limited to an invisible range. Especially for the families of old revolutionaries, even if they cannot control them normally, they will never allow their children to cause trouble or live a decadent life.
After the affair with Trevor Zhou was exposed, Ethan Gu was immediately called back home. After several heated conversations, just as he and Jordan Wei had said, his legs were broken and he was sent abroad overnight.
He then recuperated in a foreign hospital and did not go out of his way to inquire about the situation, but he always heard news intermittently.
For example, Jordan Wei ran to see him but was stopped by people outside. After returning home, he found out that the rumors were spreading everywhere. He was so angry that he threatened to punish Trevor Zhou. However, before he could do anything, Trevor Zhou turned around and went to Darren Sun's bed. Jordan Wei himself was even called by Old Man Wei to be scolded, and he couldn't raise his head for several days.
For example, after the incident, some of his friends remained silent, while other friends refuted the incident indignantly on the surface, but in fact their attitudes were ambiguous and added fuel to the fire.
For example, after Darren Sun joined Trevor Zhou, he publicly said in the circle that "it's not that good."
For example, Trevor Zhou and Darren Sun took the money and became their own bosses after one month...
Things happened one after another. The Gu family, who were in the vortex, only gave a slight push: sending Ethan Gu abroad, tracking down the source of the rumor but not immediately using force to block the rumor. It was easy to cut off the relationship with Trevor Zhou and achieve their real goal. As for the rumor that had been circulating for nearly a month, it was a lesson for Ethan Gu, and the real impact on the Gu family was minimal: in the final analysis, Ethan Gu was the designated successor of the Gu family for three generations, and he was also a student. Although personal issues were taken seriously, they would not lead to any irreversible consequences.
In a game, there is no right or wrong, it is just a matter of who has better tactics and who is more confident.
Ethan Gu left Trevor Zhou alone after hearing that he had climbed into Darren Sun's bed. Trevor Zhou was the trigger for his falling out with his family, but Trevor Zhou was not even a reason, at best a landmine that could explode when touched.
The real reasons from beginning to end were only those: his deceased mother, stepmother and younger brother, and the indifference between him and his father for fifteen years.
His passport was confiscated, he was not allowed to return to China, and there were people following and monitoring him wherever he went... Ethan Gu simply became a playboy abroad, going to bars to drink, racing cars and fighting, and even skipping classes. This kind of life was not very good, but it was not very bad either. Ethan Gu stayed abroad safely until the Spring Festival of 2010.
Then all the whitewashed calm was broken.
From the second half of 2009 to February 2010, during the six months when the rumors in Beijing had just subsided, he was not notified to return to China, but the two special forces soldiers who followed him took their annual leave and went home for the New Year.
On New Year's Eve, he stayed alone in his apartment watching the evening party. After a few shows, he was called out for drinks. He had a conflict with another group of people in the bar and was scratched on the forehead by the broken pieces of the wine bottle during the fight. As the injury was not serious, he did not go to the hospital for treatment, but went straight back to his apartment to rest.
That night, he had a dream.
Blood and fire stained the gloomy sky, the trees were mottled, and the tall buildings collapsed. He saw many faces, others, his own, his family, his friends, familiar faces, strangers...
He saw a nightmare that seemed very real.
Jordan Wei died in a car accident during his years abroad. Old Mr. Wei couldn't bear the shock and suffered a heart attack when he heard the news. He was hospitalized and died a few hours later. The Wei family began to go downhill from then on.
He returned home immediately, but did not really return to the core of the family. Later, the Gu family's political stance was wrong, and although they survived safely under the protection of the old man, the old man, who had retired long ago and was in poor health, soon fell ill in bed because of the stress and energy of this time.
At that time, he didn't know why he was entangled with a Trevor Zhou.
His father has already threatened to expel him from the family.
When the old man met him alone before his death, his first words were "Come back", and his second words were "Take the Gu family and serve the motherland".
He didn't go back...
The Gu family was in the wrong position again.
The Chen, Wen, and He families joined forces to reshuffle the power. The Sun family rose and the He family reached the top. The glory of the Wei and Gu families became history...
This intermittent, fragmented nightmare haunted him for a whole month.
Without family, friends, or even anyone to monitor him, he woke up all night long, exhausted every time but unable to fall asleep. In the end, he became so mentally exhausted that he even contacted several doctors and took a lot of medicine, but to no avail.
Until a month later, the nightmare came as if unexpectedly and disappeared without any warning.
His life seemed to have returned to the past, just as if.
This nightmare that lasted for a month was like a poisonous thorn that pierced his heart.
He didn't want to admit it, but compared to the scenes in his nightmares, the conflicts with his father over the past fifteen years seemed less and less important as time went by.
Just one week after the nightmare, Ethan Gu made plans for his future studies and cut off contact with his former playmates: when he was a playboy, he never brought anyone back to the apartment, and they even used a newly applied number to contact each other. As long as he cancelled the number, most of the troubles could be solved - this was even easier than going to bars, drinking, or fighting.
Two years, one master's degree, three bachelor's degrees.
Two years later, he returned to China and used a few small "magics" to get back his face that was stepped on by Darren Sun.
But if the future is really like the nightmare he experienced, what is the point of such useless confrontation to him?
It's still dark.
Ethan Gu, who struggled to wake up from a chaotic dream, pressed his temple. Ever since he had his head smashed and had nightmares for a month two years ago, he developed this problem: he couldn't sleep well at night whenever he drank.
4:35 AM.
He simply sat up and opened the window to let the cool breeze into the stuffy room, then picked up his cell phone to make a long-distance call to his investment advisor who was working overseas.
The Gu family and the Shen family back then were a typical combination of officials and businessmen. After he turned eighteen, the inheritance left by his mother was officially transferred to his name, but it was still managed by the original people in the past few years. It was not until the past two years that he officially intervened in the decision-making and investment.
The long-distance call lasted for more than an hour, and the first ray of soft white morning light had broken through the clouds and was shining down from afar.
Ethan Gu washed his face, drank a glass of milk to fill his stomach, then walked out of the room and came to the simple venue in the back garden to start his two-hour daily training.
Punch, kick, side punch, and hook.
Side kick, arm lock, rib chop, elbow strike.
He first learned this set of military boxing with Jordan Wei. As they were close friends, they could share resources to a large extent. Later, he found several coaches to train him abroad and adjusted it according to his own habits and physical condition, focusing on practicality.
When Ethan Gu was about to stop practicing for almost the usual time, a deep shout came from the side:
"careful!"
The sound came from the side and rear. Ethan Gu didn't even turn his head, but stepped sideways and swung his arm like a whip!
A dull sound of collision followed, and the man took a step back to steady himself, shook his numb hands, and said in surprise: "Now I really believe that you have dealt with those two special forces soldiers."
Jordan Wei had no intention of continuing, so Ethan Gu stopped talking, picked up the towel hanging beside him and wiped his sweat, and asked, "Why are you here so early?"
"I had nothing to do at home, so I came to see you earlier." Jordan Wei replied, and walked around the yard a few times. He found two palm-sized squirrels K!ssing each other on a branch, and saw a frog jumping on the back of a turtle in the pond. He said with a sigh, "This place is not bad, but it's a little off the beaten path. How much did you pay for it?"
"It's free. Have you had breakfast?"
"Not yet. I was planning to eat with you."
"That's perfect. I made some porridge." Ethan Gu said, and walked into the kitchen to prepare it, and then really brought out a pot of porridge and a few side dishes.
Jordan Wei, who was looking up and down at the house, looked back and laughed instantly: "Hey, after three years away from home, you really have mastered everything. Isn't it natural for Master Gu to not be close to the kitchen?"
Ethan Gu glanced at Jordan Wei and thought, what's the big deal about going to the kitchen? In his nightmares, he was still entangled with a B!tch: "You have so much to say over a meal?"
"Master Gu cooked for us personally, we must give him face!" Jordan Wei laughed and said, not being polite, he followed Ethan Gu and buried his head in eating, chatting while eating, "When I first learned these, you didn't pay much attention, why did you suddenly pick them up?"
"Relax." Ethan Gu said casually.
"That reason..." Jordan Wei glanced at Ethan Gu in silence, "People who don't know you would think you are very interested in martial arts!"
Ethan Gu smiled, ate two mouthfuls of porridge, and suddenly asked: "How is Trevor Zhou?"
Jordan Wei frowned: "Why are you asking him?"
"A little curious," but he didn't want to ask. Ethan Gu wasn't sure if Jordan Wei was still paying attention to this person, "Any news about him?"
"Yes," Jordan Wei said, looking unhappy, "I met him at a charity auction last time. He's very rich now. People call him Mr. Zhou whenever he goes in and out."
Ethan Gu raised his eyebrows.
"Darren Sun's money, hey." Jordan Wei sneered twice and said with sarcasm.
The charity auction that allowed Jordan Wei to participate must be worth tens of millions of dollars. Ethan Gu smiled and said, "He really spares no effort in supporting people."
"Trevor Zhou is smart, too. He tripled or quadrupled the money Darren Sun gave him in two years, even though Darren Sun gave him a lot of green lights." In the end, he is nothing. After listening to Ethan Gu's words, Jordan Wei gave a fair evaluation, and added at the end, "If you had known that he was so easy to get along with, why did you bother back then? Wouldn't it be better to just spend some money? It would save you a lot of trouble and effort."
Ethan Gu knocked on the table: "If I had known that he was so easy to deal with, what did someone say back then? Wouldn't it be better to spend some money to let him come out and clarify the rumors? But he was called by Grandpa Wei and scolded. It's really not worth it."
Speaking of this... Jordan Wei said: "The boat capsized in the gutter."
Ethan Gu felt that this statement was quite suitable for him...
After that, the two of them stopped talking about things that made them feel bad, and chatted casually. The topic came back to this courtyard. When talking about this again, Ethan Gu remembered:
"This yard is free. If you want, just allocate a piece of land next to it and build a small building like this. I bought this land two years ago."
"You bought it? Including the entire hill behind?" Jordan Wei was a little surprised. "Such a large place and there is no movement at all."
"How could there be no movement?" Ethan Gu sneered, "Everyone who should know must have known it. It's just that you haven't paid attention to this place, otherwise you would have known it." He paused and explained, "When I bought it, I didn't use the relationship here. I followed my grandfather's way."
"Why do you suddenly want to do this?" Jordan Wei asked.
"From now on, everyone will have a quieter place to gather." Ethan Gu said casually. Before he finished speaking, Gu Zhengjia's voice was heard from outside:
"Brother, are you in there?"
The two people who were talking looked at the time at the same time. It was 8:24. Jordan Wei smiled at Ethan Gu and said, "I'm here to check on you!"
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