Fang Wei's horrified voice still echoed in the phone: "Blackstone Capital! They acquired Oak Family!"
Lin Wei seemed to be in an ice cave, and all the sounds became distant and blurred. Her fingers tightly grasped the phone, her knuckles were so hard that they turned white, and her eyes were fixed on the small piece of label in her palm that she had torn off in a panic.
**"Rizatriptan besylate"** - Special painkiller.
**"Contraindications: Use with caution in patients with sequelae of brain trauma"** - Brain trauma? Gu Heng?
**"Related case number: GH-0721"** - This number... GH is the abbreviation of Gu Heng's name? 0721... July 21st? This date was like a cold lightning, instantly splitting the fog deep in Lin Wei's memory!
She suddenly remembered that her father Lin Zhiyuan had vaguely mentioned in a painful rant after being drunk: "... That day, July 21st... Gu's car... hit me... to save me..." At that time, she just thought it was her father's nonsense out of guilt, and never investigated it further! Gu's car? Car accident? Brain trauma? July 21st? !
A terrible, suffocating conjecture instantly entangled her heart like a poisonous ivy!
Gu Heng's headache... his mother's death... his father's guilt... the mysterious case number... and the date! All these fragments, under the shadow of the sudden appearance of the behemoth "Blackstone Capital", were forcibly pieced together by an invisible force, pointing to a truth that Lin Wei dared not think deeply about and was enough to subvert everything!
"Director Lin? Director Lin, are you still listening?" Fang Wei's anxious voice pulled her back to reality from the stormy waves.
Lin Wei took a deep breath and forced herself to press back the heart that was about to jump out of her throat. Her voice trembled slightly due to extreme shock, but she was unusually calm: "I'm listening. Fang Wei, notify Li Zhe immediately, start the supply chain emergency plan B, find a list of alternative suppliers, expand the scope to niche studios around the world, and ensure the first wave of product proofing at all costs! At the same time, block the news of the acquisition of "Oak Family", and the unified caliber to the outside world is "technical delay", and strive for a 24-hour buffer period! I will return to the company immediately!"
After hanging up the phone, Lin Wei leaned against the cold wall, her body still trembling slightly. The small label fragment in her palm was like a red-hot iron, burning her soul. She looked down at it, and then looked up at the closed glass door that isolated the painful world on the third floor.
Inside the door, Gu Heng's painful curled-up figure, his mother's possible cause of death, his father's vague mumbling... and the mysterious "GH-0721" case file, as well as the ruthless "Blackstone Capital" that had just surfaced... All the clues were intertwined, forming a huge and dark vortex in her mind.
She knew. She knew the source of Gu Heng's deep pain, the date of the car accident that could change everyone's fate, and even... touched his deepest taboos and hatred.
What to do?
Rush in and question? Tear open his bloody scars when he just experienced severe pain and was most vulnerable? No, that's too cruel.
Pretend to know nothing? Continue to play the role of "Director Lin" who abides by the contract and only focuses on the project? But this secret, like a time bomb, has been buried between them.
Lin Wei's eyes fell on the painkiller bottle she had just placed on the low cabinet by the door in a hurry. She had taken it out of the medicine box in a panic, and hadn't had time to put it back. The label of the medicine bottle clearly printed the taboo instructions and the case number.
She stared at the medicine bottle, her eyes struggling violently. Finally, a decision was formed in her mind. She couldn't escape, nor could she be reckless.
She took out her mobile phone and took a clear photo of the label of the medicine bottle, especially the two lines of "Taboo: Use with caution for patients with sequelae of brain trauma" and "Related case number: GH-0721". Then, she carefully put the medicine bottle back to a conspicuous position on the low cabinet, without trying to hide or take it away.
After doing all this, she took a last deep look at the closed door, as if to penetrate the heavy glass and see the man imprisoned by pain and secrets inside. Then, she turned around resolutely, her high heels stepped on the cold steps, making a firm and rapid echo, and quickly left the third floor. She was going to the company to face the new crisis brought by "Blackstone Capital". The storm here needs time to settle.
***
On the third floor, in the medical space.
The powerful painkillers finally suppressed the excruciating pain, leaving only heavy fatigue and a mess of weakness. Gu Heng's consciousness slowly emerged from the abyss of chaos.
The residual power of the headache was still playing tricks on him, but what frightened him more was the shame of Lin Wei's brief, uncontrolled vulnerability, and... the uncontrollable, almost greedy throbbing in his heart when she touched him, injected him with drugs, and gently wiped him. He suddenly opened his eyes and sat up with his still weak body.
The room was empty. Lin Wei had left. The air still lingered with her faint, cool fragrance, mixed with the lingering smell of herbs.
He held the edge of the bed and staggered to his feet. His eyes swept across the cleaned floor, and a strange feeling passed through his mind. He walked to the low cabinet and wanted to pour a glass of water, but his eyes suddenly stopped!
The painkiller bottle was placed in the most conspicuous position of the low cabinet!
And the label of the medicine bottle... His pupils suddenly contracted! On the label, where it should have been intact, a small piece was missing! It was the key part with the taboo instructions and the case number printed on it!
Gu Heng's heartbeat stopped instantly! A cold chill ran straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, instantly dispelling his remaining weakness! He almost pounced on it, grabbed the medicine bottle, and stroked the missing mark with trembling fingers. The tear was very new, with a trace of imperceptible fiber burrs on the edge.
It was her! Only she was here just now!
She saw it! Not only did she see his embarrassed and painful appearance, she also tore off the label! She knew about "sequelae of brain trauma"! She saw "GH-0721", the date he had buried for more than ten years, like a brand!
This cognition was like a poisoned dagger, stabbing into Gu Heng's heart! It was a hundred times more severe than the headache just now! The high wall he carefully built to isolate everything, the most unbearable and painful secret he tried his best to hide, was torn open by Lin Wei in an almost cruel way when he was most vulnerable and defenseless!
"Boom!" A rage of devastating rage and a panic of being completely stripped swept over him in an instant! He waved his hand violently and swept everything on the low cabinet - water cups, medicine bottles, instruments - to the ground! The sound of glass and metal shattering exploded harshly in the dead silence!
He was like a wounded trapped beast, his eyes were red, his chest was heaving violently, and the heavy breathing filled the whole room. He looked at the mess on the ground, at the medicine bottle with a broken label that rolled in the corner, and Lin Wei's clear eyes, which seemed to him to be full of inquiry and... pity? appeared in front of him again.
No! He doesn't need pity! He doesn't need anyone to spy on his hell!
He stumbled to the desk (the only desk in the room, with several old leather file boxes piled on it), and frantically opened one of them. Inside was a thick stack of yellowed case files. The cover of the top report clearly printed:
**[Major Traffic Accident Investigation File]**
**File number: GH-0721**
**Parties: Shen Jing (Gu Heng's mother), Lin Zhiyuan (Lin Wei's father)...**
Looking at the case number and his mother's name, Gu Heng's fingers dug into the hard tabletop, and his nails almost broke! The tragic car accident more than a decade ago, his mother's cold body, his father's (Gu's father) indifference and exploitation, and Lin Zhiyuan's face full of guilt but powerlessness... All the pain, hatred and loneliness that were forcibly suppressed, at this moment, were like a flood that broke through the dam, completely drowning him!
He grabbed the case file fiercely and wanted to tear it up! Want to burn it! Want to erase it all! But in the end, he just let go of his hand dejectedly, letting the case files fall to the ground. He staggered back, leaning against the cold wall, and slowly slid to the ground.
In the darkness, he curled up and buried his face deep in his knees. His broad shoulders trembled uncontrollably, and his throat uttered an extremely suppressed, dying beast-like whimper. It was no longer a physical pain, but the despair of a soul that was completely torn apart and exposed to the cold wind.
She knew...
She knew about the car accident that changed everything, his injuries, his pain, and the source of all his unbearableness...
What would she think of him? A monster twisted by pain and hatred? A shameless villain who used her father's guilt and used her as a tool and shield for revenge?
The cold despair was like venom, bit by bit eroding his heart that had just been briefly warmed by Lin Wei's body temperature and tenderness.
***
Gu Group, "Dawn Plan" temporary command center.
Lin Wei forced herself to devote all her energy to the crisis at hand. She acted vigorously and issued one order after another:
"Contact the North American 'Unique Workshop', with a 30% premium, and request priority ordering!"
"The Legal Department will immediately review the preliminary letter of intent with 'Oak Family' and find a breach of contract claim point!"
"Marketing Department, start Plan C, shift the focus of preheating marketing to 'craftsmanship' and 'scarcity', and downplay supply chain information!"
Her voice was calm and decisive, and she was in command, as if everything she had just experienced on the third floor was just a dream. Only she knew that the corner deep in her heart that was burned by the label fragments was bleeding silently. She would always unconsciously glance at her encrypted mobile phone album - there, quietly lying the photo that was enough to detonate a nuclear bomb.
"Director Lin," Li Zhe walked in quickly, his face solemn, and lowered his voice, "Boss Gu...can't be contacted. Butler Zhou said he was on the third floor, but refused to be disturbed by anyone. In addition..." He hesitated, "The group's stock price... fell 3% in an abnormally large volume ten minutes after the opening. Unknown funds are selling in a concentrated manner. The method is very professional, like...shorting."
Blackstone! Their fangs are really not only biting at the "roost"! Lin Wei's heart sank suddenly. Attacking Gu Heng's soft spot (Lin Wei's project) is just the beginning. The real goal is the entire Gu Empire!
Just then, Lin Wei's mobile phone vibrated. It was an encrypted message from an unknown number, with only a short line of words:
**[Mrs. Gu, how does the medicine bottle taste? Do you want to see the truth of GH-0721 more clearly? ——Blackstone]**
Lin Wei's pupils suddenly contracted! Blackstone! Not only do they know that she has discovered the secret of the medicine bottle, but they also know the case number! They have been monitoring! They may even... know more than her!
The coldness instantly froze her blood. She clenched her phone tightly, her fingertips turning white. The shadow of the black stone, like the thickest darkness, completely enveloped her. And Gu Heng...was he also being swallowed by the same darkness and despair in the cold medical room on the third floor?