Chapter 542 — The Live-In Son-in-Law

So Qing Bo quietly started the car and said to Zhong Yongliang, "Mr. Gu is still at the office, but I need to make a call to confirm first."

"No problem, go ahead and call!" Zhong Yongliang had already convinced himself that Qing Bo could do nothing to him, so he did not care. Even if Gu Pengzhan was notified in advance, so what? He would have to meet Gu Pengzhan sooner or later anyway.

Qing Bo nodded and dialed Gu Pengzhan's number.

These past few days had been smooth sailing for Gu Pengzhan. Jin Gubang was gone from the company, and so was Xie Guangbo. Wei Zhao, the second-largest shareholder, had handed him full authority over all decisions, and so both the board of directors and the shareholders' meeting had become a one-man show under Gu Pengzhan.

No minor shareholder dared to be so tactless as to step forward and oppose Gu Pengzhan now. The fates of Jin Gubang and Xie Guangbo were there for all to see, and no one was willing to become the next target.

Gu Pengzhan was in the middle of a shareholders' meeting at that very moment. Not a single person dared to switch on a phone during the proceedings -- except Gu Pengzhan himself, of course -- and no one dared to say a word about it.

Glancing at the incoming number, Gu Pengzhan answered the call. "Li Fu, is something the matter? I'm in the middle of a shareholders' meeting."

"Mr. Gu, Mr. Zhong Yongliang wishes to see you." Qing Bo wasted no words and went straight to the point. "The young lady should be in his hands."

"What? Yaoyao is in Zhong Yongliang's hands?" Gu Pengzhan was taken aback. He had never imagined Zhong Yongliang would be so brazen as to abduct Gu Mengyao. Over this period Gu Pengzhan had grown accustomed to his own authority, and hearing now that someone dared to set his sights on his daughter, he was instantly furious.

Qing Bo wanted to explain, but Zhong Yongliang snatched the phone from beside him. "Better give the phone to me -- I'll talk to Uncle Chu!"

Qing Bo did not insist and handed the phone straight to Zhong Yongliang, because in truth Qing Bo himself had not figured out what Zhong Yongliang had actually done with Gu Mengyao.

"Uncle Chu, it's me, Zhong Yongliang!" Zhong Yongliang took the phone politely and did his utmost to make his tone respectful; in his eyes, Gu Pengzhan was about to become his father-in-law.

"Zhong Yongliang, where is Yaoyao?" Gu Pengzhan had no patience for pleasantries, and there was already a chill in his voice.

"Uncle Chu, Yaoyao has agreed to be my girlfriend. We just made it official today, and she's resting at my home right now!" Zhong Yongliang said. "I was thinking I'd come and discuss our engagement with you, Uncle Chu!"

"Yaoyao agreed to be your girlfriend?" Gu Pengzhan was startled and knit his brows. "Come to my office now."

Gu Pengzhan did not voice his doubts, because some things could not be made clear over the phone; he would decide what to do once he had seen Zhong Yongliang in person. He still had not worked out what game Zhong Yongliang was playing.

"All right, I'll be right over!" Seeing that Gu Pengzhan had not openly doubted him but had told him to come to the office to talk, Zhong Yongliang assumed Gu Pengzhan believed what he had said. He was overjoyed. He hung up and ordered Qing Bo, "You heard that, didn't you? Uncle Chu wants you to bring me to the office."

"Understood." Qing Bo said no more. He put away his phone, turned the car around, and drove toward the Gu Group.

Gazing at the majestic Pengzhan Tower standing tall by the roadside, Zhong Yongliang was in an incomparably good mood. He was about to become Gu Pengzhan's son-in-law, and Gu Pengzhan had no son -- so did that not mean this vast family fortune would one day be his? The thought set his mind scheming even harder: when he met Gu Pengzhan in a moment, he would have to win him over no matter what, and make him accept this son-in-law!

Gu Pengzhan had been in a meeting, but upon hearing that something had happened to his daughter, he had no heart left for it. He hastily wrapped up the meeting and returned to his office.

Deep down, Gu Pengzhan did not much believe Zhong Yongliang's words. If his daughter could have taken a fancy to Zhong Yongliang, she would surely have done so long ago; there was no reason she would wait until now. And Zhong Yongliang's claim that Gu Mengyao had agreed to be his girlfriend was sheer nonsense.

What puzzled Gu Pengzhan, though, was how Qing Bo could possibly be going along with Zhong Yongliang's farce. That left perhaps only one explanation: his daughter had gone missing. Qing Bo had gone to the school to pick her up after class, and he must have failed to find her and instead run into Zhong Yongliang.

With that thought, Gu Pengzhan first called Gu Mengyao and then Shen Yushu. When both calls went straight to a switched-off message, Gu Pengzhan's earlier conjecture was confirmed.

After the upheavals at the company this time, Gu Pengzhan was somewhat more composed than before. Anxious as he was inside, he did not let it show. He sat quietly at his desk and waited for Zhong Yongliang to arrive.

After roughly half an hour, Qing Bo brought Zhong Yongliang to Gu Pengzhan's office.

"Uncle Chu, hello!" Zhong Yongliang had seen to every courtesy, bowing directly to Gu Pengzhan like a son-in-law arriving at the family door.

"Zhong Yongliang. Sit." Gu Pengzhan gestured faintly for him to take a seat, then said to Qing Bo, "Pour some tea."

"How could I trouble Qing Bo? I can do it myself!" Zhong Yongliang was elated. Could it be that Gu Pengzhan meant to accept him? Otherwise, what was Qing Bo's standing? How could he be made to pour tea for him in person? Zhong Yongliang had of course learned Qing Bo's position through his uncle: a man second only to one in the whole company, a mere driver on paper, yet Gu Pengzhan's trusted right hand. What ordinary employee would dare ask Qing Bo to pour tea? Qing Bo served only Gu Pengzhan and Gu Mengyao!

And now Gu Pengzhan had told Qing Bo to pour tea for him -- did that not mean he too had won Gu Pengzhan's approval, that he was as good as his son-in-law? Zhong Yongliang thought exultantly. He had not even said a word yet, and already the man believed in him?

He was still rejoicing when he heard Gu Pengzhan say coldly, "You kidnapped my daughter?"

"Huh?" Zhong Yongliang had been about to take the cup of tea Qing Bo offered him, and the shock made him jump; the cup slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor with a crisp crack. "Uncle Chu... you must not say such things. I... how could I possibly do anything criminal?"

"Is that so? Then where is my daughter?" Gu Pengzhan's gaze fixed on Zhong Yongliang, cold and sharp, and Zhong Yongliang gave a violent start, as though those eyes could pierce straight into his soul and force his head down, so that he dared not meet them.