Returning Home to an Empty House

Guo Lantai knew that Cen Muxiao kept quite a few luxury cars in his garage. Besides the Rolls-Royce he drove most often, there were BMWs, Bentleys, Porsches, and more. The collection in that garage was far more luxurious and extravagant than this unremarkable villa of his.

As Mrs. Cen, he could have applied for a private car and driver, but Guo Lantai had given up on that idea. What was there to covet about benefits he had to reach out and ask for himself?

Besides, in Cen Muxiao's eyes, he probably did not deserve any of those precious cars anyway.

So, after hearing those two arrange their itinerary right in front of him at the dinner table, he returned to his room, packed his things, ordered a car online, and went home alone.

Otherwise, watching those two appear together again would have made him think of himself as some resentful wife banished to the cold palace. Of course, he was already in the cold palace, but he truly did not want to become a resentful wife.

They could live freely, and so could he. The joy of reuniting with his parents sounded pretty good too!

But things did not go as expected. When Guo Lantai returned to the Guo Family villa, he did not receive the warm welcome he had anticipated.

Aunt Hong, the housekeeper who opened the door, looked utterly surprised when she saw him. "Huh? Second Young Master, why are you back? Didn't Madam notify you?"

The moment Guo Lantai heard that, he knew something had happened. He hurriedly asked, "What happened? Where are my parents?"

Aunt Hong opened the door and let him in, took the backpack from his hand, then explained, "Master and Madam flew to Country D before dawn today. The eldest young master called in the middle of the night. It seemed there was some problem with the business. The two of them hurriedly booked the earliest flight, and it was still dark when they left!"

Guo Lantai was puzzled after hearing that. How could there be a problem with the business?

In the original novel, Guo Group's operations only ran into trouble much later. It was because Song Anning intervened that their overseas collaboration project with Cen Group went wrong, eventually spiraling out of control and ending in total bankruptcy.

But right now, Song Anning had not even had the chance to do anything yet, and there was already a problem!

And his parents had left in such a rush that they had not even had time to notify him. It looked like the issue was quite serious!

But why had he never heard Cen Muxiao mention it? That man had even lowered himself to marry him for the sake of cooperating with Guo Group. Didn't that mean he valued this project just as much?

How could he show no signs of concern at all and still have the mood to wander around with Song Anning?

"Did they say what exactly the problem was?"

Aunt Hong frowned, looking troubled. "No. Madam only gave a brief instruction before rushing to pack. But I thought she looked as though she'd been crying. I asked her, but she wouldn't answer. Mr. Guo had a grave expression too. They went straight to the airport without wasting much time!"

After hearing Aunt Hong say that, Guo Lantai came up with another possibility. Perhaps his brother's side was dealing with more than just a business problem. Without seeing it himself, though, he could not say for sure.

"I'll contact them and confirm."

As he spoke, Guo Lantai walked into the living room, sat down on the sofa, took out his phone, and began dialing. Only when he heard the shutdown notification did he realize that the plane had not landed yet.

He opened his contacts and then dialed Guo Lanjun's number, but the call could not be connected either.

Even if there was a problem with the business, it should not make both their phones unreachable, should it? Guo Lantai had a bad feeling. Something must have happened to his brother!

When Aunt Hong saw that he could not reach anyone, her worried expression changed. She could only comfort him gently. "Second Young Master, please don't worry. Madam probably didn't have time to notify you. Once they arrive, they'll definitely call you right away. Madam was still thinking about you coming home today yesterday!"

"Mm."

With no other choice, Guo Lantai could only wait patiently. He was somewhat annoyed at the original owner for being so useless. All his thoughts had revolved around himself, living freely and carefree, without the slightest concern for the company. Now that an emergency had happened, he did not even know whom to ask.

As he sat deep in thought, Aunt Hong looked at him with great affection and asked again, "Second Young Master, you're not leaving at noon, are you? I'll prepare some dishes you like. The ingredients were all prepared in advance. I thought Madam would notify you separately, so I didn't prepare things as planned, but it's not too late now."

The more Aunt Hong spoke, the more aggrieved she felt on behalf of the second young master. On such a fine day for returning to his parental home after marriage, not a single family member was there. He had even come home to find no hot meal waiting for him. What kind of situation was this?

Only then did Guo Lantai realize how unusually quiet the house was. Even when the owners were not home, the servants were usually still bustling about.

"Why are you the only one here?"

"Oh, since Master and Madam aren't home, there was no need for so many hands. I took it upon myself to give them three days off. But don't worry, nothing important in the house will be delayed!"

Aunt Hong answered honestly. She had worked for the Guo Family for many years and knew that the more something happened, the more important it was to keep the staff under control. Too many people meant too many mouths, which could easily lead to further trouble. Sending them away would keep them from making wild guesses and prying around.

Naturally, Guo Lantai trusted Aunt Hong. Since he was already home and had yet to hear from his parents, he was in no hurry to leave.

So he nodded. "All right, then I'll trouble you. Just make two simple dishes."

As he spoke, he took out his phone and checked the flight information to Country D. After estimating the approximate landing time, he finally returned to his room with peace of mind.

The original owner truly had been deeply pampered by his family. His room occupied the best spot on the second floor, sunny and spacious, with decor in the finest and trendiest style. It perfectly suited the original owner's love of play and enjoyment.

Without much effort, Guo Lantai found the motorcycle key. This time, he decided that when he returned to the Cen family, he would ride his own motorcycle back. It would be convenient for getting around, and he could also visit the club when he had the chance.

He was unwilling to let go of the life the original owner had wanted to hide or abandon. Having died once already, he naturally had to enjoy life to the fullest and cherish the present.

Dealing with the scheming green tea and slapping that scumbag in the face were merely things to do along the way. There was no need to disrupt the rhythm of his own life for them.

Besides, Song Anning had already been impatient to open a new account and start a new life. Guo Lantai could not simply resign himself to idling around at the Cen family. If he wanted a true voice of his own, he had to make himself stronger.

He might have been a programmer, but the original owner had graduated in business management and possessed no practical professional specialty. So, in the original novel, in order to win Cen Muxiao's favor, he relied on his pleasant voice and handsome appearance and decided to enter the entertainment industry. Unfortunately, he fell into Song Anning's trap and ultimately had his reputation ruined.

But that was only a plot an author with a broken brain could write. Guo Lantai had come to overturn the original setting. What the original owner could not accomplish did not mean he could not do it, and if he was going to do it, he would do it better than anyone.

Thus, Guo Lantai curled up in his room and began planning his future. At the very least, he would never fall behind that green-tea Song this time...