Big Brother Was Back

The plane arrived at the airport and landed smoothly. All the passengers disembarked and walked through the passage into the terminal.

The passengers with checked luggage collected their belongings before leaving the terminal.

Gu Tingchuan wheeled his suitcase out of the terminal and checked the time. It was 3:20 p.m.

The blazing sunlight fell directly on him. The temperature in Anzhou was generally several degrees higher than in Jizhou.

Gu Tingchuan took out his phone to call home. As the ringing buzzed through the phone, a conspicuous red Phantom stopped in front of him.

The window rolled down, and Zhao Wanling smiled and waved at Gu Tingchuan from the passenger seat. "Xiao Chuan, get in."

Gu Shuoyan tilted his head slightly so Gu Tingchuan could see him. "Big Brother, Mom and I came to pick you up. Hop in!"

Gu Tingchuan got into the back seat and leaned back in a relaxed posture. "Is Shen Ci still working on set?"

"Yes." Zhao Wanling nodded. "Apart from going to his concert on the Mid-Autumn Festival, we haven't seen him home in three or four months."

"Second Brother only finished filming a little while ago, then held a concert. Isn't it about time he took a break and came home?"

"Maybe. Last time he had a break, he rested at home for four days, then stayed busy right up until now."

Gu Tingchuan asked, "What about our little brother? Didn't he come with you?"

Gu Shuoyan turned the steering wheel to take a corner. "He's at home. He's been in his room ever since lunch today. He said he was busy with a group assignment. I don't know if he's finished yet."

Zhao Wanling smiled. "Xiao Yue absolutely loves the gifts you sent him. He takes them out to look at them all the time and wipes them spotless."

Gu Tingchuan's tone was calm. "I didn't know what he liked, so I just picked out a few things. As long as he likes them."

It was already past 4:20 when the three arrived home. The moment they entered, they saw Gu Zhiyue eating snacks on the sofa.

Gu Shuoyan asked with a smile, "Done already?"

Gu Zhiyue nodded. "Of course. That assignment was easy. I finished it in no time."

"What are you eating? Give me some."

"A new flavor of chips I bought last time. They're pretty good."

Gu Tingchuan sat on the sofa opposite them. Zhao Wanling looked at Gu Zhiyue. "Sweetheart, this is your eldest brother."

"Big Brother?!" Gu Zhiyue's gaze instantly darted to Gu Tingchuan, and he gave him a bright, well-behaved smile. "Hi, Big Brother."

Gu Tingchuan nodded slightly in greeting. "Hello."

Zhao Wanling patted his shoulder. "Do you think you're receiving a client at the office?"

Gu Tingchuan cleared his throat softly. "Force of habit. Sorry."

Gu Zhiyue wondered inwardly, Wasn't this eldest brother of mine supposed to be famously stern, the sort who could send people running with a single look? Why doesn't he seem like that? And isn't he a little goofy?

Xiao Jiu rested both short little arms behind the head and crossed one leg over the other knee. Gu Tingchuan is like that outside. After all, he's the boss of a huge corporation. He has to have some presence to keep people in line. But home is different. He can relax at home.

Gu Zhiyue nodded slightly. True. Who keeps up appearances at home? Isn't this rare chance to relax the whole reason people look forward to going home?

Gu Tingchuan looked at Gu Zhiyue in disbelief, then silently suppressed that emotion. Seeing that his third brother and mother both looked perfectly normal, he wondered if they hadn't heard.

Or had he just imagined the voices?

"Big Brother, want some chips? I have another bag." Gu Zhiyue tossed the chips to Gu Tingchuan, who caught them and thanked him without opening them. He had never liked snacks like these.

Gu Zhiyue continued chatting with Xiao Jiu. What did you say would happen to my eldest brother in the future again?

Xiao Jiu thought back. Gu Tingchuan was set up by a rival. A passerby stabbed him several times in the street, killing him on the spot.

Gu Tingchuan's hand jerked violently. He hadn't imagined it. Someone really was speaking. Wasn't that the voice of his little brother, who had only just returned home? But his little brother hadn't opened his mouth. Something this strange actually existed in the world!

How was my eldest brother set up?

Just like Gu Jiangfeng, Gu Tingchuan had a mole in his corporation. That mole was even his girlfriend.

Gu Zhiyue seized on the key point, his eyes lighting up. Girlfriend? Aren't all three of my brothers supposed to be single?

Zhao Wanling looked at Gu Tingchuan as though saying, "You really kept that under wraps. You didn't even tell me."

Gu Tingchuan felt helpless. What girlfriend? Who on earth was feeding his little brother this nonsense? Had he been possessed?

Xiao Jiu explained, She can't really be called his girlfriend yet. He won't meet this girlfriend for another two months. But the one she likes is Gu Tingchuan's rival, the Eldest Young Master of the Fu Family. She's willing to give herself up for love and help that young master get rid of Gu Tingchuan.

Gu Zhiyue summed it up. So, for her true love, this woman sacrificed herself by becoming my eldest brother's girlfriend and used that position to keep passing important information about his company to that Fu guy?

Xiao Jiu snapped a finger. Bingo! At first, that girl only gave Young Master Fu a few insignificant details. Gu Tingchuan ran into setbacks in those areas but didn't take them to heart. Later, the plans those two hatched grew bolder and bolder.

Gu Tingchuan had already clenched his fists. In two months, he would have a girlfriend, and that girlfriend would be a mole sent by the Fu Family.

Gu Shuoyan clicked his tongue regretfully. His eldest brother had it rough too.

Gu Zhiyue didn't notice the three of them's expressions and continued analyzing the relationship with Xiao Jiu. Isn't my eldest brother's corporation huge? How did those two bankrupt him?

Gu Tingchuan partnered with a building contractor on a batch of construction materials. At the time, he had just won a plot of land at auction and planned to build a five-star hotel there. Since he was already working with the contractor, he handed the hotel's construction over to them.

Gu Tingchuan originally set the minimum budget for building the hotel at six hundred million, specifying that all materials had to be the best. But his girlfriend secretly changed the original budget figure. The contractor didn't look carefully either and started work straight away. Because the budget wasn't enough, they didn't choose the best materials.

Gu Zhiyue frowned slightly. But that wouldn't get him stabbed, would it? Even if the materials weren't the best quality, wouldn't it be fine as long as they were sturdy? How many places actually get to use top-grade materials these days?

Xiao Jiu sighed. Because people died. A manager at the contractor's company pocketed the money for materials. He took sixty percent out of an already small budget, leaving the foreman with only forty percent. It wasn't nearly enough to buy the construction materials they needed.

Worse still, the higher-ups told them the hotel had to be built, or they could forget about getting paid. They depended on this work for their livelihood and only dared grumble in private, so they started building the hotel as ordered.

By the fifth month of construction, the building was one-third complete. Once, during the midday break, the workers were resting below when the cement supporting a horizontal steel bar came loose. The bar fell and killed two workers on the spot.

Gu Zhiyue sucked in a cold breath. It was that serious? Just how shoddy was that cement? Was this why the two workers' family members stabbed my eldest brother to death?

Xiao Jiu nodded. More or less. There were some other details in between. In short, the two workers' families first went to the foreman to demand compensation. The foreman told them to find the manager. Only after the dispute reached the contractor's upper management did they learn about the budget.

Gu Zhiyue clicked his tongue. Anyone hearing that would think Big Brother had exploited them by deliberately cutting costs, indirectly killing their family members. He was nothing but a scapegoat in this.

Gu Tingchuan stood up. "Mom, I'll go to my room and unpack first. I'll come down in a bit."

Zhao Wanling nodded. "All right. Go get some rest."

She would let her eldest son digest this on his own first, then tell him tonight.