Daily Intelligence: Forced to Save the Beautiful President at the Beginning

Zhang Fan had urged Gu Jingshen more than once: ”Your stepmother treats you well enough.”

Gu Jingshen would always stiffen his neck and retort every time, but then turn around and wear the scarf Tang Wanqing had given him, or share the braised duck she made with his brothers.

Some kindness, even if not acknowledged by words, is already carved into the bones.

Especially this year, when Gu Jingshen actually went home for the New Year. If he hadn’t run off to Hainan right after the New Year, Zhang Fan would definitely have teased him about it.

But why would Gu Jingshen’s mom go to Xiouqiu Park while drunk?

Zhang Fan wasn’t unfamiliar with Xiouqiu Park. It was a famous old park in Jiangcheng, planted with evergreen hydrangeas. Every spring and summer, it would be a sea of purple and white, like clouds spread all over the ground.

But in the middle of the night, why would a female CEO, too drunk to stand steadily, wander into that secluded place? He couldn’t figure it out.

Zhang Fan didn’t know that the stone path in Xiouqiu Park was where Tang Wanqing and Gu Jingshen’s father had walked on their first date. The day Father Gu had the car accident was also such a cold night. After Tang Wanqing finished handling the funeral arrangements, she sat in the park alone until dawn.

Over the years, she had become the decisive CEO Tang in the eyes of outsiders, ruthless and with a cold aura, but often on certain nights—like tonight, when she drank too much at a business engagement, and Father Gu’s voice played over and over in her mind—she would inexplicably head toward Xiouqiu Park.

Perhaps she just wanted to sit on that bench, smell the faint floral scent in the night breeze, and like countless times before, wait for someone who would never come again.

The phone screen showed 12:03 AM, leaving only 12 minutes until the ”time of the incident” warned by the system.

”Shit!” Zhang Fan cursed, threw off the quilt, and started putting on his clothes. Gu Jingshen was still out having fun in Hainan; if something really happened to Tang Wanqing, with that kid’s explosive temper, he would turn all of Jiangcheng upside down when he got back.

He grabbed his jacket and rushed out of the hostel. The hallway lights flickered on from the sound of his footsteps, and Fat Auntie poked her head out from the duty office: ”Where are you going so late?”

”To save someone!” Zhang Fan’s voice echoed in the hallway, and he had already rushed down the stairs.

The alleyway was empty in the dead of night, and the cold wind blew into his suit collar, making him shiver. He ran frantically toward the intersection, his leather shoes making a ”clack-clack” sound on the concrete, like a death knell. He finally managed to flag down a taxi, and the driver was a sleepy-eyed middle-aged man: ”Where to, young man?”

”Xiouqiu Park! Fast! As fast as you can!” Zhang Fan stammered, pinching his thigh hard. ”Driver, please drive faster, it’s a matter of life and death!”

The taxi shot off with a ”whoosh,” the light from the dashboard reflecting on Zhang Fan’s pale face. He pulled out his phone to call Tang Wanqing, only to realize he didn’t have her number saved at all. In his WeChat chat with Gu Jingshen, the last message was still ”Wait for me to come back and drink,” but calling him now wouldn’t solve the immediate crisis.

”How much longer?”

”We’ll be there after we turn that corner, about five minutes.” The driver smacked his lips, ”The park is closed at night, what are you going there for?”

Zhang Fan didn’t speak, his heart in his throat. Five minutes—would it be enough?

The taxi stopped at the side gate of the park. There was no guard here, just a half-open iron gate. Zhang Fan threw a hundred-yuan bill at the driver and, not waiting for change, scrambled through the gate. His leather shoes stepped onto the lawn, getting covered in dew.

Xiouqiu Park was huge, and the streetlights at night were spaced far apart; the bushes under the light looked like clawing, snarling ghost shadows.

”Aunt Tang! Tang Wanqing!” He called out in a low voice, afraid of alerting the bad guys, yet afraid that if his voice was too soft, she wouldn’t hear him.

The lakeside was empty, with only the ”rustling” sound of the wind blowing through the willow branches. He ran along the lake shore, his heart pounding against his chest, and the wound on the back of his head began to ache again.

Just then, he saw someone in the distance who seemed to be asleep, leaning against the back of a bench.