Chapter 228 - Gong Tianhao’s Doubts
Chapter 228: Gong Tianhao’s Doubts
Translator: Lonelytree
Once the news of Taoyuan Village’s strawberries spread, many people rushed to the Taoyuan Village to experience the joy of picking strawberries.
Over the past few days, Xiao Lingyu had negotiated a few large orders. They came from bosses of large enterprises, buying the strawberries to reward their staff.
Things were going well with Zeng Yaozu’s Berry Lover group. After they had the free sample, they were shocked by how delicious the berries were. The members came from all over the world and from all walks of life. There were big bosses, teachers, government officials, and so on. They had gathered in one group for one hobby.
Zeng Yaozu’s group had a total of more than 2,000 people. He received orders from the members, some big and some small.
The big orders could be as big as 5,000 to 6,000 catties, and the small ones could only be about half a catty.
In the past few days, he had sold more than 10,000 catties.
In addition, Xiao Lingyu had also sold about 10,000 catties.
20,000 catties of strawberries had been sold just like that.
It was unexpected.
Half of the strawberries in the six Mu of land had been sold. Xiao Lingyu was not too worried about the rest.
Her strawberries had started to gain reputation, especially with Zeng Yaozu’s help. She believed that soon Taoyuan Village strawberries would make a name for themselves.
…
At the same time, there was another news spreading through the Beijing upper-class. The Jiang and Qin Families were joining through marriage!
The marriage was between the eldest young master of the Jiang family, Jiang Tao, and the eldest young miss of the Qin family, Qin Yan.
When the wedding invitations were sent out, some had complicated emotions, and others were jealous.
In the VIP room of Golden City Club, Jiang Tao slurped down the wine as if they were water.
Gong Tianhao frowned and looked at a certain someone who treated wine like water and would not stop until he got drunk.
As Jiang Tao raised another bottle to his lips, Gong Tianhao stopped him.
He asked sternly, “What are you doing? Are you giving up? Since you don’t want to get engaged to Qin Yan, you don’t have to.”
Jiang Tao bitterly smiled, “If only that is true. But Tianhao, you should know that my will is meaningless in this matter.”
1
Gong Tianhao tightly knitted his brows and said, “But you’re not happy at all!”
“Happy?” Jiang Tao said with a cold and discouraging smile, “Haha. Since I was born, my right to be happy had been taken away. I was given the burden instead as the heir of the Jiang Family. I didn’t want the responsibility, but what could I do?
“Grandfather decided my life since I was born. I had to follow his every move. Once I strayed, I would be severely punished.
“To be a qualified heir, I was not allowed any emotional attachment. I am not even allowed to have my parent’s love. My parents are not allowed to hug me. I can only meet them once a month.”
Gong Tianhao was silent. He did not know how to comfort Jiang Tao.
They were both heirs of their families, and they were both raised by their grandfather. However, Old Master Gong gave Gong Tianhao love and freedom.
Jiang Tao was different. He had been under his grandfather’s control since he was young. He had no freedom, no happiness, let alone love.
Jiang Tao took the wine and poured it down his stomach. Then, he threw the bottle away and continued, “It’s been 28 years. I’ve been living like a walking corpse. I really want to take my life back!”
“But how is marrying Qin Yan going to help?” Gong Tianhao said sternly, “If you marry Qin Yan, what will happen to Xiao Lingyu? Don’t tell me you want her to be your mistress?”
Unless one of the families fell from grace, there was no divorce between big families.
Or unless Jiang Tao became so powerful that the divorce wouldn’t affect his family.
Jiang Tao smiled bitterly and said, “Haha. What can I do? Grandfather has already decided everything. Even if I leave the Jiang Family and escape to the ends of the Earth, Grandfather can still find me.
“I don’t want the woman I like to live a life like a fugitive. I don’t even have normal freedom, much less freedom of love.
“Therefore, I can only use my marriage as a bargaining chip. In this marriage alliance, I have taken some power from Grandfather.”
Jiang Tao resisted Old Master Jiang and refused the political marriage. In the end, he managed to get some power from his Grandfather, but he still had to marry Qin Yan.
1
When Gong Tianhao heard this, his eyes narrowed, and he didn’t say anything.
After a while, he said, “The people your grandfather sent out almost found out about Xiao Lingyu. Fortunately, I managed to stop them in time. So, Jiang Tao, what will you do with Xiao Lingyu after you get engaged to Qin Yan?”
Jiang Tao shook his head and said, “I don’t know either.”
He paused for a moment and then smiled sadly. “I like Xiao Lingyu, but she doesn’t like me at all. I confessed to her, but she rejected me. She probably doesn’t care who I get engaged to, right?”
Even after Jiang Tao had made it clear that he didn’t mind her past and also didn’t mind the child in her belly, Xiao Lingyu still didn’t like him and only treated him as a normal friend.
1
If Xiao Lingyu had given him a bit of hope, Jiang Tao wouldn’t choose to compromise and get engaged to Qin Yan. However, Xiao Lingyu was adamant that she had no feeling for him.
After Gong Tianhao heard Jiang Tao’s words, his pupils could not help but shrink.
Gong Tianhao had heard about Xiao Lingyu’s rejection of Jiang Tao before. Jiang Tao was a handsome and rich young man. Why would Xiao Lingyu reject him? Gong Tianhao thought that would change after Xiao Lingyu got to know Jiang Tao, but even after so long, her mind was unshaken.
He could not help but ask, “You confessed to Xiao Lingyu, but she rejected you? Why?”
Jiang Tao was really drunk and intoxicated. He said, “Because she said that she was not worthy of me. Hehe…”
Jiang Tao laughed helplessly and said, “Tianhao, she is already pregnant. So she is not worthy of me.” Jiang Tao started to cry.
For the first time in 28 years, he fell in love with a woman. However, the woman rejected him. The saddest thing was he still cherished her, and for that, he had to protect her. His grandfather would not allow Xiao Lingyu to continue to exist once he found out her influence on Jiang Tao.
Once, he loved a dog. In the end, the dog was skinned and made into a stew. He was forced to eat the stew. If his grandfather found out about Xiao Lingyu, she would end up like the dog.
3
He couldn’t allow that to happen!
Jiang Tao once thought that he could settle the matters of the Jiang Family and return to pursue Xiao Lingyu. He would make her the happiest woman in the capital.
However, he was still too inexperienced in front of his grandfather. Before he could make any move, his grandfather had already found out there was something wrong with him through just one meeting.
If it was not for Gong Tianhao, Xiao Lingyu would have been captured by his grandfather and tortured to death already.
Jiang Tao’s heart winced with fear. He was glad that Gong Tianhao had found Taoyuan Village for his grandfather to recuperate. He was also thankful that Gong Tianhao also liked Xiao Lingyu’s family.
Or else…
Only now did Jiang Tao know that as long as he wasn’t the head of the Jiang family, and as long as he didn’t have power in his hands, he didn’t have the right to love.
Therefore, in order to protect the person he liked, he chose power.
No one knew the helplessness, pain, and despair he experienced when he was forced to give up on Xiao Lingyu.
The only person he could confide in was Gong Tianhao.
This was the only friend he had ever had since he was young!
When Gong Tianhao heard that Xiao Lingyu was pregnant, his brows furrowed slightly.
He, who had never meddled in other people’s business, could not help but ask another question.
He asked, “You said Xiao Lingyu is pregnant. What exactly is going on?”
He and Xiao Lingyu had only met briefly. He really did not know what had happened to Xiao Lingyu.
Jiang Tao leaned against the sofa. He held a bottle of wine and poured it into his mouth. With the mention of Xiao Lingyu, his eyes flashed with heartache.
He said, “Xiao Lingyu once had a boyfriend she had been in love with for ten years. The two of them had been together since junior high school until they graduated from university and worked together. However, the city has changed them.
“When the two of them worked in a large company, her boyfriend was taken in by the company’s chairman’s daughter. That Boss’s daughter’s heart was vicious.
“But the one who was more vicious was her boyfriend.
“The pair wanted to be together, so they needed to get rid of Xiao Lingyu. They didn’t want their names to be ruined, so they took the initiative to ruin Xiao Lingyu first.
“They lured Xiao Lingyu to a hotel and drugged her. They arranged for an old man, who could be her father, to rape her.
“But Xiao Lingyu noticed something was wrong, and she ran away. However, due to the effects of the drug, she still ended up sleeping with a man.”
Jiang Tao did not investigate these matters. When the Chen family went to Xiao Lingyu’s house to cause trouble, Xiao Lingyu told him everything. Therefore, Jiang Tao easily found out the truth.
All these sounded very familiar to Gong Tianhao.
Back then, when he went on a business trip to City Z, he met a woman. She was lying on his bed. He wanted to chase her away, but the woman instantly latched on him. She ignited his inner fire, and they spent a night together.
The next morning, Gong Tianhao left the room because he had business to attend to. When he returned, the woman was gone. However, before she left, she had used his identity to negotiate some things with the hotel, which instantly made Gong Tianhao lose interest in her.
Clearly, the woman approached him with a purpose. Since she had left, Gong Tianhao decided to let it be. Furthermore, his grandfather’s illness required his attention.
However, after he arrived at Xing Yin County, he noticed that Xiao Lingyu was very similar to that mysterious woman.
That night, it was already very late when he returned to his hotel room. The lights in the room were dim. Furthermore, Xiao Lingyu wore big glasses that covered half of her face. He didn’t remove her glasses.
Gong Tianhao left the room when the sky was slightly bright. He had a business deal in City Z. When he returned, and the woman was gone.
The first time he saw Xiao Lingyu, he only felt that she looked familiar.
When he noticed her superhuman running speed, he suddenly decided to help her with the cover-up.
The second time he saw Xiao Lingyu, it was when she argued with Li Yuanhang. He was intrigued by her. He apologized because they were in the wrong.
The third time they met…
The fourth time they met…
He became more and more interested in Xiao Lingyu.
At that moment, he really wanted to investigate Xiao Lingyu, to see if she was really that woman in his hotel room. However, he had some misgivings.
Because she was the person Jiang Tao liked.
What if he found out Xiao Lingyu was that person? Was he going to keep her as his mistress? Or was he going to tell his brother that he had already slept with Xiao Lingyu? How would Jiang Tao feel?
Therefore, Gong Tianhao didn’t launch an investigation because he was afraid of the truth.
However, now that Gong Tianhao knew that Xiao Lingyu was pregnant, he started to panic.
Could the child… be…
He didn’t dare to imagine it. He didn’t dare to find out, but he had to know!
What if it was?
Gong Tianhao asked seriously, “Tao Zi, were Xiao Lingyu and her boyfriend working in City Z?”
He had another question, but he didn’t dare to ask.
‘Was Xiao Lingyu drugged at Grand Marriott Hotel?’