Chapter 477: Already in His Circle of Protection (Part 1)

Shen Nian nodded. This didn’t surprise her in the least. After all, Gu Zifan’s past behavior was proof enough.

"Her name is Gu Ke’er. Back then, not long after she was born, a major incident happened to the Gu family. Afterward, Ke’er went missing."

"Went missing?"

Shen Nian was stunned by Gu Hengzhi’s words. She had known that a major incident had once befallen the Gu family, one so severe they still hadn’t recovered after all these years. But she had never imagined that the sister Gu Zifan mentioned had actually been separated from her family as a child.

Moreover, judging by Gu Hengzhi’s tone, the missing eldest young lady of the Gu family had still not been found, even after all these years.

"The Gu family has been searching all these years. Unfortunately... After losing her daughter, Fanfan’s mother fell gravely ill and never truly recovered. She has spent all these years longing for the missing Keren. We originally thought Fanfan’s birth might soothe the pain of her loss, but..."

Gu Hengzhi didn’t say any more, but Shen Nian could already imagine the rest.

’The lady of the Gu family has always longed for her daughter, so her younger son’s birth not only failed to comfort her, but instead made her yearn even more for the daughter whose whereabouts are unknown.

’She might have even constantly avoided her younger son for that very reason.

’To her daughter, she’s a mother worthy of sympathy. But to Fanfan, she’s also an inadequate one.’

Shen Nian could perfectly imagine how miserable Fanfan must have felt, craving a mother’s love but never receiving her affection.

Just thinking about it made Shen Nian’s heart ache for Gu Zifan, filling her with even more pity and compassion.

’But in a situation like this, could you really blame Fanfan’s mother? In this whole affair, she’s a victim, too!

’One can only call it a cruel twist of fate. Sigh.’

"We’ve never given up looking for Ke’er. Fanfan, too, has always been hoping to find his sister. Your appearance was quite a surprise to me."

"Me?"

"Fanfan seems well-behaved, but he isn’t actually like that with everyone. You... you’re an exception. To be honest, at first, I suspected you of approaching Fanfan deliberately, with some ulterior motive."

Gu Hengzhi’s words surprised Shen Nian—she was surprised that Fanfan treated her so differently. As for his suspicion, she wasn’t angry. After all, Gu Hengzhi was just looking out for Gu Zifan.

’Besides, the fact that he could say this to her now meant that he had already dismissed those suspicions.’

"Actually, if we hadn’t run into each other by chance today, I was already planning to meet with you."

"I imagine, Mr. Gu, that you wanted to see me for more than just to tell me all this."

Gu Hengzhi looked at Shen Nian and smiled.

"You’re very sharp, Miss Shen. I do, in fact, have a favor to ask of you."

"Whatever it is you need, Mr. Gu, please just say it."

"Alright then, I’ll get straight to the point. If it’s possible, I hope that you, Miss Shen, can spend more time with Fanfan."

"Hm?"

"Fanfan is different from us; he’s still young. We can keep searching and waiting indefinitely, but I want Fanfan to have a happy childhood. He has always wanted to find his sister, and you are, to this day, the only person he has ever shown such a strong liking for."