Chapter 220: You Go to Your Wife’s Delivery, I’ll Take Over the Mess

"It’s nothing," Lu Shijing said sheepishly.

"Mr. Lu, since when did you get so fussy? This isn’t me showing off. I know what I’m doing."

"Besides, my business has nothing to do with you," Gu Shengsheng said with grave formality.

"..." Lu Shijing was angry, but he had no right to be.

He had seen that something wasn’t right with the video call on Shengsheng’s livestream. That’s why he’d rushed over in a panic, never expecting to see her injured. His heart had clenched at the sight.

And given the state Ma Yaowen’s mother was in, it was entirely possible she could have killed someone.

Lu Shijing was just worried about Shengsheng, but for some reason, their meeting had turned into this tense, confrontational standoff.

After realizing this, he thought he should wait for her to calm down and then clearly explain his thoughts. Otherwise, the distance between him and Shengsheng would inevitably grow wider and wider.

That was a result Lu Shijing couldn’t accept—and never would.

One was lost in thought, the other feigning sleep.

And so, in this awkward state, the two of them arrived at the Gemstone Administration Bureau.

After getting out of the car, Gu Shengsheng walked ahead. Lu Shijing locked the car and hurried to catch up.

’I need to be careful with my words this time,’ he thought. ’I can’t let my concern make a mess of things and cause Shengsheng to misunderstand.’

After thinking for a long time, he finally managed to squeeze out a few words: "Don’t be afraid. We’ll make it in time."

"Mm," Gu Shengsheng nodded.

After that, they fell silent again. The two walked all the way to Ma Yaowen’s office on the top floor, where an assistant immediately blocked their path.

"Miss, Sir," he said. "Teacher Ma is in meetings all day for something very important. Please come back another day."

Gu Shengsheng sighed. She knew Ma Yaowen must be tied up with something important. He’d been in a rush all day, so he probably didn’t know about this yet.

She said, "Please tell Teacher Ma that there’s a problem with the baby his wife is carrying. She’s at the hospital now. He needs to go over there."

The assistant panicked upon hearing this and rushed inside in a frenzy.

At first, Gu Shengsheng heard the sound of a scolding, but then Ma Yaowen ran out in a rush and pulled her and Lu Shijing inside.

He then shut the door. "What’s going on, Shengsheng? Why did this happen to my wife?"

Just then, Zhao Dehai came over and said, "What’s happening today is of great significance. I don’t think Teacher Ma can get away."

After speaking, Zhao Dehai met Lu Shijing’s gaze and said with a sheepish smile, "Shi Jing, ah, so you came with Shengsheng. Good, good. Keep at it, and things might not be so bad."

"Heh heh," Lu Shijing let out a dry laugh. Zhao Dehai rubbed his nose. ’Why do I feel so guilty around this kid?’ he wondered.

Gu Shengsheng looked at Teacher Ma and cut to the chase. "Here’s what happened. Today, I went to look at Mrs. Ma’s necklace and discovered that your mother was using it, hoping to have your wife undergo a C-section and have the baby delivered tomorrow. That way, she could achieve what she believes to be ’borrowing a womb for reincarnation’."

Teacher Ma clenched his fists. "How foolish!"

"My mom actually believes in this stuff! What about now? Is my wife... not doing well?"

"I don’t know for sure. Her basic condition has been stabilized. Your mother hit her with a potted plant, and she was bleeding. By the time I got there, it was too late. She was quite frightened. The police sent her to the hospital. A woman shouldn’t be alone when giving birth. So you... Teacher Ma, you should do your best to go."

Ma Yaowen’s eyes were red. "I’ll go right now. Thank you, Shengsheng. It’s just... the situation here..."

Zhao Dehai grabbed Gu Shengsheng and said, "Teacher Ma, you should hurry and go. Shengsheng can fill in for you here. In fact, for this matter, it might be better if Shengsheng is here."

Gu Shengsheng was dumbfounded. ’Hey, I never agreed to this!’

After Ma Yaowen left, Zhao Dehai said to Shengsheng, "Shengsheng, thank you so much for your help with this."

"No thanks, not helping," she said. "I didn’t agree to it."

Zhao Dehai quickly blocked her way. "A commission of 1.2 million. How about it?"

"Fine." She stood there and even recorded their conversation. "I’m afraid you’ll go back on your word."

Zhao Dehai shook his head. "How could I? But Shengsheng, I think you could make a choice sometimes. For example, look: 1.2 million morality points, or 1.2 million yuan. Which would you choose?"

Gu Shengsheng thought for a moment and said, "How can you even compare the two?"

"In this day and age, how could anyone possibly reach 1.2 million morality points? How could anyone be so noble and virtuous? If it were possible, I think everyone would be happy. Morality is the supreme principle."

Zhao Dehai nodded in complete agreement, beaming.

Then Gu Shengsheng continued, "So I’ll choose the 1.2 million yuan. After all, I’m just a vulgar person."

"..." Zhao Dehai’s face stiffened. Then, as if resigning himself to fate, he said, "Forget it, forget it. You and Lu Shijing came together, you can both help. You deserve the 1.2 million."

Then Lu Shijing asked, "You promised Shengsheng 1.2 million for coming. What about me?"

"...Ah, the weather is so nice today, but the reception is a bit poor. I can’t hear anything."

Zhao Dehai played dumb and walked ahead.

Lu Shijing watched Gu Shengsheng smile, the corners of his own lips twitching slightly.

’We’d better get down to business, or this pair is going to fleece me for all I’m worth,’ Zhao Dehai thought, handing a stack of documents from the table to Gu Shengsheng.

Gu Shengsheng flipped through them, puzzled. "This is the information about the antiques I bought from Wang Debao back in Anxi. He said they were dug up from a cornfield. Wang Debao was later detained for illegal gambling. What’s going on with this now?"

Zhao Dehai sighed. "This information was emailed to us by Japan. At first, we thought these were items that were left behind back then, or maybe artifacts from the Da Ying Museum. But now, Japan is claiming they belong to them."

"They claim the real items are in various museums in Japan, and that our Huaxia-appraised items are fakes, calling it slander. So, this matter requires a negotiation between both sides. My superiors told me and Ma Yaowen to handle the talks, and we were just discussing how to proceed."

Zhao Dehai sighed again. It was indeed a thorny issue. And truly detestable. ’Those Jap...anese people who are having a pretty good life.’

’All day long, they do nothing but stir up trouble and spout nonsense. Do they really think they’re superior just because they act crazy every day?’

Seeing Zhao Dehai’s face flush red with anger, Gu Shengsheng said, "Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, nothing will go wrong."

"Factoring in the time difference, we have about four hours left, right?"

"Yes," Zhao Dehai sighed. "So time is tight. We need to find an expert to prove for us that these items are genuine and they’re the ones who are wrong. Are they really going to try and hold us accountable for this? What kind of twisted logic is that!"

Zhao Dehai clenched his fists, looking like he was about to hit someone.

Gu Shengsheng shook her head. "That’s not necessary."

"Don’t get trapped in a cycle of having to prove yourself. Since they want to stir up trouble, we might as well blow this up even bigger, so they have no way to back down..."