Chapter 1189: Dangerous Game

Chapter 1189: Dangerous Game

When Gu Zi heard all this, something didn’t sit right.

If the Gu family was truly strapped for cash, then where on earth had Lin Miao gotten that one thousand yuan when Lin Cheng had his accident? Had her grand investment dreams in the capital already gone belly-up?

And this sudden food poisoning scandal—it felt all too orchestrated, as if every step had been meticulously planned by the Gu family. If that were the case, then Lin Miao was almost certainly involved.

She narrowed her eyes and asked coolly, “Did Lin Miao ever show up during the whole poisoning incident?”

An Yun shook her head. “No. That day, it was Zhang Mei and Gu Shan who came to the restaurant. Lin Miao never made an appearance. It’s been Zhang Mei handling everything. She even accused our family of deliberately targeting them, saying we tricked Lin Miao into giving us money. But in truth, Lin Miao brought that one thousand yuan entirely on her own—and we never even accepted it. After the food poisoning happened, Lin Miao hasn’t spoken a word about it.”

The more she spoke, the more perplexed An Yun became. Ever since Lin Miao had returned to the Gu household, every single time the Gu couple tried to approach the Lin family, they always had Gu Zi in tow. And if anything ever happened, Lin Miao would always step in, stirring the pot in her usual fashion.

But this time? Total silence. Not even a trace of her opinion. That wasn’t like her.

An Yun didn’t buy for a second that Lin Miao had suddenly grown a conscience. No—something about this was deeply, deeply off.

Gu Zi took a moment to collect her thoughts. She couldn’t confirm everything yet, but one thing was crystal clear: Lin Miao had a hand in Gu Shan’s poisoning.

“We can’t let this go, Mom,” she said firmly. “There are still too many unknowns, but one thing’s for sure—we need the truth. Sister Hua’s Gourmet Shop can’t survive on scandal. If we don’t clear our name, our brand is finished.”

This was a dangerous game the Gu family was playing—a desperate gamble. If they pulled it off, they’d walk away with five thousand yuan and a temporary solution to their financial mess.

But if they failed? It would be a spectacular fall from grace. Not only would they be publicly humiliated, they’d be staring down legal consequences.

And knowing Gu Shan’s character, there was no way he’d agree to take such a risk on his own.

Which left only one explanation: Lin Miao must be holding something over him—something so damning that he had no choice but to cooperate.

What exactly was going on in Lin Miao’s head? She must have assumed Gu Zi wouldn’t return from the capital. Maybe she’d convinced herself that she was safe, that everything was under control.

Well. Surprise.

Gu Zi’s eyes turned cold. “Mom, I need to go to the police station. Su Shen should have cleared things by now. I’m going to see Li Hua.”

An Yun didn’t question her resolve. She only gave Gu Zi a mother’s worried smile and said, “Be careful, Gu Zi. You’re not alone anymore—you’ve got a baby in your belly. Don’t worry about me, your dad went off to pack my things. Once he’s back, we’ll check out. I’m feeling better now.”

Gu Zi left the hospital and hailed a cab to the police station. By some twist of fate, she ran into Jin Long and Lin Cheng at the entrance. They were waiting outside while Su Shen was inside, speaking with the chief.

Ten more minutes passed before Su Shen finally emerged.

As soon as he saw Gu Zi, he walked straight over and wrapped her gently in his arms.

“I was going to come pick you up,” he said, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. “It’s done. I spoke to the chief—Li Hua and Aunt Yang can be visited now. Turns out someone inside did a favor for the Gu family, which was why they blocked access earlier. But don’t worry. That won’t happen again.”

Gu Zi smiled, finally allowing herself a moment of relief. Her man always delivered. Whenever Su Shen stepped in, everything just seemed to work out.

Meanwhile, Lin Miao was in a state of simmering frustration. Truly, luck hadn’t been on her side lately. She’d dragged herself all the way to the capital, thinking she’d uncover something major—maybe even profit from it—but came back empty-handed.

That day, spooked by potential fallout, she’d bolted from the capital and hastily invested every last yuan she had, chasing some grand get-rich-quick scheme.

She’d convinced herself that the ’80s were the golden age of opportunity. Surely, if she cast a wide enough net, she’d hit on something valuable.

Instead, she’d lost everything.

What baffled her most was that she had the script—she knew how things were supposed to play out. And yet… she still failed.

When Gu Shan found out, he hit her for the first time.

Zhang Mei could’ve stopped him—but she didn’t. She just stood there, as if watching her daughter get slapped was a kind of justice.

At that moment, Lin Miao’s hatred for the two of them reached its peak.

She thought back to the timeline—wasn’t it almost time for Lin Cheng’s car accident? That gave her an idea. She snuck a thousand yuan out of Gu Shan’s secret stash—money saved for emergencies, or more likely, for his funeral—and used it to try and cozy back up to the Lin family.

She realized now that the only time she had ever truly felt loved… was when she was with the Lin family. They were the only people who’d treated her sincerely.

But Li Hua refused to take the money. Outright rejected her.𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

It was as if she wanted to sever all possibility of reconciliation. And Lin Miao could not accept that.

No, she needed to teach Li Hua a lesson.

With Gu Zi away, Li Hua was nothing—just a pesky little side character. Lin Miao wanted to crush her with her own two hands.

She came up with a flawless plan. All she needed was for Gu Shan and Zhang Mei to play along. But considering how utterly disappointed they were in her… how would she ever convince them?

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