Chapter 1512: Chapter 1516: Must be born, many of them!
Ye Xingbei frowned slightly, “The path you talked about, is it really that important?”
“Extremely important,” Gu Junzhu said. “The reason I can live such a carefree, indulgent life, doing as I please, is not just because of my own reputation, but mostly because of my dad and my two foster brothers.”
“Now that I’ve entered the business world, and Xiao Qiao is in business too, given the age of my two foster brothers, once my dad eventually passes away, they can still uphold things for another three or four decades. After that, if there’s no one to carry the torch, the Gu Family’s century-old glory will gradually fade.”
He looked at Ye Xingbei and said, “You’ll come to understand slowly. Money can make life look glamorous, but without the backing of true power, it’s like a mirage—beautiful but insubstantial.”
“Hmm, you’ve told me this before…” Ye Xingbei was silent for a moment, then held his hand and looked up at him. “You… can no longer pursue your dreams, does that make you very regretful?”
“Yes,” Gu Junzhu chuckled softly, lowering his gaze to her. “Once upon a time, my dream was to become my father’s successor during his lifetime.”
A mission that almost cost him his life ended that dream.
“Then can you still return now?” Ye Xingbei couldn’t help but ask, “Your health has improved so much now. Can’t you go back? Besides, aren’t you also incredibly skilled in technical work? Doesn’t the country have civilian positions? You could take on a civilian role, couldn’t you?”
“It’s against protocol,” Gu Junzhu shook his head and chuckled. “I could definitely go back, but even if I relied on my true abilities to return, there would inevitably be people gossiping, saying my dad pulled strings for me. My dad has built a lifetime of an impeccable reputation—I don’t want to leave any space for him to be criticized because of me. Also, even in civilian roles, as long as missions are involved, there’s always the risk of sacrifice…”
He lowered his gaze, smiling at her. “My dad can no longer bear to lose someone again.”
He was smiling, but Ye Xingbei could see a heartbreaking sorrow in his smile.
Her heart tightened. She gripped his hand firmly and nodded hard. “You’re right, better not go back. We’re doing so well now. You said it yourself, your foster brothers can hold on for three or four more decades. We definitely can raise an outstanding successor ourselves!”
If Gu Junzhu went back, there’s no way he’d have as much time to spend with her as he does now.
By then, they might have to spend years apart.
She’d been lonely for so many years, and finally someone came into her life to love her, to stay by her side. She didn’t want this happiness to only last for such a short period of time.
She hoped she could live this kind of life with Gu Junzhu for their entire lifetime.
As for the Gu Family’s legacy, she believed that she and Gu Junzhu could have many children in the future. Surely one of them would share Gu Junzhu’s aspirations.
“Yes,” Gu Junzhu put his arm around her shoulder and gazed down at her with a smile. “Then it’s settled—we’ll have a lot of children in the future. You can’t back out just because you’re afraid of the pain.”
“I wouldn’t,” Ye Xingbei said. “I love babies the most; I’ll definitely have plenty of them!”
“I’m just teasing you,” Gu Junzhu laughed and pinched her cheek. “If you’re scared of the pain and don’t want to give birth, or if our kids don’t share my aspirations, we can find some promising talents, train them, and send them to pursue my dream—same thing.”
“I’m not afraid of the pain. I’ll definitely have many—many kids!” Ye Xingbei said exuberantly.
A little pain in exchange for soft and cuddly little sons or daughters—how could she not feel like it’s worth it?