SFBF CH40

Everyone around them was egging them on to eat the colorful cotton candy together. Liu Xilin looked at Shen Qing with a flushed face and said, “Qing-ge, sorry about that.”

Shen Qing glanced at him again, curled his lips into a smile, and said, “It’s fine. Anyway, there’s no need for us to eat cotton candy together.”

【I told you, Shen Qing’s gaze totally trails like silk!】

【Who says Shen Qing is stiff, who says he has no variety sense? He doesn’t need anything else—just one smile is enough!】

【Before this I always thought Liu was really good at flirting, so why does he turn into a dumb little puppy in front of Shen Qing hahaha】

【I feel like no one could hold out against that smile.】

Off-camera, Liu Xilin really was agreeing in a very wooden way: “Oh right, right…”

Then Shen Qing gave the cotton candy in his hand a little shake, half-turned away, and said, “I’m going.”

When he said he was going, it meant he and his group were about to leave.

Liu Xilin reacted and looked toward the director. “The task should be completed already, right?”

【The production team should really stop here and learn some boundaries. Shen Qing is already a married man!】

【It’s just eating a cotton candy together, not mouth-feeding each other. What’s the big deal?】

【Exactly. So pretentious. I just wanted to watch them eat a cotton candy together. Two grown men acting this shy… Aren’t they friends?】

【How many times do people have to say they’re not friends, not friends? Our Qingqing is beautiful on his own, don’t drag him in!】

【Wow, Shen Qing already has fans after this little while?】

As the comments flew by, Shen Qing shifted his gaze away from the screen the assistant director was holding up for him, then turned to Ao Zai. “Ao Zai, had enough fun? Let’s go back and find gege.”

By that point, Ao Zai no longer had time to care about the camera, because there were too many people around trying to talk to him.

Gu Ao was a child with pride, but not a temper. As long as someone had never upset him before, he was happy with whoever he met.

If someone nearby greeted him, he would slowly wave his little paw back at them.

Sometimes it was his free hand, and sometimes it was the hand holding the bright yellow roasted marshmallow.

The roasted marshmallow wasn’t big, only about half the size of an adult’s palm in length and width.

But for a child Ao Zai’s age, it looked pretty exaggerated—almost as big as his face.

Ao Zai gripped the little stick of the marshmallow tightly in his chubby hand. He wouldn’t drop it just because he was busy looking for the camera. He simply hadn’t had time to eat it yet, so whenever he waved the hand holding the marshmallow, it looked like he was waving some sort of magical little wand.

【Aaaah this reminds me of some manga where the protagonist fights with random vegetables, fruits, and frying pans—but this is my first time seeing roasted marshmallow as a weapon!】

【So cute so cute, baby what’s your name~】

【Haha, what was all that talk about boundaries? This little baby is way too unafraid of strangers!】

【Baby don’t go, auntie hasn’t seen enough yet QAQ】

While the comments were flooding like crazy, Shen Qing was already clearing a path in front, preparing to take Aunt Zhang and Ao Zai away.

Whether the director on Liu Xilin’s side counted what just happened as an interaction or not, Shen Qing personally felt he had already been generous enough.

But unexpectedly, the production team started stirring things up again. After all, in just those few minutes, their livestream ratings had already climbed to first place compared to the other groups.

The director did not want to miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He used his privilege again and told Liu Xilin to go up and stop Shen Qing.

In the director’s eyes, Shen Qing was also an entertainer, and one who wasn’t even heavily promoted by his company—someone who had a hard time getting a chance to stand out.

Now this opportunity wasn’t only being handed to their production team, it was also being handed to Shen Qing… yes, Shen Qing had someone backing him.

But even with someone backing him, hadn’t he still never become popular?

So his backer was probably not that sort of big shot who actually intended to make him famous.

Which meant Shen Qing had no reason to refuse.

And now his attempt to leave was probably just another way of building persona—playing hard to get.

Seeing Liu Xilin struggle, the director even felt a little annoyed at his lack of promise—how could this kid understand so little about cooperation? No wonder he wasn’t suited to their variety show!

If it weren’t inconvenient for the production team to appear directly on camera, the director would have wanted to rush over and physically grab Shen Qing himself!

Out of view of the camera, the director frantically gestured at Liu Xilin.

The assistant host also kept verbally guiding things from the side: “Xilin really wants to do an activity together with your Shen-gege, right? Haha, Xilin is just too shy and inexperienced!”

“Oh, Shen Qing is leaving. Liu Xilin, hurry and keep him! Hurry and keep him!”

【Help, what kind of line is “hurry and keep him”? If he leaves now, will Liu Xilin regret it for the rest of his life? Why am I finding sugar crumbs in a kid variety show!】

【It really has that flavor now.】

【Liu Xilin hurry up, go stop him! Don’t let your gege leave!】

Under the constant prompting from both the people opposite him and those around him, Liu Xilin also came to his senses—

At first, the reason he hadn’t wanted to approach Shen Qing at all was entirely because there were some unresolved little grudges between them. If they met on a show, it would only be awkward.

But afterward, Shen Qing hadn’t made things awkward for him at all.

Not only had he not made things awkward—Shen Qing had even helped him complete the task!

And that made Liu Xilin suddenly remember an event from over a year ago, when they had attended an activity together. Because of a mistake by the brand organizer, he had ended up standing in Shen Qing’s center position, and Shen Qing had not argued about it then either.

So why had he only felt back then that Shen Qing was easy to bully?

Even when the truth was later twisted by marketing accounts into the rumor that “Shen Qing stole his center position,” he had only felt that Shen Qing deserved it. Anyone who obediently listened to Miao Feiyu about everything would naturally just keep getting squeezed by the company…

But now, just because Shen Qing had helped him complete a task, he suddenly wanted to feel deeply grateful to him?

…Taking ten thousand steps back, by pulling Shen Qing into the shot, he was technically helping Shen Qing gain more exposure too.

So why was he feeling this embarrassed? Why did it feel like he had truly disturbed him…

After adjusting his mindset a little, though his face was still red, Liu Xilin suddenly made a decision. He felt that he really should keep Shen Qing here—not as an act of forcing, but as an act of persuading him to stay.

After all, Shen Qing basically had no announcements anymore.

As a junior from the same company…

Even though Shen Qing had already proposed terminating his contract…

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Liu Xilin’s mind, though there were still many things he hadn’t sorted out.

But seeing that Shen Qing was now just about to fully disappear through the crowd, Liu Xilin had no time to think further. His body moved ahead of his brain. Not only did he call Shen Qing’s name, he also tried to step forward and physically stop him.

“Qing-ge! Wait!” Liu Xilin shouted.

But Shen Qing, in the middle of the crowd, didn’t turn back.

More accurately, he didn’t have time to turn back.

—Because a team of people had already pushed through the crowd and arrived in front of Shen Qing.

This team all wore uniforms. It wasn’t obvious what kind, but they were dressed identically, every one of them full of muscle and carrying a fierce expression. At first glance, they were pretty intimidating.

There were eight of them total. They split in groups of three to push aside and hold back the dense crowd, while the remaining two stepped up to Shen Qing, bent respectfully to him, and said, “Madam, sir sent us to bring you and the young master away from here as soon as possible.”

【Holy crap, this lineup is huge.】

【Oooh~ sir sent people to fetch him? The big shot behind Shen Qing must know what happened, right? Hehehe I love a good jealous showdown.】

【Does anyone know who Shen Qing actually married? I’m dying to know】

【Sending this many bodyguards at once—definitely some kind of big shot.】

【It feels like everyone who knows Shen Qing personally knows who it is, but nobody dares say, because apparently it’s a real big shot.】

【I think the big boss is definitely angry. Someone publicly flirted with his wife! No normal person could stand that!】

The leader among the bodyguards was none other than Tian Yi.

Shen Qing glanced at him, then looked over toward the opposite rest area too. He didn’t even ask why it was “sir” who had sent them over. Instead, the first thing he asked was, “You’re here—then where’s Duoduo?”

Tian Yi answered briefly and sternly, “Young Master Duo is under protection.”

Shen Qing nodded. “Okay.”

Then he directly left with Aunt Zhang and Ao Zai under the escort of the bodyguards.

The production crew and the director still wanted to chase after them, but Tian Yi turned back and directly blocked them.

Raising his hand and covering the camera lens, Tian Yi said, “Sorry. Filming of Mr. Shen is prohibited here.”

The camera lens went black instantly. This counted as a filming accident, and the director immediately exploded: “You—what right do you have to stop us from filming?!”

“Our boss said no, so no.”

Having nearly made a serious mistake just now, Tian Yi was already in a foul mood and had no interest in wasting words on this ridiculous production team.

His tone was hard and cold. “Someone will contact your side later. Prepare to receive a lawyer’s letter.”

Director: “?……”

After saying that, the hand blocking the camera lens moved away, and the audience could now only see the backs of Tian Yi and the others, as well as Liu Xilin, who remained standing there blankly.

【Wooow, so forceful. I love it!】

【What boss? Which boss? I don’t believe Shen Qing has some boss behind him unless he comes out and lets me see.】

At that moment, more uniformed staff came over. They looked like management from inside the amusement park itself.

He was accompanied by two others, also park security guards, and they directly stopped the director and his group. “Sir, if you continue filming freely here, we’ll have no choice but to ask you to leave the park.”

The stopped director: “…We informed your park in advance about today’s filming. You have no authority to stop us.”

“That was originally the case,” said the park manager. “But the premise under which your side was allowed to film was that you would not go against the wishes of other visitors and would not interfere with other guests’ enjoyment of the park…”

“Sorry, but we didn’t interfere with anyone else.”

The livestream was still ongoing. Remembering that he had to preserve the overall image of the variety show—and being naturally very arrogant himself—the director was extremely unhappy about being lectured publicly by a park employee. He immediately said, “What you don’t understand is that the gentleman just now is also an entertainer. Actually, we were…”

“Do you mean to say that Mr. Shen was voluntarily participating in the recording?” the park manager interrupted him.

The director froze. He did indeed have a little of that meaning in mind—but only because he wanted to vaguely mislead the audience. After all, the audience only watched for fun. It hadn’t delayed Shen Qing for more than a few minutes total, and once the matter passed, how many people would really pursue whether he had or hadn’t been a special guest?

But when the other party asked the question that directly and clearly, he no longer dared to state it outright in public.

Forced into silence, the director felt even more dissatisfied—what was wrong with this park manager?

Asking a question like that wasn’t it obviously just trying to make him look bad?

And besides, what did it have to do with the amusement park whether Shen Qing was willing or not? This guy was meddling way too much!

The director tried to pull the manager aside to talk in private.

But the manager opposite him didn’t move at all.

So the director could only continue making an ambiguous statement: “First of all, Mr. Shen is an entertainer. Secondly, what does it have to do with your amusement park whether he was willing to be filmed or not? We didn’t affect anyone except him, right? If there really was a problem, then Mr. Shen’s own people should be the ones coming to talk to me!”

But the park manager remained unmoved. He simply said, “Because Mr. Shen is our boss’s spouse, whether Mr. Shen was voluntarily being filmed is something our boss presumably understands better than you.”

Director: “…?”

The director directly froze.

And at exactly the wrong time, the cameraman he’d brought out lacked enough work experience. Without receiving direct instruction from the director, he was still filming. Even though the lens wasn’t pointed at this dispute, their conversation had all been recorded into the livestream sound…

The livestream comments exploded yet again.

【??? What what what? What do you mean “the boss’s spouse”??】

【…Holy shit, what kind of insane plot twist is this?!】

【They can’t interfere with other guests because they don’t know whether others are volunteering. But whether the boss’s wife is volunteering, the staff can know hahaha!】

【Holy crap, isn’t this Big World they went to today? If Shen Qing is the lover of the owner there, then doesn’t that literally make him the boss’s wife?!】

【…Immediately opening browser and searching who the owner of Big World is】

【Give it up. I’ve looked before for work reasons. The controlling party behind Big World can’t even be found online at all. But anyone who gets called “boss” must be a major capital figure… emmm, but with this background, Shen Qing really is absurdly low-key.】

【LMAO boss’s wife. Is anyone still shipping Liu Xilin and Shen Qing now?】

【I’m about to become a fan… Shen Qing came to his own amusement park to play, and not only was he that low-key, he even personally scanned the code to buy cotton candy! …I can’t explain the feeling, family, who gets it!】

【Hahaha I get it. He’s so cute】

【Suddenly this season of Cute Baby Treasure feels totally boring. Now I only want to watch the boss’s wife take kids onto a variety show!】

【Boring +1. Mainly because the production team is way too good at stirring trouble. None of it is fun anymore. Seriously, would it be so hard to just admit they’re chasing traffic by any means necessary and being rude while doing it?】

Once they had more or less escaped the crowd, Shen Qing was directly arranged into one of the indoor electric carts used by park staff, which then sped away from the crowd.

Gu Duo was already sitting in the car, still holding his little schoolbag.

The moment Ao Zai was lifted into the cart by Grandma Zhang, he immediately pounced toward his brother and, like he was claiming credit, took the cotton candy Shen Qing had reserved for Duoduo and handed it over.

“Gege, for you! Tang~”

Gu Duo reached out and touched his little brother’s round cheek, took the cotton candy, then looked toward Shen Qing.

Shen Qing said, “Sorry, Duoduo. There are a lot of people over there right now, so let’s head to the next hall first and find somewhere to sit down and rest, okay?”

“It’s okay,” Gu Duo said.

Shen Qing noticed the child was still looking at him. His expression was as deep and serious as ever, yet he didn’t ask why they had suddenly changed locations.

Actually, Shen Qing himself hadn’t wanted to switch locations either. He was the one who’d been wronged here, okay? He had just been sitting there reading the map and trying to properly spend a whole fun day with the kids, and then Liu Xilin had brought a whole group to mess things up, so now he had to relocate in order to avoid the situation…

No wonder celebrities always had to wear hats and masks.

Shen Qing had thought he was just some washed-up flop little idol who had basically quit the industry, so it didn’t matter and no one would recognize him.

Turns out it really was true that passersby didn’t recognize him—but he had still managed to run into an old acquaintance!

He was just sighing about that when the cart quickly arrived at the neighboring attraction area, the ocean park.

For the sake of dispersing the crowd first and then waiting until this wave of attention passed before going back out, Shen Qing and his group were directly arranged into a private room in a restaurant.

Inside Big World’s ocean park there was a very famous themed restaurant. Its walls were embedded with huge aquariums, and one section connected directly to the polar marine exhibit.

Sitting in the restaurant, you could not only eat, but also watch schools of fish swim by and see penguins.

From the high-end lounge room, the view of the penguins was even more direct, and the visibility was excellent.

The moment they entered, Ao Zai immediately dashed over to the glass viewing wall to look at the plump little penguins inside.

The viewing glass ran from floor to ceiling, and Ao Zai fit against it perfectly, ending up exactly level with one little penguin standing on a piece of ice inside.

That little penguin was adorably going about preening its feathers, but it seemed to be attracted by Ao Zai suddenly pressing close. It turned and stared this way with a dazed, cute expression.

A human cub and a penguin cub had their very first eye contact.

Suddenly, Ao Zai chirped, “Jiu!”

Trying to communicate with the little penguin.

Unfortunately, the glass was too thick and too soundproof, so the penguin couldn’t hear what he was saying and didn’t react at all.

Ao Zai tilted his neck and tried again. “Ji?”

Little penguin: “?”

It tilted its head too.

Ao Zai: “Meow meow?”

Shen Qing: “……”

Letting President Ao stick out his little butt and “chat” with the penguin there, Shen Qing instead called Gu Duo over and told him to come look at the penguins too.

Besides the little penguin currently engaging with Ao Zai, there were many more penguins inside.

However, Duoduo didn’t seem very interested.

He stopped while still a full meter away from the glass wall, and never stepped any closer.

Shen Qing thought about it and figured that for a child as mature as Duoduo, one who had gone through so much from a young age, it was quite possible he simply didn’t like small animals.

In the original novel, the two brothers became vicious, violent, gloomy, and cruel entirely because of the effects of their upbringing.

Ao Zai was still young, and there were many things he did not yet understand, so the impact on him had not gone as deep as it had on Duoduo.

As for Gu Duo…

Shen Qing unconsciously took his little hand and crouched beside him, asking, “Duoduo, are you hungry?”

Gu Duo was still holding the packaging box with his roasted marshmallow inside. He still hadn’t eaten it, and it already looked like it was starting to melt.

Shen Qing said, “Let’s sit over there first. It’s almost noon anyway, so this is a good time to eat first.”

The table was set right next to the viewing glass. Shen Qing pulled Gu Duo over to sit down, while Aunt Zhang stayed to one side with Ao Zai and the little penguins, helping them continue their “conversation.”

Once seated, the first thing Gu Duo saw was the enormous cotton candy Shen Qing had placed on the table.

He held back and held back, but in the end still asked, “Shushu, didn’t you eat cotton candy with that uncle?”

After speaking with little uncle on the phone just now, Uncle Tian had handed him over to other bodyguard uncles and gone off to deal with things.

Gu Duo wasn’t tall enough to see over the crowd and witness what happened on Shen Qing’s side. He also didn’t understand what livestreaming was and couldn’t find the livestream room, and in the end he had simply been put into the cart by the bodyguard uncle, so he knew even less about what happened afterward.

Now, looking at the cotton candy in Auntie’s hand, the worry and unease in his heart were still there.

Yet he didn’t know how to properly put those feelings into words, nor even whether it was something he should ask.

Shen Qing: …?

He wasn’t surprised that Duoduo knew they had run into the child-variety-show group. After all, Duoduo had been sitting directly across from them.

But he hadn’t expected Duoduo to even know about the “eat cotton candy together” bit. He picked up the huge cotton candy and said, “Of course not. How could I possibly let him eat this?”

“…Oh.” Gu Duo looked at the young man sitting across from him and unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

Shen Qing grinned, showing a row of white teeth. “I bought this for myself to eat. Why would I share it with someone else?”

Gu Duo: “……”

Never in a million years had he expected that the reason Auntie hadn’t eaten candy with someone else… was because he was food-protective?

“But if little Duoduo wants some, I can share a bit with you.”

Gu Duo: “…?”

As he spoke, Shen Qing had already unwrapped the large outer plastic bag.

“Here.”

He held the cotton candy right out in front of Gu Duo.

Gu Duo: “……”

For the moment, forgetting the troubles in his heart, Gu Duo looked at the cotton candy.

It looked fluffy, brightly colored, and very pretty.

Something like this might be very common for adults or other little kids, but for Gu Duo, this was the first time he had ever seen one this close.

…There were vendors selling them outside the elementary school he attended.

After school, other children would be taken by their parents to buy them.

The cotton candy stall was always packed.

But Gu Duo himself had never once had such an experience.

He would go directly to the car of the driver uncle who came to pick him up, and then be driven home.

And from Gu Duo’s observation, this cotton candy in Shen Qing’s hands was even bigger than the largest one sold outside his school. It had more colors too, and there was even a heart shape inside it.

In short, it was much bigger and much more extravagant-looking.

After hesitating for a moment, Gu Duo asked Shen Qing, “How do you eat this?”

Shen Qing said, “…You can tear it off and eat it. Go wash your hands over there first, then come back and eat.”

There was a wash basin right inside the room, so washing hands was easy.

Gu Duo obediently went to wash his hands, then looked back at Shen Qing. Encouraged by Shen Qing’s expression, he pinched a tiny bit off the edge of the cotton candy and tore it away.

But he squeezed too hard, and the little piece of sugar in his hand stuck all together. It didn’t get that fluffy torn-cotton effect at all.

Gu Duo put the little bit of candy into his mouth. It melted immediately. Aside from sweetness, there was basically no other flavor, and it wasn’t at all the fruity taste he had imagined.

Shen Qing said, “How can tearing off such a tiny piece be any good? Cotton candy is for playing with. Tear off a bigger piece and hold it in your hand while you eat. It’s really fun.”

Gu Duo tilted his head and tore off another piece. This time it was much bigger, and where it separated there really was a texture like torn cotton.

But what was amazing was that this was sugar, not cotton.

Gu Duo’s eyes widened slightly.

A little more light suddenly appeared in the child’s eyes.

Shen Qing’s cheerful laughter echoed through the lounge.

Just then, Tian Yi, who had arrived a little later, knocked on the door. “Madam… uh.”

Tian Yi hadn’t expected that even after all that, Madam could still be laughing so happily…

“Have you called President Gu back yet?” Tian Yi asked.

Shen Qing: “? Called back about what? …Oh right, I was just going to ask you. Why did you suddenly bring that many people over earlier? Was that President Gu’s order?”

He remembered Tian Yi saying exactly that when he had brought people over to surround them.

“…It was President Gu’s order.” Thinking back to President Gu’s suffocatingly cold voice that had come through Young Master Duo’s phone watch earlier, Tian Yi still felt lingering fear.

It was very clear that President Gu had been extremely dissatisfied that Madam had been surrounded and Tian Yi had not stepped up to resolve it immediately.

And it was also very clear that President Gu had been extremely dissatisfied that Madam had suddenly run into his little puppy younger-brother junior from debut days and that they had instantly started getting CP’d together.

Unable to help scratching his head awkwardly, Tian Yi said, “You… haven’t checked your phone yet, have you? President Gu said he called you.”

Shen Qing: “……”

Only then did Shen Qing take out his phone.

Sure enough, there was one missed call, and the contact note read: 【President Gu】.

Judging by the time, it should have been from right after he bought the cotton candy…

“Why did President Gu call me?”

Before this, President Gu had never called him… oh right, President Gu hadn’t even had a phone before!

Looking at Madam, Tian Yi felt a little worried on President Gu’s behalf now and said, “I don’t know what President Gu called you for, but… you really haven’t gone online yet, have you? Um, the internet is currently shipping you and your little puppy younger brother as a CP.”

Shen Qing: “? What puppy? Since when did I raise a puppy?”

Tian Yi: “…I mean Liu Xilin.”

Shen Qing: “!?”

It took Shen Qing a moment to understand.

But since when had Liu Xilin become his little puppy younger brother?

And how exactly had this CP started? Weren’t he and Liu Xilin publicly acknowledged enemies?

He hadn’t even done anything just now, had he? …

He and Liu Xilin had barely exchanged a few words in total.

At most, all he had done was give the child with Liu Xilin a cotton candy.

Regardless of what kind of relationship he had with Liu Xilin, even if it were someone he had some grudges with, if you ran into them at an amusement park with a child and happened to buy the child a cotton candy, there was nothing wrong with that, right…

“Uh.” Tian Yi thought back to the hot-search content he’d seen when he was on his way over and tried to use internet slang to explain it to Madam. “Maybe because your gaze trails like silk?”

Shen Qing: “What does that mean?”

Tian Yi: “……”

Alright then. One second of silence for the people online shipping this CP.

Madam was just a natural flirt. He had no concept of any of the rest!

For a salted-fish like Shen Qing, being shipped in a CP was not actually a huge deal. Back when the company had tried to package the original owner, they had even bundled him in publicity with a female artist who debuted at the same time.

Still, considering that he was married now, and that he should at least preserve the big boss’s dignity, Shen Qing quickly went online to look.

But when he searched his own name, the first thing that appeared was not gossip about him and Liu Xilin at all, but the trending topic—

#Shen Qing, Big World Boss’s Wife#

Shen Qing: ???

He searched all around the square and found that among the topics related to him, one was “#Shen Qing gaze trails like silk,” and all the others were talking about him being Big World’s boss’s wife and speculating about who the boss was.

Oh, and there were also photos of Ao Zai being reposted, all praising Ao Zai for being cute, and quite a few people were wildly @-ing Shen Qing asking when he would go on a child variety show.

Other than that, there was nothing else.

Then Shen Qing searched Liu Xilin. There was plenty of discussion in Liu Xilin’s supertopic square about the child variety show, though most of it was criticism.

Some people said Liu Xilin was still basically a child himself and had forced his way onto a child variety show to chase traffic, so it was only natural he would flop.

Others said the Cute Baby Treasure variety show was trash, and Liu Xilin’s management company really was pretty awful for forcing him onto that kind of program.

Shen Qing’s own name did show up there too.

But what people discussed far more was Ao Zai in his arms and the “gaze trailing like silk.”

As for people actually shipping him and Liu Xilin as a CP, Shen Qing scrolled forever and still didn’t find a single one.

“Oh, then maybe it’s already been cleaned up,” Tian Yi said, stroking his chin.

Shen Qing: “……”

Fine then. Even though he was really curious what exactly there even was to ship between him and Liu Xilin, if it had already been cleaned up, then good.

As long as the big boss didn’t end up with a green glow over his head.

After that, Shen Qing hesitated and then asked Tian Yi, “Then is there anything going on with President Gu’s side? Do I need to call him back now? I don’t know whether it’s convenient at this time.”

After all, he hadn’t seen his husband in two days already, and now Shen Qing neither knew what the big boss had been busy with nor how his health was doing, so he really didn’t know how he was supposed to handle things.

That question also stumped Tian Yi.

After all, the training he had received basically taught that if there was no major issue, you were not supposed to disturb President Gu…

But he was only a bodyguard. Madam was Madam, and not the same as him.

So Tian Yi also didn’t know what to do. He could only share the information he did have: “President Gu didn’t say what it was about. Young Master Duo, do you know what President Gu wanted Madam for?”

Off to one side, Gu Duo shook his head.

Shen Qing: …?

President Gu had called him, and Duoduo knew about it too?

Only then did Shen Qing learn that after President Gu failed to reach Shen Qing and also failed to reach Tian Yi, he had called Duoduo instead…

So quite obviously, Duoduo also knew about the little puppy younger-brother thing.

For no reason at all, Shen Qing suddenly felt a little awkward.

At first, before he had known anyone was shipping him with Liu Xilin, he had really felt nothing at all.

At most, he only thought the whole incident had interrupted some of their plans for the day.

But once he knew he had once again been CP-shipped, and that a child knew too… Shen Qing quietly observed Gu Duo’s expression.

In the original novel, one of the reasons why the dark and sinister Gu Duo, twenty years later, had tortured “him” was because “he” had been involved with Doctor Ling while Gu Duo’s uncle was still alive.

Although causing his uncle’s death had been the bigger crime.

Still, it was obvious the two brothers could not tolerate his betrayal of their uncle either…

Shen Qing knew he might be overthinking.

At Duoduo’s current age, he probably didn’t understand any of that.

But he also couldn’t help thinking about it.

So fine. Call, call, call!

He was calling President Gu right now!

Not only was he going to call, he was going to make Duoduo understand just how utterly obsessed he was with Duoduo’s little uncle… clingy mode online immediately!

Anyway, if the big boss was busy and felt disturbed, he could simply reject the call!

Shen Qing directly dialed President Gu’s number.

Before that—

Outside Gu Huaiyu’s office.

“Assistant Li, I really have to say, President Gu should manage this situation.”
Zhen Yong stopped Li Hong at the door and showed him his phone. “Look at all this. The netizens are all trying to identify Big World’s owner now. President Gu could very well get dug out! President Gu is such a low-key person… it’s all Shen Qing’s fault!”

Originally, Zhen Yong had come to President Gu’s side for a meeting with several board members. The moment his assistant informed him that Shen Qing had trended again and this time had dragged President Gu into it, Zhen Yong had lost his composure.

Seeing that it still wasn’t his turn yet to give his report, Zhen Yong had immediately excused himself on the grounds that he had other business matters to contact and quietly slipped out of the office to check the news.

And once he checked, he got the fright of his life—now the entire internet knew Shen Qing was Big World’s boss’s wife!

Although they still didn’t know that President Gu was the largest shareholder behind Big World, but… how dared Shen Qing, how dared he drag President Gu into the headlines with him!

Just then he happened to run into Li Hong, who was coming to see President Gu, and Zhen Yong truly couldn’t hold back, so he grabbed him and vented a few complaints.

Assistant Li was one of President Gu’s trusted people. Surely if he went to advise him, President Gu would at least regulate some of Shen Qing’s words and actions.

But Li Hong only felt that Zhen Yong was overestimating him, and also…

“Director Zhen, you’ve misunderstood. President Gu was the one who had people handle this. Madam had absolutely no intention of dragging President Gu onto the hot search.”

…In fact, if Madam had even the tiniest bit of that self-awareness—if only whenever something happened he remembered who he belonged to—Li Hong felt President Gu’s pressure earlier probably wouldn’t have dropped quite that low.

No, wait.

As he said this, Li Hong pulled out his phone again.

He needed to confirm one more time whether all the CP rumors online about Madam and Liu Xilin had been completely cleaned out.

“Assistant Li, what do you mean by that?”
Zhen Yong made it clear he didn’t understand. “President Gu handled it? President Gu already knows about this? …”

“Of course. President Gu personally took the initiative to declare sovereignty,” Li Hong said.

Zhen Yong: “?!”

At that moment, the office door opened and one of the directors stepped out. “Xiaoyong, what are you doing out here? Come in quickly, it’s almost your turn to report.”

Zhen Yong shivered and hurried back into the office.

Recently, the project in the neighboring city had run into trouble, and it happened to be at a critical stage… otherwise President Gu would never have gotten personally involved!

And President Gu always worked decisively and with ruthless efficiency. Meetings under him were like interrogations. If you couldn’t answer, or answered too slowly, things could easily go bad.

The neighboring city market was not under Zhen Yong’s direct responsibility, but he had handled part of it too.

Now that it was almost his turn to report, Zhen Yong was naturally nervous.

Quietly returning to his seat, he saw that in the office, aside from the director who had just come out to call him back in, there were another four or five people seated there.

All were company veterans ranked above Zhen Yong, and some were even family elders from the same circles. Seeing every single one of them looking unusually serious and focused, and thinking that he himself would soon have to report in front of President Gu, Zhen Yong no longer dared let his mind wander. He even started thinking he had been pretty brave to sneak out at all just now.

At that point, the previous department head finished his report. Apparently President Gu still had some doubts about it, because Gu Huaiyu checked the time and said to the others, “The rest of you may take a short break first.”

Then he separately summoned the reporting manager to the desk for questioning.

Even though he said everyone else could rest, no one dared move.

After all, the project had run into problems!

At a time like this, who still had the nerve to rest?

And besides, when they had all arrived around noon, President Gu’s pressure had indeed been extremely low…

The entire office was silent as if everyone had turned mute.

Other than the sounds of President Gu questioning and that manager answering, not a single person made the slightest sound.

Everyone could only hear President Gu asking sharp questions, while the manager answered more and more slowly, his voice growing weaker and weaker.

After a while, everyone seemed able to hear the manager’s voice trembling.

…Was he about to get questioned to tears?

And right then, a loud children’s cartoon song suddenly rang out, giving everyone nearby—who had barely even dared breathe—a huge fright.

…It had to be said, under such a heavy atmosphere, a cheerful cartoon song didn’t bring joy at all. Instead it felt like being trapped inside a dark fairy tale.

Almost everyone present felt exactly that way.

Everyone except President Gu.

Because the moment the cartoon ringtone sounded, President Gu lifted his eyes, then very quickly looked down toward his desktop.

Everyone else’s gaze followed and landed there too, on the smooth flat surface of President Gu’s desk.

There, right in front of the pen holder, seemed to be… a children’s watch?

Before anyone could fully process it, President Gu reached over, picked up the watch, hesitated slightly, and then accepted the call anyway.

“Husband, what are you doing? Did you miss me? I missed you sooo much!” A man’s bright, clear voice came out from the watch, carrying a little lazy laughter.

Everyone present: ……???

Uh…

Since they had already met Madam before, no one was too surprised by Madam’s hot and open style.

They also didn’t really have the space to feel surprised.

Because…

Uh, it was just that… what exactly was this miraculous method of communication their President Gu was using?

Before this children’s watch had been answered, not a single person had believed it was an actual children’s watch—the kind that could truly make and receive phone calls.

They would rather have believed it was some sort of high-tech device.

Or, at the very least, that one of the young masters had come over to play and accidentally left it there.

But now it very obviously looked like… this was their President Gu’s communication device???

……

No, wait.

Didn’t President Gu not have a private number?!

Someone in the room let out a too-shocked little gasp.

And then, behind the desk, President Gu’s wrist stiffened while holding the watch, his fingertips twitched, and he instantly muted it. Then he looked up sharply at all of them and said in an icy voice, “Didn’t I just tell you all to go take a break?”

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