SFBF CH59

Later, President Lu still came running to see President Gu.

The kind of running where he was practically stumbling and sprinting the whole way, his footsteps incredibly rushed.

Hastily pushing his way through the crowd, Lu Jing ran straight up to Gu Huaiyu.

Probably from running too fast, President Lu’s forehead was already beaded with sweat.

He had spotted President Gu’s figure from afar, and once he confirmed it really was Gu Huaiyu, Lu Jing’s legs had almost given out right then and there.

Out of pure fear!

The beads of sweat on his forehead weren’t from running either. They were from sheer panic.

Face-to-face with Gu Huaiyu, Lu Jing didn’t even care if there was a large crowd of onlookers around. He immediately bowed to President Gu, hunching his back submissively as he tried to shake Gu Huaiyu’s hand.

“Oh my, President Gu, President Gu! I never expected to run into you here. This is truly, truly such fate, isn’t it!”

However, President Gu gave him no face. He didn’t shake his hand, merely lifting his eyelids to cast a glance at him.

Feeling somewhat awkward, Lu Jing couldn’t help but withdraw his hand. “Um… your health… has your health been much better lately?”

Gu Huaiyu actually answered this question, his tone even somewhat mocking, “Thanks for your concern. Not bad.”

“Ah, that’s good, that’s good!” Lu Jing said hurriedly.

Lu Jing was a former classmate of Gu Huaiyu’s eldest brother, Gu Huairong, and was of the same age. Now, he already had the slightly plump appearance of someone approaching middle age.

Although it was obvious he usually took good care of himself and wasn’t a stereotypical greasy middle-aged man, standing in front of the young, lean, crisp, and clean Gu Huaiyu, he still appeared incredibly greasy.

Perhaps it’s because his behavior and mannerisms are just too greasy, Shen Qing analyzed.

He was, after all, more than ten years older than Gu Huaiyu. Yet he had no backbone whatsoever, bowing and scraping in front of Gu Huaiyu like this…

If he were naturally just this kind of person, that would be one thing.

The Lu family had been gradually declining in recent years anyway. Shen Qing remembered from the original novel that this Eldest Young Master of the Lu family had no real abilities; he was the type who appeared strong on the outside but was hollow on the inside. It was understandable that he would be wary and afraid of Gu Huaiyu now.

But thinking back to how his chubby son had kept shouting, “I’ll have my dad kill you,” that wasn’t something a child could just blurt out from nowhere.

Plus, the bespectacled man in the suit earlier, whose immediate reaction was to throw money at the problem with threats and bribes—it was clear this wasn’t the first time the chubby boy had hit someone.

From all this, one could tell that this President Lu wasn’t usually a reasonable person.

But for someone so arrogant and domineering to act so servile and fawning in front of Gu Huaiyu—literally sporting two completely different faces—how could it not seem greasy?

Even Shen Qing felt his eyes burn just looking at it.

President Gu truly had strong psychological fortitude to be able to continue facing President Lu head-on.

It was just that his expression was extremely cold and frosty, radiating a chilling, oppressive majesty.

Gu Huaiyu said, “Let’s get to business. Your son insulted my sons, and even hit them and my bodyguards. Tell me, President Lu, how should this matter be resolved?”

“I…”

When he had received the “notice,” Lu Jing already knew Lu Xinghao had caused trouble.

Earlier, when Lu Xinghao’s little classmate ran over to say Lu Xinghao was being bullied, he hadn’t taken it to heart at all.

—He knew his own son. With Lu Xinghao’s build and personality, how could his son possibly be the one getting bullied?

It was definitely this brat bullying others outside and trying to cause trouble for his old man again.

Just like his mother, always using these methods to grab his attention.

Lu Jing considered himself to have a clear read on the situation. The moment he heard about it, he felt disgusted and couldn’t be bothered to deal with it.

Furthermore, he had finally managed to run into some important clients. How could he drop them to deal with this brat’s mess?

It just so happened that Lu Xinghao’s elder cousin-uncle was also there, so Lu Jing had dispatched him to handle it.

But he never imagined things would escalate to this point.

…The person Lu Xinghao provoked was actually Gu Huaiyu!

“You…” Lu Jing still couldn’t stop shaking. He looked again at the two little children standing beside President Gu…

He hadn’t met Gu Duo and Gu Ao before. He had only heard stories about these two kids, but he had just treated them as a joke and never took them seriously.

Now, stimulated by the situation, he remembered everything—

Gu Huairong had mentioned before that he had once adopted these two kids, but later they turned the house upside down, so he sent them to the Gu family’s second brother to raise.

Then later, for some unknown reason, these two children were taken in by Gu Huaiyu.

But Lu Jing only knew of this fact because Gu Huairong had just mentioned it in passing, in a very casual tone.

Lu Jing had actually reminded Gu Huairong that Gu Huaiyu was in poor health and had no heirs; could taking those two kids in mean he was going to have them inherit his fortune?

At the time, Gu Huairong had scoffed disdainfully: “Impossible. Old Sixth is a lone star; who would he ever consider? It’s true he probably doesn’t want to give us his money, but rather than painstakingly passing on the family business, burning everything to the ground to take it with him when he dies is much more in line with his personality.”

“Besides, you don’t know those two kids, Gu Duo and Gu Ao… they’re not likable either. With Old Sixth’s temper, taking them in probably just means throwing some money at them to keep them fed.”

…So what was going on now?

How had the Gu Huaiyu who allegedly never considered anyone, and the two allegedly unlikable children, become a family??

And what did Gu Huaiyu just call these two kids?

Sons???

Right now, Lu Jing wasn’t just terrified; he was completely bewildered.

The most important thing was, wasn’t Gu Huaiyu… about to die?! How was he appearing here?!

This was a family restaurant; he was clearly here to accompany Gu Duo and Gu Ao for a meal!

…A dying man who was rumored to be intubated in the hospital was now appearing in a children’s play area…

If he had known this, the moment he heard Lu Xinghao was fighting a kid named “Gu Duo,” he should have run over immediately!

If Gu Huairong weren’t his old classmate of many years and tied to him by mutual interests, Lu Jing would have suspected the Gu family’s eldest was intentionally sabotaging him!

Under these circumstances, his only option was to apologize immediately.

“I am truly sorry, President Gu. It’s my poor parenting. I let Lu Xinghao offend Gu… offend the two young masters.”

Saying this, Lu Jing waved at Lu Xinghao behind him and roared, “Get over here!”

Lu Xinghao still didn’t know what was happening, but from the moment his dad started bowing and scraping to Gu Duo’s dad, Lu Xinghao felt his world collapse.

…Why did Gu Duo have a dad?

How was his dad even more powerful than my dad?

When his dad pulled him over, Lu Xinghao still hadn’t fully processed it.

By the time he was dragged in front of the uncle in the wheelchair, Lu Xinghao suddenly heard his dad roar: “What are you standing there for? Apologize! Hurry up and apologize to Gu Duo and Gu Ao!”

Lu Xinghao: ?!

His eyes, normally squeezed small by his chubby cheeks, suddenly went wide.

…What kind of joke was this? His dad was actually telling him to apologize to Gu Duo?

Gu Duo had always only ever been on the receiving end of being taught a lesson by him and Gu Hao.

And now he was being told to apologize?

“Dad, I…”

Lu Xinghao was actually a little afraid of his dad. Especially in the past two years, his dad rarely came to see him and his mom anymore, which made Young Master Hao, who had previously been spoiled rotten, feel a huge sense of disparity.

But no matter what, he couldn’t possibly apologize to Gu Duo.

He absolutely refused to apologize to Gu Duo!

Especially in front of so many people!

Never mind the fact that the classmates who always surrounded him were watching from the sidelines; if word of today’s incident reached Gu Hao’s ears, who knew how the other boy would mock him.

The moment he thought about how Gu Hao had once mocked him, saying that his mother had given birth to him without marrying his dad, and that in the adult world he was just a bastard, Lu Xinghao felt such hatred he wanted to beat Gu Hao to death.

But in recent years, his dad rarely took him to banquets hosted by other uncles, so he hadn’t made any new wealthy young masters as playmates.

Gu Hao was actually the only one who could play with him and was still willing to play with him.

…As for the cronies around him now, they only played with him because he had a lot of pocket money. They were all paupers; it was boring.

Thinking of this, Lu Xinghao became even more unwilling to let Gu Hao see him as a joke.

Because he would never forget the look in Gu Hao’s eyes after discovering his status as an illegitimate child.

It was exactly the same way they used to look at Gu Duo and Gu Ao—like looking at unwanted trash.

—High-and-mighty pity, but mostly disdain, and deep, thick disgust.

…So how could he possibly apologize to trash?

“Dad, I won’t.” Although he was afraid of his dad, Lu Xinghao stubbornly refused to apologize.

He didn’t expect that in the next second—Smack!—Lu Xinghao only felt a numbness on his face, followed by his dad’s explosive roar: “You little shit, apologize right now!”

“…”

After the numbness came agonizing pain. Half of Lu Xinghao’s ear was ringing, and it hurt so much he wanted to roll on the ground.

Realizing he had just been slapped by his dad, Lu Xinghao burst into loud wails: “Waaah!!”

“I won’t apologize! I won’t! Why should I apologize to Gu Duo! He’s an orphan, he doesn’t have a mom or dad! Pathetic worm, total jinx!…”

“You’re still talking?!”

Lu Jing was so furious he was seeing stars, and he slapped Lu Xinghao again.

Had he raised this child into a complete waste?! Gu Huaiyu just called Gu Duo his son, and he’s still calling him an orphan?! Isn’t this cursing President Gu to die?!

“Apologize to Young Master Gu Duo and Young Master Gu Ao right now!”

Lu Jing’s voice was deafening, completely overpowering his son’s cries: “What is their status? What is your status! I raise you, feed you, and clothe you normally, just so you can come here and cause trouble for me?! Apologize right now!”

The more he spoke, the angrier he got, and he even kicked Lu Xinghao.

Lu Xinghao: “Waaah—!”

Aside from the pain of being beaten, hearing that his status was now inferior to even Gu Duo and Gu Ao made Lu Xinghao feel even more humiliated. He immediately bawled louder: “Are you even my dad? It’s bad enough you protect Lu Jincan, why do you have to protect Gu Duo and Gu Ao too!”

Over the past two years, as his younger half-brother Lu Jincan grew up, Lu Xinghao had witnessed his dad’s blatant favoritism more than once.

He had already felt wronged enough, and now his dad was actually beating him for the sake of Gu Duo and Gu Ao. Lu Xinghao felt like he had been abandoned by the whole world. He didn’t even know how to express his furious emotions anymore.

When he got angry, he only wanted to hit and curse people.

Today, his dad had promised to have dinner with him. He was originally going to proudly show off his wealthy, powerful dad in front of his little friends.

But his dad had left halfway to talk business and ignored him completely…

Angry, Lu Xinghao unexpectedly ran into Gu Duo and Gu Ao. His old habits flared up, and he wanted to provoke Gu Duo, curse at him, or hit him to vent his frustration.

Even though Gu Duo always remained expressionless and looked like he couldn’t be bothered with him, which made Lu Xinghao feel embarrassed and angry.

But whenever he remembered that Gu Duo was just an orphan, no matter how aloof he acted, no one in this world would protect him—even his own cousin Gu Hao took the lead in bullying him.

Lu Xinghao felt that Gu Duo was just putting up a strong front.

So the more indifferent Gu Duo acted, the more he wanted to bully him, because he could imagine how hurt Gu Duo was on the inside.

Only when others were hurt did he feel satisfied.

So when his dad turned around to protect Gu Duo and forced him to apologize to Gu Duo, Lu Xinghao’s world shattered.

He screamed uncontrollably, thrashing around, his face turning the color of pig liver as he cried hysterically.

Crying and cursing at the same time: “Why should he! Why! Trash, orphan, just standing next to him is bad luck!…”

“Are you fucking done?!”

Lu Jing was half-dead from anger. Right now, he didn’t even dare to look at President Gu’s expression opposite him. All he could do was blindly beat the child, muttering: “Brainless just like your mother, all you know how to do is eat! Useless trash, all you do is cause trouble for me! What use are any of you to me?! Tui, bad luck!”

Lu Jing kicked his son fiercely a few more times, then directed the people beside him: “Hurry up and drag this unfilial son away! Drag him away!”

The man in the suit and several of Lu Jing’s subordinates quickly stepped forward, obediently trying to pull Lu Xinghao away first.

Even though the man in the suit was Lu Xinghao’s elder cousin-uncle, he also knew he had just offended someone who absolutely could not be offended. How could he possibly protect Lu Xinghao now?

Besides, he fundamentally disliked Lu Xinghao too. This chubby boy had been spoiled rotten by his parents since childhood, poorly educated, always rude, and even bullied his own children…

The man in the suit reached out to grab Lu Xinghao’s arm, but he didn’t expect Lu Xinghao to suddenly erupt, shoving him aside and kicking him.

The man cried out “Ouch” and cursed his bad luck internally. When he looked up again, he was paralyzed with shock…

This chubby boy had actually turned around and started beating his own biological father!

“You have the nerve to bring up my mom! If you hadn’t refused to marry my mom, would I have been reduced to an illegitimate child?!”

Remembering that the chief culprit for him being mocked by Gu Hao was the very man standing in front of him, Lu Xinghao, utterly disappointed in his dad, began to fight back, punching his dad hysterically.

Lu Jing was not tall, and he had neglected exercise over the years. Unbelievably, he really did get hit several times by his eight-year-old son.

For a moment, what was originally a one-sided father beating a son turned into a mutual father-son brawl.

The family of four opposite them: “…”

Shen Qing hadn’t expected the situation to turn out like this either…

He walked over and silently covered Aozai’s chubby little ears.

After all, the cursing over there was getting pretty ugly.

Aozai loved imitating others, so it was better if he didn’t listen…

With his two little ears covered by him, Aozai looked up in confusion: “Wu?”

He tried to look back at his little dad standing behind him.

Because he wasn’t tall enough, Aozai had to crane his neck hard just to see his little dad’s chin.

But while he tilted his head back, the hands covering his ears didn’t move away. So Aozai grew even more confused, unable to determine whether his little dad was touching his ears or his cheeks.

Gu Duo also turned to look at Shen Qing, his eyes equally filled with confusion.

Noticing this, Shen Qing lowered his head and told the cub, “Duo-duo, don’t learn from them either. That is an unhealthy father-son relationship.”

Gu Duo: “…”

He silently turned his head back around.

Of course he could tell it was an unhealthy father-son relationship…

Even the normally clever and precocious Gu Duo was bewildered right now, unable to understand how things had devolved into this.

Fortunately, Lu Jing had brought enough people with him this time. His subordinates quickly pulled away the frantic Lu Xinghao who was beating his dad.

Lu Xinghao was ultimately still just a child. Once his initial burst of energy was spent, he had no strength left, and was tightly held by two men in suits and dragged away from his dad.

And Lu Jing, who had never suffered such humiliation or lost so much face in his entire life, actually seized the opportunity while his subordinates restrained Lu Xinghao to step forward and slap the chubby boy again without hesitation, even raising his foot to kick him.

“Hey!” Seeing that he had completely lost all sense of proportion, Shen Qing subconsciously called out to stop him.

Receiving the signal, Tian Yi directly stepped forward and held Lu Jing back.

“President Lu, President Lu, calm down first.”

Li Hong also stepped forward and said, “Are you sure you want to continue this father-son brawl right here?”

“…”

Only then did Lu Jing stop. He looked around and saw that people had long since raised their phones to record videos…

The matter had blown up after all. He needed to find someone to control the online narrative as quickly as possible.

Lu Jing was furious, yet a layer of cold sweat dripped from his forehead. He took out his phone to send a message.

But he had barely typed a few words when his shoulder was heavily patted by someone. Tian Yi, flexing a body full of muscles, stated, “President Lu, our President Gu is still here. For you to act like this…”

“Oh, oh, oh.” Lu Jing hastily put his phone away.

He didn’t know how things had escalated to this point either…

It was all because of this President Gu.

If Gu Huaiyu had just accepted a private settlement, everything would have been fine.

But the condition the other party set was that Lu Xinghao had to apologize to Gu Duo publicly, right on the spot. They refused to accept any other form of reconciliation, threatening to call the police and go to court if he didn’t.

…This Gu Huaiyu, his temper was exactly the same as always, leaving absolutely no face for anyone!

Just as Lu Jing was internally complaining, he heard a clear, bright male voice speak up from opposite him: “Your esteemed son’s explosive temper truly is a perfect inheritance from you, President Lu.”

This wasn’t Gu Huaiyu’s voice. Upon confirming this, another surge of anger rose in Lu Jing’s heart as he thought: Who the fuck is this now?!

How dare everyone criticize me?!!

That voice continued: “If you hadn’t come up and immediately started beating and cursing at him, he wouldn’t have been so stubborn. He probably would have apologized a long time ago.”

“…”

Lu Jing subconsciously looked up, only to see a man standing beside Gu Huaiyu.

Although the man was wearing a hat with the brim pulled extremely low, revealing only half of his face.

But from the two thin lips, pointed chin, slender neck, collarbones, and his tall, graceful posture, one could deduce that this must be a very beautiful boy with excellent physical features.

Tall and slender, good-looking with a great aura, a pleasant speaking voice, and not very old—probably only in his early twenties… this kind of boy was always incredibly charming.

And this one was likely the alluring, captivating type.

…As someone used to navigating the world of romance and pleasure, Lu Jing was highly experienced in this regard and was very accurate at reading people.

But now was not the time to admire pretty boys. What Lu Jing cared about was that this man was actually able to stand beside Gu Huaiyu.

And he was holding their family’s cub!

…

That’s right, regardless of the reason that made Gu Huaiyu proactively acknowledge Gu Duo and Gu Ao as his sons, from now on, Lu Jing fully intended to treat those two kids as the little young masters of President Gu’s family.

At least for as long as Gu Huaiyu was still alive.

So why did this man dare to touch President Gu’s cubs?!

Looking at him, he didn’t seem like a teacher or caretaker…

Wiping his sweat and calming down slightly, Lu Jing looked at the pretty man opposite him and asked, “And this is?”

The one who answered him was the usually taciturn Gu Huaiyu.

President Gu remained sharp and concise in his style: “My spouse.”

Lu Jing: “Oh, oh, lov-eh-eh-eh?! …President Gu’s spouse?!”

His voice changed pitches several times in just a few seconds, and Lu Jing’s eyes widened to perfectly round circles—President Gu actually had a spouse!!!

Opposite them, Shen Qing almost broke character. The originally very serious atmosphere suddenly began to collapse because of the sudden chicken-like squawk the other party let out.

Shen Qing forcibly maintained his persona as the mature family head and didn’t laugh out loud.

Having had his little ears released, but with his small shoulders now being held, Aozai took the initiative to introduce: “Dis is our little, dad!”

The human cub’s voice was very loud.

Full of pride.

Because that bad, big chubby brother had said that he and his brother didn’t have a dad, Aozai had been very angry the whole time. So when making his declaration this time, he deliberately emphasized his pronunciation.

He just wanted to tell everyone that they did have a dad!

And they had two!

So, pointing at the big dad next to him, Aozai loudly announced again, “Dis is big, big dad!”

Lu Jing: “…”

Information he had previously ignored resurfaced in his mind. Right, he remembered now—it seemed a few months ago there was talk that Gu Huaiyu had gotten married.

It was a marriage of convenience.

With a boy from the Shen family.

Rumor had it that the young man from the Shen family was not only from a branch family, but also a minor celebrity.

Looking at it this way, his appearance and aura did seem to match up…

But, could that boy from the Shen… Shen family really have this kind of capability?… To actually win over Gu Huaiyu???

Why had he heard Gu Huairong say that the person the Shen family sent over was timid, wooden, and completely lacked presence…

Could Gu Huairong have been playing him for a fool this entire time?

Why was all the information he provided completely wrong?!!

Lu Jing still didn’t dare to be certain. Perhaps President Gu, just like himself, was keeping someone on the side…

Thinking this, he felt compelled by some strange urge to look at the young man in the baseball cap and ask, “Are you Mr. Shen?”

The moment he looked at the young man, Gu Huaiyu simultaneously lifted his eyelids.

The young man, however, revealed a smile—a very distant, polite, fake smile, as if unwilling to dwell on his identity: “Yes, I am.”

“…Mr. Shen, I’ve admired you for a long time, a long time…”

Caught off guard by the unexpectedly affirmative answer, Lu Jing felt he ought to say something to ease the awkward and tense atmosphere.

At this point, Shen Qing took the initiative to speak, saying, “Let’s skip the pleasantries and get down to business.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Shen Qing felt that his tone sounded a bit like Gu Huaiyu’s.

But since President Gu always told him to do whatever he wanted, Shen Qing didn’t want to waste too much time with this President Lu either.

First, it was unnecessary. Second, there were a lot of people here. Even though he was wearing a hat and was a D-list celebrity, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t be recognized.

The wave of people digging into his background online had only just started to cool down over the last two days, and Shen Qing, who had already chosen to lie flat, had no desire to go back on the trending search lists.

He pulled the topic back to the children: “First of all, your son is definitely at fault, and my cubs still haven’t received his apology to this day. This is related to your incorrect parenting methods, Mr. Lu. So little Lu Xinghao still owes our Duo-duo and Aozai an apology. Please find a way to make him apologize as soon as possible. That is point one.

“Secondly, the fact that you started directly beating and cursing your own son right here—are you doing this to put on a show for us, or…”

“No, no, Mr. Shen, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not doing it for you to see. It’s just as you saw, this child is truly infuriating, I really can’t control him…”

“If you hadn’t been so overly permissive and indulgent with him in the past, and instead properly educated and guided him, he wouldn’t have hurt our Duo-duo and Aozai today.”

Shen Qing cut him off directly, having no desire to listen to his excuses.

His words were incredibly sharp as he methodically laid it out: “Mr. Lu, you weren’t here earlier, so perhaps you didn’t hear it. Your son explicitly said he was going to get you here to kill us, and the gentleman in the suit beside you also threatened us.”

Lu Jing: ?!!

He immediately shot a death glare at the bespectacled man in the suit beside him.

He still firmly believed that Lu Xinghao turning out like this was entirely because his mother and this cousin-uncle of his had spoiled him rotten.

Shen Qing: “Pardon my bluntness, but when your esteemed son does something wrong, you, as the father, bear the greatest responsibility.”

Lu Jing: “…”

Never expecting to be lectured by a young man more than a decade his junior, Lu Jing still didn’t dare to show any defiance, hastily nodding along: “Ah, yes, yes, yes.”

Shen Qing: “Furthermore, if you parents weren’t always opening and closing your mouths talking about letting people die, I don’t think a child this young would be able to say such domineering things. So Mr. Lu, who exactly have you ordered dead? Do you need me to call the police on their behalf?”

Lu Jing: “Ah, yes… wait, no, no, no one has died! That’s just my catchphrase!…”

The circle of onlookers gathered around had mostly been kept at a distance by Gu Huaiyu’s bodyguards, but they could still hear the voices inside and see a bit of the scene.

After Shen Qing finished speaking, someone in the crowd immediately chimed in agreement: “That’s right, this parent is way too arrogant. Even if he hasn’t killed anyone, he definitely hasn’t held back on bullying people.”

“Bullying, absolute bullying! Just now their kid hit someone and they tried to use money to settle it. Well, look at them now, they hit a brick wall!”

“I’m just a normal civilian. I saved up a month’s salary just to bring my kid here to eat once. Can someone tell me what business this Lu family does? I want to see if I can avoid their products.”

“I’m actually more curious about the family across from them… Are they some hidden billionaire family? Does anyone know? How are their kids so well-behaved and polite! Ahhh, I just want to squish their cheeks!”

“It just goes to show that a child’s upbringing has nothing to do with having money. Look at the children from the mysterious big boss’s family—they have so many bodyguards following them, yet they don’t use their power to bully others. Contrast that with that illegitimate child, provoking people everywhere, heh.”

“He’s an illegitimate child, what kind of good upbringing could he possibly have? That young gentleman is right, the one surnamed Lu bears the most responsibility! The child is this old and he still hasn’t given the mother a proper title. His official wife and mistress must be thoroughly disgusted by him. No wonder the child is so twisted and violent.”

“Tell me about it! Bullying others because they don’t have a dad? Looks to me like he’s the one lacking fatherly love! That kid is definitely a complete psychopath!”

Amidst the crowd’s chattering, Lu Jing, his face flushed so red it looked like it was bleeding, accepted Shen Qing’s lecture and stated, “It’s my fault. I failed to educate Lu Xinghao properly. President Gu, Mr. Shen, please be the bigger people and forgive our transgressions. Please don’t be angry anymore.”

The crowd of onlookers needed to be dealt with; the longer this dragged on, the worse it would get. At a time like this, Lu Jing could only swallow his pride and offer apologetic smiles. After all, if they didn’t apologize, this matter wouldn’t end.

Having said that, he turned to the two little toddlers beside President Gu and said, “Young Master Gu Duo, Young Master Gu Ao, I am so sorry. It is my strict lack of discipline. I apologize to you on behalf of Lu Xinghao. Please be the bigger people and don’t be angry. Once I’ve taught him properly, I will bring him to your door to apologize in person.”

“Little Dada, that bad brother, does he not have a dada?” At this moment, Aozai’s crisp, loud little voice rang out again.

He craned his neck to look at Shen Qing behind him. Looking down from above, his big head almost entirely obscured his small body.

Aozai didn’t understand what a massive sacrifice and “humiliation” it was for the Uncle Lu in front of them to bow down, apologize, and speak so softly.

He had only coincidentally heard someone nearby whispering that Lu Xinghao lacked fatherly love, and he really couldn’t understand it. “Isn’t dis uncle the bad brother’s dada? Den why does he not have fatherly love?”

“That question…”

Shen Qing glanced at Lu Jing opposite him, but still answered Aozai very straightforwardly: “Because some people, even though they are fathers, don’t actually like their children. They remain very selfish, which is why there is no love.”

Giving President Lu absolutely no face.

Lu Jing: “…”

Aozai nodded in innocent confusion. He didn’t fully understand what love was yet, but he still had questions: “Den why, if the bad brother has no dada’s love, does he have to bully my brother? My brother didn’t have dada’s love before either, but brother never bullied anyone!”

Aozai’s milky voice was overly crisp, and when he spoke quickly, his enunciation was clearer than other children his age. Almost everyone present heard his words.

Gu Duo froze at this.

So did Shen Qing.

Shen Qing thought, As expected of a classic Long Aotian protagonist cub who always speaks directly and hits the nail on the head…

Sometimes the angle from which Aozai viewed problems was sharper than an adult’s.

It was true. Gu Duo hadn’t had a father’s love in the past either, having lost both his parents early on. If anyone was tragic, he was the most tragic.

But he had never bullied anyone.

If he really wanted to bully people, Gu Duo didn’t even need to be as domineering as Lu Xinghao. With Duo-duo’s maturity and IQ, if he wanted to scheme against someone behind their back, it wasn’t something he couldn’t do.

But he never had.

Unless it was someone who bullied him first, only then would Gu Duo strike back.

This cub had never proactively hurt anyone.

Thinking of this, Shen Qing’s heart began to ache for this cub again.

Just what exactly did such a strong, principled Duo-duo go through in the original novel to be forced into becoming the major villain…

Subconsciously stroking Aozai’s big chubby cheeks, he couldn’t resist ruffling Gu Duo’s hair as well. Shen Qing said, “That’s because your brother is honorable, brave, and strong. He can shoulder the hardships in his own life, and disdains taking his misfortune out on others.”

…

Shen Qing didn’t even know how he managed to say such a poetic line.

But he truly thought so.

Though after saying it, Shen Qing couldn’t help but admire himself a little.

Aozai listened, half-understanding, then suddenly nodded his head, clenched his chubby little fists, and let out an “En!” of agreement.

Anyway, his brother was the best, the most awesome, and the most amazing, and that was that.

Aozai, gets it!

Beside him, Gu Duo fiercely buried his head down again… This time, it wasn’t because he wanted to cry.

It was… Gu Duo felt he had been praised so much he was blushing!

In the distance, Lu Xinghao, who had already been restrained by several men in suits, also looked toward Shen Qing.

After brawling with his own biological father, Lu Xinghao no longer felt like he could ever have a dad again.

But he had always resented that his dad had a younger brother and no longer wanted him. He was deeply resentful and felt incredibly wronged, wanting to vent his resentment.

Yet he completely ignored the fact that he was also bringing harm to others.

He was also the wicked person whom others resented…

So was it because he wasn’t as strong as Gu Duo?

Was it because he wasn’t honorable that he vented his bitterness onto others?

Lu Xinghao sank fiercely into shock and devastation… Could it be that I am the trash???

.

Lu Jing apologized on behalf of Lu Xinghao, and repeatedly guaranteed that their son would absolutely never come to provoke Duo-duo and Aozai again. After that, he apologized to Tian Yi, who had been injured trying to block the brat, and compensated him for the damages. Only then was the matter finally considered closed.

Although Tian Yi stated he wasn’t actually injured… if word got out that he was injured after being hit by a few kids, how would he ever show his face again?

But Madam said that even if he wasn’t injured, he still needed to collect appropriate compensation for mental distress. Anyway, that guy in the suit said the Lu family had money.

Tian Yi strongly agreed with this logic.

Suddenly receiving a small windfall, Tian Yi was very happy.

Shen Qing, who had collected a sum for mental distress on behalf of Duo-duo and Aozai, was also quite satisfied—the money itself wasn’t important; what was important was teaching the other party a lesson!

He immediately took this money and gave a red envelope to the cubs’ Uncle Li Hong first. After all, he had also protected the cubs, so it wouldn’t be right if Uncle Tian Yi got compensated while Uncle Li Hong got nothing.

Afterward, Shen Qing asked Duo-duo and Aozai how the remaining money should be distributed.

Neither cub hesitated, saying they wanted to give it to their dadas.

Because their dadas had also protected them, Duo-duo and Aozai had already learned that they should share their money with the people who helped them.

Shen Qing… was fiercely moved once again!

Of course, the price the Lu father and son paid today wasn’t just this.

Later on, Shen Qing heard that the major clients from the neighboring city who were meeting with Lu Jing had completely stopped bringing up the project the moment they heard his brat had provoked President Gu’s children. They couldn’t wait to pay the bill and take their kids away immediately.

They had originally only come to this restaurant to hold a meeting while taking their kids on vacation.

They hadn’t even intended to discuss business collaborations.

It was only because Eldest Young Master Lu was rather enthusiastic that they said they could consider a trial collaboration.

But who could have imagined that Eldest Young Master Lu would raise such a brat who actually provoked President Gu… well, it wasn’t just about President Gu; it was mainly because of the brat!

What kind of good parent could raise a brat like that?

Domineering, arrogant, and two-faced. The major clients declared: What good outcome could possibly come from partnering with someone like this?

Let’s go, let’s go.

Only, right before they left, they all went to Shen Qing’s private dining room to drop off their business cards, enthusiastically expressing that if the opportunity arose, they would love to meet with President Gu.

But they were all sent back by Li Hong, with the excuse: “President Gu is taking his spouse and the young masters out for a meal. It is not convenient to receive guests during his private time.”

But they did accept the business cards.

Which was already giving them a lot of face.

On the way back, Shen Qing recalled that at the very beginning, when he was battling it out with Lu Xinghao and the man in the suit, President Gu had been in the back talking to Duo-duo and Aozai.

He understood that at the time, Gu Huaiyu had disdained communicating with that child or the man in the suit; he was waiting for someone from their side who actually had the authority to speak.

But Shen Qing was still very curious about what President Gu had been talking so endlessly about with the cubs.

Curious, he simply asked Duo-duo and Aozai directly.

Aozai, who was already getting a bit sleepy, let out a little yawn, but still clenched his small fists, his voice ringing out powerfully: “My big dada said, nobody is ‘lowed to use their power to bully cubs!”

Shen Qing: “…”

That certainly fit President Gu’s style.

After that, he looked at Gu Duo.

Gu Duo thought about it. Even though he remembered every single word Big Dada had said, he felt he still needed to go back and organize and digest it all. It was hard to explain right now, so he just shook his head and simply stated: “Nothing.”

Shen Qing: ?

How had this escalated into a secret? …

He had originally just asked casually, but now that it was a secret, Shen Qing became even more invested.

This time, he looked directly at Gu Huaiyu.

They were still traveling in the luxury nanny van, and Shen Qing was sitting in the same row as Gu Huaiyu.

Night had fallen, and the neon lights outside were a blur of brilliant colors, but inside the car, it was somewhat dim.

When Shen Qing turned his head, he saw the sharp lines of Gu Huaiyu’s side profile—his high-bridged nose, sharp lip line, and slightly closed phoenix eyes.

…Normally, when this person opened his eyes, those sharp phoenix eyes looked somewhat ruthless and sinister from the side.

But right now, President Gu had closed his eyes, and paired with his pale complexion, he looked a little weak.

…

And a little handsome?

Perhaps it was because the curve of his side profile was so distinct, or his nose was so high-bridged, or maybe it was because he was so thin from illness that his prominent Adam’s apple made him look sexy?

In short, this combination suddenly brought a specific term to Shen Qing’s mind—beautiful, strong, and tragic.

…The key point was that a big boss like this still gave off the vibe of someone you shouldn’t mess with.

And Shen Qing sincerely admitted that President Gu today was indeed quite handsome.

“Boss, what’s wrong?” After observing the frail Gu Huaiyu for just a moment, Shen Qing subconsciously softened his voice and asked what was the matter.

He was also a bit worried. Could the big boss be feeling unwell somewhere, or was his illness acting up?

It was originally just supposed to be a meal, but he hadn’t expected there to be such a dramatic interlude, and Gu Huaiyu rarely went out…

Thinking this, Shen Qing leaned in a little closer to him.

The cubs were all sitting in the front row, and he didn’t want to alarm Gu Duo and the others, so he asked in a low voice: “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Hearing his voice, Gu Huaiyu’s lightly closed eyelids lifted slightly. He didn’t speak, just raised his hand slightly to indicate he was fine.

Shen Qing subconsciously grabbed that hand.

Feeling that the hand was still freezing cold, he kept holding it, trying to warm the big boss’s hand as he whispered, “If anything’s wrong, you have to tell me.”

Gu Huaiyu tilted his head slightly to look at him. He still didn’t speak, nor did he pull his hand away. Maintaining that head-tilted posture, his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down once, and then he slowly closed his eyes again.

The car rocked slightly.

A moment later, Gu Huaiyu felt the young man suddenly touch his forehead. Then, the young man’s clear, handsome face continuously enlarged…

Shen Qing, who had taken off his hat ever since getting in the car, realized that the body temperature of the person beside him seemed a bit abnormal, so he instinctively reached out to feel his forehead.

But his own hand had been made completely numb with cold by the big boss’s fingers, so everything he touched felt burning hot. So Shen Qing simply leaned his neck forward, intending to press his own forehead against Gu Huaiyu’s to check his temperature.

…Today he had kissed the two cubs’ cheeks, and he had pressed his forehead against theirs like a small animal to comfort the bullied cubs. Shen Qing was already completely used to it.

He also treated Gu Huaiyu as family.

Especially this fragile big boss; he felt just like a cub who needed someone to take care of him. Shen Qing subconsciously felt that a forehead touch was nothing special.

He really hadn’t thought that much about it.

But just as Shen Qing leaned in, as coincidence would have it, the car made a sharp turn…

Shen Qing: ???

His forehead didn’t make contact.

Instead, his lips met something soft.

The other person’s warm breath brushed against his face.

…Shen Qing’s lips were pressed directly against the other man’s dry, slightly cool lips.

Shen Qing: ???

Completely failing to process what had just happened, all he saw was Gu Huaiyu, who was mere inches away, suddenly widening his eyes.

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