SFBF CH105.1

One of the parties involved, President Gu’s wife, Shen Qing: …

This whole thing about President Gu “not being clean anymore” or whatever, he hadn’t actually thought that deeply about it…

However, putting himself in the other’s shoes, if he encountered a narcissistic person who constantly delusionally thought he liked him, and even went around spouting nonsense outside or in front of his spouse, he would be furious too!

Gu Huaiyu explicitly and decisively stated, “Some things must be made clear.”

Shen Qing said, “Mm… I believe you.”

Gu Huaiyu raised his hand, pinched the bridge of his nose, and indicated, “Let’s go.”

Shen Qing immediately agreed, “Let’s go.”

Several bodyguards skillfully navigated through the crowd and walked over, completely isolating the Gu family members and Film Emperor Xiao from them.

No matter how much they tried to hold them back or repent from behind, it was to no avail… The reporters assigned to cover the grand ceremony had already arrived. From the looks of it, they were directly blocking Film Emperor Xiao to interview him and the Gu family.

And tomorrow, the headlines across major newspapers were going to be incredibly exciting.

Gu Huaiyu’s bodyguards were very professional.

Even though there weren’t many of them accompanying him into the venue, Shen Qing’s group still managed to pass through the crowd and dodge the reporters without much effort, arriving directly at a quiet area.

Shen Yuan retreated from the crowd with them. After seeing the two still walking shoulder-to-shoulder, holding hands, he suddenly had the slight illusion that he was a giant third wheel.

Young Master Shen immediately stopped in his tracks. “I…”

“A-Yuan!”

Hearing someone call Shen Yuan, everyone turned around to see Lu Jingyi walking up with hurried steps.

“Why did you run all the way over here, Shen Qing…”

He had just started to mention matters related to Shen Qing when he suddenly saw that, aside from Shen Yuan, there were several other tall figures standing beneath the tree shadows in the garden.

One of them was Shen Qing.

The other, he also recognized.

“…President Gu?”

Suddenly seeing Gu Huaiyu standing perfectly straight, Lu Jingyi was also startled.

Although he had always been keeping tabs, the information he possessed regarding Gu Huaiyu was no more than what anyone else had.

But Lu Jingyi was a Film Emperor, after all. His expression of shock quickly subsided, and he walked over to Shen Yuan’s side.

Just a moment ago, while conversing with his investors on the other side of the venue, Film Emperor Lu had vaguely heard that an incident had occurred over here. It was said that the Gu family had sought out Shen Qing for trouble and that Young Master Shen Yuan had also gotten mixed up in it. Lu Jingyi couldn’t help but rush over immediately.

He hadn’t expected…

“Film Emperor Lu.”

At this moment, Gu Huaiyu proactively extended a hand and said to Lu Jingyi, “Hello.”

Lu Jingyi had just called him President Gu a moment ago; this greeting was Gu Huaiyu returning the gesture.

“President Gu, hello.”

The two men shook hands, but the atmosphere around them felt a bit strange.

Shen Qing and Shen Yuan exchanged a glance—why does it feel like these two already knew each other from before?

Shen Qing tried hard to recall the plot, but the timeline wasn’t quite matching up, and he wasn’t sure if he had overlooked something.

On the other side, Gu Huaiyu was the first to speak again: “I heard you have already returned to the Lu family. Perhaps I should be calling you Mr. Lu?”

“…President Gu, you should still just call me Lu Jingyi.”

Lu Jingyi paused, then suddenly smiled with calm composure: “Compared to returning to the Lu family, I think I still prefer acting.”

Shen Qing, who was still recalling the plot beside them: “!”

The DNA of a book-transmigrator finally stirred.

Because in the original novel, the protagonist gong, Lu Jingyi—who had been switched at birth, carried the burden of vengeance, endured immense hardships just to claw his way back into the Lu family, and was determined to seize absolute power—would never say something like this so lightly!

Whenever he said things like this, it was always to make his opponents lower their guard…

So this was an expedient tactic? The polite, deceptive pleasantries of the business world?

This was the first time Shen Qing had ever witnessed such a… scene of false compliance and feigned courtesy!

Yet beside him, Gu Huaiyu acted as if he hadn’t seen through a thing, merely nodding politely: “Then I wish you success in advance.”

“Thank you,” Lu Jingyi replied, his imposing aura surprisingly not losing out to Gu Huaiyu’s.

This was the first time Shen Qing felt so lost in the clouds.

Shortly after, without exchanging many more words, Lu Jingyi took Shen Yuan away.

Under the guise of taking him to get something to eat.

Shen Yuan originally didn’t want to be a third wheel anyway. After all, “eating melons” (watching gossip) was very happy, but being a party involved wasn’t quite as comfortable. Shen Yuan felt that Qingqing probably still had a lot of things to confirm and discuss with President Gu.

Habitually nice to everyone, Young Master Shen simply waved goodbye to Shen Qing: “Well then Qingqing, I’m going to go eat first. If you need anything, just call me, okay.”

Beside him, Lu Jingyi had already grabbed onto him the moment he heard him call out “Qingqing”. The size difference between them made it look as though Young Master Shen was simply being toted away by Film Emperor Lu.

Shen Qing waved goodbye to Young Master Shen, promising, “Okay, okay, I’ll call you if anything comes up.”

He purely just knew that Young Master Shen was a “gossip-eating badger” and wanted to consume more drama with him next time.

But Gu Huaiyu had already wrapped an arm around his shoulders, turning him halfway around, his voice faint as he said, “Let’s go over there.”

Shen Qing: …

It seemed like there was also that kind of height difference between him and President Gu!

Dammit, he was clearly two centimeters taller than Young Master Shen! It was precisely because of these extra two centimeters that the original owner had always fantasized that one day he could top Young Master Shen. Therefore, “two centimeters” was a stat carved into Shen Qing’s very bones…

But President Gu seemed to also be two centimeters taller than Film Emperor Lu.

So the gap was actually exactly the same!

“By the way, Film Emperor Lu’s purpose for coming over here this time might not have been pure,” Shen Qing subconsciously reminded Gu Huaiyu when he remembered Lu Jingyi’s matter.

Recently, Shen Qing had already shared the concept of “book transmigration” with President Gu, but Gu Huaiyu never asked him about anything related to the book’s plot, and Shen Qing didn’t proactively bring it up either.

He hadn’t expected that before he could even elaborate, Gu Huaiyu already nodded and said, “Mm, his purpose indeed wasn’t pure.”

Hearing this, Shen Qing was astonished: “You actually saw through it?!”

…President Gu had just been having a seemingly pleasant conversation with Film Emperor Lu. Although they didn’t exchange many sentences, based on President Gu’s usual attitude toward others, it could already be considered passionate.

It made Shen Qing think that Gu Huaiyu hadn’t noticed anything abnormal at all…

Shen Qing couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, only for Gu Huaiyu to slowly drawl, “He was worried you would run off with Shen Yuan. He ran all the way over here specifically for that.”

Shen Qing: “…What!”

Gu Huaiyu looked at him, a sharp glint flashing in his severe phoenix eyes: “Don’t forget, he doesn’t know that you aren’t ‘Shen Qing’.”

Shen Qing: “…”

Alright, he understood.

So the current situation was still that the original owner liked Shen Yuan.

Lu Jingyi didn’t know that he was no longer the original owner.

So he thought that Shen Qing hanging out with Shen Yuan was still in an attempt to seduce Shen Yuan??…

“Not exactly seduce.”

Gu Huaiyu gave him a helpless look and tightened his grip on his hand a bit more: “With our relationship being so good, he surely wouldn’t think ‘you’ still like Shen Yuan as much as before.”

“…Then why did he still run over here??” Shen Qing felt that running over was really a bit excessive!

This book was a business war novel! Even though it had romance, Film Emperor Lu, you’re the protagonist of the book, how could you have absolutely no depth or composure?!

“He probably just still feels a bit uneasy.”

Gu Huaiyu’s voice was light. His gaze fell upon the young man’s bright and beautiful side profile, and he recalled the scene of the young man huddled together with that equally good-looking Young Master Shen, chatting passionately, appearing intimate, as if they had endless things to talk about…

Gu Huaiyu blinked again and actually said, “I can understand his feelings.”

Shen Qing: “…Who? Who do you understand? Film Emperor Lu?”

“Mm.” Gu Huaiyu nodded very honestly.

Shen Qing: …

What the hell, you even understand him?!…

So the reason you two had such a pleasant conversation was because you mutually understood each other’s feelings???

No wait, what happened to the promised business war!

In the book, you two are supposed to represent the villainous faction and the protagonist gong respectively!

For a split second, Shen Qing suddenly felt like he might have transmigrated into the wrong book.

“…But you still need to be a little careful of him.”

It wasn’t that Shen Qing had deep, dark thoughts, nor was he trying to guard against Young Master Yuan’s husband. It was just that Lu Jingyi in the original novel was a highly scheming, calculating, and capable “chess player”.

In the first part of the book, after Gu Huaiyu died, the Gu and Shen families, as the major powers, carved up his empire.

In the second part, the Gu and Shen families gradually fell out due to an uneven distribution of interests.

During this time, Lu Jingyi, who had returned to the Lu family, climbed up step by step. He first secretly cultivated his forces, obliterated the other members of the Lu family, and became the head of the Lu family.

Later, he took advantage of the situation to consolidate the industries divided by the two families under his own name.

No matter how glorious the Gu and Shen families were, in the end, they just paved the way for Lu Jingyi. To put it harshly, they were nothing more than two chess pieces for him, which was why book fans called Lu Jingyi “The Chess Player”.

Yet someone like this had just told Gu Huaiyu that he only wanted to act… Was this deliberately trying to make President Gu ignore him and lower his guard?

Among the people outside keeping a close eye on Gu Huaiyu’s physical condition, Lu Jingyi was definitely one of them.

Shen Qing didn’t believe for a second that he truly only wanted to focus on acting.

Previously, Shen Qing didn’t mention the direction of the original plot because, in the original book, President Gu would have already kicked the bucket by now.

But now that President Gu wasn’t going to die, the original plot had completely derailed, so whether he mentioned it or not didn’t have much impact. After all, he couldn’t spoil future events anymore; if he spoke, he could only discuss the character traits and settings of the people in the book.

But it seemed that Gu Huaiyu didn’t even need him to say it.

Gu Huaiyu acted as if he had noticed Lu Jingyi a long time ago.

And he understood him far better than Shen Qing had imagined—

“You’re right, Lu Jingyi has indeed been investigating me this entire time,” Gu Huaiyu said slowly, his voice as calm as if he were narrating something that had absolutely nothing to do with him.

“He’s not a simple person.”

“You noticed?!” Shen Qing had a look of “Right? Right? I told you so!”, which brought a sudden flash of appreciation and delight into Gu Huaiyu’s eyes.

Subconsciously pinching the young man’s jaw.

Rubbing his thumb against the delicate skin, Gu Huaiyu said, “The elders of the Lu family forced Lu Jingyi’s biological mother to death back then, and the current matriarch of the Lu family murdered his adoptive mother’s entire family. It is understandable that he wants revenge.”

“Mm-hm, mm-hm.” Shen Qing also understood.

It was just that people are selfish. Film Emperor Lu was free to seek revenge however he pleased, but if it meant sacrificing his own President Gu, then that was a no-go.

Amused by the young man’s clear-headed and combat-ready expression, Gu Huaiyu added, “According to the ‘original plot’ you mentioned, if I were gone, the Gu and Shen families would fight, allowing Lu Jingyi to reap the benefits as the fisherman and take revenge on the Lu family in the process. That is indeed a very viable plan. But Lu Jingyi is a smart man. After seeing that I am fine, his thoughts have changed.”

“Changed to what?”

Gu Huaiyu: “If I am still around, and will always be around, then the Gu family will only go downhill. The Lu family, which has always heavily relied on the Gu family, will be the very first to go bankrupt and collapse. For Lu Jingyi, this might actually be an easier and simpler path. Therefore, if I were him, I would choose to wait.”

“Wait for what?”

“Wait for a new turning point, or wait for the Lu family to destroy itself.”

Gu Huaiyu narrowed his eyes and continued explaining, “He can only wait. Because as long as I don’t die, he can’t do anything either. Sometimes, fearless but futile efforts will only consume oneself, and might even backfire and burn him. And Lu Jingyi is a smart man.”

Shen Qing: …That’s true.

Lu Jingyi’s wings weren’t fully fledged yet. After returning to the Lu family, he hadn’t even gained a firm foothold and was fighting internal family battles every single day.

In this state, he could only play the fisherman who profits in the end, but he couldn’t be the snipe or the clam fighting each other at the start.

So, if Gu Huaiyu didn’t die, the fighting snipe and clam would never clash, and he wouldn’t be able to utilize his abilities. He could only wait.

If he didn’t wait, no matter what he did, it would actually be useless and he might just drag himself down with it. That was what President Gu meant by “futile efforts”.

Shen Qing finally understood: “So he chose to use this time to wait while continuing to be a Film Emperor?”

…Then Film Emperor Lu’s mentality was actually pretty great! He was also someone who could “lie flat” when necessary!

Gu Huaiyu nodded: “He probably really likes acting and being an actor.”

Shen Qing nodded again—the book said exactly that: Lu Jingyi loved acting.

It said that if there had been no grudges with the Lu family, he would have chosen to act forever.

It was only then that Shen Qing finally processed that the few sentences Film Emperor Lu and President Gu had exchanged earlier, which seemed like casual chatter, were actually anything but simple!

First, President Gu asked Film Emperor Lu if he should call him Young Master Lu now. This was actually a subtle way of probing his attitude as the true young master of the Lu family.

After all, only the smartest people would choose to wait. On the one hand, it couldn’t be ruled out that Lu Jingyi still wanted to make some futile efforts.

On the other hand, compared to carrying the heavy burden of revenge, some people would choose to forget their hatred and just be a carefree, parasitic young master.

And Gu Huaiyu needed to clearly know Film Emperor Lu’s thoughts and plans.

Then, smart as Lu Jingyi was, he immediately clarified his stance in front of President Gu, directly severing ties with the Lu family—he said to still call him Lu Jingyi.

After that, Lu Jingyi didn’t even need President Gu to ask further. He proactively stated that he wanted to continue acting, which meant he had prepared for the “waiting” President Gu mentioned.

Furthermore, he was also conveying to Gu Huaiyu that he had no intention of interfering in matters between President Gu, the Gu family, the Lu family, and so on.

—With Gu Huaiyu still around, the Lu family, unable to reap any benefits or turn over their capital, would eventually self-destruct.

Lu Jingyi’s goal would be achieved indirectly, and he could continue doing what he loved forever.

Everyone was happy.

And Lu Jingyi must have thought of all this the moment he saw Gu Huaiyu standing there.

Lu Jingyi was undoubtedly a very ambitious person who didn’t want to just be a salted fish. In the original novel, he didn’t stop even after taking revenge on the Lu family, which was how he built his own business empire.

But he was even smarter.

He knew that if Gu Huaiyu didn’t die, all his schemes as the “chess player” wouldn’t work.

It was because he saw all this in an instant, and clearly understood his own future, that he shook hands with President Gu and promptly conveyed his intentions.

…A true clash between masters.

Having figured all this out, the belatedly-realizing Shen Qing looked at Gu Huaiyu in even greater shock.

The key point was, how did President Gu receive and deduce all this information??

They were operating on way too high of a level!

If it had been him just now, the general process would have been: meet — shake hands — casually chat for a bit. Then he would assume the other party was just exchanging polite pleasantries and small talk, and then there would be no ‘then’…

Sob, sob, sob!

It seemed the position he had initially assigned himself was entirely correct. In this bizarre and complex world of wealthy aristocratic families, he wouldn’t survive a single chapter of scheming!

So his decisive choice to “lie flat” back then was truly the most pragmatic decision he could have made!

Looking at Shen Qing, who was mentally whining one second and then sporting a salted-fish “I give up struggling” expression the next, Gu Huaiyu simply wrapped his arm around the young man’s waist.

He smiled at the young man and said, “You aren’t stupid, you’re just too lazy to pay attention to these things.”

Shen Qing: “Thank you for being willing to comfort me.”

…And for saying so many words to do it!

“It’s not comfort, I mean it. It’s actually very simple,” Gu Huaiyu stated his stance seriously. “If you want to learn…”

“…Let’s not talk about that right now!” Shen Qing promptly changed the subject.

Being held by the waist was equivalent to being pulled directly into the other man’s embrace. Shen Qing couldn’t help but carefully examine the tall, long-legged man in front of him: “How is your body feeling? Why did you suddenly walk over?”

A long time ago, it seemed to be the first time he took Duoduo to attend Mingbao’s birthday party, Gu Huaiyu had asked him if he hoped he could attend banquets too.

Shen Qing’s answer was that he hoped so.

And the other man hadn’t broken his promise.

Shen Qing understood that Gu Huaiyu insisting on attending this banquet this time, apart from bringing the cubs, was probably also to accompany him.

So the fact that the other man proactively attended the banquet and even appeared in the crowd didn’t surprise Shen Qing.

He thought back to the scene of Gu Huaiyu parting the crowd and slowly walking toward him just now.

He really couldn’t blame Film Emperor Xiao for changing his tune at the last minute and dropping his pretense.

Mainly because President Gu looked incredibly handsome at that moment!

And that Gu Huaiyu, walking over gracefully like a prince, was heading straight in his direction.

Shen Qing had to admit: he was thoroughly impressed.

But brushing aside that fleeting moment, Shen Qing was still more concerned about Gu Huaiyu’s health.

Gu Huaiyu said, “I feel very good.”

Gazing at the young man in front of him, carefully examining his eyes, nose, and lips from a different angle than when he was in the wheelchair, Gu Huaiyu said, “My practice during this time wasn’t for nothing.”

“That’s true,” Shen Qing said.

He had truly seen with his own eyes how hard President Gu had worked at his recovery and physical therapy.

Gu Huaiyu added, “Moreover, the timing is about right.”

Shen Qing immediately caught on: “You mean it’s at a level where you can let outsiders know you’ve recovered?”

“Mm.”

Gu Huaiyu nodded. In his eyes, which normally looked full of righteousness, a trace of gloom and mockery flashed: “Hiding oneself can indeed reduce a lot of trouble, but compared to that trouble, I dislike it even more when others look down on you because of my physical condition.”

“…Mm.” Shen Qing nodded.

They had discussed this matter before. President Gu had hoped to wait until he was mostly recovered before making their relationship public.

Shen Qing had previously felt that Gu Huaiyu was exaggerating a little bit.

But after witnessing the Gu family members and Xiao Hangying today, he finally understood—it wasn’t just looking down on him, they were looking down on President Gu along with him!

Certain people in this world were truly incredibly snobbish, selfish, and quick to bend with the wind!

Fortunately, the tables were turned and faces were slapped in the end.

Yesterday’s President Gu you ignored, but today’s President Gu is out of your league!

Thinking about it like that was really satisfying.

“Right.” This actually reminded Shen Qing: “Quick, tell me exactly what the relationship between you and Film Emperor Xiao is!”

Pressing his hands against Gu Huaiyu’s chest, Shen Qing looked at him, asking whatever he was curious about, no longer being tactful or polite with his own husband: “…Given Xiao Hangying’s attitude, even if he wanted to get rid of Gu Huaiyu (Fifth Brother), why did he only come looking for you?”

Gu Huaiyu: “He has always been very narcissistic. Perhaps Gu Huaiyu (Fifth Brother) spoiled him too much.”

Gu Huaiyu’s voice was cold.

He then summarized some of their past affairs and told Shen Qing.

Xiao Hangying and Gu Huaiyu (Fifth Brother) were classmates in the same grade and had known each other since childhood.

But Xiao Hangying’s family background was average, and he even had a terrible gambling addict for a father. When he was eighteen, the Fifth Brother provided Xiao Hangying with the resources to debut and eventually become a Film Emperor.

During those years, Xiao Hangying and the Fifth Brother had always been very intimate, virtually inseparable.

Gu Huaiyu (President Gu) returned to the country at fifteen to attend university. Because he was the Fifth Brother’s younger brother from the same father and mother, and seemingly the closest person to the Fifth Brother in the Gu family, Xiao Hangying noticed him as well.

But all the way up to eighteen, Gu Huaiyu (President Gu) never paid any attention to Xiao Hangying.

—His relationship with the Fifth Brother was not nearly as good as Xiao Hangying believed.

However, what Gu Huaiyu (President Gu) hadn’t expected was that, due to some deliberate misleading by the Fifth Brother, Xiao Hangying gradually came to believe that Gu Huaiyu (President Gu) also liked him.

“Deliberate misleading?” Shen Qing didn’t understand, his eyes widening: “Shouldn’t Gu Huaiyu (Fifth Brother) really like Xiao Hangying? Why would he mislead him about this…”

“Sigh, Madam, you don’t know, the Fifth Young Master is just a pervert!” Assistant Li Hong beside them couldn’t bear to listen anymore, because President Gu was speaking too slowly.

He wasn’t sure if President Gu would be able to explain it clearly at this rate.

Gu Huaiyu, who was being disdained by his assistant: “…”

Li Hong had already jumped in and said, “The Fifth Young Master had always been jealous of President Gu’s abilities. But whether it was in academics, work, or physical appearance and stamina, he couldn’t compare to our President Gu in any aspect. So he could only look for comfort and a sense of existence in interpersonal relationships and familial ties!”

“For example, he really enjoyed the feeling of having someone who only liked him, but didn’t like our President Gu. And if the person President Gu cared about and liked didn’t like President Gu, but liked him instead, then the Fifth Young Master would receive double the happiness.”

Shen Qing: “…?”

Li Hong: “It’s just that when the Fifth Young Master and President Gu stand together, normal people, as long as they aren’t blind, know who to choose without even comparing…”

“So sometimes… uh, how should I put this, there were very few times when he won. So the Fifth Young Master created some… illusions that people would only choose him.”

Shen Qing: …

So, in order to create the thrill of “being better than Gu Huaiyu”, the Fifth Brother didn’t even hesitate to make his own lover mistakenly believe that Gu Huaiyu was interested in him. Just because he knew that in every simulated choice, Xiao Hangying would choose him, and not Gu Huaiyu…