SFBF CH107

For advanced chapters, visit my Patreon page.
__

“I… I still have one question.”

Shen Qing said, “Since Elder Mr. Gu treated you like that, why haven’t you cut ties with the Gu family? You even stepped forward to marry into the Shen family on their behalf…”

Although he was glad he met Gu Huaiyu—that after going round and round they could be together, and that he could be his sun.

But thinking about it still made him so angry!

Even if President Gu’s parents didn’t love any of their children and only loved themselves, Shen Qing wouldn’t be this furious!

The more he learned about Gu Huaiyu’s past and reflected on the moments they shared, the more his heart ached for him.

Everything seemed to have a logical explanation now.

For example, why when the Fourth Miss passed away, Duo Duo and Ao Zai were pushed around by the Gu family, and even Gu Yuan refused to care for them.

For example, why Gu Huaiyu, despite his poor health, still adopted the orphaned children of the Fourth Miss.

—Because in that cold and cruel Gu household, the Fourth Miss, as an illegitimate daughter, probably had no one to care for or protect her either.

Just like Gu Huaiyu.

When the Fourth Miss was still alive, their relationship might have been distant, just like with the other siblings.

But somewhere in the grand scheme of things, Gu Huaiyu, being a normal, upright person with kindness in his heart, ultimately couldn’t watch the two children suffer.

The most important thing was that Duo Duo and Ao Zai were good kids, too.

Anyway, they were a hundred times better than Gu Huaiyu’s other siblings!

Shen Qing’s righteous heart, which pursued fairness, started acting up.

He thought, the Gu family wronged Gu Huaiyu when he was a child, and now that he was grown, they wanted to suck his blood. And they still had the nerve to call President Gu cold-blooded!

Furthermore, the Gu family didn’t care whether Duo Duo and Ao Zai lived or died, causing his precious cubs to suffer so many grievances!

Could all of this really just be let go?!

The Gu family—especially the instigator, Gu Yuan—should be punished!

“They will indeed be punished.”

The young man, who had been heartbroken just a moment ago, was now puffing his cheeks in anger again. Gu Huaiyu couldn’t help but chuckle. Still, his heart ached for him, so he simply took Shen Qing’s hands, gently rubbing them within his palms.

“I won’t fuss over what happened in childhood. Even if our relationship was like that, they gave birth to me and raised me. I owed them, so we’re even.”

Shen Qing: “…Mm.”

Shen Qing agreed with this point.

Then Gu Huaiyu looked away slightly and added, “As for the future, when the Gu and Shen families can no longer reap any benefits from me, they will naturally perish. The market always waxes and wanes like this.”

Shen Qing: “…Ah? Ah.”

Shen Qing hadn’t thought about this before, but once Gu Huaiyu pointed it out, he understood.

Like today, when Gu Huaixiang and Gu Huaiyu brought Xiao Hangying to him, their goal must have been to drive a wedge between him and President Gu.

After all, if Gu Huaiyu stayed alive, the plot mentioned in the original novel—where the Gu and Shen families teamed up to swallow Gu Huaiyu’s businesses—would never happen.

The Gu family wouldn’t get any benefits or profits. Given the current stock market and operational status of both the Gu and Shen families, bankruptcy was only a matter of time.

Especially under President Gu’s sweeping actions, both families were starting to feel the heat. At a time like this, they were in no mood to talk about alliances; they were too busy trying to save their own skins.

During this period, the Gu and Shen families probably even fell out over conflicting interests—Best Actor Xiao had mentioned this while arguing with Gu Huaiyao, saying the two families were nearly at each other’s throats.

And Gu Huaiyu’s recent moves had made the Gu family wary. So, not knowing the real situation on President Gu’s side, Gu Huaixiang and the others couldn’t hold back and took action.

Either they wanted to find out Gu Huaiyu’s true condition, or they wanted to drive a wedge between Gu Huaiyu and the Shen family, using Shen Qing to eliminate the Shens.

Or perhaps both were their goals.

But unfortunately, Shen Qing noted, they probably never expected that he wouldn’t seek any benefits for the Shen family at all.

Back then, the “original owner” married as a substitute for love—for Young Master Shen Yuan, not for the Shen family.

And as for the current Shen Qing, his brain would have to be short-circuiting to help the Shen family spend his husband’s money!

So the Gu family’s series of maneuvers today was essentially dropping a rock on their own feet. Not only did they fail to drive a wedge between the Shen family and President Gu, but tomorrow, once President Gu sent out a lawyer’s letter, the news of Gu Huaiyu completely severing ties with the Gu family would spread across society.

Thinking about it this way, President Gu had actually resolved to cut ties with the Gu family a long time ago.

He had been laying out this plan ever since he started recovering and making these moves.

“…But that’s not what I was asking.”

Shen Qing felt he might not have expressed himself clearly.

He wanted to ask: since the Gu family was so annoying, why didn’t President Gu cut ties with them after the accident, including the two years he was in a wheelchair?!

He even had to constantly endure Gu Yuan and the others showing up at his door to aggravate him…

Furthermore, if things followed the original plot, President Gu would already be dead by now!

During his illness, Gu Huaiyu did nothing, and after he died, his fortune was naturally swallowed up by the Gu family!

Shen Qing had discussed this topic with him before. Gu Huaiyu had told Shen Qing without hiding anything that he had long anticipated his estate wouldn’t be protected after his death.

But Shen Qing felt that even if it couldn’t be protected and would be carved up by others, it shouldn’t be handed over to the Gu family on a silver platter!

Out of everyone, it absolutely shouldn’t be the Gu family!

Shen Qing thought rather maliciously that if he were Gu Huaiyu, taking the Gu family down with him would be the least he could do. Leave them his assets?

And with Gu Huaiyu’s methods and abilities at the time, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t handle a mere Gu family… Even Shen Qing knew that if President Gu had publicly cut ties with them two years ago like he was doing now, the Gu family might not have collapsed, but they certainly wouldn’t be living so comfortably!

…

But in reality, from Shen Qing’s perspective, Gu Huaiyu’s actions looked more like he was paving the way for the Gu family.

Including how someone like him actually ended up marrying into the Shen family later on…

“If I had cut ties earlier, I wouldn’t have been able to marry you,” Gu Huaiyu said with a smile.

Shen Qing: “…Stop joking.”

“You didn’t even know me back then!”

Thinking about it, it was actually a bit melodramatic: “Right! When you agreed to the marriage alliance, there was no way you could have known you’d be marrying me! How could someone like you agree to a marriage alliance for the Gu family!!”

Shen Qing roared. Gu Huaiyu looked at him and blinked. “Are you… jealous?”

Shen Qing: “Yeah, yeah!”

Even though he knew Gu Huaiyu marrying the original owner was just an alliance, and they hadn’t even spoken a few words before he transmigrated—meaning there was no real reason to mind, let alone be jealous—it was still a bit pretentious.

But wasn’t this… just part of the flirting between young couples?

Gu Huaiyu asked, and Shen Qing calmly admitted it.

Then Gu Huaiyu laughed.

Neither of them had the maturity level to actually throw a tantrum out of unreasonable jealousy.

Gu Huaiyu knew that.

But seeing the young man bristle like an angry cat, Gu Huaiyu couldn’t help but chuckle. He reached out and gathered the young man’s hands against his own chest.

It felt like holding something precious to his heart.

He said, “Alright, I’ll stop teasing.”

“You’re right. If I were no longer here, according to the original layout, it would indeed have benefited the Gu and Shen families. Most of the companies under my name would now be under their umbrellas.”

Shen Qing was shocked: “…You anticipated this all along?”

“Yes,” Gu Huaiyu said. “I entered the marriage alliance with the Shen family because I originally planned to do this. I wanted to distribute my wealth to them.”

“So, looking at it over a certain timeframe, it does appear that I was paving the way for the Gu family.”

Shen Qing: “!?”

He gasped.

“But I didn’t do it for the Gu family or Gu Yuan.”

Gu Huaiyu slightly lifted his eyelids, looking at the young man, and slowly explained, “Given the current state of Huacheng, only the Gu and Shen families joining forces could swallow my assets without causing a massive uproar.”

Shen Qing: “…I think I’m even more confused now.”

Gu Huaiyu decided to put it bluntly: “The Gu and Shen families joining forces would guarantee Huacheng at least ten years of peace.”

Shen Qing: “…”

He let out an “Ah” and his eyes widened.

“Conversely, if I didn’t do that, who knows how many businesses would have gone bankrupt in the years following my death.”

“…”

Shen Qing fell completely silent.

Speaking of this, Gu Huaiyu also let out a low sigh: “With the economic downturn these past few years, times are hard enough for everyone. It would only get harder for ordinary people.”

He leaned back slightly, a calm light gleaming in his eyes, as if he had once again become the Gu Huaiyu from over two years ago who played games in the arena of vanity.

Everything was too easy for him.

He could easily build his own business empire, create jobs for countless people, and shoulder the responsibility of paying taxes.

But the more responsibilities he took on, the more endless glory and admiration he enjoyed, the more he ultimately had to consider.

Perhaps because he was constantly evaluated as cold and selfish, Gu Huaiyu never considered himself a good person.

But in the end, when he suddenly decided to leave, he still had to think about certain issues.

—He could, of course, stubbornly run the Gu Group into the ground, taking the Gu family down with him without considering anyone else’s survival, putting an end to twenty years of entanglement.

However, after that, Huacheng would be plunged into turmoil, and countless people would suffer.

In the business empire he built single-handedly, the other people were innocent.

Shen Qing’s mind was still stuck on guaranteeing Huacheng ten years of peace… Wait, in the original novel, that was exactly what happened! After Gu Huaiyu’s death, the Gu and Shen families rose to power. Meanwhile, Lu Jingyi, who had returned to the Lu family, lay dormant in the shadows, slowly eating away at their forces.

But no matter the hidden undercurrents, for those ten years at least, Huacheng really was at peace.

…The original novel really was written this way!

Ten years later, Lu Jingyi, having eroded the two families’ power, entirely turned the tables. The Gu and Shen families, on the other hand, faced massive financial crises due to their arrogance and poor management.

The Shen family managed to hold on barely because of Shen Yuan.

The Gu family, however, collapsed completely.

Shen Qing looked at Gu Huaiyu in shock: Boss, you’re practically a god!

“You… you knew what it would be like ten years from now??” Shen Qing was in disbelief. He knew the book’s plot, but Gu Huaiyu didn’t. How did he calculate all this?

Gu Huaiyu: “Combining domestic and international economic situations with industry development trends, as long as no exceptional accidents happen, it’s not hard to figure out.”

Shen Qing: “…”

What should he do? He felt like he was being charmed by the big boss’s awesomeness.

“Th-then you even calculated that someone would clean up the Gu family ten years later?” Shen Qing was completely astounded.

Gu Huaiyu looked at the young man again. He loved seeing the sparkling look in the youth’s eyes, like a dragon looking at shiny treasure.

Unable to resist planting a light kiss between his brows, Gu Huaiyu said, “Lu Jingyi seemed like a good candidate.”

Shen Qing: !!!

Truly, a god!

It really was Lu Jingyi!

“This wasn’t difficult either.”

Seeing the shrewd little fox suddenly turn into an astounded little hamster, Gu Huaiyu instinctively poked his cheek with a finger.

Shen Qing: “…”

This time, without needing the youth to press him, Gu Huaiyu explained directly, “Lu Jingyi was secretly monitoring my movements a long time ago. If I remember correctly, it was about three or four years ago. He had quite a few ideas, so he stood out.”

“…He investigated you, you noticed him, and then you investigated him?” Shen Qing automatically translated his words.

“Correct.”

Gu Huaiyu: “I found out about Lu Jingyi’s background around that time as well.”

“He has vision, ability, and knows how to lie low. Most importantly, he carries a blood feud.”

“Someone like that shouldn’t lack ambition.”

Shen Qing: …

You’re so right!

“As for the Gu family, they would never amount to anything great anyway. The only difference is whether they exist for ten years more or ten years less. …For people like them, it actually doesn’t make much of a difference.”

Gu Huaiyu’s voice grew faint at the end.

The Gu family lived in extreme extravagance. The more luxurious and indulgent their current lives were, the more difficult and painful their lives post-bankruptcy would be.

How many of them would be able to endure it when the time came was hard to say.

This was the trap he had been setting since two years ago.

“…So, in the future you know of, did things develop like that after I left?” Gu Huaiyu asked Shen Qing.

Previously, he had never pried into the “book transmigration plot” the youth spoke of. As long as the youth didn’t bring it up, he didn’t ask.

Because to him, the idea that he was a character in a book was absurd.

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe the youth’s words, but rather that a person makes their own fate.

Except during his treatment when he was unsure if he would survive, Gu Huaiyu was always confident that he could control his own destiny and turn the tide no matter what.

Whatever sacrifices or offerings he had made in the past were simply out of his own independent choices.

In his bones, Gu Huaiyu was always proud and confident.

It was only now, knowing that things wouldn’t play out that way and that the board he had set had just become a hypothesis, that Gu Huaiyu felt curious enough to ask.

Shen Qing, whose mouth had just been shaped in an “O” of shock from the big boss, now closed it and nodded. “Yeah.”

After Gu Huaiyu passed, Huacheng indeed remained calm for ten years.

Afterwards, the Shen family aligned themselves with Lu Jingyi, while the Gu family ended up completely on the opposite side of the main protagonist couple (gong and shou).

And then, Gu Duo and Gu Ao, who had grown up to become major villains, took over the Gu family after exacting revenge on its members. But by then, the building was already collapsing, their momentum entirely lost… A special note here was that the cubs were truly capable, managing to stubbornly hold on as villains for more than half the book under such extreme conditions.

But ten years later, with the economy on the upswing and a favorable environment, the business wars fought by Lu Jingyi and the others didn’t affect ordinary people in the slightest.

__

So Gu Huaiyu didn’t just guarantee Huacheng ten years of peace.

It should be said that because of him, ordinary people didn’t feel the slightest storm!

Shen Qing spoke with burning passion and surging emotions. Gu Huaiyu listened earnestly.

After hearing this, he slightly raised his eyebrows, a somewhat dazed expression appearing on his pale face… Then, he smiled again: “Mm.”

Gu Huaiyu said, “That’s quite good.”

“…It’s not good, not good at all.”

However, Shen Qing had a different opinion.

He thought of something, and suddenly his eyes turned red again… Ten years!

Gu Huaiyu took responsibility for everyone, and everyone was fine, but what about Gu Huaiyu?

Right up until his death, he had no family who loved him.

It took ten years for those who didn’t love him, who hurt him, and who turned around to plot against and devour his legacy, to finally face retribution.

And ten years later, Lu Jingyi, who restructured Huacheng’s economy, became the hero.

Yet no one knew of Gu Huaiyu.

In people’s memories, he was just a sickly invalid who participated in Huacheng’s early development but died very young.

No one clearly remembered his contributions.

Even fewer knew of his future sacrifices.

He was nothing more than cannon fodder with barely any ink dedicated to him in the book.

…

Although the world they were in now was completely different from the book’s plot—here, Gu Huaiyu would live on, everyone would know and remember him, they would be a very happy family of four, and the Gu family would face retribution for their own actions.

But just thinking about the Gu Huaiyu in the book, thinking about the Gu Huaiyu who didn’t recover and just died like that, Shen Qing’s heart ached beyond measure.

Even if Gu Huaiyu was fine now, and the Gu family was finished, what if he hadn’t met him?

Gu Huaiyu really would have sacrificed himself, and everything would have still followed the original plot!

The upturned corners of his eyes were flushed red. Shen Qing really wanted to shake the man, feeling both angry and aggrieved for him.

“What about your life?!… What about your grievances? Who will take responsibility for those…”

And Shen Qing really found it hard to imagine how Gu Huaiyu, weak and sitting in a wheelchair, managed to endure his ailing body to plan all of this day and night.

—In those two long, lonely, and pain-filled years, he was planning how to sacrifice himself.

“…Don’t be angry,” Gu Huaiyu softly comforted the silent but red-eyed young man across from him, saying, “I’m sorry.”

“If I had known earlier that I would meet you, I definitely wouldn’t have done that.”

He never cared about reputation. In fact, doing those things was just his way of seeing, right before his death, whether he truly was as selfish, cruel, and cold-blooded as they said.

It was the young man’s closeness that made him feel he wasn’t so terrifying after all.

But if he had known earlier that he’d meet him…

“Don’t cry, honey, I’m sorry.”

Touching the young man’s eye corners with his pale lips, Gu Huaiyu apologized in a low voice.

Shen Qing really wanted to tell him not to apologize; he didn’t need to apologize to anyone.

However, the tears of heartache broke the dam, and unable to control them, he could only lean against the big boss in silence.

After a long while, Gu Huaiyu said, “Thank goodness I met you.”

Shen Qing agreed with this point. Hah, kidding aside, he was his sun!

Shen Qing tried to speak: “…”

He didn’t succeed and continued to whimper and sob!

Gu Huaiyu pulled the young man into a tighter embrace and said, “So you see, heaven is actually fair; it let me meet you.”

Shen Qing: “Mm…”

Shen Qing agreed with this too.

Their fate was truly mind-blowing.

After all, he was the one who had genuinely kicked the bucket once.

Just being able to live again was already a miracle.

Thinking that he too had experienced life and death, Shen Qing’s heart finally broadened a little. In an instant, he felt that nothing was more important than being alive right now.

And for another moment, he felt that perhaps it was because Gu Huaiyu chose to shoulder his responsibilities and do good deeds even when facing death, that it summoned him here to save him.

And then, he succeeded.

The big boss didn’t have to die now.

Thinking of this, Shen Qing was almost exasperated into laughing. He tightly gripped a corner of Gu Huaiyu’s clothes, thinking: Thank goodness, thank goodness.

Afterwards, Shen Qing suddenly remembered something—

In the original novel, it was the people from the medical research team organized by Gu Huaiyu who secretly poisoned him, accelerating his death.

But the reality was that not long after he transmigrated, Gu Huaiyu dismissed that entire medical team.

Thinking carefully about it now, this action itself went against the development direction of the original novel…

So he asked Gu Huaiyu, “Right, remember the time I hit my head when I first arrived? After that, you disbanded your medical team.”

Realizing something, Shen Qing said with a face full of astonishment, “Did you know? There was a spy in that medical team!”

Hearing this, Gu Huaiyu narrowed his eyes slightly: “Are you talking about Ling Ziyao?”

Confusion surfaced in Shen Qing’s wide eyes: “Who is Ling Ziyao?”

Gu Huaiyu: “The ‘spy’ you mentioned.”

Shen Qing took a deep breath: “So you really knew everything?”

“Shouldn’t I know?”

Gu Huaiyu narrowed his eyes again, a hint of danger creeping into his cold gaze: “He liked you and wanted to take you away.”

Shen Qing: “…”

He remembered now.

In the original novel, the original owner did indeed have an affair with that Dr. Ling.

And it truly was the two of them who conspired to poison President Gu to death.

He also remembered that a few days after coming to this world, he had violently beaten up that scumbag surnamed Ling who tried to take advantage of him.

At the time, he even pondered over how to warn Gu Huaiyu to guard against that poisoning scumbag without exposing the dark conspiracy between himself (the original owner) and Dr. Ling…

As a result, before he could figure it out, in the blink of an eye, he heard that Gu Huaiyu had already disbanded the medical team… President Gu’s actions were ruthless and swift; even Dr. Ling disappeared overnight.

Shen Qing: “I remember, I remember it all!”

Gu Huaiyu: “…You actually forgot?”

Even someone as indifferent as Gu Huaiyu was quite displeased when that man surnamed Ling was mentioned.

But Gu Huaiyu still looked at the young man with a surprised expression.

Shen Qing blinked innocently.

Well… it wasn’t exactly that he forgot, it was just that the incident passed by in a blur. Dr. Ling was gone, the matter didn’t affect him, and as time passed, living a very relaxed, happy, and joyful life, he just tossed it to the back of his mind like a true salted fish.

And then he forgot about it entirely.

Shen Qing: “Um, the one who conspired with Dr. Ling was the original owner, not me.”

Gu Huaiyu: “Mm. I already know.”

“…That’s why I forgot.”

Shen Qing said deadpan: “This is a case of ‘a clear conscience fears no midnight knock’!”

—A perfect explanation for why he didn’t remember.

Anyway, it definitely wasn’t because he was careless and lazy!

Gu Huaiyu: “…Mm.”

Gu Huaiyu suddenly laughed, finding the youth incredibly endearing—at a time like this, his focus was still on making excuses for his “forgetting”.

But this also exactly proved that to the youth, that Dr. Ling was nothing more than a stranger.

He couldn’t help but smile genuinely: “My wife is right.”

Shen Qing immediately put his hands on his hips in satisfaction.

However, although President Gu believed him, thinking about it now, this whole thing was full of loopholes!

“You knew Ling Ziyao was going to poison you? How did you know? This doesn’t fit the novel’s trajectory…”

Shen Qing was the first to ask the most crucial question.

And Gu Huaiyu actually couldn’t give a precise answer. He could only recount concisely: “I had a dream. In the dream, there was a problem with the medical team, ‘you’ were involved, and ‘you’ would abuse the babies after I was gone.”

“…A dream?” Shen Qing blinked, not believing it was just a simple dream.

He had read some novels where characters in the book awakened to self-awareness and went on to change their destinies.

It felt like Gu Huaiyu’s situation was more like this?

It was just that President Gu’s character setting was already powerful and intelligent. Awakening his self-awareness didn’t require any trigger or guidance; a dream was all he needed as a hint to complete all the remaining steps.

And it had to be said, all of President Gu’s behavioral logic after his awakening truly matched his character setting.

…Based on Shen Qing’s understanding of Gu Huaiyu, for someone like him to die in the original book was what you’d call truly inexplicable!

Looking at it this way, it wasn’t entirely him saving the big boss after all.

The big boss saving himself was the most crucial factor.

“So you conducted a thorough investigation into everything at home?” Shen Qing asked.

Gu Huaiyu said, “Yes.”

Shen Qing: “Did you also observe me?… I knew it! I felt like you were secretly peeking at me during that time!”

Gu Huaiyu merely lifted his eyelids, noncommittal: “You looked nice.”

…He actually didn’t even deny it!

Shen Qing: “…”

They had argued about this issue before, but Gu Huaiyu only admitted to looking, not secretly peeking.

Now that their relationship had developed to the point where they could speak openly about anything, great, the big boss had directly become… thick-skinned!

Shen Qing took a deep breath and continued to ask, “Then when you directly disbanded the medical team, didn’t you suspect me back then?”

“I suspected you.” Gu Huaiyu: “That’s why I observed you.”

Shen Qing blinked and asked, “And then?”

Gu Huaiyu answered seriously: “And then I found out you’re very cute.”

Shen Qing: “…”

“Be serious!”

Gu Huaiyu then seriously rephrased: “I found that you had changed greatly. You were completely different from the you in my intelligence reports.”

Shen Qing: “…Was I that different?”

He remembered keeping a low profile!

…He had always been a salted fish, obediently lying flat, waiting for (his husband) to die.

Gu Huaiyu, however, held a different view on this, stating: “Just completely different.”

Shen Qing: ……

Fine, then his out-of-character behavior was too severe.

Today’s Shen Qing was still a piece of trash who could accidentally fail to survive past a few chapters… He instantly wilted a little.

However, as long as he admitted he was a piece of trash, he would feel much better.

…

After wilting for one second, Shen Qing announced his full resurrection.

Seeing the young man regain his fighting spirit in the blink of an eye, Gu Huaiyu’s eyes filled with smiles again as he stated, “At first, I was just curious about what variable caused such a massive change in you. Later…”

“Later what?” Shen Qing eagerly pressed.

“Later I stopped being curious.”

Gu Huaiyu parted his thin lips and smiled gently: “I only hoped you would always be this variable.”

Later, upon learning about Shen Qing’s identity as a transmigrator and his origins, all the points that felt strange were completely explained.

But these things had long stopped being important to Gu Huaiyu.

Just like how over time the youth forgot the need to disguise himself, wasn’t it the same for him? After spending some time with him, he no longer deliberately observed him either.

Because his heart and eyes were completely filled with him.

“So it really is you who saved me,” Gu Huaiyu said with utmost certainty.

If he hadn’t met this “Shen Qing”, going back to that junction where he just finished the dream and rushed home from the hospital overnight, he could have just divorced right away.

The Shen family was the one he selected as the most suitable to cooperate with the Gu family, but they weren’t the only irreplaceable family.

If the youth at that junction wasn’t Shen Qing…

He would have terminated his relationship with his marriage partner, or made him disappear in Huacheng just like Dr. Ling Ziyao. Afterward, he would have thought of a more comprehensive way to preserve the wealth for Gu Duo and Gu Ao, but he wouldn’t have been able to interact with or get close to the babies.

—That was all the change he would have made after his “awakening” and understanding the future.

As for everything concerning Gu Huaiyu himself, he felt there wouldn’t have been any change.

He still would have died in this rainy season.

“You are the necessary condition for my existence.”

Gu Huaiyu said.

Shen Qing: “…Oh, true. So it really had to be me.”

Shen Qing echoed Gu Huaiyu’s view.

But this time, he didn’t have his usual cockiness.

Mainly because he really couldn’t be thick-skinned enough to claim the credit for this.

Back then, when Gu Huaiyu learned of the future and chose to leave the hospital to go home, it was obviously to deal with the original owner who abused the children.

The reason Gu Huaiyu went through so much effort to stay at home and constantly observe him was actually to weigh the future.

The key point was to protect Duo Duo and Ao Zai.

Since he chose to take in Duo Duo and Ao Zai, he would take responsibility for them to the very end.

Thus, everything that followed came to be.

If Gu Huaiyu wasn’t this kind of person, if he chose to ignore Duo Duo and Ao Zai’s future, he wouldn’t have returned home, and then Shen Qing and Gu Huaiyu wouldn’t have gotten to know each other.

Or, assuming something more extreme, if Gu Huaiyu didn’t think of anyone at all and just wanted to ruin everyone out of revenge, then even if Shen Qing transmigrated to this world and got a second chance at life, he wouldn’t be able to live as freely and comfortably as he did now.

So who exactly saved whom?

Shen Qing didn’t dare to claim credit.

And on second thought, for a big boss with such a strong sense of responsibility and consideration for others to have that kind of ending in the book—someone as shrewd as Gu Huaiyu unexpectedly experiencing a sudden drop in IQ, being directly poisoned to death by the medical team just when he discovered the original owner’s wrongdoings.

And this plot manipulation was solely to let the cubs he adopted suffer more abuse so they could become the future villains.

…

They really forcibly nerfed the big boss’s intelligence!

From the perspective of villain cannon fodder, this was a flawed, broken world!

However, Shen Qing also suddenly recalled that in the original novel, over a decade later, not everyone had forgotten Gu Huaiyu’s sacrifice.

—Duo Duo and Ao Zai still remembered their father.

Even though his intelligence was forcibly nerfed to write him off, Gu Huaiyu still used his own way to hold up a protective umbrella for the children.

At least for Gu Duo and Gu Ao, who were once helpless and alone, he was the only person who had ever thought of them and specifically left them a massive fortune.

He was one of the rare sources of warmth that lingered in their innocent and tragic lives.

And Gu Duo and Gu Ao stubbornly and savagely grew up just for the sake of that trace of warmth.

…

Strictly speaking, ten years later, it was Duo Duo and Ao Zai who destroyed the Gu family.

Not Lu Jingyi.

Even their revenge on the original owner was because they found out the original owner was involved in poisoning their father…

Thinking of this, Shen Qing suddenly let it go and stopped agonizing over it.

…It was alright, I guess. In that broken world with shattered logic, Gu Huaiyu wasn’t without family, nor was he completely forgotten.

There were still the cubs who missed Gu Huaiyu.