SFBF CH3

When he opened his eyes again, it was already dark outside.

Shen Qing sat up holding his head. Recalling the embarrassment during the day, he still felt a headache.

…Back then, relying on willpower and embarrassment that made him want to curl his toes, he finally successfully climbed up from Mr. Gu’s legs.

And because Gu Huaiyu had supported him earlier, touching the back of his neck, he also successfully discovered the injury on the back of his head.

—Seeing the blood stains on his fingertips, Gu Huaiyu understood everything.

Afterwards, Mr. Gu called for a nurse and a doctor. Because Gu Huaiyu’s life was hanging by a thread, there was a medical team stationed on the third floor of his villa. Shen Qing was taken to have his wound dressed, given anti-inflammatory injections, underwent a full body check-up, and then slept for a while.

When he woke up again, he was in this room.

Shen Qing found himself lying in a room that visually estimated to be several hundred square meters, with a bed that looked like it occupied dozens of square meters alone.

He judged this to be the original host’s room in the Gu family home.

Because through his observations during the day, Shen Qing knew that the overall decoration style of Gu Huaiyu’s home was black and white.

However, the original host’s room… was pink.

Everything in sight was pink.

The walls and some decorations still maintained the villa’s original minimalist black and white style, but the room was covered in pink wallpaper.

And most of the furnishings and supplies were also pink…

Everyone should have their own favorite color. The original host liked pink, and there was nothing to judge about that.

But the problem was, for someone who didn’t like pink, this look was really eye-stinging!

Especially this combination…

Shen Qing only felt a nerve pain.

Before fainting, he still hoped he could transmigrate back.

That’s right, he would rather go back to 996, work himself to death or starve, than be the substitute wife of a dying big shot and the vicious aunt of two future villains here!

But after calming down and sleeping, Shen Qing also recalled slightly that in his original world, he had fallen terribly from the top of the stairs, losing consciousness almost instantly…

If he had to describe it, it was probably a feeling of his brain bursting. In short, there was no way he could have survived.

So being able to open his eyes and see the world, he was already very satisfied.

But waking up to see such a pink and tender room full of boyish heart…

“Ah.”

Shen Qing let out another painful cry.

Although he was still alive, he felt that this world wasn’t so easy to get by in either.

Shen Qing had to start thinking about his future.

Speaking of which, although the 100 million inheritance was tempting, he didn’t want to be the vicious aunt of two future villains, especially since the original host had already abused the two kids and formed a grudge. This matter was difficult to handle.

As for marrying as a substitute for love, the original host was a lick-dog, but he wasn’t. Shen Qing didn’t have any sense of pride in sacrificing for love.

But the problem was, divorce was impossible.

Whether in the original novel or the original host’s memory, it was specifically mentioned that before the marriage, the head of the Shen family had personally called the original host to lecture him, telling him that he could choose not to marry Gu Huaiyu in Shen Yuan’s place, but once married, he must stay in the Gu family obediently and could not leave. Otherwise, he would be disgracing the Shen family, and at that time, he would only be torn apart…

The wealthy world in this book was already cold in human relations, and the Shen family head was a man of his word…

So it seemed he had to continue being the aunt of these future villains.

Thinking of this, Shen Qing became even more melancholy.

As a young man who lived to twenty-five, he hadn’t even had a girlfriend, and now he was married to a man and had to be an aunt to little beans…

Fortunately.

Thinking of Gu Huaiyu’s sickly appearance in the wheelchair today, Shen Qing felt: Luckily, he was only a nominal aunt and didn’t have to do anything with his uncle.

So what if he had abs?

President Gu was ill!

So sick, legs not working well, presumably he couldn’t get it up either, unable to do anything.

At least it wasn’t all bad news!

After transmigrating, Shen Qing breathed a sigh of relief for the first time.

Then his mind became active. Shen Qing calculated that Gu Huaiyu didn’t have many days left.

During this period, he just needed to lie flat honestly and wait, doing nothing.

Once Gu Huaiyu died, he would be a widower.

Even the Shen family wouldn’t restrict his freedom anymore.

He wasn’t greedy like the original host, insisting on getting all of Gu Huaiyu’s inheritance and not sparing even the children’s share.

When the time came, he would just take the portion of the inheritance Mr. Gu left for him, and he could live very steadily in this world, even a little bit luxuriously…

After all, that was 100 million!!!

Moreover, he also had a villa!

In his original world, working himself to death was just to buy a small nest of about 100 square meters, but now everything was within reach!

Shen Qing didn’t have any close relatives anyway. Although he had some teachers and friends in his original world, he didn’t have any ties.

Nothing he couldn’t let go of.

Thinking this way, Shen Qing felt he could perk up again!

Just as he was excited, there was a knock on the room door. It was the voice of the butler in this mansion: “Madam, are you awake?”

Shen Qing got goosebumps all over from the word “Madam,” but thinking about the “Salted Fish Lying Flat Plan” he just formulated, he acquiesced to this title without causing trouble and asked the person outside the door: “What is it?”

Butler: “Someone outside wants to see you. He says he’s your agent.”

Shen Qing: Agent? …

Knowing little about the first part of the original novel, fortunately, Shen Qing still had some memories of the original host.

Mentioning an agent now, Shen Qing suddenly remembered that before marrying as a substitute, the original host also had a job.

“Shen Qing” didn’t study well, didn’t even graduate high school properly, let alone attend a serious university. He found a job in the Shen family early on, considered a wage earner, the kind who performed neither outstandingly nor poorly.

It was inexplicably after getting familiar with the Shen family young master Shen Yuan that he got a chance to debut—because of his good looks, through Shen Yuan’s connections, he signed with an entertainment company and entered the entertainment industry.

However, the original body was introverted and not professionally trained. He couldn’t sing or dance, had no sense of variety shows, and couldn’t act at all.

Two years after his debut, except for the first year when the company pushed him heavily because of Shen Yuan and he was popular for a while, he had now basically been reduced to a fourth or fifth-tier small star.

Fourth or fifth-tier stars could only be paired with agents outside the third tier.

Plus, embarrassed to trouble Shen Yuan for resources again and again, “Shen Qing” hadn’t received a proper job offer for a long time.

Until he got involved with Gu Huaiyu and moved into this mansion, his agent’s mind became active. He contacted a lifestyle home variety show for him, saying the director agreed that as long as “Shen Qing” was willing to lend the villa for their filming, they could make an exception to give Shen Qing a spot and let him be a guest.

The home variety show had a total of twelve episodes, changing a scene every two or three episodes. The production team promised to only borrow his villa for a week.

Although this variety show wasn’t very popular, two big stars would be invited to anchor this season. Maybe it would really generate a wave of popularity. The original host still had vanity and always wanted to stand out in the entertainment industry, so he finally agreed.

Even though he was a bit worried Gu Huaiyu wouldn’t agree to lend the villa to the crew, at the time he agreed, President Gu was still being resuscitated in the hospital…

Thinking that the filming would only take a week in total, the original host braced himself and accepted directly.

Today was the day previously agreed upon, when his agent would bring people from the production team to inspect the villa in advance and sign the contract by the way.

…

Fighting with the two kids during the day and getting injured made Shen Qing forget about this.

Speaking of which, the reason the original host said things like “Your uncle is dying, this family can only listen to me from now on” during the day was mainly because the agent and the production team were coming to the house. The original host hoped the two cubs could cooperate and create a picture of a loving father and filial sons, putting on a show to make everyone think his status in the Gu family was high.

At the very least, the two kids couldn’t come out and slap his face.

But the original host had already had several frictions with Gu Duo and Gu Ao. His personality was gloomy, he didn’t like children, and he had been depressed for too long. Unable to hold back, he made things difficult for the two kids.

He treated other people’s children badly, so naturally, the children didn’t want to cooperate with him and refused directly.

The original host got anxious and, in a rage, continued to scare them and grapple with them, which led to the accident and the switch to Shen Qing.

And now that this matter fell on Shen Qing’s head…

It felt like it wasn’t a big deal at all?

Shen Qing sat up from the bed holding his head and said to the butler outside: “Invite them in first, settle them in the living room. I’ll go take a look right away.”

The butler responded from outside. Shen Qing climbed up slowly, then fell back sitting, feeling a bit dizzy.

The doctors who examined him said he was fine, just to be careful not to let the wound get infected and to rest more.

But Shen Qing felt weak all over.

The figure of the young man sitting on the bed appeared perfectly in the full-length mirror opposite.

His head was wrapped in gauze, his face pale, very different from the usually spirited Shen Qing.

Instead, he had a temperament like a weak willow in the wind, which was unexpectedly aesthetically pleasing.

After all, the young man in the mirror had regular features, a broad face, and elegant brows.

This face was truly his own.

—The “Shen Qing” in the book actually looked exactly like him, even his body shape was identical.

…Then it was no wonder.

No wonder the original host debuted based on his face.

Shen Qing, who always knew he was handsome, thought weakly.

Having picked up a life without his appearance changing, Shen Qing felt he couldn’t be luckier!

Since he was so lucky, he had to cherish the present even more.

Resting a bit, waiting for his breath to even out, Shen Qing pushed open the door and went downstairs.

His steps were unsteady and slow, completely lacking interest in the arrival of the agent and the production team.

Mainly because he knew nothing about the entertainment industry and wasn’t interested in being a star.

Besides, with a future inheritance of 100 million, he didn’t lack money.

If it was about being a big star and living a life admired and envied by others… Shen Qing was even less interested.

Life is one’s own. How can it be good just because others say it’s good, or bad because others say it’s bad?

Although not interested, people had come to the house, so he still had to solve the matter at hand first.

After all, Gu Huaiyu was also at home now.

Shen Qing didn’t want to cause trouble; he just wanted to solve these petty matters and then be a salted fish in peace, preparing to inherit the fortune!

Finally managing to get to the top of the stairs, before Shen Qing went down, he saw quite a few people standing in the hall downstairs.

His agent was prominently among them.

But the imagined variety show production team members were not seen. Instead, his agent was followed by six young people, three men and three women, all dressed beautifully and exquisitely.

Shen Qing recognized them; they were all small stars from the same company who debuted around the same time as him.

At this moment, each of them was holding a phone, either taking selfies or recording something…

Hey hey, that’s too much. Wasn’t it agreed that today the production team would inspect and sign the contract?

Just as Shen Qing was about to step down, he heard one of the small male stars, who had just finished taking a selfie, say: “Brother Miao, why isn’t Shen Qing coming down yet? He hasn’t even been on the variety show or become popular yet, and he’s already acting like a big shot?”

“Shut up, watch your words and actions.” Although Miao Feiyu was just a small agent, he was still very cautious.

“Tch, what’s so great about him.”

Another girl dressed in fresh and sweet style had also just finished a selfie session.

She chose the high-end, atmospheric, and retro fireplace as her shooting background, which made her look particularly noble and graceful in the photos.

Putting away her phone afterwards, the girl also put away her sweet smile and rolled her eyes, saying:

“So what if he lives in a big villa? I bet he doesn’t even count as half an owner here… By the way, Brother Miao, Shen Qing was just a small follower of the Shen family young master before. I heard he could hook up with the Gu family entirely because the Gu sixth young master is in poor health, and he got lucky. Is that right?”

Although it was a question, everyone knew the girl did it on purpose.

And what she said was pretty much true.

Although Shen Qing was recommended to the company by Young Master Shen Yuan and was indeed excessively good-looking, he was too introverted, timid, and cared too much about saving face. He couldn’t even speak well on stage, couldn’t even serve as a “vase” (eye candy).

And with that connection to the Shen family young master, he couldn’t be taken out for PR…

Unable to go out for social engagements and lacking other resources, Miao Feiyu hadn’t paid much attention to such a mediocre person for a whole year.

Learning that Shen Qing suddenly got a marriage certificate with Gu Huaiyu of the Gu family, Miao Feiyu’s jaw dropped.

Unfortunately, his relationship with Shen Qing had become rigid, and he couldn’t find out anything suddenly.

It was only by using some connections in the circle that Miao Feiyu found out it was due to a marriage alliance between the Gu and Shen families that Shen Qing connected with Gu Huaiyu.

Since it was an alliance, there was no affection.

Although Shen Qing often said outside how favored he was in the Gu family, discerning people could see he was just bragging.

But even so, Miao Feiyu cherished this relationship between Shen Qing and the Gu family.

Shen Qing was just a side branch of the Shen family, with a cowardly personality, and couldn’t borrow the Shen family’s light at all.

But since he was hooked up with the Gu family again…

Miao Feiyu insisted on coming to Shen Qing’s villa for inspection in advance this time, mainly to see what exactly Shen Qing’s relationship with President Gu was and how he was doing.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have needed to make this trip specially; he could sign contracts for his artists on their behalf.

However, just now when the butler heard they were looking for Shen Qing and invited them in, he wasn’t very enthusiastic. Presumably, Shen Qing’s status in the Gu family was just average.

Just as Miao Feiyu wanted to say something, another artist beside him asked again: “Do you guys think we’ll have a chance to see President Gu here…”

“Cough cough.”

Shen Qing, who had been eavesdropping upstairs, coughed once, interrupting the discussion below directly.

Everyone talking below fell silent instantly.

Then Shen Qing came down holding the banister. Seeing his head wrapped in gauze, the people below showed varying degrees of surprise.

The small stars’ eyes almost all lit up, showing varying degrees of schadenfreude—Oh ho, injured.

Doesn’t that mean he’s not living well here?

But upon seeing the injured Shen Qing, although thin and solitary, was still upright and handsome. His swaying posture coming down the stairs seemed fragile, but his demeanor was calm and unhurried, even somewhat like walking a runway…

Several people’s expressions turned bad again.

…They indeed weren’t as good-looking as Shen Qing.

Few people had such perfect bone structure and such good skin.

But what was with Shen Qing’s demeanor? Didn’t he often slouch before?

How come now that he’s sick, his posture has become upright instead? …

The people downstairs showed expressions of surprise one after another.

Even Miao Feiyu was no exception.

Shen Qing’s appearance naturally went without saying; it was just that his personality was too unsuitable for being a star.

But if he had always had this posture and demeanor, he could completely develop in another direction…

Under everyone’s gaze, Shen Qing had already slowly arrived at the middle of the stairs step by step.

…If he had known going down the stairs was so tiring, he wouldn’t have come down.

Shen Qing clutched his thin chest, thinking with a pale face.

Lacking physical strength, he couldn’t be bothered to be polite with these people.

Previously, he planned to have a good talk with the agent in private about quitting the variety show and sending them away.

Now he had no patience left.

Standing in the middle of the stairs, Shen Qing said to Miao Feiyu: “Sorry, Brother Miao. I thought about it and decided not to participate in this filming, and I won’t lend the villa either.”

“Ah Qing?” Miao Feiyu was stunned, obviously not expecting Shen Qing to give up the opportunity proactively.

For the past year, he hadn’t paid much attention to Shen Qing, but Shen Qing would come to him every now and then, seeking a chance to become popular again.

Miao Feiyu knew how much he wanted to be famous.

If one were to say marrying into a wealthy family meant no longer needing to stand out in the entertainment industry, that didn’t seem right either…

Shen Qing had been married for three months, yet he still ran to the company frequently, pretending to be favored by President Gu to ask him for resources like a fox exploiting a tiger’s might.

Why give up so suddenly now?

Miao Feiyu looked up at the young man upstairs and asked him: “What happened to your head? Is it because you’re injured? It doesn’t matter, I’ll talk to the production team later. Being injured actually creates more topics. But how did you get this injury? …Is Mr. Gu at home now?”

Shen Qing waved his hand, too lazy to be polite: “The head injury was an accidental fall. My withdrawal has nothing to do with this injury. I simply don’t like too many people coming to my house.”

Hearing this, Miao Feiyu smiled awkwardly, swept his gaze over the men and women he brought, and explained: “I brought them mainly to bond with you. You haven’t seen each other for so long, and besides, everyone debuted around the same time…”

Shen Qing interrupted Miao Feiyu’s explanation directly, asking: “Didn’t Brother Miao say you would bring the production team to sign the contract with me today? Why don’t I see anyone from the production team? Then they… really just came to accompany you?”

Embarrassment flashed across Miao Feiyu’s face again. The small stars looked at each other, seeing the disdain for Shen Qing in each other’s eyes.

Actually, Shen Qing really hit the mark. Miao Feiyu’s purpose for bringing so many people here wasn’t pure at all.

Originally, after securing a spot for Shen Qing on that variety show, the company had already agreed with the production team to bring another company artist onto the show.

Miao Feiyu brought so many people mainly to see who was more suitable, or rather, who had more ambition to do well on this variety show.

—After all, filming here might really lead to a “chance encounter” with President Gu.

But the prerequisite for adding people to the variety show was Shen Qing’s willingness to lend this villa—the reason the variety show production team agreed to let them stuff two people in at once was mainly because of this villa.

It wasn’t that the production team had no money or couldn’t afford to rent other villas for filming.

It was that everyone wanted to take this opportunity to connect with Gu Huaiyu.

If Shen Qing could really let them use the villa, then the topicality of the entire variety show and its influence after airing would increase significantly.

But now, Shen Qing suddenly disagreed again…

“Qing, it’s really not what you think. Don’t misunderstand,” Miao Feiyu said.

Shen Qing smiled: “I haven’t said what I’m thinking yet, and Brother Miao has already guessed ‘it’s not what I think’?”

Miao Feiyu: “…”

Shen Qing, determined to be a full-time salted fish, didn’t want to waste time: “Anyway, I’m not joking. I’m not participating in that variety show.”

Miao Feiyu: “…”

Sweat almost beaded on his forehead. If he had known, he wouldn’t have brought so many people to see the world and seek encounters. If he had just designated one person to come, presumably Shen Qing wouldn’t have reacted so strongly.

But Shen Qing had always listened to him before, carefully flattering him. Although he gave off a gloomy feeling, like he was secretly harboring some bad intentions, in Miao Feiyu’s impression, he never dared to raise opinions or objections to his face?

Why was the refusal so sudden this time?!

Miao Feiyu was also a bit unhappy: “We agreed on this in advance. Ah Qing, you can’t torment your Brother Miao like this!”

Upstairs, on the third floor.

Gu Huaiyu, who had heard the commotion early on, sat in his wheelchair looking down, accompanied by his assistant, bodyguards, and Gu Duo.

The assistant reported in a low voice: “President Gu, I’ve inquired. Mr. Shen did indeed agree to lend this villa to a variety show production team in exchange for a spot on the show. That variety show is invested by Milk TV. President Qin behind them has always wanted to contact you. President Gu, this…”

Gu Huaiyu raised his hand, stopping him from continuing.

Since Shen Qing was married to him, he had the right to use the house. Regardless of the TV station’s purpose, Shen Qing’s actions were understandable.

Nothing to be said.

Gu Huaiyu didn’t let the assistant continue. Little Gu Duo beside him showed a hint of regret, but standing by Gu Huaiyu’s side with his head buried, his Little Uncle didn’t notice anything unusual.

Gu Huaiyu continued to survey below, leaning crookedly on the armrest of the wheelchair, but his back was straight.

Silently observing the situation below, he suddenly heard someone downstairs say: “Brother Miao, how about we just leave? If he wants to go back on his word, let him be!”

The tone was sarcastic: “Some people want to be unpopular nobodies all their lives, just ignore him! Really thinks living in a big villa makes him useful? Still has no resources, relying on lending a house to forcibly mooch off a third-rate variety show…”

Hearing this, Gu Huaiyu raised his hand and gestured to his assistant, whispering: “You, go down and take a look.”

It wasn’t suitable for him to speak much; he always tried to be concise.

Fortunately, the assistant had been with him for a long time and quickly understood. President Gu meant for him to go down and handle it.

—No matter what, Mr. Shen was President Gu’s legal partner.

“Forcibly mooching off a third-rate variety show”—these words were too much of a slap in their Madam’s face.

Too much!

The assistant ran downstairs as fast as possible, intending to teach those loose-lipped people a lesson.

After all, the people downstairs were still being sarcastic: “Some people are just cowardly. Every time they’re given a chance, they dare not climb up. And like this, they still want to be famous?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t have the say on whether to lend this villa? President Gu won’t let you lend it? I knew it… otherwise, invite President Gu out and let our Brother Miao talk to him.”

“I reckon Shen Qing can’t even invite President Gu down…”

Those speaking were the small artists brought by Miao Feiyu.

Company assembly-line artists, they debuted with Shen Qing and witnessed with their own eyes how Shen Qing dropped the ball and missed opportunities in front of the camera time and time again. So naturally, they looked down on him with disdain.

And precisely because of this, they were even more jealous that such a useless person could still climb up the social ladder to a wealthy family.

Upstairs, Gu Huaiyu’s gaze fell on the young man’s thin profile, a bit curious about what Shen Qing planned.

Previously, he hadn’t thought about interfering with Shen Qing’s career, but he had investigated Shen Qing in the past two days.

The data showed that this Mr. Shen was very career-minded.

Gu Huaiyu had also asked Gu Duo. The conflict at noon was for this variety show; Shen Qing wanted the children to cooperate with him to perform in front of the crew.

So now, why did Shen Qing suddenly decide not to participate?

Was it because he came back?

Gu Huaiyu lowered his eyes. Although he wouldn’t interfere with his marriage partner’s work, he had stated from the beginning that the prerequisite for the marriage alliance was that the young man could treat the children well and truly take care of them.

Now Gu Duo and the others were still young, really not suitable for cooperating in business.

If the children volunteered to participate, that would be fine.

But Gu Duo clearly wasn’t willing.

Lending the villa and forcing the children to cooperate in filming were completely different in nature.

Whether Shen Qing was truly good to the children or not became uncertain.

Just then, everyone heard Shen Qing say: “If I say I won’t film, I won’t film, and I won’t lend the villa either. Sorry, this time I won’t even be an unpopular nobody.”

The young man leaning half against the stair railing was thin and frail, looking like he couldn’t withstand the wind, but his voice was clear and loud as a bell:

“As for the reason, you can see it too. I have such a big villa to live in, I don’t lack money to spend, I have two cute kids at home, and a good husband… So why should I go out to work? I just need to be responsible for lying down.”

Everyone: “…”

Lying down… so direct?

But hearing him say it like this, it seemed, seemed like… really a way to play.

…

Already married into a wealthy family, who still goes out to work?

Upstairs, Gu Huaiyu’s long finger resting on the wheelchair armrest twitched unconsciously, lowering his eyelids to continue observing the young man silently.

Downstairs, Miao Feiyu and the small artists were all stunned, digesting Shen Qing’s words.

…Wait.

Living in a big villa was true.

But the rest…

Didn’t they say Shen Qing had no relationship with President Gu at all?

Who didn’t know that if not for the marriage alliance between the two families, he wouldn’t have had the chance to marry into a wealthy family at all.

And if not for the Gu sixth young master falling ill, he wouldn’t have had the chance to match with Gu Huaiyu, the most famous of the Gu family!

How come now he’s grandly calling him “good husband”?

When did Shen Qing’s skin become so thick??

Previously, he also often tried to create an image of being very favored in the company, but he was really terrible at acting. Guilt was written all over his face; anyone could see he probably had no status in the Gu family.

Now bragging about a good husband again, truly shameless.

A small artist couldn’t hold back anymore and immediately said with disdain: “Who believes that? If President Gu really cared about you, why is it so hard for you to even participate in a variety show? …”

“Madam!”

Before the small artist finished speaking, Gu Huaiyu’s assistant had already run down: “Madam, why did you come downstairs? President Gu urged repeatedly for you to rest well!”

Author’s note:

Shen Qing’s “lying down”: Lie down properly, waiting (for inheritance).

Everyone’s understanding of “lying down”: Honey trap/Sleeping one’s way up.

Gu Huaiyu: …Okay, then wife lie down properly, I’ll strive to stand up sooner.

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