SFBF CH104.1

Gu Huaiyu’s words caused another stillness in the crowd.

…Did President Gu just publicly admit that he… loves, loves Teacher Shen Qing?

Who was Teacher Shen Qing, anyway? Even though Shen Qing had recently regained popularity, there were still plenty of people present who had never given him a second look.

…He was just a celebrity who had recently blown up, after all. He had traffic, held a few brand endorsements, and was decent-looking enough to pull off fine jewelry and high fashion. But to the business moguls who cared nothing for the entertainment industry, wouldn’t one or two such people pop up every year?

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Even knowing he was President Gu’s spouse, few had ever paid attention to him.

First, Shen Qing wasn’t a genuine young master of the Shen family. Anyone who had interacted with him in the past said he had an eccentric, solitary disposition—utterly useless except for his passable looks, and even that beauty was purely superficial.

Such a person held zero value worthy of attention to these business elites.

Second, who didn’t know that President Gu’s marriage to him was a mere business alliance devoid of affection? What was the point of paying attention to someone who was practically invisible?

To put it bluntly, if Gu Huaiyu were gone one day, who would care to remember who his political spouse was?

Yet the current situation had turned entirely upside down.

First off, those who originally assumed Shen Qing’s good looks were merely superficial subtly realized, upon seeing him in the flesh, that his refined elegance and handsome clarity were anything but shallow.

The people present were well-versed in the ways of the world; they could read a person’s aura with a single glance.

Shen Qing exuded a composed, bright, and engaging presence. Even when facing the Gu family and the so-called “white moonlight,” he remained unfazed, chatting and laughing effortlessly with a radiant smile.

A person like this could never be just a simple eye-candy trophy.

Secondly… who on earth had spread the rumor that Gu Huaiyu was dying?!

And who said he had no feelings for this Teacher Shen Qing?!

Was a legendary pendant like that something you just gifted for fun?!

Its raw value alone was far beyond what anyone present could easily obtain!

The business titans gathered here suddenly felt their entire worldviews getting recalibrated.

They looked at Gu Huaiyu and Shen Qing, then finally turned their eyes toward Xiao Hangying and the rest of the Gu family standing opposite them…

At this point, nobody cared about the relationship between Film Star Xiao and President Gu anymore.

Since President Gu flatly denied ever loving anyone else—stating he had “only ever loved Teacher Shen Qing alone”—then the Gu family’s previous claim about Film Star Xiao being President Gu’s white moonlight was utter nonsense!

People were far more interested in Film Star Xiao’s true motives now.

After all, toward the Gu family’s claims about the white moonlight, Xiao Hangying’s stance had been ambiguous. His true intentions and character were now self-evident…

He was purely here to stir up trouble!

“Second Young Master Gu.” Someone quick on the uptake instantly spotted the key detail and teased loudly, “President Gu himself said he’s never loved anyone else. You brought someone here to confront President Gu’s spouse and claimed this person was his white moonlight… Do you simply not want President Gu to have a happy family, or do you just not understand President Gu at all?”

The business world was a battlefield. Many present were competitors of the Gu family. Knowing the Gu family relied solely on President Gu’s reputation to stay afloat, these people would love nothing more than to drive a wedge between President Gu and the Gu family.

Now that an opportunity was handed to them on a silver platter, how could they not seize it?

Seeing that President Gu remained silent and did not seem to object to their questioning of the Gu family, the crowd grew even bolder, loudly condemning: “This is the first time I’ve ever seen older brothers, older sisters, and younger sisters act like this!”

“It’s common knowledge: Gu Huaiyu is Gu Huaiyu, and the Gu family is the Gu family.”

“Oh right, Eighth Miss Gu, what did you just say? You called President Gu a cripple, didn’t you? Leaving aside the fact that President Gu is standing here perfectly fine, just how long has it been since you last saw him?”

“How vicious. How could a biological sister say such things about her own brother!”

…Those who originally just wanted to stir the pot and spread gossip now felt a sense of shared indignation alongside President Gu after breaking down the details…

That was Gu Huaiyu, after all! As long as he wasn’t dead—never mind sitting in a wheelchair—nobody would dare mess with him even if he had one foot in the grave. Was the Gu family out of their minds, or just utterly ignorant of their own insignificance?!

Some were even envious—if they were President Gu’s siblings, forget about causing trouble, they would gladly turn around and cling to his golden thigh every single day!

The more they thought about it, the angrier they became, and the denunciations against the Gu family grew even louder!

It left Gu Huaiyao practically bursting with rage. But aside from acting tough, he was terrible at debating and couldn’t come up with any counterarguments, resorting to yelling back at whoever was loudest.

Yet anyone who dared to speak up here was a wealthy heir in their own right. Furthermore, no matter what the crowd said, President Gu showed no sign of displeasure or opposition, giving the other families even more confidence. No matter how much Gu Huaiyao argued, he couldn’t win, nor did he have a leg to stand on.

Meanwhile, after Gu Huaiyu appeared, Gu Huaiying had subconsciously hidden behind her older sister, Gu Huaixiang.

However, they weren’t born of the same mother and were separated by over a decade in age; Gu Huaixiang herself thoroughly disliked this younger sister.

Noticing Gu Huaiying trying to hide behind her, Gu Huaixiang impatiently stepped to the side, exposing Gu Huaiying once again.

Gu Huaiying: “…”

Left without a shield, Gu Huaiying instinctively looked toward Gu Huaiyu.

He was very tall, forcing her to slowly raise her head to see his face clearly.

The moment she cast a glance at him, she distinctly felt his ice-cold gaze land squarely on her.

Gu Huaiying shuddered uncontrollably, stuttering out, “S-Sixth Brother.”

—She shouldn’t have called Gu Huaiyu a cripple out loud just now!

Although they were full siblings and didn’t have a massive age gap like she did with Gu Huaixiang and Gu Huaiyao, the truth was that Gu Huaiying was not close to Gu Huaiyu at all.

Her other brothers and sisters were also difficult to get along with, but at least they lived together. Only her Sixth Brother was an anomaly.

She feared him, so she never approached him.

Because she kept her distance, she didn’t understand him either.

All she knew was that whenever her father, brothers, and sisters mentioned Gu Huaiyu, their tone carried both wary dread and bitter indignation, mixed with the unique, haughty arrogance inherent to the Gu family.

They often said Gu Huaiyu was gloomy and impossible to deal with, that he was close to death and could only sit in a wheelchair.

Thus, Gu Huaiying’s fixed impression of her Sixth Brother was a pale-faced man in a wheelchair, perpetually expressionless.

A single word from him could decide the life or death of the Gu family, yet he never let the Gu family live comfortably.

He was so stubborn and difficult even when dying, but ultimately, he was just a sickly cripple.

Once he was gone…

She feared him.

Yet because she had never truly experienced his terrifying nature firsthand, she held a secret contempt for him in her heart.

But at this moment, looking at Gu Huaiyu standing tall, erect, and impeccably handsome before her, Gu Huaiying couldn’t find a trace of that feeling of disdain she had just felt toward her Sixth Brother!

…Why on earth did she think Sixth Brother wasn’t good enough for Film Star Xiao?

Sixth Brother was clearly very tall, very handsome, extraordinarily wealthy, and even younger than Film Star Xiao…

Just from a single glance from those gloomy eyes, Gu Huaiying froze instantly on the spot, like a stone statue, unable to move a muscle.

Petrified, her mind spiraled into utter chaos as she wildly wondered: Where on earth had she gotten the courage earlier to publicly insult Gu Huaiyu…

Yet Gu Huaiyu merely gave her a single glance.

He didn’t even say a single word to her.

As if she were merely an insignificant nobody unworthy of notice, his icy gaze swept past the frozen young girl and slowly settled on Gu Huaixiang and Gu Huaiyao beside her.

“I once told you not to disturb my family.”

Towering over almost everyone present, Gu Huaiyu looked down from above at the members of the Gu family before him.

He tilted his head slightly, his voice light yet carrying the weight of a mountain: “So you’ve been treating my words as hot air all along.”

“…Huaiyu, it’s not like that…” Under Gu Huaiyu’s frigid glare, Gu Huaixiang instinctively tried to explain.

If Gu Huaiyu had said this in the past, she might have pulled rank as his Third Sister, righteously asking back whether they were not his family.

Recently, however, the Third Miss had lost that courage.

…They hadn’t been able to contact Gu Huaiyu for months!

They couldn’t reach him through his assistant. When they went directly to his residence, they were stopped at the gate by bodyguards under the pretext that President Gu was unwell and unfit to receive guests. Even when her father personally stepped up, he couldn’t get a meeting…

This unprecedented coldness from Gu Huaiyu sowed deep unease in the hearts of the Gu family. They could only comfort themselves with the thought that perhaps Gu Huaiyu really was about to pass away, which was why he was so anxiously closing his doors to guests.

Unexpectedly, in recent days, Gu Huaiyu—who had virtually vanished—suddenly made numerous major moves!

He still refused to see anyone, yet his actions grew increasingly decisive and ruthless, and his decisions showed zero regard for family ties…

This caused the Gu family to panic completely!

Until now, seeing Gu Huaiyu standing straight and tall right here, Gu Huaixiang could no longer maintain the arrogance of the Gu family’s Third Miss.

—Sixth Brother’s terrible physical state in the past was definitely not an act.

He had no reason to fake it.

Yet after not seeing him for just a few months, he had recovered to this extent. It was obvious he had done a great deal behind the Gu family’s back during this time.

Rehabilitation alone took time.

What Gu Huaixiang quickly realized was that throughout Gu Huaiyu’s journey from treatment to recovery over such a long period, not a soul on the outside knew a thing.

…Keeping it secret like this was itself a declaration that he intended to break off ties with the Gu family completely this time.

…If things went wrong, every single plan of the Gu family would go down the drain.

Gu Huaixiang was different from the young, inexperienced Gu Huaiying. Gu Huaiying could hold prejudices against Gu Huaiyu out of celebrity fandom, even thinking Sixth Brother wasn’t good enough for Xiao Hangying.

Gu Huaixiang, however, clearly knew firsthand just how terrifying Gu Huaiyu truly was.

What was all that nonsense about Gu Huaiyu being paralyzed and unfit for Xiao Hangying? That was merely born of Xiao Hangying’s inexplicable pride and conceit!

Strictly speaking, what kind of nobody was Xiao Hangying anyway!

Having brought about such a scene today, Gu Huaixiang grew angrier the more she thought about it. Having worked alongside her father for years and managed much of the family business, she understood the high stakes and didn’t dare go head-to-head with Gu Huaiyu.

Thus, facing Gu Huaiyu—whose mind was becoming increasingly unfathomable—she felt only fear, instinctively wanting to back down.

Discarding all her pride, Gu Huaixiang’s attitude instantly softened. She put on a forced smile and pleaded, “We didn’t know what was going on either! It… it was Hangying who suddenly returned to the country, found us, and said he wanted to see you… Back then, the matter between the three of you was never shared with the family, so we didn’t understand much. Your Second Brother and I were just guessing. We truly thought you had been in love with Hangying for many years!… We really didn’t mean anything else by coming today. We genuinely just brought Hangying here to meet Shen… Teacher Shen Qing.”

By saying this, she effectively shifted the entire blame onto Xiao Hangying—claiming it was Film Star Xiao, as one of the parties involved, who deliberately misled the Gu family into thinking Gu Huaiyu loved him, which was why they brought him over.

It was also Film Star Xiao who suggested coming to meet President Gu’s spouse…

Everyone turned their eyes back to Film Star Xiao.

Xiao Hangying: “…”

Xiao Hangying loathed the Gu family’s coldness, mercenary nature, and opportunistic fence-sitting. If it were before, he would have flatly denied Gu Huaixiang’s subtle shift of blame, stating directly that he didn’t need Gu Huaiyu’s affection and disdained taking back a married man.

But now… staring blankly at Gu Huaiyu opposite him, Xiao Hangying fell silent for a moment, unable to utter a single word.

He regretted it.

The moment he saw Gu Huaiyu part the crowd and stride gracefully toward them.

The moment he saw Gu Huaiyu, with his sharp, chiseled facial features and imposing aura, commanding both fear and admiration from everyone present.

Xiao Hangying regretted it deeply.

He had long regretted choosing Gu Huaiyu (5th Brother) back then. He regretted it to his very core.

His ultimate regret right now was why he hadn’t shown any care when Gu Huaiyu suffered that accident and ended up in a wheelchair—why he hadn’t chosen to stay and look after him…

Watching this man—who used to silently watch him and Gu Huaiyu (5th Brother) being intimate, a cold, frosty man whose thoughts no one could ever penetrate—painstakingly acquire a pendant that envious onlookers could only dream of, and personally place it around a young man’s neck with utmost tenderness.

That regret reached its absolute peak!

Xiao Hangying began to think: If he had stayed when the accident happened, patiently accompanying him through his recovery, would today’s healthy, handsome, and wealthy Gu Huaiyu—and everything Gu Huaiyu possessed—belong to him?

If at the very beginning… if he had chosen Gu Huaiyu (6th Brother) instead of Gu Huaiyu (5th Brother)…

“Third Miss must be joking. Didn’t you reach out to me first?”

Despite the massive emotional upheaval within him, Film Star Xiao showed no trace of it on his face.

His mind was crystal clear. He certainly wouldn’t let the Gu family push all the blame onto him at a time like this—a white moonlight had to act like a white moonlight. How could someone like him engage in “eating old grass” or seek a private conversation with the original spouse to drive them away?

He intended to reclaim the position that “belonged” to him in a dignified, grand manner.

Xiao Hangying put on an innocent, shocked expression: “Didn’t you say that things were very tense between you and Huaiyu now, to the point where you couldn’t reach him or know how he was doing… I only came back because I was worried and wanted to check on Huaiyu. It was only because I couldn’t contact him at all that I wanted to meet Teacher Shen… Now that I finally see you and know you’re alright, my mind is put at ease. It’s truly wonderful, Huaiyu.”

Those last words were directed at Gu Huaiyu.

He even offered a faint, deeply relieved, and blessing-filled smile.

To an outsider who didn’t know the full story, it genuinely looked as if he had heard President Gu was out of touch, rushed back, tried every means to confirm President Gu’s safety, and was now showing genuine satisfaction and relief.

“…If that’s the case, I can actually kind of understand why Film Star Xiao came here with the Gu family. He just wanted to see President Gu…”

Someone murmured quietly in the crowd, a subtle roast that was louder than words—after all, meeting President Gu in person was usually absurdly difficult!

Although no one knew what the past relationship between Film Star Xiao and President Gu was, Xiao Hangying’s caring attitude didn’t seem wrong either.

“I think they probably had a romantic spark before, but never quite became lovers. Then a lot of things happened, leading to how they are now—thinking of each other, showing up at crucial moments, but keeping their distance normally.”

“Saying it like that is touching my tear ducts, okay…”

However, before the person talking about tear ducts could even finish their sentence.

One of the key witnesses, Assistant Li Hong, spoke up: “However, back when our President Gu suffered that accident and was hospitalized with such severe injuries, Film Star Xiao, you were right here in the country. We didn’t see you show an ounce of concern for our President Gu then. President Gu was hardly turning guests away at the door back then, yet we didn’t see you visit even once.”

Hearing this, Xiao Hangying’s expression instantly turned pale.

He was indeed in the wrong regarding this matter, but that was the only thing he had ever done wrong by Gu Huaiyu.

Based on his understanding of Gu Huaiyu, he believed Gu Huaiyu wouldn’t hold a grudge over it. …Even if he had harbored resentment, out of his gentlemanly nature and sense of propriety, he wouldn’t hold it against him in public.

As long as nobody brought it up today, it likely wouldn’t be mentioned in the future.

Gu Huaiyu wasn’t the type to dredge up old debts.

He never expected that while Gu Huaiyu didn’t speak, his assistant would explicitly seize upon this exact point!

Xiao Hangying felt a surge of hatred in his heart, but kept his expression looking relatively natural, saying: “…It was too sudden back then. So many things happened at once, and my mind was in complete turmoil…”

“Oh right, look at my memory, you actually did come once, Film Star Xiao,” Li Hong continued.

Before saying any of this, Assistant Li had carefully observed his boss’s reaction. Finding that President Gu’s attitude was implicit approval—and even encouragement—Li Hong dropped all politeness: “You came once under the title of ‘Fifth Young Master’s Partner’ to inquire about the circumstances of the car accident. Furthermore, you were full of complaints and grievances. Even though you clearly knew our President Gu had just suffered a terrible accident and was feeling down, you wished it was our President Gu who was in a vegetative state instead of your intimate lover…”

“Mr. Li, speak objectively!” Xiao Hangying abruptly interrupted him.

While Assistant Li was speaking, Xiao Hangying kept glancing at Gu Huaiyu opposite him, watching his reaction and hoping he would consider his feelings and stop his assistant from continuing.

Yet Gu Huaiyu remained completely unresponsive throughout.

He hadn’t even looked in his direction once…

Xiao Hangying saw that Gu Huaiyu kept his eyes cast downward, his gaze resting entirely on Shen Qing beside him… The two of them already had their fingers tightly intertwined, standing side-by-side.

Even standing so close that it was almost awkward to look at each other, Gu Huaiyu kept turning his head, frequently looking at the young man beside him.

…

The scene was in total chaos.

Yet his eyes held only him.

In an instant, Xiao Hangying felt that Gu Huaiyu’s past gentlemanly demeanor was merely an illusion.

He probably didn’t care about his life or death at all.

However, he didn’t have time to indulge in grief or disappointment. Before the assistant could leak any concrete evidence or massive dirt, he sharply cut him off, saying, “What do you mean ‘full of complaints and grievances’? I was never like that! Do you have any proof?!”

“I don’t have proof.”

Li Hong rolled his eyes: “Though a noble person like you has a short memory and forgot the details, I remember every bit… Since you cared so much about our President Gu, how come you didn’t say a single word of concern back then? You even vanished completely right after learning our President Gu… might be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.”

“Over the next two years, if you had inquired about our President Gu even once, I wouldn’t be saying this today.”

Clutching his chest in anger, Xiao Hangying stuttered: “I… I!…”

With matters laid bare like this, the spectating crowd turned their eyes toward Film Star Xiao once again—so this was the deep longing you talked about, Big Film Star?

After looking at Film Star Xiao, the crowd turned back to the other party involved, President Gu, hoping to get confirmation or even juicier details directly from his mouth.

Yet Gu Huaiyu only stared at Shen Qing beside him, saying, “I have never had any relationship with him. Nor do I need his concern.”

Gu Huaiyu’s voice was very soft, and his speed—a departure from his usual slow pace—delivered two sentences in one breath.

Assistant Li beside him caught on immediately, turning to explain to Shen Qing: “Ah, Madam, what I meant wasn’t that President Gu wished Film Star Xiao would visit or was eagerly waiting for him! President Gu couldn’t care less about his greetings! I was purely condemning him from a moral standpoint! He was nowhere to be found when help was needed, yet now he has the nerve to come back!”

…

The drama-hungry onlookers felt like clutching their own chests—

No, President Gu, at a time like this, your main priority is still explaining to your wife your relationship with this suspected former white moonlight?

Shouldn’t the focus right now be exposing the hypocritical, tea-spilling facade of that green tea lotus!

You’re actually just afraid your wife will misunderstand your relationship?…

Is this also a form of love-brain behavior?

…Turns out President Gu is a love-brain?

However, Assistant Li’s words sent another shockwave through the crowd.

The gossip everyone had just digested was that Film Star Xiao chose the Fifth Young Master over the Sixth Young Master back in the day. Ignoring the mess in between, the current situation was that the Fifth Young Master was still a vegetative patient, so Film Star Xiao came back to find the recovered Sixth Young Master.