SFBF CH42

Gu Huaiyu said, “This kind of thing, you should just eat it with that junior brother of yours.”

Shen Qing: “Junior brother? What junior brother?”

“…”

Meeting the big boss’s eyes, Shen Qing suddenly realized: “Oh, you mean Liu Xilin? …But he’s not my junior, we debuted at the same time.”

Gu Huaiyu: “…”

An eyebrow twitched on that otherwise expressionless face. “So, I phrased it wrong. I should have said your little puppy-dog brother.”

Shen Qing: …

Alright then.

It wasn’t surprising that the boss knew the “little puppy” internet slang. After all, he was the one who had taken action to scrub the internet of all the comments shipping Shen Qing and Liu Xilin.

But why was the boss’s tone so strange?

Shen Qing rolled his eyes in confusion—did the boss actually think he was wearing a green hat [getting cuckolded]?

Forget it, he came up here to explain this whole situation anyway.

Shen Qing simply stepped forward to hug Gu Huaiyu’s thigh… well, not exactly hug it. He just walked over, squatted down, and started massaging the boss’s legs. “I was totally ambushed,” he said. “I had absolutely no idea Liu Xilin and the others were recording a show, let alone that they would come looking for me.”

Gu Huaiyu remained unmoved, merely lowering his eyes to look at him. “If that’s the case, you could have asked Tian Yi to make them leave.”

Shen Qing suddenly understood. “…So it seems you already know I was the one who told Assistant Tian not to go over… so I don’t need to explain things to you on his behalf?”

“…Shen Qing.”

Meeting the youth’s upward gaze upon hearing his name, Gu Huaiyu slowly raised his hand and suddenly gripped Shen Qing’s shoulder.

“Are you this considerate of everyone?”

Shen Qing: “…”

The hand resting on his shoulder was pale and bony. Yet, the force in the fingertips was not light.

For a split second, Shen Qing seemed to feel a chilling gloom.

But he didn’t know what was wrong with Gu Huaiyu. Or why the other man was asking such a thing.

Shen Qing thought about it and said, “It’s not exactly about being considerate… It’s just that I really was the one who told Assistant Tian not to go over. I couldn’t implicate him.”

Gu Huaiyu accepted this explanation. He gave a soft “Mm.”

But the hand on Shen Qing’s shoulder didn’t move away.

Shen Qing suddenly felt a bit deflated. Sure enough, constantly considering other people’s feelings was a huge mental drain; it made one feel exhausted, especially when sometimes it involved having to actively please people.

Even though he had spent most of his time playing, eating, and sleeping since transmigrating into the novel, it was probably his wage-slave soul acting up. A life that was too comfortable made Shen Qing feel uneasy. He kept feeling like this happiness had come too suddenly, leading him to constantly overthink what else he needed to pay attention to or improve upon.

Because of this, he inevitably cared a lot about what the cubs thought of him.

And he cared about what Gu Huaiyu thought, too.

Just thinking about it made Shen Qing tired.

He stopped massaging the legs and stopped squatting. Instead, he just plopped down and sat cross-legged right on the floor at the boss’s feet.

The floor had been wiped spotless, and the underfloor heating was on. Sitting on the ground wasn’t cold at all; rather, it was quite toasty.

His sudden change in posture made Gu Huaiyu pause slightly, and the fingers gripping the youth’s shoulder abruptly loosened.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just tired,” Shen Qing said.

“…If you’re tired, go back and rest,” Gu Huaiyu said.

Shen Qing sat there without moving.

The entire room fell silent.

“Shen Qing.” Withdrawing his arm and resting his fingers back on the wheelchair’s armrest, Gu Huaiyu suddenly called out to him again: “Are you angry with me?”

Shen Qing: “???”

Almost choking on his own saliva, Shen Qing looked up. “Boss, what are you talking about?”

Gu Huaiyu pressed his palm against the armrest beside his seat, his words somewhat vague: “About what happened at noon… I was the one who sent Tian Yi over and interrupted your recording. Did that make you angry?”

Shen Qing: “…?”

What? The boss actually thought he wanted to film?

Shen Qing: “No way.”

He flapped around to turn himself over, still sitting on the floor but now facing Gu Huaiyu directly, and shook his head. “I never planned on recording in the first place.”

“Is that so?” Gu Huaiyu asked.

“Yeah.” Shen Qing said, “Don’t you know? The whole internet knows that Liu Xilin and I are enemies…”

“I’ve heard a little about that.” Gu Huaiyu looked down at him, his voice slow. “But out of all the rumors in your entertainment circle, how many are actually believable?”

Shen Qing: “What’s unbelievable about it? We really aren’t close…”

Gu Huaiyu: “But the way he looked at you today was not innocent.”

Shen Qing: ?…

Wait, was that why people had started shipping him and Liu Xilin?

Did Liu Xilin actually like the original owner??
…
Impossible, that guy is way too repressed!

Thinking back to their meeting at the amusement park today… he hadn’t felt anything like that at all.

Shen Qing looked up at Gu Huaiyu in complete bewilderment.

…Wait, no. How did Gu Huaiyu know how Liu Xilin was looking at him today?

Did he watch the livestream?

Shouldn’t the boss be busy with work at home? A man who doesn’t even use a smartphone…

No, seeing the livestream wasn’t the weird part; Gu Huaiyu could have watched a replay. The terrifying part was that he had only been ambushed by the production crew for three to five minutes tops. In that tiny window of time, Gu Huaiyu had managed to command Tian Yi to go over and pull him away…
…
Was it really just a coincidence?

Why did he call him at that exact moment?

Thinking about this, Shen Qing was forced to mentally perk up—even if the boss was destined to kick the bucket, as long as he hadn’t kicked it yet, Gu Huaiyu was still the Gu Huaiyu!

The methods of ultra-rich tycoons were beyond what an ordinary citizen like him could fathom. For all he knew, the boss had planted people everywhere and was monitoring him 24/7.

Shen Qing felt he had been too lax.
…Inexplicably, he had just let his guard down in front of this man.

But that was wrong.

Thinking this, Shen Qing didn’t dare just sit there anymore. He braced his hands on the floor, getting ready to climb back up and massage the boss’s legs.

Gu Huaiyu looked at the silent, nervous-looking youth who was pushing off the ground to stand up, and his expression darkened further. “So, there really is something going on between you two.”

Shen Qing: “???”

Hearing this, his body slipped, and he instinctively lunged forward!

…Thankfully, he managed to stabilize himself in time, otherwise, given their positioning… the boss would definitely think his intentions toward him weren’t innocent either.

However, when Shen Qing looked down, he realized the only reason he had managed to steady himself was because his hands were planted squarely on Gu Huaiyu’s knees…

Staring at the boss’s legs right in front of him, Shen Qing hurriedly snatched his hands back.

Shen Qing: “Cough!”

Gu Huaiyu: “…Cough, cough.”

Shen Qing: “Cough cough cough cough cough!”

Gu Huaiyu: “…”

Falling back down to sit properly, Shen Qing maintained a stiff, rigid posture.

He looked away, trying his best not to think about the fact that his face had almost come into intimate contact with the boss’s lap. He said shakily, “What are you talking about? Who said we aren’t innocent? I’m the most innocent person there is, okay…”

“…”

The ‘most innocent’ youth currently had slightly red ears. Because of his stiff-necked posture, the red ears were quite prominent.

Shen Qing emphasized, “Liu Xilin is definitely not my type.”

He was a straight man, okay?!
…
Wait a minute. Could it be because this is a BL [Boys’ Love] world, so Liu Xilin was highly likely bent, and had fallen in ‘love at first sight’ with him?

Shen Qing remembered his energetic youth, back when male classmates had confessed to him too.

It was just that in his original world, same-sex marriage wasn’t legal, and homosexuality wasn’t widely understood or accepted, so those feelings were always obscure and forcefully repressed… If the other party hadn’t explicitly said it, Shen Qing was the type who never would have noticed.

But in this world, it didn’t matter. Same-sex couples could get marriage certificates, and love was free. So people wouldn’t suppress their feelings as much, to the point that Liu Xilin’s gaze had become so blatant and direct?…

It wasn’t that Shen Qing was narcissistic.

It was just that he had genuinely been pursued by too many people in the past… He really had experienced situations where guys who seemingly despised him suddenly turned around and confessed.

Why did it feel more and more like this was exactly what happened?

Seriously, why did he, a straight guy, have to transmigrate into a BL world!

Gu Huaiyu lowered his eyes to look at his own knees. There, the loose fabric of his pants had gained a few extra wrinkles.

They were the marks left by the youth pressing down just a moment ago.

His eye color deepened slightly. Gu Huaiyu’s voice was husky, though his tone remained normal: “Then why were you so nervously trying to get up just now?”

Shen Qing: …

Even though he had transmigrated into a BL world, thankfully, his husband was impotent.

While he didn’t dare act out too much in front of others, Shen Qing really didn’t have many reservations around the boss.

Even though Gu Huaiyu was also bent… he was going to die soon anyway.

And he was a virgin who, up until his death, had barely even hugged anyone.

Thinking about it like this, Shen Qing’s heart began to ache for this husband of his again.

So Shen Qing answered him, “I was getting up because I wanted to hug you, of course. To comfort you… just in case my husband thought his head was turning green…”

“…”

The fingers resting on the wheelchair twitched. Gu Huaiyu stared fixedly at him.

But the youth who said he wanted to comfort him sat entirely still, showing absolutely zero intention of actually getting up. Shen Qing just sat cross-legged on the floor, casually reaching out to massage his legs again.

As he kneaded the legs, Shen Qing explained very seriously, “No matter what, there is definitely nothing between me and Liu Xilin. He’s way too small; I like them bigger.”

Gu Huaiyu: “?”

Shen Qing: “…Ah, I mean age.”

“…”

Shen Qing curled his lips. “They have to be at least over twenty-five.”

Gu Huaiyu: “…”

His eyes narrowed, and his voice dropped even lower. “Are you referring to Shen Yuan?”

Shen Qing: “???”

…Fuck, doing the math, Young Master Shen Yuan actually happened to be exactly twenty-five.

Shen Qing hurriedly corrected himself: “No, he’s also too small. Someone exactly five years older than me is the best.”

Gu Huaiyu: “…”

Shen Qing blinked furiously at the boss: Don’t you get it? I’m talking about you!

Gu Huaiyu: “…Cough.”

He looked away, trying his best to ignore the youth’s blatant ‘I’m kissing your ass’ expression.

Gu Huaiyu: “Let’s talk about serious matters.”

After coughing for a bit, his voice was hoarse. He unconsciously tapped his fingers against the armrest. “Since you didn’t want to cooperate with him, why didn’t you call Tian Yi?”

“Less trouble is better than more trouble… Besides, if I made a massive scene over such a small thing, it would negatively impact your reputation, Boss.”

“Mine?”

“Yeah.”

Speaking of this, Shen Qing sat up a bit straighter and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

Although he personally didn’t mind Gu Huaiyu sending someone to bail him out and forcefully barricade the filming crew, his one-sided indifference didn’t mean the incident hadn’t caused any negative fallout.

In fact, ever since President Gu intervened, the one taking the heat wasn’t Shen Qing, but Gu Huaiyu himself.

During his afternoon break, Shen Qing had casually clicked into the trending topics, only to discover that after he left, the amusement park staff had explicitly confirmed his relationship with the “Boss of Great World.” Added to the fact that Shen Qing and the kids had left in a staff buggy, no further proof was needed—everyone unanimously agreed that Shen Qing really was sleeping with the boss of Great World.

But while no one doubted his relationship with the boss anymore, they still questioned his status. For example: if he really was the boss’s wife, why was he so low-key?

Others pointed out that the ‘wife’ took the kids out to play, but the boss was nowhere to be seen, proving that Shen Qing wasn’t actually favored and was just a glorified babysitter.

And because netizens literally could not dig up the boss’s true identity, their imaginations began to run wild.

Some said that since it was a massive tycoon, it definitely wasn’t a young man… Great World’s boss was probably a half-dead geezer with one foot in the grave. That was why he chose to marry someone young like Shen Qing—he was just after youth and good looks.

The internet was full of sour grapes. Shen Qing held up his phone to show him.

“See? Now there are people who think you’re an old geezer!” Shen Qing said. “Isn’t that a huge impact?”

Gu Huaiyu: “…”

Shen Qing: “At the time, I just thought I’d cooperate with the filming a little bit, fool them, and send them on their way.”

Thinking about this, he looked up at Gu Huaiyu and suddenly smiled. “Besides… since someone wanted to leech off my popularity and step on me while they were at it, I couldn’t just be their stepping stone for free.”

The youth saying these words had a slightly sly smile.

As his almond eyes narrowed, they carried the same magnetic, silken charm he displayed in front of the livestream cameras. With the shifting light in his eyes, the smile wasn’t repulsive at all; rather, he looked like a cunning, mischievous, yet incredibly endearing little fox.

“Oh?”

Gu Huaiyu’s gaze shifted from the phone to him. “How so?” he asked slowly.

Shen Qing: “The variety show director came to me because Liu Xilin and I have some bad blood. Because of that bad blood, if I didn’t handle it perfectly, I’d instantly become Liu Xilin’s foil. People would praise him and trample on me. How unfair would that be?”

Meeting Gu Huaiyu’s appraising gaze, Shen Qing straightened his back and smugly shook his head. “So not only did I have to do it, I had to do it extremely well. I needed everyone to praise me and benefit from the situation. That way, getting dragged into this out of nowhere wouldn’t be a loss for me.”

Looking at him, the tight line of Gu Huaiyu’s lips relaxed, unconsciously curling into an arc. “That’s good. At least you know how to not take a loss.”

“Of course.” Shen Qing had learned from Aozi: when you get praised, you accept it calmly.

Hands on hips, chest out!

But right after, Gu Huaiyu said, “However, next time something like this happens, you don’t need to wrong yourself. If there’s something you don’t like, don’t accommodate it.”

Shen Qing: “?”

Hearing this, he abruptly lifted his head, his eyes flashing with confusion.

He stared blankly at Gu Huaiyu.

“…”

Recalling the scene from earlier, even though he had been very annoyed that someone suddenly came over to film them, Shen Qing had assumed it would be resolved quickly, so he just suppressed his annoyance.

He had practically ignored it entirely.

…Perhaps because his life trajectory had always taught him exactly that: if something happens, just endure it and it’ll pass.

—Never mind factoring in his own emotions; just getting the problem solved was good enough.
—When facing an issue, avoiding a disaster was the priority. Who had the luxury to care whether they were happy or not? …

Shen Qing suddenly had a realization.

Lately, he had been feeling like he was rich, had financial freedom, and life was beautiful.

But in reality, this world still had too many rules and restrictions; there were still many things that bound him.

When encountering things that didn’t go his way, he still instinctively fell back on his old patterns: burying his head to solve the problem without considering or caring about his own feelings.

But Gu Huaiyu was telling him: As long as you don’t like it, you don’t have to tolerate it.

Shen Qing: …This.

Ah?

The indoor lights made his eyes shine brightly.

Looking into Gu Huaiyu’s deep eyes, Shen Qing suddenly felt a strange sensation rise in his heart.

If he had to describe it, it felt like a heartstring had been plucked.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

…No one had ever cared about his feelings over the situation itself.

And no one had ever told him: If you don’t like it, don’t accommodate it.

“…But, what if I bring you trouble?”

Shen Qing’s gaze flickered, his tone full of uncertainty. “If I use your power to throw my weight around, people will talk about you…”

“Talk about me being an old geezer?” Gu Huaiyu said, a trace of amusement appearing in his eyes.

Shen Qing: “…”

Fuck, Boss, you can still laugh at such a severe insult!

What twenty-six-year-old guy could laugh after being called a half-dead old man!!!

Shen Qing suddenly felt like he didn’t understand Gu Huaiyu at all.

Gu Huaiyu leaned back slightly, relaxing his perpetually stiff and taut body. Thinking about it, he really did want to laugh.

He said, “If you were wronging yourself out of fear that it would affect me, then that’s truly unnecessary.”

While wanting to laugh, he also found it absurd—this youth, who usually didn’t give a damn about how outsiders viewed him, was actually taking him into consideration…

Gu Huaiyu: “I really don’t know whether to call you smart or stupid.”

Shen Qing: “?… Damn, how am I stupid?”

Putting on a ‘No way, if you don’t explain this clearly we’re not done’ look, he was just about to get up.

But meeting his gaze, Gu Huaiyu’s lips parted slightly as he said, “Even though I supposedly have one foot in the grave, it’s not like I can’t protect you.”

Shen Qing: …?

His movement to get up paused.

Boss, those words…
That is way too badass!!!

Shen Qing looked at the distance between them.

Sigh, whatever.

He shot straight up, opened his arms, and threw them around Gu Huaiyu.

Because he lunged head-on, it was less of a hold and more of a full-body embrace.

“Boss, you’re way too good to me!” Shen Qing sighed genuinely. “If you keep being like this… what if you’re gone in the future? I won’t be able to get used to it!”

“…”

Gu Huaiyu froze.

His just-relaxed spine snapped rigid once again.

As Shen Qing embraced him from the front, a fresh strawberry scent washed over him. Gu Huaiyu sat there stunned, not moving an inch.

Smack.

The cotton candy he had been holding in his other hand the entire time dropped to the floor.

Shen Qing glanced back, saw it, and quickly bent down to pick it up.

“…Boss, really. Even Aozi doesn’t drop his cotton candy!” he complained. Thankfully it was in a wrapper, so dropping it was fine.

—We’re so familiar with each other, what’s a little hug? Don’t be so distant. Shen Qing wanted to say.

But just as he straightened his back after picking up the candy, he suddenly heard Gu Huaiyu ask:

“You don’t want me to die?”

Shen Qing: “?”

What kind of question was that?

Having just stood up, Shen Qing’s spine also went stiff.

…What normal person asks a question like that!

“Of course I don’t want you to die,” Shen Qing answered instinctively.

But right after answering, he felt it was wrong.

…Putting himself in the shoes of someone who supposedly didn’t know the boss was going to die this year: since he didn’t technically know the boss’s current medical condition, answering directly like that was super weird.

A normal person should have acted confused first.

So Shen Qing turned back around, pretending to be completely oblivious, and asked, “But why are you asking this all of a sudden? You’re my husband; if you die, I’ll become a widower!”

Gu Huaiyu looked at him with clear, black-and-white eyes, his expression unreadable: “You want me to stay with you forever?”

Shen Qing: “Of course.”

This answer was completely serious.

Who would want to lose such a solid sugar daddy?

And besides…

Out of a deep-seated belief that good people should be rewarded, Shen Qing genuinely felt the boss shouldn’t just kick the bucket like this. He was clearly a good person, and highly capable…

It was hard for Shen Qing not to feel real emotion.

“So, Boss, can you try your best to… get better?”

He originally wanted to say ‘Can you try your best not to die’… but saying that would expose the fact that he knew he was supposed to die.

Plus, his thought process was a bit overly naive.

Shen Qing sighed, wanting to tell Gu Huaiyu not to mind it too much and not to feel pressured.

But unexpectedly, Gu Huaiyu replied, “Okay.”

Shen Qing: “?”

Shen Qing looked up at him.

Gu Huaiyu was looking right at him, saying, “I’ll try my best.”

Shen Qing: …Is this really something you can ‘try your best’ at?…

But since the boss said he’d try, he shouldn’t raise any objections.

With a pfft, Shen Qing smiled again.

Whenever he smiled, his eyes would curve into crescents; his features were clear and handsome, lips red and teeth white.

Shen Qing said, “Alright then.”

The light from the chandelier overhead fell into the youth’s eyes, making them look clear and bright.

Gu Huaiyu took it all in, watching him motionlessly, before abruptly shifting his gaze away.

“It’s getting late…” he said, raising his wrist to glance at his watch.

Shen Qing noticed. “Boss, why aren’t you wearing the kids’ smartwatch?”

Both of their gazes landed on the expensive mechanical watch on Gu Huaiyu’s wrist.

Gu Huaiyu: “…”

Shen Qing: “When you called us today, you used the kids’ watch, right? So why aren’t you wearing it? That one can tell the time too.”

“…Shen Qing.”

Gu Huaiyu closed his eyes heavily. Then, his thin eyelids lifted as he looked up at the youth. “Enough is enough.”

The youth’s bright, hearty laughter echoed through the room.

“Just a joke, don’t be mad,” Shen Qing said.

Gu Huaiyu: “.”

“But where did you stash that watch? Are you really not considering wearing it all the time? Haha…”

Shen Qing couldn’t hold back his amusement. He paused briefly to compose himself before adding, “The whole reason phones are designed as watches is because it’s convenient to wear them!”

“…”

Gu Huaiyu rubbed his forehead, then suddenly reached out and grabbed the youth’s wrist.

“How about you try wearing it for a week first, and then I’ll wear it.”

Shen Qing: “…”

The laughter stopped dead. He wasn’t laughing anymore.

Half an hour later.

Shen Qing scurried back to his own room, hunched over and looking thoroughly defeated.

There was an extra watch on his wrist.

Not the kids’ phone watch.

But… that mechanical watch the boss had been wearing on his own wrist.

Fine. Even though he had no idea why the boss had such a deep obsession with making him wear a watch, when Shen Qing refused the kids’ watch, Gu Huaiyu had simply unbuckled the one on his own wrist and strapped it onto Shen Qing’s.

Just speaking to the value of this mechanical watch alone…

This was a Patek Philippe!!

Even an entry-level Patek Philippe costs around seven figures!!!

And there was no way the boss would wear an entry-level one…

Shen Qing pressed a hand over his chest; his heart was still pounding wildly inside.

He really hadn’t wanted it, but he couldn’t exactly play tug-of-war with a gravely ill boss… Moreover, President Gu was a man of decisive action. When that ‘my word is law’ energy came out, it was actually pretty intimidating. If he told him to take it, he couldn’t exactly refuse…

If Gu Huaiyu actually made him wear the kids’ watch, he would wear it.

Let alone a Patek Philippe!

So…
Whatever.

Today’s income: several million.

Wait, no, it seemed like more than just several million…

With a thump, Shen Qing tossed himself onto the bed, still feeling palpitations, as if his heartstrings had been wildly strummed.

Wu wu wu [sob], what should he do? His husband was simply too good.

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