SFBF CH61

After being tightly wrapped up by Gu Huaiyu, Shen Qing remembered before falling asleep that the other man still had a fever.

…He wondered if that was why Gu Huaiyu felt cold.

In his groggy state, he subconsciously wanted to touch the Big Boss’s forehead to check his temperature.

But this time, both of his hands were entangled by the other… wrapped up tightly.

Shen Qing tried to free an arm but failed.

…He had no choice but to stretch his neck and lean toward the patient.

To prevent any further accidents, Shen Qing actually opened his eyes to check on President Gu’s situation.

Then he wiggled a bit and scooted right over! …Pressing his forehead directly against the other’s forehead.

It felt like the fever was gone.

But he wasn’t entirely sure.

The warm room and the toasty blankets made Shen Qing lose his judgment. Subconsciously, he craned his neck again and pressed his lips against Gu Huaiyu’s forehead.

He remembered when he was sick as a kid, his grandmother used to check his temperature like this too.

Lips were more sensitive, and touching Gu Huaiyu’s forehead brought no sensation of burning heat. The fever should have broken.

Shen Qing felt relieved.

Ever since becoming a salted fish, he slept much sounder than before. He rarely suffered from insomnia and could fall asleep almost whenever he wanted.

This time, he had woken up groggy in the middle of the night, his consciousness still hazy. After confirming the Big Boss was fine, Shen Qing simply tilted his head and went right back to sleep.

In the quiet, peaceful night, amidst the darkness, Gu Huaiyu slowly opened his eyes.

The light in his long, narrow phoenix eyes wavered. He blinked a few times, then cast his gaze to the side… looking at the young man he was holding in his arms.

The young man didn’t sleep very well-behaved, but he was very quiet.

Even in the silent night, his breathing was barely audible. Gu Huaiyu unsteadily gazed at the face that was mere inches away; his breath was filled with the unique, sweet, and refreshing strawberry scent of the young man.

The young man had fallen asleep again.

When the young man leaned over to press his forehead against him, Gu Huaiyu had woken up.

When Shen Qing used his lips to touch him, Gu Huaiyu simply opened his eyes.

However, in the dark, the young man hadn’t seemed to notice a thing.

Now, he had entered dreamland once more.

…Sleeping right in his arms.

By the starlight and the faint glow of the indoor nightlight, Gu Huaiyu stared at the young man’s profile, not blinking for a long, long time.

The next morning.

Originally, having been dragged over and hugged by Gu Huaiyu in the middle of the night, Shen Qing had planned to bring it up and have a word with him when he woke up the next morning.

But when he opened his eyes, he was the only one left in the room.

The blankets were still very warm. Shen Qing felt a bit tired from sleeping. He sat up, stretched lazily, and felt a slight ache all over his body, as if he had just been in a fight.

Shen Qing: ?

…He remembered being dragged over by the Big Boss for warmth in the middle of the night.

But they hadn’t fought.

Shen Qing noticed he was lying on the side closer to Gu Huaiyu.

It was a very large bed, and the side he originally slept on was completely empty.

Even the blanket had been dragged over to this side. Touching the sheets over there, they were cold—clearly empty for a long time.

But when he was dragged over at the time, was it really this far of a distance?

…

Knowing himself well, Shen Qing made a reasonable suspicion: It was highly likely that he had been tossing and turning restlessly again in the latter half of the night.

Maybe Gu Huaiyu was already up because Shen Qing had squeezed him right out of bed!

But when Shen Qing sat up, glanced at the time, and saw it was already past eight o’clock…

He hurriedly scrambled out of bed.

Not because there was something to do today that required waking up early, nor because he strictly had to.

It was because he had gone to bed just past nine last night, and he had also taken a nap yesterday afternoon.

At this rate… hadn’t he slept completely around the clock?!

No wonder his body ached.

Although being a salted fish meant he could sleep however he wanted.

But because he had this freedom, he paradoxically felt that sleeping too much was a waste of time.

Shen Qing felt that sleeping about eight or nine hours a day was enough. An occasional ten hours for beauty sleep was fine too.

But sleeping away more than half the day was just wasting his life. Plus, he had tested it himself: sleeping too much actually made you tired.

He hurried to wash up and change clothes. Fully rested but aching from head to toe, Shen Qing wobbled downstairs, feeling devoid of energy.

Downstairs, the cubs who had already finished breakfast, along with Gu Huaiyu by the table, all turned to look at him upon hearing the noise.

Shen Qing: “…”

Having just woken up, the young man still had a few cowlicks sticking up from his head. Facing the one large and two small humans staring up at him in unison, he suddenly felt an inexplicable twinge of embarrassment.

…In the past, sleeping until nine or ten o’clock was completely normal for him.

Because back then, the cubs rarely came out of their room, the Big Boss never came downstairs, and the servants never said or showed anything.

So no matter what time Shen Qing slept in until, when he came downstairs, the servants would always look perfectly normal and respectfully ask him what he wanted to eat or what coffee he wanted to drink…

He didn’t have to worry about a thing and felt zero pressure.

But now…

Shen Qing looked around the bright, spacious living room. Gu Huaiyu was holding a book, and Duo Duo was leaning in close to look at it.

Clearly, President Gu was imparting knowledge to cub Duo again.

Ao Zai was sitting on the side, but maybe the questions his older brother was asking were too advanced and he couldn’t understand. So he obediently sat in an adult’s chair, his little legs sticking straight out, holding a small pouch of fruit and veggie puree. He was currently sucking on it while looking at Shen Qing.

Stared at by three people, Shen Qing: “…”

So what are you guys looking at?

Shen Qing blinked, trying hard to pretend that waking up at 8:30 was perfectly normal, and said, “Morning.”

“Morning.”
“Morning.”
“Little Papa, you woke up so late!”

…The first two calm, deep ‘mornings’ sounded fine. As for that last one…

Even ignoring the sweet, crisp childish voice, just hearing the content was enough to know it definitely came from the little Aotian cub, who was born with a passive taunt skill.

“Little Ao-ao.”

Shen Qing called out the cub’s name, curled the corners of his lips, and walked downstairs with quite the imposing aura.

He had originally wanted to teach this little peanut a lesson, but the closer he got, the more he was charmed by the way Ao Zai looked sucking on his juice.

Mainly because Ao Zai was still wearing his pajamas.

And it was the little rabbit onesie Shen Qing had bought for him!

A white, soft, chubby little rabbit was piled in the chair, his short little legs sticking straight out, sucking on sweet juice.

His little cheeks puffed in and out as he sucked hard.

The key part was that while sucking, Ao Zai was also looking at Shen Qing. His eyes were a bit bewildered and uncertain, as if he couldn’t understand why his Little Papa was smiling so wickedly…

He looked exactly like a gluttonous, chatty little rabbit.

When Shen Qing got close, all thoughts of teaching him a lesson vanished. He just poked the cub’s puffy cheek and asked, “Why are you still in your pajamas?”

Duo Duo was currently wearing his regular clothes—still a two-piece set, loose-fitting, suitable for home or casually going out. It perfectly fit Young Master Duo’s theory: You can’t dress too casually even at home, otherwise you’ll become decadent.

And Ao Zai had always strived to be identical to his older brother. But right now, the two brothers’ fashion styles were worlds apart.

Hearing Shen Qing’s question, Ao Zai said, “Ao! Just wait a bit, Ao Zai is going to change!”

Later, Shen Qing found out that Ao Zai strongly agreed with Duo Duo’s theory about not wearing pajamas around the house to avoid decadence.

But the two cubs were very big on ritual: they absolutely had to wear pajamas when sleeping.

And today’s situation was that Ao Zai also woke up late. After waking up and finding his brother missing from the room, he went pitter-patter out to look for him. Seeing Big Dad giving his brother a lesson downstairs, Ao Zai ran straight down.

Later, Auntie Zhang prepared breakfast and carried Ao Zai off to wash his face and brush his teeth. Wanting to eat breakfast with his brother and Big Dad, Ao Zai hadn’t gone back to change clothes.

Now that they had finished eating, Big Dad was continuing to teach his brother.

And Ao Zai was just waiting on the side.

That was how the timeline went.

But Shen Qing was still puzzled. “So you slept in this little rabbit onesie? …That’s not right. Didn’t your brother help you bathe before bed last night? I clearly saw you wearing a different pair of little pajamas…”

Shen Qing was suspicious.

Beside them, Gu Duo explained, “Ao Zai woke up in the middle of the night and insisted on changing into this outfit. He really likes the clothes you gave him.”

Shen Qing: !

He was instantly moved again.

Knowing that a gift you gave was so loved, it would be impossible not to be happy.

Especially since children don’t fake things or put on acts. If they like it, they like it, and their way of expressing it is incredibly passionate and sincere.

It totally poked right at his heart!

But imagining Ao Zai getting up in the middle of the night insisting on changing clothes… Shen Qing went over and rubbed Gu Duo’s head, saying sincerely, “Cub, you’ve worked hard.”

Gu Duo: “?”

Getting his head patted, Gu Duo was a bit confused and looked at Shen Qing with complete bewilderment.

Shen Qing simply crouched down, and instead of just patting his head, he gave the cub a hug, saying, “I’m saying you worked hard taking care of your little brother! You’re so amazing, Duo Duo, so great!…”

Being hugged, Gu Duo: “…”

His entire body instantly went rigid.

So much so that he didn’t hear a word his Little Papa said afterward.

Yesterday at the restaurant playground, being kissed on the cheek, having his head patted, and being hugged by his Little Papa in front of so many people—he was actually a bit uncomfortable and unused to it.

But the warmth and comfort the other provided made him completely unable to refuse. He only wanted to recklessly drown in a world where a father cared about him.

However, after a night had passed, Gu Duo did some self-reflection. He felt he was already a big cub now; he couldn’t covet pleasure and let himself drown in warmth…

No matter how much he yearned for that feeling of being protected by adults.

Gu Duo knew that if he blindly indulged himself, it would only make him weak and easy to bully.

Moreover, he couldn’t just casually enjoy it with complete peace of mind.

So Gu Duo had already decided: he needed to study even harder!

After all, right now, the only thing he could do seemed to be studying.

If in the past he only cherished the days he could study quietly, undisturbed, with someone providing the conditions for tutoring classes—wanting to learn for as many days as he could because he didn’t know if he could still learn tomorrow—

Then now, Gu Duo was gradually losing that sense of urgency and anxiety.

But to him, studying had actually become even more important.

Not out of the fear of having a today but no tomorrow.

But out of a sense of mission, a mindset of actively wanting to shoulder responsibility.

After all, only by working hard to improve himself and becoming stronger could he protect his little brother and his fathers…

Yes, especially his Little Papa.

From the looks of it, his Little Papa—who couldn’t get up in the morning and had no job—seemed to be the one who needed the most protection in the future. Yeah…

Thinking this, Gu Duo wanted to waste time even less.

After being hugged by his Little Papa, he immediately turned his head back to the book in his hands, returning to the tasks his Big Dad had just assigned.

Shen Qing was already used to this cub’s every-second-counts attitude toward studying and his tense little face that rarely showed emotion. Without thinking much of it, he turned back to ask Ao Zai, “Is it comfortable for Ao Zai to sleep wearing this?”

As he spoke, he tugged at the long ears on the big hood behind Ao Zai’s back.

This kind of onesie was fine to wear during the day, but it really wasn’t suitable for sleeping, because lying down with that big hood bunched up behind you would be very uncomfortable.

Especially since Ao Zai was so small, his weight couldn’t even flatten the hood…

“Wu?” Having the bunny ears on his hood pulled, Ao Zai tilted his head toward Shen Qing as if his own ears were being tugged.

Even though he didn’t even have the hood pulled up.

Tilting his head, Ao Zai said, “It’s comfowtable, because Ao Zai sleeps wit the hood on!”

Shen Qing: “Wow, Ao Zai is so smart!”

Sleeping with the hood on meant you wouldn’t have to worry about lying on it uncomfortably.

Just thinking about Ao Zai turning into a full little bunny with the hood up, rolling around while sleeping, looking incredibly cute—Shen Qing couldn’t resist squeezing his chubby cheeks, taking the opportunity to tug his bunny ears again.

Ao Zai: “Wu wu wu!”

Whenever his cheeks were squished, Ao Zai absolutely had to rub them himself to remark his territory.

This time was no exception.

He rubbed his chubby cheeks with his little hands, and upon realizing his Little Papa was pulling his ears again, he suddenly felt a profound sense of being unable to defend both his head and his tail at once. Lacking the ability to split himself in two, Ao Zai could only let out a “Hmph,” making a dissatisfied snorting sound akin to a little pig, and said, “Little Dada, don’t pull Ao Zai’s eawrs anymore!”

Shen Qing, who was holding the bunny ears: “…”

Alright, when it came to stream of consciousness, Ao Zai was the master. Had this cub started treating this outfit as part of his actual body?

…

But since the cub asked him not to pull his ears, he couldn’t keep his hands busy.

Shen Qing then thought of something else: “By the way, doesn’t it get hot sleeping with the hood up?”

“Wu?” As a cub who was only three and a half years old, Ao Zai’s concept of hot and cold wasn’t very strong yet. He thought for a long time and couldn’t figure out if he was hot or not.

But he was a rigorous cub; he wouldn’t just casually say hot or not.

Wearing his bunny onesie, Ao Zai put on a look of deep contemplation.

Seeing him like this, Shen Qing knew asking him was the same as asking a wall.

Afterward, Shen Qing turned his gaze to Gu Huaiyu beside Duo Duo.

…He had just had a sudden flash of inspiration. He thought that if President Gu also wore this kind of onesie and slept with the hood up, he wouldn’t get cold or catch a chill in the middle of the night.

And just imagining Gu Huaiyu wearing an adorably cute little bunny onesie…

Shen Qing started digging for his phone, planning to go online and see if they made President Gu’s size.

“Are you feeling better?”
“Are you feeling better?”

Probably because Shen Qing looked at Gu Huaiyu, and Gu Huaiyu happened to look at him at the exact same time, the two locked eyes and asked each other simultaneously.

Shen Qing: “?”

Shen Qing showed a suspicious expression: “What’s wrong with me? …Weren’t you the one who wasn’t feeling well yesterday?”

“I’ve already recovered, thank you,” Gu Huaiyu said calmly. He kept looking at Shen Qing, though his gaze shifted downward: “I was asking if your waist is feeling better?”

Shen Qing: “???”

As the two of them spoke, Ao Zai looked left, then looked right, looking at one and then the other, constantly repeating the process with the classic expression of an audience member eating melons.

Duo Duo also looked up from his textbook and glanced at them suspiciously… First, he looked at his Big Dad beside him. Is Big Dad feeling unwell again?

Then he looked at Shen Qing… What’s wrong with Little Papa’s waist?

Gu Duo subconsciously furrowed his brows.

He didn’t want the people who treated him well to feel sick.

Although Shen Qing, one of the parties involved, was also completely baffled, remembering the soreness all over his body, he subconsciously put a hand on his waist: “What’s wrong with my waist?”

…The way he asked it made it sound as if it wasn’t his own body and his own waist!

Gu Huaiyu answered in a serious and rigorous tone: “This morning you said your waist hurt.”

Shen Qing: “…Why don’t I remember that?”

Hearing this, Gu Huaiyu looked up at him, a trace of scrutiny and a hint of confusion in his eyes: “Could it have been you sleep-talking?”

Shen Qing: “?”

Just then, Auntie Zhang came over from the kitchen.

She had vaguely heard the sir say the madam’s waist hurt. Seeing Shen Qing actually holding his waist now, she couldn’t help but feel a bit worried and hurried over to express her concern: “What’s wrong, Madam? Why does your waist hurt?”

Shen Qing quickly waved his hand to indicate he was fine, taking the opportunity to stretch lazily, and said casually: “Probably just from sleeping weird. My whole body aches actually, haha…”

Li Hong and Tian Yi, who were walking downstairs, simultaneously stopped in their tracks and exchanged a look full of profound, unspoken meaning.

—Oh my, the Madam aches all over… Is it really that intense!
*—I told you President Gu would get better once Madam moved upstairs, see?*
—President Gu is more than just better! Even though he was seriously ill before, President Gu is still a young man after all. Alive and kicking, haha.

Li Hong and Tian Yi coming downstairs each had their own matters to report, and it was also time for Gu Huaiyu to go back upstairs to handle official business.

Originally, Shen Qing wanted to hash things out with the Big Boss about hugging him in the middle of the night. The main point was to win back some face after the last time he embarrassingly wrapped around Gu Huaiyu like an octopus and popped his button off, since last night it was President Gu who went full octopus on him.

But unfortunately, when he woke up in the morning, President Gu was already gone. With no evidence caught red-handed, bringing it up now felt pointless, and talking too much would just make him look a bit childish.

So Shen Qing decided to say nothing at all.

He raised his hand and waved a paw at President Gu, saying, “Work hard, Hubby. Let’s eat lunch together later.”

Gu Huaiyu glanced at him, the light in his eyes flickering, and said, “Mm.”

Before heading upstairs, Gu Huaiyu left some coursework for Gu Duo, indicating he would come down around noon to check it.

He also added that if Gu Duo had any questions in the meantime, he could go upstairs to ask him.

Duo Duo agreed, but from start to finish, he had no intention of going up and bothering his Big Dad.

He just held his pencil and very carefully circled certain problems—the ones his Big Dad said he needed to thoroughly comprehend.

Watching from the side, although Shen Qing had always been strongly against a child as young as Duo Duo studying so hard, he had to admit that having a parent at home who could tutor their child’s schoolwork honestly felt pretty great.

It really made a world of difference.

For instance, when he studied, he could only rely on his own comprehension.

From elementary school all the way through college graduation, whether it was study methods or extracurricular knowledge, he had fumbled through it all on his own.

Things others could grasp easily, he had to figure out bit by bit;
Knowledge others knew right from the start, he might only accidentally realize months later.

In short, it was different.

The way Duo Duo was now, it was equivalent to standing on the shoulders of giants. Shen Qing genuinely felt this way.

He then looked at Ao Zai next to him, who was sucking on vegetable puree, his little head tilted up waiting for his brother to teach him… Alright, Duo Duo was already a little giant himself.

And Ao Zai was the cub standing on the shoulders of the giant on top of the giant.

While they were busy marking problems over there, Auntie Zhang was asking Shen Qing what he wanted for breakfast, reminding him he needed to eat before 9 AM or it would be bad for his health.

Shen Qing’s grandmother used to say the exact same thing to him.

Although Shen Qing couldn’t get up early nowadays, he thoroughly enjoyed Auntie Zhang’s nagging. So he pushed Auntie Zhang toward the kitchen, asking what leftovers there were to eat.

“By the way, the cubs didn’t drink their milk this morning either, did they?” Shen Qing said as he walked. “They didn’t drink any when we got back last night, so we have to make up for it today.”

In the adult chair, the little bunny Ao Zai—who was intently listening to sounds from all directions—?!

Why does it feel like I just heard that word again—mi-lk!?

Late morning. Third floor, President Gu’s office.

After Li Hong brought several important documents for President Gu to sign and finished his official work report, he reported on some non-business matters:

“I heard President Lu Jing hired people and spent a fortune to suppress the news of what happened at the restaurant last night. There shouldn’t be any related topics spreading online. However, the news of President Lu getting into a physical brawl with his eight-year-old illegitimate son has spread through upper-class circles. The Lu household was extremely lively last night.”

“Mm,” Gu Huaiyu responded lowly, not particularly interested in how lively the Lu family was. He just asked, “Is there any movement from Gu Huairong’s side?”

“…Nothing for now. Although Eldest Young Master Gu is close friends with President Lu, President Lu fighting his own son is a private matter, so Eldest Young Master probably finds it awkward to intervene. But judging by Eldest Young Master’s personality, even if President Lu is his good friend, who knows how he’s secretly laughing at him right now! But President Lu brought it upon himself, hehehe. You can only call it karmic backlash.”

Gu Huaiyu was noncommittal about this, nor did he have a habit of gossiping about people. He merely stated, “Lu Xinghao bullying Duo Duo and Ao Zai—Gu Hao was the one leading it.”

Li Hong’s laughter stopped abruptly.

Yesterday, Lu Xinghao had also mentioned getting Gu Hao to teach the young masters a lesson… Thinking about it, Young Master Gu Hao really was despicable!

“President Gu, then how should we handle this? The young masters probably suffered plenty of bullying from Young Master Gu Hao and his gang in the past.”

Gu Huaiyu leaned slightly sideways, his long fingers tapping the desk, and said slowly, “Gu Huairong will soon find out that I adopted Gu Duo and Gu Ao. Once he knows, the entire Gu family will know. But it doesn’t matter.”

Raising his eyebrow slightly, Gu Huaiyu’s gaze was dark and untamed: “Duo Duo is studying so hard at only six and a half years old. Gu Hao is already ten… How many foreign languages does he know? What grade level is his math at?”

“…I understand.”

Li Hong stated, “That Gu Hao really has too much free time! Don’t worry, President Gu, I’ll go spread the tales of Young Master Duo’s genius immediately! I guarantee Young Master Gu Hao will be so busy this semester he won’t be able to catch his breath… Ah, no, I mean, he’ll have a very fulfilling semester.”

“You don’t need to spread everything.”

Gu Huaiyu instructed, “Tell half. A mix of truth and lies is fine. Don’t mention this to Duo Duo and the others either, to avoid putting pressure on them.”

“…Understood!”

It was rare for President Gu to give such detailed instructions, so Li Hong quickly memorized them.

Speaking of which, President Gu was really good to the young masters—taking revenge for them, while solely wanting them to learn and grow happily… Why did this pursuit feel a bit similar to Madam’s child-rearing philosophy?

If it were the old President Gu… Li Hong almost didn’t dare to imagine it.

The old President Gu would never have dared to even interact with the young masters!

…Even if he wanted to look out for them, he wouldn’t have known where to start. Even if he dealt with the bullies, it felt like the end result would just be forcing the young masters to become tougher.

Constantly growing stronger, just growing up like that.

Because that was exactly how President Gu himself had survived.

Thinking about it, the changes in this household recently really were massive!

And it was all thanks to Madam.

Li Hong thought to himself.

As he was thinking this, he suddenly heard President Gu ask, “Why is it that when others see Shen Qing, they think he’s still single?”

“…President Gu?”

Li Hong indicated he didn’t understand what he meant.

Gu Huaiyu elaborated expressionlessly: “Xu Yujie who visited before, and the waiter we met at dinner yesterday—they both showed great surprise regarding Shen Qing’s and my relationship. Where did things go wrong?”

Li Hong: “…Ah. Oh.”

Although he didn’t know what happened with the waiter, the scene of Fourth Young Master Xu chatting and laughing with Madam yesterday was still fresh in Li Hong’s memory.

It seemed Xu Yujie had initially assumed Madam was single, too.

Li Hong thought for a moment and said, “Perhaps it’s because Madam isn’t wearing a wedding ring?”

“Wedding ring?”

“Yes. Usually, wearing a wedding ring on the left ring finger means you’re married.”

“…”

Gu Huaiyu looked at his own bare left hand and fell silent.

He seemed to have heard of this before.

But it had never been filed under ‘common knowledge to remember and consider’ in his mind.

Li Hong actively stepped up to save his boss’s pride: “Haha, because you and Madam were in an arranged marriage back then, and given your health at the time… In short, you never held a wedding ceremony, so not wearing rings is perfectly normal.”

Gu Huaiyu immediately said, “Then prepare a pair.”

Li Hong: ?!

We’re getting things done?

“Understood.”

Quickly agreeing, Li Hong asked, “Then what kind would you like, President Gu?”

Gu Huaiyu pondered, “Gather the outstanding wedding ring brands from recent years and bring all their product catalogs for me to review.”

Li Hong: …President Gu intends to pick them out personally.

He replied, “Understood.”

Gu Huaiyu added, “No, it must be brands that have been operating for at least a century.”

Li Hong: “…Understood!”

Assistant Li accepted the orders. Logically, he should have headed out to get to work now, but before he could move, he was stopped again by President Gu, who was sitting behind the desk.

“President Gu?”

“If a person used to like B, but then suddenly starts hugging A, doesn’t reject being hugged by A, and even secretly kisses A… Given that A is not a child. What do you think that person means by this?” Gu Huaiyu suddenly asked in a flat tone.

“Huh?”

Having just witnessed President Gu giving Young Master Duo a lesson, Li Hong’s first reaction was: Is this a math problem?

Or a linguistics question that needs translating?

Assistant Li straight up signaled that he didn’t understand, and for a moment, didn’t dare to make a sound.

But the pale yet domineeringly sharp President Gu never repeated his questions. He simply crossed his arms, looked at his assistant, and lifted his chin slightly: “Well?”

“…”

Bearing the pressure and holding President Gu’s gaze for three seconds, Li Hong finally realized that President Gu was asking him a question, not discussing Young Master Duo’s coursework…

But what kind of question was this?

Liking this or not liking that—how could President Gu possibly be discussing this kind of thing with him??

Assistant Li had no time to overthink. Under President Gu’s interrogating stare, he answered directly, “Then it’s probably because that person fell in love with A. You said it yourself, they only used to like B…”

Wait, who is A, who is B, and who is ‘that person’??

Li Hong’s head instantly filled with question marks.

Across from him, President Gu froze slightly. His gaze fixed on a point in empty space, and after a moment, he asked, “What do you mean by ‘probably’?”

Gu Huaiyu pressed further: “What is the probability that the person fell in love with A?”

Li Hong: “Specific situations require specific analysis for that… Wait a minute, President Gu?! A… Could A be you?…”

This morning, Li Hong had already heard from Tian Yi about how, on the way back last night, Madam had secretly kissed President Gu, and then President Gu had pressed Madam down—a story relayed directly from the Eldest Young Master himself.

Although Young Master Duo was young, he definitely wouldn’t spout nonsense.

When Li Hong first heard the news, he just assumed Young Master Duo had misunderstood something. After all, what kind of person was President Gu? Even if it was dry wood meeting a blazing fire, he wouldn’t be that direct and… do that, right?

So up until now, Li Hong hadn’t taken it seriously and just treated it as a joke.

But now that President Gu was asking about it personally, it was basically confirmed!

Then who was B? …

Li Hong remembered the background check he had run, which showed that Madam liked Young Master Shen Yuan of the Shen family.

…

That made even more sense! B was Shen Yuan!

And even though Madam clearly liked Young Master Shen first, President Gu used ‘B’ to represent Shen Yuan, and ‘A’ to represent himself… This was actually very on-brand for President Gu.

—Having followed President Gu for a long time, Li Hong knew that although President Gu usually acted very zen and indifferent to everything, it was only because very few things interested him.

In reality, President Gu’s competitiveness and possessiveness were terrifyingly strong!

…Someone without those traits wouldn’t have built his own business empire at such a young age, an existence that completely overshadowed the main Gu family.

Therefore, Li Hong was even more certain: President Gu was definitely A!

“So Madam secretly kissed you?”

Li Hong: Wow oh oh, that’s too exciting!

…No wonder Madam’s waist hurt today!

So none of it was just baseless rumors!

However, President Gu merely shifted his gaze and glanced at him, his eyes still as sharp as knives, making Li Hong acutely aware that he was gossiping again.

The boss is asking me questions, I’m not supposed to ask the boss questions!

“If that person is Madam…”

Pulling the topic back and directly answering President Gu’s question, Li Hong said sincerely, “Then I think the chances that Madam likes you are actually quite high.”

The arms crossed over his chest relaxed. Gu Huaiyu: “…How so?”

Rarely, his speech was a bit rushed.

Li Hong picked up on it.

He couldn’t help but grow even more curious about exactly what stage President Gu and Madam had reached…

They already got their marriage certificate, and Madam’s waist was even hurting, so why was President Gu still agonizing over this question!

But he didn’t dare to ask.

He could only truthfully voice his thoughts: “After all, we don’t usually see Madam contacting that Shen… contacting that ‘Mr. B’, and we rarely hear Madam mention him. Plus, just looking at Madam’s usual demeanor, he doesn’t look at all like someone heartbroken over unrequited love. Young Master B is probably long in the past.”

For the past few months, Li Hong had either been at the hospital with President Gu or out running errands for him. During the days President Gu hadn’t lived at home, Li Hong hadn’t interacted much with Madam either.

But after getting to know him recently… Li Hong could only say that Madam didn’t look the least bit like he was pining over a secret crush on Young Master Shen Yuan.

Madam’s face was practically radiating with contentment; he had to be absolutely satisfied with his current life!

So Li Hong made a logical guess: “Yes, exactly, it’s very obvious: Madam is much happier now!”

“…So you’re saying, he doesn’t like Shen Yuan anymore?”

President Gu pondered for another long while before suddenly asking.

Li Hong: …Why aren’t we using ‘Mr. B’ as a codename anymore!?

Isn’t this just President Gu directly admitting to their love triangle…

Assistant Li answered extremely cautiously: “That is my analysis, yes.”

Then President Gu fell into silence again, not speaking for a long while.

Only, the vibe he gave off wasn’t as heavy and brooding as before.

It even faintly felt as though President Gu’s perpetually stern and cold brows had smoothed out a little.

Until—

Tian Yi suddenly knocked and entered the room.

“President Gu, Madam just said he made an appointment with Young Master Shen today and needs to use a car… Hmm?”

Before Tian Yi could even finish his sentence, he felt a bone-piercing chill wash over his entire body.

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