SFBF CH62

Shen Qing had received a call from Shen Yuan on short notice that morning, saying he was back in Huacheng. His brothers and sisters at home had prepared a grand welcome ceremony for him, so he called to invite Shen Qing to join the gathering.

Initially, Shen Qing refused.

Shen Yuan: “What’s wrong? Are you angry that I didn’t tell you first thing when I got back?”

The unique upward tilt at the end of the protagonist shou‘s sentence sounded, coming off a bit like he was acting coquettishly.

Shen Qing: “…”

Perhaps it was the natural heartthrob buff at play, but this was exactly how Shen Yuan always talked.

Every time he spoke, he always seemed to care deeply about your feelings and was willing to coax you.

If it weren’t for that, the original owner of the body wouldn’t have fallen for him so hard.

But in reality, he talked to everyone like that.

However, from the perspective of a third party, Shen Qing didn’t feel anything special about Shen Yuan acting this way.

Shen Yuan continued: “Don’t be mad, my coming back this time was a spur-of-the-moment decision too. If they want to get together, let’s just all get together, and then I’ll ask you out separately later~ Qingqing, don’t you miss me?”

Shen Qing: “…I’m not angry, don’t misunderstand. I’m just genuinely quite busy. Actually, I miss you quite a bit too~”

…

Even though Shen Yuan most likely didn’t speak that way on purpose.

The only thing that can defeat magic is magic!

Sure enough, Shen Yuan paused on the other end and said, “Qingqing, how come the way you talk is getting more and more different from before?”

Shen Qing: “It’s alright, maybe it’s just because my life has been pretty nourishing lately?”

Shen Yuan: “?”

Shen Yuan yelled excitedly on the other end: “Really? Then we definitely have to meet up even more!”

But Shen Qing still didn’t agree to attend the party.

Unfortunately, less than half an hour later, [Mom]—the original owner’s mother—called.

Ms. Tang, the original owner’s mother, worked as a supervisor in the Shen family’s factory. The position wasn’t too big or too small, and she lived a very comfortable life.

She had watched Shen Yuan grow up from a young age. Shen Yuan was a young master with money, power, and connections, and he was much more likable than the original owner. In her mind, as long as Shen Qing wasn’t stupid, he should take the initiative to stick close to Young Master Shen.

Furthermore, Ms. Tang had always strongly disliked Shen Qing’s introverted and withdrawn nature, constantly hoping he would go out and make more friends. The moment she heard that Shen Qing wasn’t going to Shen Yuan’s welcome party, Ms. Tang exploded.

Then, not long after, Shen Yuan called again.

In short, unable to withstand the constant harassment, Shen Qing finally agreed.

The last time Shen Yuan called was to ask where he was so he could send a car to pick him up.

Even though he had fallen out with the family over the arranged marriage, Shen Yuan was, after all, the true Young Master Shen. His return to Huacheng this time meant he had reconciled with the family, and his words still carried weight in the Shen household.

Coupled with his heartthrob attributes, he could practically summon a crowd with a single call in Huacheng.

However, Shen Qing didn’t need him to send a car.

After all, he had a car at home, and many of them at that.

The endless underground garage was truly packed with cars.

So Shen Qing gave Tian Yi a heads-up first, letting him know he would be going out in the afternoon.

After checking the time, Shen Qing began preparing to head out.

Although there wasn’t really anything to arrange, why did he feel a little nervous?

…Speaking of which, this was the first time he was leaving this villa alone since transmigrating.

The few previous times he went out, he had brought the cubs along. If it wasn’t necessary, he never even considered taking half a step outside…

Damn, just how much of a homebody was he?

It must be because it was too cold outside in winter.

During winters in the north, it was just so much nicer to stay indoors!

Mainly because their house was big enough that he could easily jog indoors and never needed to step outside.

But could he have developed social anxiety? …Otherwise, why would he feel nervous just thinking about going out?

Thinking about how the original owner barely had any friends to begin with, and how he himself didn’t know anyone in this world outside of the people in this villa, and hadn’t had any social interaction…

Shen Qing felt that things couldn’t go on like this.

He suddenly remembered that he used to be a little social butterfly. He had flocks of friends around him. Although they weren’t the type to constantly WeChat or call each other on weekdays, whenever the weekend rolled around, there was never a shortage of people to hang out, eat, and play with.

Friends just gathered together to chat about everyday life, vent, and casually pour out their work-related grievances to one another.

It was actually an essential way to decompress for corporate slaves.

But his life in this world was just too good. He had no grievances to pour out at all. If he wanted to do something or go somewhere to play, he could just take the kids out. He didn’t feel lonely in the slightest…

So he had never felt the need for friends.

But humans were inherently social animals; having zero social interaction definitely wouldn’t do… At least, that’s what Shen Qing believed.

The most obvious sign was that from never going out, he was actually feeling nervous now! …Putting it that way, agreeing to go to dinner with Shen Yuan was the right call.

Pressing a hand over his heart, Shen Qing tried his best to ignore his unease and first went back to the dressing room to find clothes.

The original owner had quite a few outfits suitable for parties, since he used to have to attend various events frequently.

But to Shen Qing, these clothes were either too formal or too flashy—better suited for cocktail parties with reporters present, rather than private family gatherings.

After picking and choosing, he finally found a set to put on when he heard a knock at the door.

He subconsciously went to open it, thinking it was a servant coming to clean the room, but as a result… the person standing outside was Gu Huaiyu.

For a split second, Shen Qing involuntarily clutched his chest and asked, “Big Boss, what brings you here?”

Sitting upright in his wheelchair, President Gu’s face was still pale and expressionless.

Looking at him straight on, his features were deep and handsome, the peaks of his pale, thin lips sharp. He looked sickly pale yet possessed an extraordinary aura, giving off a feeling that was both aloof and utterly noble.

In short, he was high above and entirely unattainable.

Shen Qing was hit head-on by this sharp, icy aura. The moment he opened the door, he felt slightly suffocated.

He thought it was a good thing Gu Huaiyu was in a wheelchair; otherwise, with those looks and that aura, he wouldn’t leave anyone else a way to live!

Pressing his chest to calm himself down, he also counted his lucky stars that the man was his own husband.

Remembering that the two of them shared the same bed, that unattainable feeling vanished. Shen Qing took a few steps back and invited the Big Boss in with an entirely natural attitude.

“Came to see you.”

Gu Huaiyu answered Shen Qing’s question.

Even his voice was deep and cold. As he spoke, he slowly raised his gaze, looking at the young man before him: “I heard you’re going out to see Shen Yuan?…”

Mid-sentence, the color of his eyes darkened considerably: “You’ve changed clothes so quickly.”

Shen Qing was wearing form-fitting light-colored jeans paired with a rather trendy white shirt.

The hem of the shirt was tucked into the waistband of the jeans and secured with an equally fashionable belt, fully showcasing the young man’s incredibly slim waist and exceptionally long legs.

And this was the first time Gu Huaiyu had seen this particular outfit.

Shen Qing: “Ah.”

As he spoke, he raised both arms, showing off his outfit to the Big Boss: “How does it look?”

Gu Huaiyu: “…”

“You’re planning to wear this to go see Shen Yuan?”

The Big Boss’s voice dropped another eight degrees.

“Yeah.”

Shen Qing nodded honestly.

The original owner’s clothes were too flashy and definitely didn’t fit Shen Qing’s aesthetic. This set was the most proper one he could find.

It was just that these jeans were a bit tight.

Recently, due to eating like a glutton and neglecting exercise, he had unsurprisingly gained a little weight.

But even if he hadn’t gained weight, these pants would still be tight. Walking, sitting, and lying down in them was uncomfortable, which was why Shen Qing never even considered wearing them while lounging around the house.

Wasn’t that just self-torture?

It wasn’t like he was Young Master Duo, who refused to allow himself to become decadent.

But he also had to admit, once these pants were on, they looked really good. They cinched the waist, accentuated the hips, and made his legs look long.

Even Shen Qing, wearing this kind of fashion for the first time, was shocked—good clothes really could elevate a person’s appearance and aura by an entire level!

So even though they were tight.

Shen Qing accepted it.

Who goes out to play without dressing up beautifully!

Thinking this, he twirled around once in front of the large full-length mirror in the room, admiring his own figure.

Because he was so satisfied, Shen Qing got a bit narcissistic and continued to press the Big Boss: “So how does it look!”

Gu Huaiyu silently appraised him for a long moment before suddenly saying, “Not great.”

“?”

Hearing this, Shen Qing turned directly to look at the Big Boss, his face bright and handsome, his gaze burning and sincere, though right now it was filled with confusion: “It doesn’t look good?”

Gu Huaiyu felt his eyelid twitch looking at him.

He said: “It looks good.”

“…If it looks good, how is it ‘not great’~” The tail end of his sentence subconsciously lifted, sounding a bit like a coquettish whine.

The moment it slipped out, Shen Qing: …

Shen Qing felt that Shen Yuan’s demonic influence was too strong.

Every time he conversed with him, even just exchanging a few words on the phone, he ended up getting dragged into his rhythm!

…But President Gu didn’t seem to buy into this routine.

The moment the question left his mouth, President Gu—who usually sat perfectly straight in his wheelchair—shifted his body slightly. He completely averted his gaze and said in an icy tone: “If you’re going to see ‘your young master’, then it’s not great.”

“…Ah, is it inappropriate to wear this?” Trying his best to ignore the aloof aura radiating from the Big Boss, Shen Qing turned back to the mirror. No matter how he looked at it, he didn’t feel there was anything inappropriate or impolite about it.

It wasn’t some bizarre costume, nor was it overly revealing…

While he paraded back and forth in front of the mirror like a peacock, Gu Huaiyu’s gaze drifted to the side, landing on the pink wallpaper inside the young man’s room.

When Shen Qing turned around, he noticed where the Big Boss was looking, and couldn’t help but shift his body sideways, blocking Gu Huaiyu’s line of sight.

“…What are you looking at?”

Gu Huaiyu looked up at him: “Nothing.”

Shen Qing spread his arms: “…I wanted to find someone to change the wallpaper last time, but I never found the time. I really don’t like pink!”

His spread arms extended out to both sides of his body, once again fully exposing that section of his slender, elegantly contoured waist.

Gu Huaiyu: “…”

Looking at that narrow waist unexpectedly thrust into his line of sight, Gu Huaiyu paused slightly before raising an eyebrow:

“Oh?”

His voice was somewhat low and husky.

Shen Qing: …

He knew he didn’t believe him.

But how was he supposed to explain? He genuinely thought about changing the wallpaper every single day, practically once a day!

But then he’d get distracted playing and forget, and he always felt it wasn’t exactly unbearable anyway. After all, when he was gaming or binge-watching shows, he wasn’t exactly paying attention to the color of his room’s wallpaper…

Fine.

He was just lazy.

Too lazy to get it done, and nobody had ever roasted his taste before, except…

“So why did you come over all of a sudden, Big Boss?” Shen Qing blinked and asked.

The Big Boss normally never came to his room!

“Just came to see what you were doing.”

Averting his gaze once more, Gu Huaiyu said faintly, “…When are you leaving.”

Shen Qing said, “This afternoon. It’s still early.”

“…”

His long fingers tapping lightly on the armrest of his wheelchair, Gu Huaiyu said, “If it’s still early, why did you start changing clothes so early.”

His tone was completely flat.

It was so flat it sounded like he was casually chatting with someone, asking if they had eaten yet; completely devoid of any discernible emotion.

Shen Qing subsequently didn’t detect anything unusual and simply said, “I don’t know either. Probably because I haven’t gone out in so long, I’m nervous.”

Gu Huaiyu: “…”

Nervous because you’re about to see Shen Yuan, you mean.

The corners of his lips tightened slightly, his sharp, thin lips pressing into a line. The hand Gu Huaiyu had resting on the armrest curled into a fist, but ultimately, he didn’t utter a single sound.

Shen Qing checked the mirror one last time, then looked at the time and said, “Ah, it’s almost time for lunch.”

With that, he blinked at Gu Huaiyu and said, “Originally Shen Yuan wanted me to go over at noon, but didn’t we agree to have lunch together? So I unilaterally changed it to going over this afternoon.”

“So Big Boss, should we go eat lunch now?”

Gu Huaiyu: “…”

Those eyes, brimming with a smile, shone bright as snow. Every time the young man blinked, the corners of his eyes would naturally sweep up, and his gaze when looking at someone was as lingering as spun sugar.

The hand clenched into a fist relaxed. Gu Huaiyu finally sighed, ultimately leaving the room with Shen Qing to head downstairs for lunch.

That afternoon, Shen Qing drove out alone, heading straight for the venue of this gathering—an estate-style hotel located in the suburbs.

This hotel was very famous within Huacheng’s upper-class society. It covered a massive area and featured several restaurants with different themes. It could host parties and was perfectly suited for private gatherings. With its open-concept gardens, it was ideal for summer weddings, and you could even ski there in the winter.

Shen Qing drove straight to the restaurant they had booked. There were parking spots right at the entrance.

Just as he parked the car and pushed the door open to enter the restaurant, several people happened to be walking toward the entrance.

Leading the group was Shen Yuan.

“Qingqing!”

Young Master Shen immediately went up and gave Shen Qing a hug, an incredibly enthusiastic one—the kind where he hugged him and swung him in a half-circle on the spot…

Seeing Shen Yuan treat him so passionately, the others crowding around Young Master Shen couldn’t help but step forward to greet Shen Qing as well.

Most of these people were from collateral branches of the Shen family—in other words, Shen Qing’s “brothers and sisters.”

…The reason Shen Qing hadn’t wanted to attend the gathering earlier—aside from not wanting the protagonist gong Lu Jingyi to misunderstand, and wanting to deliberately avoid seeing Shen Yuan—was primarily because he didn’t want to see these “brothers and sisters” from the family.

These siblings swarming around Shen Yuan were mostly collateral relatives of the Shen family, just like the original owner, and the majority of them worked for the Shen family.

Aside from them, there were also a few childhood friends. In short, friends introduced friends, friends brought friends to hang out, and the circle gradually grew larger.

But rather than saying everyone was friends, it was more accurate to say they were a pack of simps swarming around Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan was the heartthrob protagonist shou of the book. He came with a built-in halo from birth; he was good-looking, had a nice personality, and was incredibly popular.

It was normal that everyone liked to orbit around him.

But because the original owner received Shen Yuan’s special favor, he wasn’t well-liked by these people.

Coupled with the original owner’s inherently withdrawn and unlikable personality, his relationship with them was even worse.

Now, seeing Shen Qing get a hug from Shen Yuan the moment he walked in, someone immediately started getting sour.

“My, A-Qing, you really put on airs. Even bigger than Young Master Yuan’s. We’ve been waiting for you forever.”

Another person deliberately chimed in with a joking tone, “Yeah, it doesn’t matter if we wait for you, but the point is, how could you make Young Master Yuan wait for you…”

Right at that moment, Shen Qing—who had been hugged and swung in a half-circle by Shen Yuan the second he walked in—was finally released.

He turned back around, showing his face, and the people who were currently taking jabs at him were instantly stunned upon seeing him.

—It’s been a long time, but why does Shen Qing look like a completely different person?

His features were still the same, but his entire aura seemed to have shifted. His lips carried a smile that made people feel genuinely happy just looking at it.

Moreover, his skin was fair and translucent. It wasn’t the greasy or artificially pale effect created by slathering on expensive skincare products, but a healthy, radiant glow, flushed with color from the inside out.

On top of that, Shen Qing seemed a bit plumper than before, which made him look far more normal.

In the past, especially during his two years in showbiz, he was so skinny he looked like a skeleton.

Now, with a bit more flesh on his bones, his posture looked even more upright and slender, and his presence had elevated drastically…

He was practically a new person!

Shen Yuan also noticed this change and stared at him blankly, his eyes filled with very blatant appreciation.

…The young master of the original owner was just that kind of person. Not only was he exceptionally outstanding himself, but he also had an eye for beauty, able to spot the merits in anyone he looked at.

Knowing his traits, Shen Qing simply let him stare.

Of course, Young Master Shen Yuan was a massive face-connoisseur himself.

Among all the numerous shining traits a person could have, what he valued most was a person’s appearance.

Whoever’s best trait was being good-looking, he preferred to get close to them.

If it weren’t for that, the introverted original owner would never have caught his eye.

He remembered it was mentioned in the original novel—if Shen Yuan could find shining points in anyone he looked at, why did he fall exclusively for Lu Jingyi, and love him so passionately at that?

Actually, it was just because Lu Jingyi was handsome.

…Speaking of which, Lu Jingyi shouldn’t be here today, right?

While letting himself be stared at, Shen Qing also swept his gaze around the room. Only after confirming he didn’t spot anyone whose looks fit the description of the original novel’s gong did he relax a little.

Just then, he heard Shen Yuan say, “Qingqing, it looks like you’ve really been doing well lately. That puts my mind at ease.”

His tone was uncharacteristically serious.

But right after saying it, Shen Yuan laughed heartily and patted Shen Qing’s back, acting like good bros.

Seeing this scene, the people who had automatically and inexplicably lost the heart to mock him after noticing his change in appearance and aura, instantly felt a bit jealous again.

Mainly because seeing Shen Yuan still staring at Shen Qing with sparkling eyes made everyone feel an inevitable sense of injustice.

—They were all collateral branches with similarly distant relations to the main Shen family. Yet among this batch of kids, Young Master Yuan exclusively favored the weird-tempered Shen Qing.

Not only did he introduce him to the entertainment industry and provide resources to push him straight into the third or fourth tier, but he practically pulled a “when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven”—even arranging excellent jobs for Shen Qing’s parents.

How could people not be jealous?

Of course, this Shen Qing was also ruthless. To think he actually entered an arranged marriage with the Gu family for Shen Yuan’s sake…

He simply didn’t know the meaning of death!

Everyone still remembered the look of terror and despair on Shen Qing’s face when he heard his arranged marriage partner from the Gu family was Gu Huaiyu.

Now, three or four months had passed…

“Speaking of which, A-Qing hasn’t contacted us in ages. I wonder how life after marriage is treating you?”

“I heard you’re semi-retired from the industry now, just staying at home watching the kids for that man. I never would’ve thought, A-Qing, that you’d actually be able to get along with children!”

Shen Qing knew early on that they would definitely ask, so he directly answered their questions one by one, rather patiently at that: “Life is pretty good. I retired mainly because the work was too tiring and I didn’t want to do it, so I simply chose to retire. The kids at home are also very cute; they’re well-behaved and sensible, so I don’t have to worry about them.”

Everyone: “…”

…Damn it, listen to the absolute nonsense he’s spouting!

Retired early because work was too tiring? …Who doesn’t find work tiring and want to retire!

And the kids at home not needing him to worry… that part actually seemed true.

Most of them had seen the trending search about Shen Qing taking the kids to the “Great World” amusement park and getting roped into making a brief appearance on a variety show by Liu Xilin.

In the video, Shen Qing did look to be in excellent condition, and there were people taking care of the kids. Of course, he really was the “lady boss” of the “Great World”… After all, the people present here were all insiders at the family and friends level; everyone knew who Shen Qing’s husband—the boss of the “Great World” whom netizens still hadn’t dug up—actually was.

But news was ultimately just news.

And precisely because they knew how introverted, withdrawn, and unlikable the old Shen Qing had been, everyone just watched the spectacle and moved on. They didn’t genuinely believe that President Gu would care about Shen Qing; they just assumed this was some new scheme Shen Qing had cooked up to make himself famous.

—A person so timid and introverted, yet harboring such heavy ambition.

It made him even more unlikable.

Yet so many days had passed, the heat surrounding that day’s events had almost completely died down, and Shen Qing still hadn’t made a “comeback.” They even heard he had completely terminated his contract with his agency and hadn’t signed with a new one. Everyone felt they couldn’t read the situation anymore.

And now, hearing Shen Qing’s ‘salted fish’ speech about deciding to retire, nobody originally wanted to believe it.

But unfortunately, Shen Qing’s condition was simply too good. His brows were relaxed, his lips were red, and his teeth were white; that kind of joy and ease radiating from the bottom of his heart didn’t feel like something that could be faked.

“Then what have you been doing all this time? Just sleeping at home every day?” someone else asked, feeling unbalanced.

To their surprise, Shen Qing directly nodded: “Yeah.”

Everyone: “…”

Shen Qing remembered how he had slept completely around the clock yesterday, and that full-body ache inevitably returned. He subconsciously pressed a hand to his waist: “It’s true, I spent most of my time sleeping.”

Everyone: “?!”

…Sleeping—does he mean just pure sleeping?

Then why is Shen Qing holding his waist?

Is he hinting at something?

“Then President Gu… has President Gu been home lately?” someone else asked.

Their status wasn’t high enough to know about Gu Huaiyu’s life. Even Shen Yuan couldn’t find out whether President Gu had been at home or in the hospital recently, or what he was doing, no matter how hard he tried to investigate.

So the people present knew even fewer details.

They simply couldn’t imagine what everyday life was like for Shen Qing and that man.

Asking if President Gu was home was purely out of curiosity—with Shen Qing staying home every day, if that President Gu was also there, wouldn’t he feel uncomfortable?

Conversely, if President Gu came home every day, wouldn’t he be disgusted seeing Shen Qing doing absolutely nothing and just sleeping at home all day?

…Rumor had it that man was the epitome of a workaholic.

Shen Qing didn’t pick up on the hidden intentions of the people across from him. He answered directly, “Yes, my husband has been home lately.”

Everyone: “…?”

Everyone’s breath caught in unison, and they all glanced at Shen Qing’s waist again, connecting it to his comment about spending most of his time sleeping…

They all inevitably revealed varying degrees of unfathomable expressions.

…Is President Gu really that capable even in a wheelchair?

Everyone wore profound expressions, still half-doubting Shen Qing’s words.

However, someone did notice the details and asked Shen Qing, “Qingqing, is that sports car at the door yours? I saw you step out of it. Looks pretty cool. Must be over a million, right?”

Among the people present, most were ordinary, but having witnessed the Shen family’s prosperity, they were somewhat worldly.

Even if they didn’t own one themselves, they all felt that a car worth over a million—a sports car at that—was just the base model; it was entirely too ordinary.

Shen Qing was a celebrity after all; driving a car like that made him look even more pathetic.

So that person deliberately said, “The sports car is cool, just not as cool as the Cullinan parked next to it…”

Following everyone’s gaze outside, Shen Qing couldn’t help but say, “They’re both okay? The Cullinan is being driven by my husband’s bodyguard. He was worried and insisted on sending someone to escort me. If you like it, I can take you for a spin in it later?”

“?!!”

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