Chapter 2: Dog-Blood High Society
The new host was too individualistic and opinionated, completely out of sync with the sentimental style of Jinjiang. It was enough to make a system go bald.
The smooth, round orb prostrated itself, its silver light dimming a few shades. Like a spineless court official offering tactful advice, 007 said: 【Host, as a profligate scum gong, you seem a bit too polite…】
The autocratic emperor Gu Xiu retorted in one breath: 【I’m being passive-aggressive, you stupid system. ‘Daddy-type gong,’ what a nice way to put it. I see him as a classic elite male who’s obsessed with keeping up appearances. His offer to give me a ride was just a polite formality. I’m not going to play along. He can’t bring himself to go back on his word and refuse me, and if he has to be my chauffeur, he’ll be uncomfortable while I save myself the trouble. It’s a win-win for me.】
007 had a sudden realization: 【That’s what I thought! Host, you don’t seem like a well-mannered person at all!】
Gu Xiu: 【Get lost.】
007: 【…QAQ】
Lu Shichen was indeed somewhat surprised.
However, he showed nothing on his face. He rarely let his emotions show, especially not in front of a junior who amounted to nothing.
He gave a slight nod, his every word and action exuding a natural gentlemanly grace. “Alright. The meeting just ended. Come with me.”
On the way to the garage, Lu Shichen was still observing this incorrigible nephew of his.
When they were still two or three steps from the car, he unlocked the doors with the remote, and the car lights flashed.
Gu Xiu hadn’t turned to flee yet. Having confirmed the target vehicle, he instead made a beeline for it, even beating Lu Shichen to it. He pulled open the passenger door without any hesitation and got in.
Lu Shichen: “…”
Gu Xiu had ridden in his car a few times before, but always with the driver present. He would sit in the passenger seat, and Gu Xiu would sit in the back. The uncle and nephew, who couldn’t stand the sight of each other, never even made eye contact in the rearview mirror.
Lu Shichen walked over slowly.
Gu Xiu had already fastened his seatbelt on his own. He lifted his head, which looked like a golden mushroom, and flashed another fake smile at him, saying pretentiously, “Thanks, Ninth Uncle.”
Lu Shichen’s hand gripped the steering wheel as he glanced over.
The standard profligate attire, complete with a necklace and makeup. His eyes were smudged with a large patch of black, as if they’d been scorched by charcoal. Was it to make his eyes look bigger?
Flashy and ostentatious. In Lu Shichen’s eyes, it could be summed up in one word: vulgar.
However, he suddenly noticed that although his cousin-nephew had monolids, his eyes were by no means small. The irises were large, with no white showing above or below.
When he looked at someone, his eyes were clear and bright, possessing a spirit that even the ring of black soot couldn’t conceal.
The two of them stared at each other for a long while, neither being the first to look away.
007 shrieked in his mind: 【Host! Lu Shichen is the protagonist gong! Did he figure something out?】
What an overreaction.
In a novel world, even if a protagonist’s personality changed drastically after being transmigrated into, their own parents would have a hard time noticing, let alone this non-blood-related, cheap cousin-uncle who found fault with him in every way?
Frivolous, unruly, a playboy.
Gu Xiu remembered his persona and curled his lip into a smile. “What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”
There was a lot of something on his face.
Lu Shichen’s expression was cold and grim. He didn’t reply, as if even wasting words on him was beneath him.
Gu Xiu grew tired of this condescending, arrogant attitude. He had never been the type to swallow his grievances. In the past, when playing cannon fodder villains, he had always teetered on the verge of breaking character and derailing the plot, completing his missions by a hair’s breadth.
He pursed his lips and once again looked into those eyes, at the gray mist where all emotions were deeply hidden.
“Hm?”
As if having discovered something, Gu Xiu’s distinct black and white eyes instantly brightened.
Lu Shichen couldn’t ignore that burning gaze. He glanced over again and was suddenly taken aback.
Have Gu Xiu’s eyes always looked like that?
Lu Shichen slowly furrowed his brow.
“Ah.”
After a soft sigh, Gu Xiu, in the passenger seat, suddenly leaned towards him.
The seatbelt cut a deep crease into the leopard-print shirt, and the half-open collar revealed even more of his snow-white skin.
“Ninth Uncle, your tie is crooked.”
Shedding his frivolous and unruly air, the young man’s voice was clear and magnetic, exceptionally pleasant to the ear, like a gentle breeze in the mountains carrying the scent of fresh grass and the chirping of birds.
And this thoughtless nephew didn’t just point it out verbally. He kindly extended two fingers and pressed gently on his chest, tucking the bunched-up tie neatly into his suit and straightening it carefully.
Through the layers of the tie and shirt, the touch of his fingertips was intermittent, like the tickle of a feather.
It was the first time the two had been so close. In Lu Shichen’s eyes, the young man’s lazy eyes were lowered, revealing a hint of obedience. The platinum-blond hair and heavy black eyeliner made his skin look as pale as if he’d lost all his blood.
On that long, fair neck, next to his prominent Adam’s apple, there was even a small, light brown mole.
“There, Ninth Uncle.”
Lu Shichen immediately averted his overly direct gaze.
As for the instigator, Gu Xiu, this was his first time doing a mission in a Jinjiang novel world. He had crammed a large number of dog-blood novels beforehand, nearly frying his brain, and was now rich in theoretical experience.
While his hands were busy straightening the tie, his mind was complaining to the system, a flurry of activity: 【Doesn’t the protagonist gong know that in novels, ties are the easiest piece of evidence to get caught for cheating? Does he want to join me in the crematorium?】
007: 【It’s fine. The readers would love to see that too. I hear shuangwen where everyone ends up in the crematorium are very popular right now.】
Gu Xiu: 【Tsk.】
Gu Xiu sat back with a normal expression, his rant finished. The man beside him came back to his senses, his brow furrowing inch by inch as he spoke with a warning tone.
“Don’t get so close to me next time.”
Gu Xiu tugged at the corner of his mouth but didn’t bother to reply, taking out his phone to play with it instead.
Lu Shichen was relentless, lecturing him again, “And another thing, you’re a man. Don’t wear so much perfume next time.”
“Huh?”
This time, Gu Xiu reacted. He lifted his monolid eyes, looking quite surprised.
Then he raised his arm and pressed his nose against it, sniffing carefully.
Surely there’s not a problem with this body’s sense of smell? He was counting on enjoying himself abroad after the plot was over, eating and drinking well before leaving this mini-world.
Unable to figure it out, he could only ask 007: 【Am I wearing perfume?】
【The system does not have an olfactory function; I can’t smell it.】007 obediently answered his question. 【Although the original owner was a typical playboy, he’s sensitive to smells and doesn’t wear perfume. Every time the protagonist shou came back from a social engagement, he would be repulsed by the smell of smoke, alcohol, and perfume clinging to him.】
Gu Xiu was relieved: 【Oh.】
As long as his sense of smell wasn’t failing, it was fine. It was probably just Ninth Uncle looking down on him, his prejudice clouding his judgment. No matter what he did, it would be wrong. He’d find fault even where there was none.
In the enclosed space of the car, the scent grew stronger, making it a little hard for Lu Shichen to breathe.
He opened the car window, letting the cold late-autumn wind rush in.
The fresh air passed by him, swirled around Gu Xiu, and then drifted back to his nose, carrying a faint fragrance.
To be fair, in stark contrast to the man’s notorious character, the scent wasn’t overpowering.
It wasn’t so much perfume as the smell of nuts roasted with sunshine and butter, a rich and crispy aroma.
Perhaps the brat was secretly eating snacks during the meeting, Lu Shichen thought.
