The Crematorium’s Scum Gong Gets to Clock Off After Being Replaced 20

Chapter 20: Dog-Blood High Society

Upon entering suite 8188, Lu Shichen’s held breath was suddenly released.
The sounds, big and small, from opening the door were all drowned out by the rushing water.
The person in the bathroom was oblivious, still humming and showering.
A slender and graceful figure was reflected on the frosted glass.
Lu Shichen stood frozen as if under a spell, staring blankly for a long while. It wasn’t until the sound of water stopped and a steam-covered Gu Xiu walked out in a bathrobe that he saw the visitor. His singing mouth immediately shut, his face filled with surprise and shock.
“…Ninth Uncle?”
Lu Shichen’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he unnecessarily replied, “Mm, it’s me.”
The awkward atmosphere was palpable, hanging in the air between them.
Lu Shichen’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and the strange emotions in his gray pupils dissipated, returning to his usual aloof and cold demeanor. He glanced at Gu Xiu faintly, his tone like a superior giving an order. “It must have been a mistake by the hotel staff. They sent you to my room.”
“That’s what I thought,” Gu Xiu said, not suspecting a thing, and relaxed. “I’m just changing my clothes. Why would they give me a large suite?”
Although he had been a wealth-flaunting streamer for a few months, this kind of expense was still too wasteful in Gu Xiu’s opinion.
If it was Lu Shichen’s room, that was a different matter.
His good days as the protagonist gong’s cousin-nephew were numbered. Gu Xiu felt at ease, enjoying the extravagant and luxurious life brought by the protagonist gong.
Gu Xiu looked around, oblivious to Lu Shichen’s strangeness, and murmured, “Hey, where’s that guy who said he’d bring me clothes? Why isn’t he here yet…”
Lu Shichen’s gaze was fixed on him. If he removed the glasses that served as a cover, it could be described as direct and blatant.
Beneath the cold and desolate gray mist was a surging undercurrent and an uncontrollable greed.
It wasn’t until Gu Xiu glanced over again that he composed himself and looked at his phone as if nothing had happened. “I’ve asked Amanda to bring my spare formal attire over.”
“That’s great. Thanks, Ninth Uncle.”
Thinking that it would take some time for the clothes to arrive, Gu Xiu sat down on the edge of the bed to rest. The one-size-fits-all bathrobe was not long enough, and now it had slipped up above his knees, revealing two dazzlingly white calves. His knees were round, and his Achilles tendons were long.
Gu Xiu, being a straight man, was naturally not shy in front of another man. He spread his two legs wide open to air them out. Under the hem of the white bathrobe, the curved black shadow constantly changed its shape.
He was relaxed, gently swinging his legs while playing on his phone.
And from time to time.
“Hahahaha, Ninth Uncle, look at this! A tank puppy crashing, hahaha—”
He was testing Lu Shichen’s nerves.
In the end, reason gave way to instinct. Lu Shichen knew he shouldn’t, but he uncontrollably walked over, as if he really intended to watch the funny video on Gu Xiu’s phone.
This was the first time he had shown interest in Gu Xiu’s annoying short video recommendations. Gu Xiu didn’t expect it either and was stunned for a moment.
In the blink of an eye, the man had walked to his side, looking down at him. His gaze naturally traveled down from the tips of the young man’s hair, along his high-bridged nose.
From his smooth, fair neck after a shower, his slightly protruding Adam’s apple and small mole, to the loose V-neck of his bathrobe. There were no secure buttons, and the thin belt at his waist was loosely tied, looking insecure everywhere.
The half-frame glasses glinted with a silver light, and the light in his eyes was deep and dense. Lu Shichen sized him up for a long time, as if he could discern a coy secret from the darkness of the neckline.
A rush of blood suddenly crashed against his rationality, then gathered in one place below. He swallowed a few times, struggling to suppress his excitement.
Gu Xiu’s throat felt inexplicably dry from his gaze, and he licked his lips uncomfortably. The funny animal video on his phone had already finished playing for the second time, and the screen had automatically turned off after a minute of no contact.
Knock, knock!
A sudden knock on the door sounded. Gu Xiu came back to his senses, quickly gathered his robe, and turned to the door. “Coming!”
Outside the door was Lu Shichen’s secretary, Amanda.
After all, he was only wearing a bathrobe. Gu Xiu remembered the difference between men and women, so he only opened the door a crack, took the clothes in, and closed the door.
He turned back and unexpectedly met Lu Shichen’s gaze, who was standing by the bed.
“You change,” Lu Shichen didn’t let the awkwardness continue and politely averted his gaze. “I’m going to use the bathroom. You can go down first when you’re done. No need to wait for me.”

Gu Xiu changed into a brand new black suit and white shirt, a typical Lu Shichen-style ascetic style.
When he returned to the banquet hall, the enthusiasm of the socialites and dignitaries towards him had increased. They treated him as an unattainable ticket to the Huanya Group.
Gu Xiu was not very good at dealing with these things. He looked left and right, and Jiang Yuan Yao was already gone.
He was worrying to himself when 007 suddenly said excitedly: 【Jiujiu! ‘Key Plot Point 4’ is 90% complete! Now, as long as the protagonist gong defends the protagonist shou in front of everyone and helps him slap the faces of those who look down on him, it will be fully completed!】
Gu Xiu was silent for a moment: 【…Do you want to listen carefully to the nonsense you’re spouting?】
The protagonist shou has already fucking left.
007 thought hard: 【Uh… maybe it’s because the protagonist gong did take someone to a hotel room and changed him into clean clothes, so the plot was successfully completed, even though the ‘person’ was you, his rival in love…】
After perfunctorily dealing with a new batch of people who were eager to curry favor, Gu Xiu found a quiet corner to hide and enjoy the desserts.
Perhaps they thought he had left. He heard some voices that were different from the fawning ones, such as doubts about his abilities, from rumors of his decadent private life to judgments on his character, and even suspicion that Lu Shichen had some kind of leverage in his hands…
There were all sorts of discussions. In short, four words: envy and jealousy.
【Tsk.】 Gu Xiu’s chewing slowed down, and he casually took in the gossip. 【Do you think those people who are criticizing me would be happy to take on the scum gong crematorium mission?】
007 rarely said something nice: 【With their looks and figure, they’re not qualified to play a scum gong in our Jinjiang world!】
Gu Xiu was so amused that he laughed out loud.
He looked up with a smile on his lips. As if guided by an invisible thread, he unexpectedly met Lu Shichen’s gaze, who had just returned to the banquet hall not far away.
Unlike his leisurely and relaxed demeanor, Lu Shichen’s face was cold and grim. His sharp, knife-like gaze swept over the gossiping people.
The entire room instantly fell silent.
Countless gazes of admiration and fear converged on Lu Shichen, but he ignored them and walked straight to Gu Xiu.
“Still smiling?”
“Ahem…” Gu Xiu quickly composed himself and accidentally choked on his saliva.
“Really… heartless,” Lu Shichen murmured, seemingly helpless and annoyed. Then he said to him with a serious face, “Come with me. I’ll introduce you to a few people.”
Gu Xiu was introduced to a few of his familiar work partners.
At this moment, 007 in his mind brought a piece of good news: 【’Key Plot Point 4′ is 100% complete!!】
But the key character of the plot was completely wrong!
Faced with this full-of-holes judgment system, Gu Xiu’s silence was deafening.
The man standing in front of him and Lu Shichen was kind-faced and enthusiastically asked Gu Xiu, “Little Gu, do you have a business card? Give me one.”
Gu Xiu was still internally complaining about the system in his mind. He subconsciously fumbled in his jacket pocket.
He actually found a business card.
But upon closer inspection, the clear words at the top were—
Chairman of Huanya Group: Lu Shichen
“Huh?” Gu Xiu was stunned, holding Lu Shichen’s business card. He immediately turned to the man beside him and asked, “Ninth Uncle, isn’t this jacket new?”
“I tried it on before,” Lu Shichen said with a normal expression.
But the middle-aged man smiled meaningfully, cheerfully, as if he were just making small talk. “Speaking of which, Chairman Lu, you and Little Gu are just distant relatives, right? I really didn’t expect your relationship to be so good.”
The man’s partner even cooperated with him, and by a happy coincidence, hit Lu Shichen right where it mattered. “According to the marriage law, relatives like Chairman Lu and Young Master Gu can get married. It’s a good thing Young Master Gu isn’t a girl, or else you’d have to be careful about scandals, Chairman Lu.”
Being teased like this, Lu Shichen was not angry at all. Instead, he curled his lips.
The middle-aged man’s eyes lit up, and he pressed on. “Little Gu, you have such an outstanding Chairman Lu by your side. You can’t just settle for anyone when you’re choosing a partner in the future. It’s better to have no one than someone who’s not good enough, don’t you think?”
The more Gu Xiu listened, the more he felt that something was wrong. He had to interrupt. “Um, in my eyes, Ninth Uncle is a generous and kind elder. I respect him very much, and I’m also very grateful to him…”
In the suddenly subtle atmosphere.
Gu Xiu smiled lightly and added, “Mm, Ninth Uncle is like a father to me.”
Hearing this, the smile on Lu Shichen’s lips instantly froze.
The slender glass stem in his hand was almost crushed by him.
It wasn’t until two days later that Lu Shichen was tightly gripping a pen, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, his mind wandering.
Suddenly, the phone on the desk rang. He rubbed his furrowed brow and answered.
“Ninth Uncle…” Gu Xiu’s weak voice sounded. “I feel like I have an upset stomach. Can I take half a day off this afternoon?”
Lu Shichen grunted in agreement, just like the generous and kind elder in Gu Xiu’s description.
“Thanks, Ninth Uncle!” Having gotten permission, Gu Xiu’s voice immediately became full of energy. He didn’t forget to show concern for his elder, treating him as if he were an old man in his seventies or eighties. “Ninth Uncle, you shouldn’t always sit in the office either. Go out for a walk more often. Only by taking care of your body can you conquer the world!”
Lu Shichen rubbed his brow again, as if he were extremely tired. He sighed before grunting in agreement again.
Gu Xiu hung up the phone first.
But Lu Shichen held the phone, lost in thought for a long time, unable to control himself, repeatedly savoring Gu Xiu’s words, “Ninth Uncle is like a father to me.”
Every time he savored it, it was as if he had swallowed a sharp thorn.
His maternal cousin and his wife had once held his hand with great trust, leaving him with a final request in their last moments: Shichen, from now on, our Xiuxiu is in your hands…
Lu Shichen took off his glasses and supported his heavy forehead with one hand.
This afternoon, he had a newly added meeting.
Half an hour later, Amanda brought Gu Chun to his office.
Gu Chun was still being mysterious when he arrived. “Chairman Lu, I’ve discovered a big secret, about Gu Xiu…”
When it came to matters concerning Gu Xiu, Lu Shichen showed extraordinary patience. He waited for a while before asking, “What is it?”
Gu Chun smiled and first stated his conditions. “Chairman Lu, the Gu family has a project that’s looking for investment. I guarantee you won’t lose money. My information is definitely worth this price. You’ll definitely make a profit.”
Lu Shichen only had one sentence left: “If you’re not going to say it, then get out.”
Gu Chun was choked by the strong smell of gunpowder. He licked his lips to ease the awkwardness, then smiled again and said, “It’s like this. My aunt’s postpartum confinement center was recommended by a nanny. In that confinement center, a child once died accidentally…”
“That child was actually Gu Xiu, my real cousin.”
Lu Shichen’s face suddenly changed, his brow furrowed tightly. He suppressed his emotions again and again, so as not to lose his composure in front of this junior.
“Coincidentally, the nanny also had a son in swaddling clothes,” Gu Chun said unhurriedly. “The young master of the Gu family, who was supposed to have a life of wealth and comfort, was gone just like that, and she had to bear the wrath of her employer. So, why not swap her own son?”