Chapter 21: Dog-Blood High Society
“Wuwuwu… Gu Xiu…”
While Lu Shichen was meeting with Gu Chun, Gu Xiu, who had taken leave, was in a coffee shop outside. In front of him, Jiang Yuan Yao was sobbing, tears falling like broken strings of pearls.
Gu Xiu’s face was full of impatience. He glanced at the time on his phone and urged, “I have to go back to work. If you have something to say, say it. If not, I’m leaving.”
Jiang Yuan Yao sniffled hard and looked pitifully at the indifferent young man opposite him. With a crying voice, he said, “I didn’t pass the final audition for 《Chronicles of the Morning Cloud》…”
As soon as these words were spoken, the impatient Gu Xiu’s expression changed drastically. He stood up straight, holding onto the coffee table. “What!?”
Jiang Yuan Yao looked at him with some confusion and sniffled again. “Maybe, maybe my skills are still a bit lacking. Chairman Lu’s requirements are very high…”
Even if Chairman Lu’s requirements are high, they shouldn’t apply to you.
Even if the protagonist shou were a good-for-nothing pastry like his cousin-nephew, the protagonist gong would still wave his hand and carry him to victory!
After learning the reason for Jiang Yuan Yao’s sad cries, Gu Xiu tried his best to control his expression. His mental tentacles extended in his mind, pulling out the 007 that was hiding deep in his sea of consciousness, and shook it vigorously.
【007! What’s going on? If the protagonist shou doesn’t get this role, how can the subsequent plots of visiting the film set, going to the wrong hotel room, and getting drunk and ambiguous at a dinner party happen!?】
【This… that…】 007 was dizzy from being shaken. The complex programming code seemed to have turned into a paste, and it began to mechanically repeat the employee manual. 【Jiujiu, this is when our Quick Transmigration Bureau’s outstanding employee should step up! Do you still remember your service tenet? Control the plot, fix loopholes, and let the small world run smoothly…】
【…That’s true.】 Gu Xiu calmed down a little. 【Fortunately, my relationship with Ninth Uncle is pretty good right now. Otherwise, this plot might really collapse.】
【That’s right! Fortunately, you’ve laid the foundation before! With you on the job, it’ll be easy to ask the protagonist gong to pull some strings～】 007 did not hesitate to praise, smoothing down Gu Xiu’s invisibly ruffled feathers.
But there was another matter at hand.
Last time at the banquet, he had run into Su Yanli. Gu Xiu had mistaken him for the white moonlight he had been searching for for many years. Jiang Yuan Yao had recognized his substitute status and had completely given up on him. Coincidentally, their contract was about to expire. According to the plot, Jiang Yuan Yao should resolutely leave him and turn to Lu Shichen’s embrace.
But…
Jiang Yuan Yao opposite him had stopped crying, but his eyes were still red, staring at him like a rabbit.
“Wuwu, give me a tissue.”
Gu Xiu casually pushed the tissue box in front of him.
Jiang Yuan Yao smiled, as if he had tasted a piece of honey. He didn’t look like he was heartbroken at all.
“Yaoyao, you should still remember,” Gu Xiu sighed from the bottom of his heart. “Half a year ago, I signed that contract with you. I would pave the way for your development in the entertainment industry and do my best to provide you with resources. In return, you can’t be ambiguous with other people. If I say east, you can’t go west…”
“Mm,” Jiang Yuan Yao nodded, his eyes as firm as if he were making a life-and-death pledge, but his voice was clearly lacking in confidence. “I, I’m trying my best… I was a bit willful before…”
“I’m trying to remind you,” Gu Xiu avoided eye contact and continued with a cold expression, “Our contract expires next week.”
Jiang Yuan Yao immediately became anxious. “Gu…”
“Jiang Yuan Yao,” Gu Xiu interrupted him in a faint voice. “When the contract ends, you can be your big star, and I’ll live my little life. We’ll be even from now on. I won’t interfere with your future development, whether you’re in a relationship or find another sugar daddy. In return, you shouldn’t pester me anymore.”
Jiang Yuan Yao opened his mouth, wanting to say something but held back.
However, the handsome young man’s expression was indifferent. He propped his elbows on the table, his fingers interlaced, like a barrier between the two of them.
“The role in 《Chronicles of the Morning Cloud》… consider it the last thing I do for you.”
Jiang Yuan Yao quickly shook his head, his eyes welling up with tears again. “That’s not what I mean. I don’t have to have that role…”
But Gu Xiu was unmoved and didn’t even spare him another glance. He silently picked up his coat and was about to leave.
Jiang Yuan Yao quickly stood up, took a step forward, and then pulled back. He held back the tears that were welling up in his eyes. Finally, he clenched his fists and said to the young man’s back with a solemn face, “Gu Xiu, I’ll work hard!”
I’ll work hard to become someone worthy of you.
【Sigh, a perfectly good protagonist shou, the future wife of a domineering CEO. Why work so hard? Just lie flat.】 In the taxi, Gu Xiu’s face was full of resentment. 【I can’t even lie flat if I want to.】
The small silver ball of light landed on his shoulder, fawningly releasing a micro-current to massage his shoulders and neck, and said, 【After this small plot point, your crematorium will officially begin!】
Gu Xiu needed to go back to the villa his parents had left him to meet with Gu Chun.
Gu Chun would change his story and tell him that his memory was wrong. It turned out that Su Yanli had actually learned tango when he was a child, not ballet. He and the boy in the photo just looked similar.
Just such a ridiculous oolong. After being reminded by Gu Chun, Gu Xiu had an epiphany. He went to search for clues about the performance that year, and finally found his way to Jiang Yuan Yao, who had already left him…
Gu Xiu sighed deeply: 【So dog-blood, so tacky.】
007: 【…Then you should stop watching this kind of short video every day!】
Gu Xiu shook his head profoundly: 【Watching other people’s drama and experiencing it yourself are two completely different feelings.】
Gu Xiu returned to the villa his parents had left him after a long time.
In a novel world, you never had to make an appointment in advance to see the person you wanted to see. Coincidence would bring him to you.
When Gu Chun saw Gu Xiu come home, he was surprised for a moment. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, his expression indescribably complex.
That look was thought-provoking and meaningful, as if it contained a thousand words.
Two days after he had exposed Gu Xiu’s identity to Lu Shichen, Gu Chun received the good news that Huanya had agreed to invest, along with Lu Shichen’s request—
Keep it a secret from the Gu family. Including Gu Xiu.
Only a fool couldn’t see the blatant favoritism in this request. Lu Shichen had confirmed that his information was true, but not only did he not abandon that cousin-nephew who had usurped the nest and had no blood relationship with him, he even wanted to help him maintain his position in the Gu family.
Gu Chun was confused. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. He poured out all the gossip he had about Gu Xiu to Lu Shichen. “Um, Chairman Lu, didn’t I find a photo at home a while ago? It’s a little boy of about ten in a ballet costume. Gu Xiu treasures it. He looks a lot like Su Yanli of the Su family… Hey, actually, he looks more like Jiang Yuan Yao?”
And then, the oblivious party, Gu Xiu, came back, his face still filled with that enviable and infuriating innocence.
Only Gu Chun’s expression changed, but his mouth remained stubbornly shut. One key character after another was not playing by the rules. Gu Xiu sighed lightly and tried to probe, “About Su Yanli, I want to ask you…”
“Don’t even think about it. The Su family is out of your league,” Gu Chun’s eyes flashed with annoyance, and he didn’t have a good expression. But after thinking for a moment, he turned back to Gu Xiu and said, “For the sake of our twenty-something years of brotherhood, let me give you a piece of advice. Stop thinking about your white moonlight and little lovers. The most important thing is to make Chairman Lu happy—”
【Alright, alright, the plot is successfully completed!】
As a data-brain, 007 only looked at the results and not the process. It was unaware of the numerous mistakes. Just like the popular AI technology now, as a product of high technology, there were always some operations that were incomprehensibly ridiculous to humans.
Gu Xiu was too lazy to think too much. He relaxed and prepared for his next job: 【I still have to think about how to get Ninth Uncle to pull strings for Jiang Yuan Yao. This isn’t a small matter like taking leave or leaving early. For him, it’s a matter of principle. He probably won’t agree easily…】
After a weekend of deep thought, Gu Xiu turned off the noisy alarm and got up on time.
Downstairs, Lu Shichen was already gone. He hadn’t waited for him to go to work together.
Butler Tong said, “Chairman Lu said he had something to do and left first. You can have breakfast first. I’ll drive you to the company later.”
Half of Butler Tong’s hair was already white. Gu Xiu, who had been influenced by the black-hearted capitalist every day, couldn’t bring himself to exploit the old man. He shook his head with a piece of bread in his mouth and said vaguely, “No need, I’ll just take a taxi.”
Lu Shichen was busy at his desk.
Gu Xiu glanced at him again and again, and seized a short break to rush up.
“Ninth Uncle,” Gu Xiu smiled obsequiously and handed over a teacup. “Have some tea to soothe your throat.”
The intention of a weasel paying a New Year’s visit to a chicken was written all over his face, which was a kind of sincerity in itself.
Lu Shichen was concise. “Speak.”
Gu Xiu liked his decisive and intelligent manner. Having gotten permission, he went straight to the point. “Um, Ninth Uncle, has the third male lead for 《Chronicles of the Morning Cloud》 been decided?”
Lu Shichen’s face was stern. “No, none of the actors who have auditioned so far are satisfactory.”
“…So you just rejected Yaoyao?” Gu Xiu looked incredulous. On second thought, he said optimistically, “Oh, I see. You’re just keeping him on hold. He misunderstood.”
It’s a dog-blood novel, after all. It’s all about misunderstandings.
“No,” Lu Shichen said mercilessly and bluntly. “Three auditions, I gave him three chances, but his performance was not satisfactory. He didn’t even meet the minimum requirements, so he’s not under consideration.”
Gu Xiu: “…”
007 said indignantly: 【You’ll be single forever if you’re like this!】
Gu Xiu: 【Why don’t you come out and reason with him?】
The two of them were at odds in his sea of consciousness, but on the surface, he was expressionless. But Lu Shichen seemed to have sensed something. He pushed up the glasses on his nose, his gaze as if it could see through everything, sweeping over him through the lenses.
007 immediately became as quiet as a chicken. Gu Xiu had to face the problem at hand.
“Ninth Uncle, I won’t beat around the bush with you,” Gu Xiu said straightforwardly, since he couldn’t fool this person anyway. “Just do me a favor and help Yaoyao this once. I’m not asking you to pull strings for him, just give him another audition chance…”
He went on and on, and a thin, cold arc appeared on Lu Shichen’s lips. He only asked, “For my sake?”
That question was really to the point.
Of course, Gu Xiu had no face that would make him treat him differently.
“You know, I’m a businessman. I don’t talk about feelings, only about interests,” Lu Shichen said again when he saw Gu Xiu was speechless. This time, his tone was a little softer.
“…Ninth Uncle,” Gu Xiu sighed deeply and hinted to the golden bachelor, “You have to work, but you also have to live, right? If you’re so impersonal, you’ll only push the people around you further and further away. Maybe… you’ll never find a wife.”
Lu Shichen was silent.
Gu Xiu stared at him intently, trying to find a crack in that cold face.
But Lu Shichen hid his emotions well. Only his thin, reddish lips pursed imperceptibly, and then he suddenly asked, “So, you took leave last time to see Jiang Yuan Yao?”
Gu Xiu told the truth. “That’s right. You have no idea how pitifully he was crying.”
He was hoping to move the other party with Jiang Yuan Yao’s miserable state, but as it turned out, Lu Shichen’s expression became even worse.
He stared silently at his innocent and romantic cousin-nephew, whose heart was devoted to the little celebrity. After a long while, Lu Shichen stood up.
He really didn’t expect that his seemingly frivolous and dissolute nephew was actually a devoted lover, who had fallen deeply in love with Jiang Yuan Yao ten years ago. Later, he found a substitute who looked similar in the entertainment industry, and he could even accurately find his white moonlight.
It was simply, a fated encounter.
Lu Shichen lowered his eyes, his tone unreadable. “You want to help him?”
“Mm-hmm,” Gu Xiu’s flying eyebrows drooped, and he said with a hint of pleading, “Just give him another audition chance…”
Lu Shichen didn’t seem to be listening. His lowered gaze fell on his collar.
Gu Xiu frowned and looked down, only to find his loose tie, which was not tied to the top.
Lu Shichen, a person who had rules and etiquette engraved in his bones, would definitely not be able to stand his disheveled appearance.
Gu Xiu quickly explained, “Ah, I was in a hurry when I left today…”
No wonder the suffocating feeling of work had suddenly lessened a lot.
But the hand he raised to tidy it was blocked. Lu Shichen had already moved first, holding his soft, long tie.
Gu Xiu’s two hands were suspended in mid-air. He looked down and saw the man who was extremely close to him. Except for the nose pads, the entire pair of glasses was suspended in the air. His eyelashes behind the lenses were very long, and the shadow they cast was prominent, outlining a superior arc on the bridge of his nose and cheekbones.
His tie was tied standardly, almost rigidly, and his shirt fit his chest perfectly. Every breath would tighten the buttonholes, creating fine creases along the lines of his muscles.
His breathing was heavy and deep, clearly audible to Gu Xiu.
Along with it came that familiar cedarwood scent that reminded one of a forest, cool and slightly bitter. Gu Xiu couldn’t help but be stunned.
Lu Shichen closed two fingers and slid the loose knot of Gu Xiu’s tie to the top. His half-lowered gray eyes were deep, with a hint of a smile. After a long while, he lowered his neck and leaned close to Gu Xiu’s ear, his words accompanied by a hot, moist breath.
“Since you’re so sincere to him, then work hard to move me. Let Ninth Uncle see your sincerity too.”
Gu Xiu was stunned for a moment, then he frowned. It was the first time Lu Shichen had called himself Ninth Uncle, and his words had an indescribable playfulness. He was like a different person from the Chairman Lu who was picky and disgusted with his cousin-nephew.
After turning around with ease, the gray eyes under the lenses were filled with a deep and gloomy emotion. The long-suppressed possessiveness swept over him like a storm, almost eroding all the rationality and stability he was proud of.
【Move Ninth Uncle…】 Gu Xiu murmured. 【Move what, how to move? Aren’t the three words ‘Jiang Yuan Yao’ enough to move him? I only know how to hit people.】
007 was a silent listener: 【…】
Gu Xiu was relentless: 【Hey, 007.】
007 quickly searched its database and reported in a standard mechanical voice: 【The end of the year is approaching. Here are a few tips to please your elders: 1. Cook for your elders; 2. Give gifts to your elders, such as tea, supplements, etc.; 3. Be hands-on, give your elders a massage, wash their feet…】
Gu Xiu was silent for a long time.
He subconsciously wanted to scold the useless system, but he was a person who was good at listening to advice. On second thought, he felt that there might be one or two feasible ideas in this pile of bad ideas.
【Giving things is the easiest.】 Gu Xiu said. 【Unfortunately, Ninth Uncle doesn’t lack anything, and he doesn’t care about the things I give him. That tie from before, I only saw him wear it once on the day of the audition…】
Gu Xiu stroked his chin, thinking it over and over. Finally, his eyes lit up: 【I’ve got it.】
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.
Gu Xiu’s knocking on the door was irregular and chaotic, just as casual as his personality.
In the villa’s study, Lu Shichen looked up at the closed wooden door. He struggled for half a second before saying, “Come in.”
A handsome face with a smile that crinkled his eyes squeezed through the crack of the door first, then Gu Xiu moved his body in, rubbing his hands and saying, “Um, Ninth Uncle…”
He looked like he was asking for a favor, and it was for Jiang Yuan Yao again.
This time, Gu Xiu didn’t say much. He found a small stool and placed it next to Lu Shichen’s office chair, and rolled up his pajama sleeves one by one. To prevent the sleeves from falling down, his movements were particularly meticulous.
Lu Shichen was confused and frowned slightly.
“Ahem.”
Gu Xiu cleared his throat and rubbed his hands again.
His expression was serious and solemn, as if it were written with a few large words: I’m here to move you!
Lu Shichen: “…”
Then, unexpectedly, Gu Xiu stretched out both hands at the same time.
Lu Shichen was unprepared. He only felt a spasm in his thigh as if he had been electrocuted. And the source of the electricity was oblivious to the danger he had caused. His two hands slowly closed, and along with the pants, he pinched the flesh of his leg.
Tonight at home, Lu Shichen was wearing a beige cashmere sweater and light gray casual sweatpants.
As a cold and domineering CEO who was practically welded to his suit, this was a rare sight of him in a relaxed and casual home attire.
The casual pants were loose and soft, and the material was not thick. When he kneaded them, he could clearly feel the different textures inside and out.
“You usually sit all day long. The blood flow in your legs is not good, which is bad for your health. I’ll give you a massage,” Gu Xiu said and paused, tilting his head in confusion. “Huh? Do you have a habit of working out? The muscles in your legs are a bit tight…”
Gu Xiu had learned meridian massage in the immortal cultivation world.
This kind of massage would be very comfortable. In the immortal cultivation world, it could promote the circulation of spiritual energy. In this world, it could also promote blood circulation and improve metabolism.
He pressed his thumb hard on the hollow above his knee, found the right spot, and applied pressure, sliding it all the way up his thigh.
At the same time, he lifted his bright, ink-jade-like eyes and paid attention to the changes in Lu Shichen’s expression so that he could adjust the pressure at any time.
Lu Shichen’s gray eyes behind his glasses were slightly lowered, and the shadow cast by his long, dense eyelashes hid all his emotions. His lips were tightly pressed together, and a vein was bulging on his temple. He was used to forbearance, so it was really hard to tell if he was in pain or comfortable.
Gu Xiu had no choice but to ask, “Can I go a little harder?”
Lu Shichen didn’t answer.
Gu Xiu didn’t care anymore and cleared the meridians in his legs according to his own experience.
As he massaged, he gradually got into the groove. Gu Xiu was like an experienced master, chatting with the taciturn customer on his own. “When you find a wife in the future, you can also give her a massage like this.”
On the surface, his service was quite in place, but it didn’t stop him from complaining in his heart: 【Do you know that you’ll lose your wife if you keep this up?】
Gu Xiu was doing two things at once, and Lu Shichen was also distracted.
The cousin-nephew in front of him had a cool, fair complexion. He was always a night owl and rarely saw the sun. At night, he was even more charming than during the day at work. Not to mention that he was now sitting in front of him with his head lowered, his gaze only reaching his waist, willingly submitting.
Lu Shichen’s gaze roamed over him, stroking his soft bangs and fair auricles.
A layer of hazy mist steamed up on his glasses from the sudden rise in his body temperature. His indifferent gray eyes became even more infatuated. His gaze replaced the desire that was rampaging in his body, kissing his cousin-nephew’s eyelashes, then his nose, lips, chin, collarbone, and deeper places.
He was trapped in a delirious fantasy, his breathing became rapid, and his knuckles tightened, clutching the innocent gray sweatpants.
At this moment, Gu Xiu had finished massaging one of his legs and said, “Ninth Uncle, you can turn around. I’ll massage your other leg…”
Lu Shichen didn’t cooperate, but Gu Xiu was able to adapt. He held his two knees and used them as handles to turn the swivel chair.
Then he separated the two tense legs slightly, and Gu Xiu suddenly paused.
He had been browsing short videos online before. He mainly watched cute cats and dogs, but occasionally he would come across some stimulation of the most primitive human desires. There were both female and male “bodhisattvas,” but he treated them all with disdain. At most, he would look at the witty comments from netizens.
Such as—”Gray pants are a man’s black silk.”
What people liked most was never the explicit and direct scenes, but the veiled and suggestive ones, hinting at things in a subtle way.
Gray sweatpants were not as transparent as black silk, but they were soft and light-colored. With the right movements, the outline underneath could be clearly delineated.
Even though Lu Shichen was just sitting there properly now.
But the towering mountain could not be ignored. The head was hidden, but the shape was revealed.
From Gu Xiu’s perspective, he could see it completely.
Lu Shichen’s breathing had already stopped.
A flash of embarrassment crossed Gu Xiu’s face. “Uh…”
But there was no blushing or shy reaction. He just scratched his head with some trouble, with no awareness of having set a fire, more like a child who knew he had made a mistake in front of an elder.
“It’s normal for men to be… sensitive,” Gu Xiu squinted his eyes, looking as if he had a sudden realization. A cunning light flickered in the corners of his slightly curved eyes, and his words seemed to have a hidden meaning. “If you haven’t had your first time yet, it’s even more normal. Don’t worry about it, Ninth Uncle.”
Gu Xiu’s nonchalant attitude, it was hard to say how he had “trained” it. Thinking of this, Lu Shichen silently clenched his back teeth.
Here, he was the only one who had lost his composure. He, the successful uncle.
A prominent vein bulged on his temple. He suppressed and restrained himself, and finally squeezed out a low, hoarse, “Get out.”
“Hey…” But Gu Xiu didn’t move. He was still thinking about the audition and asked again, “Does this count as moving you? Ninth Uncle.”
“Not leaving?”
The two of them were talking past each other.
Gu Xiu didn’t realize the problem and blinked in confusion. “Huh?”
Lu Shichen looked at that innocent face, and the long-suppressed desire and anger intertwined. All the immoral and improper things together broke through his crumbling rationality.
“Still not leaving? Are you going to help me solve it?”
