Chapter 23: Dog-Blood High Society
Lu Shichen, filled with anger, picked up the sweetly dreaming Gu Xiu from the sofa.
Anger was one thing, but there was still an instinct beyond his control telling him he couldn’t leave Gu Xiu to sleep on the sofa. His heartless little pastry not only had a delicate stomach but also easily fell ill and caught colds, just like the little bird he used to have.
The weightlessness of being lifted startled Gu Xiu. His eyelids twitched a few times, and he let out a few mumbles. He then buried his face in Lu Shichen’s chest and took a few deep breaths, ultimately unwilling to wake up.
His unconscious dependence and trust lightly swept away all the dark clouds of anger and jealousy. The hot, soft heart in his chest was pulled by him, beating in time with his breathing.
Gu Xiu mumbled.
Lu Shichen slowed his pace slightly, lowered his head, and listened carefully.
He didn’t know what he was dreaming about, but Gu Xiu’s resentment was quite strong. The next complaint clearly entered Lu Shichen’s ears.
“Why do you have to be a father to someone else! If you’re so bored, can’t you work more overtime? Isn’t earning money good!? Do you know how hard it is for me to earn money, working three jobs and still getting harassed!! Are you a pervert because you can’t have a son in Jinjiang…”
Lu Shichen silently placed him on the bed, his movements gentle.
“Yes, I’m a pervert,” Lu Shichen admitted calmly to the sleeping young man. “But only for you.”
In the morning, Gu Xiu woke up in the comfortable bedroom, his memory hazy from sleep. He asked 007, 【007, did I go back to my room to sleep last night?】
Only then did 007 restart its system, looking as dazed as a person who had just woken up. 【Huh? Jiujiu? What did you say?】
Gu Xiu: “…” I’m really speechless with this lazy dog system.
He slowly got up and washed up. When he came out of his room, Lu Shichen was already sitting in the dining room, impeccably dressed, waiting for him.
“The food you made last night,” Lu Shichen said with his eyes lowered, in a feigned sense of relaxation, very deliberately mentioning it casually. “Although it was cold, it tasted pretty good.”
“Oh… you ate it?” Gu Xiu was stunned for a moment, then he smiled slightly. “They were all semi-finished products. I just processed them a little. It’s good that it wasn’t bad.”
Lu Shichen: “Mm.”
He still had that same cold and distant demeanor as usual, but Gu Xiu felt that he was particularly approachable today—a person whose walk-in closet only had black, white, and gray, was actually wearing a wine-red tie today!
Gu Xiu noticed this detail and immediately praised him obsequiously, “Ninth Uncle, the color of the tie really suits you.”
“Is that so?” Lu Shichen didn’t look at his own tie, but instead looked at him across the table. “Unfortunately, it’s not custom-made, it’s ready-to-wear. I heard the sales are pretty good. I might run into someone wearing the same one as soon as I go out.”
“Ahem…” Gu Xiu choked on his saliva at just the right moment. His eyes darted around, and he skillfully flattered him, “But Ninth Uncle, your temperament is unique.”
“Enough.”
Lu Shichen didn’t fall for it. He slightly lowered his indifferent gray eyes, put on his cleaned glasses, and then picked up a warm, sterilized towel to wipe his hands, carefully wiping each finger.
Gu Xiu took two bites of a meat bun, then picked up a bowl of porridge and slurped it down with relish.
Lu Shichen was silent and put down the towel.
Gu Xiu almost choked on an egg and quickly gulped down two mouthfuls of soy milk, so busy that he didn’t even look up.
Truly heartless.
Lu Shichen said, “About the audition…”
The phone Gu Xiu had placed on the table just then lit up, and several new messages came in one after another. Jiang Yuan Yao was overjoyed and immediately reported to him that he had received another audition invitation.
“Ah,” Gu Xiu glanced at his phone, then looked up with a surprised expression. “Ninth Uncle, you agreed to give Yaoyao an audition chance?”
Lu Shichen: “…”
Jiang Yuan Yao firmly seized this hard-won audition opportunity and performed exceptionally well. Even the head director praised him, sighing that the younger generation was to be feared.
He successfully won the role of the third male lead, who had a lot of scenes in this major IP. This was a great cause for celebration, but unfortunately… he had to go to a mountainous area in the southwest for three months of closed training and filming.
He sent Gu Xiu a string of crying emojis, but was afraid of angering him, so he ended with a solemn promise: 【I will definitely work hard!!!】
That’s not necessary.
But whether the protagonist shou had a strong career ambition or not did not affect the main plot.
The current Gu Xiu was only responsible for the crematorium.
To win back his lost love, he naturally had to tirelessly take a plane and then a mountain bus to visit the set, wait bitterly in the rain, and be severely tortured physically. The protagonist gong would arrive a step ahead of him, appearing in pairs with the protagonist shou, chatting and laughing, and he would be severely tortured mentally.
To sum up Gu Xiu’s wife-chasing crematorium process in one sentence: turning into a cat, turning into a tiger, turning into a little dog soaked in the rain…
【Sigh,】 Gu Xiu sighed. 【Why do I feel like Ninth Uncle has no intention of visiting the set? Look at how much overtime he’s been working lately. He practically sleeps at the company at night. It looks like he has no time at all.】
007’s data-brain logic was simple: 【He even has time to rush back to have dinner with you. How could he not have time to see the protagonist shou?】
Gu Xiu did not agree with this and frowned slightly.
He still had to go through this plot with the protagonist gong. He needed to be lightly slapped in the face by the other party, feel sad and alone, and be filled with regret…
【What should I do…】 Gu Xiu scratched his hair, extremely troubled. 【Anyway, I’ll go there first. I’ll be able to think of a way when I get there.】
As soon as he got home from work on Friday, Gu Xiu didn’t even have time to eat. He immediately rushed back to his room to pack his luggage.
Lu Shichen naturally couldn’t eat either. He went upstairs to his room and deliberately took a detour. He saw that Gu Xiu’s door was half-open, and a warm yellow light was streaming out from inside. The young man was walking around inside, sometimes squatting, sometimes standing, he didn’t know what he was busy with.
Lu Shichen frowned. Suddenly, he heard a rumbling sound and saw Gu Xiu dragging a suitcase. He had also changed into his outdoor clothes, wearing a baseball cap and a scarf, looking like he was about to go out.
And it had to be a long trip.
Lu Shichen immediately pushed the door open and entered.
He came at just the right time. Gu Xiu was stunned for a moment, then he smiled and took the initiative to inform him of his destination. “Ninth Uncle, I’m going to Yu City. I won’t say more. I’m leaving now!”
He didn’t even have time to tie the scarf that had slipped down from his neck. He just grabbed it and threw it, bypassing the stunned Lu Shichen and leaving the room.
It took Lu Shichen a long time to come to his senses.
“…What?”
Unfortunately, in the empty suite, there was no one else to answer him.
【He must be feeling possessive now, right? He must have come to his senses, right? If he doesn’t act now, his wife will really be gone!】 Gu Xiu was quite earnest, nagging all the way to the airport. 【Whatever. It’s none of my business if his wife is gone. Just let me finish the plot and get off work…】
The recent string of accidents had left Gu Xiu with no time to even dream of a happy vacation abroad. He was busy every day with someone else’s poignant love story.
Bzz.
He looked down at his vibrating phone.
A7993344: 【Let’s meet.】
Gu Xiu: “…” Not earlier, not later, why at this time?
But no matter what time it was, Gu Xiu would not easily agree to a meeting with his cyber sugar daddy. Their fate was limited to the internet, to “boss” and “Gugujiu,” and did not involve the real Gu Xiu.
Gugujiu: 【I’m on a business trip right now, in the middle of nowhere. It’s too inconvenient [/crying]】
He seemed quite regretful.
This is social etiquette, 007 was deeply impressed.
The topic of meeting was perfunctorily dealt with, but immediately after, the other party sent two more incomprehensible messages.
A7993344: 【Have you ever thought that you might one day lose everything you have now?】
A7993344: 【So, you should open your eyes and choose a person who is considerate of you, understands you, respects you, and can give you a sense of security and protect you as your spouse for life.】
Huh? What a familiar fatherly lecture.
Gu Xiu frowned and clicked on the other party’s profile picture, a sunset landscape photo that revealed no clues.
But the sunset, the sea, the vastness of the scene, it looked like he was really not young.
And he’s always asking a little streamer for photos. Really disrespectful for his age, far worse than Ninth Uncle.
Gugujiu: 【Boss, I’m single. Otherwise, how could I send you photos? I think it’s good to be alone, free and easy. I’m not planning to be in a relationship.】
The more important reason was that he was just a passerby in these small worlds.
This place that held the entire life of a novel character was just a temporary stop for him.
There were indeed some people like that in the Quick Transmigration Bureau. They lived for the moment, indulged in pleasure, and left their feelings everywhere. The main thing was to have fun. Who cared if the paper characters were hurt?
But Gu Xiu was not like that.
He didn’t want to really hurt these paper characters who had become flesh and blood, and he was also afraid of becoming attached to a temporary stop.
Gu Xiu sighed and could only confide in his only confidant, 007: 【I suddenly feel that it’s good that Ninth Uncle doesn’t have a wife. Isn’t it good for a handsome guy to focus on his career? Why does he have to be a father to someone else? Isn’t it tiring?】
【???】 007 was full of question marks. 【Jiujiu, you weren’t saying that just a second ago!】
Gu Xiu looked up at the bleak winter scenery outside the window and sighed, 【A man’s heart is like the weather in June.】
007 was quiet for a while.
【Based on the host’s memory combined with the results searched in the main god system, AI analysis in progress…】 007 said, 【Jiujiu, you’ve never been in a relationship, let alone held a girl’s hand. But the protagonist gong and shou will go through hardships and eventually get married, relying on each other for a lifetime. According to psychological analysis, your current state is called… having your defenses broken.】
【…】 Gu Xiu couldn’t help but curse, 【Fuck off.】
007 was like a robot, rigid and completely ignorant of human relationships, still nagging: 【On the other hand, it might be because the protagonist gong is too good to you, making you feel the warmth of a home for the first time, so you’re reluctant to let go?】
Gu Xiu’s defenses were completely broken: 【Fuck off, shut up. You’re not even a person, you’re just spouting nonsense. What the hell are you analyzing?】
007 shut up.
Gu Xiu’s face was still sullen. He held the small ball of light between his two hands, almost pressing his nose against it, his eyes dangerous as he warned word by word, 【And, don’t search my memories without permission.】
007 quickly said: 【I can’t see your private memories…】
To prove itself, it secretly slipped into Gu Xiu’s brain again. It shut down at a fixed time every night, so it was just right to see what Gu Xiu had been doing behind its back at night.
The time came to the night when Gu Xiu had cooked a table of food and had fallen asleep on the sofa waiting for Lu Shichen.
Gu Xiu’s eyes were closed. He saw the sleeping Gu Xiu on the sofa from a third-person perspective, as well as the travel-worn Lu Shichen who had returned late.
Lu Shichen walked towards Gu Xiu.
The small silver ball of light was between the two of them, curiously looking left and right.
Lu Shichen knelt down by the sofa.
Lu Shichen took off his glasses.
Lu Shichen lowered his head.
Lu Shichen got closer and closer… closer and closer!
【Warning! Host privacy protection mechanism triggered!】
【Warning! System 007 will be forced to shut down!】
【Countdown 3, 2, 1…】
007: 【?】
In the instant that the screen link was forcibly cut off, he seemed to have seen a fleeting image.
One kneeling, one lying down, the two men’s high-bridged noses were staggered. Lu Shichen also closed his eyes, and his lips gently touched Gu Xiu’s lips.
…
The other protagonist of the story, who had recently lost his presence, Jiang Yuan Yao, was filming in the mountains of Yu City during the day and staying at a hotel in the county at night. There was only one hotel in this area that could be called a hotel, so Gu Xiu found his destination without any effort.
The final actors chosen for 《Chronicles of the Morning Cloud》 were all unknown little artists or amateurs. It was said that the eccentric director was keen on training blank slates and polishing rough jades. His energy was so vigorous that Gu Xiu was left in the dust.
According to the plot Gu Xiu had, the box office results of this movie would definitely be worthy of the hard work of the main creative team, and it could even be called a surprise.
After all, both protagonists were involved. It would be a crime against nature if this movie didn’t become a hit.
He checked into the hotel in the middle of the night and slept until the next afternoon. Gu Xiu was ready to go through tonight’s key plot.
【Ta-da～ ‘Key Plot Point 5’ is here! Your wife-chasing crematorium officially begins.】 007 was impassioned. 【Tonight, the crew is having a dinner. The protagonist shou is forced to drink and is verbally harassed by a greasy producer! The poor and helpless protagonist shou can only endure it. Fortunately, the protagonist gong is on a business trip here. He hears the dispute in the private room and goes in to rescue the protagonist shou! And you, very unfortunately, arrived a step too late and could only watch as the protagonist gong helped the drunk protagonist shou away…】
Gu Xiu: “…” This dog-blood plot is pure nonsense. The chairman of a listed group is on a business trip in the middle of nowhere.
He took the hotel elevator down and ran into a plain-looking young man. He seemed not to notice, but the other person’s gaze was fixed on him, his head turning with him. Finally, he couldn’t help but let out a sound, “Hey!?”
Gu Xiu turned his head.
007 added an introduction for him: 【Ah, this is the assistant Xiao Wang you arranged for the protagonist shou.】
Gu Xiu still remembered this person. He had talked to him on the phone when he first arrived in this world. At that time, Gu Xiu had a gut feeling that he was not taking orders from him.
And, the assistant he had arranged for Jiang Yuan Yao was still with Jiang Yuan Yao after their contract had ended, and had appeared in this hotel…
Fortunately, Jiang Yuan Yao was not nearby.
Gu Xiu frowned.
Xiao Wang’s face was full of surprise. He came up, clearly misunderstanding him. He first explained Jiang Yuan Yao’s whereabouts. “Jiang-ge is taking a shower in his room upstairs. He’s going out to eat tonight.”
He then said, “Mr. Gu, why are you here? Are you here to visit the set? Jiang-ge will be so happy! I’ll go…”
“No, no, no! Don’t,” Gu Xiu quickly stopped him and told a small lie. “I’m on a business trip. I’m done and I’m about to leave.”
Xiao Wang’s face showed disappointment. “Ah, alright…”
Gu Xiu instructed, “Don’t tell Yaoyao.”
After thinking for a moment, he added a sentence that was both soft and hard. “If he knows I came but left without seeing him, he’ll be even sadder. It’s better not to let him know.”
Xiao Wang believed him and nodded vigorously. “That’s true.”
“Mm, then I’m leaving. You must not tell him.”
The private room chosen for the crew dinner was quite clever. There was a window on the wall facing the corridor. When Gu Xiu walked past, he could not only hear the voices inside, but also see the speakers clearly.
The backs of the few people who recognized him were facing the window. They were being forced to listen to the producer’s high-flown talk. The obviously drunk producer was red-faced, and his saliva was flying all over the large round table.
Gu Xiu looked at Jiang Yuan Yao’s back inside for a while, then at the dark end of the corridor.
His heart was pounding, and he murmured to himself, 【What if Ninth Uncle doesn’t come? Then my crematorium won’t be in place at all.】
Besides, what if he succeeded in saving the damsel in distress and Jiang Yuan Yao was moved by him?
Bzz—
The vibration of his phone interrupted his thoughts.
Gu Xiu looked down and saw a message from Jiang Yuan Yao on the screen.
【Gu Xiu, save me…】
He looked up again and saw that Jiang Yuan Yao, who had his back to him, had already slumped onto the table, like a weak little lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
Gu Xiu frowned. He had a gut feeling that things were not that simple. He quickly asked 007, 【Does he know I’m here? That Xiao Wang really is a spy, right?】
However, the situation was quite urgent now. The producer, whose plan to get him drunk had succeeded, had revealed his true colors. His cloudy eyes were greedy and blatant. He held a wine glass and went around toasting, getting closer and closer to Jiang Yuan Yao.
Gu Xiu couldn’t wait for the protagonist gong anymore. By the time he reacted, he had already pushed the door open and entered. The private room instantly fell silent.
“Tai…” The director recognized him, and the words “crown prince” almost slipped out. His flexible tongue made a sharp turn, and he asked instead, “Young Master Gu, why are you here? Then Chairman Lu…”
There was no one else behind Gu Xiu.
The director still gave him full face and asked again, “Young Master Gu?”
Gu Xiu turned a deaf ear and ignored him, walking straight to the unconscious Jiang Yuan Yao.
Jiang Yuan Yao looked up at the sound, and the surprise in his gradually brightening eyes was tangible.
After a moment, a misty haze appeared in those bright eyes, accompanied by a wronged and coquettish, “Gu Xiu…”
Gu Xiu’s cold attitude did not change. He said with a sullen face, “Come with me.”
The “drunk” Jiang Yuan Yao could still understand human language. He quickly got up from his seat and followed him.
The two of them left the private room one after the other. A moment later, the door of a private room diagonally opposite opened, and a man in a solemn black coat walked out.
“I knew you wouldn’t really leave me,” Jiang Yuan Yao’s heart was filled with sweetness.
Gu Xiu didn’t reply and silently took him to the side of the road.
In the mountain county in the middle of winter, the cold wind at night was as sharp as a knife. Gu Xiu was used to the heated environment in the north, and he had been dressing thinly wherever he went this winter. After taking two breaths of the cold air, half of his body temperature was gone.
He lowered his head slightly, his body swaying from side to side to keep warm. His fingers were stiff and white, holding a cold phone.
The platform is dispatching a car for you, please wait…
In this dark and deserted place, he couldn’t get a taxi for a long time.
“Gu Xiu.”
When he heard this voice, Gu Xiu thought he was hallucinating from the cold.
It wasn’t until Jiang Yuan Yao also turned his head, his expression like he had eaten a fly.
But Gu Xiu didn’t pay attention to Jiang Yuan Yao. His attention was all on the tall and handsome Lu Shichen, who was like a god descending to earth. His bright black eyes were practically shooting out laser beams.
That expression was one of gratitude, as if he had seen his savior.
His pale, handsome face was written with a few large words: Yaoyao is in your hands.
His unexpected reaction instantly dispelled all the accusations Lu Shichen had prepared.
—He was still entangled with his “little lover,” unable to break it off, and was even caught by his Ninth Uncle, who was considered an elder.
But he showed a relieved and surprised expression.
That dependent and trusting gaze could easily soften a heart that had been frozen in the cold winter.
Lu Shichen’s gaze flickered slightly. He took a step forward and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I was going to call a car to take Yaoyao back, but I’ve been waiting for a long time and no driver has accepted the order,” Gu Xiu looked left and right. “Ninth Uncle, you came by car, right?”
Lu Shichen had taken the first flight in the morning to come here after Gu Xiu, but due to his status, even if he was traveling light and low-key, someone here had gotten wind of it and had diligently arranged for a private car to pick him up.
So Lu Shichen grunted in agreement.
“That’s great,” Gu Xiu sniffled. He noticed in his peripheral vision that the drunk Jiang Yuan Yao was about to fall on him. He quickly stepped aside towards Lu Shichen and smiled again. “Thanks, Ninth Uncle.”
“Hey?” Gu Xiu was suddenly stunned. He leaned a little closer and sniffed carefully. “Ninth Uncle, you’ve been drinking too?”
No wonder he looks strange.
He’s full from drinking, not from jealousy.
Soon, the driver brought over a low-key and spacious SUV.
The drunk Lu Shichen had lost his gentlemanly demeanor and had no intention of serving others. He opened the back door and got in first, then instructed, “Gu Xiu, sit here.”
The indecisive Gu Xiu decisively took a seat.
But immediately after, Jiang Yuan Yao also sat next to him in the back, squeezing him, a perfectly innocent scum gong in a crematorium, in the center of the storm.
【…?】 Gu Xiu typed a question mark in his mind.
【Very good, very good. Both the protagonist gong and shou are jealous.】 007 analyzed the unexpected situation with reason and evidence. 【The protagonist gong wants to separate you two because you’re alone with the drunk protagonist shou. The protagonist shou doesn’t want you to be alone with the protagonist gong, so he also sat in the back.】
Gu Xiu hesitated for a moment: 【…Is that so.】
Never mind the protagonists. It was really uncomfortable to be squeezed between two people who reeked of alcohol. The smell of alcohol drifted from left to right, then from right to left, always passing through the innocent sandwich in the middle.
Gu Xiu closed his eyes and held his breath.
Compared to Jiang Yuan Yao, Lu Shichen also had a faint smell of smoke, as well as the fresh and distant cedarwood scent he had smelled before.
“Chairman Lu, we’re here,” the driver turned back to inform the three people in the strange atmosphere and got out to open the back door.
Lu Shichen sat still and said to the driver who was walking towards him, “Mr. Jiang is drunk. Please take him up. He has a high level of attention now. If someone sees him going in and out of the hotel with us, there will be trouble.”
The driver agreed and immediately went around to the other side to ask Jiang Yuan Yao to get out of the car.
Jiang Yuan Yao understood the reasonable words and couldn’t even say a word of defense. Every word Lu Shichen said hit the nail on the head. Not only was he far less wealthy than the other, he was also likely to cause trouble for Gu Xiu…
He bit his lip and got out of the car with the driver.
007 was excitedly informing Gu Xiu that tonight’s plot point was clear. But Gu Xiu’s mood was complicated, and he had completely lost the desire to complain about this full-of-holes judgment system. When Jiang Yuan Yao was far away, only he and Lu Shichen were left in the quiet car.
Lu Shichen was not in a hurry to get out of the car and even gently closed his eyes. If it weren’t for his straight back and his hands clasped on his suit pants, which still looked reserved, Gu Xiu would have suspected that he was so drunk he thought the car was a hotel bed.
“Ninth Uncle?”
Gu Xiu called out tentatively.
“…Ninth Uncle?”
The second call was a little more hesitant.
“Asleep?” Gu Xiu murmured to himself.
“Ninth Uncle, can you still walk? Do you need me to take you up?”
After asking several times, Lu Shichen finally opened his eyes a crack.
“Then I’ll help you out,” Gu Xiu made a judgment. He first extended his fingertips and gently poked the man’s arm, then he opened his five fingers and held his arm.
Lu Shichen looked tall, but he was surprisingly easy to pull.
Gu Xiu got out of the car first, then bent down to help him.
Just as he got out of the car, Lu Shichen, who had been cooperative a second ago, seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep this second. He suddenly became a heavy anchor, dragging him back with him.
At the last critical moment, probably as an elder’s instinct, Lu Shichen pulled him back with his backhand, making him turn around and lean against the car, avoiding an accidental fall.
Gu Xiu’s attention was all on his back, which was aching from the impact. After a moment, he smelled the cool woody scent. A moment later, he felt that the scent was a little too close. He blinked again, and the man’s gray eyes, filled with a heavy mist, were right in front of him.
The lenses were highly transparent, and their gazes met without obstruction. The metal frame of the glasses was like ice in the middle of winter. When it touched Gu Xiu’s skin, he shivered from the cold.
But before he could react—
Lu Shichen stumbled, and his body leaned forward a few more inches. The already small distance was instantly reduced to nothing, and their soft lips collided directly.
The man’s scent came over him like a tidal wave, invading his lungs through his lips and teeth.
Gu Xiu’s eyes widened, his mind a complete blank, as if he were frozen.
