Chapter 8: Dog-Blood High Society
Screech—
Rustle—
The sound of a zipper on casual pants being undone, the sound of the fabric of the pant legs piling up as they fell to the ground—it was like a hallucination, ringing with impossible clarity in Lu Shichen’s mind.
He looked back at the fitting room door. It was shut tight, leaving no gap for prying eyes.
But in his mind, the image of the young man pulling his long legs out of the pant legs appeared again.
Creak—
A transformed Gu Xiu pushed the door open, interrupting the vivid and sensual fantasy.
It was an autumn/winter suit, with a waist-cinching vest over the white shirt. He felt uncomfortable all over, constrained by these slim-fit clothes. The jacket was left casually open, the tie wasn’t tied, and his two hands were lazily tucked into his trouser pockets.
He walked up to Lu Shichen and spun around with a flourish. “Ninth Uncle, how do I look?”
“Tie your tie properly. You can wear it out,” Lu Shichen said with a cold attitude. He glanced at him and quickly averted his gaze, saying to the sales assistant, “Just pack up that other suit. No need to try it on.”
“Tch,” Gu Xiu grumbled under his breath, even wrinkling his nose when Lu Shichen wasn’t looking.
Because he went shopping during work hours, Gu Xiu lost his lunch break.
He yawned endlessly in front of the computer. Lu Shichen, who was also working overtime, was full of energy. He suddenly said, “Have dinner with me tonight after work.”
Gu Xiu was drowsy and too lazy to ask why. “Oh.”
The speech Lu Shichen had prepared was suddenly useless. He pursed his lips and saw Gu Xiu’s propped-up head sway a few times. Suddenly, the hand supporting his face slipped, and he startled himself awake.
Lu Shichen looked away, his knuckles tapping lightly on the desk. The lit-up phone screen showed his chat interface with his secretary, Amanda.
Lu Shichen’s instructions were concise: 【I’m taking Gu Xiu out to dinner tonight. Arrange it for me. You can handle the details.】
Amanda: 【Yes, Chairman Lu.】
As the special secretary to the chairman of a listed group, Amanda was well-versed in social etiquette and had first-rate insight. She quickly arranged for a restaurant, prioritizing environment and privacy. French cuisine, slow service, enough time for the uncle and nephew to communicate.
However, Chairman Lu was actually taking Gu Xiu out to dinner? This was a rare occurrence, or rather, a first in history. Amanda couldn’t help but make a joke.
Amanda: 【Chairman Lu, see what I told you? Instead of painstakingly reasoning with him and taking him to work and meetings, it’s better to take him out for a couple of meals to improve your relationship. Young Master Gu will surely understand your good intentions.】
However, Lu Shichen’s reaction was extremely cold.
【Amanda, do your job. Also, have you forgotten about my dinner with Mr. Jin tonight?】
Amanda: “…”
It’s fun to gossip, and it’s always fun to keep gossiping.
Seriously, what’s wrong with this person? He’s a king of celibacy, and even when he takes his nephew out to dinner, he can’t forget about work?
The rebellious nephew, who was sleeping on the desk, was woken up by the vibration of his phone again.
He rubbed his sleepy eyes, yawned, and groggily picked up his phone. Every move he made attracted the attention of the person who was supposed to be concentrating on his work.
Lu Shichen frowned, glancing over with slight displeasure.
Gu Xiu squinted his eyes. When he saw the content on the phone screen, the weariness on his face was swept away. He frowned and pursed his lips, an unreadable expression of either happiness or annoyance, a familiar strangeness.
It was like the few times he had been at odds with Jiang Yuan Yao before. He had diligently bought flowers and sent them to the hospital, only to find an excuse to run away midway without seeing him.
And at this moment, Gu Xiu had indeed received a message from Jiang Yuan Yao, reminding him not to forget yesterday’s promise to have French food together after work.
007, which had been silent whenever there was trouble, started to pester him again: 【Jiujiu, this is an important plot point in the novel. The protagonist shou asks you out to dinner and wears clothes similar to your white moonlight’s. He also secretly compares himself to the white moonlight to test your feelings!】
【He doesn’t know that he is the white moonlight, and you don’t know that your white moonlight is him. Tsk tsk tsk～】
【On the topic of the white moonlight, your IQ suddenly comes online. You hear the comparison in his words, yell at him, and leave in a huff. The protagonist shou hides in the bathroom and cries, accidentally bumping into the protagonist gong. The cold and reserved protagonist gong is moved by his tear-streaked face and can’t help but give him his handkerchief…】
【Why a handkerchief?】 Gu Xiu’s focus went off on a tangent. 【Can’t he use toilet paper? Toilet paper is much cleaner. And there’s free toilet paper in the bathroom.】
【…】 007 was silent for a moment, brewing its anger, then it scolded indignantly, 【Jiujiu! Are you allergic to romance! This is a poignant and moving story! Is that handkerchief just a handkerchief!? No, it’s the personification of love! It’s an important token! It’s a clue to promote the next meeting…】
Gu Xiu: “.”
After a few days of getting along, Gu Xiu’s temper had obviously mellowed a lot. He would remain silent about things he didn’t agree with, too lazy to argue.
It was also because he had been under Lu Shichen’s watchful eye from morning to night these past two days. The latter’s deep gaze always made him flustered. He knew that his conversation with 007 could never be leaked, but every time he met that sharp gaze, he still felt a faint sense of dread.
Lu Shichen observed him for a while, pushed up his glasses with his middle finger, and then said, “It’s almost five. Hurry up and get ready. We’ll leave for the restaurant at 5:30.”
“…Huh?”
“What?”
As if his foot had been heavily smashed by an invisible stone, Gu Xiu hissed, his eyes darting away. “Um, Ninth Uncle, I have a date tonight…”
Lu Shichen’s already cold face turned a few shades colder. The gaze that fell on his face almost condensed into icicles.
Gu Xiu shifted back uncomfortably, scratching his head and laughing it off. “I’m just going out to eat. I made plans yesterday. Sorry, Ninth Uncle. Why did you suddenly think of taking me out to dinner today?”
This question was indeed difficult to explain.
Lu Shichen asked himself, and could only say that it was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
The official reason he had prepared was to take Gu Xiu to meet a business partner and broaden his horizons. But Gu Xiu was a hopeless case. It looked like he was going out to mess around again, and he was going back on a promise he had made in a half-asleep state.
The more Lu Shichen looked at that frivolously smiling handsome face, the more his chest tightened. He looked away, too lazy to say anything more.
“I’m just going to eat, with a friend.” Gu Xiu’s eyes darted around. He tried to smooth things over with his future meal ticket. “I’ll go home right after dinner and send you a text to report, Ninth Uncle.”
Lu Shichen’s face was still sullen, but he at least replied with three words: “Do as you please.”
“Hehe, okay.” Gu Xiu made a successful retreat. “Then I’ll get off work now. Bye, Ninth Uncle. You should go eat early too.”
Lu Shichen: “…”
A stick, then a sweet date, then another stick.
Lu Shichen was completely worn down by his cousin-nephew and had no mood to continue working. He threw down his pen in frustration and glanced at the empty office.
He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. After a moment, he stood up, took his jacket from the coat rack, and got off work on time for once.
He didn’t know which friend Gu Xiu was going to eat with. He hoped it wasn’t Jiang Yuan Yao.
Gu Xiu arrived at the restaurant, travel-worn. Jiang Yuan Yao had been waiting for a long time.
The wait didn’t displease the little celebrity who had been spoiled by his sugar daddy. He looked at the young man walking towards him, his eyes widening inch by inch, filled with amazement and surprise.
Tonight, Gu Xiu was actually wearing a suit.
It was the first time he had seen Gu Xiu in a suit and tie. The noble temperament of a young master from a wealthy family was completely natural. His handsome face was complemented by the high-quality suit, and even the creases created by his movements looked elegant and beautiful.
Every carefully arranged detail revealed… his care for tonight’s date.
Jiang Yuan Yao’s heart was filled with an indescribable sweetness. He had long forgotten about throwing a tantrum. His cheeks flushed, and he called out in a sticky voice, “Gu Xiu… you’re here?”
Gu Xiu remained silent and took a seat opposite him at the round table.
At the same time, he knocked on 007 in his mind: 【What’s wrong with Jiang Yuan Yao? Shouldn’t he be all jealous, sulking, and wronged in front of me? What’s with him acting all coquettish with me now? By the way, what was his persona again?】
007: 【In the novel, Jiang Yuan Yao’s persona is a cold, love-deprived, tsundere cat shou.】
Gu Xiu wrinkled his nose.
That doesn’t seem right, does it? But people are complex, multi-faceted creatures. After the novel became a small world, these living characters couldn’t be as simple as the few sentences of description in the novel.
For example, Lu Shichen, who tirelessly forced him, a second-generation heir, to go to work, was completely different from the arrogant and cold description in the novel.
Gu Xiu quickly figured it out.
Back to the main point, he first observed Jiang Yuan Yao opposite him.
He was wearing a French white shirt with lace cuffs, the hem tucked into slim-fit black trousers, reminiscent of the original owner’s glimpse of the little ballet prince who had been pulled in to save the show at the theater.
Gu Xiu seriously followed the plot, his expression changing faster than flipping a book. A nameless anger was directed at the innocent clothes. “What the hell are you wearing?”
“Does it not look good?” Jiang Yuan Yao looked down at himself, then smiled at him. “I thought you’d like me to dress like this. I dressed up especially for you today…”
Gu Xiu’s face was dark, and he showed no appreciation. “Do you think you can become him just by imitating him? Can’t you weigh yourself? Jiang Yuan Yao, haven’t I told you many times to be content and not to covet things that don’t belong to you?”
The smile on Jiang Yuan Yao’s face froze.
“Remember your own identity. Don’t think about replacing him.”
“I’m not thinking of replacing anyone.” But Jiang Yuan Yao didn’t follow the script. Instead of retreating, he advanced. “I just want to try to become the person you like and make you happy! After all, you’re so good to me.”
He lowered his head and pouted, coquettish and shy, his words full of unbelievably romantic sweet nothings.
“…”
Gu Xiu quickly called the system in his mind: 【007! What’s going on? Shouldn’t he be jealous, sad, wiping his tears, and leaving to wait for the protagonist gong in the bathroom right now??】
007: 【Uh… this… that… Jiujiu, just be a little fiercer!】
Gu Xiu put on a stern face and sulked, looking more like the spoiled little celebrity than Jiang Yuan Yao ever did.
Jiang Yuan Yao didn’t mind his harsh words and was all smiles.
It was as if the exquisite but insubstantial French food was a rare delicacy, and the sugar daddy opposite him was a delicious side dish that went perfectly with it.
But beneath the smile, Jiang Yuan Yao’s feelings were somewhat complicated.
No wonder the old Gu Xiu always looked down on him with an arrogant air. Gu Xiu was not only rich, but his looks were also top-notch.
But no matter what, the person sitting in front of Gu Xiu now was not someone else, but him. The current Gu Xiu belonged to him.
“Gu Xiu, eat more.” Jiang Yuan Yao’s eyes curved into a smile as he thoughtfully poured Gu Xiu a glass of red wine. “AOC red wine from France. Have a taste.”
“…”
Gu Xiu still had lingering fears about alcohol and naturally refused sternly, “No.”
Jiang Yuan Yao wasn’t angry. “Okay, then you should eat more.”
Seeing that the small piece of cheese-baked crab meat was only a mouthful for Gu Xiu, and he seemed to be licking his lips for more, he quickly adapted to the situation and pushed his own portion of crab meat over. “Gu Xiu, you can have my portion too.”
Gu Xiu lowered his eyes coolly, his throat moving. He clicked his tongue in disgust, but picked up his knife and fork and put the delicious crab meat into his mouth.
Jiang Yuan Yao smiled so widely his eyes disappeared. “Then this one too…”
“I’m full.” Gu Xiu put down his knife and fork heavily, his face dark.
“Okay.”
Jiang Yuan Yao didn’t insist.
After eating and drinking his fill, Gu Xiu began to think about how to get him to the bathroom.
Jiang Yuan Yao asked again, “Are you really full?”
Gu Xiu: “I’m full.”
“Perfect, I’m a little tired…” The smile in Jiang Yuan Yao’s eyes deepened, even revealing a hint of cunning as if a scheme had succeeded. “I’ve booked a room at the hotel opposite. Let’s go over and rest together.”
