Chapter 4: Why Are You Locked Out?
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Several important system notifications popped up in succession.
But Gu Tang didn’t see a single one.
He was busy having a beautiful dream.
In front of him was a shining golden roasted chicken leg. He took a big bite—so fragrant!
Rolling over with a little tumble, Gu Tang hugged someone’s leg in his arms, smacked his lips, and continued sleeping like a little pig.
—
Morning arrived, sunlight shining through the curtains into the room.
Gu Tang’s eyelashes trembled slightly. Feeling the light, he slowly opened his eyes.
His mind was still savoring the dream.
Ah… that chicken leg smelled so good…
In his previous life, his illness had been too severe. He hadn’t been able to eat for a very long time and could only imagine food in his dreams.
But now things were different.
As long as he completed some simple plot missions, he could grow up healthy. Later on he could eat whatever he wanted.
The more Gu Tang thought about it, the happier he felt. He licked his lips, when suddenly he sensed a murderous gaze.
Turning his head, he met a pair of cold, gloomy eyes—
Gu Tang: “?”
Morning grumpiness?
Gu Qinian didn’t actually have morning grumpiness. He had simply been having nightmares all night.
A milky-white dumpling monster had been chasing him!
The thing was round and chubby, rolling extremely fast. No matter how he ran, it always caught up. After pinning him down, the dumpling monster opened its mouth and bit him—first his arm, then his leg—leaving him covered in saliva.
Young Master Gu, who had a cleanliness obsession, was almost losing his mind.
Gu Qinian: I’m not clean anymore!
The male lead toddler looked extremely depressed. His already cold little face was tense, but because he was lying on his side, his baby-fat cheeks squeezed his mouth into a little “chicken butt” shape. Only his eyes were desperately trying to emit killing intent…
Instead of being intimidating, it just made him look even cuter.
A baby this cute absolutely had to learn how dangerous the world could be!
Gu Tang chuckled “hehehe” and leaned closer, planting a loud kiss on the baby’s cheek.
Smack!
Gu Qinian: “!!!”
Under Young Master Gu’s shocked gaze, Gu Tang calmly crawled up to sit.
What a wonderful morning—
A beautiful day begins with bullying the male lead baby.
Looking at the young master’s angry little expression, he had clearly managed to anger the male lead so much. Why didn’t any achievement reward appear?
Yesterday’s beginner mission had been too easy. Gu Tang was starting to feel a bit inflated.
But he waited for a while and still didn’t receive any system notification.
Gu Tang subconsciously glanced at his life value progress bar.
Eh? That’s strange…
Why had his precious little health bar suddenly turned a dull gray? There was even a bright red lock hanging on it!
Gu Tang had no idea what had happened.
But the system hadn’t notified him about anything, and his body didn’t feel uncomfortable either…
Since that was the case—
Whatever!
As long as you’re alive, that already counts as success!
If he hadn’t been so open-minded, how could he have managed to survive until adulthood in his previous life?
Holding onto the optimistic attitude of every day alive is a profit, Gu Tang immediately threw his doubts to the back of his mind.
He stretched his short little arms and legs, silently wishing to grow taller soon, then gave a huge stretch and opened his mouth—
The moment the milk dumpling opened his mouth, Gu Qinian reflexively covered his face.
Then he thought that wasn’t right.
So he switched to covering his ears.
Still not right.
But his arms and legs… couldn’t be covered.
Seeing the male lead baby covering and uncovering things for quite a while, Gu Tang blinked in confusion, then slowly let out a huge yawn.
“Ahhhaaaaa——”
Young Master Gu crossed both arms tightly in front of his chest, waiting for something terrible to happen, only to end up witnessing… a yawn.
Gu Qinian: “……”
Had this toddler already brainwashed him or something? Why did he even feel a little disappointed?
At that moment, the nursery door was quietly pushed open.
Two people walked in, bending over and moving lightly, almost sneaking around.
When they reached the crib and saw that the toddlers were already awake, they showed delighted expressions and began making funny faces to entertain the babies.
Gu Tang cooperatively responded with a few “ah ah” sounds.
Young Master Gu maintained a cold expression the entire time.
From their uniforms, Gu Tang could tell that one was a doctor and the other was the housekeeper of the Gu residence.
The doctor first picked him up for a physical examination. He was placed on an electronic scale to measure his weight, then a warmed stethoscope was used to listen to his chest, and his little belly was gently pressed.
Although Gu Tang was very familiar with the process of medical examinations, he was extremely ticklish!
The toddler giggled non-stop, twisting his body around while his little feet kicked wildly.
“What an adorable little baby.”
The doctor smiled and tickled Gu Tang’s tummy. After coaxing him happily for a while, he picked him up and handed him to the housekeeper.
“This child has a very good temperament, but his constitution is somewhat weak. Pay more attention to nutrition in his diet and let him get more sunlight.”
Gu Tang perked up his little ears to listen.
How could his constitution be weak? He had cried so loudly yesterday!
After thinking about it, it was probably because his life value bar had been locked.
But it wasn’t a big problem.
He could ask the system later how to unlock it.
After finishing the checkup, the housekeeper prepared to carry Gu Tang downstairs.
Seeing the doctor walking toward Gu Qinian, Gu Tang remembered how ticklish he had been earlier. He clenched his little fist and made a cheering gesture toward the young master.
Gu Tang: I wish you won’t be ticklish.
Gu Qinian: ……
—
Gu Tang sat steadily on the housekeeper’s arm as they took the elevator downstairs.
After only one night, the downstairs area had completely changed.
From the conversation between the housekeeper and the other servants, Gu Tang learned that the old lady of the Gu family, Su Mei, had returned.
Madam Su had been personally asked by the head of the Gu family to come back and look after her grandson, eliminating the possibility that anyone might try to target Young Master Gu again from the very beginning.
With someone in charge at home, the servants no longer dared to slack off.
All the curtains had been pulled open. Bright sunlight poured into the house, casting a pale golden glow across the already spacious and luxurious hall. The servants busied themselves everywhere, and the Gu family’s main residence seemed completely refreshed, even lively.
Like an old person on the brink of decline suddenly becoming decades younger.
On the sofa in the living room sat an elegant figure.
Because the light was behind her, Gu Tang couldn’t clearly see her appearance.
He heard the housekeeper greet her.
“Good morning, Madam.”
But this lady didn’t seem old at all.
Why did they call her Madam?
Gu Tang tilted his head in confusion.
Su Mei indeed wasn’t old. She was only a little over forty and had never liked that title. But what could she do? Was she supposed to compete with her daughter-in-law for the title of Mrs. Gu?
Madam it was, then.
Su Mei brushed back her hair and glanced from across the living room toward the child in the housekeeper’s arms.
“Is that my good grandson?”
The housekeeper shook his head.
“The young master is still upstairs having his physical examination. I’m just bringing this child down first.”
Hearing that it wasn’t her grandson, Su Mei immediately lost interest. She waved her hand, telling the housekeeper to take the child away.
Since her stepson had entrusted her with the responsibility, even though the child wasn’t her biological grandson, she would still carefully look after the Gu family’s bloodline. It was both an explanation to the late Old Master Gu and a way for her and Gu Lin to remain peacefully in the Gu residence.
As for unrelated children…
She didn’t have that much spare kindness.
From this perspective, she was indeed rather cold-blooded and ruthless—quite fitting for the role of a wicked stepmother.
After entertaining this thought herself, Su Mei took a sip of coffee and suddenly felt curious again.
Eh, what did that child look like just now?
She should have taken a look earlier. That tiny back view seemed kind of cute…
Meanwhile, in the dining room.
Gu Tang had been carefully settled into a baby chair by the housekeeper.
It seemed the housekeeper hadn’t forgotten the doctor’s advice about letting him get more sunlight. He had specially chosen an excellent dining spot for him. Warm sunlight passed through the floor-to-ceiling window and gently shone on Gu Tang’s back.
Gu Tang was playing with a little rattle drum in his hand while being fed by the housekeeper.
Breakfast was scallop and shredded chicken porridge.
Coincidentally, he had dreamed about gnawing on a chicken leg last night, so right now he was craving chicken.
The chef of the Gu residence was truly skilled, and the ingredients used were all of the finest quality. The seafood and minced chicken blended perfectly into the rice porridge, creating an incredibly rich and delicious flavor.
The porridge was crystal clear in color, extremely tempting.
Gu Tang only took one bite before happily narrowing his eyes.
He didn’t even want the housekeeper to feed him anymore. Throwing aside the little rattle drum, he reached for the small spoon to eat by himself.
While eating, he swung his little feet back and forth, feeling like a carefree immortal.
“Oh my, the baby is so well-behaved.”
Seeing that the toddler was already able to eat by himself at such a young age, the housekeeper couldn’t help praising him.
When he looked up, he suddenly realized that the old madam had appeared at the entrance of the dining room without anyone noticing.
The housekeeper immediately stood up, feeling somewhat uneasy.
He had only given the child the same food as the young master because the doctor had said the child needed nutrition. But the old madam didn’t seem to like this child very much—what if she didn’t allow the little one to eat such good food…
Su Mei, having been caught secretly watching the toddler eat, could only pretend she was just passing by and casually walked in.
“Aunty—”
The little toddler had been eating, but when he saw her, he lifted his small face and called out.
After greeting her, he lowered his head again and continued eating.
Polite and well-behaved.
Su Mei felt her heart struck by the toddler’s sweet smile. Instantly delighted, she asked,
“What did you call me?”
Gu Tang was very obedient—especially toward good-looking people.
He swallowed the food in his mouth and obligingly called again, “Aunty.”
“Oh dear, according to seniority you should call me Grandma. But who told me to look so young, hahaha.”
Su Mei laughed while covering her mouth, waved the housekeeper away, and sat down in front of the toddler.
“Good child, Grandma will give you something tasty. Want it?”
Gu Tang: “Yes.”
He had finished his porridge but still wasn’t full.
The housekeeper who had been pushed aside: “……”
He had wanted to continue watching the baby eat, sob…
Gu Tang looked at Su Mei with great expectation.
Madam Su rummaged around and pulled out—a cheese stick.
Truly mother and son.
Her taste in baby snacks was exactly the same as Gu Lin’s.
This brand of cheese stick was really delicious. Gu Tang’s eyes lit up with excitement.
However, Su Mei didn’t hand it to the toddler directly.
She took three pure white bone china cups and placed them upside down on the small table. Only one cup hid the cheese stick beneath it. Then she began swapping the positions of the three cups faster and faster.
The housekeeper watching beside them felt dizzy.
Their old madam had once been a professional casino dealer. Shuffling cards, shaking dice, spinning cups—those were all her specialties!
Wasn’t this simply bullying a child?!
After a while, Su Mei stopped and rested her chin on her hand as she looked at Gu Tang.
“Good child, pick one. Do you know where it is?”
It didn’t matter if he didn’t.
She was just bored and using her old professional tricks to play a little game with the child, wanting to see the cute expression of the toddler frowning his bun-like face in confusion.
However—
Gu Tang lifted his short little hand and pointed to one of the cups without any hesitation.
“This one—”
Su Mei paused. “…You’re not going to change it?”
Gu Tang shook his head and stared firmly at the cup.
The porcelain cup was lifted.
Sure enough, the cheese stick lay underneath.
Su Mei was both surprised and delighted.
“This child is so smart!”
The housekeeper shook his head from the side.
No, this wasn’t just a matter of intelligence. His reaction speed was incredibly fast—even he hadn’t seen it clearly.
Compared with the two adults, Gu Tang himself looked very calm.
In his previous life, his dynamic vision had already been quite good. His eyes were very sensitive to fast-moving objects. It was only his physical condition that limited his mobility.
While sucking on the cheese stick, Gu Tang suddenly remembered that Young Master Gu upstairs hadn’t eaten yet. He also wondered whether the doctor had tickled little Gu Qinian.
“Little brother…”
Gu Tang called out to remind the adults.
Su Mei gently touched the toddler’s cheek.
“What a good child. Even while eating, you remember your little brother?”
Gu Tang blinked and nodded.
Su Mei asked the housekeeper to bring Young Master Gu downstairs, while she stayed here continuing to play with the toddler.
But after a short while, Madam Su noticed that the child might have eaten his fill and was starting to get sleepy. The entire little body looked dazed.
Gu Tang wasn’t actually daydreaming.
He had just heard the system’s notification sound.
This time it rang several times in a row. Unlike before, there was none of that “friendly reminder” tone. Instead it sounded anxious and frantic.
[Host, host! What is going on?! Why are you locked? What changes happened to the plot? After I went off duty… what exactly did you do?!]
***
Author’s Note:
System: What did you do after I got off work?!
Tang Tang: Nothing. I just cried a little.
