Chapter 5: Did Nothing
The system replayed yesterday’s plot at 64× speed and began wailing.
[The male lead was supposed to be taken away by the nanny and live a miserable childhood. Host, how could you keep him here?! Wuuu…]
Gu Tang blinked innocently.
“The friendly reminder said I can’t escape my cannon-fodder identity or refuse to complete tasks.”
[Yes!]
Gu Tang replied confidently,
“So I only changed the plot.”
[…]
The system cried even louder.
Gu Tang had a kind heart and began to feel a little sorry for it. Trying to ease the atmosphere, he comforted it:
“Don’t worry. The health bar is only locked. Look at it from another angle—if it’s locked, it won’t decrease.”
[But it won’t increase either!]
[And I can’t even issue missions anymore!!]
The host’s comforting ability was just like its “friendly reminder” function—completely useless. Having it was no better than not having it.
Gu Tang: “……”
So you do know that.
The system beeped gloomily to itself for a while before finally calming down and speaking again.
[Host, although the plot has changed, your cannon-fodder storyline hasn’t changed. The male lead wasn’t taken away, but you also stayed here! So we still have hope!]
Gu Tang enthusiastically echoed,
“There’s still hope!!!”
He looked enthusiastic. “What do you need me to do?”
[Don’t do anything!]
Gu Tang: “Huh?”
The system had never encountered such a complicated and bizarre situation before. It needed to go consult some senior systems. Before leaving, it repeatedly instructed Gu Tang to “maintain the status quo—at least things won’t get worse.”
Gu Tang nodded obediently. “Okay!”
Only after receiving the host’s clear response did the system finally leave, still extremely reluctant and worried.
Gu Tang, however, felt the system’s concern was unnecessary.
Doing nothing was the easiest thing.
He could relax all day!
—
A moment later.
Young Master Gu was brought downstairs and placed in a baby chair next to Gu Tang.
In the gentle morning sunlight, the two little toddlers sat side by side. No matter how one looked at it, the scene seemed warm and harmonious—
If one of the toddlers didn’t look so gloomy.
“The young master’s autistic symptoms are very severe. He lacks interest and response toward surrounding things. He doesn’t even have the curiosity typical of normal children, and he even shows aggressive tendencies. This is very dangerous…”
The doctor was reporting the toddlers’ examination results to Su Mei. When mentioning the young master, he subconsciously rubbed his forehead.
That patch of skin was visibly bruised and slightly bleeding, as if something had struck it.
But the culprit was obvious.
It was the “very dangerous” young master the doctor was talking about.
Gu Qinian glared fiercely, staring at the doctor who was “complaining.”
Gu Tang tilted his head and leaned closer. “Did he tickle you?”
Gu Qinian didn’t answer. His glare toward the doctor became even fiercer.
Gu Tang quietly inhaled in surprise.
Just from tickling him, the doctor’s head had been smashed like that. Meanwhile he himself had committed repeated “acts of disrespect” toward Young Master Gu, yet he remained completely unharmed—not even a single hair lost.
Gu Tang glanced at his reflection in the floor-to-ceiling window.
Although, to be fair, he didn’t have much hair right now anyway.
But Young Master Gu was really quite lenient toward him!
Since that was the case—
Gu Tang generously handed over the cheese stick he had won from Madam Su.
“Little brother! Eat!”
Good things should be shared between brothers.
If I get a bite, you get a bite too.
Gu Qinian slowly turned his face. Even his baby voice sounded like it carried icy blades as he spoke word by word.
“What did you call me?”
The moment he spoke, all the adults turned their attention toward the toddlers.
Su Mei raised her eyebrows. “Wasn’t it said my grandson doesn’t react to anything?”
The housekeeper added, “Isn’t he doing perfectly fine?”
“Ah… well… this…”
The doctor looked extremely innocent.
Upstairs earlier, no matter how he tested, the young master didn’t even give him a glance.
Why could he suddenly speak when facing this toddler?!
Gu Qinian regretted speaking the moment he finished that sentence. No matter how fierce he sounded, the baby voice completely ruined the effect.
Even though his tone was slightly deeper than ordinary children.
It still made no difference.
Young Master Gu: angry!
And right in front of him, the toddler added insult to injury by calling again:
“Little brother!”
Gu Tang said it with complete confidence.
For children under two years old, even a difference of a few months in age was significant. Not to mention how tall the future Big Boss Gu would become—just looking at the present—
Little Gu Qinian was clearly a whole size smaller than him.
Definitely the younger brother!
The doctor even confirmed it.
“That obedient little one’s bone development suggests he’s about one and a half years old. The young master still has a few days before his first birthday, so technically he should indeed call him younger brother…”
Before the doctor could finish speaking, he was pierced by another sharp glare from Young Master Gu.
Doctor: “……”
Suddenly this job felt extremely dangerous.
Gu Qinian felt that earlier he hadn’t hit hard enough.
Hmm?
Young Master Gu really did seem angry…
Seeing Gu Qinian’s expression, Gu Tang remembered the system’s repeated warnings. Very wisely, he stopped provoking him.
He lowered his head and quietly ate his cheese stick.
Wuwu, the cheese stick is so delicious…
Finally the doctor left.
Gu Qinian’s eyes had grown sore from glaring. He withdrew his gaze.
He had expected the toddler to cause more trouble, but instead the milk dumpling was completely focused on eating and didn’t even look at him once.
Gu Qinian suddenly felt annoyed.
He clenched his hand into a fist and knocked on the small table of his baby chair, meaning: “Hey, brat. Look at me.”
But Gu Tang continued obediently nibbling his cheese stick.
As if he had heard nothing.
Gu Qinian narrowed his eyes. “……”
So obedient?
Impossible.
Something unusual must be hiding something strange.
Today he would keep watching this dumpling toddler. He refused to believe the kid wouldn’t cause trouble.
Thinking this, Gu Qinian’s gaze grew even colder.
—
A toddler’s daily life was colorful and busy.
In the evening, Su Mei had just finished a spa treatment. Holding a glass of red wine, she listened as the housekeeper reported the children’s activities for the day.
“In the morning we took the children to the garden for some sunlight. The obedient one liked the fish in the pond very much, so we stayed there a while. The hawthorn tree in the yard has produced fruit, so I picked a few for him. After his nap, he ate a small piece of freshly made hawthorn cake…”
Because the child still had no name, the housekeeper temporarily referred to the toddler who had saved the young master as “the obedient one.”
Su Mei could understand exactly who he meant.
After all, that child truly was obedient—both obedient and clever.
Madam Su nodded slightly.
“Today’s schedule for the obedient one was good. But don’t give him too much hawthorn cake; the sugar content is too high.”
The housekeeper nodded and carefully recorded it in a small notebook.
Ever since the nanny incident, he had personally taken care of the toddlers to ensure absolutely nothing could go wrong.
“Don’t you think something is missing from the report?” Madam Su suddenly asked.
The housekeeper paused with his pen.
“Nothing… right?”
Su Mei frowned. “What did the young master do all day?”
The housekeeper had actually thought he had missed something. When he realized she was asking about the young master, he immediately relaxed and answered frankly.
“Oh, the young master didn’t do anything. He spent the entire day staring at the obedient one.”
Su Mei: “Mm…”
“Mm???”
—
Gu Tang, who had been stared at all day, also felt rather depressed.
For example, right now.
He had found a small toy electronic keyboard. Since he hadn’t played piano for a long time, his hands itched to practice a little.
But the moment his short, chubby fingers touched the keys, he felt Young Master Gu’s sharp gaze.
No matter how big-hearted Gu Tang was, being watched constantly while doing anything was extremely uncomfortable—especially when the other person did absolutely nothing and simply stared at him.
Did he want to play together?
But today he couldn’t interact with Young Master Gu.
Anything that might affect Gu Qinian’s mood had to be avoided, in case the plot changed again.
Ah, being cannon fodder was really difficult.
Even resting wasn’t peaceful…
Gu Tang slowly turned his little body, inch by inch, until his back faced Young Master Gu.
Noticing the toddler’s small movements, Gu Qinian narrowed his eyes.
Here it comes again!
Avoiding him again!
The brat hadn’t acted like this when he woke up in the morning. What happened today?
Young Master Gu touched his face. That spot had been kissed by the milk dumpling earlier in the morning.
The more he thought about it, the less he could understand the toddler’s intentions. Finally he simply crawled over and sat directly in front of him.
Yes.
Young Master Gu’s ability to walk upright had not yet fully developed.
For now, crawling was more efficient.
Seeing Gu Qinian crawling toward him, Gu Tang became even more nervous.
Fortunately, at that moment Gu Lin returned home and came upstairs to check on the two little ones.
When Gu Tang saw the Gu family’s little uncle, it was like seeing a savior. He hurried over excitedly.
“Little Uncle—”
The toddler was so small that even walking was wobbly, let alone running.
What if he fell?
Gu Lin took two long steps forward and quickly reached Gu Tang, lifting him up.
“Good boy.”
Although this child wasn’t his real nephew, he called him “little uncle” so sweetly.
Unlike the other one… who didn’t acknowledge him at all.
The toddler’s body was soft and light. Naturally, Gu Lin lifted Gu Tang high into the air.
“Let’s make our good boy fly!”
In both his lifetimes, Gu Tang had never played such an exciting game.
His eyes widened.
His little arms spread open.
“Fly—!”
No wonder children liked the “lift me up high” game so much.
It was really fun!
Gu Qinian watched coldly from the side and let out a quiet snort.
What was so fun about it?
The toddler had avoided him all day, but the moment Gu Lin came back he rushed straight to him…
One big person and one small toddler laughed happily in the room, while the other toddler stood beside them radiating dark, gloomy pressure.
Not only Gu Tang—even Gu Lin could feel that icy gaze.
Did his bad-tempered nephew also want to be lifted up?
After all, he was his real nephew.
He couldn’t show too much favoritism.
Reluctantly, Gu Lin set Gu Tang down and turned to pick up Young Master Gu.
“Come on, little uncle will let you fly too—”
But the moment he lifted the child—
His nephew suddenly kicked out with both feet, expressionless, knocking over the juice on the table.
Without missing at all, the juice spilled all over Gu Lin.
Outside the nursery.
The housekeeper was just about to knock and call the children downstairs for dinner when he heard their usually cool and arrogant Second Young Master let out a shriek that broke his voice—
“My limited-edition accessories!!!”
In an instant, the Gu residence fell into chaos.
Gu Lin rushed to clean the clinking metal accessories on his clothes. Gu Qinian had also gotten juice on him and was carried away to be washed. The nursery was full of scattered items, and with sticky juice spilled everywhere, it was difficult to clean. Everyone became busy.
At the scene of the juice accident, only Gu Tang remained completely clean.
So he was given a small baby bib and temporarily placed in a baby chair at the dining table to wait for dinner.
Whenever it was time to eat, Gu Tang was happy!
In his previous life he had been sick all the time with no appetite. Later he couldn’t even eat at all. Now that he had been reborn, the three daily meals had become the happiest moments of his day.
Especially since the Gu family’s chef was so amazing!
Gu Tang happily adjusted the baby bib around his neck.
—
As the head of the Gu family, Gu Quan carried responsibilities he could not escape. Because of this he had sacrificed his family life. From the moment his wife became pregnant, he had been busy with work and hadn’t even seen the child after it was born.
Yesterday, when he heard that the child had nearly been swapped at home, Gu Quan had spent the entire night awake, reflecting deeply.
If he couldn’t protect the family, the greater clan, or his own small household, then he was useless.
After much thought, Gu Quan hurried back.
The moment he entered the house, he saw a small figure sitting in the dining room.
The little one was smiling sweetly, carefully tucking the pink baby bib with strawberry patterns into his collar with small movements. After tucking it in, he even smoothed it neatly—so obedient it melted the heart.
His son was only this small, yet he already knew how to tuck in his bib by himself!
Gu Quan’s heart softened instantly. He rushed forward and lifted the little baby in his arms.
“Son, did you miss Daddy?”
Gu Tang suddenly found his feet hanging in the air, being picked up. His big watery eyes were filled with confusion.
At the same time, he saw the housekeeper carrying Young Master Gu down the stairs.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but the way little Gu Qinian looked at him seemed particularly cold. Those ink-dark eyes emitted a faint chill.
Gu Tang shivered from the “cold.”
Before he could even recover, he suddenly heard a click—like a lock opening—and two system notifications popped up.
[Congratulations. You have completed the important plot point: “Steal the male lead’s fatherly love.”]
[Your review has been approved. The Life Value Progress Bar has now been unlocked, and you have received the additional reward “External Possessions.”]
Gu Tang: Huh??
The system, which had spent the entire day consulting others and rushed back carrying a pile of unlocking strategies: Huh???
Author’s Note:
System: What happened? What happened again?!
Tang Tang: …If I say I didn’t do anything, would you believe me?
