Chapter 50: The Birthday Visit Surprise
The moment Gu Tang spotted young master Gu’s tall, jade-like figure, his eyes lit up at once. “Niannian!”
Just a few days ago, on the phone, young master Gu had said he would not be back anytime soon.
And yet here he was, descending onto the set out of nowhere to visit him!
Gu Tang was overflowing with surprise, but before he could properly beam, the system’s notification sounded in his head with numb indifference.
[Congratulations, Host. You have completed the important romance-line plot point “Break the Male Lead’s Heart.” Reward: 50 life points and 5 plot coins.]
Gu Tang: “???”
What kind of nonsense was that?
“Romance line?”
“Shouldn’t that obviously be a mission on the heroine’s side?”
Gu Tang could not understand it. Why had another heroine-related plot task ended up on his side again?
[I don’t know either, but that’s how the main system judged it.]
[Don’t panic, Host. As long as there’s a reward, it’s fine.]
The system had completely lost its curiosity now and sounded like it had given up and was just drifting along.
Gu Tang clicked his tongue. “I told you your main system has too many bugs.”
[Yes, yes, yes.]
Whatever the host said was right!
Following the host meant a steady path of promotion, raises, and long vacations!
Anyway, insulting the main system was the same as insulting the boss.
As a working system, it did not like the boss at all, so the host could scold all he wanted.
The generous reward felt great, but Gu Tang was still worried.
Would young master Gu’s future romance line really go badly?
Why was there even such a bizarre mission as “break the male lead’s heart” on the heroine’s side?
Good thing he had accidentally cleared it. Otherwise, how pitiful would young master Gu be!
Unable to figure out why young master Gu was currently in a “heartbroken” state, Gu Tang anxiously struggled, trying to wriggle out of Yu Yang’s embrace.
Unfortunately, Yu Yang was still trapped in his own world.
The more Gu Tang moved, the tighter he was held.
After another few twists, it felt as though even his bones were about to start cracking.
Gu Tang: “……”
He strongly suspected Yu Yang had been an octopus in his previous life.
If he did not choke someone to death, he could definitely wrap them to death.
Luckily, little uncle arrived just in time.
Gu Lin smacked Yu Yang on the head. “Wake the hell up!”
The slap landed with a loud smack.
It was a sharp, ringing sound.
Yu Yang did not make a sound, but Gu Tang sucked in a breath. “Hiss—”
[Host, Yu Yang is an artist under Xinglin Media, right? Which means Gu Lin is his boss, right?]
Gu Tang nodded blankly. “Yeah. Why?”
The system suddenly shivered.
[Human bosses are terrifying. They actually hit people.]
Gu Tang gave a dry laugh. “That’s still pretty rare, actually.”
He guessed it was because Gu Lin and Yu Yang had that suspicious relationship, so Gu Lin could be so casual and go straight in with a slap without holding back.
Although he thought Yu Yang looked a little pitiful getting hit for no clear reason, he was still firmly on his little uncle’s side.
Earlier he had been worried little uncle was not as tall and might get bullied, but now Gu Tang finally relaxed.
Sure enough, Gu Lin bullying others was more likely than him getting bullied.
Still, different situations had to be judged separately, so Gu Tang kindly reminded the system, “Anyway, keeping your distance from the boss can help you avoid a lot of trouble.”
[Senior said the same thing too!]
The system answered cheerfully.
Gu Tang: “……”
Your senior probably just wants everyone to stay far away from him!
[But senior also said Yu Yang and Gu Lin might already be keeping a certain distance, so why did he still get hit?]
Earlier, when Gu Tang had grown suspicious about the relationship between the two, he had specifically asked the system to check whether Gu Lin and Yu Yang had any connection in the original novel. But from beginning to end, Glory of Qinian did not contain the name “Yu Yang” at all.
Thinking about it, Gu Tang realized he had never seen that name while reading either.
The system, worried it might have missed something, had gone to ask its senior.
Gu Tang looked puzzled. “What distance were they keeping exactly?”
[Senior said it was negative distance!]
The system answered innocently.
Right after that—because it had inappropriately explained improper information to a minor, the system was muted by the main system for twenty-four hours.
Gu Tang: “……”
That senior was clearly trying to get the little system killed.
In reality, after getting slapped hard by Gu Lin, Yu Yang did not seem to feel any pain. Instead, he looked like someone waking abruptly from a dream and touched the back of his head in confusion.
The moment he lifted his hand, he naturally let go of Gu Tang.
Gu Tang was free again.
Too worried about the reason for young master Gu’s “heartbreak,” he had no time for anything else and immediately ran toward him.
He was still wearing the Ninth Prince’s black robe, so when he spread his arms and ran, he looked like some oversized fluttering moth. “Niannian!”
The moment he reached him, he grabbed the flowers from young master Gu’s hands.
Gu Tang smiled brightly. “Are these for me?”
Gu Qinian came back to himself and responded, “Mm.”
Gu Tang lowered his head and sniffed the flowers. “They smell so nice.”
“Thank you, Niannian!”
The corners of young master Gu’s mouth twitched, and he forced out a smile.
Gu Tang carefully observed his expression.
He still did not look very happy…
A bouquet of flowers was not light, so Fang Chi hurried over to help take them. The moment he picked them up, he looked confused. “Huh? Why are there one, two, three, four… five holes in the wrapping paper?”
Gu Qinian: “……”
Just now, when he had seen Gu Tang in someone else’s arms, he had almost lost control.
His grip on the flowers had been too strong…
Fortunately, Gu Tang was big-hearted and did not ask further. Instead, his gaze landed on the cake in the other hand.
Gu Tang blinked. “And dis one?”
His soft little voice sounded almost like he was acting cute.
Young master Gu was instantly softened by it and felt his mood improve a little. He coughed lightly. “That’s yours too.”
Then he shoved the cake into Fang Chi’s hands and quickly dismissed the assistant. “Take it and cut it.”
“Got it!” Fang Chi obeyed and retreated.
Once he saw young master Gu’s expression improve, Gu Tang also smiled again. “Niannian, you’re the best.”
The moment he saw the boy’s bright smile, Gu Qinian’s heart began pounding. “I’m glad you like it.”
Then he added another line.
“Don’t act cute in public.”
“I didn’t…”
Gu Tang felt wronged. He had not been acting cute.
He had been deliberately trying to cheer young master Gu up.
Now that the system was muted, he had no way to know whether the “male lead heartbreak” had actually been fixed.
But judging from young master Gu’s expression, it looked like the problem was mostly gone!
Gu Tang relaxed, then started thinking again about what exactly had made young master Gu “heartbroken.”
In any case, it definitely was not his fault.
The moment he thought of the future big-boss aura around young master Gu, alarm bells rang in Gu Tang’s head.
Could it be that during the time he had been abroad, young master Gu had encountered some exotic romance, and now that he was back, his heart was still tied over there? Wouldn’t that explain the heartbreak?
The more Gu Tang thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
So he pulled young master Gu into the dressing room to interrogate him slowly.
The system had mentioned before that after the key plot point involving young master Gu’s car accident and falling into the water passed, both his career line and romance line would open at the same time.
What did that mean?
It meant his Gu Qinian was growing up!
Maybe he was about to fall into some passionate romance!
Gu Tang bit down on a little fork while waiting for Fang Chi to cut the cake, all the while thinking about the best way to start questioning him.
“Why did Niannian suddenly come back?”
After thinking it through, he decided to take a gradual approach.
After all, a sensitive topic like first love might not be something young master Gu, currently in his rebellious phase, would admit to directly.
Gu Qinian had no idea what was going on in Gu Tang’s mind and answered truthfully, “To come home for the New Year.”
Gu Tang immediately straightened up. “You’re leaving again after the New Year?”
Wasn’t that basically proof he had someone abroad?
Gu Qinian nodded. “Mm.”
Gu Tang narrowed his eyes and probed, “You’re not even attending next semester?”
Gu Qinian glanced at him and saw nothing but deep reluctance in Gu Tang’s eyes.
As expected. The boy did not want him to leave.
Young master Gu forced himself to nod, then added, “I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
After what had just happened, Gu Qinian was even more determined to become the head of the Gu family as soon as possible.
The faster, the better.
For that, he would do everything in his power.
Otherwise, what if before he was ready, Gu Tang got snatched away by some random nobody?
Meanwhile, Gu Tang only waved a little hand. “No need. Just focus on your own work. You don’t have to worry about things at home.”
In the original novel, young master Gu had stayed abroad for several years and returned already evolved into Big Boss Gu, directly rising to power. If his future romance line was also abroad, then coming back too early would only ruin things!
Gu Tang patted his own chest. “I’m here at home. I’ll take care of Grandma Mei and Auntie Shen.”
So go ahead and take care of your career line and romance line!
The overly eager attitude made Gu Qinian feel that something was off. “What do you mean by that?”
What could it mean?
Once young master Gu finished his plot line, Gu Tang would also retire successfully and go embrace freedom.
Even though Gu Tang was reluctant to part with everyone in the Gu family, being bound by the plot felt awful. And what was worse, the plot kept trying to push him into doing bad things.
Good thing he had no evil intentions. If some truly rotten fake young master had taken his place, young master Gu probably would have suffered terribly…
As Gu Tang was thinking that, his wrist was suddenly caught. A pair of black, abyss-deep eyes stared at him. “You don’t want me to come back?”
Gu Tang froze. “Huh?”
With a little tug, Gu Qinian pulled the boy into his arms.
The possessiveness he had only just suppressed rose up again. Just thinking about Gu Tang being held by someone else made sour bitterness bubble up in his chest.
Now the two were face-to-face at incredibly close range.
Off to the side, Fang Chi watched in alarm.
He was desperately calculating that if the president and the little director got into a fight, whose side he would help.
Obviously the little director’s!
If the president dared lay a hand on the little director, then he would, he would…
Fang Chi looked down at the plastic cake knife in his hand and steeled himself.
He would smear cream all over the president’s face!
Then while the president could not see properly, he would grab the little director and run!
On the sofa, Gu Qinian held Gu Tang’s wrist in one hand and pressed the other to the back of his neck, repeating in a low, heavy voice, “You don’t want me to come back?”
“Of course not.”
Gu Tang looked innocent, completely lacking any sense of danger.
Seeing that expression, Gu Qinian’s heart softened again, and his fingers rubbed lightly over that narrow wrist as he prepared to let go reluctantly.
Then Gu Tang opened his mouth and started rattling on. “You have to keep learning from Papa Gu, and you also have to fall in love. So obviously you won’t have time to come back!”
Gu Qinian: “???”
“What are you talking about?”
Gu Tang smiled very reasonably. “Outside of school, you’re not restricted by school rules. There’s no ban on dating early.”
As he said that, he even used his free hand to pat young master Gu on the shoulder and blinked at him with a sly little I’ll keep your secret expression.
“……”
Gu Tang thought he had gotten into a relationship abroad, yet he was not angry at all.
The moment he realized that, young master Gu felt deeply displeased.
Gritting his teeth, he fixed his gaze on the dense-headed little brat in front of him. “Didn’t you say that if you weren’t dating, I couldn’t date either?”
Gu Tang froze.
A distant memory slowly resurfaced.
Back in junior high, in order to stop young master Gu from falling into puppy love and ruining the plot line, he had indeed used his authority as the “older brother” to tell him that he had to start dating only after Gu Tang did.
But times had changed.
Gu Tang generously said, “I take that back. You’re free now.”
“No.”
Gu Qinian stared at the boy’s opening and closing lips, seized by the urge to bite them.
Just to teach the little brat a lesson.
To see whether that mouth would dare speak nonsense so easily in the future.
Gu Qinian ran his tongue over the points of his teeth and said fiercely, “I’ve decided to keep my promise. If you don’t date, then I won’t either.”
Seeing Gu Tang’s lips part as if he wanted to say something more, young master Gu gave a cold snort and cut him off. “And while you’re still in school, you must strictly obey school rules. Absolutely no dating.”
From the sidelines, Fang Chi brought the knife down with a puchi and cut off a slice of cake.
Good grief.
The president had completely blocked off both his own and the little director’s love lives.
What a ruthless man.
Still, as for the little director getting into a school romance, Fang Chi honestly did not believe it.
Trying to defuse the tension, Fang Chi said, “President, you really don’t have to worry. The little director probably doesn’t even know what kind of girl he likes. How could he possibly date early?”
Please just let go of his wrist already. It was turning red.
But to Fang Chi’s surprise, the one who objected was Gu Tang.
“Who said that? I know!”
Actually, Gu Tang did not know all that clearly. There was only a vague outline in his heart.
But if he was not dating and young master Gu was not dating either, then wouldn’t that affect the development of the male lead’s romance line?
In that case, he had to act like the older brother.
He could not show weakness!
Gu Tang puffed out his chest stubbornly. “I have a type I like!”
Hearing that, Gu Qinian’s pupils contracted. He stared intently at the boy before him. “What kind?”
Gu Tang lowered his head slightly and smiled shyly, his cheeks turning a little red. “I like… I like someone with fair skin, tall, and very pretty…”
[If you relax the gender requirement, that’s literally just Gu Qinian.]
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
Gu Tang snapped at the system, then only afterward reacted. “Wait, weren’t you muted by the main system for twenty-four hours?”
[Senior got me out early!]
[Senior is awesome!]
Gu Tang: “Huh? Why?”
The system smiled shyly.
[Senior said only he gets to play little dark room with me…]
Gu Tang: “……”
I do not understand your friendship!
Just as he finished snapping at the system, Fang Chi also muttered under his breath, “If gender doesn’t matter, then the president fits every single one of those conditions…”
As he said it, Fang Chi secretly glanced at the president.
After all, since he had been caught secretly taking CP photos in the past, he had always assumed the president hated that kind of topic.
Who would have thought that the moment he finished speaking, Gu Qinian actually curved his lips at him.
And even gave him an approving look.
“?” Fang Chi glanced uncertainly behind himself.
There was no one behind him.
That smile really had been aimed at him.
Fang Chi’s skin crawled!
Could it be that the president was planning to kill him?!
In order to save himself, Fang Chi hurriedly added, “Haha, just kidding. There’s also senior Ye Xiao in second year who fits those conditions…”
But the instant he said that, the president’s approving smile turned into a death glare.
Fang Chi: AHHHHHHHH—
The president’s thoughts were impossible to guess!!!
When he heard Ye Xiao’s name, Gu Tang shook his head. “No, Fang Chi, don’t say things like that.”
He liked senior Ye Xiao very much, but it was the kind of affection he had for an older sister. There was nothing romantic in it, and if that kind of rumor got out, it would not be good for her.
“Yes, yes, yes! It’s my mouth talking nonsense again!”
Fang Chi slapped his own mouth, then handed the sliced cake to Gu Tang.
After that, he found an excuse, saying he was going to fetch Gu Tang’s coat, and fled the scene as fast as possible.
The little director and the president could sort out their own problems.
This was not something he could intervene in!
Since Gu Tang’s costume was heavy and exhausting to move around in, when Fang Chi mentioned bringing his coat, Gu Tang decided to take the costume off.
The moment he heard Gu Tang was going to change clothes, young master Gu stood up abruptly. “I’ll wait outside.”
“?”
Gu Tang was baffled and grabbed him. “Why are you leaving?”
Gu Qinian’s gaze darted around, and his ears gradually turned red. “You’re changing. It’s inconvenient.”
Gu Tang: “???”
After growing up practically one pair of open-crotch pants away from each other, now he wanted to talk about “inconvenient”?
Young master Gu had absolutely gotten into something abroad this time!
But Gu Tang still could not figure out what exactly had made him so strange, so he reached up and touched the red tip of young master Gu’s ear, teasing him, “Why are you so shy, Niannian? Like some maiden in a boudoir?”
The instant he said it, young master Gu’s ears got even hotter.
They were quite warm to the touch.
Way better than thousand-leaf rabbit ear succulents.
Gu Tang loved the feeling and gave them another pinch. Only when the other turned his head away as though he could not take it anymore did Gu Tang finally say, “Don’t go outside. Opening and closing the door will just make it colder. Come help me.”
This little prince costume was far too complicated, with countless ties and straps. Just getting it off took ages.
Gu Tang pulled off the outer shoulder cape and made young master Gu undo the straps at the back for him.
Gu Qinian’s Adam’s apple shifted.
He reached out and casually tugged on one of the thin ties.
Unexpectedly, the costume fell open like petals, and Gu Tang was stripped down to only a thin layer of white inner garments.
The inner clothes had a wide neckline, and the fabric was light and soft.
From Gu Qinian’s angle, without even lowering his head, he could see Gu Tang’s front and back completely.
Young master Gu hurriedly turned his eyes away.
Gu Tang was utterly unaware of it. He suddenly shivered, then still found time to praise him. “Niannian is amazing. Every time Fang Chi and I take this off, we have to struggle forever…”
At those words, young master Gu froze with one of the thin straps still looped over his fingers. “Fang Chi helps you undress too?”
“Mm. The costume is too heavy and hard to manage.”
Young master Gu immediately wrote Fang Chi’s name into his death list in bold.
Gu Tang thought for a moment and added, “But I always change the complicated inner layers myself. How could I expect someone else to do that? But with Niannian, there’s no need to be polite.”
Young master Gu relaxed a little and removed Fang Chi’s name from the death list.
“It’s so cold.”
The heating in the dressing room was not very strong, and the moment the costume came off, the chill hit him. Gu Tang rubbed his arms. “Why hasn’t Fang Chi brought my coat back yet…”
Normally, the actors’ coats were left in the dressing room after changing, but Fang Chi had said the weather was good today and that he was going to air out Gu Tang’s down jacket in the sun, so who knew where he had hung it.
Gu Tang hunched his shoulders and reached toward the little sofa for a blanket, planning to drape it over himself.
“Zzzzip—”
From behind him came the sound of a zipper being pulled down.
Before Gu Tang could even turn around, warmth enveloped his whole body.
Young master Gu opened his down jacket and, like a clam snapping shut, wrapped Gu Tang inside with him in one motion.
Gu Tang wriggled his neck and poked his little head out from the collar of Gu Qinian’s jacket.
Then he looked at their reflection in the mirror not far away.
His lips curved. “Niannian, don’t we look like a kangaroo mama and her baby?”
“……”
Gu Qinian closed his eyes.
All the romantic atmosphere in his head was instantly replaced by two hopping kangaroos.
He should have known long ago that Gu Tang was a complete destroyer of romance!
Outside the dressing room door.
Fang Chi came back with the coat and was just about to push the door open when he heard Gu Tang’s voice from inside. The words were muffled by the door, and he could only vaguely make out something like “don’t we look like… some mama and baby.”
Fang Chi froze in shock.
…So it was not father-son affection after all. It was male mother?!
The relationship between the president and the little director was so complicated!!!
After changing clothes, Gu Tang went to attend the farewell gathering the crew had prepared for him.
The child actor was handsome and full of charm, and the director was reluctant to let him go. He invited him sincerely, “In a few months I’ll have another youth drama. Tangtang, are you interested?”
Before Gu Tang could answer, young master Gu coldly asked, “Does it have a romance line?”
The director had long been coveting young master Gu’s face. His new script happened to have a cold, aloof school prince role that would suit him perfectly, so he nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! Are you interested too?”
“No.” Gu Qinian rejected him coldly.
Director: “……”
Then what was the point of asking?!
The moment young master Gu heard there was a romance line, he did not say anything more. He simply turned to Best Actress Li and said, “Gu Tang needs to test into the experimental class.”
The moment Best Actress Li heard that, she immediately pulled the director away. “What are you thinking? My precious boy needs to study!”
A godmother was still a mother, and she also valued her precious child’s education.
The director argued, “But won’t studying just lead to work in the future anyway? Adapting early doesn’t conflict with that!”
“It’ll wear my precious boy out.”
Best Actress Li lovingly patted Gu Tang’s head. “Right?”
Next semester, Gu Tang did indeed have to prepare for the class placement exam, and not just for the experimental class either.
He had heard that in the experimental class, seats were assigned by grades every year.
If he wanted to become young master Gu’s deskmate, he had to rank second in the whole grade.
So Gu Tang nodded seriously. “Mm. Thank you, Director, but I still need to put studying first.”
The director pretended to wipe away tears. “I’ll miss Tangtang. I hope we can work together again someday.”
Best Actress Li lifted her chin. “I won’t.”
Director: “?”
“Tangtang is my godson. If I want to see him, I’ll just see him.”
Best Actress Li radiated pride and stretched out a hand to put an arm around Gu Tang, only to have young master Gu pull him away in one smooth motion.
Gu Qinian said flatly, “Aunt Li, please control yourself.”
Best Actress Li was instantly annoyed. “You brat. Once you’ve crossed the river, you tear down the bridge. You’ve had that little bun face ever since you were small.”
Not cute at all!
If she had said that aloud, Gu Tang definitely would not have liked it.
He would have loudly protested, “Niannian was super cute when he was little!”
Young Gu Qinian always wore that tiny don’t-come-near-me face, but he only let Gu Tang touch and kiss him.
Gu Tang had prepared little farewell gifts for the whole crew.
The makeup artist and costume stylist got gifts too. Both women were happy and reluctant to part with him, and wanted to give him a hug, but the coldly handsome boy beside him shot them one glance.
The makeup artist screamed, “Ahhh, is that face real? Can I do his makeup?”
The costume stylist asked, “Who is that? How did the director not drag him into filming?”
Gu Tang felt proud, as if someone had praised his own child, and smiled. “Niannian is my younger brother, but he probably doesn’t like wearing makeup.”
He still remembered that when young master Gu had played Snow White in kindergarten, even though Gu Tang had coaxed him into agreeing to the role, the moment the teacher came over with cosmetics, he would run. The teacher could not catch him, so in the end he had gone on stage bare-faced.
He had relied entirely on his looks.
Later the teacher had even said that the foundation shades she brought were probably darker than young master Gu’s actual skin.
After chatting a while longer, Gu Tang was drawn away by young master Gu’s arm around him.
Once they had gone farther off, the makeup artist suddenly asked the costume stylist, “Is your relationship with your brother like that?”
As she spoke, she copied young master Gu’s movement, wrapping one arm around the costume stylist’s waist and even tightening it a little.
The costume stylist bumped straight into the makeup artist’s arms and immediately trembled.
The two of them sighed at the same time, “Those brothers have such a good relationship…”
Gu Tang was getting ready to head home and wanted to say goodbye to Yu Yang.
But after searching the whole set, he could not find him anywhere.
Gu Qinian lowered his head and looked at his phone. “Gu Lin is missing too. He isn’t answering his phone.”
The only place they had not checked was Yu Yang’s trailer.
Yu Yang was the male lead, and logically the crew should have arranged him a private dressing room. But he preferred staying in his trailer, and he always parked it off in some distant, secluded place.
As if there was some kind of little secret inside.
Gu Tang had no intention of prying into other people’s secrets. He just planned to go knock on the trailer door, and if Yu Yang was inside, he would give him the little farewell gift he had prepared.
However, when Gu Tang and Gu Qinian reached Yu Yang’s trailer, they heard some strange noises coming from inside.
From the sounds of it, Gu Lin and Yu Yang seemed to be arguing about something.
Then there was a loud bang, as though someone had been shoved into something.
Right after that came some sticky, murmuring, indistinct sounds.
Gu Tang jumped in alarm. “What’s going on?”
Could little uncle be getting bullied?!
The trailer door was not fully shut. Gu Tang could no longer hold back and rushed forward.
But the moment he took a step, young master Gu yanked him back and covered his eyes.
Gu Tang: “???”
“Niannian, what did you see?”
“……”
Gu Qinian had seen his fiery-tempered little uncle pinned against the trailer window, being kissed until both his cheeks were flushed red and he could barely catch his breath.
***
Author’s Note:
Gu Niannian: Children are not allowed to see this.
