Chapter 9: Tacit Agreement
Young Master Gu was lifted out of his walker.
Like a little turtle that had lost its shell.
Little Turtle Gu wore a displeased expression, his chubby bun-like face stern as he swept a cold glance over everyone.
It didn’t matter.
Even if the coolness lasted only three seconds, it was still cool.
Gu Tang reached out and patted his shoulder.
“Little brother, best!”
Gu Qinian: …
You might as well not speak.
The two toddlers were placed together. One wore a black little suit, delicate and beautiful. The other wore a white little formal outfit, soft and adorable.
Both children looked like finely carved porcelain dolls. All eyes and cameras focused on them.
Someone even pointed at the two of them and explained to others:
“The milk dumpling is the older brother, and the little bun is the younger brother.”
Gu Tang cooperatively nodded.
“Mm!” That’s right!
Gu Qinian refused to speak.
…
Let everything be destroyed.
Looking at the two toddlers, someone sighed enviously.
“Did Mrs. Gu save the galaxy in her previous life? To have two such adorable children!”
Someone else raised a question.
“These two kids are less than half a year apart in age. They can’t really be biological brothers, right?”
But all discussions eventually reached the same conclusion—
How to sneak into the Gu family tonight and steal a child!
Movie Queen Li was even more exaggerated. The dignified movie queen stood nearby rubbing her hands together like a fly.
“Wuuuu, let auntie pinch them!”
She also wanted to remain elegant.
But she simply couldn’t control herself!
Seeing that approaching hand, Young Master Gu’s cold expression finally cracked slightly. He stepped back and stared at her long fingernails.
Sharp things like that reminded him of unpleasant memories before his rebirth.
The crying voices of children in the orphanage. The slaps that could fall at any moment. If their work slowed down even a little, they would be pinched hard and beaten fiercely.
His face had often been covered with wounds—bruised blue and purple, swollen and ugly.
For a long time, Gu Qinian didn’t even know what he looked like.
Thinking about his previous life, the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.
Becoming dark and bottomless.
Just when that last bit of light was about to disappear, suddenly a small white dumpling entered his vision.
Gu Qinian froze for a moment, looking slightly confused, as if he had just awakened from a nightmare.
And the one who woke him was this little dumpling in front of him.
The milk dumpling himself was tiny, yet he spread his arms wide, stretching his small body into a big “T” shape to shield him.
In a childish voice he declared:
“No bullying little brother!”
The person who had taken his identity in the previous life had changed his fate in this life, and now even wanted to protect him…
Gu Qinian’s brow twitched, his emotions complicated.
Gu Tang, however, had no idea that little Gu Qinian’s inner thoughts were so complicated.
His reasoning was simple.
When he pinched the male lead’s baby cheeks, he could gain life points—sometimes even plot coins. If other people pinched him, nothing would happen.
Wouldn’t that mean the benefits were wasted?
If Young Master Gu was taken advantage of, that meant he was being taken advantage of!
You could eat anything—but never suffer a loss!
[Applause for the host’s awareness!!!]
The system was almost moved to tears.
Never before had it seen such a host who actively protected the mission!
With a host like this, how could the plot possibly fail?
Just follow the host and charge forward!
Its year-end bonus was secured!!!
Movie Queen Li, dazzled by the cuteness of the toddlers, hadn’t realized the seriousness of the situation. She laughed and imitated Gu Tang’s childish speech while pinching his little nose.
“I’m bullying him. What can you do about it?”
“I’ll… I’ll…”
Gu Tang spoke slowly, then turned around and gave Young Master Gu a meaningful look.
Gu Qinian immediately understood and nodded.
The next second, Gu Tang opened his mouth—
—and Young Master Gu covered his ears.
Movie Queen Li: ?
Gu Tang took a deep breath.
“WAAAAAA—”
Children’s moods change like summer weather.
The sudden crying startled everyone present.
Several security guards immediately rushed forward, separating the crowd.
It was fine for guests to play with the children—but making one cry was another matter entirely.
No one knew whether President Gu would blame them for failing to maintain security…
For a moment, the lobby descended into chaos.
Movie Queen Li was the most panicked of all. She was the main culprit.
It wasn’t that she feared being blamed.
The real problem was… she felt extremely guilty.
How had she managed to make such an obedient and adorable child cry?
She wanted to reach out and hug the child, but the security guards would no longer let her approach.
Movie Queen Li hurriedly took off the large diamond necklace from around her neck and waved it in front of Gu Tang, coaxing him.
“Baby, don’t cry. Look, it’s shiny—do you like it? Auntie will give it to you. Don’t cry anymore, okay? I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
“Li Weiwei, you made my child cry. Is an apology enough?”
A cool female voice rang out.
Everyone’s attention instantly shifted toward the speaker.
Mrs. Gu!
The mysterious Mrs. Gu who had never appeared in public—even her wedding had been kept secret!
The woman who had married Gu Quan, the head of the Gu family, and given birth to two unbelievably adorable children!!!
Just who was she?
When they finally saw Mrs. Gu’s face, every person’s mouth dropped open into an “O,” their eyes wide with shock—
Shen… Shen the Movie Queen?!
Even among movie queens there were differences in status. Li Weiwei was the newly crowned Best Actress of this year, wildly popular and rising rapidly in value. But even so, she still could not compare with Shen Ningqing—the entertainment industry’s one and only Triple Crown Movie Queen.
Some people even said that if Shen hadn’t taken a year-long break and thus had no films competing this year, the Best Actress title might still have belonged to her.
Now the Movie Queen appeared together with the head of the Gu family.
Gu Quan stood beside Shen Ningqing with his arm wrapped around her slender waist, their relationship obvious at a glance.
Who would have thought—
During Shen’s break from acting, she had secretly gotten married and even given birth to a child!
Click! Click! Click!
A flurry of camera shutters immediately sounded around them.
#MovieQueenShenSecretMarriageToGuFamilyHead
#MovieQueenShenGivesBirthToGuFamilyHeir
#TwoMovieQueensCompeteOnTheSameStage
Any single photo could become headline news.
And the biggest headline among them all was—
One movie queen was as cool and elegant as a snow lotus, the other as fiery as a blazing rose. These two women had been rivals in the entertainment world for years. Who could have imagined that now the object they were competing over… was a child!
“What do you mean your child? These two kids are only a few months apart in age. You can’t possibly have given birth to both of them!”
As she spoke, Movie Queen Li tried to snatch Gu Tang into her arms.
She had already noticed earlier that the toddler in the small black suit resembled Shen Ningqing around the eyes, while his facial structure was clearly a miniature version of Gu Quan’s.
That one must be their biological child.
But the obedient little baby clearly wasn’t!
Perfect—she liked this one even more. If the Gu family didn’t cherish him, she would just take the child away herself!
However, although Shen Ningqing appeared calm and detached, her movements were even faster. She scooped up the round-faced toddler in one swift motion.
Gu Tang sat in Shen Ningqing’s arms and glanced down at Young Master Gu still standing on the floor, momentarily confused.
Had Gu Qinian’s mother mistaken the child too?
Anyone in the world might mistake them—but a mother never would.
Of course Shen Ningqing knew which one was her biological son.
Earlier in the room, her husband had already told her everything that happened. She had already felt grateful toward the toddler who had saved her son’s life, even though they had never met before. Yet the moment she came out, she saw Li Weiwei making the child cry.
How could her heart not ache?
“It’s none of your business. In any case, they are both my family’s children.”
Shen Ningqing looked slender, yet she could hold the child with one arm while easily pulling out a handkerchief with the other to wipe Gu Tang’s tears.
Perhaps this was the power of motherhood.
The toddler’s cheeks were soft and tender like tofu, and tear droplets clung to his eyelashes, about to fall. She had heard that the child’s health was poor, like a fragile crystal doll.
The more Shen Ningqing looked at him, the more her heart softened. Even the motion of wiping his tears became extremely gentle.
Gu Tang sniffed quietly and obediently allowed Mama Gu to wipe his tear-stained face, secretly thinking to himself: this must count as a mission point, right?
[Ding—]
The system notification arrived, though slightly late.
[Major plot point “Stealing the Male Lead’s Maternal Love” completed! Reward: 20 life points, Plot Coins ×2!]
[Host, why are you so outstanding—ahhh!!!]
“Calm down.”
Gu Tang was already extremely familiar with the workflow of plot missions. He even started telling the system to stay calm instead.
Hehe, he felt a little proud.
Since Movie Queen Li failed to grab Gu Tang, she said sourly to Shen Ningqing:
“You don’t even have time to take care of your own child, let alone this one! You went straight back to work after giving birth. Your own son probably doesn’t even recognize you. Look—he still hasn’t run over to you!”
Shen Ningqing glanced at her son.
That was true.
Under normal circumstances, a child should react when seeing his mother.
But her son showed none of those reactions.
Even though she had picked up another child first, he displayed no expression at all.
The toddler in the black suit simply stood quietly in place, as if everything around him had nothing to do with him.
If there was anything he cared about—
Shen Ningqing vaguely remembered that the moment she lifted the obedient baby earlier, her son had shot her a cold glance.
There had been nothing but wariness in that look.
What was that about?
Was he afraid she was also someone trying to steal children?
Shen Ningqing assumed her son had simply been traumatized by the recent incident and didn’t think too deeply about it.
Meanwhile, Movie Queen Li continued provoking her.
“If you dare, put that baby down too and see if he runs to you!”
So many reporters were filming.
Shen Ningqing also had a competitive spirit. She carefully placed Gu Tang down on the floor.
“Alright then. Let the children choose for themselves.”
In truth, she wasn’t confident.
It was a fact that she had gone back to work soon after giving birth.
Even her biological son didn’t come close to her—so how could she expect this other child to?
But no matter what, the children would probably run toward their father…
Thinking this, Shen Ningqing quietly stepped a little closer to Gu Quan, placing her hopes on her husband who had returned home earlier and had spent more time with the children.
Gu Quan: ?
He didn’t have that kind of blind confidence either.
After all, the way his son looked at him was practically murderous.
After returning to the ground, Gu Tang looked up at the adults around him. Without a second thought, he turned and ran “tap tap tap” toward Young Master Gu.
Gu Qinian watched the little milk dumpling running toward him and slightly curled the corner of his lips.
He had heard the adults’ conversation very clearly and knew that his mother was hoping he would run over with the toddler.
But he wasn’t interested.
He had no expectations toward his biological parents, nor any emotional attachment.
He had no intention of cooperating in such a boring parent-child activity.
So he gave the milk dumpling a look, confident that with the tacit understanding they had developed, the other child would understand.
Gu Tang understood perfectly well.
Boss Gu’s cool and aloof style had returned again.
But that was fine.
Anyway, he had already completed the plot point. Whether they went over or not didn’t matter. Compared with making the Gu couple happy, little Gu Qinian was more important.
Gu Tang obediently stood beside Gu Qinian and bumped shoulders with him.
If you don’t go, I won’t go.
Neither of us is going over there.
[Ah, Host, it’s fine if you don’t go. It’s just that the achievement task “Make the male lead’s mother happy” can’t be completed. It’s not a key plot point, so you’d only lose two plot coins. Not a big—]
Before the system finished speaking, Gu Tang suddenly ran toward Shen Ningqing.
Gu Tang: “Are you kidding? That’s twenty thousand yuan!”
Gu Qinian had just been about to take the milk dumpling’s little hand, but he grabbed empty air instead. He pressed his lips together, slowly clenching his teeth.
He knew it.
No matter when, no one would ever stand beside him.
However, after running two steps, Gu Tang suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned back and grabbed Gu Qinian’s hand.
The soft touch passed through their palms where their skin met. The little dumpling’s round face curved into a bright smile.
“Let’s go together!”
Gu Qinian froze.
He didn’t think he had ever seen such a radiant smile before.
***
Author’s Note:
Tang Tang: He can’t walk properly yet, so I have to hold his hand!
Gu Qinian: He’s so cute. I have to follow him!
