Chapter 12

Bai Qingyan’s only remaining work was the audition for Where Is Home?

After signing her contract with Tianyue, she returned to her apartment with Li Xiaoqi and focused entirely on studying the script.

After seeing her off, Gu Lizhou lazily leaned back in the armchair, closed her eyes, and relaxed.

Before long, she became so comfortable that she nearly fell asleep.

However, just as she was drifting off and about to meet the God of Dreams, an uninvited guest arrived.

“Gu Lizhou, what exactly do you mean by this?!”

An angry male voice came from the doorway.

Gu Lizhou frowned and looked over.

The office door had opened, and Gong Tiancheng stood there glaring at her, both fists clenched at his sides.

Behind him was Lin Lin, looking helpless and guilty.

“Gong Tiancheng?”

Gu Lizhou raised an eyebrow and slowly sat up.

She rested one elbow on the armrest and supported her head with her hand.

“Weren’t you away on a business trip?”

Gong Tiancheng strode over and stood before her, looking down from above.

His expression was extremely complicated.

“Qingyan told you?”

Before Gu Lizhou could answer, he continued venting his dissatisfaction.

“You tricked Qingyan into joining Tianyue just so you could keep track of my whereabouts more accurately, didn’t you?”

“Heh. I really underestimated you. I didn’t expect you to pull something like this!”

Once again, Gu Lizhou was stunned by Gong Tiancheng’s wild imagination.

She glanced at Lin Lin, who was standing near the door in complete shock, and suddenly felt that every bit of dignity attached to her youthful face had been lost.

Only someone brain-dead would fall for this idiot, all right?!

Gu Lizhou stood and looked Gong Tiancheng directly in the eye.

“Don’t you think you’re being far too narcissistic?”

Gong Tiancheng sneered.

“You really have plenty of tricks. I specifically rushed back on a private plane, and I didn’t come here to listen to your nonsense.”

Gu Lizhou nearly failed to maintain her image and roll her eyes dramatically.

He was so arrogant that he truly regarded himself as some domineering CEO.

She no longer had any desire to communicate rationally with such a narcissist.

She lifted her chin toward Lin Lin.

“Finished watching the show? Go call Tian Qi.”

Lin Lin had nearly been stunned stupid by the scene.

Only after hearing Gu Lizhou speak did she stammer, “Oh, okay. Y-Yes.”

Seeing her leave to call someone, Gu Lizhou no longer wanted to look at Gong Tiancheng and pollute her eyes.

She sat down and began reading documents as though he did not exist.

“Gu Lizhou, what are you trying to do now?!” Gong Tiancheng shouted, making no attempt to suppress his anger.

Gu Lizhou did not even raise her eyes.

“You’ll know in a moment.”

Gong Tiancheng glared at her.

“I don’t have time to waste with you. Give me Qingyan’s contract termination agreement.”

“Termination agreement?”

Gu Lizhou laughed.

“I have her new signing contract here. Would you like to take a look?”

Gong Tiancheng became furious.

He slammed a fist onto the desk.

“Qingyan already signed with Tianyue that quickly?”

This time, Gu Lizhou looked up and nodded decisively.

“You must have forced her!” Gong Tiancheng declared with certainty.

Gu Lizhou looked at him with open disapproval.

“What does that have to do with you? Can’t you tell that Yanyan doesn’t like you at all?”

Gong Tiancheng opened his mouth but was momentarily unable to say anything.

Gu Lizhou immediately pressed her advantage.

“Listen carefully. From now on, Yanyan belongs to Tianyue. I’m protecting her.”

“If you know what’s good for you, stay away from her.”

Gong Tiancheng gritted his teeth and glared at her.

“You want me to stay away from her so you can take advantage of the opportunity?”

“Hmph! Let me tell you now—you can forget about ruining my relationship with Yanyan! I won’t give her up.”

“I’ll tell you one last time. You and I will never happen. Stop wasting your efforts.”

Gu Lizhou: “……”

Oh?

He really knew how to flatter himself.

“You’re overthinking things,” Gu Lizhou said unhappily. “Anyway, I’m making myself clear now. If you keep pestering her, I’ll…”

Gong Tiancheng scoffed.

“You’ll what?”

Gu Lizhou looked past him and saw Tian Qi approaching.

The corners of her lips curved upward.

“I’ll have you beaten every time I see you.”

“Beat me? With that little body of yours, you think you can fight me?”

“Then you’ve misunderstood me.”

Gu Lizhou smiled rather wickedly.

“People from the Gu family prefer reasoning over fighting.”

She looked at Tian Qi and pointed toward Gong Tiancheng.

“Throw him out. Don’t let outsiders think Tianyue is somewhere they can barge into whenever they please.”

“If he resists, beat him. No need to hold back.”

“Yes.”

Tian Qi rolled his neck a few times and walked toward Gong Tiancheng.

Gong Tiancheng immediately understood.

His face turned red with rage.

“Gu Lizhou, you dare?!”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Gu Lizhou waved a hand.

“You’re the one who barged into my office today. I’m merely telling you to get out.”

“If you refuse to cooperate, then I’ll just reimburse your medical expenses afterward.”

“Tian Qi, do it.”

Gong Tiancheng pointed at Gu Lizhou and was about to say something when the approaching bodyguard seized his arm.

Furious, Gong Tiancheng shook him off.

“Get lost!”

Tian Qi had very little patience with him.

Seeing that Gong Tiancheng refused to cooperate, he suddenly raised his right hand and punched him hard in the stomach.

Gong Tiancheng immediately doubled over, clutching his abdomen.

Even Gu Lizhou winced from watching.

“Gu Lizhou, you damned woman—”

Before Gong Tiancheng could finish, Tian Qi struck him in the back with another punch.

The pain immediately sent him to his knees.

Gu Lizhou helplessly shook her head.

An idiot was still an idiot.

He really had to experience the overwhelming strength of her bodyguards before learning to behave.

Tian Qi kicked him twice more.

Seeing that Gong Tiancheng had finally stopped resisting, he easily lifted him over his shoulder.

“Put me down! I’ll walk out myself!”

Veins bulged at Gong Tiancheng’s temples as he struggled unwillingly.

For once, Gu Lizhou kindly reminded him, “My bodyguards can handle ten people like you at once. You’d better behave, or the next time you open your eyes might be in a hospital.”

“You just wait…”

Gong Tiancheng struggled to turn his head and glare at Gu Lizhou, but he no longer dared move recklessly.

He allowed Tian Qi to carry him out.

Gu Lizhou narrowed her eyes toward the people secretly peeking through the doorway.

Great.

Earlier, there had only been Lin Lin.

Now Yu Xiao had joined her.

“Something wrong?”

Gu Lizhou leaned back in her office chair with an entirely calm expression.

It was as though the farce moments earlier had nothing whatsoever to do with her.

Yu Xiao walked inside and closed the door, cutting off Lin Lin’s gossip-hungry gaze.

He sat in the empty chair before the desk and habitually pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his index finger.

“President Gu, something happened on Weibo.”

Gu Lizhou casually twirled a pen and looked at him.

“Yu Xiao, those glasses of yours don’t actually have a prescription, do they?”

Oh?

Something had happened on Weibo, yet he was acting this calm?

Fine.

Let’s see who could remain calmer.

Yu Xiao touched the frame.

“Mm. They make me look knowledgeable.”

Gu Lizhou laughed lightly.

“A refined… scoundrel?”

“Ahem.”

Yu Xiao coughed awkwardly.

He knew Gu Lizhou was teasing him about what she had witnessed in the parking garage, so he quickly changed the subject.

“Let’s talk about business. Several pieces of dirt about Bai Qingyan are already trending on Weibo.”

“What? Let me see.”

Gu Lizhou picked up her phone and opened Weibo.

The top three trending topics were all related to Bai Qingyan:

Bai Qingyan Terminates Contract with Aoyi
The Relationship Between the Nation’s Goddess and the Gong Corporation President
Bai Qingyan Is Ungrateful

Gu Lizhou’s expression darkened.

Even with her toes, she could guess that people from Aoyi were behind this.

Yu Xiao continued unhurriedly.

“Aoyi has pushed all the responsibility onto Bai Qingyan. Some marketing accounts also posted a set of photographs of her with Gong Tiancheng. The angles make them look somewhat ambiguous.”

“Mm. I’m looking at them.”

Gu Lizhou frowned.

After reading only a few comments, she could no longer tolerate it.

“There are way too many paid commenters here. Those two obviously don’t look compatible at all. These people really will say anything for money.”

When Yu Xiao made no sound, Gu Lizhou looked up.

He was staring at her with an inexplicable smile.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing.”

Yu Xiao shook his head.

“I’m guessing there are already plenty of reporters camped outside Bai Qingyan’s apartment.”

Without thinking much about it, Gu Lizhou placed her phone into the handbag on the desk and stood as though preparing to leave.

“Then I’ll go get her out.”

“President Gu really does care about her.”

Yu Xiao tilted his head.

“Poaching her, giving her a script, teaching Gong Tiancheng a lesson… Mm, very nice.”

Now it was Gu Lizhou’s turn to feel awkward.

She calmly sat back down as though nothing had happened.

“I never expected you to be this nosy. You’ve truly broadened my horizons.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let your You Ji suffer any disadvantage in terms of resources.”

Yu Xiao smiled.

“President Gu clearly knows that isn’t what I meant.”

Gu Lizhou rolled her eyes at him.

“Fine, I understand.”

“I’ll have someone handle the situation on Weibo immediately. You go pick her up now.”

“Pick up whom?” Yu Xiao asked.

Gu Lizhou smiled openly.

“Our Yanyan.”

Yu Xiao: “……”

Gu Lizhou took a key from her bag and handed it to him.

“This is the key to Apartment 201, Building A, Area B of Anruan Residence.”

“The security there is good. I bought the place but barely ever lived there, so let her stay there for now.”

“You’re her manager now too, so put some effort into it.”

Yu Xiao accepted the key and deliberately sighed.

“How could I dare not put in effort?”

Gu Lizhou ignored him.

She picked up her phone and messaged Lin Lin, instructing her to deal with the trending topics.

By the time Gu Lizhou put down her phone and raised her head again, Yu Xiao had already left.

She stood, poured herself a glass of water from the dispenser, and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window.

Her gaze remained fixed on a giant LED advertisement on a distant building.

On the enormous screen, Bai Qingyan wore her hair loose and had turned her face slightly to the side.

Rose petals surrounded her, and one had landed perfectly against her lips.

It made her look as beautiful as a heavenly immortal.

Calling it an advertisement almost felt wrong.

It looked more like a portrait of a beauty.

Gu Lizhou knew that she was becoming increasingly integrated into this world.

At first, everything she had done was for the mission assigned by that rotten system.

She often viewed the people here from the perspective of an outsider.

She had been somewhat indifferent, untouched by many things.

But now…

Gu Lizhou lifted the cup and drank some warm water.

Warmth spread through her heart.

She clearly understood that she was no longer doing these things merely for the mission.

She genuinely wanted to do them herself.

The people she had met here were flesh-and-blood, living human beings.

There was the wonderful brother she had conveniently acquired, the attentive butler and housekeeper who cared for her in every detail, and Yanyan, who looked like an obedient little cat in her eyes.

Thinking of that, Gu Lizhou suddenly smiled.

Fang Zhi might be an annoying bastard, but he had said one true thing.

She and Bai Qingyan really had hit it off immediately.

Realizing that her thoughts were wandering farther and farther off course, Gu Lizhou hurriedly shook her head.

She needed to stay farther away from Yu Xiao in the future.

That guy saw romance everywhere.

Meanwhile, when Yu Xiao drove to Bai Qingyan’s apartment, he immediately noticed several suspicious reporters lingering nearby.

He remained seated in the car for a while, thinking.

Then he simply opened the door and got out.

After walking only a few steps, he could detect subtle movements from the corner of his eye.

Yu Xiao nodded faintly.

He knew he was being photographed.

He did not care.

Without pausing, he walked straight to the apartment door and rang the bell.

Before long, the door opened.

A delicate-looking young woman appeared.

“M-Mr. Yu, you’re here.”

She spoke with a slight stammer.

“Mm.”

Yu Xiao smiled and pointed inside.

“Won’t you invite me in to sit?”

“Oh! Oh, sorry, Mr. Yu.”

She hurriedly opened the door wider, scratched her head, and smiled.

“I’m Teacher Bai’s assistant, Li Xiaoqi.”

Yu Xiao nodded.

“I remember you.”

“Two years ago, when Bai Qingyan worked with You Ji, you were the assistant who stayed beside her.”

“Can I call you Xiaoqi?”

Li Xiaoqi closed the door behind him and smiled obsequiously.

“Mr. Yu has such a good memory. You don’t have to be polite. Call me whatever you like.”

Yu Xiao continued smiling.

He entered the living room and saw Bai Qingyan sitting on the sofa.

He walked over and sat opposite her.

Bai Qingyan placed the script in her hands aside and greeted him politely first.

“Hello, Manager Yu.”

Seeing her calm expression, Yu Xiao replied just as politely.

“Hello, Miss Bai.”

He thought that a person’s temperament really was quite honest.

Even after not seeing her for so long, she remained as reserved and aloof as before.

Li Xiaoqi looked confused.

She quietly asked, “Teacher Bai, Mr. Yu, didn’t you already know each other?”

Why were they acting as polite as if this were their first meeting?

Yu Xiao smiled.

“Since Miss Bai finished working with You Ji two years ago, we’ve barely had any interaction.”

“This time, I’m meeting her as her manager, so naturally we should introduce ourselves properly.”

“Oh…”

Li Xiaoqi nodded as though she only half understood.

“Did she ask you to come pick us up?” Bai Qingyan asked calmly, revealing none of her thoughts.

“She?”

Yu Xiao’s smile deepened slightly.

“You mean President Gu?”

Bai Qingyan did not speak.

She merely nodded.

Yu Xiao touched the frame of his glasses.

“Mm, yes. President Gu.”

“I told you over the phone to pack your luggage. If everything is ready, we can leave now.”

“The luggage is ready.”

Li Xiaoqi hurriedly stood and dragged over two suitcases from beside the staircase.

Yu Xiao nodded.

“Then call security and have them stop those reporters. We’ll head to the car afterward.”

“Okay, I’ll call right now.”

Li Xiaoqi took out her phone and stepped aside to make the call.

Yu Xiao turned his attention toward Bai Qingyan.

“You’ve seen Weibo, right?”

Bai Qingyan frowned slightly.

“It was probably Aoyi.”

Yu Xiao continued.

“President Gu is having people deal with it. When the time comes, you’ll just need to cooperate by posting a clarification on Weibo.”

“Mm.”

Bai Qingyan looked as though she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Seeing this, Yu Xiao became even more certain of his suspicions.

There was definitely something going on between these two women.

On the surface, however, he acted perfectly casual.

“When President Gu saw Weibo, she only said, ‘There are too many paid commenters. You and Gong Tiancheng obviously don’t match at all.’”

“It didn’t affect her mood much.”

“After all, when I told President Gu what happened on Weibo, Gong Tiancheng had only just been taught a lesson by her bodyguard.”

“She had already vented her anger in advance.”

Bai Qingyan’s expression changed.

She seemed to release a breath of relief, then frowned slightly.

“Gong Tiancheng went to find Lizhou?”

Lizhou?

Quite an intimate way of addressing her.

Yu Xiao commented inwardly before answering.

“Mm. But Gong Tiancheng didn’t gain anything from it.”

“Instead, President Gu called in a bodyguard, had him beaten, then threw him out.”

Before Bai Qingyan could speak, he added, “So there’s really no need for you to worry about President Gu.”

Bai Qingyan withdrew her gaze.

“For someone like Gong Tiancheng, being cautious is always better.”

Just as she finished speaking, Li Xiaoqi returned.

“Security is already on the way. Let’s go.”

Yu Xiao stood and walked toward the luggage.

He took hold of one suitcase.

“Then let’s leave.”

How could Li Xiaoqi possibly allow him to do the heavy lifting?

She hurried over and pulled the suitcase toward herself.

“Let me, let me! Mr. Yu, don’t bother. It isn’t heavy. I can pull it.”

Bai Qingyan placed the script into the nearby bag, then took out sunglasses and a mask and put them on, concealing her face.

She walked over and picked up the other suitcase.

“It really isn’t heavy. Let’s go.”

Yu Xiao nodded with amusement and did not continue insisting on helping.

After all, forcing someone to let him perform a good deed felt rather strange.

He walked ahead, opened the front door, and stepped outside.

Bai Qingyan and Li Xiaoqi followed behind him.

Once the three reached the exterior of the apartment building, Yu Xiao’s car was already visible.

As expected, they also saw several people being held back by security guards.

They all looked like reporters.

The moment they saw Bai Qingyan and the others emerge, they immediately became noisy.

“Bai Qingyan, have you fallen out with Aoyi Entertainment?”

“Are you really dating the president of the Gong Corporation?”

“Veteran manager Yu Xiao came to pick you up. Are you transferring to Tianyue?”

“…”

The three ignored them completely and went straight into the car.