Chapter 34: Stirring Things Up

What troubled Su Shiyi was that Lucy’s speculation was likely true—Father Gu Lang really seemed to have the intention of setting her up with Zhou Yingzhe. He was currently introducing them to each other, highlighting all their strengths.

From Gu Lang’s perspective, his reasoning wasn’t flawed. One was his daughter, and the other was a young man he highly regarded and strongly supported. If Zhou Yingzhe ever dared to mistreat Su Shiyi, Gu Lang, who had the power to nurture him, also had the power to take everything back.

But… Zhou Yingzhe’s type was just not Su Shiyi’s cup of tea. If she were still a poor corporate worker, she might have been tempted by a domineering CEO. But now? She was filthy rich. She could rely on her dad and brother for a lifetime of indulgence.

A CEO’s greatest allure was wealth, but there was no way Zhou Yingzhe was richer than her. So, he had no appeal to her whatsoever—except, well, he was quite handsome. Su Shiyi couldn’t help but take a few more glances.

Still, just as she had advised Meng Yiyao before, with her status, all she had to do was beckon, and a sea of handsome men would come running. What type did she not have access to? They were obedient, thoughtful, and considerate—unlike CEOs, who would give you cold faces for free.

Right now, Su Shiyi was facing Zhou Yingzhe’s cold expression. He only showed a bit of respect when facing Gu Lang, but when it was her turn—the adopted daughter—his gaze held more than just aloofness, there was also a faint wariness.

Su Shiyi: …

Excuse me, what exactly are you being so guarded about?

No way, no way—did he seriously think that in this awkward matchmaking scenario arranged by their elders, he was the only one reluctant while she must inevitably be into him, destined to fall for his irresistible charm?

Su Shiyi was getting annoyed. Having mutual resistance to a matchmaking setup was understandable, but before she even said a word, this guy was already acting like she was plotting to trap him and chase after him? Was he really that confident?

Since his gaze wasn’t friendly, Su Shiyi decided not to be polite either. She turned to Gu Lang and said directly, “Dad, this is so boring here. I want to go somewhere else and have some fun.”

The people around them were surprised—this was practically a slap in Zhou Yingzhe’s face. He, too, looked at her in astonishment, his brows furrowed in undisguised confusion, as if thinking: How could a woman not want to seize the chance to get close to me?

Su Shiyi, once again: …

If she ever did something wrong, the law would punish her—not force her to endure a man who was way too full of himself.

Faced with a choice between the promising young man he admired and the daughter he adored, Gu Lang made his stance clear. He didn’t even bother with pleasantries—just nodded and let Su Shiyi go.

He had indeed considered Zhou Yingzhe as a potential candidate, but obviously, Shiyi wasn’t interested, so that was that. It was his loss.

Su Shiyi slipped away from the crowd and deliberately told Lucy not to follow. She found a secluded corner and finally let out the system she had kept on mute for days.

“What’s the deal with Zhou Yingzhe?” she asked through gritted teeth. “Is this world merging multiple novels? You better explain this properly.”

The system finally spoke, though its tone had turned much more flattering:

“Host, please don’t worry! This world is still primarily based on the novel where Gu Chen and Gu Pan are the main leads. Their original story takes precedence. Zhou Yingzhe is just a typical ^[1]((fire pit, 火葬場文 (literally “crematorium novel”) refers to stories where the male lead mistreats the female lead, regrets it later, and suffers greatly before they get back … Continue reading))fire pit romance male lead—his influence is nowhere near the level of the Gu family.”

Su Shiyi suddenly had a bad feeling. “And what does this have to do with me? Why did Father Gu Lang introduce me to him?”

“Because you, dear host, are the fire pit romance’s evil supporting female character!” The system’s voice suddenly became high-spirited. “You didn’t steal Gu Pan’s female lead halo but instead found an alternative path to being pampered by the big shots, so your halo value has skyrocketed!”

“Such a high-level host is truly rare! But alas, your excellence has drawn unwanted attention. Due to the whims of fate, you’ve been locked in as the villainess of the fire pit romance novel. The main couple will overcome your obstacles and achieve a beautiful happily-ever-after. The more in love they are, the lower your halo value will drop.”

“So, Host, in order to protect your halo, let’s strike back hard against the predetermined plot!”

Su Shiyi: ???

She was just minding her own business, and suddenly, disaster dropped from the sky?

It was all Chinese, every word was understandable, but when combined, it was so confusing?

The system continued its explanation, but Su Shiyi finally understood what the “vicious female antagonist” plotline was about. As the daughter of Zhou Yingzhe’s benefactor, she would fall in love with him at first sight, pursue him relentlessly, and of course, the male lead would be unable to do anything about it because her father was Gu Lang. She would also torment the heroine in every way, suppressing her in all sorts of ways…

In summary, she was just a tool to torment the heroine, eventually getting slapped in the face by the plot.

She also wanted to complain—how come it’s you again, Gu Yuxuan?

Sigh, forget it. It was the same script for all female antagonists—tools to push the plot forward.

“I understand,” Su Shiyi said, taking a moment to reflect on the story, feeling as if she had put on a mask of pain. “This is the type of story where the heroine suffers for 99 chapters, the hero suffers for one, and in the end, everything wraps up happily.”

She really couldn’t understand. With this setup, Zhou Yingzhe was already holding onto Gu Lang’s golden leg, and the heroine, Yu Zhaozhao, had no money or background. How could she possibly torment the male lead? What kind of crematorium was this? The system’s definition of this novel was seriously flawed!

#The female lead only lost her hard work and reputation, while the male lead, though his career was booming, was tormented by the female lead’s departure!

The system was momentarily stunned. Even its super-computing brain couldn’t comprehend how Su Shiyi’s thoughts had taken such a turn.

“Host, didn’t you get my point? We need to stop the happy ending of the male and female leads, or their sweet love will steal your halo value!”

The system was trying to warm up to her again, completely forgetting the past unpleasantness, but Su Shiyi hadn’t forgotten. She selectively listened to the system. If she followed everything it said, she would be doomed.

After all, this pitiful self-saving system had pushed her to follow the fate of a cannon fodder from the beginning. Su Shiyi was just a salted fish, not an idiot. The system had tried to harm her before—did it expect her to listen to it now? No way.

After extracting the information she needed, Su Shiyi calmly muted the system again. No matter how much it protested, she wouldn’t hear it.

Su Shiyi wasn’t planning to get involved in this. She thought to herself, as long as she didn’t take on the script of the vicious female antagonist, how the main leads tortured each other had nothing to do with her. After all, following the usual romantic novel trope, the heroine, Yu Zhaozhao, would definitely clear her name. Even though this novel had many plot holes and the male lead’s character was… well, she didn’t want to talk about it. What did it have to do with her?

But she still underestimated how shameless the plot could be in trying to involve her. She had already hidden in a secluded corner, yet Zhou Yingzhe actually came looking for her.

He was holding a wine glass, his expression unreadable, and the wine in the glass swirled like the fluctuations in his gaze…

Wait, wait, Su Shiyi’s absurd imagination was too strong—stop with the dramatic romantic style!

Let’s start over, Zhou Yingzhe was staring at her, his face looking as if someone owed him millions. His hands were weak, unable to steady the wine glass, and his eyes were constantly shifting. How rude.

Su Shiyi directly said what was on her mind and suggested that he visit a doctor to learn some social etiquette before going out.

Zhou Yingzhe: …

Damn it, why was this woman’s attitude so different from the others?

He cleared his throat, finally finding his thoughts: “Although you are Gu Uncle’s adopted daughter, I’m not interested in you. I hope you understand that. It would be good for both of us.”

Su Shiyi: ?

Do you have a problem? Didn’t she make it obvious enough earlier? After Gu Lang introduced them to each other, she directly showed her displeasure and said she wanted to leave. It was actually somewhat impolite to Gu Lang, but fortunately, he wasn’t offended.

She had already done this much, and yet Zhou Yingzhe still thinks she has feelings for him?

Getting a key, three for ten yuan, do you want a copy?

She said irritably, “Let me correct you—it’s not that I’m interested in you. Stop worrying about me. Do you really think you’re some kind of treasure?”

Zhou Yingzhe snorted coldly, “I hope you’re not playing hard to get. Su Shiyi, even if you manage to get my body, you won’t have my heart. I advise you to give up soon.”

Su Shiyi: ?

Su Shiyi: ???

Her mind was buzzing, so angry that she couldn’t even speak. Is this really something a person would say? Does he have no shame? Help!

Su Shiyi laughed bitterly through her anger, “Do you know? Actually, I have a pretty good personality. I rarely act spoiled or unreasonable.”

“Don’t you understand what I just said?” Zhou Yingzhe furrowed his brow. “Even if you say good things about yourself, I won’t be moved. Why do you keep pestering me?”

“No, I’m telling you, I’m going to be arrogant and domineering just this once.”

Su Shiyi snapped her fingers, and immediately a few bodyguards appeared out of nowhere beside them.

She extended her hand, and someone immediately handed her sunglasses. Even though it was night and indoors, Su Shiyi put on her black shades with great flair.

“Take this man away, and never let him appear in my sight again.”

Damn, saying that felt so good!

The bodyguards all responded in unison, without any extra actions, and moved directly towards Zhou Yingzhe. The male lead panicked. What a joke, he was Zhou Yingzhe!

“Don’t you recognize me?” He angrily tried to break free but was still restrained by the arm. “If Uncle Gu knew about this, he’d definitely fire you!”

No one paid him any attention. The bodyguards mocked him in their hearts. This man was really foolish. Mr. Gu invested a lot in many promising young people every year, and his beloved daughter was the only one he truly cherished.

Su Shiyi had only said she didn’t want to see him. If she were harsher, she could have gone to her father and caused a scene, getting Mr. Gu to withdraw his investment. Then he’d truly be finished.

But Su Shiyi was a relatively kind person. She just didn’t like Zhou Yingzhe, but she wasn’t at the point of wanting to completely ruin him. As long as he didn’t bother her again, she didn’t care about anything else.

As the “villainess who was secretly in love with the male lead,” her character had already collapsed to this point. The so-called “fire pit” story should no longer come into her life, right?

And then, Su Shiyi turned and ran into Gu Yuxuan.

Su Shiyi: …

How could this happen? She just wanted to be a rich woman who didn’t care about the world. You guys, with your plotlines, just retreat!

When Gu Yuxuan saw her turn around, she obviously panicked for a moment. The expression on her face clearly showed that she wanted to say something but held back. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and it was Su Shiyi who sighed and spoke first.

“Do you need something?”

A sharp knife whether you stick your head out or not, Su Shiyi thought to herself, let’s just cooperate with Gu Yuxuan and finish the plot. She wanted to find a bed to lie down on, she was really exhausted—emotionally drained.

Gu Yuxuan hesitated for a long time before speaking, “Do… do you like Zhou Yingzhe?”

Su Shiyi really wanted to roll her eyes, but she held it in.

“I’m not interested in him, and I don’t care about what’s going on between you two.”

“We have nothing going on!” Gu Yuxuan immediately retorted. “We’ve cleared everything up. There’s no relationship between Zhou Yingzhe and me!”

Su Shiyi asked her, “Then why are you looking for me?”

“…Well, it’s just that, uh…”

Gu Yuxuan hesitated, seeming to think for a long time before finally making up her mind to say, “You and Zhou Yingzhe aren’t suited for each other. You mustn’t consider him. And about what happened before… I…”

Her face turned red, and her fingers kept twisting nervously. “I’m sorry… I heard from Yiyao that you’re a good person.”

Huh? Gu Yuxuan didn’t seem like the type of villainess who would say something like that.

Suddenly, Su Shiyi thought of something. The system had shifted her mission objective, which might mean that the storyline focused on Gu Chen and Gu Pan had undergone major changes, and the original narrative’s control over the characters was weakening.

For example, Gu Chen’s character was slowly becoming better, and Meng Yiyao had started to wake up from her obsessive crush on Gu Chen. If Gu Yuxuan suddenly had an epiphany about her past actions, it would make sense.

“You used to like bullying your classmates, didn’t you?” Su Shiyi reminded her. “Did you apologize to them?”

Gu Yuxuan lowered her head in shame. “I don’t know why I did those things in the past… but I will apologize!”

“Being young and ignorant isn’t an excuse,” Su Shiyi continued to give her a warning. “Harm has already been done, and it’s likely that others won’t forgive you. That’s just how it is.”

Gu Yuxuan fell silent, trembling like a student who had made a mistake, too nervous to move except for her legs shaking.

Since she was here and the conversation had gone this far, Su Shiyi casually added, “It’s also wrong to steal others’ work.”

Up until this point, Gu Yuxuan had admitted to everything. But when she heard this, she suddenly looked up and blurted out, “I didn’t! How could I…”

She stopped mid-sentence, unwilling to finish her words.

Su Shiyi had a gut feeling that there was something more to it, but Gu Yuxuan didn’t want to elaborate. She just emphasized, “I swear I’ve never stolen anyone’s work,” and left.

Leaving Su Shiyi feeling confused, she touched her head.

By the time the party ended and they returned to Taihe, gathered around the dining table for Gu Chen’s birthday, Su Shiyi seemed to have some clarity.

After thinking about it, did Gu Yuxuan really need to steal Yu Zhaozhao’s design drafts? With the ability of her parents to quickly customize a Batmobile, their family was wealthy and well-connected—certainly not as powerful as Gu Lang’s, but still respectable.

If Gu Yuxuan wanted to enter the design world, her parents could have paved a much safer and cleaner path for her without any risk of scandal. So it was likely that Gu Yuxuan hadn’t stolen Yu Zhaozhao’s design drafts. She didn’t need to, and she had no motive to do so.

Even if she disliked Yu Zhaozhao and wanted to sabotage her, there were other ways to go about it. She wouldn’t need to risk herself, unless Gu Yuxuan was truly a fool.

…Which, it seemed, might not be a low possibility.

Su Shiyi looked up and saw Gu Lang. Suddenly, an idea struck her—Zhou Yingzhe came from an ordinary family, so where did he get the money to start a business? From what she knew, loans for college student startups weren’t very high, and with his family’s support, if he were only dabbling in small ventures, it would be hard for someone like Gu Lang to discover him.

Her mind was still somewhat muddled, and although she had a few scattered clues, she couldn’t quite connect the dots.

After they blew out the candles and began cutting the cake, Gu Lang asked her, “Did you have a conflict with Zhou Yingzhe today?”

“It’s his own fault,” Su Shiyi didn’t intend to complain, but since Gu Lang asked, she just said it directly. “He actually came to find me, telling me to give up on him and that he would never like me—Dad, do you think he’s crazy?”

The immersion was so strong that Gu Pan also got angry: “He’s so shameless! Are all men this average but still so confident?”

Gu Lang and Gu Chen: ?

Oh, almost forgot. Gu Lang and Li Shuman were busy, and Gu Chen was busy and unfamiliar, so Su Shiyi usually chatted with her roommate and Gu Pan. During this time, Gu Pan’s attitude had changed the most.

Su Shiyi didn’t feel like she had led Gu Pan astray. On the contrary, she nodded approvingly and added, “But you don’t need to generalize. Not all men are like that. For example, our dad is so outstanding, yet he’s not arrogant.”

Gu Lang was pleased.

Gu Chen: ???

Gu Pan followed up, saying, “Right, Uncle Gu wouldn’t do that.”

Gu Chen waited for her to continue, but after a long pause, he still didn’t hear the next sentence.

Gu Chen: …

Hello, it’s still his birthday today. Do you really not know there’s another man here? Why not bring him up?

Gu Lang, ignoring his birthday son’s disgruntled mood, shifted the topic back to what they were talking about earlier. “It seems Zhou Yingzhe has been hyped up too much over the years and has lost sight of who he really is.”

People are all double standards. Su Shiyi looked down on Zhou Yingzhe, and Gu Lang thought that was natural. His daughter’s standards were high—what’s wrong with that? But if Zhou Yingzhe looked down on his daughter and dared to say it like that, then Zhou Yingzhe was the one being shameless.

Zhou Yingzhe had some talent, but he was not irreplaceable. If it weren’t for the fact that he had one advantage, his looks were just passable, Gu Lang wouldn’t have introduced Su Shiyi to him.

Others thought Gu Lang valued Zhou Yingzhe’s potential, but Gu Lang actually thought he looked decent enough. His daughter was his responsibility. All he needed was for a man to be obedient and make his daughter happy, whether or not he was successful didn’t matter. Su Shiyi wouldn’t have to rely on another man to support her.

Su Shiyi asked, “Dad, how did you find Zhou Yingzhe? Was it Gu Yuxuan who introduced him?”

“Gu Yuxuan? That girl’s name seems to be that,” Gu Lang told her. “She sent a proposal to my secretary’s email, and John thought it was good, so he forwarded it to me. I didn’t expect him to have a bit of a problem.”

Sending it to Gu Lang’s secretary’s email was already a high-level internal recommendation, as it wasn’t publicly available.

“So, introducing someone comes with risks. Dad, don’t try to arrange any matches for me.”

Taking the opportunity, Su Shiyi quickly made her intentions clear. “I haven’t graduated from college yet, so I’m not thinking about marriage right now.”

Gu Lang was surprised. “Marriage? I just wanted to introduce a few boyfriends to you, not force you into marriage!”

Su Shiyi let out a sigh of relief. Dating was something she could consider, as long as it wasn’t rushing her into marriage.

Wait, something doesn’t seem right…

Gu Lang just said, “a few boyfriends“?

A few?

How many?

She quickly pushed that locked thought out of her head. “Dad, how could I date a few at the same time? That wouldn’t be appropriate.”

Su Shiyi needed to clarify immediately that she definitely didn’t have such an idea.

Gu Lang said calmly, “I meant a few options. What were you thinking? This is Lujiang, after all.”

Su Shiyi: …

My dear dad, you need to make yourself clear all at once! Look at you, panting like that, making her wait… no, making her anxious for nothing.

Li Shuman, who had been very low-key, spoke up, “Men don’t have a full enough perspective when it comes to other men. I think it’s better if me and Panpan take charge of this matter.”

Gu Pan agreed, “Yeah, girls look at guys differently.”

Su Shiyi: ?

How did we end up talking about who’s in charge? Is this some important event? Don’t make it sound so serious!

Gu Chen, slightly displeased, said, “Your perspective on men is even more limited, okay? Only men truly understand men.”

“No need to say more, the best approach is to gather a wide range of opinions,” Gu Lang said, his eyes shining with excitement. He hadn’t encountered anything this interesting in a long time.

He decided to make it big: “Let’s do an open audition! The four of us will be the judges, scoring from different angles. Whoever has the highest overall score gets the chance to try with Shiyi.”

Gu Chen nodded, “This is fairer.”

Li Shuman agreed, “This idea is good.”

Gu Pan started cheering, “Yay, only choosing handsome guys!”

Gu Lang made a final decision, “Then it’s settled.”

Su Shiyi: ???

Wait a second, didn’t you guys forget to ask the person involved what she thinks? Ahhhhh!