Xiao Liu was absolutely furious. He deeply felt that in the entertainment industry, where people fawn over the powerful and trample the weak, a rookie photographer like himself had no rights, and outsiders had even less.

He had been filming for three days, and Mr. Gu had cooperated with him for three days, treating him with good food and drink. But because of a single greeting from someone, three days’ worth of footage was cut down to less than two minutes, with even his face needing to be edited out.

Despite his anger, he also felt a deep sense of powerlessness. He was anxious but couldn’t change the outcome at all.

He couldn’t break the rules and leak the show’s information to the guests. Besides, even if Mr. Gu knew, what could he do?

At that moment, Gu Chen had just returned from the mountains. The spring sunset was not too hot, its rays sparsely scattering in the courtyard. He placed a basket of fiddlehead ferns aside, took off his muddy boots covered in bamboo leaves, and dumped the muddy spring bamboo shoots he had just dug into the sink, then proceeded to peel and clean them in an orderly manner.

When Butler Li hurriedly arrived at the Songhe Pavilion, this was the scene he witnessed.

“Mr. Gu, what are you doing…?” the Butler was shocked to see Gu Chen’s slender, fair hands covered in mud. “How could you do this?!”

A few days ago, Mr. Gu had been scolded by the old master and had moved to the pavilion to live, without any contact with the Li family since. Today, he even gave the cleaning lady, Aunt Zhang, a day off. Worried, the Butler rushed to the pavilion to check, only to find Mr. Gu digging for wild vegetables in the mountains!

Oh my!

The eldest young master’s significant other was actually digging for wild vegetables in the mountains! And even peeling bamboo shoots by hand!

Even though the eldest young master had been abroad for eighteen days, there was no need for Mr. Gu to suffer in such isolation, digging for wild vegetables!

Gu Chen looked at Butler Li, who was nearly in tears, with a confused expression: “?”

Having nearly finished peeling the bamboo shoots, Gu Chen washed the mud off his hands, then cleaned the basket of fiddlehead ferns. He explained briefly, “I’m making a couple of seasonal dishes to eat.”

Butler Li watched in shock as Gu Chen carried the fiddlehead ferns and bamboo shoots to the kitchen. “Mr. Gu, you… you’re going to cook for yourself?”

“Oh, I felt that Aunt Zhang’s seasonal dishes lacked something, so I gave her a couple of days off.”

Spring cuisine is all about freshness, and now that he had some leisure time, Gu Chen decided to cook himself.

Spring bamboo shoots and fiddlehead ferns are best harvested in the morning, but dealing with them immediately upon returning was almost as good. It’s better to peel the bamboo shoots by hand; using a knife could impart a metallic taste, affecting their freshness.

Butler Li felt even more distressed upon hearing this. Aunt Zhang’s cooking wasn’t just lacking something, she was primarily a cleaner—how could her cooking be any good!

It was his fault!

The eldest young master didn’t stay at the pavilion often, so there was no regular chef assigned there, only Aunt Zhang for daily cleaning. When Mr. Gu came to stay a few days ago, he had forgotten to arrange for a chef.

Poor Mr. Gu. It was bad enough that the people at the Li family estate neglected him, forcing him to retreat to the mountains, but no matter what, Mr. Gu was the young master’s partner. Finding Aunt Zhang’s cooking unbearable, he didn’t feel comfortable requesting a new chef and instead secretly went to the mountains to gather wild vegetables and cook for himself.

It was all his fault!

Thinking this, he reached out to take the things from Gu Chen’s hands, saying, “Mr. Gu, let me carry these! I’ll immediately have a private chef from the foot of the mountain send up a dinner!”

“I don’t eat takeout, and it’s already past seven,” Gu Chen said with a smile, not allowing Butler Li to take the items from him. “Uncle Li, just sit for a bit; it’ll be ready soon.”

Butler Li thought, indeed, it would take quite some time for the food to be delivered. But watching Mr. Gu cook was a form of mental torture for him.

The clay pot on the stove was bubbling with chicken soup, releasing a fragrant aroma. Gu Chen calmly cut the bamboo shoots in half and then sliced them into thin pieces, each slice almost identical in thickness.

His every movement was pleasing to the eye, and Butler Li found himself inadvertently engrossed. Yet, the calm, cold expression and the precision of his knife skills gave Butler Li the eerie feeling of a forensic doctor performing an autopsy.

Forensic doctor? Why did he have such a strange thought?

At that moment, Gu Chen’s phone on the table vibrated persistently, disrupting Butler Li’s thoughts.

Butler Li picked up the phone for Gu Chen, noting that it had been ringing for a while and had several missed calls from someone labeled “Brother Du.”

Just then, “Brother Du” called again.

Gu Chen glanced at the phone and said, “Uncle Li, could you please answer the call for me?”

He didn’t have the original owner’s memories and didn’t know who “Brother Du” was, but he could guess.

Butler Li, seeing that Gu Chen’s hands were busy, put the phone on speaker. A slightly sharp male voice spoke rudely, “What are you doing, Xiao Gu? Why haven’t you answered your phone for so long? Didn’t I tell you we have a class reunion tonight? So many people are waiting for you. Hurry up and get over here!” The tone seemed casual and friendly but carried a condescending air, showing no respect for Gu Chen.

“I heard there’s a winery nearby that belongs to the Li family. Remember to bring two bottles of good wine.”

The moment the call was answered, the other person spoke rudely to Mr. Gu. Knowing how sensitive Gu Chen was, Butler Li couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

It was unacceptable for just anyone to speak to his master like that. Butler Li immediately said sternly, “Sir, please mind your language.”

There was a burst of laughter on the other end, indicating a group of people on speakerphone. Butler Li could imagine the scene of classmates mocking and teasing.

However, upon hearing his voice, the group seemed to realize something was off and turned off the speaker. The call quieted down a bit, and “Brother Du,” sounding slightly constrained and much more polite, said, “Is this Mr. Li, Gu Chen’s husband? I’m Du Ruiqing, Gu Chen’s high school classmate. You can call me Ruiqing. Xiao Gu mentioned he would join our high school reunion. Could you ask him why he hasn’t come yet?”

Butler Li, more shocked than when he saw Gu Chen digging for wild vegetables, quickly denied, “I am not Mr. Li.”

Gu Chen placed the sliced bamboo shoots into the clay pot and calmly chopped the fiddlehead ferns into segments. Without looking up, he said, “I’m not going. Uncle Li, please decline for me.”

Du Ruiqing was the high school classmate who “invited” the original owner to participate in the variety show.

“Mr. Gu said he won’t go,” Butler Li relayed, then added, “Mr. Du, please remember to speak with basic manners next time.”

After hanging up, Butler Li felt a bit conflicted. Mr. Gu was so timid and kind that even a high school classmate felt they could speak to him so condescendingly.

He carefully glanced at Gu Chen’s expression. Given Mr. Gu’s social anxiety, moving to the mountains, he worried this incident might make him feel even worse.

Gu Chen turned away, and Butler Li couldn’t see his expression anymore. Oh no, Mr. Gu must feel even more embarrassed now.

Gu Chen finished chopping the fiddlehead ferns and blanched them for later use. He heated the oil in the pan, added garlic slices and Sichuan peppercorns for flavor, then tossed in the blanched fern segments. The pan sizzled, releasing a burst of smoke.

Gu Chen rarely cooked, and the sudden burst of oil smoke made him cough, his eyes reddening.

Luckily, the fiddlehead ferns were done quickly. He placed the dish on the dining table and grabbed a tissue to wipe his eyes.

Just then, his phone rang again. Gu Chen, wiping his eyes as he ladled soup, said casually, “Uncle Li, could you answer that for me again?”

Butler Li, feeling awkward about seeing Gu Chen “cry,” was relieved by the distraction. Seeing the caller ID as “Xiao Liu,” he thought this must be someone different from Du Ruiqing.

Answering the call and putting it on speaker, he heard Xiao Liu’s anxious voice, “Mr. Gu, I’ve been feeling guilty. I heard someone gave instructions to cut out all your screen time and leave you with less than two minutes! What should we do? The show airs tomorrow night.”

Butler Li was stunned. How could even a show’s production team treat Mr. Gu so unfairly? Poor Mr. Gu!

Gu Chen’s lips curled into a slight smile as he responded over the speaker, “Xiao Liu, thank you for the heads-up, but don’t worry about it. I have my plans.”

After being the lead for so many years, he was finally experiencing the role of a background character with no screen time.

Xiao Liu seemed taken aback. “Oh, really?”

Gu Chen replied, “Mm-hmm, you don’t need to intervene. It might affect your job.”

Xiao Liu, not fully understanding but sensing some profound capability, said, “So, Mr. Gu, you can handle it yourself? That’s good.”

After hanging up, Gu Chen brought the delicious bamboo shoot chicken soup to the table and asked, “Uncle Li, would you like to join me for a meal?”

He then noticed the deeply pained look in Butler Li’s eyes.

“Mr. Gu, I’ve already eaten. Please, go ahead,” Butler Li said, clutching his chest as he walked out.

No, no, he had to call the young master immediately.

…

In a private room at a club, former high school classmates and Du Ruiqing were drinking and joking around. One of them teased, “Ruiqing, it looks like Gu Chen doesn’t even give you face anymore. Seems like he’s really climbed up the social ladder and forgotten about us.”

Although four years had passed since college, these high school classmates barely remembered the quiet and unnoticed Gu Chen. They only recalled that Gu Chen used to follow Du Ruiqing around.

Now, with several hit dramas, Du Ruiqing was quite popular. Although these rich second-generation individuals didn’t think much of him, hearing that Gu Chen had married into the Li family piqued their interest. They wanted Du Ruiqing to bring Gu Chen out to see who he had married. Many of them were eager to connect with the influential Li family.

Du Ruiqing forced a smile and said, “Gu Chen is different from before, seems like he’s changed. Looks like his husband is indeed extraordinary.”

He had organized tonight’s gathering but hadn’t managed to get Gu Chen to show up, and his expression showed some frustration.

Someone, smoking a cigarette, speculated, “Which member of the Li family did Gu Chen marry? I heard an old man’s voice. Did he really marry an old man for money? What did that old man say on the phone?”

Du Ruiqing didn’t mention that Butler Li had denied it, instead, he vaguely said, “He just refused on Gu Chen’s behalf, didn’t say much else.”

“Ruiqing, you mentioned Gu Chen is participating in that marriage reality show, but his husband never showed up. Maybe it really is an old man, and he’s too embarrassed to appear. After all, there are many branches of the Li family, and we don’t know them all.”

“Indeed. His parents divorced, and neither the Gu family nor the Cheng family cared about him. Otherwise, why would they send him to this boarding school? Even if it were for an alliance marriage, he wouldn’t be married into the main branch of the Li family.”

Although this boarding school was a top-tier private institution, few parents would send their truly cherished children there. Most of the students were neglected second-generation rich kids or illegitimate children.

Hearing their comments, Du Ruiqing felt a bit less bitter and said, “Who cares. I don’t believe his husband won’t show up at all during a marriage reality show. We’ll find out eventually.”

He had heard that Gu Chen had married a big shot from the Li family, but details were hard to come by given the Li family’s secrecy.

Another person asked, “So, Ruiqing, what about your boyfriend?”

These people were interested in the Li family and Du Ruiqing’s wealthy boyfriend.

Du Ruiqing’s expression darkened briefly but was quickly masked with a smile. “He’s a busy man, has a meeting to attend. Come on, let’s drink.”

…

Spring night breeze was cool and refreshing.

Butler Li stood in the courtyard, feeling a chill not just in the air but also in his heart.

With a heavy heart, he dialed Li Tingqin’s phone number.