Gu’s Family Mansion.

Gu Zhongmao and his eldest son, Gu Kang, were playing chess. Gu Zhongmao casually asked, “How is the project with the Li family going?”

“It’s going according to plan,” Gu Kang replied. He didn’t seek his father’s approval eagerly, but his expression exuded a confident and determined air of youth, “Both the Li family and us seem to have achieved our desired market outcomes.”

Gu Zhongmao nodded, “Remember to follow up in a timely manner.”

At that moment, the secretary approached to report, “Chairman Gu, I sent multiple messages to the Second Young Master as per your instructions yesterday, but he hasn’t replied to any of them.”

Although he didn’t particularly like or even detest this son, Gu Zhongmao remained composed upon hearing this, leisurely continuing the chess game, “After all, he was married off to Li Tingqin by me. It’s only natural that he feels more confident now that he has some backing.”

Listening to this, Gu Kang refrained from commenting on his younger brother and placed a white piece on the board.

The secretary continued, “According to the news from the Li family yesterday, Old Master Li wanted the Second Young Master to take over Hua’an for practice, but the Second Young Master declined, saying the pocket money given by General Li was sufficient.”

After pondering for a moment, Gu Zhongmao made his move with a black piece and said, “A’Kang, go and advise your brother. After all, there is no man in the Gu family who relies on pocket money without working. I don’t intend for him to continue being useless at the Li family.”

Gu Kang placed another white piece and nodded, “Understood.”

However, since it was Gu Kang who took the initiative to offer Gu Chen a job, and now that Gu Chen had made a request, he couldn’t easily refuse. He simply agreed to let Gu Chen organize a few campus job fairs, not giving it too much thought.

Compared to Gu Kang’s reluctant acquiescence, Gu Chen’s mother, Qi Yajun, was more direct in her approach.

Cheng Siyi was the first child born to Qi Yajun after she married into the Cheng family. Just one year younger than Gu Chen, all of Qi Yajun’s attention had been devoted to him since his birth. He was a child who lacked nothing in love, hence his words carried a certain innocence, self-centeredness, and directness, “Little Brother Gu, don’t forget that it was your mom who raised you just because Dad married you off to the Li family.”

“Mom really needs the core technology of Hua’an, so be brave and go work there.”

Gu Chen thought to himself, “Here comes another one.”

He continued, “I do really need job opportunities…”

There always seemed to be a group of people dedicated to getting him to work. Despite his reluctance to work, there were still many people in the world who needed to work.

Although only a day had passed, online fans of the show were already getting impatient: “Ah, when will Mr. Gu and Brother Ting end their leave and return to the show? Urgent.”

Some sarcastically commented: “They got called out by Mr. Zhong and now they’ve disappeared, too scared to come back, huh?”

“The truth has been exposed, there’s no way they can come back and pretend.”

Fans, trying to avoid stirring up trouble, could only ignore the comments: “I have a bad feeling, yesterday was minus 1 hour, following the pattern… shouldn’t today be a day off? Haha.”

“So, Mr. Gu and the others are going to continue their leave for another day? Sobbing in pain.”

However, they continued to face mockery: “Don’t make excuses to salvage their reputation; your Mr. Gu is too scared to come back, and he can’t come back.”

“Doesn’t Mr. Zhong know the wealthy families better than you? He told you there’s no such person anymore, and you still don’t believe it? Fans continue to turn a blind eye.”

“Haha, that’s how brainless fans in the entertainment industry are.”

Meanwhile, Du Ruiqing held her phone anxiously. It was already afternoon, and Mr. Zhong’s evening gathering would start in a few hours, but Gu Chen still hadn’t replied.

What to do? She couldn’t afford to provoke Mr. Zhong and his group of wealthy second-generation individuals.

His phone number had been blocked, so he continued to message Gu Chen on WeChat: “If you want to return to the show and continue recording programs, apologize to Mr. Zhong and the others, please them; it will benefit your future development in the entertainment industry.”

With no response from Gu Chen, he continued: “At the very least, we were best friends back then. If you don’t go, Mr. Zhong and the others won’t let me off. Do you know what they did to me in the past? The harm I suffered back then was much worse than yours.”

However, by evening, he still hadn’t received a reply from Gu Chen. He reluctantly requested leave from the show and attended Zhong Sheng’s banquet.

Upon arrival, Zhong Sheng was playing cards with a beautiful woman and others. He glanced at Du Ruiqing with some displeasure and asked, “Where is he?”

Du Ruiqing, with a hint of fear, replied, “He’s not responding to my messages…”

“You can’t even handle such a simple matter? Didn’t you think of calling him?” Zhong Sheng felt embarrassed, pointing to the seat across from him, “Since he’s not here, you sit here on his behalf until he arrives…”

“He blocked me…” Du Ruiqing’s face stiffened instantly. He knew they were playing a game of strip poker, losing a hand meant losing an item of clothing, and the attractive individuals around the wealthy young men could stand in for them. But if he sat down, there would be no one to substitute for him. He pleaded, “Mr. Zhong, you know, if someone takes a photo of me, my life is over…”

Zhong Sheng chuckled and said, “Back in high school, when you willingly joined us in playing, I should’ve taken some photos. In high school, you were the one who recommended your sidekick Gu Chen to us. Now you’re backing out more and more?”

Another young man laughed, “After all, we supported you with so much money to study art, and now you’re not even willing to show us a strip? Dating with Qiao is to become a phoenix on a branch?”

Zhong Sheng found it boring, waved his hand, and said, “Forget it, forget it. Acting like we’re interested in a worn-out shoe touched by someone named Qiao.” They had long lost interest in Du Ruiqing, and if he didn’t want to participate, they couldn’t be bothered to force him.

Du Ruiqing gritted his teeth and sat down beside them, feeling a deep sense of resentment.

In high school, it was true that he was drawn to these people for their money and influence, but now he had turned over a new leaf and was ready to live a proper life and marry Ping Ge. If it weren’t for Gu Chen’s vanity, making people think he had married into the Li family, how could he have been drawn back to Zhong Sheng and gotten involved with this unpleasant circle of wealthy second-generation individuals again?

Zhong Sheng was clearly interested in Gu Chen now, so it should be Gu Chen sitting there stripping, not him. Why was he being called over?

Zhong Sheng wasn’t one to be ignored, “Here’s the deal. I won’t call him over tonight. I’ll wait for him to come to me on his own. I enjoy seeing people bow down.”

He then glanced disdainfully at Du Ruiqing and said, “Idiot, since you started this, don’t just stand on the sidelines.”

Du Ruiqing was very protective of his image in the entertainment industry. He wanted to “start anew” and had no intention of revealing his high school past. However, he found himself in a situation where he had to reluctantly tweet about “Gu Chen” in front of these wealthy second-generation individuals:

“I never thought my good friend from high school would change like this. I have always considered him my best friend. Back then, when he got into a fight, I took the blame for him, but now he has become unrecognizable to me… Perhaps once people rise to success, they prefer not to remember these unpleasant incidents from the past… It’s human nature.”

He didn’t directly mention who he was referring to, instead expressing his feelings and hints to his fans in a somewhat resigned tone.

“What’s wrong, Qingqing? Don’t be sad. Let us give you a hug.”

【Is Qingqing also going through a late-night emo phase? Who are they talking about? Who is treating our lovely Qingqing like this?】

【It must be referring to the one surnamed Gu on the show. Qingqing has always been kind to him on the show, but he ignores her, showing no courtesy whatsoever.】

【Huh? Could it be that the rumors about Qingqing transferring schools in high school were because of him? That person is really despicable!】

【But I heard he’s already a big shot? Acting all high and mighty, being ungrateful is not human nature.】

【Not a big shot, haven’t they been exposed by Zhong Sheng as a scammer?】

【Indeed, scum like that doesn’t seem like a big shot, a scammer is more likely.】

Soon after, as if in response to Du Ruiqing, several entertainment companies in the industry announced they would no longer collaborate with Gu Chen. They had paid to have several of GG’s brands featured in “Love Tutoring Class” but now demanded the show remove the segments featuring “Mr. Gu.”

Zhong Sheng’s account wielded immense power in the entertainment industry, with even popular influencers hesitating to cross him due to his influence within the circle. Unlike social media influencers who flaunted their wealth, he was a legitimate second-generation wealthy individual, with his father being a prominent entrepreneur. He owned several entertainment companies and had investments in various industries.

Numerous handsome men and beautiful women in the industry had succumbed to his tactics, figuratively falling at his feet. But now, what he wanted to see was Gu Chen kneeling before him…

He casually remarked on Weibo, “Some people are given an opportunity but don’t know how to seize it. I don’t think this show will ever have a chance to air again.”

“Woah! Zhong Sheng is so domineering! When he says he’ll blacklist someone, he means it! The light of justice!”

“Now those fans of certain scammers can’t pretend to be blind anymore, right? The reason the brands are requesting termination is ‘problematic guests.'”

“I really can’t stand how some niche circles treat trash as treasure.”

“Haha, are fans not following the pattern now? Following the pattern, tomorrow ‘Mr. Gu’ should have another week deducted from his airtime. Will there be another chance to salvage his reputation? Then, after a week, deduct a month, then another year? Deduct until the end of time? Haha, at this rate, you could indeed salvage your reputation to the ends of the universe.”

“Oh, so it’s Zhong Sheng who enforces this pattern, huh? Once he intervenes, you won’t see the light of day in this industry ever again~”

“Zhong Sheng truly is a figure who wields immense influence in the entertainment industry, plus he acts as a pretentious expert. In the future, if even Zhong Sheng doesn’t recognize you, don’t go around claiming to be some big shot in the business world, okay?”