Although Gu Chen’s 1-minute-and-58-second video attracted some attention and curiosity within small circles and received positive feedback, it fell short in the vast entertainment industry. One must consider that any random celebrity fan base numbers in the millions. Moreover, the first episode of “Love Tutoring Class” accumulated a large following, with most fans focusing on the lives of the stars. It is difficult for them to pay special attention to an unknown person who never appeared on camera.

Only Du Ruiqing closely followed the comments about Gu Chen late into the night, growing increasingly frustrated. He sneered, “Giving someone like Gu Chen, a nobody, any attention is just a waste.”

Du Ruiqing’s wealthy boyfriend, Qiao Kunping, had just finished showering. Noticing his partner’s agitated state, he wrapped an arm around his waist and asked, “Honey, what’s wrong?”

Du Ruiqing softened his twisted expression and, with a hint of grievance, said, “I really don’t understand what these netizens are thinking. We have good tea and fine porcelain at home, yet it’s the things in Gu Chen’s little house that have them all excited. It’s like they’ve never seen the world. Isn’t your taste far better than Gu Chen’s, Ping?”

“Are you still hung up on that high school classmate of yours?” At thirty-four, Qiao Kunping was often too busy with work to watch Gu Chen’s videos, let alone read netizen comments. Hearing Du Ruiqing’s complaint, he replied indulgently, “Maybe there’s nothing noteworthy about your classmate’s life, so the netizens latch onto whatever they can?”

Du Ruiqing’s mood improved a bit with the comforting and, in a deliberately dejected tone, he said, “But Ping, even though you asked the production team to not give him any screen time, it still didn’t work. These netizens are easily deceived by Gu Chen’s facade. Just like when we were in high school, I was totally fooled by him, thinking he was my best friend. Yet, during our crucial senior year, he betrayed me, forcing me to transfer schools. The thought of participating in the same show as him is unbearable.”

He didn’t tell Qiao Kunping that he had intentionally recommended Gu Chen for the show.

Qiao Kunping was already aware of the bullying Du Ruiqing suffered in high school. He had specifically asked the production team to give Du Ruiqing a break and deal with Gu Chen, an unknown person, was supposed to be easy. Unexpectedly, it didn’t have the desired effect and instead upset his little boyfriend.

He didn’t care much about someone like Gu Chen. It was Lin Yisu, the actress, who could make him reconsider. So, he casually said, “I’ll ask the production team to rearrange things. Didn’t you say his husband didn’t show up? Isn’t that a breach of contract? Let’s see if he can pay the penalty.”

Qiao Kunping pinched Du Ruiqing’s nose and smiled gently, “Besides, this helps our show’s revenue.”

He had invested some money in this variety show as well.

Du Ruiqing immediately beamed, kissed him, and said, “Thank you, hubby~”

He was the same age as Gu Chen, both only twenty-two, but unlike Gu Chen’s cold and lazy demeanor, he had two sweet dimples when he smiled, making him especially cute and likable. After gaining fame, he attracted a lot of “mom fans.” His twelve-year age gap relationship with Qiao Kunping didn’t displease fans; instead, they found the pairing of the “rich and powerful CEO with the adorable young spouse” endearing, resulting in many “couple fans.”

However, upon hearing the term “hubby,” Qiao Kunping’s smile faded. While he did like men, marriage was out of the question, especially with a small celebrity from the entertainment industry.

Nevertheless… He touched his chin thoughtfully, his expression playful. He wasn’t naive; he could see that Du Ruiqing’s feelings for Gu Chen were mixed with intense jealousy. Du Ruiqing had been talking about Gu Chen constantly, but Qiao Kunping still didn’t know what Gu Chen looked like. It piqued his curiosity to see what kind of person could make his little boyfriend so agitated for so long.

….

The production team had a similar mindset as Qiao Kunping. The minor buzz generated by Gu Chen didn’t capture their attention. Aside from noticing the higher view count for that segment, their focus remained on the big-name stars, who were their real money-makers.

The slight positive attention Gu Chen received only resulted in the assistant director refraining from scolding Xiao Liu, and nothing more.

Even without Qiao Kunping’s intervention, they were planning to approach Gu Chen to negotiate the breach of contract issue. After all, the second episode was about to start filming, and it wouldn’t make sense for Gu Chen to continue participating alone.

Gu Chen wasn’t paying attention to the online buzz. Nowadays, he rarely used his phone, and his minor news wouldn’t make the trending lists. One would have to specifically search for content related to the show to find out anything.

After receiving a generous allowance from Li Tingqin, he had been busy drawing weapon design sketches. The housekeeper, Li, brought him a cup of tea and exclaimed, “Mr. Gu, you can draw design sketches too? These weapons look amazing! They’re even better than those drawn by that artist at the young master’s game company… what’s his name again?”

Gu Chen replied, “A concept artist?”

“Exactly!” The housekeeper clapped his hands. “I think you’d be more than capable of being a concept artist! Mr. Gu hasn’t been able to find his career path and moved to the mountains because of the old master’s comments, right? I’m sure you can find your own way! Besides, you’re really talented!”

Gu Chen looked up at the housekeeper without speaking.

He was happily retired and had no intention of becoming a hardworking concept artist. It was a good suggestion, but one he hoped wouldn’t be repeated.

He took a sip of the tea, savoring its rich flavor. It was prepared by Master Xu, the new chef hired by Li Tingqin’s assistant. The financial support from his “cheap husband” was quite appealing.

After revising the designs countless times, Gu Chen concluded that several sword designs were excellent and decided to have them all made. He contacted a top forging factory and sent them the design sketches for customization.

Climbing mountains every morning was getting dull, so practicing swordsmanship seemed like a good alternative. He could always change hobbies again when he found something else that interested him.

However, spending a small fortune of several hundred thousand so easily did feel a bit extravagant.

Just after putting away his design sketches, Gu Chen received a message from the production team. Slightly surprised, he raised an eyebrow.

The message was long-winded but concluded with: 【In short, Mr. Gu, either you pay the breach penalty and leave so we can replace you in time, or have your partner join the program promptly so we can confirm the schedule.】

Clearly, the production team, typical of a top-tier show, still carried an air of arrogance and didn’t take a nobody like him seriously.

Too lazy to look for the contract himself, Gu Chen directly replied: 【Can I see the contract?】

He knew that the original participant had been introduced to the show by Du Ruiqing and trusted him somewhat, and being inexperienced with contracts, he had signed a very unfair one without much scrutiny.

The other party quickly sent a PDF and said, 【Mr. Gu, your situation, where even your partner doesn’t join the recording, is a serious breach of contract, requiring maximum compensation. According to the contract, you need to pay five million in damages. This is still considering your status as a non-celebrity; as you might know, breach penalties for stars can easily reach tens of millions.】

Gu Chen opened the file and skimmed through it. It was a highly imbalanced contract in terms of rights and obligations, with several obvious issues upon a cursory glance.

The first issue…

His train of thought stopped there. Why was his professional instinct acting up again? Matters like these should be handled by professionals. He wasn’t a lawyer; how could he be expected to understand contracts thoroughly?

So, without any burden on his mind, Gu Chen closed the file.

After some thought, he sent a polite text message to the pillar of the household: 【Mr. Li, would it be convenient for you to lend me a legal team?】

The reason he didn’t use WeChat was that he didn’t have Mr. Li’s WeChat contact.

Li Tingqin was somewhat surprised when he received the text. The shy and sensitive Gu Chen taking the initiative to communicate with him via text was already a significant step forward. The cautious tone remained, though. It must have been some unfair situation that gave Gu Chen the courage to ask for a legal team.

Li Tingqin replied with a reassuring, 【Alright, don’t worry.】

He then turned to his assistant, Chen, and instructed, “Coordinate with the domestic team and arrange for Lawyer He’s team to go to Gu Chen. Find out what the issue is.”

Assistant Chen nodded but was slightly puzzled. What could have happened to Mr. Gu that required the involvement of Lawyer He’s team?

Nevertheless, since He’s law firm had a business relationship with the Li family and not an employment one, their involvement wouldn’t immediately be linked to the Li family. This discretion was intentional. Thus, Chen quickly made the necessary arrangements as instructed.

…

The next day, the show’s staff arrived at Songhe Villa as scheduled, bringing their legal team along.Before getting out of the car, one staff member sneered and complained, “For a nobody, he’s sure acting high and mighty, making us schedule an appointment to come all the way to the mountains.”

The legal counsel replied, “Well, for five million, it’s worth giving him some face.”

However, upon entering and seeing the three lawyers present, the legal counsel’s legs went weak. Unable to contain his admiration, he approached and shook hands with Lawyer He. “Lawyer He, it’s an honor to meet you!”

“Hello,” Lawyer He replied politely, shaking his hand. “I apologize, Mr. Gu considered our other work commitments when scheduling this meeting, thank you for your understanding.”

The staff member then looked towards the mentioned Mr. Gu. Gu Chen was dressed casually, lounging lazily on the sofa, legs crossed and his hand resting loosely on the armrest, with three well-dressed lawyers standing by his side.

Despite Mr. Gu’s relaxed and nonchalant demeanor, the scene exuded a strong sense of intimidation.

The staff member recalled what Liu, the cameraman, had said: that meeting Mr. Gu in person would leave a different impression.

Quickly, the legal counsel responded, “No problem at all, we are, of course, here at your convenience.”

The legal team, who were about to meet with Gu Chen, had also scrolled through some comments about him during the car ride. They finally believed what those comments said – this was some mysterious tycoon! He could casually summon three industry giants from He’s Law Firm! Just to look at this ridiculous contract!

Mr. Gu himself had an extraordinary aura, definitely a current leader of some group, but how could someone like him sign such a foolish, unequal contract against an ordinary person? The legal team couldn’t understand it.

But after thinking about it, they felt they cracked the case, it must be Mr. Gu’s naive and sweet wife who signed it! It must be like that!

After He’s Law Firm received the contract forwarded by Gu Chen, Chen, the assistant, forwarded a copy to Chen Assistant because he expressed Mr. Li’s concern about the matter. So the contract also reached Li Tingqin.

Li Tingqin looked at the contract and shook his head gently. Poor little Gu, just graduated from college, at his most innocent time, with no social experience, he was forced to marry him and was deceived by his friends into signing such a contract.

But aside from the inequality of this contract, Li Tingqin felt that the most important point was – this was a contract for a love variety show, it requires a partner to participate together, but little Gu didn’t tell him, he didn’t even dare to ask, he just secretly participated by himself.

This little guy’s courage is too small, he just silently suffers the injustice alone.