As soon as Lu Youze spoke, the restaurant suddenly fell silent.

Everyone looked at him with an expression of disbelief, as if they had seen a ghost. Even Lu Youxi had a look on her face as if she couldn’t believe he would actually enter the kitchen.

Lu Youze smiled gently and purposely pretended to be unfamiliar with the situation, saying, “This is my first time trying, so if it doesn’t taste good, don’t hate me.”

Just as Lu Youxi was about to say something, Lu Youze’s phone rang. After returning to the Lu family, Uncle Lu had bought him a new phone to make it easier to contact family and friends. But, for him, who didn’t have the memories of the original person, the only people who knew his number were his family and one person—Gu Xuanhao.

Why was Gu Xuanhao calling at this moment? It’s a miracle he could get up so early.

“I’ll take this call,” Lu Youze said and ran to the balcony.

“Lu Youze, look at the trending search.” As soon as Lu Youze picked up the phone, before he could even speak, Gu Xuanhao on the other end angrily said, “What’s going on with that Yu Li? Can’t you just break up quietly? Does he need you to stay involved to maintain his popularity? Why the hell is he dragging you into the trending search every time something happens?”

Although Lu Youze didn’t know the exact details, he could guess from Gu Xuanhao’s words that Yu Li was once again trending.

It was truly a case of “trouble falling from the sky.”

Lu Youze had been trying to keep a low profile, staying home all week, hoping that the media would forget about him. That way, he could continue with his acting career. He thought if he stayed low-key for a month or so, then reappeared, it would be a smoother comeback. After all, the entertainment industry was never short of news. But it seemed that while the media could let him go, Yu Li wasn’t planning to do the same.

Did Yu Li want to destroy his career in the entertainment industry? What kind of grudge was this?

In the novel, Yu Li’s actions could be explained as being for Youxi’s sake. Yu Li wanted to make sure Youxi had everything, which meant that the eldest son would never rise again. But looking at the current situation with Youxi, it seemed like their relationship wasn’t as depicted in the novel. The hatred Yu Li had for his brother seemed unrelated to “power struggles.”

So, what was Yu Li really trying to achieve? Lu Youze honestly couldn’t figure it out.

Regardless of Yu Li’s motives, Lu Youze knew he had to stay in the entertainment industry. He loved acting and planned to do it for his entire life.

“Mr. Lu,” While Lu Youze was lost in thought, the voice on the phone changed. It sounded similar to Gu Xuanhao’s, but it was much more mature and steady, though noticeably colder. “This is Gu Xuanze. If you have time, I’d like to discuss something with you face to face.”

Lu Youze knew who Gu Xuanze was. Gu Xuanhao mentioned his perfect older brother in almost every phone call, proudly saying that if he wasn’t a brother complex, who would believe it? Of course, that was only one reason. The more important reason was that the Gu family wasn’t just one of the four major families in B city, but also a giant in the film and entertainment industry. Anyone hoping to make it in the entertainment industry had likely heard of his name.

Lu Youze knew Gu Xuanze’s name because it was mentioned in the novel when talking about Gu Xuanhao, and he had also seen it online this past week.

Gu Xuanze was a big shot in every way.

“Mr. Gu, may I ask what you want to discuss with me?” Lu Youze’s expression turned serious.

After all, Gu Xuanze was the president of the Gu family, and it was always better to be cautious.

But why would the president of the Gu family want to talk to him? It couldn’t be about acting, right? With his current situation, large companies like that wouldn’t take the risk.

Lu Youze quickly recalled the trending search incident with Gu Xuanhao a week ago. Was Gu Xuanze now planning to settle scores with him? He remembered that although Gu Xuanze was a background character in the novel, he was very protective of his younger brother. What did Gu Xuanze, the big CEO, want with him now? Would he try to bribe him like those dramatic TV shows where they offer a huge sum of money to stay away from Gu Xuanhao? But that wouldn’t work! Though he wasn’t the CEO of the Lu family anymore, since he moved back to the Lu family, money was no longer an issue. Could it be that Gu Xuanze just wanted to warn him to stay away from Gu Xuanhao? After all, though his relationship with Gu Xuanhao was purely platonic, others might not see it that way. After all, Gu Xuanhao was a young Alpha without a legal Omega, and some people might assume there was more to their friendship.

In just a few seconds, Lu Youze had imagined an entire drama in his head.

With so many years of acting experience, his imagination had become richer.

“I wanted to discuss something work-related with you.” Gu Xuanze, unaware of the drama playing out in Lu Youze’s mind, directly stated his purpose. “The Gu family is planning to produce a martial arts ensemble drama, and I think you would be a perfect fit for the male lead. I’d like to know if you’re interested.”

They were really looking for him to act?! Lu Youze was taken aback. But did this big CEO need to personally make the call for something like this? Though he was confused, given his current situation, just being offered a role was lucky enough, especially from the Gu family. Overjoyed, he didn’t dwell too much on the fleeting doubt.

“Mr. Gu, are you sure you want me to be the lead in your company’s new drama?” After calming down, Lu Youze asked again, unsure.

From what he had gathered online in the past few days, ever since Lu Youze’s “scandal” had been exposed, he had become the target of public outrage, the fallen emperor of the entertainment industry. That month had been a dark hell for him.

The topic “Lu Youze get out of the entertainment industry” had remained trending, and Yu Li’s fans had publicly boycotted any drama or variety show he was involved in.

Yu Li’s popularity in the entertainment industry was already high, and naturally, he had many fans. Among these fans, the wealthy tycoons accounted for half, and his influence in the industry was unparalleled. In addition to the calls on Weibo for him to leave the industry, some fans organized gatherings at the production companies where he was signed, demanding that the companies terminate their contracts with him. After causing quite a stir, the production teams that originally signed contracts with Lu Youze and the programs he was involved in also chose to terminate the contracts. After Lu Youze arrived, most of the original bookings had been canceled, and he hadn’t heard from any of the production teams or producers. However, a few days ago, he checked and found that he still had one variety show left. According to the schedule, it seemed that recording would start next week, and as of today, the production team hadn’t contacted him for a contract termination.

Lu Youze had been so low-key this week partly because he wanted to participate in this variety show. Of course, joining a variety show wasn’t his goal but rather a means to an end. He just hoped to use the show to gain some popularity, and if possible, invest some money in marketing to clean up his image, even though he was already quite clean. Everything he did had one final goal: to act better. After all, becoming a good actor had always been his dream.

Considering the current situation, Lu Youze had prepared himself for not having any new drama projects this year. But now, with the CEO of Gu Corporation suddenly offering him a role in a drama, this was an unexpected windfall.

It felt unreal, like something had fallen from the sky.

“Is there a problem?” Gu Xuanze asked, seemingly unaware of the online storm, “I’ve watched Mr. Lu’s shows, and I think your image and acting are fine. Or is it that Mr. Lu doesn’t want to take on any television dramas?”

“No, I don’t mind,” Lu Youze replied.

In such a critical time, someone was still willing to offer him a role, especially the male lead in a drama, and it was from a giant like Gu Corporation. Only a fool would turn it down.

“Then, if Mr. Lu has time, let’s meet this afternoon? I’ll have Ah Hao send you the script first. You can give us any feedback, and as for the salary and contract, we can discuss the details when we meet. How does that sound?”

“No problem.”

After agreeing on a meeting time, Gu Xuanze didn’t waste any time and ended the call immediately. Before the call was disconnected, Lu Youze could still hear Gu Xuanhao complaining.

Lu Youze smiled at the phone and then remembered the trending topic that Gu Xuanhao had mentioned. Curious, he opened Weibo again.

He wanted to see how, despite staying at home like a good boy, Yu Li was still trying to pin the blame on him.

Heh… this is interesting.

This morning, Yu Li had accidentally fallen down the stairs while filming and injured his thigh ligaments. He was now in the hospital recuperating. No matter how you looked at it, this had nothing to do with Lu Youze, but the comments under the news seemed as though Lu Youze had pushed Yu Li down the stairs.

Yu Li was filming a modern urban inspirational drama about young people striving for their dreams with the help of mentors, ultimately becoming stars. The official TV station, possibly to avoid blame or keep the buzz going, posted on their official Weibo saying that Yu Li had fallen because he was reminded of past events during filming.

Afterward, reporters interviewed Yu Li, who was recuperating in the hospital. His responses were even more cryptic. Although he never mentioned Lu Youze, every word seemed to bring him to mind.

“Lu Youze owes Yu Li an apology.”

“Yu Li deserves to meet someone better.”

“What qualifications does Lu Youze have?”

In just one morning, these comments dominated multiple trending topics, all while Lu Youze had no idea what was going on.

He didn’t know whether to admire Yu Li’s popularity or praise his public relations skills.

If there were an award for “Best Scapegoat of the Year,” Lu Youze felt he’d be a shoo-in.

Lu Youze flipped through the trending content and the comments from netizens. As a grown man, these crude and simple remarks didn’t faze him in the slightest; in fact, he found them amusing.

It was funny, but Yu Li’s antics had made his week incredibly low-key.

It seemed that trying to stay out of trouble was pointless. It was time for him to take the initiative. If he didn’t make a move, people would really start treating him like a sick cat.