“Got a problem with that?”

Originally, Su Mei had thought that at this moment, given the male protagonist’s character in the novel, Gu Yancheng would completely disdain responding to the shareholders’ sarcastic remarks.

Unexpectedly, Gu Yancheng not only gave the other party a cold, warning look but also retorted with a line.

After speaking, Gu Yancheng even helped pull out a chair for Su Mei.

Although Su Mei wasn’t sure if the male protagonist was intentionally trying to provoke the shareholders present, she felt somewhat flattered.

The meeting proceeded in Gu Yancheng’s usual style— brief and to the point.

However, throughout the meeting, Gu Yancheng’s gaze would occasionally and unintentionally land on Su Mei, who was sitting beside him, head down and secretly playing on her phone under the table.

Looking at the woman beside him, Gu Yancheng’s mind instinctively recalled the scene in the elevator.

His expression subtly changed.

When danger suddenly strikes, the first person someone grabs would be the one they trust with all their heart.

Is that really the case?

Gu Yancheng pondered this, feeling something stir within him.

However, he was unaware of an even more peculiar reason— transmigration into a novel.

Su Mei’s choice at that moment was very clear-headed, entirely based on her knowledge of the novel’s plot and her trust in the protagonist’s halo.

Originally, Su Mei was playing a game when she suddenly felt a chill on the back of her neck. Looking up, her eyes met Gu Yancheng’s.

Su Mei: “!”

Startled, Su Mei quickly put away her phone. She thought she was done for, but then she saw the corners of Gu Yancheng’s mouth lift slightly, seemingly with no intention of pursuing the matter further.

Nevertheless, out of caution and respect for the male protagonist’s authority, Su Mei obediently puts her phone away.

She kept it away until the meeting ended.

“Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll……” head back now.

Su Mei hadn’t finished her sentence when she heard Gu Yancheng say, “Let’s go.”

Su Mei: Hmm? Go where?

It wasn’t until she followed Gu Yancheng to the door of the chairman’s office that Su Mei finally understood the reason behind Wang Qin’s sudden surprise the last time she chose an office.

She had randomly pointed to a room, yet it ended up being right next to Gu Yancheng’s!

Looking at the two adjacent rooms labeled ‘Chairman’s Office’ and ‘Vice Chairman’s Office’, Su Mei’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch.

“Su—”

“Yes?”

“There’s a charity auction tomorrow night at the International Convention Center.”

As he looked at Su Mei, Gu Yancheng suddenly thought of the invitation he had received today but hadn’t declined yet.

Su Mei seemed to enjoy these kinds of events.

———pr

This translation is by Pocketrobbin at S h a n g h a i f a n t a s y . c o m

Su Mei had become popular.

Not immensely famous, but as she had guessed before, she was controversial and talked about a lot.

The first episode of 《My Life 2》 officially aired two weeks after filming was completed.

Up until a few minutes before the show aired, many people were adamant about not wanting to see Su Mei’s scenes, claiming they would skip her parts.

Originally, the production team invited an internet influencer to join to generate buzz for the early stages of the show.

Once the show started, it didn’t matter if viewers chose to skip or watch certain segments at double speed.

At most, they would only adjust the editing for the second episode based on the viewership of the first episode.

However, not only the production team but even the netizens themselves hadn’t expected that when Su Mei’s segment aired, the viewership actually increased instead of declining.

Regardless of whether the audience tuned in out of curiosity, the fact remained that when Su Mei’s segment aired, the viewership spiked.

Moreover, Su Mei’s straightforward remarks were like a bombshell that exploded instantly.

Who wouldn’t want to get rich overnight?

Living in luxury next to an old man for a couple of years and then inheriting a billion worth of fortune— if such an opportunity presented itself, not everyone would be able to righteously and resolutely refuse.

Therefore, although many people on the internet still criticized Su Mei for being a gold digger and shameless, a significant number of people started to dislike her less.

Moreover, any particularly unpleasant remarks were quickly cleaned up, reported, and deleted, which must have been the ‘routine operation to protect shareholders’ reputation’ that Wang Qin mentioned.

As a result, many of the remaining comments were like, 【This woman is amazing.】, 【Give me a chance and I’d want it too.】, 【Everyone has their own aspirations, and since she said it, I actually don’t want to criticize her.】, or 【Dang, so real. This is the reality.】

There was even a moment when Su Mei was called to a meeting at Gu Group, looking like there’s nothing else left to live for, that someone captured and turned into a meme with the caption, 【I really don’t want to go to work.】

The most immediate change brought about by Su Mei’s newfound popularity was that her livestream’s stable viewer count finally broke 100,000.

Additionally, some small businesses and certain brands even approached her for endorsements.

Since Su Mei wasn’t short on money, she didn’t accept any of the endorsements or livestream promotions. Instead, she just focused on her role as a livestreamer with a small popularity.

During this period, Su Mei’s days were quite enjoyable.

Aside from doing livestreams every day and dragging Wu Fei along for shopping sprees, she occasionally accepted invitations from the plastic wives’ group to go out and splurge.

If it weren’t for Wang Qin frequently requesting her to come to Gu Group for various reasons like attending a meeting or such things, her life would be even better.

Additionally, from time to time, Su Mei found herself being ‘influenced’ by Gu Yancheng to attend banquets, auctions, and the like.

Initially, Su Mei was quite intimidated by the male protagonist Gu Yancheng.

However, after several interactions, Su Mei was surprised to find that he wasn’t as terrifying as she had imagined.

Despite the novel 《Contract Lover》 portraying the male protagonist as a cold and domineering CEO, Su Mei doesn’t feel that way.

In fact, she found him rather gentlemanly. He was more reserved in his speech but certainly not cold.

Or maybe those domineering traits only come out when he’s facing the female protagonist?

Speaking of which, Su Mei hadn’t seen the female protagonist Bai Xinyu in quite some time.

Ever since she saw the other party running out of Gu Yancheng’s office in tears.

But then again, in the novel, the primary conflict for her as the fake stepmother was with the male protagonist, not the female protagonist. So, Su Mei didn’t pay much attention to it.

However, with Gu Yancheng, Su Mei noticed that their recent interactions had been quite peaceful and friendly.

This wasn’t just her imagination. She could see it. There was a subtle shift in the attitude of everyone at Gu Group, including Wang Qin, towards her.

This was directly related to their boss’s attitude.

Most importantly, when Su Mei was with Gu Yancheng, she did not feel any danger that stemmed from being cannon fodder.

For example, at this moment, she had been pulled out the house by Gu Yancheng to attend a meeting with business partners.

Sitting next to Gu Yancheng, Su Mei did not feel any discomfort. Occasionally, when a topic she understood came up, she would join in the discussion.

“Was that Ms. Su from earlier the one who used to be by Old Mr. Gu’s side?”

After the meeting, the president and the vice president of Jinfei Group sat together, and one of them couldn’t help but ask.

The two were close friends, so it was normal for them to chat casually.

“Yeah, didn’t I mention it to you last time when Gu Group issued the announcement?”

“Tsk, isn’t it unexpected for me? You said the relationship between Gu Yancheng and Old Mr. Gu was so strained back then.” Then shouldn’t his relationship with Su Mei be even worse?

“How come it seems like those two are cooperating quite harmoniously?”

“Hmph, you said it yourself, it’s cooperation. In the business world, isn’t this just how it is? There are no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, but interests are everlasting.”

However, if that were truly the case, then both Gu Yancheng and Su Mei were highly skilful in acting.

If Su Mei had known about the assessment of the people from the Jinfei Group, she would have been amused.

It was normal for Gu Yancheng to be highly skillful, but to say she also was, tsk tsk.

She was just harboring a grateful heart of a cannon fodder, trying not to court disaster.

Perhaps because Su Mei hadn’t acted recklessly like the fake stepmother in the novel and provoked the male protagonist, in any case, she didn’t feel that Gu Yancheng had any intention of retaliating against her.

If she could get along harmoniously with the male protagonist and, in the process, cling to his leg on the path to wealth and success, Su Mei was more than willing to do so.

Therefore, when Gu Yancheng dropped her off at the villa in Xishan Residence, Su Mei not only said goodbye to him but also thoughtfully wished both Gu Yancheng and Wang Qin, who was in the front seat, a safe journey and a good rest.

“Huh……?”

After seeing Gu Yancheng and Wang Qin off, Su Mei opened the door and immediately sensed something was off.

Walking into the living room, she turned on the light and was utterly stunned.

Su Mei took out her phone, intending to call Wu Fei, but in her panic, she instinctively dialed the most recent number she had called.

“Su Mei.”

“Gu Yancheng?”

“En, what’s wrong?”

Perhaps in her mind, she had already associated Gu Yancheng with being reliable and omnipotent.

When she realized she had called Gu Yancheng, Su Mei was indeed a bit stunned.

However, the moment she heard his voice, she suddenly felt much less tense.

“Um, have you guys gone far?” Su Mei asked.

“No.”

“Turn around and go back.” Gu Yancheng instructed the assistant and driver in the front seat, then picked up the phone again and asked, somewhat nervously, “What happened?”