The weather was nice today.
Gao Gusheng had just finished class and was considering whether it would be better to meet friends for dinner or go home, since he had no afternoon classes.
Passing students were discussing Qin Shi’s situation in low voices.
These days, even the eye-catching “real versus fake young master” incident couldn’t attract people’s attention-everyone was focused on Qin Shi.
Unavoidable, given his top-tier celebrity status.
The day Qin Shi’s reputation collapsed was in the evening. Gao Gusheng was playing basketball on the court when a classmate’s sudden shout startled him, nearly causing his slam dunk to hit Mo Hua’s head.
“Qin Shi-holy crap-!!!”
This shout was truly earth-shattering. The motion-sensor lights in the dormitory buildings lit up in sequence, and windows in the classrooms were crowded with heads, everyone consuming gossip both from their phones and from the scene on the field.
A heartbroken girl was running across the field while crying, with her breathless friend following, still trying to persuade her, “You really shouldn’t curse about this…”
Heartbroken fans were scattered across the campus: some on the field, determined to channel their grief into energy to lose a few more pounds before summer’s end; some in the library furiously flipping through law books with such ferocity that one couldn’t help but wonder if they were trying to pass the bar exam on the spot to add a few more years to Qin Shi’s sentence; and others eating their way from hot pot to large plates of chicken, starting with tears of despair but ending up laughing as they ate.
Gao Gusheng sighed with an air of worldly wisdom-truly, life in all its forms.
Over these few days, as evidence continued to surface, Qin Shi’s fans abandoned him one after another, with only a small group of die-hard supporters still waving flags and shouting, but no longer making much impact.
Like a fallen whale, Qin Shi’s collapse redistributed his popularity to other celebrities, and the school’s celebrity chasers began turning their attention to other stars.
However, Gao Gusheng felt that rather than “whale fall,” “shark decay” was more fitting for Qin Shi.
Back to the present, Gao Gusheng was considering how to spend his free afternoon when he overheard two female classmates walking by discussing film emperor Xiao Yusheng.
“I heard the film emperor is making a comeback? His last work was a year ago, right?”
“This time it seems to be for a charity film… What? Planning to become his fan?”
“Yes, instead of being a fan of someone who has nothing but a face, I’d rather follow someone who’s both good-looking and talented. It’s just a pity the film emperor rarely engages with fans.”
…
With Qin Shi’s downfall, a flood of discussions emerged, mostly criticizing the phenomenon of traffic-driven celebrity. Because of this reflection, more and more actors with real ability came into the public eye.
Among them, Xiao Yusheng, who had both looks and talent, was mentioned most frequently and was the biggest beneficiary of Qin Shi’s downfall.
However, Xiao the film emperor didn’t seem to care much about these matters. While other celebrities had already started posting on social media to retain fans, Xiao Yusheng’s last Weibo post was still one supporting Gao Gusheng.
Come to think of it, Xiao Yusheng probably didn’t need to deliberately retain fans. His works seemed to have a special magic, attracting viewers like a black hole.
Gao Gusheng was casually browsing the mall when his gaze fixed on the new Hundred Flowers lollipops. A set of twenty-four, with beautiful flowers sealed inside transparent candy shells, led by the cherry blossom lollipop-quite exquisite and beautiful.
Gao Gusheng’s eyes swept over several other lollipop varieties he hadn’t seen before, and he immediately decided to go home that afternoon.
After Gao Gusheng left, the dessert section’s stocker looked at the shelf as usual and went back to the warehouse to get another box of new ones.
While waiting in line to check out, several female students were in front of Gao Gusheng, discussing Xiao Yusheng.
“Brother posted an update!”
“What? What did Film Emperor Xiao post?”
“He said casting has begun for the new charity film about human trafficking.”
“Qin Shi also said he was going to film a charity project. If he hadn’t gotten into trouble, the two would have been competing directly.”
“Well, Qin Shi’s acting skills… tsk. Let’s not talk about him, it’s bad luck.”
“Speaking of which, wasn’t our school’s Gao Gusheng mentioned by the film emperor before?”
…
The two students in front finished checking out and left. It was Gao Gusheng’s turn.
Gao Gusheng silently marveled at how popular Xiao Yusheng had become recently while handing over his lollipops to be checked out.
After Xiao Yusheng supported him last time, he thanked Xiao Yusheng through Weibo, and Xiao Yusheng’s response was gentle, showing perfect tact, without taking the opportunity to again suggest Gao Gusheng participate in his film.
Logically, someone so gentle, polite, and supportive of newcomers should be well-liked, but for some unknown reason, Gao Gusheng felt an inexplicable aversion whenever he saw Xiao Yusheng and avoided him when possible.
However, he rarely used Weibo anyway. His account was completely blank except for a few reposted giveaways, so it didn’t matter if Xiao Yusheng knew about it.
“That’ll be five hundred.”
“Beep-”
Gao Gusheng left carrying all sorts of lollipops. The cashier, clearly accustomed to such scenes, remained completely unfazed, though the male student waiting to check out behind him was shocked.
“Hey-wait up!”
Gao Gusheng had only walked a few steps when the male student stopped him. Seeing that the student had abandoned even the cola he was about to purchase, it must be something important.
“Can we talk over there? I-I want to discuss something with you.”
When the male student saw Gao Gusheng’s eyes, he suddenly felt dazed and his face inexplicably flushed.
He secretly panicked: Damn! This is a guy!
Gao Gusheng had no idea what the student was thinking, but seeing his urgency, he followed him to a less crowded corner.
“What is it?”
The male student couldn’t help but glance at Gao Gusheng again before saying, “I noticed you bought so many lollipops-probably to confess to a girl you like, right?”
Lollipop bouquets were very popular lately.
Gao Gusheng was about to deny this when the student continued, “After your confession, could you sell them to me at a discount? My girlfriend’s birthday is coming up.”
Gao Gusheng paused, incredulous. “You want to…”
“Exactly!” the male student readily admitted. “If your confession fails, selling the bouquet to me helps you recoup some money. And if your confession succeeds…”
The male student unconsciously frowned, a microexpression that Gao Gusheng caught completely.
“If your confession succeeds, she can’t eat that many anyway.”
“You spent five hundred on these lollipops. I don’t need all of them-just half would be fine. How about I give you one hundred?”
“Let’s exchange WeChat and discuss it later.”
The male student had already taken out his phone, but Gao Gusheng didn’t move. “Brother, you’re buying a secondhand gift for your girlfriend’s birthday? If my confession fails and you give her my rejected lollipops, isn’t that bad luck?”
The student replied awkwardly, “Come on, what’s the big deal? Women just want a sense of ceremony for special occasions. If I provide the ceremony, what else could she possibly be unhappy about?”
“Just add my WeChat first. This benefits both of us-we can talk later.”
Seeing the eagerness in his eyes, Gao Gusheng took a deep breath, resisting the urge to hit him over the head with the lollipops.
Over these days, Gao Gusheng had gained some understanding of his own attractiveness. He naturally made people feel good about him, but whether that good feeling would transform into crazy love depended on many factors.
The most important one was that if a couple truly loved each other, their goodwill toward Gao Gusheng wouldn’t transform into romantic feelings.
This male student’s eagerness to add his WeChat contact clearly showed that his initial purpose had already changed.
-But Gao Gusheng could also tell from his constitution what kind of calculations were going on in the mind of someone willing to give his girlfriend a secondhand gift.
Gao Gusheng despised insincere people and couldn’t be bothered to continue the conversation. He turned and left, ignoring the calls behind him.
With his good physical condition, he still walked briskly despite carrying a bag of lollipops, quickly leaving the male student behind.
As he walked, he took out his phone to call Gao Shi.
“Hello? Dad, I don’t have afternoon classes, so I’m coming home for a bit.”
“Hehe, Dad, guess what I brought?”
“Wow! Dad, you’re truly prophetic!”
Gao Gusheng applauded like a seal through the phone.
“Mm-hmm, okay, I’ll eat something first.”
“Bye, Dad.”
Gao Gusheng hung up.
Just this morning, two of his bodyguards had gotten food poisoning, and Auntie Yun had a family emergency, forcing them all to leave in a hurry. The new bodyguards Gao Shi had sent wouldn’t arrive for another two hours, so he’d have to go home alone.
However, in his current situation, he didn’t dare take public transportation, or an R-rated scene would unfold in minutes.
Of course, with his fighting skills, the scene would probably be categorized under “Violence, Gore.”
Therefore, he could only wait for a car to pick him up.
Gao Gusheng stood at the entrance of the cafeteria, considering whether to have egg pancakes or braised pork rice for lunch.
Spicy hot pot was out of the question-that’s what had given his two bodyguards food poisoning. Not just his bodyguards but many classmates had gotten sick, probably because the ingredients hadn’t been washed properly. The food stall had already been shut down.
Just then, a familiar man approached him.
“Student, our boss is waiting for you in the car. Could you come over for a talk?”
This face was all too familiar-Gao Gusheng had seen it countless times.
The person before him was none other than Assistant Li, who had approached him many times.
And the “boss” he mentioned must be Li Mochen.
The Range Rover was waiting discreetly in a corner. Gao Gusheng thought for a moment-these people wouldn’t dare do anything in broad daylight-and nodded in agreement. If they still wanted him to sign with their entertainment company, he would simply refuse. They couldn’t force him to sign.
***
The security guard at Jing University’s entrance gave the man before him several looks, feeling something was very suspicious.
This man was wearing a mask and hat in the scorching heat, with the brim pulled low, and was dressed in long sleeves and pants-just looking at him made one feel like melting from the heat.
Recently, Qin Shi’s fans had been acting crazy, threatening to take revenge on Gao Gusheng, forcing Jing University to implement access control. Only after Gao Gusheng’s photo was exposed and the situation reversed did those radical fans and paparazzi lingering at the entrance finally disperse completely.
Although the access control has been lifted, there’s still a possibility of ill-intentioned people wanting to disturb the school’s peace.
The security guard extended his hand, “Please sign in.”
The man paused, then slowly picked up the pen and began to register.
The security guard asked casually, “Why are you wearing so much in such hot weather?”
The man coughed softly, his voice hoarse, “I’m… afraid of frightening people.”
He seemed to struggle for a moment, then partially lifted his mask for the security guard.
From the security guard’s angle, he couldn’t see the man’s eyes, only the hideous scars on his face, which had disfigured it into a mess of flesh.
The security guard silently gasped, feeling sympathy, “In your condition, it might actually be better not to cover it with a mask. It would heal faster.”
The man gave a bitter smile, “I know, but I’m here to pick up my younger brother after school, and I don’t want to scare the other students.”
Seeing this, the security guard didn’t say anything more, just shook his head and sighed inwardly.
The man walked quickly into the school with his head down, disappearing into the crowd.
However, the security guard failed to notice the knife and vial of drugs concealed under the man’s loose jacket.
***
“Sign a contract?”
Gao Gusheng shook his head, “I’m sorry, CEO Li, I’m studying finance in college and have no plans to develop a career in the entertainment industry.”
Li Mochen in the car turned his head and met Gao Gusheng’s gaze.
Gao Gusheng felt as if time had reversed, back to when he was discussing with Xiao Yusheng.
At that time, Xiao Yusheng was also in the car while he stood outside, just like now.
The only difference was that this time, Gao Gusheng’s refusal was more firm, and the Wanxing agent before him was more aggressive.
