UCS Chapter 36

Gao Shi had another dream.

 

A ray of sunlight penetrated through the curtains, falling on the youth’s ankle. His skin was so white it was almost transparent.

 

He was unclothed, covered in bruises. Around his slender ankle was a thin golden shackle that had rubbed his skin raw, leaving a crimson ring.

 

Fragile and breakable.

 

As if he would turn into foam the next moment.

 

He was Gao Gusheng in the dream.

 

Even in the dream, Gao Shi’s heart began to ache, anger like wildfire burning through his organs.

 

The well-built man turned around, looking at Gao Gusheng with his empty eyes. He frowned almost imperceptibly, bent down, and grabbed Gao Gusheng’s chin, forcing him to look up.

 

“What, still haven’t accepted reality? Still want to run?”

 

Gao Gusheng slowly shook his head, like an exquisite doll without a soul.

 

“Hmph, you’d better remember, if you run again, I’ll not only break your other leg, but I’ll also flatten that orphanage.”

 

Gao Gusheng’s voice was hoarse, “That won’t happen.”

 

The man withdrew his hand with satisfaction, leaving a red mark on the youth’s chin.

 

“Let’s go, don’t keep me waiting too long.”

 

After the man left, Gao Gusheng struggled to get up. His legs trembled slightly, his body in a pitiful state.

 

He entered the bathroom and came out a while later, wearing only a white shirt.

 

He kept his head down, his fingers trembling as he fastened the last button.

 

The white shirt was large, its hem brushing the middle of his thighs, leaving ambiguous shadows.

 

He walked out of the room, the gold chain on his ankle making crisp collision sounds as he moved.

 

The man was eating breakfast.

 

Gao Gusheng’s breakfast consisted of only two bowls of milk.

 

He quietly drank all the milk, rinsed his mouth with water, then walked to the piano in the living room.

 

His steps faltered, his body stiffening as if recalling an unpleasant memory, but he still went to the piano and sat down.

 

Piano music flowed from his fingertips like water, his fingers seeming to touch the morning light and moonlight.

 

However, the man suddenly flew into a rage.

 

A cup was thrown past his face, leaving a red mark on Gao Gusheng’s face that swelled painfully.

 

The performance was forcibly interrupted.

 

“What do you mean by this? Are you expressing dissatisfaction?!”

 

A vicious slap landed on his face, sending Gao Gusheng straight to the floor. His body seemed very weak, lying there, almost unable to get up.

 

But the man wouldn’t let him go.

 

The man roughly grabbed his collar and dragged him up from the ground. “You’re just a plaything, what right do you have to be dissatisfied!”

 

Gao Gusheng’s eyelashes trembled, he coughed softly, his expression faint.

 

“I am indeed a plaything.”

 

“So when you send me to someone else’s bed, I can’t resist either.”

 

He raised his head, looking at the man before him, his eyes black and empty.

 

“All decisions are made by you. I’m just playing the music they like now, what are you angry about?”

 

Gao Shi’s head went “buzz,” almost bursting.

 

He threw a fierce punch at the man’s head but passed through the man’s body.

 

He was like a departed soul, watching the tragedy unfold, powerless.

 

Anger burned his eyes red, and just then, he suddenly smelled a fragrance.

 

It was the scent of agarwood mixed with the sweetness of peaches.

 

It felt as if someone from behind had gripped his wrist, telling him to strike.

 

This time, he could hit that scum in the dream hard.

 

Gao Shi threw a punch without hesitation.

 

This punch held nothing back, knocking the man to the ground with one hit.

 

It connected!

 

Gao Shi swept his leg across, striking the man’s body with a loud “bang,” causing the man to spit blood.

 

This was the first time Gao Shi had changed a dream.

 

Even though he knew it was all fake, that the man’s pupils had lost their light the moment he smelled the peach scent, he still felt exhilarated.

 

…

 

Gao Shi stirred, unusually not opening his eyes immediately after waking.

 

The ending of that dream was too satisfying, making him want to savor it again.

 

But the sweet fragrance from the dream seemed to have followed him into reality, and the warm thing his head was resting on didn’t feel like his pillow at all.

 

Gao Shi opened his eyes abruptly, finding himself staring at Ying Bujie.

 

Ying Bujie blinked, hesitantly offering the peach-flavored lollipop he had just unwrapped to Gao Shi’s mouth.

 

Gao Shi felt his brain short-circuit, instinctively biting the lollipop as he sat up from the sofa.

 

The two looked at each other in silence.

 

Or rather, only Gao Shi felt awkward and confused.

 

After a moment, Gao Shi cleared his throat, “Thank you, Daoist Ying.”

 

Ying Bujie coldly responded with an “Mm,” which might have been convincing of his aloof nature if not for his clumsy attempts to peel a mangosteen, making it clear he couldn’t speak properly with his mouth full.

 

Gao Shi couldn’t help but smile wryly. He took a toothpick, poked a few times, pinched, and the mangosteen opened completely.

 

Gao Shi handed it to Ying Bujie, whose eyes lit up as he happily devoured it in one bite.

 

Seeing this, Gao Shi continued peeling mangosteens while getting straight to the point, “Daoist, just now in the dream… was that you?”

 

Though his question was vague, Ying Bujie understood and responded with another “Mm.”

 

He swallowed the mangosteen flesh and said, “You were very angry.”

 

“What?” Gao Shi looked up in surprise, only to see Ying Bujie shift his gaze from the food and look at him with complete seriousness.

 

Being looked at with such focus, no one would doubt that Ying Bujie was a person lacking mental clarity.

 

“Don’t be angry.”

 

“I’ll help you.”

 

After saying these words, Ying Bujie lowered his head again and began eating the mangosteen that Gao Shi had peeled.

 

Gao Shi looked at Ying Bujie and felt as if something had poked his heart, creating a strange, bittersweet feeling.

 

Gao Shi ran his fingers through his hair, exhaled deeply, wanted to say something, but ultimately just pushed the porcelain plate full of mangosteens in front of Ying Bujie. “Daoist, eat more.”

 

Busy eating mangosteens, Ying Bujie managed an “Mm” in response.

 

…

 

Gao Shi began to recall fragments of his dream.

 

Clearly, the man in the dream, the previous “Contractor,” was Li Mochen, the CEO of Wanxing Entertainment.

 

It seemed Li Mochen had used coercive means to turn the dream version of Gao Gusheng into his caged bird, and then for unknown reasons-perhaps to exchange playmates or to gain resources-Gao Gusheng was sent to someone else’s bed.

 

Later, Gao Gusheng returned to Li Mochen’s side, but this time Li Mochen’s possessiveness was even more overbearing, even breaking one of Gao Gusheng’s legs after he tried to escape.

 

Gao Shi’s fist hardened again as he recorded this.

 

He took several deep breaths to suppress the urge to drive straight to Wanxing Entertainment and beat Li Mochen to a pulp.

 

Gao Shi lit a cigarette, rested it on the ashtray, and let the smoke slowly rise.

 

Crushing the mint candy in his mouth, allowing the cool sweetness to stimulate his senses, Gao Shi browsed through previous memory fragments.

 

In the section recording “Master Zhang,” during Gao Gusheng’s first encounter with the Taoist master, Gao Gusheng already had a slight limp, apparently a lingering effect from what Li Mochen had done.

 

Expressionless, Gao Shi swallowed the mint candy and unwrapped a lollipop.

 

This time he opened a file containing information about certain people in the industry.

 

He turned to Li Mochen’s page.

 

The Li family had made their fortune three generations ago and had always developed in the entertainment industry. After so many years, the Li family could be said to have overwhelming power in the entertainment circle, with half the industry’s artists having some connection to Wanxing Entertainment.

 

Li Mochen’s father had only average abilities, merely maintaining what they had, but Li Mochen was exceptionally talented. Not only had he gained the approval of the Li family patriarch at a young age, replacing his father as CEO, but he had also taken the Li family to new heights.

 

His ambition didn’t stop there; recently, he seemed to have intentions of expanding into real estate.

 

Real estate…

 

In the dream, Li Mochen had already succeeded.

 

And Gao Shi remembered that soon, there would be a land auction.

 

Gao Shi dialed his father’s number. “Hello? Dad.”

 

“Make it quick.”

 

His father’s voice revealed his annoyance at being disturbed. Gao Shi checked the time-tomorrow was his parents’ wedding anniversary, so his father was probably busy.

 

Gao Shi obliged with brevity, “Dad, give me 100 million.”

 

“What?!”

 

Hearing the voice on the other end, Gao Shi hastily explained, “There’s a land auction next month that I might need to participate in.”

 

His father replied irritably, “What, not managing the family business but wanting to get into real estate?”

 

Here we go again.

 

With no choice but to comply, Gao Shi patiently explained, “Dad, I dreamed that Li Mochen succeeded in expanding into real estate.”

 

His father calmed down and asked in a serious tone, “Is Li Mochen also someone who bullied Lele in your dreams?”

 

Gao Shi affirmed, “Most likely, in a few days, the clues from my dreams will reveal which piece of land he’s bidding on. We can resell the land, but it absolutely cannot fall into Li Mochen’s hands.”

 

“Fine, I’ll have Uncle Shen transfer it to you in the next few days.”

 

“Your grandfather’s birthday is coming up, remember to prepare.”

 

Gao Shi crunched the lollipop and smiled, “Everything’s ready. Grandfather will definitely like it.”

 

“Also, try not to call your mother and me these next few days unless it’s important.”

 

Gao Shi responded with a series of “Yes, yes, yes,” “I know, I know. Happy anniversary to you and Mom-”

 

“Beep beep beep…”

 

The call ended.

 

After talking with his father, Gao Shi’s mood improved. He put out his cigarette and opened the trending topics.

 

Qin Shi’s apology was trending high.

 

Gao Shi read it once and snorted coldly.

 

This wasn’t over yet.

 

He always believed in thoroughly eliminating problems at their root.

 

Moreover, Qin Shi was currently Wanxing Entertainment’s cash cow. Getting rid of Qin Shi would also cut off Li Mochen’s right-hand man.

 

Just then, Gao Shi received a message.

 

[Boss, Qin Shi previously was suspected of getting a hotel room with a woman.]

 

Then a photo was sent over. In the photo, Qin Shi was walking into a hotel alongside a woman.

 

Gao Shi asked, [Is this authentic? When was this photo taken?]

 

[It’s from a year ago.]

 

[A paparazzo in the industry, not very ethical, took this photo and demanded 100,000 yuan from Qin Shi’s team as hush money, but secretly kept a copy for himself.]

 

[He has a habit of gambling small amounts. Last time he followed a celebrity to an underground casino in City X. He didn’t get photos of the celebrity but got caught up in gambling himself, lost everything, and ended up heavily in debt. Now he’s desperate to sell the photos he didn’t delete before.]

 

[But this paparazzo’s professional skills aren’t great either. Most of his stuff is just rumors, only this photo has some substance.]

 

Gao Shi looked at the photo. It was very blurry. Qin Shi had his back to the camera, but his clothes matched what he wore at the public performance that day, and his figure also matched, but this wasn’t decisive evidence-it would be easy to explain away.

 

This photo couldn’t be released on its own. If they could get a decisive photo, it might be worth adding to a collection.

 

In the photo, the woman was turning her head to speak to Qin Shi, a shy smile in her eyes, making it easy to see that their relationship was not ordinary.

 

Gao Shi examined the photo a while longer, unable to discern any new clues, and forwarded it to Gao Gusheng.

 

[Not decisive enough, don’t release it online yet. If something happens, we can use it to threaten Qin Shi to back off.]

 

Then he replied to the investigative bodyguard, [Good, keep following Qin Shi and see if you can get more photos.]

 

[Received.]

 

As he put away his phone, a message popped up on his watch.

 

[Thank you to Wanxing Entertainment CEO Li Mochen for donating 10 million to our school!]

 

It was from Lele’s school’s Weibo account that he followed.

 

Gao Shi frowned, and just as he was about to call Gao Gusheng, Gao Gusheng called him.

 

“Dad! That sister in the photo you sent me, I’ve seen her before!”

 

“When I went to the art exhibition earlier, Qin Shi was invited to perform at the opening, and this sister was pregnant, taking photos of Qin Shi from below!”

 

“Holy crap, could the child be Qin Shi’s?!”

 

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