Chapter 43

Translator: Abo Dammen

Fang Qizhi had actually asked to meet Chen Lu the night of the banquet. Although Chen Lu had agreed, there was still some plot to follow after the banquet, so they had just settled on ‘another day’. 

Chen Lu had hoped to meet Fang Qizhi after finishing Madame Feng’s part of the plot, since Fang Qizhi’s own scene came right after hers.

Fang Qizhi was, so far, the most severely deviated among the major plot characters. Chen Lu wasn’t sure this guy would show up on cue as per the script. Since Fang Qizhi had asked to meet him earlier, meeting right after Madame Feng’s scene and then directly inviting Fang Qizhi to the Qin residence seemed perfect.

As for how to guide Fang Qizhi into delivering his lines afterwards… well, that could be left to Qin Guchuan.

Chen Lu had it all planned out. But before he could message Fang Qizhi, the other man seemed to have already received news of Madame Feng’s ‘bullying’. He beat Chen Lu to the punch, sending a message to arrange a meeting before Chen Lu could make his move. 

Naturally, Chen Lu didn’t refuse and agreed immediately. However, shortly after he sent his reply, another message came from Fang Qizhi.

Fang Qizhi: There are some things about Qin Guchuan that I think you should know.

Chen Lu’s eyes lit up upon reading this, and his reply speed increased noticeably.

Chen Lu: What things? 

But while Chen Lu replied quickly, Fang Qizhi became sluggish on his end. It took a long time for the next message to arrive, as if he had typed and deleted, contemplating for a long time before finally hitting send.

Fang Qizhi: Qin Guchuan is not a good person. Prepare yourself mentally and be careful.

Seeing it was this kind of message, Chen Lu felt somewhat disappointed. He had thought he might learn some dark secrets from Qin Guchuan’s past. Saying he’s ‘not a good person’… Chen Lu could pretty much guess what it was about.

After all, as another awaken person who knew they had to follow the plot, he had inevitably become the emotional dumping ground for Qin Guchuan regarding certain matters. 

For instance, during times when the plot required Qin Guchuan to showcase his ‘the weather has turned cold, let the Wang family fall’ domineering CEO aura, forcing him to work overtime handling affairs late at night, Qin Guchuan would freak out and complain to Chen Lu, questioning why he had to do such things.

Chen Lu: I know.

Fang Qizhi: It’s good that you know.

Looking at Fang Qizhi’s reply, Chen Lu felt their understanding of ‘knowing’ probably wasn’t the same thing. 

Still, getting a preview of the main topic for tomorrow’s conversation from the source himself was quite satisfying. For dealing with a deviated plot character like Fang Qizhi, whose persona had veered off into the stratosphere, he mainly needed to act like a lovestruck fool. Ideally, one who wasn’t completely lost yet, someone who could still be ‘saved’ with some effort.

So, Chen Lu quickly formulated the core theme for tomorrow in his heart. In simple terms, it was….

He’s so bad, but I love him so much~

With his potential talking points prepared in his mind, Chen Lu, having completely forgotten the intimate scene worries from earlier, fell asleep feeling pleased. 

Meanwhile, far away in another part of the city, Fang Qizhi looked gravely at the stack of documents he had compiled.

After the banquet, he had originally thought that if Chen Lu and Qin Guchuan were truly mutually devoted, and with the support of the Qin Corporation, Chen Lu could have both love and a successful career, Fang Qizhi could accept that.

After all, Fang Qizhi’s primary identity was that of a ‘Just Passing By’ career fan. As for the ‘wife fan’ part…

Wouldn’t it be even more thrilling to legitimately call Qin Guchuan’s significant other ‘wife’? 

One couldn’t expect someone like Fang Qizhi to have much moral integrity. After all, those who could become fans of ‘Just Passing Green Tea’ rarely had much of that left.

But just as Fang Qizhi was starting to mentally offer his blessings, he began receiving the results of the investigations he had commissioned before the banquet. Not a single piece of news was good.

Placing each file neatly, Fang Qizhi recalled the moment by the pool, the best viewing spot, where he had seen Qin Guchuan and Chen Lu locked in a tight embrace, and the fleeting feeling of having ‘shallowly shipping’. Now, stepping onto the path of ‘tormented fan’, Fang Qizhi fell asleep with a heavy heart.

The place Fang Qizhi chose for the meeting was quite different from Madame Feng’s. While Madame Feng, who enjoyed shopping, eating, drinking, and beautifying with her girlfriends, chose a café, Fang Qizhi, out of habit formed from his time in the entertainment industry, booked a private members-only leisure club. 

It was Chen Lu’s first time in such a place. It was spacious, with few people, and intricately designed. No matter where you went, it felt like you had a private space where you could talk safely and freely.

Watching Chen Lu unable to resist looking around, finding everything novel and fascinating, Fang Qizhi felt Qin Guchuan was even more unforgivable.

‘Just Passing By’ might love to play and joke around, but when it came down to it, his scheming wasn’t that deep. Those tricks from the game couldn’t possibly be deployed in real life.

Even the ‘tea’ he displayed during livestreams was mostly straightforward and simple. Everyone could tell he was being ‘tea’, but looking at that pitiful face turning aggrieved, countless people, whether egging him on or willingly, would jump headfirst into the ‘tea pit’. 

To put it bluntly, it was still ‘relying on beauty to commit murder’.

Back when Chen Lu tried to frame him at the banquet hall, he still felt guilty that he would only harm himself by jumping into the pool. Compared to the real-life tactics Fang Qizhi had witnessed, Chen Lu’s little tricks were almost kindergarten-level.

What a pure, innocent person! Fang Qizhi’s fan filter was fully maxed out.

Qin Guchuan was actually just enticing, toying with, even controlling the completely naive and inexperienced ‘little white flower’ Chen Lu. 

That scene in the banquet hall was just an act, pretending to be under Chen Lu’s control to deceive him further. Qin Guchuan must have been feeling very smug at that time.

It was utterly disgusting!

Fang Qizhi completely forgot about the incident where Qin Guchuan was glaring daggers at him that day.

Chen Lu looked left and right, then suddenly sensed someone watching him. Peering into the distance, he immediately spotted Fang Qizhi and instantly switched into ‘little white flower’ mode. 

How he acted wildly during his livestreams didn’t matter. In front of Fang Qizhi, he absolutely had to act. The more ‘little white flower’ he acted, the better, constantly reminding Fang Qizhi how lovestruck Chen Lu was in reality, how eager he was to be a substitute, even to the point of losing himself, instinctively putting on a pitiful, pitiable act upon seeing anyone.

Sure enough, after his expression changed, Fang Qizhi’s mood visibly soured.

Excellent.

Fang Qizhi’s current persona hadn’t changed. He was still a dedicated member of the ‘F4‘, intent on breaking him and Qin Guchuan up. 

Chen Lu walked over and sat down beside Fang Qizhi, his gaze falling on the several file folders placed next to him. “You asked me out to show me these things?

“I’ll look at them carefully,” Chen Lu said, looking sincerely at Fang Qizhi. “Thank you for your affection, Mr. Fang. If, after reading these documents, I still haven’t changed my mind, I hope you can respect my choice.

“I believe love can heal everything,” Chen Lu said, thinking of the delicious food at the Qin residence, a blissful smile appearing on his face. “I feel that Mr. Qin is starting to see me now.”

Watching Chen Lu’s seemingly love-transformed appearance, Fang Qizhi curled his lip dismissively and didn’t comment. He took out one of the files and handed it to Chen Lu, saying, “Do you know Zhu Yi-ge? He was sent abroad by Qin Guchuan.” 

Chen Lu’s eyes trembled slightly. After a few seconds, he took the file from Fang Qizhi and slowly opened it.

Inside were several clear photos of Zhu Yi.

Many showed Zhu Yi conducting research at the foreign institute.

Surrounded by a series of high-end medical equipment, Zhu Yi looked intently at the sample in his hand, the very picture of a focused, high-level talent in a standard promotional photo. 

Chen Lu: “……” If you want to shock someone, shouldn’t you at least prepare some content showing Zhu Yi living a miserable life?

But clearly, this was only Chen Lu’s personal thought. For Fang Qizhi, he found these photos tragic. “Zhu Yi-ge was Qin Guchuan’s friend since childhood. For some unknown reason, he offended him. Qin Guchuan showed no mercy, directly kicking him out of the country. Now Zhu Yi-ge can only pursue his PhD at XX University.”

As he spoke, Fang Qizhi pointed to the section in the materials detailing Zhu Yi and Qin Guchuan’s shared experiences growing up.

“With so many years of friendship, Qin Guchuan turned hostile in an instant. Do you think a few months of love are something he couldn’t discard? 

“Qin Guchuan’s heart is cold!” Fang Qizhi said with the sharpest words.

Chen Lu lowered his eyes, looking at the photo Fang Qizhi had singled out—a young, tender-looking Qin Guchuan hugging Zhu Yi. He gently pressed a hand to his own chest and said softly and gently, “I believe my love is burning hot.”

A lovestruck fool can annihilate everything.