Chapter 45

Translator: Abo Dammen

Chen Lu couldn’t hold back his laughter the moment he got into the car, genuinely laughing the entire way home. 

On one hand, Fang Qizhi’s world-shattering expression was just too hilarious. On the other hand, the more he thought about it, the more he felt the line he’d tossed out at the end sounded a bit like the tone of Grey Wolf’s, “I’ll be back!”

When he returned to the Qin residence, Qin Guchuan was naturally not there. Tossing and turning, Chen Lu felt he simply couldn’t wait until Qin Guchuan got off work. He carefully dialed Qin Guchuan’s number, originally thinking he’d hang up if it rang three times without an answer, but it connected immediately after he dialed.

“I’m back!” Chen Lu’s voice still carried barely suppressed laughter. “CEO Qin, playing with your phone during work hours?”

Hearing Chen Lu’s tone, Qin Guchuan, who was working while on the phone, also chuckled. “It seems Fang Qizhi said a lot of bad things about me.” 

Chen Lu lay on the sofa, legs propped up and swinging. “Yep, he seems to really dislike you now. He used to call you ‘Guchuan-ge’ before, but today when I met him, it was ‘Qin Guchuan’ this and ‘Qin Guchuan’ that. Tsk tsk tsk.” The more he thought about it, the more he felt Fang Qizhi was such a pitiable guy.

After saying this, Chen Lu also relayed the matter of Fang Qizhi being forcibly ‘in love’. After getting it off his chest, Chen Lu felt completely relieved. Remembering Fang Qizhi’s impatient nature, Chen Lu reminded Qin Guchuan, “I think Fang Qizhi will come charging over to confirm with you tomorrow morning.”

Fang Qizhi was probably still in a state of self-doubt, but this world wouldn’t reason with him. The stark contrast between his emotional disgust and the setting’s forced ‘like’ would surely make Fang Qizhi increasingly suspicious, eventually leading him to seek an answer from Qin Guchuan.

Qin Guchuan acknowledged this and mentally considered the possible scenarios for his upcoming scene with Fang Qizhi. 

He actually hadn’t had much contact with Fang Qizhi before and didn’t know much about him; most of his information came from Chen Lu.

So far, Fang Qizhi was the only plot character who completely defied the original settings. Qin Guchuan felt he needed to consider this carefully. But before he could ponder for long, he heard Chen Lu ask, “Fang Qizhi told me you arranged for Zhu Yi to go abroad for a PhD? He still needs to get a doctorate?”

With all those awards Zhu Yi had won, Chen Lu thought he already had a PhD.

And actually, according to the plot, shouldn’t Zhu Yi be starting his own research institute? 

Speaking of this, Qin Guchuan’s eyes looked utterly dead. “Zhu Yi failed to ‘save’ you. After going abroad, he’s been drowning his sorrows in alcohol, showing no sign of pulling himself together to start researching. I had to force him into it this way.”

A new PhD and a new research topic. He hoped his friend Zhu Yi would find it a pleasant surprise.

Chen Lu thought about Zhu Yi not triggering the plot and found it completely unsurprising.

Although this big shot would obediently follow the plot once on it, he just wouldn’t consciously get on the plotline. 

He was an old bug in this world.

“Is it the same situation with Ling Weiyu?” Chen Lu asked, his heart set on gossip.

“Mm?” Qin Guchuan didn’t expect Ling Weiyu to be involved. “What situation?”

After Chen Lu explained the relevant situation, Qin Guchuan frowned. “Opening the domestic market to attract Ling Weiyu back was indeed my arrangement. She’s a successful businesswoman now, she won’t look at a market opportunity without being tempted.” 

As for the artist part… those who only focus on art can’t build a successful brand. As a fellow businessperson, Qin Guchuan knew how to bait another businessperson; there was no need for extra measures.

While speaking, Qin Guchuan pulled up the relevant company information related to Ling Weiyu.

As a future plot-related character, Qin Guchuan naturally had information on Ling Weiyu’s situation.

After skimming through it quickly, Qin Guchuan understood and his brows slowly relaxed. He said to Chen Lu, “The initial time when Ling Weiyu’s side was impacted coincides roughly with when Fang Qizhi’s company started having trouble.” 

However, Ling Weiyu’s situation was somewhat different from Fang Qizhi’s. Not long after, Qin Guchuan began laying the bait for her return. So, once Ling Weiyu considered returning, the world’s imposed ‘bankruptcy force’ probably stalled, even allowing her situation to recover somewhat temporarily.

As for why it now appeared that the Qin Corporation was suppressing her again…

Qin Guchuan looked page by page at the key information.

Reviewing this data, Qin Guchuan gradually determined that this ‘suppressed by the Qin Corporation’ situation was actually just an act by Ling Weiyu. Although the information was insufficient, Qin Guchuan himself had done similar things. She was probably setting a trap for some prey, waiting for them to take the bait. 

So, Ling Weiyu definitely intended to return. On one hand, she could pretend to be cornered, and on the other, she probably wanted to reconnect with Qin Guchuan to ensure her disguise wouldn’t be exposed.

But Qin Guchuan felt these dirty business tactics weren’t necessary to explain in detail to Chen Lu. Hearing Chen Lu’s exclamation of sudden understanding and his familiar cursing of this world, Qin Guchuan laughed and asked, “Has the next part of the plot appeared in your mind yet?”

“Not yet. I think it might be like last time, where the plot only gets dumped on me just before it starts.” Chen Lu felt helpless about this.

Clearly, based on various signs, this world was really trying hard. So why couldn’t it try a little harder when it came to giving him the plot? 

This habit of remembering to shove the plot at him halfway through was seriously a pit, you know!

Last time with Zhu Yi, the whole world almost went kaput. What’s the use of this world trying so hard in other areas? Giving him, the absolute protagonist, more plot is what really matters!

Don’t put all the effort into strange places!!! Recalling Qin Guchuan’s glowing fingers and Fang Qizhi’s utterly shattered declaration of ‘like’, Chen Lu wished all the world’s effort in that aspect could be converted into plot for him.

However, this time, with Qin Guchuan having provided the plot beforehand (omitting certain parts), Chen Lu felt relatively prepared and wasn’t too nervous. 

Especially since, according to Qin Guchuan, the part after the break was a scene with just the two of them. Fang Qizhi mysteriously vanished afterwards.

His tool-person attributes were maxed out.

With just the two of them holding the script, even if the plot didn’t arrive in his mind on time, Qin Guchuan could cover for him first.

This was the benefit of having a teammate! 

Not having to fight alone was very reassuring. Chen Lu, who loved trapping teammates both online and offline, sincerely lamented.

Just as Chen Lu predicted, Fang Qizhi arrived at the Qin residence early the next morning.

And ‘early’ really meant early. Chen Lu was still eating breakfast in the dining room when he received word that Fang Qizhi was at the main gate requesting to visit.

It made sense, though. Usually, after breakfast, Qin Guchuan would go to work. If Fang Qizhi wanted to find Qin Guchuan at the Qin residence, he could only come at this time. 

Just like when Fang Qizhi visited Chen Lu before, the guy just announced himself at the gate and then barged straight in. But when the plot started, Chen Lu definitely wasn’t supposed to be present initially.

Chen Lu was so startled he jumped up and sprinted upstairs, not daring to delay for a second.

Just as Chen Lu hid in the predetermined spot upstairs, Fang Qizhi charged in, his gaze immediately landing on Qin Guchuan, who was also hastily assuming his domineering CEO pose in the living room.

Fang Qizhi sensed that the expressions of the old butler and the other servants seemed a bit strange, but he didn’t care. He was here for a very important matter. 

He stared intently at Qin Guchuan, carefully examining all the feelings arising in his heart. After a good while, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, he still looked at Qin Guchuan and saw nothing but a scumbag in human clothing.

Utterly useless except for being rich, rich, rich, and handsome!

Clearly, he actually did not not like Qin Guchuan! Fang Qizhi felt speechless, choked by the double negative that forcibly popped into his mind. 

…What the hell is this?

Although he didn’t know why he was forcibly ‘liking’ someone, clearly his actual feelings weren’t affected. This stabilized his emotions somewhat.

Could it be that Chen Lu’s ‘like’ for Qin Guchuan is a similar situation? Fang Qizhi couldn’t help but wonder.

After all, when he watched Chen Lu’s livestreams, he never got the impression Chen Lu was prone to being lovestruck. 

But Fang Qizhi didn’t dwell on it. If Qin Guchuan really had the ability to control people’s emotions, why wouldn’t he use it directly on Ling Weiyu instead of on Chen Lu, the substitute?

Having confirmed the most important first matter, Fang Qizhi took a deep breath and prepared for his second task.

He couldn’t get through to Chen Lu about separating them, and now he’d personally told Chen Lu he ‘liked’ Qin Guchuan. Chen Lu definitely wouldn’t listen to him on this anymore. But perhaps he could reason with Qin Guchuan.

After all, Ling Weiyu would be forced back by Qin Guchuan soon. 

With the original coming back, who would still want the substitute, right?

Emotionally stable, Fang Qizhi took out a document. “Guchuan-ge, can we talk? I’d like to discuss Chen Lu with you.

“Considering Chen Lu has been with you for so long, before Weiyu-jie returns, I assume you’ve thought about how Chen Lu will manage his life after leaving you?

“Actually, Chen Lu has great talent for livestreaming. Guchuan-ge, look, this is Chen Lu’s livestreaming data from the past month or so.” 

Fang Qizhi meticulously explained various analytical data points to Qin Guchuan, comparing them with the early data of other famous top streamers.

“Chen Lu is currently in a data growth phase. Just streaming from the Qin residence doesn’t provide enough exposure. He should also…” Fang Qizhi presented development roadmaps used by other famous streamers.

He listed item after item in detail, planning out Chen Lu’s 24 hours, including sleep time, with crystal clarity.

“The competition on platforms is fierce now. There’s no time to waste. The market pie is only so big, so we must take two steps at a time to catch up with other streamers. I believe that if we follow my plan, Chen Lu can definitely become the platform’s absolute top streamer.” 

Qin Guchuan looked down at these arrangements and fell into deep thought.

How to put it.

This plan, which was more 007 than 9962… seemed like… Fang Qizhi’s investment company’s eventual bankruptcy might not be entirely the world’s fault.