The words of the rich second-generation left those passionately commenting netizens somewhat baffled. They scoured the internet but couldn’t find any information about that child.
Just as they began to suspect the rich second-generation might also be “riding the hype,” someone chimed in: “This kid looks a bit like President Gu!”
“Gu? Is it the Gu I’m thinking of?”
“Oh my god, it really is President Gu’s child. Qi Yuqiu definitely couldn’t have hired him—the kid’s father could casually buy an entertainment company!”
“Allow me to sincerely thank Qi Yuqiu. Thank you for saving my dear brother!”
“To the one above, if you had even a single peanut, you wouldn’t be so drunk as to randomly claim relatives. This is clearly my brother. Hello, brother, I’m your long-lost biological sister.”
A massive wave of netizens flooded into Qi Yuqiu’s Weibo, begging for fortune-telling and hoping to catch some good luck. His followers instantly increased by several hundred thousand, and the insulting comments below were quickly drowned out by various jokes and banter.
The Gu Residence.
Gu Ren brought Xiao Xi home and saw his eldest son sitting solemnly in the living room, as if waiting specifically for them.
Gu Ren snorted coldly. Ever since the family business had grown larger, his son had practically dumped the child on him, barely coming home to see the kid a few times a month.
Seeing them return, Gu Changqing irritably hung up the phone. Recently, a real estate project under his management kept encountering problems, with several people already injured. The so-called masters his assistant had invited would just sprinkle talismans and perform rituals, which proved utterly useless.
He had paid out plenty in compensation, yet the issues remained unresolved. Rumors began spreading online about whether he had done something wrong and was being haunted by vengeful spirits. In all conscience, throughout his many years in business, Gu Changqing had never done anything that went against his own morals!
Today, seeing online rumors that his son was Possessed by Evil, Gu Changqing felt his head throb with anger at the mere mention of those words.
Looking at Xiao Xi, who shrank timidly upon seeing him, Gu Changqing suppressed his displeasure and forced a smile. “Come here, come to Daddy.”
Xiao Xi tugged at his grandfather’s hand, hiding behind him. Gu Changqing walked over with a smile, firmly patting the child’s cheek, and asked, “What happened to Xiao Xi today? How did he get involved with some minor celebrity? It’s all over the internet now.”
Gu Ren sneered, “That young man saved Xiao Xi’s life. Are we not allowed to talk about it? Are you hoping Xiao Xi dies so you can remarry? Let me tell you, as long as I’m here, no one else is stepping through the Gu family’s door!”
Gu Changqing sighed helplessly. “Dad, that’s a bit harsh. Xiao Xi will always be my only son. I’m just worried you might have been scammed.” “Hmph.” Gu Ren’s expression softened slightly. “That young man has real skills. We owe him a lot today. When you have time, go thank him in person. Making friends with someone like him will only benefit you.”
Gu Changqing felt exasperated. A minor celebrity with a tarnished reputation—how could that possibly benefit him? More likely, he was just trying to climb the social ladder. Gu Changqing had seen plenty of such minor celebrities.
“You’re too easily fooled. That minor celebrity isn’t even twenty, right? What kind of master is under twenty? You’ve already given him the reward he deserved. Don’t get involved with him again!”
The old man was so angry he nearly fell backward. “No! Tomorrow, you must come with me to thank that young man in person. Gu Chenxi is your own son! Someone saved your son, and you’re still spouting such nonsense!”
At that moment, Gu Changqing’s phone rang again. His assistant on the other end frantically reported that another accident had occurred at the construction site. Gu Changqing’s expression turned serious as he said, “Handle it first. Make arrangements with the hospital, and don’t skimp on any compensation. I’ll head over right away.”
Gu Ren snorted coldly. “Look at your unlucky state right now. You need that young man to help you ward off this bad luck!”
Gu Changqing had no energy to argue with his father. He quickly agreed, took the Peace talisman his father shoved into his hand, and drove straight to the construction site.
Upon arriving, the site manager led him to inspect the accident location. Gu Changqing never allowed corners to be cut when it came to worker safety, so they always used the most expensive and up-to-date safety equipment. Logically, accidents shouldn’t happen, yet strangely, no matter how thoroughly they inspected before starting work, incidents kept occurring!
Gu Changqing looked up, but the sunlight was too intense, making him feel dizzy. In his dazed state, he thought he heard someone wailing in pain, but the people around him showed no reaction. Annoyed, he decided to go investigate himself.
But someone actually grabbed him, trying to stop him! Gu Changqing shook off the person’s grip. Couldn’t they hear the cries for help growing fainter?
However, as soon as he stepped forward, a flash of red light suddenly appeared before his eyes. The scene around him gradually cleared, as if a veil of mist had been lifted.
Gu Changqing looked down and saw a trench filled with steel bars pointing upward. If he had taken one more step, he would have fallen in.
“Mr. Gu, please don’t go any further. It’s dangerous here,” the site manager behind him said, sweating profusely. If something happened to Gu Changqing, they couldn’t bear the responsibility!
Gu Changqing took two shaky steps back, his legs weak. He pulled out the talisman his father had given him earlier—an ordinary-looking piece of paper that was faintly glowing red, its patterns slowly fading away.
With trembling hands, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. That young celebrity really was a master!
At Fengrui Hotel, in a private room.
The director hadn’t arrived yet, and Qi Yuqiu was so hungry he felt like his stomach was touching his back. He pressured Li Qi into ordering him a bowl of noodles. After finishing it, he patted his stomach contentedly. “That’s about thirty percent full.”
Li Qi was exasperated. “Yesterday, you didn’t even dare finish a whole apple, insisting on splitting it into four portions. Now you’re eating like this without a care—aren’t you afraid of gaining weight?”
Qi Yuqiu found this utterly baffling. “I’m not even full yet. How could I gain weight? I’m not so poor that I can’t afford to eat, am I?”
Li Qi shook his head, speechless. This kid was truly ruined, already giving up on himself.
“Wait, are you really saying I can’t afford it? If I couldn’t, why would you invite me here?” Qi Yuqiu felt wronged. This hotel looked quite upscale, comparable to the Yellow Crane Tower in the capital. If he hadn’t been told someone else was paying, he wouldn’t have dared to step inside!
“Eat, eat as much as you want. It’s on me,” Li Qi said, massaging his temples in resignation.
Qi Yuqiu suddenly remembered he had just earned two hundred thousand yuan and sighed in relief, comforting Li Qi. “I have money too. I just earned two hundred thousand.”
“Where did you get that money?” Li Qi asked warily. Qi Yuqiu’s only remaining job was a minor supporting role, and even that was at risk of being canceled. Had he accepted some unreliable commercial performance on his own?
Qi Yuqiu replied proudly, “I sold four Peace talismans for fifty thousand each. You don’t need to make up the difference for the six hundred yuan one—consider it a friend’s discount.”
Li Qi’s mind buzzed, a breath caught in his throat, nearly choking him with rage. Making up the price difference? Selling a piece of worthless paper for fifty thousand? It seemed he wasn’t aiming for hype—he was heading straight for a criminal record!
“You—you—you, return that money immediately! Do you even understand this is fraud? This could land you in prison for years!”
He truly hadn’t expected Qi Yuqiu, of all people, to swindle someone out of two hundred thousand yuan. How gullible must that person have been to fall for his tricks?
Deng Chao, who had been scrolling through Weibo, quickly came to his Brother Qi’s defense: “Li Ge, you haven’t been online, have you? Brother Qi saved someone’s life! Everyone online is saying it’s the Gu family’s child. Two hundred thousand is actually on the low side—if you ask me, two million wouldn’t be too much!”
Qi Yuqiu waved his hand, signaling Deng Chao not to get too carried away. He had only acted on a whim, and two hundred thousand was already plenty.
Watching the two of them banter back and forth, so pleased with themselves, Li Qi couldn’t help but wonder what kind of luck had brought these two fools together.
“Hey, Li Ge, what’s with that look? You think I’d lie to you?” Deng Chao protested, feeling wronged under Li Qi’s glare. He quickly opened Weibo and navigated to Qi Yuqiu’s profile.
In just that short time, his follower count had surged by over a hundred thousand. Li Qi glanced at the noticeably increased numbers and immediately opened the Hot Search. Sure enough, a video was trending near the bottom.
After watching the video and confirming that Qi Yuqiu hadn’t turned into a fraudster, Li Qi’s expression softened. He spoke earnestly, “Helping others is a good thing—it’s earned you quite a bit of goodwill. For now, keep a low profile. When you meet Director Cheng later, make sure to put your best foot forward. Even if it’s just a web variety show, it’s still a chance to get some exposure.”
“But promoting feudal superstitions is unacceptable. Later, post a Weibo to explain things properly, so you don’t mislead your fans. Xiao Deng, you help him draft the post… Actually, never mind, I’ll write it myself.” Shooting a glare at the clueless Deng Chao, Li Qi didn’t dare trust him with the task.
Deng Chao felt wronged again—his Brother Qi had real skills; it wasn’t feudal superstition!
Before he could argue, the private room door swung open. A fair-skinned young man, who looked no older than twenty-five, walked in with a cheerful smile. “What’s so unacceptable about feudal superstitions? I think some things are quite interesting.”
The newcomer wore a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and a black baseball cap, looking like a recent college graduate.
Li Qi quickly stood up and shook his hand. “Hello, Director Cheng. I’m Li Qi, Qi Yuqiu’s manager.”
He then ushered the man into the room and made introductions.
Qi Yuqiu also stood up and greeted him politely, “I’ve long heard of you.”
Cheng Yu laughed heartily. “That’s way too perfunctory! I don’t have a single work to my name—tell me, where exactly have you ‘long heard of me’?”
Li Qi sighed inwardly. Qi Yuqiu was terrible with words, and Cheng Yu was quite the character too—taking a polite remark so literally.
This was getting awkward.
Unexpectedly, Qi Yuqiu replied with a straight face, “Director Cheng is a kind person who often does good deeds. With the internet being so widespread, I happened to come across some related reports and have a rough understanding of your deeds.”
Cheng Yu was taken aback. It was true that he had worked with some charitable organizations a few years ago, but those activities had never been covered by the media, nor were there any traces of them online. Aside from close acquaintances, no one should have known about them.
This Qi Yuqiu is indeed no ordinary person. He laughed heartily, swapped seats with Deng Chao, and sat down beside Qi Yuqiu, looking at him with fervent eyes. “You’re truly remarkable. I’ve found the right person this time!”
Although Qi Yuqiu wasn’t sure what aspect of himself was being praised, he still waved his hand modestly. “Not at all, not at all.”
Li Qi then watched as the two hit it off instantly, quickly leaving him, the manager, aside as they chatted away.
But… the topic of their conversation sounded more and more off!