The young man wore a faded denim jacket with an apron tied around his waist. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with a narrow waist and long legs. His skin was fair, his face extraordinarily handsome, and his striking dark eyes held a cold, defiant air. His demeanor was gloomy and world-weary.
His movements while stir-frying were swift and practiced, his tossing of the wok smooth and skilled. Suddenly, with a sharp hiss, flames erupted in the wok, drawing startled gasps from the crowd around him. Unfazed, he gave the wok a few deft tosses, extinguishing the flames, and a tantalizing aroma wafted out, earning a round of cheers.
The onlookers buzzed with excited chatter.
“Wow, that boss is so handsome, and his cooking skills are top-notch. He could debut as a celebrity just like that.”
“I know him. His name is Gu Shijin. Although his family is poor, he’s a student at Jing University.”
“Wow, a Jing University student? He’s got both looks and brains—what a talent.”
…
When Lu Wanmian heard the name Gu Shijin, she jolted sharply, suddenly recalling who he was.
In the original story, Gu Shijin was the male lead’s most capable subordinate in the later stages, and the second-in-command of the conglomerate. He was wild by nature, ruthless and merciless, with a fierce sense of justice and outstanding abilities.
He was utterly loyal to the male lead, willing to give up even his life. Toward the male lead’s enemies, he was like a rabid dog, sinking his teeth in and never letting go. He was the male lead’s most formidable weapon. Many of the dirty deeds under the male lead’s command were handled by him. He helped the male lead deal with Lu Siyuan, who suffered heavy losses at his hands and ultimately died by them.
Later, the male lead achieved glory, won the beauty’s heart, and reached a perfect ending, while Gu Shijin quietly retired and chose to drown himself in the sea, leaving readers sighing in regret—a lingering ache in their hearts.
The original text gave him little attention; the author only wrote a few side chapters about him.
In those side chapters, his background was tragic. At eleven, his father’s business failed, leaving behind a debt of millions. Unable to bear the weight, his father jumped to his death. At the time, his younger sister had just been born. To make matters worse, she had congenital heart disease and needed expensive imported medication long-term. His grandmother was also frail and sickly, adding to the family’s burden.
His mother couldn’t hold on much longer. Not long after, she abandoned them, remarried, and moved away, rarely returning.
Over the years, he alone raised his young sister and cared for his aging grandmother, struggling to keep the family afloat.
Thinking of this, Lu Wanmian couldn’t help but scoff inwardly. A father who killed himself, a mother who remarried and left, a sick grandmother, a gravely ill sister, and a broken him—a textbook tragic supporting male character.
Probably because life had been so harsh, when the male lead appeared and offered him a bit of help, he treated the male lead as his savior, willing to give everything for him.
According to the original timeline, Gu Shijin was only nineteen now, a freshman at Jing University, who hadn’t yet met the male lead and was living a miserable life.
Looking at the handsome young man, a thought suddenly crossed Lu Wanmian’s mind. What if she got to him before the male lead did, offered him help, built a close relationship, and then tamed him into her loyal dog? If she stripped the male lead of a major asset, wouldn’t Lu Siyuan avoid losing so miserably? Wouldn’t the Lu family avoid bankruptcy? And wouldn’t she be able to protect her own wealth?
After careful consideration, she decided the plan was feasible.
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she said to A Kai, who was eating with grease smeared all over his lips, “A Kai, let’s go eat at that stir-fry stall.”
A Kai glanced at the food stall across the way, his eyes lighting up. “The young owner of that stir-fry stall makes delicious food. Let’s go order a few of his signature dishes.”
“Sure.”
The two of them headed toward the stall. Just then, a burly man eating at the stall suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream, then clutched his stomach and collapsed, quickly losing consciousness.
The people around were startled.
The burly man’s companion cried out in alarm: “Ah, the food at this stir-fry stall is poisoned! My brother ate it and passed out!”
The crowd gasped and turned to look at Gu Shijin, who was in the middle of making egg-fried rice.
Gu Shijin immediately set down his spatula, turned off the fire, and walked over to the man, defending himself urgently: “My food isn’t poisoned. Your brother might have fainted because of some other illness.”
The man across from him was big and burly, with a fierce scar across his left eyebrow. People called him Scarface.
Scarface glared at him angrily and snapped: “Nonsense! My buddy is perfectly healthy—how could he have some other illness? Your food is poisoned! Pay up—200,000!”
Hearing the demand for 200,000, a little girl who had been helping in the kitchen ran over and retorted indignantly: “You’re lying! I washed the ingredients myself, and my brother cooked everything personally. There’s no poison at all! Don’t you dare frame my brother, and don’t even think about extorting us, you big villain!”
The little girl was Gu Shijin’s younger sister, named Gu Mingzhu, eight years old. She suffered from congenital heart disease.
Gu Shijin ran the stir-fry stall on the snack street precisely to earn money for her treatment.
When Scarface heard Gu Mingzhu call him a big villain, his anger flared. He pointed at her and cursed: “You little brat! How dare you curse at me? Looking for trouble, are you?”
He grabbed the glass water cup from the table and hurled it at her.
“Watch out!”
Gu Shijin shouted urgently, shielding his sister behind him. The glass cup struck his back and shattered into pieces, drawing screams from the crowd.
Ignoring the pain, Gu Shijin anxiously asked his sister in his arms: “Mingzhu, are you okay?”
Gu Mingzhu didn’t answer, only burst into frightened tears.
Rage surged in Gu Shijin. He stood up immediately, clenched his fists, and glared at Scarface across from him: “You’ve gone too far!”
Scarface was a street thug by nature. Meeting his gaze, he grew irritated: “What? Your food poisoned my brother, and now you want to hit me? You little punk, don’t think I’m easy to push around. I’ll beat you to a pulp!”
He swung his fist toward Gu Shijin’s face, but suddenly, a figure charged over from behind and kicked him to the ground.
Scarface landed awkwardly, knocking over the table in front of him.
He sat up from the ground and cursed: “Damn it! Who kicked me?”
A crisp female voice came from behind: “It was me!”
The crowd turned to look at the woman—it was Lu Wanmian.
Scarface’s face twisted with rage: “You bitch! Who the hell are you? How dare you kick me? You got a death wish?”
He jumped up from the ground, ready to teach Lu Wanmian a lesson, but A Kai immediately stepped forward, blocking her.
A Kai stood over six-foot-five, built like a tank, with a murderous glint in his eyes and an intimidating presence: “Try touching my young lady and see what happens. I’ll smash your skull in.”
He raised his fist, issuing the threat with brutal menace.
Scarface’s body trembled in fear, instantly cowering. He could only speak in a placating tone: “My brother was poisoned, yet she’s helping that guy bully me. That’s wrong of her.”
Lu Wanmian let out a cold snort and demanded, “What proof do you have that the food he cooked was poisonous?”
Scarface pointed at the burly man lying on the ground and said indignantly, “My brother got a stomachache and passed out after eating the food here. What more proof do you need?”
Lu Wanmian looked at the unconscious burly man on the ground and noticed his face was ruddy and healthy—nothing like someone who’d been poisoned. He was probably faking it.
She stepped forward and suddenly stomped hard on his hand. The man yelped in pain, immediately opened his eyes, and sat up, clutching his stomped hand while cursing furiously: “Damn it! How dare you step on me? You asking for death?”