Gu Xi had no choice but to look up. The two of them were separated by five steps, which made her seem somewhat at a disadvantage. Biting her lip, she climbed a few more steps and called out softly, “Uncle Bai.”
After saying that, she subconsciously bit the tip of her tongue lightly and lowered her gaze. Her eyes happened to fall on his hand holding the cigarette. His hands were very beautiful—well-defined knuckles, faintly protruding veins, and slender fingers that, when traced over her body, would send waves of trembling numbness through her.
She was very ticklish. In her previous life, he would always tease her until she cried, then press his ascetic-looking face close to her ear and make her call him “Uncle Bai.”
Gu Xi’s expression grew a little uneasy. She felt she shouldn’t be thinking about this at a time like this. In this lifetime, the two of them would have nothing to do with each other anymore.
This man—tear away his handsome, refined exterior—and underneath was someone with an extremely strong desire for control and a vindictive nature.
The man hummed in acknowledgment. His gaze withdrew from her and finally settled on the thin cigarette between his fingers. She’d expected him to ask about Bai Yuzhou, but instead, he said, “Are you short on money?”
Gu Xi was startled. She looked down at her server’s uniform and explained, “No, I’m just here for a part-time job today.”
The explanation still made it sound like she had no money, but the man didn’t really care. He simply frowned and said, “Come straight to the company after graduation.”
Gu Xi didn’t say yes. Instead, she hedged, “We’ll talk about it when the time comes.”
That was essentially a refusal. The man gave her a casual glance, and Gu Xi turned her head away, pretending not to notice.
Suddenly, Fang Pingping’s voice came from above. “Xixi! The director says the afternoon scenes are moved up. Hurry up here!”
Hearing this, Gu Xi felt an instant wave of relief. “Uncle Bai, I have to go. Something came up.”
She’d only taken two steps when she remembered something. She turned back, went down to pick up her book, and as she passed the man—whether because she was walking too fast or not—her foot didn’t land steadily. Her body lost balance and she uncontrollably pitched forward.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from the side. Gu Xi grabbed onto it instinctively. The hand was large, warm, and firm—the familiar touch made her react faster than her mind could process. Once she’d steadied herself, her fingertips unconsciously rubbed against his palm twice. Realizing what she’d done, Gu Xi quickly let go, her face flushed with awkwardness, and said, “Thank you, Uncle Bai.”
Without looking back, she hurried away.
After she left, the man stood in silence for a moment. Then he took out a pack of wet wipes from his pocket and meticulously wiped his right hand bit by bit, not even sparing the gaps between his nails. Finally, he tossed it aside casually—along with the thin cigarette wrapped in gold paper.
His black leather shoe ground the cigarette into the floor twice. The man gave it a cold, dismissive glance.
He hated anything that was out of control. One Gu Xi, one Bai Yuzhou.
Bai Yuzhou arrived at the top floor of the headquarters building. Fang Qi told him, “The boss is in a video conference inside. Please wait a moment, General Manager Bai.”
Hearing this, Bai Yuzhou’s face showed bitterness. He wasn’t any kind of “General Manager” now. His father had stripped him of his position as general manager of the branch company. He had nowhere to go and had been staying at Song Rumeng’s apartment for the past few days.
Knowing his father wanted to see him, he’d rushed over, but he felt uneasy inside, suspecting that Gu Xi might have said something.
He waited outside for half an hour. Fang Qi went in to report first, then came out to call him in.
Bai Yuzhou rarely came to this office. Though the two were father and son in name, their relationship was never close. Bai Yuzhou could sense that this man was deeply cold at his core—not just toward him, but toward everyone else. So deep down, he felt that even if one day he no longer wanted Gu Xi, he wouldn’t do anything to him.
But Grandfather Bai was still alive. For now, he couldn’t go too far.
Truth be told, he didn’t actually hate Gu Xi. It was her very existence that constantly reminded him that it was only because of her charity that he had his current status.
When the man saw him enter, he shifted his gaze away from the computer, relaxed back into his chair, took off his gold-rimmed glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
He didn’t speak, and Bai Yuzhou didn’t dare to initiate conversation either. He just stood there in silence.
Suddenly, the man opened a drawer, pulled out a stack of photos, and tossed them carelessly onto the desk. The photos scattered across the table, and a few even fell to the floor. Bai Yuzhou glanced down—they were all intimate shots of him and Song Rumeng: kissing, checking into hotels, even the two of them lying in bed together…
Bai Yuzhou’s expression changed. He had no idea how this man had found out about all this. It was as if there had always been a pair of eyes watching in the shadows, observing everything about him. A chill ran down his spine.
“Father…”
His voice trembled slightly as he began to explain. But the confidence and pride he felt when facing Gu Xi vanished instantly in this man’s presence.
The man across from him spoke, his voice calm and cold. “Bai Yuzhou, you’ve disappointed me greatly.”
When Bai Yuzhou walked out of the company, his tense body gradually relaxed, and his mind cleared a little.
His father’s cold, merciless words echoed in his ears: “When I brought you back to the Bai family, I had only one purpose. If you’re unwilling, I can replace you with another heir at any time.” His tone was as casual as if he were commenting on the weather—but to Bai Yuzhou, it was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
He’d thought he meant something to his father. He’d grown up, been his son for so many years. Finding a replacement would take a huge amount of time and effort, and the new one might not even be better than him.
But now, it seemed he was still nothing in his father’s eyes.
His phone suddenly rang in his pocket.
Bai Yuzhou pulled it out after a beat. On the screen appeared Song Rumeng’s name. His hand paused. That morning, he’d told her he’d be back for lunch with her.
He could even imagine the worried, anxious expression on her face at the other end of the line.
Bai Yuzhou wrestled with himself for a moment, but ultimately didn’t answer. After the ringing stopped, he called his grandfather instead.
The old man seemed hesitant to pick up too. After a long wait, his grandfather’s aged, cold voice finally came through. “Hello? Who is it?”
Bai Yuzhou let out an inexplicable sigh of relief. “Grandfather, it’s me. Xixi is just having a little tiff with me. Don’t worry about it.”
The other end let out a humph, followed by the old man’s furious voice: “Bai Yuzhou, let me tell you—I’m not dead yet. And even if I were, you’d still have no right to bully Xixi. I advise you to think it over carefully. No one’s forcing you if you’re unwilling. My Xixi has plenty of people who like her. If she weren’t a girl, you wouldn’t even know where you’d be right now!”
“Yes, I know I was wrong, Grandfather.”
Bai Yuzhou heard the call disconnect. His expression darkened, and his hands at his sides clenched into fists.
It was Gu Xi again. He felt aggrieved.
Grandfather Bai angrily hung up the phone. Just thinking about the photos Gu Xi had shown him made him furious. He muttered under his breath, “An ungrateful wolf.”
Aunt Lin, afraid he’d harm his health from all the anger, quickly brought over a cup of tea to cool his temper and soothed him gently: “Why get so worked up? If you ask me, young people today are different from us. They don’t take marriage as seriously anymore. Affairs and cheating after marriage are common. Rather than seeing Xixi get bullied after tying the knot, she might as well stay single and happy.”
She seemed to speak from experience. “My youngest is thirty this year and absolutely refuses to get married. I used to argue with her about it, but she told me all her married friends have gotten divorced—some even got cheated on and left with nothing. I’ve made my peace with it now. Let her be. A person only has a few decades in this life—what matters most is being happy.”
Grandfather Bai heard this and held his teacup in silence for a long while.
In his eyes, Xixi had always been a child—someone who needed looking after. If he didn’t arrange things properly for her, he wouldn’t be able to rest easy. And when he went below, he’d have no face to meet his old comrade-in-arms.
He sighed and said nothing more.
After two days of working as an extra, Gu Xi returned to school on Monday to continue classes. The end of the semester was approaching, so everyone started taking their studies more seriously.
After two days of classes, Fang Pingping told Gu Xi that a senior wanted to add her on WeChat—said she had something important to discuss.
Gu Xi opened her phone and accepted the request. Fang Pingping was even more excited than she was, hovering nearby and watching. She chattered on, “Someone must’ve noticed you and wants you to act! I compared everyone on set last time—no one’s as pretty as you.”
Even the lead actress, who was somewhat well-known online and often walked red carpets, paled in comparison to Gu Xi in real life.
Gu Xi thought she was overthinking it, but she chatted with the senior anyway. The other girl seemed to find typing too slow, so she asked for Gu Xi’s number and called her directly.
“Xixi, the makeup artist from the last set told me there’s a production where a supporting actress dropped out at the last minute. She thought you’d fit the look perfectly and asked if you’d like to try out. The role is the male lead’s first love—returns from abroad, not many scenes, wraps up in just a few days.”
Afraid she wouldn’t believe it, she added, “The director’s been looking for a while—wants someone fresh-faced but photogenic, the kind that makes people do a double take. It’s a rare opportunity!”
Gu Xi hesitated, unsure. She didn’t think she was that pretty.
Next to her, Fang Pingping nodded vigorously and whispered, “Go for it.”
The senior on the phone pressed on: “Just go. You’re about to graduate and have more free time. If you haven’t figured out what you want to do yet, exploring different paths now gives you more options down the road.”
That convinced Gu Xi. She truly hadn’t decided what to do after graduation. She didn’t want to go to that man’s company, nor did she want to stay home doing nothing all day.
She still remembered what Bai Yuzhou had said in her previous life: “Xixi, can you stop acting like a child and bothering me with everything? Don’t you have your own friends and goals?”
She hadn’t. And that remark had made her feel inferior for a long time.
“Which day do I need to go? We have exams coming up.”
“Don’t worry—just let the counselor know and make it up later. First, send me a photo of yourself, and I’ll get back to you.”
“Okay.”
After hanging up, Fang Pingping was even happier than she was. “When you go film, I’ll be your assistant!”
Gu Xi laughed. “It’s not even confirmed yet.”
She felt Fang Pingping had an inexplicable confidence in her—it was a little embarrassing.
Over the next few days, Gu Xi continued with classes. No one contacted her—maybe she hadn’t been selected—but she wasn’t upset. It had been a novel experience, and that was enough.
What did surprise her, though, was that Bai Yuzhou suddenly started calling her multiple times a day.
Fang Pingping watched her calmly turn off the ringer, flip the phone face-down on the desk, and go back to reading. She couldn’t help saying, “If you don’t want to pick up, just block him.”
He’d been calling nonstop lately—even Fang Pingping was annoyed hearing it.
Blocking wouldn’t help. If he couldn’t reach her, he’d just call from another number.
She didn’t want to admit it, but she knew him all too well.
Sure enough, when his calls went unanswered, Bai Yuzhou showed up at her school. He must not have found her at the apartment.
He came at dusk. Many students were passing by the dormitory building. A light snow was falling outside, and his black coat was dusted with a thin layer of white.
He knew she was soft-hearted. He thought that if he showed up like this, she’d come running down with red-rimmed eyes, throw herself into his arms, throw a little tantrum, and that would be that.
But this time was different. Gu Xi even thought to herself—what a pity. It should have been pouring rain instead.
Fang Pingping had just seen off a classmate next door when she learned that the man downstairs had come for Gu Xi. She guessed this was Gu Xi’s so-called boyfriend.
She put on her glasses and peeked down stealthily. He was indeed very handsome—tall, lean, with an elegant bearing.
Gu Xi had told her he’d cheated on her with a coworker and she’d caught him, so he wasn’t worth regretting.
On Friday at noon, Grandfather Bai called Gu Xi. “Xixi, are you free today? Come over—I’ll have Aunt Lin make a few extra dishes.”
Without overthinking it, Gu Xi agreed.
But when she arrived at the retirement home, she found that Bai Yuzhou and Uncle Bai’s entire family were also there.