“What’s up, Fourth Brother? You don’t know this guy?” Kang Shuai pulled the car over to the side of the road and scrolled through his QQ chat history. When he finally looked up, he gasped, “Oh, jeez!”
“This guy’s pretty brainless, huh?” Gu Siqiao crossed his legs. “He’s got the fraud awareness of someone from the Jurassic Period.”
“No, Fourth Brother, this is Xue Lou,” Kang Shuai said, handing the phone back to him. “You don’t know Xue Lou?”
Gu Siqiao frowned. “Who’s Xue Lou? Sounds familiar.”
“He was the gaokao top scorer for our graduating class! The guy who dominated the top spot on the grade leaderboard—Xue the Academic God!” Kang Shuai glanced at Gu Siqiao in the rearview mirror while driving.
“No wonder then,” Gu Siqiao pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. “Bookworms are just like that.”
Just as he was about to say that there was no way he would have paid attention to whoever was number one back in high school—and that he had long forgotten about it—he suddenly noticed the odd look Kang Shuai was giving him in the mirror.
“What?”
“I remember you two used to hang out quite a bit for a while, Fourth Brother,” Kang Shuai said. “We all thought the two of you were a hilarious combination back then.”
“That actually happened?” This genuinely surprised Gu Siqiao.
“Why would I lie to you?”
“Then keep going. Let me see if I can recall anything.”
Kang Shuai turned the steering wheel, driving smoothly along the familiar route toward the Gu family’s old estate—he had to drop off the little terror in the car first.
“He was right next door in Class 1, always sitting in the very front row. He had bushy eyebrows and big eyes. Back then, out of all the schoolgirls who came over to hand out secret notes, half were looking for you, and the other half were looking for him.”
Xiao Yu’s ears perked up. “What secret notes, Little Uncle?”
“None of your business,” Gu Siqiao slapped the back of the brat’s head. “Keep talking.”
Kang Shuai continued, “When the gaokao scores came out, Old Deng even printed a giant red honor roll banner for Academic Xue Shen[1]In Chinese, Shen most commonly refers to the character 神 (shén), which translates to “god,” “deity,” “spirit,” or “divinity”. When a regular person … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3663898_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3663898_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. But the weird thing was, in the end, no one ever mentioned which university he actually went to—there was never any follow-up. After all these years, nobody knows where he ended up working.”
‘Old Deng’ referred to Gu Siqiao’s high school Dean of Students, who was also their Class 2 English teacher. Since the dean’s surname was Deng, he earned the nickname ‘Old Deng’—low-brow nicknames often came from the most unpretentious, overused jokes.
Bringing up an old acquaintance inevitably brought back a haze of memories. Gu Siqiao gave a faint, absentminded “Oh.”
“Maybe he’s working on some classified project and the state put him under top-secret protection?” Kang Shuai turned on his indicator. “Though I heard his family background wasn’t great. He was constantly applying for subsidies and had a pretty tough time.”
Gu Siqiao’s fingers, which were tapping on the armrest, came to a sudden halt.
“Is that so?” he said.
Silence fell for the rest of the ride.
The car pulled into the courtyard of the old estate. Xiao Yu jumped out, ignored the waiting nanny, and dashed inside.
Gu Siqiao immediately signaled Kang Shuai to turn around. The nanny looked as if she wanted to say something by the car, but simply watched the Maybach drive away.
*
Gu Siqiao lived in a 300-square-meter luxury flat in the city center, residing there all by himself.
Upon entering his home, Gu Siqiao took a shower to wash off the smell of alcohol from Yuanju Club, then sat on the living room sofa to reply to a few work messages.
With his final social obligations out of the way, Gu Siqiao switched back to the QQ app, reading through the chat log over and over again.
Whether it was message files or big contracts, rarely did anything make him read it repeatedly from start to finish.
Yet Kang Shuai’s offhand remark earlier felt deeply unsettling to Gu Siqiao.
The warm lights in the living room were soft. Gu Siqiao sank into the sofa, his damp hair rubbing against the cushion.
He typed two characters and hit send.
The Universe’s Handsomest High Schooler: Xue Lou?
After sending it, he let out an annoyed tsk, intending to change this tacky, outdated QQ username. Suddenly, his phone vibrated.
“Lou” had replied.
Lou: I’m here.
The Universe’s Handsomest High Schooler: Why did you reply instantly? Have you been on QQ this whole time?
Lou: Haven’t you been on it too?
Gu Siqiao uttered a “Damn,” and abruptly sat straight up.
The Universe’s Handsomest High Schooler: The person talking to you earlier wasn’t me. You got scammed.
The Universe’s Handsomest High Schooler: That was a scammer.
The Universe’s Handsomest High Schooler: Nothing happened to my family. My account was hacked.
The Universe’s Handsomest High Schooler: I didn’t expect a super student like you to be so unusual. Not only do you still hang out on QQ, but you’re also this naive and innocent.
Gu Siqiao regretted it immediately after sending those messages.
He felt like he had been baited by a basic attack into using his ultimate move—firing off so many messages at once to a high school classmate he hadn’t been close with in ten years, sounding just like a resentful woman.
The chat window showed ‘Typing…’
Lou: Nothing actually happened to your family? That’s good then.
Lou: Don’t call me a super student. I told you a few times back then, but you could never remember.
Gu Siqiao stared at the screen for a moment, then burst out laughing.
The Universe’s Handsomest High Schooler: What I’m saying is
The Universe’s Handsomest High Schooler: You need to report this to the police first!
The Universe’s Handsomest High Schooler: Call the police!
The Universe’s Handsomest High Schooler: I’m not short on thirty thousand yuan. And worst-case scenario, why on earth would I borrow money from you on QQ?
After a short pause:
Lou: Okay, I understand. I’ll make the call now.
Lou: Thank you.
Gu Siqiao put his phone down and closed his eyes.
…Are all super students wired like this?
*
Early the next morning, Gu Siqiao arrived at Window Group.
Window was an enterprise founded by Gu Siqiao’s father, spanning education, investment, and technology. It was an industry giant in Jiangcheng and across the entire province.
There were three siblings in Gu Siqiao’s father’s generation. His father, Gu Chaoyang, was the eldest, followed by two aunts named Mingyue and Caiyun. Eldest Aunt Mingyue was a returned overseas Ph.D. holder and a senior consultant for the group; she was entirely devoted to her career and remained unmarried for life. Second Aunt Caiyun had married for business reasons and was a full-time housewife.
Thus, the heavy burden of expanding the business empire and carrying on the family lineage fell entirely on the eldest brother, Gu Chaoyang.
In earlier years, Gu Chaoyang was a prominent figure who traveled the world attending meetings with provincial leaders, even serving as the Chairman of the Federation of Industry and Commerce at one point.
Nowadays, the person stepping into the public eye was increasingly Gu Siqiao—and everyone in the company knew what this shift signified.
From the moment he walked into the Window Headquarters building, people kept nodding and greeting Gu Siqiao continuously.
The crowd in the lobby parted like Moses dividing the Red Sea, creating a clear pathway to the executive elevator. Tall and long-legged, Gu Siqiao strode through the hall with a swift pace.
Kang Shuai was already holding the elevator for him, standing by the doors. “Morning, Fourth Brother.”
The two stepped into the elevator, and as the doors closed, Gu Siqiao said, “Report.”
As the elevator ascended, it was time for Kang Shuai’s routine briefing.
“We got a reply from the Commerce Bureau,” Kang Shuai said. “We can go through the special fund route, but regarding the subsidies, they still need to discuss it with their leadership. A collaborative project of our size is a first for them, so it’ll likely have to go to a committee meeting for discussion.”
Gu Siqiao asked, “What did my dad say about it?”
Kang Shuai smiled faintly. “Judging from the Chairman’s tone on the phone, he doesn’t seem too pleased. He said returning it over three years takes too long, and with major equity shifts next year, he’s worried it will impact cash flow.”
“He’s not worried about cash flow; he’s worried about the shares in his own pocket,” Gu Siqiao said expressionlessly. “Fine, keep going.”
Kang Shuai smoothly moved on: “HR said Secretary Liu submitted her resignation.”
Gu Siqiao, hands tucked into his suit trousers, let out a casual “Hmm?”
Kang Shuai: “She’s planning to have a baby.”
Gu Siqiao: “There’s no need to resign over that—she’s doing a great job. Tell her to take leave whenever she needs to. At worst, she’ll just lose out on a bit of bonus, but everything else will be paid as usual.”
“Sister Liu is thirty-one, which makes her somewhat of an older pregnant mother,” Kang Shuai said. “Fourth Brother, don’t tell her I told you this… I heard she had a miscarriage before, and the doctor said it was due to overwork. She wants to stay home and raise the kid properly, so she won’t be back to work until the child is at least two or three.”
Gu Siqiao pondered for a moment. “Transfer her to logistics then. She’s familiar with that department, so it’ll be easier for her to pick things back up when she returns.”
The elevator began to slow down. Gu Siqiao asked, “Anything else?”
Kang Shuai: “Yes.”
Just as the elevator was about to stop, Kang Shuai added, “It’s about yesterday—didn’t the QQ group get all lively because of your situation, Fourth Brother? Everyone was saying… they want to hold a class reunion in a while and insist that you grace them with your presence.”
Ding. The elevator doors opened.
In the reflection of the glass elevator cab, the young man dressed impeccably in a suit maintained his cool posture with hands in pockets—and raised a leg to kick Kang Shuai. “Get the hell out of here. You were the one stirring up trouble!”
The hallway of the executive suite was empty. Kang Shuai stumbled forward a couple of steps while clutching his rear, unable to hold back his laughter: “Just tell me if you’re going or not, Fourth Brother!”
“Go my foot,” Gu Siqiao snapped. “Get lost. Wait, hold on!”
Kang Shuai, who already had one foot inside the assistant’s office, pulled it back.
Gu Siqiao asked, “You seem pretty close with our old classmates, don’t you? Help me look into that Xue Lou guy—the more detailed, the better.”
“Brother, I may be the executive assistant, but I’m super busy too, okay?” Kang Shuai complained. “Now that Sister Liu is gone, why is every single task falling on me?”
“Until we hire someone new, you’re holding down the fort,” Gu Siqiao pointed right between Kang Shuai’s eyebrows. “Try pulling a long face at me again and see what happens.”
Sighing heavily, Kang Shuai went into his office. Gu Siqiao turned and walked back into his own office.
Gu Siqiao was busy the entire morning.
The project Kang Shuai mentioned was a public welfare investment initiative co-funded by Window Group and the Jiangcheng Municipal Government. Honestly, the return on investment for this kind of project wasn’t high. Normally, Window Group acted as Party A, but this time they were dealing with the ultimate Party A of all Party A’s.
Not only his father, Gu Chaoyang, but also several money-minded old diehards on the board of directors disapproved of the initiative.
However, Gu Siqiao insisted on doing it.
Window Group had only gone public a year or two ago. The milestone objective of growing big and strong had already been achieved; what they needed now was reputation, along with stronger official backing and endorsement.
By noon, Kang Shuai hadn’t ordered and delivered lunch on time like he usually did—it was hard to tell if he was genuinely busy or just pretending to be.
For a grand group president to sit around checking his phone while waiting for food was, frankly, quite pathetic.
After waiting a few minutes, scrolling through his phone only made him more irritated.
Gu Siqiao wasn’t some gluttonous teenager; he gradually realized that his irritation didn’t stem from waiting for food.
He tapped open the goofy penguin icon on his screen.
The Universe’s Handsomest High Schooler: Student Xue, how did it go with reporting it to the police?
This time, the other party didn’t reply instantly.
Gu Siqiao absentmindedly went through a few work emails before a message finally arrived.
Lou: The police said it’s tricky to handle.
Lou: Overseas accounts—recovering the money might take some time. They told me to prepare myself for not getting that thirty thousand back in the short term.
The reply was completely within Gu Siqiao’s expectations.
Just as Gu Siqiao was framing his response, another message came through.
Lou: You don’t have to call me Student Xue. Just call me Xue Lou.
Gu Siqiao scratched his hair and slammed the phone face down on his desk.
Damn it.
Was that the main point? ‘Academic God’ won’t do, ‘Student Xue’ won’t do either—why is this guy so particular about everything?
“Fourth Brother,” Kang Shuai happened to knock and enter the room. “The line at the company cafeteria was huge today, so I went out and bought you that pork trotter rice you like.”
“Why didn’t you wait until I starved to death before coming in?” Gu Siqiao said in a huff.
“What’s wrong with you? Did you swallow gunpowder?” Kang Shuai placed the steaming hot box of pork trotter rice and freshly prepared tea on the round table in the lounge area. “I’m off then, heading to the bank this afternoon.”
The door closed. Gu Siqiao walked over to the table and noticed a transparent document folder pressed under the lunchbox.
Gu Siqiao pulled out the folder and opened it. Inside were a few sheets of paper, and the first page looked remarkably like a resume—printed right in the name column were two words: Xue Lou.
References[+]