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With Bai Yuesheng's vigorous guarantee, Jin Weixie's framing of Grandpa Gu was swept under the rug—

The entire Gu family had been wiped out, while the auction house Bai Yuesheng and Jin Weixie had opened together was flourishing. Under such circumstances, even if everyone knew Jin Weixie's methods were underhanded, no one was willing to offend Jin Weixie and Bai Yuesheng for the sake of the Gu family.

To further whitewash Jin Weixie's reputation, Bai Yuesheng even brought Jin Weixie along to arrange Gu Jiuque's funeral and inherited Antique Appreciation Studio as his partner. Watching his lover run around for the sake of his deceased first love, Jin Weixie, as the official boyfriend, was naturally consumed by jealousy.

In the end, the two of them actually poured out their feelings to each other before Gu Jiuque's grave. Jin Weixie even smugly thanked Grandpa Gu for his death—if not for clearing Grandpa Gu's name, Bai Yuesheng would never have been forced to marry him.

Bai Yuesheng responded to those remarks with a coy, mildly angry rebuke. Realizing he had misspoken, Jin Weixie hurried to coax him into a better mood. Neither of them knew that as they flirted and bickered before the grave, Gu Jiuque, unable to rest even in death, floated above them, watching it all expressionlessly.

Gu Jiuque could not understand it. The Gu family had always acted openly and honorably, never committing a single shameful deed. Why had they met such an end?

His grandfather had lived an upright life, only to be framed by villains and die with hatred in his heart. Yet the man who had driven him to his death could stand before the Gu family's ancestral graves, smugly boasting about how he had used schemes and tricks to win the beauty.

And Gu Jiuque himself could not find peace even in death. His funeral had become a tool for his enemies to whitewash their reputations. The Antique Appreciation Studio he had painstakingly established had effectively become his enemies' property. Even his grave had become a place for others to flaunt their love.

—They had built their smooth-sailing lives atop the blood, flesh, and corpses of the Gu family, then flaunted them before the Gu family's ancestral graves.

And all of this was simply because the world he lived in was a novel starring Bai Yuesheng and Jin Weixie.

Gu Jiuque clenched his teeth so hard that it felt as though an invisible hand had seized his heart, leaving him unable to breathe.

Noticing something was wrong with Gu Jiuque, Bai Yuesheng's heart skipped a beat. He asked gently and considerately, "What's wrong? Did something unpleasant come to mind?"

Gu Jiuque looked deeply into Bai Yuesheng's eyes. "Why did you like me?"

If he liked him, why had he stolen the Gu family heirloom while he was unconscious, then never mentioned it afterward? Why had he indulged his admirer's hatred and murder of him? Why had he married Jin Weixie under the pretext of clearing his grandfather's name? Why had he defended and whitewashed Jin Weixie when the Gu family's old friends and allies sought justice for them? Why had he flaunted his love with someone else before his grave?

Gu Jiuque did not understand. He and Bai Yuesheng had grown up together as childhood sweethearts. After his parents and family died, he had regarded Bai Yuesheng as his only remaining family. He had indulged Bai Yuesheng in everything, taught him how to appraise antiques and date artifacts, introduced him to his connections, and even brought Bai Yuesheng on as his partner when rebuilding Antique Appreciation Studio. He had even saved Bai Yuesheng's life from the fire. Why could Bai Yuesheng treat him so cruelly?

Seeing the depths of Gu Jiuque's eyes, Bai Yuesheng felt a shiver run through him. He uneasily looked away. "Liking someone is just liking someone. What reason could there be? You're so strange today. Why are you asking all this nonsense? Are you going to accept my confession or not?"

Of course Gu Jiuque would not agree.

Bai Yuesheng wrinkled his nose playfully and gave a soft huff. "Fine if you won't. I have a temper too. You obviously like me as well. I already swallowed my pride and confessed to you first, yet you're still playing hard to get!"

Bai Yuesheng pouted as he complained, then his gaze fell once more on the ancient jade at Gu Jiuque's chest. Tilting his head with feigned curiosity, he asked, "This is the Gu family heirloom, right? Can you let me wear it for a day? Then I won't hold it against you for playing hard to get."

Hearing Bai Yuesheng ask to borrow the Jade Celestial Pivot, Gu Jiuque suddenly calmed down. He remembered that in his previous life, after Bai Yuesheng's confession had succeeded, he had also borrowed the Jade Celestial Pivot. At the time, Gu Jiuque had just fallen in love. Seeing how curious Bai Yuesheng was, he took off the Jade Celestial Pivot and let Bai Yuesheng wear it, even warning him never to tell anyone else.

Bai Yuesheng readily agreed. He cradled the Jade Celestial Pivot in his hands and could not bear to put it down. The two of them curled up in Gu Jiuque's bedroom and talked all night. Bai Yuesheng kept asking about the legends surrounding the Jade Celestial Pivot, and Gu Jiuque told him every story he knew. At some point, they drifted off in a daze, only to be awakened by choking smoke.

Realizing the old house was on fire, Gu Jiuque desperately shook Bai Yuesheng awake. Bai Yuesheng groggily jumped out of bed, only to twist his ankle by accident. In his panic, Gu Jiuque scooped Bai Yuesheng up and ran outside, but the instant he crossed the doorway, a falling doorframe struck him in the head. The devastating blow to the back of his head knocked Gu Jiuque unconscious at once.

[Flames roared and thick smoke billowed. Gu Jiuque, half his body sprawled outside the bedroom, held the slight Bai Yuesheng firmly beneath him. Blood trickled down from Gu Jiuque's forehead and dripped onto the Jade Celestial Pivot hanging on Bai Yuesheng's chest. More and more blood accumulated, eventually forming a small pool that completely submerged the Jade Celestial Pivot.

A flash of white light appeared, and the ancient jade absorbed every last drop of blood. The Jade Celestial Pivot, which had rested peacefully around Bai Yuesheng's neck, floated into the air and shot toward Gu Jiuque with lightning speed. Yet just as it was about to enter Gu Jiuque's mind, it was blocked by Bai Yuesheng's barely raised palm.

The white light vanished, and at the critical moment, the Jade Celestial Pivot entered Bai Yuesheng's palm.]

This was the opening of the novel and the entire process by which Bai Yuesheng, the male lead, accidentally obtained the Gu family heirloom. The book described in detail how Bai Yuesheng, a genius at appraising treasures, narrowly escaped death in the sea of flames and gained a blessing from disaster. Relying on the Jade Celestial Pivot's treasure-appraising ability, he made a fortune by finding overlooked bargains, leveling up and humiliating opponents all the way, while countless powerful figures fell at the feet of his tailored trousers.

Gu Jiuque, whose opportunity had been stolen, knew none of this. When he opened his eyes again, three months had already passed. He woke in the hospital and was horrified to discover that his legs were paralyzed and more than half his face had been burned beyond recognition. Bai Yuesheng, who had been keeping vigil at his bedside, tearfully told him that Gu Dad and Gu Mom had died on the spot in a car accident while taking him to the hospital. When Grandma Gu suddenly received the devastating news, she suffered a heart attack and could not be saved. Only Grandpa Gu remained, all alone, forcing himself to arrange the funerals for his son, daughter-in-law, and wife, while also finding a way to raise money for his grandson's medical bills.