This exchange between the vicious cannon fodder and the plot NPC ended with Huo Yuzhou carrying Nan Qing away.
Places with plenty of flowers and greenery also had plenty of mosquitoes. Even though mosquito-repelling plants had been specially planted, and Huo Yuzhou had put a mosquito-repellent patch on him before they went out, the exposed stretch of his ankle still got bitten, leaving a large bump.
He had not felt it outside, but once they returned to the living room, it began to itch.
Huo Yuzhou brought over some medicine, while Gu Xingchen kept chattering away.
In just half a minute, Gu Xingchen had already moved from reminiscing about the past to looking ahead to the future.
"Actually, living together is great too. You can build your relationship better that way, though the two of you don't really need to work on that."
"How has your recovery been these past couple of days? Huo Yuzhou hasn't been bullying you, has he? You're so badly hurt. You can't let him do whatever he wants, much less go along with everything he says."
"Sister-in-law, I'm not trying to scare you, but the more respectable a man looks, the more devious schemes he's got up his sleeve. You might think nothing much has happened yet, while he might already have picked out names for your grandchildren."
"When are you two getting married? No plans for this year? Then you should at least get engaged this year, right?"
Gu Xingchen was far too enthusiastic, even more so than those relatives online who pressured people to get married. Nan Qing could not handle him. For every answer he gave, Gu Xingchen could seize on it to ask ten more questions.
All he could do was keep pressing his fingernail into the large mosquito bite, pretending to scratch the itch.
Huo Yuzhou sat beside him, holding his ankle as he applied the medicine.
Gu Xingchen looked full of admiration. "So sweet!"
Even Nan Qing's ears turned red, but he still had to act as though nothing had happened.
Only after Huo Yuzhou finished applying the medicine did he turn to send their guest away.
"When are you leaving?"
"I just got here, and you're already telling me to leave?"
Gu Xingchen looked shocked. "Is this how you treat your friends? Huo Yuzhou! Sister-in-law hasn't even said anything, and you're already kicking me out. Have you forgotten who calls the shots in this house?"
Gu Xingchen spoke with righteous conviction, while Nan Qing's cheeks burned.
He and Huo Yuzhou clearly were not that intimate, but Gu Xingchen seemed to have misunderstood and kept teasing the two of them.
Yet Huo Yuzhou did not clarify anything. He let Gu Xingchen call him sister-in-law and fully accepted all his praise about how happy and in love they were.
Across both his lives, Nan Qing had never behaved himself so well.
Even at lunch today, he ate obediently, taking one particularly dainty bite after another, not even daring to let his eyes wander.
He was afraid Gu Xingchen would seize on another one of his movements to make something of it.
With Gu Xingchen's excitable personality, if he and Huo Yuzhou so much as exchanged a glance, Gu Xingchen practically wanted to send them straight into the bridal chamber.
After lunch, the doctor came for the usual examination. Huo Yuzhou carried Nan Qing back to his room and only left after watching him take his medicine and go to sleep.
Gu Xingchen had not left yet. He sat leisurely in the living room, swirling a glass of red wine.
Hearing Huo Yuzhou coming downstairs, he turned around with a radiant smile.
"Enjoying marital bliss again, bro?"
Huo Yuzhou's expression did not change. "You talk too much."
Gu Xingchen was thoroughly amused. He took a sip of red wine before continuing.
"That young master of the Bai Family is making a fuss online again. Have you seen it?"
Huo Yuzhou sat down opposite him and gave a hum of assent.
Gu Xingchen was still smiling, but the warmth in his eyes faded bit by bit.
"What a bunch of filthy scum."
"How many benefits have they wrung out of the Huo Group all these years by trading on the financial support they gave you back then? And they still aren't satisfied."
Gu Xingchen scoffed.
"You should have used that storm on Mount Pingqiao a few days ago to finish Bai Ruanruan off and make sure he never woke up again."
"Look at things now. He survived, and every day he's online like a flea, not just biting people but disgusting them too."
Gu Xingchen tossed his phone onto the table, gesturing for Huo Yuzhou to look.
"Now they're making an issue of his and sister-in-law's identities again. Looks like they've paid for quite a few puff pieces. A lot of entertainment accounts have reposted them."
Huo Yuzhou glanced at it, his handsome, cold face perfectly composed.
"I wanted Qingqing to cut ties with the Bai Family completely anyway. There's no hurry to deal with this."
Gu Xingchen nodded.
He sipped his red wine, bearing no resemblance to the man who had chatted so freely at the dining table earlier. The light and shadows from the curtains divided his handsome face into bright and dark halves, and a cold glint flashed through his usually smiling eyes.
"But after all this time, you still haven't found any evidence against the Bai Family?"
"Someone as meticulous as you spent years with the Bai Family and still found nothing. That's downright bizarre."
"But they're letting this newly recovered young master run wild. I reckon they're hoping to use him as a stepping stone to make something happen."
Gu Xingchen paused briefly, then smiled again.
"But from what I can see, they've still got their sights set on you. Why else would he keep trying so hard to get your attention?"
"You'd better be careful. You've only just coaxed our little sister-in-law home. Don't let that bunch of scum wreck your relationship."
Gu Xingchen thought for a moment longer, then suggested,
"Why not have sister-in-law leave the industry? He doesn't make much money anyway, and it's such hard work. Besides, the industry's full of people who trample on the lowly and suck up to the powerful. Better to have him retire, travel around and have some fun, and settle comfortably into being Mrs. Huo."
Huo Yuzhou considered it for a moment. "He won't agree."
"It's probably because his background was exposed recently. He's feeling very insecure, and doing familiar work lets him feel like he's still in his comfort zone. It puts him a little more at ease."
"Besides, his mental state hasn't been very good lately, and I don't want to push him. I'm afraid of scaring him. If he likes it, he can keep doing it for now. We can talk about leaving the industry later."
Gu Xingchen nodded. "That works too."
As they were talking, the phone on the table began to buzz. Gu Xingchen raised one eyebrow at the name flashing on the screen.
He picked up the phone and tapped to answer.
A man's voice came from the other end, his tone exceptionally polite, even servile.
Yet Gu Xingchen wore a mocking smile.
"Oh? Even a great film emperor can have his contract terminated?"
"Our new product line is indeed planning to sign a spokesperson, but Xi Juan is out of the question."
Whatever the person on the other end said made Gu Xingchen laugh. He reclined on the sofa and said with pointed sarcasm,
"Because I'm a pretty ordinary person myself."