Gu Qichi met his gaze, his eyes momentarily blank, his expression dazed.

Truth be told, he and Chen Xu had only met once, during the recording of the parent-child variety show where they happened to be assigned to the same group.

Chen Xu was always frowning, staring at him awkwardly. When Gu Qichi turned to look back, the other party would coldly look away. Gu Qichi originally thought Chen Xu disliked him, but he didn’t care much, attributing it to Chen Xu’s personality.

Furthermore, with Gu Qichi’s aloof nature, he didn’t need to pay excessive attention to others.

However, Chen Xu didn’t think so.

After Gu Qichi got into the car and faintly said “Long time no see” to Chen Xu, Chen Xu continued to stare at Gu Qichi with a somewhat complicated expression.

The RV was spacious. Gu Qichi and Luo Qianqian sat on one side, while Chen Xu sat alone on the other.

The journey was silent. Gu Qichi played with his phone, looking at the photos Bo Yu sent of teasing A-Ci, and couldn’t help but laugh, not sparing even a glance for Chen Xu.

Luo Qianqian originally wanted to pick up her phone and continue communicating with the rich lady YUCHI, but under Chen Xu’s blunt and burning gaze, she felt uncomfortable all over. She had to awkwardly put down her phone and secretly turned her head to size up Gu Qichi.

Actually, in “Travel with Dad,” not only did the CP of Bo Yu and Gu Qichi emerge, but the more popular one was actually the CP of Gu Qichi and Chen Xu. The reason was simple: neither Chen Xu’s fans nor passersby had ever seen Chen Xu stare at anyone like that, yet he just happened to stare at Gu Qichi for a whole episode.

Fans gave him a nickname—The Chi-Staring Demon.

But because the two had absolutely no further interactions in the same frame afterward, and even their social media platforms were in a state of mutual non-interference, this halfway CP naturally died out, and Chen Xu’s solo fans didn’t come to find fault with Gu Qichi.

On the contrary, the Bo Yu and Gu Qichi CP that Luo Qianqian shipped was thriving all the way. Relying on Bo Yu’s perfect figure and that face which invited imagination but remained unseen, it aroused the curiosity and creative desire of many people. Coupled with the fact that there was no shortage of talented writers in the Super Topic, they stubbornly retained a batch of multi-fandom fans.

Until they got out of the car, Chen Xu’s gaze never moved from Gu Qichi’s face, but Gu Qichi seemed unaware, either watching videos of teasing A-Ci or closing his eyes to rest, never looking up even once.

After arriving at the hotel where the crew was staying, Luo Qianqian got off first to get her luggage with Chen Xu’s assistant, leaving only the dawdling Gu Qichi and Chen Xu, who was still staring at him, in the car.

The steps of this RV were a bit high. When Gu Qichi was walking down, he happened to be lost in thought and didn’t pay attention, nearly missing a step and spraining his ankle. Fortunately, Chen Xu was following behind him and, with quick eyes and hands, supported his waist and grabbed his wrist with another hand.

“Watch your step.”

Chen Xu called out to him.

Gu Qichi glanced at the steps, silently withdrew his hand, then pursed his lips and said, “Thank you.”

Gu Qichi actually didn’t understand why Chen Xu kept staring at him; it was like this this time, and it was like this before.

As if Chen Xu heard his thoughts, while descending the second step, Chen Xu suddenly spoke up: “Gu Qichi, do you still remember Qingshui Lane?”

Gu Qichi’s steps paused. He frowned and looked back at him, the confusion on his face not seeming fake.

He vaguely repeated these three words, circling them in his mind: “Qingshui Lane?”

The previous sensation of nerve endings being electrocuted swept over him again, splitting with pain.

Gu Qichi’s face turned pale in an instant. He stumbled a few steps but barely managed to control his body, not showing any other reaction.

His upturned peach blossom eyes looked at him coldly, his gaze sharp and chilly. Gu Qichi forced himself to take a few breaths. The veins on his arms popped out, blue-purple blood vessels intertwining, hidden into the cuffs, no longer visible.

“Chen Xu, I don’t know any Qingshui Lane. Don’t bother me.”

For the first time in his life, he spoke harshly to someone outside the Gu family.

Chen Xu curled his fingers, silently watching his retreating back, his gaze complex.

He actually just wanted to ask Gu Qichi if Zhou Yuan still beat and scolded him at will, but he didn’t expect to anger him.

…………
…………
…………

Fortunately, it was the first day arriving in Hengdian, and Lin Shuangyi wasn’t in such a rush to resume work. Seeing that Gu Qichi didn’t look well, he couldn’t help asking a few questions:

“Gu Qichi, why do you look so pale?”

He had actually recovered mostly, but a dull pain still came from his chest. Gu Qichi shook his head, a fine layer of cold sweat on his forehead, and forced an explanation: “Nothing, just a little airsick.”

Originally, there was a welcome party tonight, specially prepared by Lin Shuangyi for Gu Qichi, and also to relax the tense crew. Seeing him like this, Lin Shuangyi frowned. He couldn’t ask Gu Qichi to go out with them anymore, so he waved his hand and hurriedly let him enter the hotel.

He didn’t forget to instruct Luo Qianqian, who arrived later, to buy some medicine for Gu Qichi.

It was a pity that Gu Qichi closed the door, tossed his phone aside, and set it to silent. No matter how Luo Qianqian called, he didn’t pick up.

Gu Qichi dreamed again at night, dreaming of the beginning of every rebirth before, which was the day he was taken back to the Gu family as the real young master.

Only this time, there were some memories that weren’t there before.

In his impression, that day was not a good day.

Gu Qichi actually instinctively avoided this memory because once these memory fragments restarted, it meant he would fall into pain again, struggling ceaselessly in that thick inkiness.

Returning to the Gu family was the root of all suffering.

Tracing back the past again, Gu Qichi only vaguely remembered it was probably a rainy day.

Dark clouds rolled across the sky, pressing gloomily on the horizon, making it hard to glimpse even a ray of sunshine.

The first thing to appear in the sky was dull thunder. It was already sultry in summer, and the continuous muffled sounds one after another made people even more irritable.

On that day, sixteen-year-old Gu Yuning had a car accident, suffered internal organ damage, and the hospital’s blood bank was insufficient; it could be said his life was hanging by a thread.

Also on this day, sixteen-year-old Gu Qichi received his first scholarship and the opportunity to participate in A University’s summer camp.

Gu Qichi’s grades were very good. Based on grades alone, he could get into the best high school in Dongcheng.

But Zhou Yuan didn’t allow it.

At that time, Zhou Yuan had already been destroyed by alcohol into a useless person living in a shantytown, muddled all day long, thinking only of drinking.

When he saw Gu Qichi’s admission notice, his first reaction wasn’t happiness or pride, but a look of spite. He impatiently reached out to grab that piece of paper, attempting to tear it to shreds.

In Gu Qichi’s sparse memory, Zhou Yuan seemed to have cursed something violently, probably that the tuition for this school was too expensive and he couldn’t afford Gu Qichi at all. He also said something about Gu Qichi being old enough to work and that he should go work at a construction site to buy him alcohol to honor him.

Actually, the real words were far uglier than this.

Zhou Yuan cursed him while trying to beat him: “You cheap thing born of a bitch, you were born to collect debts.”

“If you dare to go, I’ll break your legs.”

“Why haven’t you rolled off to buy me alcohol yet?”

Those dirty and obscene words seemed to have been automatically blocked by him, buried deep in his memory, never easily dug out.

Gu Qichi was eventually specially recruited into that school with tuition waived. The teacher personally came for a home visit, and only then did Zhou Yuan agree.

The amount of this scholarship Gu Qichi received was neither much nor little. Coupled with what he had desperately saved before, it was just enough for him to attend A University’s summer camp.

He carefully avoided the times Zhou Yuan was at home, wanting to hide the money so he could go to the summer camp peacefully during the holiday, but he was still discovered by Zhou Yuan.

The other party had red eyes, smelled of alcohol, and brutally tried to snatch the money from Gu Qichi’s arms but failed.

In the narrow and cramped Qingshui Lane, walking all the way inside, the wall skin on both sides had fallen off significantly, revealing old and ugly gray concrete walls. Large and small pornographic advertisements were plastered all over the walls, and the utility poles were the hardest-hit areas.

Walking further in, in a house in the deepest corner, one could hear a man’s beating and scolding, as well as a few indistinct gasps unique to a teenager.

The blue and white school uniform was kicked dirty and messy, covered with Zhou Yuan’s footprints, and his face was also slapped. Gu Qichi had fair skin, and his cheek was swollen high from the beatings, making the bright red slap mark look shocking.

Gu Qichi wasn’t tall at the time, and he was thin and weak. A teenager should be at the age of shooting up in height, but due to long-term malnutrition, his growth seemed to have entered a stagnation period. He didn’t look like a male high school student, but like a gloomy girl.

Zhou Yuan wanted money, Gu Qichi wouldn’t give it. The man became ruthless, convinced that Gu Qichi was disobeying him, picked up a beer bottle from the wooden table, and smashed it hard onto Gu Qichi’s head.

Dark red blood gushed from the back of his forehead, sticky and thick. Gu Qichi’s pupils dilated, and he was knocked out directly.

When he woke up again, the scholarship in his arms had vanished, and the invitation letter to A University’s summer camp was crumpled and lying beside him in ruins.

Not long after, Gu Chengtian’s assistant found him and briefly explained the situation of him and Gu Yuning being switched at birth, hoping Gu Qichi could go with him to the hospital to meet his biological parents.

Gu Qichi remembered wrongly. Sitting in the expensive Bentley arriving at the Gu family villa wasn’t the first time he met Gu Chengtian and Geng Tingxun.

This time at the hospital was.

Purple-white lightning tore through the sky, ripping a strange opening in the heavens.

It was an arc like a grimacing smile.

Just didn’t know what it was mocking.

Heavy rain poured down immediately after, rain drops connecting into lines, quickly drawing a water curtain across the horizon, cutting off vision.

Gu Qichi went to see Gu Chengtian and Geng Tingxun in this wretched state.

His blue and white school uniform was printed with uneven footprints, his face bruised by Zhou Yuan’s beating, the blood trace on his forehead corner coagulated, contrasting against his pale face, looking particularly terrifying.

Another muffled thunder crashed down. Accompanied by the howling wind, leaves on the street were beaten down by raindrops, wrapped in the wind, forming a small whirlwind by the roadside.

The smell in the hospital was the disinfectant Gu Qichi hated the most. The lights were pale, the floor tiles reflective. Passing through a noisy and busy crowd of doctors and nurses, at the end of his vision, Gu Qichi finally saw his biological parents.

Gu Yuning’s car accident was severe. Having been raised as a treasure by the Gu family since childhood, Geng Tingxun suddenly suffered such a blow. Unable to support herself, she had been crying for a long time.

She wasn’t willing to believe that the child she had painstakingly cared for for sixteen years wasn’t her biological child, but an imposter switched by someone.

But her love for Gu Yuning prevailed in the end. At the door of the emergency room, Geng Tingxun cried and held the nurse’s hand, begging them to save her Xiao Ning.

Gu Chengtian held her shoulders, gently comforting his wife. The sorrow and worry between his brows were the most natural expression of true feelings.

Outside the corridor, Gu Qichi was alone, with only the strange assistant who picked him up standing beside him.

Inside the corridor, Gu Yuning lay in the operating room, yet possessed all the love that originally belonged to Gu Qichi.

That day, no one noticed Gu Qichi who had arrived early, and no one knew that one of his ribs had been kicked to fracture by Zhou Yuan, causing heart-rending pain.

Only when the assistant went to remind them did the Gu Chengtian couple notice their biological son standing there.

The daylight outside the window was dim; airtight dark clouds blocked the sky. The torrential rain was relentless, accumulating a very thick layer of water on the ground. Vehicles moved with difficulty in the rain. Through the window, one could still hear the honking sounds coming and going downstairs.

Heavy rain hung on the lush tree crowns; every leaf was covered with water droplets. Lush branches were forced to droop. Raindrops meandered down along the arc of the branches, connecting into lines at the tips of leaves, and smashed down pattering, visible splashes rising.

Not far away, a huge bolt of lightning struck down again, seemingly striking right next to the hospital. It was accompanied by countless tiny jagged currents, illuminating the entire night sky transparently, like daylight.

It also thoroughly illuminated Gu Qichi’s face, as well as the appearances of Gu Chengtian and Geng Tingxun.

Gu Qichi remembered completely. He thought he would never forget the look in Gu Chengtian and Geng Tingxun’s eyes that day—

It was undisguised disgust and hatred. They looked down on Gu Qichi with indifference from high above, like an emperor holding the power of life and death. Without asking a single question about his current situation, just based on this first glance, they preemptively sentenced Gu Qichi to death.

They felt Gu Qichi was an incompetent hoodlum. Just judging from the marks on his body and face, Gu Qichi was also a hoodlum who liked to provoke trouble.

After all, no good student who studied seriously would get hurt like this.

So, no matter how outstanding Gu Qichi became later, no matter how excellent his grades were, Geng Tingxun never believed it.

She would rather believe that Gu Qichi got all this through cheating.

Because in her heart, Gu Yuning was the flawless piece of jade, while Gu Qichi was a dull stone.

One was in the sky, one was on the ground; they were never things that could be compared to each other.

…………
…………
…………

Gu Qichi woke up amidst stomach spasms.

At that time, he was covered in cold sweat, his clothes sticking clammily to his body, and even his hands and feet were chillingly cold.

He had stomach problems, but having been carefully nursed by Bo Yu in recent months, it had hardly flared up.

It might be because he and Bo Yu had been too absurd in recent days, so much so that meal times were upside down and chaotic. He had poor appetite this morning and noon, didn’t eat much, and slept directly in the hotel in the evening. His stomach was empty, so naturally, it protested.

He struggled to sit up and feel for the phone on the bedside table, turning it on.

Because the lights weren’t on and the curtains were drawn, the room was boundlessly dark. One could only clearly see Gu Qichi’s profile illuminated by the phone screen, pale and fragile.

Bo Yu had sent messages for many days (or messages saying many things?), the tone wasn’t very good, and he was a bit worried. Gu Qichi lowered his eyes, explained the reason, only saying he was airsick, mentioning nothing else.

Afterward, he switched to the big group chat of the “Lucky Sky Green” crew, but didn’t find Chen Xu’s WeChat in it.

The warm yellow bedside lamp was turned on. Gu Qichi’s palms were also sweaty and damp.

He turned his head to look out the window. It was pitch black. He got out of bed and opened the curtains, seeing the bright moon in the sky, staring at it for a long time.

Qingshui Lane…

Zhou Yuan…

And Chen Xu today…

He seemed to have always overlooked something. Gu Qichi lowered his eyes, staring at his left forearm in a daze.

Near the joint, there was a white mark of two or three centimeters on his skin, an inconspicuous scar.

Gu Qichi originally didn’t know where this scar came from, only guessing that “Gu Qichi” accidentally hurt himself.

But looking at it now, the situation wasn’t what he imagined.

Unsurprisingly, Zhou Yuan did this.

He had mentioned Zhou Yuan to Bo Yu before, and Bo Yu had agreed to help him investigate. But after that, the other party became secretive about Zhou Yuan, avoiding the topic.

As if he didn’t want him to know even a tiny bit.

Was it because the former Gu Qichi lived too terribly…

Gu Qichi rubbed the skin of that scar with his right hand. His finger pad brushed over it, only faintly feeling a bit of unevenness.

He clearly only remembered a little bit about previous events, but every time he remembered, it would be like this.

Painful and wretched, even convulsing in fear.

He didn’t like this feeling of losing control.

Gu Qichi thought for a long time, deleting and editing in Lin Shuangyi’s chat box, leaving only a few words.

[Gu Qichi]: Director Lin, I want Chen Xu’s contact information.

But in the end, he didn’t send it.

He wasn’t sure what the relationship was between Chen Xu and the former Gu Qichi regarding this matter. Gu Qichi thought he still needed some time to figure out his own thoughts.

…………
…………
…………

Early the next morning, Gu Qichi arrived at the set on time as usual.

On the way, Luo Qianqian was still a bit worried. There were faint dark circles under her eyes, and her eyes were full of guilt: “Teacher Gu, are you okay from yesterday? It’s all my fault for not taking good care of you. I should have noticed your condition wasn’t right earlier. Director Lin told me you were unwell, so I went to buy medicine, but in the end, I didn’t give the medicine to you.”

Listening to her chatter, Gu Qichi lost some of his fatigue, but his stomach was still uncomfortable after all, so he turned around to settle her: “Qianqian, don’t blame yourself. My body is fine.”

“If possible, could you go buy me a box of stomach pain medicine? I might still be a little uncomfortable.”

Luo Qianqian quickly agreed twice, turned around, and rushed out of the dressing room.

Shen Qingye’s side story was something Lin Shuangyi went to confirm with the original author again. The two discussed it for several nights and refined Shen Qingye’s character thoroughly before feeling relieved to continue shooting and creating.

But after all, it was a side story. In fact, fully calculated, it only added more than two hours of content, yet it had to summarize Shen Qingye’s life. The difficulty was actually great, extremely challenging.

The producer and other assistant directors didn’t agree to shoot this side story. Everyone felt it wasn’t necessary. After all, Gu Qichi wasn’t the male lead, nor was he a top-tier star. Delaying the wrap time of the entire crew for him alone was truly somewhat unbearable.

But for the sake of his work, Lin Shuangyi was often madly reckless. No one could challenge his authority. Plus, Gu Qichi had indeed taken good care of them on the set, so these few shoots could be called smooth.

While debugging equipment, Lin Shuangyi still had the leisure to joke with Gu Qichi about the variety show “Strive! Actor!”.

Lin Shuangyi: “That what’s-his-name, what low Shao, is really a blind thing. Daring to mess with you under Bo Yu’s nose, isn’t that seeking death? He deserved to retire from the industry.”

Gu Qichi smiled upon hearing this. Lin Shuangyi continued to complain: “He came to audition before, seemed like male… male number five, the role of the guard beside Song Zhian. Acting skills were terribly poor, face was ugly too. Really treated me like a trash can, rushing here for self-recycling.”

“Truly useless.”

Lin Shuangyi mentioned Song Zhian, and only then did Gu Qichi suddenly realize that upon returning to the crew this time, there was no sign of Song Zhian inside or out.

Logically speaking, Shen Qingye’s side story line inevitably involved Song Zhian’s appearance. Gu Qichi was originally prepared to face Song Zhian, but not seeing him this time was truly a bit strange.

Gu Qichi: “Director Lin, doesn’t Shi Tianlin need to appear in the side story?”

Hearing this, Lin Shuangyi raised an eyebrow in surprise. Seeing no one around, he lowered his voice, leaned close to Gu Qichi, and whispered: “You don’t know?”

“As soon as Song Zhian wrapped up from the crew, he was taken back to the Song family by the old man and personally given to Bo Yu for training (disciplining).”

He spoke tactfully, too embarrassed to say Bo Yu nearly crippled the person, but used “training” to show Bo Yu was still somewhat humane.

Gu Qichi’s hand paused, his mouth opened slightly, his peach blossom eyes widened a bit, and he involuntarily echoed: “Given to Bo Yu… for training?”

Seeing he understood it as another meaning, Lin Shuangyi waved his hand and bluntly clarified: “Didn’t he always harass you on set? I heard he even bought some stuff wanting to mess with you, but Bo Yu found out.”

“You know Bo Yu’s temper more or less, right? Song Zhian dared to target you, could he tolerate it?”

“Definitely had to vent anger for you.”

…………
…………
…………

Bo Group, new CEO’s office.

In front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, Bo Yu leaned back lazily in his seat, legs crossed, listening to Bai Heng report on recent matters needing handling.

Almost all were business matters, occasionally interspersed with a few banquets needing attendance.

Items on Bo Yu’s desk were arranged neatly, all in a rigorous and orderly workplace style. The overall tone of this office was the same, but if an observant person looked closely, they could find a few incongruous things.

For example, the wedding ring CEO Bo had been wearing recently, a fluffy cat-specific outfit on the sofa, a cat food bowl and litter in the corner, silver cat hair visible everywhere, and an exquisite calendar on the desk.

This calendar wasn’t a work calendar, but celebrity merchandise.

Each date box contained a photo of a person, various angles, various postures, and various smiles.

All were Gu Qichi.

This was custom-made by Bo Yu specifically.

One date on it was even specially marked by him with a red pen.

When Bai Heng finished reporting the last item, he glanced at Bo Yu, hesitating whether to say more.

Bo Yu withdrew his gaze from the calendar and glanced at Bai Heng: “Anything else?”

Bai Heng said honestly: “CEO Bo, just got news, the Madam’s former adoptive father is about to be released from prison…”

After finishing, he carefully glanced at Bo Yu. The smile on the other’s face remained unchanged, but a lot of hostility was added between his brows.

“Are the funds from the Gu family side in place?”

Knowing what he wanted to do, Bai Heng said: “Just a few more days, and everything will be in place.”

“Speed it up, don’t let them see anything.”

The wedding ring sparkled in the light. Bo Yu glanced at the calendar again and said carelessly:

“Clear the schedule for a month from now. It’s the Madam’s birthday soon.”