WRA CH91

During Chu Ren’s four years at university, Bai Qi spearheaded the production of four television dramas at the company, every single one turning into a massive hit of the year. On top of that, he invested in three films, raking in unexpectedly staggering box-office returns.

When Chu Ren was a junior, he founded a robotics startup, and Bai Qi channeled all the earnings from those investments directly into Chu Ren’s venture.

At just twenty-one years old, Chu Ren effortlessly secured funding—all thanks to his darling spouse.

Dropping hundreds of millions into a fledgling startup was something even his own parents wouldn’t have agreed to so easily. Yet Bai Qi, simply because of a casual promise he had given back then, had steadily managed the company’s cash flow just to make it happen.

Everyone at Changsheng Media regarded Bai Qi’s operational style as conservative. Yet it was precisely this prudence that allowed Changsheng to achieve robust profit growth during an era when the entertainment industry was facing an uphill battle.

Even so, Bai Qi could be fiercely aggressive; whenever he set his sights on a promising project, he would pour in capital without holding back. This time, the project he believed in was his husband.

Chu Ren built the robotics company into a flourishing success. However, right around the time he graduated, a power transition took place at the corporate giant Zhou Er Fu Shi. The new CEO, Zhou Sicheng, aggressively pushed into the robotics sector. Planning ahead, he was seeking physical embodiments across various application environments for the “Xiao Kui Bao” AI, and he extended an acquisition offer to Chu Ren.

When it came to burning through cash, Chu Ren was no match for Zhou Er Fu Shi. Zhou Sicheng could funnel an endless stream of liquidity from other industries into the venture. Chu Ren couldn’t—entertainment was his spouse’s passion, and it demanded healthy cash flow just the same.

The AI sector was cutthroat; fall behind by a single software version, and all the money burned before that went down the drain. Chu Ren also genuinely hoped the products he developed could venture further into the future rather than be swallowed up by the relentless tide. Even if the brand logo changed, the original foundational code was still something he had written with his own two hands.

After discussing it with Bai Qi, he sold 90% of the robotics company’s equity for a billion yuan, pairing the deal with a preferential promotional contract for Changsheng Media’s productions with Zhou Sicheng.

They walked away with a net profit of 300 million yuan, adding another glorious chapter to Bai Qi’s investment track record.

For Chu Ren, though, it left a slightly bitter aftertaste… It wasn’t that he couldn’t bear parting with the robotics company; it was his manly pride as a husband that suffered a blow.

“Wife, do you think I lost to Zhou Sicheng?”

Bai Qi replied, “Not at all. You did amazing.”

Chu Ren grumbled, “The only reason I lost to him is that I have a wife and he doesn’t.”

Only men with families had to weigh every consequence. A bachelor like Zhou Sicheng could run rampant and blaze a trail through artificial intelligence with nothing to lose; those blessed with domestic happiness simply had to yield a little ground.

Zhou Er Fu Shi offered Chu Ren the position of Chief Research and Development Officer to stay on at the robotics company, but Chu Ren turned it down.

His eager willingness to sell the company actually stemmed from another, deeper reason:

Bai Qi was hailed across the industry as the hitmaker with the Midas touch; any lead actor starring in his projects became an overnight sensation. Naturally, every signed artist under Changsheng Media sharpened their elbows trying to squeeze into Bai Qi’s inner circle.

Outsiders had no clue about the relationship between Bai Qi and Chu Ren. Blessed with strikingly handsome, cool features, a tall and slender frame, and zero bad habits, Bai Qi was a hundred times better than the sleazy, aged benefactors lingering in the entertainment circles. Even stripped of his executive authority, he was charismatic enough to draw countless admirers like moths to a flame.

During the busiest stretch of Chu Ren’s startup days, he kept stumbling across online gossip with headlines like “Rising Star’s Alleged Sugar Daddy Suspected to Be Senior Changsheng Media Executive,” accompanied by paparazzi photos of the two riding in the same car.

Even though he knew Bai Qi was strictly talking business with the artists, he was still eaten up with jealousy.

When it came down to it, the real issue was that Young Master Chu wasn’t sitting inside that car to mark his territory.

Recently, Bai Qi had signed a new male artist who strutted around like a flashy, flamboyant butterfly. Chu Ren had been putting up with the guy for far too long.

He decided to return to Changsheng, stake his rightful claim, and join forces with his spouse to push Changsheng straight to the number-one spot in the industry.

Chu Ren’s parents had retired the previous year. Seeing that their son and daughter-in-law shared a stable, loving relationship, and recognizing that their older generation’s artistic instincts couldn’t keep pace with the youth, the couple put their heads together and leased a countryside tea plantation to dabble in for fun.

Changsheng was now Bai Qi’s uncontested domain.

The entertainment industry was rife with shady undercurrents, yet Bai Qi was not merely an untainted stream—he was a mudslide backed by iron fists.

His subordinates gradually behaved more like loyal gang lackeys… Consequently, a portion of the staff was far from welcoming toward Chu Ren’s sudden arrival.

Why on earth does a spoiled heir waiting to collect dividends—an engineering student, no less—need to come meddle and throw his weight around at Changsheng? He knows nothing about film and television, and General Manager Bai still has to coddle him and cater to his whims. Can’t the brat grow up already?

They viewed Chu Ren as a freeloader relying on nepotism, completely forgetting that in the very beginning, Bai Qi was the one who had entered through personal connections. Bai Qi had originally joined the company because Chu Ren’s mother recognized his talents. To protect Bai Qi’s prestige, Chu Ren had deliberately kept their relationship under wraps.

After listening to a third subordinate pledge unwavering loyalty while scheming how to sideline Chu Ren, Bai Qi found himself staring into space, bewildered: Why are humans so hopelessly obsessed with factionalism and office politics?

Chu Ren had abandoned his own tech company, only to end up taking flak in his own family business.

Was being “General Manager Bai” really such a coveted position? Working year-round without a single day off, unable to even hibernate properly… Bai Qi was actually thrilled that Chu Ren had joined; it meant he could finally enjoy a full, uninterrupted winter hibernation this year.

Besides, the entertainment industry was hardly a clean business. It seemed to be something only humans fancied; Bai Qi thoroughly despised it. He hated corporate management; he only wanted to review footage behind the scenes, read scripts, pick actors, and decide where to put the money.

On the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Changsheng Media hosted its year-end corporate banquet. Every signed artist was present. Catching sight of Bai Qi, they would shower him with warm greetings of “General Manager Bai,” followed by a cordial “General Manager Chu.”

Chu Ren couldn’t care less who was addressed first; what grated on his nerves was that the entertainment world was teeming with handsome men and pretty women, and a good fifty percent of them harbored designs on his spouse’s bed—half for the money, half for his looks.

It was written all over their eyes! How did the company end up signing such a bunch of scheming opportunists? Was this the sort of disingenuous crowd his spouse had to deal with day in and day out?!

Chu Ren was seething with rage, yet on an occasion of this magnitude, he couldn’t afford to show it.

As a result, whenever someone walked up to greet Bai Qi, Chu Ren’s brows would knit into a murderous scowl, looking as if he were ready to whip out a Death Note and pen down their names one by one.

This left the artists thoroughly rattled, terrified that if Chu Ren ever toppled Bai Qi in a power struggle, they would be banished straight to the entertainment industry’s cold storage.

Bai Qi nudged Chu Ren’s back with a finger. “Tone it down a bit.”

“Can’t,” Chu Ren ground out.

“Acting like that makes everyone think we’re locked in a vicious feud. Even the people who didn’t want to pick sides are going to start plotting their allegiances.”

Human behavior was truly bizarre.

During their long-distance phase, Chu Ren had held his jealousy in check, afraid Bai Qi would think him immature. Now that they saw each other daily and shared a bed every night, Chu Ren was busy whispering pillow talk to steer his decisions.

Bai Qi intended to produce a tailor-made drama for the newly signed male artist, but Chu Ren couldn’t stand the sight of that man surnamed Wang. Whenever Bai Qi developed a bespoke project for someone, he would share meals with them to capture their persona and figure out their character arc. It was even worse for historical dramas—Bai Qi would grill them on their knowledge of history, testing them for entire mornings at a stretch.

The Wang guy was definitely harboring designs on Bai Qi. Without a shadow of a doubt. He had even had the audacity to snatch the remaining condensed-milk steamed bun right off Bai Qi’s plate right in front of Chu Ren’s eyes!

Has the man never eaten a steamed bun before in his life?!

Though Bai Qi had kept an icy face, flicking his chopstick like a dart to cleanly knock the bun out of midair—chopstick and bun hitting the floor in tandem with a sharp crack that echoed like a slap to the Wang guy’s face—Chu Ren was still stewing.

Because of Bai Qi’s lightning-fast, razor-sharp reflex, the Wang guy’s gaze had only grown more infatuated, displaying an astonishingly thick skin.

Bai Qi spread his hands helplessly. “What else can I do? He’s already signed. We can’t just pay him to sit around; shelving him is a lose-lose situation.”

Chu Ren snapped, “I’ll foot the bill. Pack him off to the Northwest to shoot rural period dramas.”

“I signed him specifically for a historical political intrigue script.”

Chu Ren turned his back, facing the wall and sulking in silence.

Bai Qi scratched his chin. Pouting? Still too young, getting all worked up over a rival’s petty little tricks.

The next morning, Chu Ren had no idea when he had finally drifted off to sleep, but the moment he woke up, he was scared out of his wits—Bai Qi was gone.

Bai Qi had resigned!

He had issued a company-wide notice stating that he was taking an extended leave of absence due to physical discomfort. All company affairs were to defer to General Manager Chu’s word, and he pledged unconditional support for whatever decisions General Manager Chu made.

A wave of sheer panic washed over Chu Ren. He began kicking himself for his immature, jealous antics over the past few days. Bai Qi had already handled everything impeccably; the fault lay entirely with other people, yet he had gone and taken it out on Bai Qi.

No wonder people said ending a long-distance relationship often meant the end of the romance itself—living together required compromise and adjustment, but Bai Qi wasn’t even giving him the chance to make amends!

He had no idea where Bai Qi had run off to, nor did he harbor the slightest interest in taking advantage of Bai Qi’s absence to overhaul the company and consolidate his authority. Ignoring every single WeChat message that flooded in, he hopped straight in his car and sped toward Bai Qi’s rural hometown.

Come to think of it, because Bai Qi was so lazy, he had never once brought Chu Ren back to his hometown; Chu Ren had only ever spoken to his mother-in-law over the phone.

Bearing lavish gifts, Chu Ren tried his best to butter up his mother-in-law, desperate for news on his spouse’s whereabouts.

Li Guihua waved a dismissive hand. “Aiya, what kind of lovers’ quarrel is this? He’s probably just curled up fast asleep somewhere.”

And by “asleep,” she meant curled up in his true serpentine form. Once a snake reverted to its original body, its perception of time didn’t match a human’s; a snake could easily doze through an entire winter and only wake up when the weather turned warm.

Chu Ren’s anxiety skyrocketed. His mother-in-law clearly knew something, but she flatly refused to spill the beans.

He resorted to shameless persistence, tailing his mother-in-law like a persistent shadow. When she went to work the fields, he followed along to pull weeds—only to butcher the crops because he couldn’t tell wheat from weeds. When she sat down to play mahjong, he hovered behind her acting as a strategist—only to carelessly blab her hand to the entire table…

In the end, Li Guihua was so utterly exasperated that she threw herself onto the ground, throwing a tantrum and kicking up a fuss far more shameless than Chu Ren’s: “Heavens above! If you want your spouse, go look under your own bed at home! Why the hell are you pestering me?!”

The faint emergence of a new species’ symbol in the Guide to Adulthood hinted that a new spirit might be coming into existence. Li Guihua was desperate to chase Chu Ren away, yet the stubborn kid refused to budge.

…Bai Qi really was under the bed.

After working through the night to step down and delegate the company affairs, he had let out a massive yawn. It suddenly dawned on him that ever since Chu Ren had returned, he hadn’t once had the chance to revert to his true form for a comfortable, uninterrupted winter hibernation.

Free from the burdens of work, life felt extraordinarily light. Bai Qi couldn’t resist the sweet temptation. Seeing that Chu Ren had fallen asleep facing away from him in a huff, he tiptoed softly, rolled under the bed, transformed into a snake, and drifted off to sleep.

A snake could coil itself up—a sleeping posture Bai Qi deeply adored.

Looks like I won’t get the chance to coil around Chu Ren’s abs to sleep in this lifetime, Bai Qi thought with a mild pang of regret before slipping into a blissful dream.

When he finally woke up, two whole days had slipped by.

With the company left leaderless and neither General Manager Chu nor General Manager Bai responding to messages, Chu Ren’s parents had rushed back from the countryside in a panic.

Just as Bai Qi was about to call Chu Ren, Mama Chu pushed open the villa’s front door. Seeing Bai Qi safe and sound, she let out a colossal sigh of relief.

Feeling a bit guilty, Bai Qi asked Mama Chu to make the call to Chu Ren.

Mama Chu agreed, dialing Chu Ren to urge him back: “Bai Qi is right here at home! What are you still doing running around out there?”

Chu Ren said, “Put him on the phone.”

Taking the phone, Bai Qi offered a gentle explanation: “I saw you were mad at me and thought you might not want to share a bed with me, so I went to a hotel to get some sleep. I just overslept, that’s all.”

Chu Ren protested aggrievedly, “When did I ever say I didn’t want to sleep with you? Did your phone run out of battery too?”

“Yeah.”

“Wife, I’m sorry,” Chu Ren blurted out. “From now on, promote whoever you want. I won’t interfere ever again.”

Bai Qi let out a soft laugh. “I don’t actually care about promoting anyone. In the beginning, all I wanted was to make money for you to spend. Did you honestly think I enjoyed clocking in at work? Hurry on home. From now on, you’ll be the one dealing with all the artists, alright?”

Mama Chu couldn’t help chuckling from the side—Bai Qi was coddling Chu Ren like a little boy.

Calling off his campaign of harassment against Li Guihua, Chu Ren dashed home at lightning speed. The moment he arrived, he showed his spouse the scratches on his calves from following his mother-in-law through the fields. In her bid to shake off the young master, Li Guihua had deliberately dragged him through dense reed marshes.

Looking at the faint crisscrossing red marks, Bai Qi couldn’t help recalling the welts on Chu Ren’s back years ago after his father had thrashed him with a belt.

“Hubby, you truly are… delicate,” Bai Qi teased. After all, a snake slithering through the brush wouldn’t sustain so many scrapes.

Chu Ren gripped him tight. “That’s why you’re never allowed to leave me!”