Chapter 2 Chapter 002
Xiao Liu was extremely furious. He felt deeply that in the entertainment industry where people flatter the powerful and bully the weak, not only new photographers like himself had no human rights, but amateurs outside the industry had no human rights either.
He filmed for three days, and Mr. Gu also cooperated for three days and treated him to good food and drink. However, just because someone said hello, less than two minutes of material was left from the three days, and even his face had to be cut out.
But even though he was so angry, he also felt a deep sense of powerlessness. He was anxious, but could not change the outcome in the slightest.
He couldn't possibly violate the rules and reveal the program crew's information to the guests, and even if Mr. Gu knew about it, what good would it be?
Gu Chen had just returned from the mountains. The spring sunset was not very hot, and it was scattered in the yard. He put a basket of ferns aside, took off his boots covered with mud and bamboo leaves, poured the muddy spring bamboo shoots he had just dug into the sink, and then peeled and washed them in an orderly manner.
This was the scene that Butler Li saw when he hurried to Songhe Villa.
"Mr. Gu, what are you doing...?" Butler Li was shocked when he saw Gu Chen's slender white hands covered with mud. "How could you do this?!"
A few days ago, Mr. Gu was scolded by the old man, so he moved to the annex and had no contact with the Li family. Today, he gave Aunt Zhang, the cleaning lady in the annex, a day off. He was worried, so he rushed to the annex to take a look. Unexpectedly, he saw Mr. Gu digging wild vegetables in the mountains!
Oh my god! The young master's partner is actually digging wild vegetables in the mountains! And he is peeling bamboo shoots with his bare hands!
Even if the young master has been abroad for eighteen days, there is no need for Mr. Gu to stay in the cold kiln and dig wild vegetables!
Gu Chen looked at Butler Li, who was about to cry and hold his head in his hands: "?"
He had almost finished peeling the bamboo shoots, washed the mud off his hands, and then washed the basket of ferns. He explained briefly, "I'll make two seasonal dishes for you."
Housekeeper Li saw Gu Chen carrying bracken and bamboo shoots towards the kitchen and was shocked, "Mr. Gu, you still want to...cook for yourself?"
"Oh, I felt that the seasonal dishes cooked by Aunt Zhang were lacking in flavor, so I gave her two days off." Spring dishes require freshness, and now that he had the leisure time, Gu Chen decided to cook them himself.
It is actually best to pick spring bamboo shoots and bracken in the morning, but it doesn't matter if you process them right after you get them. It is also best to peel the bamboo shoots by hand, otherwise there will be a fishy smell from the knife, which will damage the freshness of the bamboo shoots.
Butler Li felt even more distressed after hearing this. Not only was Aunt Zhang’s cooking of seasonal dishes terrible, she was just a cleaner, how could the dishes she cooked be delicious!
Damn him! The eldest son doesn't often live in the villa, so there is no chef in the villa. Only Aunt Zhang is responsible for daily cleaning. A few days ago, Mr. Gu came to live here, and he forgot to arrange a chef to come.
Poor Mr. Gu. It's fine that those people in the old house of the Li family neglected Mr. Gu so much that he was so angry that he had to live in the mountains. But no matter what, Mr. Gu was the eldest master's bedfellow. He really couldn't eat the food cooked by Aunt Zhang, and he was too embarrassed to ask for a change of cook. He could only sneak up the mountain to dig wild vegetables and cook for himself.
He deserves to die!
Thinking of this, he reached out to take the food from Gu Chen's hand and said, "Mr. Gu, let me take it! I'll ask the private chef down the mountain to send up dinner right away!"
"I don't eat takeout, and it's already past seven." Gu Chen didn't let him pick up the phone. He just smiled and said, "Uncle Li, please sit down for a while. It will be ready soon."
Butler Li thought to himself, that's true. What time did it take for the food to be delivered? But he had to watch Mr. Gu cook? This was really a mental torture.
The casserole on the stove was bubbling with chicken soup, emitting an aromatic aroma. Gu Chen was seen slowly splitting the bamboo shoots in half, and then cutting them into slices one by one. The thickness of each slice was almost the same.
Every move was so pleasing to the eye that Butler Li watched it unconsciously.
But with this calm and cool expression and this extremely precise knife skills, Butler Li always feels like a forensic doctor dissecting a corpse?
Forensic doctor? Why does he have such a weird idea?
At this time, Gu Chen's cell phone on the table kept vibrating, disturbing Butler Li's thoughts.
Butler Li took the phone for Gu Chen, but it had been ringing for a long time and the call was not answered. However, Butler Li found that the person with the note "Brother Du" seemed to have missed several calls. Just at this time, this "Brother Du" called again persistently.
Gu Chen glanced at the phone and said, "Uncle Li, please answer the phone for me." He did not have the original owner's memory and did not know who this "Brother Du" was, but he could actually guess.
Seeing that Gu Chen's hands were full, Butler Li pressed the speakerphone for him. Then a slightly sarcastic male voice said rudely: "What are you doing, Xiao Gu? Why haven't you answered the phone for so long? Didn't I tell you that there would be a class reunion tonight? So many people are waiting for you, hurry up and come here." The tone seemed friendly and casual, but it revealed a condescending tone and there was no respect for Gu Chen at all.
"I heard there's a winery nearby that belongs to the Li family. Remember to bring two bottles of good wine."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he picked up the phone, he heard someone say such impolite words to Mr. Gu. Mr. Gu was sensitive to begin with, so Butler Li couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.
However, it was not reasonable for any cat or dog to say such things about his master in front of him, so Butler Li immediately said seriously: "Sir, please be careful with your words."
There was a burst of laughter from the other end of the phone. It seemed that a group of people were also using the speakerphone. Butler Li could already imagine the scene of those classmates making fun of him.
However, the other party seemed to feel something was wrong when he heard his voice, so he turned off the speakerphone and the call became a little quieter. "Brother Du" pinched his throat a little, and said in a very polite and coy voice: "Excuse me, are you Gu Chen's husband, Mr. Li? I am Gu Chen's high school classmate Du Ruiqing, you can just call me Ruiqing. Little Gu said before that he would come to our high school reunion, could you please ask him why he hasn't come yet?"
Butler Li was even more shocked than when he saw Gu Chen digging wild vegetables, and quickly denied, "I am not Mr. Li."
Gu Chen put the cut bamboo shoots into the casserole, and slowly cut the fern into sections. Without raising his head, he said, "I won't go over. Uncle Li can just refuse it for me." Du Ruiqing was the high school classmate who "invited" the original owner to participate in this variety show.
"Mr. Gu said he won't go." Butler Li said this and reprimanded, "Student Du, I hope you will pay attention to basic manners when speaking next time."
After hanging up the phone, Butler Li felt a little complicated. Mr. Gu was really timid and kind. Even a high school classmate could talk to him so bossily.
He glanced at Gu Chen's face cautiously. Mr. Gu already had social anxiety, so he moved into the mountains. He wouldn't be even more sad because of this, right?
But Gu Chen turned around, and Butler Li could no longer see his expression. It was over, Mr. Gu must be even more embarrassed.
Gu Chen cut the bracken, blanched it and set it aside. He heated the oil in a pan, added the garlic slices and peppercorns to stir-fry, then added the blanched bracken segments. There was an instant "sizzling" sound in the pan and smoke came out.
Gu Chen rarely cooks, and the fumes from the stir-frying made him cough and his eyes turned red.
Fortunately, the bracken was cooked quickly. He brought the plate of bracken to the dining table and took a piece of paper to wipe his eyes.
At this time, his cell phone rang again. Gu Chen wiped his eyes and went to serve the soup, saying casually, "Uncle Li, please answer it for me again."
Butler Li was feeling awkward, as he was too embarrassed to see Gu Chen "crying", and a phone call came just in time to ease the awkwardness. He looked at the words "Xiao Liu" on it and thought, this couldn't be the kind of person that high school classmate named Du Ruiqing was.
So the call was connected, and he pressed the hands-free button. Xiao Liu said anxiously, "Mr. Gu, I still feel bad after thinking it over. I heard someone above has said that they want to cut out all the parts where you show your face, and they only give you less than two minutes! You should think about what to do! The show will be aired tomorrow night."
Butler Li: "..." How come the production crew can bully Mr. Gu even when he's on a show! Mr. Gu is so miserable!
Gu Chen raised the corner of his mouth and said on the hands-free phone: "Xiao Liu, thank you for your reminder, but you don't have to worry about it, I have my own plan." He has been the protagonist for so many years and finally enjoyed the treatment of a passerby who does not need to show his face.
Xiao Liu seemed stunned: "Ah, is that so?"
Gu Chen said: “Well, you don’t have to intervene, so as not to affect your work.”
Xiao Liu didn't know what he was thinking of, and said in a stern voice, "So, Mr. Gu, you can solve it yourself? That's good."
Gu Chen hung up the phone, served the delicious bamboo shoot chicken soup, and said, "Uncle Li, do you want to eat?"
Then, he discovered that the look in Butler Li's eyes when he looked at him was filled with grief and sorrow.
"Mr. Gu, I have already eaten, you eat first." Butler Li walked out with a heavy heart. No, no, he must call the eldest master.
…
In a private room of a certain club, a former high school classmate and Du Ruiqing were drinking and chatting, and they joked, "Ruiqing, now Gu Chen doesn't even give you face. It seems that he has really become so popular that he doesn't recognize you anymore."
In fact, four years of college have passed, and these high school classmates don’t remember the unknown and invisible person Gu Chen anymore, but they still remember that Gu Chen seemed to be Du Ruiqing’s follower in the past.
Du Ruiqing has several hit dramas now, and he is very popular. Although these rich second-generations don't think much of him, they also became interested when they heard Du Ruiqing say that Gu Chen married into the Li family. They waited for Du Ruiqing to invite people out to see who Gu Chen married. There are still many people who want to get involved in the Li family.
Du Ruiqing forced a smile and said, "Gu Chen is not the same as before. He seems to have changed a little. It seems that her husband is indeed extraordinary." He specially arranged this game tonight, but did not invite Gu Chen out, and his expression was a little unwilling.
Someone was smoking a cigarette and speculated, "Who in the Li family did Gu Chen marry? Why did I hear an old man's voice? Did he really marry an old man for money? What did the old man say on the phone just now?"
Du Ruiqing did not say that Steward Li denied it, and deliberately said vaguely: "He just rejected us on behalf of Gu Chen, and didn't say anything else."
"Rui Qing, I heard you say that Gu Chen participated in this dating variety show, but her husband didn't show up. Maybe he is really an old man, so he is embarrassed to show up. After all, there are many branches of the Li family, and we may not know them all."
"Indeed, his parents are divorced, and neither the Gu family nor the Cheng family cares about him, otherwise why would they send him to a boarding school like this? Even if it was a marriage alliance, it would be impossible for him to be married to the main branch of the Li family."
Although this boarding school is a top private school, few parents would send their truly beloved children to boarding school, so most of the students here are second-generation rich children and illegitimate children who lack discipline.
After hearing what they said, Du Ruiqing didn't feel so bitter anymore and said, "Who cares? I don't believe that on a dating variety show, her husband won't even show up. We'll know when the time comes." He also heard that Gu Chen married a big shot of the Li family through an arranged marriage, but the news about the Li family was not something that ordinary people could get, so he didn't know who the big shot was.
Someone else asked: "Ruiqing, where is your boyfriend?" These people came, firstly for the Li family, and secondly for the rich boyfriend that Du Ruiqing was with.
Du Ruiqing's expression darkened, but he quickly covered it up with a smile, "He is a very busy man, and he has a meeting to attend. Come, let's drink."
…
The spring night breeze was cool. Butler Li stood in the yard and felt his heart was also blown cold. With a heavy heart, he dialed Li Tingqin's number.
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