They were both outstanding individuals among their peers, and inevitably became subjects of comparison in the business world.

Some people described Lu Chiyuan as the sunny, positive side—no matter how he calculated or strategized, it was all done openly, clearly explained and visible to all.

Gu Tingsen, however, was different. He was more like the dark, brooding opposite—unscrupulous in his methods.

This perhaps had something to do with the Gu family's background.

Their family had been involved in illegal activities in the early years, and had transformed due to strict crackdowns. While they appeared to have cleaned up their act completely, there were still some unclear dealings behind the scenes.

After Gu Tingsen inherited the family business, the gray industries once soared.

The most common evaluation of him in their circle was that he played around a lot—a regular on entertainment magazine headlines, attending events with different female companions each time.

When pursued by media about his female companions, he even boldly declared that women were like clothes—once worn, he wouldn't want them again.

The media harshly criticized him for being arrogant and disrespectful. But he had the capital to be arrogant, and despite this, people still fought to get close to him.

Human nature's tendency to admire the strong made them chase after powerful figures while making excuses for all their behaviors, ignoring morality.

Lu Chiyuan had crossed paths with Gu Tingsen in business, and in his view, this person was overly violent and cruel. He had no reverence for the law, and his moral bottom line had fallen below the lowest standards.

While everyone else operated within the legal framework, he insisted on showing his rebellious nature to demonstrate his uniqueness.

Jiang Chen said he would use illegal means to harm Lu Mingxuan to death—this, Lu Chiyuan completely believed.

Talking about law with someone who would trample on it at any moment was inherently ridiculous.

Even more ridiculous was that this person was the protagonist, and the world's favoritism made him fearless.

Lu Chiyuan didn't let Jiang Chen go down alone to handle this, but went with him instead.

This was rush hour, but to implement the principle of everything serving the male and female leads, the world consciousness intentionally made everything come to a standstill—the congested traffic moved unhurriedly, and people in cars waited patiently.

But as Jiang Chen and Lu Chiyuan came down from the elevator, the suspended time for ordinary people began to flow again.

The car owners who had been quiet just moments before began poking their heads out to look around, with the frontmost one shouting: "Are you going or not? If not, please move aside."

"There's plenty of empty space around, but you insist on blocking the passage to argue. How sick."

The dissatisfied voices gradually intensified. The male and female leads, who had been immersed in their own world, were finally pulled apart by others, giving way from the road they had occupied, allowing traffic to flow.

Jiang Chen and Lu Chiyuan waited for all vehicles to pass completely before crossing over. Chen Jiu hadn't expected Lu Chiyuan to come handle this personally, and felt somewhat uncomfortable as he protectively moved Shen Zhiyi back.

Both sides' cars were parked side by side. When Chen Jiu started his car, Gu Tingsen was also starting his. Chen Jiu didn't compete with him, instead letting him go first. Unexpectedly, after driving out, Gu Tingsen suddenly reversed without warning, directly hitting Chen Jiu's car front.

Chen Jiu was stunned. He worked for Lu Chiyuan and recognized Gu Tingsen's car, but the problem was the driver wasn't Gu Tingsen—it was his female companion.

After the collision, the two of them got out and switched positions. Gu Tingsen glanced at the damage, felt it wasn't serious, didn't care much about it, and didn't even greet them. He was playfully fooling around with his female companion, preparing to get in the car and leave.

Shen Zhiyi had suffered at Jiang Chen's hands, so how could she tolerate this situation? She directly opened the car door, got out, and blocked Gu Tingsen from leaving.

Gu Tingsen had probably never encountered a woman who dared to challenge him before. He offered to compensate, but Shen Zhiyi didn't want compensation—she wanted an apology.

The two were talking at cross purposes. Chen Jiu had concerns and didn't want to step forward, so he wanted Jiang Chen to come down and mediate.

"So it's someone from the Lu family. No wonder you're so confident, looking down on my small offerings."

Gu Tingsen wasn't surprised to see Lu Chiyuan. His car accident had made headlines, and although the buzz died down quickly, the news still spread fast within their circle.

Gu Tingsen's gaze moved past him and fell on Jiang Chen, his eyes playful.

Lu Chiyuan understood the whole situation. Shen Zhiyi stubbornly stuck to one phrase: "Apologize!"

Lu Chiyuan looked at the two of them, his eyes coldly sweeping toward Chen Jiu as he said: "Doesn't our company have a department to handle this kind of thing?"

Chen Jiu was startled by the look and guiltily lowered his head.

For someone with his build to claim he couldn't stop Shen Zhiyi was ridiculous to begin with, and now he was allowing Shen Zhiyi to directly confront Gu Tingsen. The disparity in physique and age put Shen Zhiyi in a dangerous situation.

Chen Jiu worked in security, yet made such a basic mistake.

If this had been before the car accident, Lu Chiyuan would have found it incomprehensible.

But after the car accident, having witnessed the world's obsession with male and female encounters, Lu Chiyuan suspected his intelligence had been reduced.

Jiang Chen went over to inspect the vehicles, took out his phone to take photos. Neither side had major problems—it was the kind of situation that could be resolved through negotiation without even needing to file insurance claims.

[I'm exhausted. Being a normal person is so painful.]

Jiang Chen complained internally, then quickly returned to Lu Chiyuan's side.

Lu Chiyuan said: "Mr. Gu, if you think my sister's request is unreasonable, we can call the police to handle this. I believe the dashcam in the car can explain everything."

Lu Chiyuan had no intention of getting entangled with Gu Tingsen. Setting aside all the messy factors, the fact that he hit the car was undeniable, and the fact that he prepared to leave directly while ignoring the reaction of the rear car was also undeniable.

Shen Zhiyi was only asking for an apology. While Gu Tingsen might find it childish, Lu Chiyuan found it reasonable. A young girl's request shouldn't be ignored.

"I did indeed startle a certain little white rabbit, especially since her brother just had a car accident and she's in a sensitive state right now." Gu Tingsen's words were frivolous and barbed.

He looked at Shen Zhiyi without any remorse, but rather meaningfully: "To express my sincerity, I wonder if Miss Shen would be willing to honor me with lunch?"

"She's not willing." Lu Chiyuan rejected Gu Tingsen's request, saying: "Mr. Gu, if you were truly sincere, I shouldn't be standing here right now. Bringing an entertainment industry starlet to a hospital to argue with a girl—it seems Mr. Gu feels the entertainment headlines aren't stimulating enough and wants to make an appearance in social news as well."

Lu Chiyuan was blunt, his gaze toward Gu Tingsen distinctly unfriendly.

Shen Zhiyi was only eighteen, while Gu Tingsen was already twenty-seven this year. Even assuming everything before them was as Jiang Chen said—an arrangement by the author's pen.

This couple with a nine-year age gap meeting when one party wasn't fully mature yet, with intentional guidance containing sexual implications—was this really okay?

As Shen Zhiyi's guardian, Lu Chiyuan couldn't pretend not to see this.

Knowing Lu Chiyuan was difficult to deal with, Gu Tingsen knew when to quit while ahead. His female companion stepped forward at the right moment, admitted it was her mistake, and apologized to Shen Zhiyi.

Shen Zhiyi stared intently at Gu Tingsen, looking as if she wouldn't let this go unless Gu Tingsen spoke up.

Jiang Chen moved a step to the side, blocking Shen Zhiyi's line of sight. Visually, it appeared he was protecting her, but actually he was quickly breaking the visual connection between her and the male lead, ending this trivial tug-of-war between them.

Gu Tingsen was about to say something more when his phone rang. He answered and glanced subtly at Lu Chiyuan, then stopped pursuing the matter and went straight to his car.

He started the car and left. Lu Chiyuan's phone also rang—it was a WeChat message notification.

Before Lu Chiyuan could look, Snowball jumped out gossiping, blowing a trumpet: [Latest gossip, host! Lu Mingxuan said goodbye to his spy girlfriend. Hehe, Gu Tingsen has his own troubles now.]

Lu Chiyuan stopped reaching for his phone. He guessed who the message was from, and also guessed the meaning behind Gu Tingsen's subtle glance just now.

When a spy mission fails, naturally one must report back to their master.

Jiang Chen was somewhat surprised: [Lu Mingxuan was that decisive? His girlfriend didn't think to try to save the relationship?]

[Lu Mingxuan returned too timely. His girlfriend and her lover were tumbling around in the living room, so when he walked in, it was both a visual and mental double shock. I think as long as he's not completely love-brained, he'd know what to do, right? Although his girlfriend tried to gaslight him into thinking it was his fault, Lu Mingxuan didn't buy it.]

[When you see it with your own eyes, what's left to say?]

Jiang Chen had to admire the spy's mind. If she had succeeded in turning the tables on him, Lu Mingxuan would have been truly hopeless.

Lu Chiyuan agreed with this assessment. While comforting Shen Zhiyi, part of his attention was focused on listening to Jiang Chen's thoughts.

Snowball said: [I don't really understand you humans. The girlfriend thought Lu Mingxuan wasn't much of a man. They'd been dating for so long and had only held hands, so she suspected he was impotent.]

Jiang Chen stumbled slightly, thinking of Lu Mingxuan's physique: [Maybe Lu Mingxuan felt their feelings weren't deep enough yet?]

[His previous girlfriends were also limited to kissing. In human terms, he might be called good-looking but useless—what a waste of such a tall frame.]

Jiang Chen tried to defend Lu Mingxuan: [...What if he's just traditional?]

[Traditional?] Snowball pondered for a moment, then said: [Indeed, he does have dating experience, just more restrained, keeping to his boundaries. He shouldn't be mocked for that. If we're talking about problems, it should be Lu Chiyuan's type—look, he doesn't even have a girlfriend.]

Snowball seriously came to another conclusion: love produces dopamine, stimulating human desire and causing impulses. Conversely, a person without romantic consciousness has very shallow desires.

Someone without even desire—if that's not impotence, what is?

Snowball felt his reasoning was perfectly sound and deeply agreed with himself.

Lu Chiyuan: "..."

Not dating was also wrong?

These days, being unmarried was even a fashion statement. How could not dating be slandered?

Jiang Chen was silent for a long time. How should he address this topic?

Lu Chiyuan hadn't dated, but that didn't represent anything. He was single too—by this logic, did he also have problems?

Jiang Chen shuddered and quickly rejected this thought, defending Lu Chiyuan: [My baby is the best. Do you understand what "seven times in one night" means? He doesn't have a girlfriend because he's of the abstinent type.]

Lu Chiyuan listened with twitching temples. What was all this about?

Snowball scoffed: [You haven't tried it, so how do you know?]

Jiang Chen: [...]

That's not something to be tried.

Jiang Chen realized he'd been led astray by Snowball. He sighed helplessly, stopped continuing this topic, and looked up at Lu Chiyuan.

The parking lot location faced the sun, and at this moment the sun was overhead, making everything around reflect blindingly white.

Lu Chiyuan wore a shirt with a loose cut. When the wind blew, it outlined his waist following his body's contours.

Jiang Chen remembered their first meeting when Lu Chiyuan sat on the sofa in a well-tailored suit—broad shoulders, narrow waist, cold aura. But now, without the suit's stable seriousness, the shirt added some leisure. The shape drawn by the wind was beautiful, reducing his coldness and adding some refined elegance.

Jiang Chen's gaze greedily moved past the waist to Lu Chiyuan's long, straight legs. Snowball's words floated through his mind, and he couldn't help but look toward Lu Chiyuan's groin area, his mind involuntarily making associations.

[No, no, how can I doubt that my baby is impotent?]

Jiang Chen felt his thoughts were becoming increasingly dangerous. He couldn't help but wave his hand over his head.

Lu Chiyuan beside him looked over, his ice-blue eyes showing dangerous intent in the sunlight.

Very good, this person understood how to court danger.

After arranging for Chen Jiu and Shen Zhiyi, Lu Chiyuan brought Jiang Chen back to the hospital room.

A nurse came to verify his name and administer the IV. Only then did Lu Chiyuan take out his phone to check messages.

As expected, it was a text from Lu Mingxuan.

Having just experienced his girlfriend's betrayal, he hadn't recovered yet. In the text, he made self-deprecating jokes and applied for a heartbroken breakup leave.

Lu Chiyuan approved it, but after thinking, didn't reveal the suspicious aspects of the other party's identity. He had no evidence, and speaking up would only add fuel to the fire.

Jiang Chen sat beside Lu Chiyuan keeping him company. In just one morning, living chaotically because of the male and female leads was one thing, but he hadn't even eaten anything.

What kind of decent person transmigrates into a book just to go hungry!

Jiang Chen couldn't help but complain internally. Fortunately, today's meal delivery was relatively timely, not leaving him hungry for most of the day like yesterday before getting a hot meal.

After breakfast, Lu Chiyuan began handling company affairs on his phone. With both him and Lu Mingxuan away from the company, he handled remotely any decisions that could be made via phone.

Jiang Chen sat beside him with nothing to do, so he fiddled with the original owner's phone again, setting it up in his usual format and reorganizing WeChat into work and personal sections.

When he finished, he found Lu Chiyuan still working.

He had connected to a video conference call with the planning department.

Huanyu Group was launching new products in the second half of the year and was looking for suitable spokespersons. They had prepared several proposals with multiple candidates for Lu Chiyuan to choose from.

Lu Chiyuan asked them to present their proposals.