Transmigrated as the Movie Star’s Little Good for Nothing - Chapter 10

“I’m certain,” Gao Qiumei managed a strained smile. “The butler already helped me clear the resignation paperwork. There’s no reason to back out now.”

Xiang Yuyan sighed softly. “You’re a year younger than me. Now that the employment relationship is over, I only look at you as a sister. I’m worried about your future. I just hope you have a solid plan and aren’t doing this on a whim.”

“Don’t worry, Ma’am. I’ve made a very detailed, thorough plan. My resignation wasn’t a sudden impulse either; I made up my mind two months ago.”

The rent on Gao Qiumei’s apartment kept climbing, and the pressure of living in the city was getting heavier by the day. Even though the Gu family paid her well, she would never save much if she stayed in downtown Beidu.

She was young…only twenty-two. For the sake of her long-term career, she didn’t want to be a domestic servant for the rest of her life. Even if the pay and benefits here were top-tier, she wanted to venture out and test the waters.

Six months ago, she had successfully self-studied and passed her certified public accountant exams. Armed with her savings of over ninety thousand yuan, she was fully prepared to take a leap of faith and forge her own path.

“The only wildcard in my plan was Xingxing. But his guardian has already agreed to let me raise him, so my worries are gone.”

Xiang Yuyan was taken aback. “Is that reliable? What if they change their mind?”

Gao Qiumei shook her head. “They won’t. Because Xingxing’s guardian is likely about to start a new family.”

That was the exact reason she had dragged this out for two months before resigning. That disgusting homewrecker of a man, Zhang Yuehan, had finally managed to climb his way into a wealthy family after countless twists and turns.

To secure his future with his wealthy lover, Zhang Yuehan had to cut all ties. Naturally, that meant getting rid of the illegitimate son who stood in his way. He would never back out. In fact, he probably wanted her to take Shen Yanxing as far away as humanly possible.

“I see…” Xiang Yuyan muttered, at a loss for words. He couldn’t begin to comprehend how a parent could be so entirely irresponsible and uncaring toward their own child.

“Wait here a moment, let me get you something.” The more he thought about it, the more unsettled he felt. Pulling a ring of keys from his pocket, Xiang Yuyan turned and headed toward the archive room.

The Gu family study was split into two sections. The outer layer was a classically decorated reading room, complete with a fireplace, sofas, and coffee tables. This area was lined with various books, regularly maintained by the house staff, and doubled as a temporary playroom where the couple’s toddler left half-finished puzzles and building blocks.

The inner layer was the archive room…a private space reserved strictly for Gu Pingyue and Xiang Yuyan. It held sensitive items like confidential family files, sentimental photo albums, and a safe loaded with hard cash.

Xiang Yuyan carefully unlocked the safe. Inside lay stacks upon stacks of crisp, red banknotes—Gu Pingyue’s acting salaries and Xiang Yuyan’s music royalties, freshly withdrawn from the bank just a few days ago.

Closing his eyes, Xiang Yuyan reached in and grabbed five thick bundles. He slipped the cash, along with a few photos fished out of an album, into an old black handbag.

“Mei,” he said, not even bothering to lock the door behind him as he held out the bag. “Take this.”

Gao Qiumei hesitated. “Is it something valuable?”

Forgetting her manners, she unzipped the bag right there and gasped at the sight of the bright red cash.

“Ma’am, I can’t take this!” she said in panic, trying to push the bag back into his hands. “How could I take money from you and the Master for nothing?”

“It’s not for you, it’s for the little guy.” Xiang Yuyan’s tone left no room for argument as he pushed the bag back. “If you really care about my peace of mind, accept it. Use it well on him. When Pingyue and I attend charity galas, we donate seven or eight hundred thousand yuan each. Compared to that, what is this?”

“But…” High-principled as she was, Gao Qiumei still resisted. “When you and the Master donate at galas, you at least get media coverage in return. Giving this to me brings you absolutely nothing.”

“Listen to yourself. Do you think I do charity work just for publicity?”

“No, that’s not what I meant, I just—”

“No excuses,” Xiang Yuyan interrupted. “Just consider it a loan from me. A loan with no expiration date.”

Gao Qiumei was torn. “There’s no such thing as a loan like that… loans involve interest and inflation. I might not even be able to pay back these fifty thousand yuan in twenty years.”

“Who says?” Xiang Yuyan scoffed playfully, refusing to accept her logic as he forced her to keep the bag. “Tables turn, Mei. Never look down on youth just because it’s poor right now. The future is entirely unpredictable, so why not face it with a little more confidence and hope? Listen to me…take the money, and stay in touch.”

On the other side of the wall, inside the master bedroom, Gu Congjue was half-asleep.

Man, this is so boring…

The toddler opened his mouth wide, letting out a massive yawn. Sensing the movement, Gu Pingyue gently stroked his son’s head with pure paternal affection.

“Go to sleep if you’re tired, buddy. Daddy still has a bit more reading to do.”

Gu Congjue rubbed his eyes with his tiny fists, thinking helplessly: I’m only tired because of this script.

He didn’t need to memorize lines, but Gu Pingyue did, which meant his father’s reading speed was painfully slow. Reading scripts was great…much better than watching cartoons or reading picture books…but the pace was agonizing. In the time it took Gu Pingyue to memorize one page, Congjue could read three.

As a two-and-a-half-year-old toddler, he couldn’t expose the fact that he was fully literate, so he couldn’t exactly tell his dad to hurry up. His only option was to scroll back to the top and read the same page a second, then a third time.

Naturally, repetition breeds drowsiness.

Gu Congjue batted away the hand stroking his head and clumsily squirmed into the covers, wrapping himself up like a caterpillar, ready for sleep.

Yet, while his eyes were heavy when open, his mind became remarkably lucid the moment he closed them. A voice inside his head…perhaps a projection of his own subconscious…interrogated him with a sharp air of authority: What are you doing?

Who are you, and what are you doing?

The sudden internal interrogation startled him, chasing away his sleepiness and forcing him to open his eyes.

He must have only half-opened them, because his vision was blurry. He was only vaguely aware that Xiang Yuyan had returned to the room and reached over to cuddle him, only to be slapped away by his groggy little hand.

After a brief struggle, he closed his eyes again and finally drifted off.

But it didn’t feel like sleep. It felt more like an out-of-body experience. He didn’t know if it qualified as a dream, but he found himself asking the same questions over and over: Who are you, and what are you doing?

Are you really just the carefree young master of the Gu family? Are you content to just live a comfortable, leisurely life without a care in the world?

No, you aren’t. You’re a reincarnated soul who was struck down by a car. Your sole purpose in this new world is to find “that person.”

But look at you now. What are you doing?

Who have you let yourself become?

Who…

“You little brat, refusing to let me hold you even in your sleep!”

Gu Congjue’s earlier swat had thoroughly “offended” Xiang Yuyan. He had initially just wanted to pat the boy, but now he changed his mind.

“The more you fight it, the more I’m going to hug you!”

Pinning down the sleeping toddler’s chubby little body, Xiang Yuyan planted a loud kiss on his cheek, snuggling him close to inhale the sweet baby scent. “What’s the point of having a son if you can’t play with him? Refusing hugs makes you a little useless, you know!”

Gu Pingyue chuckled, setting down his script. “What does he smell like? Still got that milky scent?”

“No, he stopped drinking milk ages ago. Where would a milk scent come from?” Xiang Yuyan leaned in to sniff again. “It’s entirely baby oil.”

Gu Pingyue smiled as his partner climbed under the covers, pulling their son close. “Everything settled with Mei?”

“Yeah.” Xiang Yuyan adjusted the blanket, making sure their son’s face wasn’t buried. “She passed her accounting exams and plans to find a job in finance.”

“Oh? That’s good. She’s young, it’s normal to want to see the world.”

“Yeah, I get it too. I told her she’s welcome back anytime; our door is always open.” Xiang Yuyan’s eyes flickered with slight guilt as he confessed, “I took fifty thousand yuan from the safe and gave it to her so she and the kid can have a proper start.”

Instead of scolding or questioning him, Gu Pingyue simply asked, “Why didn’t you give her more?”

“I was afraid she wouldn’t accept it. Even for that fifty thousand, I had to use every ounce of eloquence I had just to convince her.”

Xiang Yuyan paused, lowering his voice.

“That kid of hers is truly beautiful and sweet. For a moment, I actually thought about adopting him myself, it’s just…”

“We already have Congjue, so you didn’t dare think too deeply about it?” Gu Pingyue finished the thought. “What a coincidence. I had the exact same thought, and I dropped it for the exact same reason.”

“Really? Wow, great minds think alike, babe.” Xiang Yuyan smiled, leaning over the sleeping toddler to give his husband a quick kiss. “Well, I guess the timing just wasn’t right. It’s a good thing Mei is adopting him now.”

Gu Pingyue murmured in agreement.

The room fell quiet. Hand in hand under the blankets, the two adults drifted into their own thoughts until Gu Pingyue spoke up again.

“By the way, what was the name of the kid Mei adopted?”

“I was just trying to remember that myself.” Xiang Yuyan frowned, brushing back his bangs in frustration. “I only remember Mei calling him ‘Xingxing.’ I never heard his full name. It’s so weird—how did I manage to send her off without even asking?”

Xiang Yuyan sighed with genuine regret. “Man, I really should have asked.”

Time flew, skipping ahead thirteen years.

Thirteen years brought sweeping changes to the world. After weathering the chaos of the Olympic travel rush, the devastation of the winter blizzards, and the tragedy of the great earthquake, the country’s development seemed to have shifted into double…no, triple…speed.

Sleek, modern skyscrapers punctured the skyline, and intricate high-speed rail networks webbed across the nation. The rise of mobile payments fueled a massive internet economy, turning traditional cash payments into a relic of the past.

Looking back, most people would marvel at how completely the world had transformed. But for Gu Congjue, this was merely a “return.”

The world had finally returned to the shape he remembered.

Yet, compared to his past life, this timeline still held structural differences…differences he found impossible to adapt to or handle. For instance…

“Congjue.”

A gentle female voice pulled him back to reality. Shifting his gaze away from the lush green scenery outside the window, he locked eyes with his invigilator, who was smiling warmly at him.

“The exam has started. Let’s focus, okay?”

The historically tight-lipped and taciturn Gu Congjue gave a quiet nod. Accepting his fate, he picked up his pencil to fill out his information.

But as he flipped to the front page of the exam booklet, the bold, prominent header made his composure crack entirely:

2020 Beidu Mock High School Entrance Exam: Chinese Language (Paper 3)

Gu Congjue dropped his pencil again, silently wishing for the sweet release of an apocalypse. He didn’t want to spend another single second as a middle school student.

His entirely unreasonable parents refused to let him skip grades under any circumstances. But if he couldn’t skip ahead, how was he supposed to enter society early, travel further, and search the world for Shen Yanxing?

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