Transmigrated as the Villain’s Cannon Fodder Ex-Husband - Chapter 9

Gu Jia stood by the massive bed in the master bedroom, his face frozen stiff by the cold draft from the air conditioner.

He slowly squeezed four words out of his throat: “…Playing video games?”

Opposite him, Zhao Yisen’s eyes were crystal clear as he nodded like a little chick pecking at grain.

“…”

Five minutes later, Jiang Mingze, accompanied by two bodyguards, ransacked the study, confiscating the gaming console and every single game cartridge.

Zhao Yisen studied Gu Jia’s expression, thinking to himself that the man was indeed angry because of this. He swallowed hard out of guilt, and then felt a slight, tickling sensation in his throat from the previous soreness.

Turning his head, he noticed the water glass on the nightstand was more than half-spilled. Next to it lay a few white tablets that looked like vitamin supplements.

On the other side, Gu Jia’s gaze was also fixed on the drugs Jiang Wen had provided. Zhao Yisen’s words echoed incessantly in his ears: I definitely don’t “not like you” anymore.

Gu Jia felt his insides sinking. He realized that listening to Zhao Yisen required a great deal of courage because these sweet words from a viper were so intoxicating like the forbidden fruit of Eden, tempting him to lay down his arms and surrender.

However, this only ignited the cruelty in his heart.

The master bedroom was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The drug Jiang Wen gave required three hours to take effect, and Gu Jia happened to have a high-dosage experimental bottle in his pocket that a manager at Yuanjiang had secretly slipped him.

Gu Jia expressionlessly pulled the other white bottle from his pocket, intending to swap them, when a pale wrist suddenly entered his field of vision.

By the bed, Zhao Yisen stretched out his arm, grabbed the water glass, and with total initiative snatched up the pills and swallowed them in one gulp.

Having done this, he lay back down obediently, tucked himself in, and stared at Gu Jia with those large, watery eyes.

Gu Jia: “…”

Pocketing his own bottle, he let out a cold sneer. “Heh.”

Zhao Yisen: …?

The sky outside was pitch black. Gu Jia decided to stay the night. Assistant Jiang, well-prepared as always, had brought along the office laptop and documents. After leaving the master bedroom, Gu Jia headed straight for the study.

Zhao Yisen felt he was in the wrong. Given Gu Jia’s “bristling” state, he didn’t dare go and coax him directly. He could only lie in bed staring at the ceiling, grumbling silently to himself.

Handsome, yes, but what a temper. Truly, no one is perfect not even 2D characters.

As he thought, he drifted into a deep sleep.

When he woke up again, it was still dark outside. Zhao Yisen rubbed his head, feeling a bit dizzy.

What time is it?

He habitually reached under his pillow, only to realize his phone was missing.

The bedside lamp was very dim. There was no TV in the room, but there was a radio on the small table. Bored, he began to fiddle with it.

He pressed play, and after the static cleared, a pleasant voice emerged. Following a pop song came the classic weather report.

[After the super typhoon “Maria” left the city, it gradually weakened into a tropical depression. As of 18:00 today, it dissipated in the Siming Mountains, several hundred kilometers away…]

Uninterested in the weather, Zhao Yisen flicked through several stations, skipping ads and late-night talk shows. He froze when he heard a few familiar names.

[Lu Real Estate has purchased a plot of land in the city’s outskirts for a high price to develop a villa complex. However, their raw material supplier recently halted deliveries, bringing development to a standstill. Lu Real Estate is facing a dual crisis of credit and asset bankruptcy…]

[It is reported that Lu Real Estate’s supplier is a subsidiary of the Gu Group. Currently, many workers and villa owners have gathered at the Gu Group headquarters to protest, expressing dissatisfaction with this breach of trust.]

[Some even believe the Gu Group’s move was intentional, aimed at suppressing small and medium-sized companies to monopolize the local real estate industry…]

The dull voice of the business radio host sent a jolt of energy through Zhao Yisen. After a string of jargon, he caught the key phrases: supply cutoff, Lu Real Estate facing bankruptcy, Gu Group triggering public backlash.

“…”

A pale, chubby “soul” practically drifted out of Zhao Yisen’s mouth.

So many messy things had happened at the company while he was heartlessly playing games for three days. No wonder Gu Jia’s face looked so terrible.

He felt a wave of embarrassment and shame.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhao Yisen threw back the covers and climbed out of bed quietly.

He pushed the door open. Moonlight spilled onto the floor from the window at the end of the corridor. The gap under the study door glowed with a faint light. He crept along the wall, carefully scanned his surroundings, and peeked through the crack.

A dark desk was positioned by the study window. An open laptop emitted a weak glow next to a thick stack of documents. As a breeze blew in, a fountain pen resting on the papers moved slightly.

Gu Jia was staring at the screen, flipping through the heavy reports and plans. His expression was indifferent, yet there was an indescribable air of exhaustion in his features. The only sound in the room was the sharp rustle of pages being turned.

“…Young Master Yi?”

Zhao Yisen was watching intently when a ghostly voice suddenly came from behind him, making him jump.

He turned to see Assistant Jiang holding a cup of hot tea, his glasses fogged up, peering at him.

Jiang Mingze offered a “customer service” smile. “Is there something you need? Should I go in and tell President Gu for you?”

Zhao Yisen waved his hands frantically. “No, no need.”

“Uh…” He hesitated for a moment before asking, “Assistant Jiang, has something happened at the company lately?”

Holding the tea, Jiang Mingze’s expression looked troubled. The orders he had received lately made it hard to gauge President Gu’s true attitude toward Young Master Yi, but…

Seeing Zhao Yisen’s worried look, Jiang Mingze made up his mind.

In any case, Young Master Yi and President Gu were husbands in name. Ever since the Lu Real Estate matter blew up, President Gu had been wasting away day by day. This couldn’t continue.

Coming to a decision, he briefly explained the difficulties the company was facing.

Recently, after the Gu Group cut the supply to the villa project, Lu Real Estate which should have had no way to fight back was supposed to go bankrupt immediately. But now, instead of folding, they had hired a mob to blow the situation out of proportion. Now, neither side could find a way to end it.

Jiang Mingze carefully offered a suggestion: “Young Master Yi, if you could ask Master Yi to intervene, things might settle down.”

Zhao Yisen: “…”

I’d love to, but I don’t even know my “old man’s” full name yet. Asking for a favor would be a bit presumptuous.

Zhao Yisen gave a polite smile. “I understand.”

He peeked into the room again and saw that Gu Jia had slumped over the desk, appearing to have fallen asleep.

The intimidating aura of a “Big Boss” weakened significantly in sleep. Zhao Yisen felt a tug at his heart. After thanking Assistant Jiang, he slipped into the study.

Gu Jia’s head was rested on his arm. Even in sleep, his brow was slightly furrowed, looking heavily burdened. Zhao Yisen circled around him and saw several signed documents under the man’s wrist.

He focused his gaze. “Raw Materials,” “Divestment,” “Stock Price.” The words jumped out at him.

He really was dealing with the Lu Real Estate mess.

Zhao Yisen reached out and gently pressed the paper, skimming through the events. He thought to himself that if things continued this way, it would truly be a case of “killing a thousand enemies but losing eight hundred of your own.”

“Finished reading?”

Gu Jia’s voice suddenly rang in his ear. The next moment, Zhao Yisen’s wrist was slammed hard against the desk.

“Sss—ah!”

He stumbled, pinned against the table.

“…”

In truth, Gu Jia had discovered Zhao Yisen the moment he crept to the door. He had faked sleep specifically to see what Zhao Yisen intended to do. He just hadn’t expected the youth to be so bold as to practically snatch corporate secrets from his hand.

Zhao Yisen’s face was an unnatural shade of red. Gu Jia gripped his wrist tightly, feeling the pulse thrumming beneath his fingertips. For a split second, he felt he was truly “raising a tiger to be his own undoing.”

The original owner’s body was as fragile as cardboard. With just a slight twist from Gu Jia, Zhao Yisen’s wrist instantly turned red. He squinted and hissed “ow, ow, ow” for a long time before the man finally let go.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Zhao Yisen stepped back two paces, meeting the President’s piercing gaze. Just as he was trying to figure out how to explain himself, a sharp thwack sounded the document he had just been peeking at was slapped into his chest.

Gu Jia’s voice was frigid. “If you want to see something, look at it right in front of me.”

“…”

Zhao Yisen didn’t dare. He was starting to figure out the patterns: cold voice, few words—this was the precursor to a Big Boss’s explosion.

He carefully pushed the document back onto the desk and gave a bitter smile. “President Gu, that wouldn’t be right… I think I’ll go back to sleep…”

As he pushed the paper forward, it happened to knock over the white medicine bottle sitting next to the laptop.

Gu Jia expressionlessly picked up the bottle and slammed it onto the desk with a thump, nearly denting the wood.

Outside the door, Assistant Jiang was having trouble breathing, his hand gripping the doorframe as if ready to rush in and save a life at any moment.

Zhao Yisen: “…”

Under such pressure, he had no choice but to pick up the document and read it from beginning to end. He discovered that while the file was nominally a report, it was actually a protest letter from the board of directors.

The villa project Lu Real Estate was developing had somehow formed a partnership with several “Old Money” families in the city. After the materials were cut off, the companies under those families declared that if Gu Jia persisted, they would not renew their contracts with the Gu Group next year. Consequently, the directors had jointly petitioned Gu Jia to immediately resume the supply to Lu Real Estate.

Zhao Yisen frowned slightly.

Setting aside how a newly established company like Lu Real Estate had such powerful backing, even if those Old Money families wanted to help, they could have just sent the materials themselves. Why go through the trouble of making threats?

It seemed they simply wanted to force Gu Jia to bow his head and admit fault.

Zhao Yisen had a different kind of charm when he was thinking seriously. With one hand holding the file and the other propped under his chin, he looked like a decisive young nobleman.

After flipping through all the pages, he slowly looked up, feeling that the name “Lu Real Estate” sounded somewhat familiar.

Gu Jia sat motionless behind the desk. “Lu Ming also met with you that day.”

The man’s voice was heavy with meaning.

Zhao Yisen’s gaze went blank: …Oh boy.

Then, Gu Jia paused, his gaze as deep as a cold pool as he looked at his ex-husband’s beautiful face. “He must have asked you to come and plead for mercy on his behalf.”

…Haha, I almost forgot about that!

Zhao Yisen remained silent. Gu Jia took it as an admission, and his voice grew even colder. “Carrots and sticks, I see.”

He tightened his grip on the white medicine bottle, the murderous intent in his eyes almost tangible. He was about to tell Zhao Yisen to get out.

The next moment, the youth quickly denied it: “I didn’t come to plead for him.”

“…”

The tension in the air eased slightly. Gu Jia looked up to meet his eyes.

Zhao Yisen’s heart was beating fast, but his expression was candid. As his old literature teacher once said: if you don’t know the answer to the question, at least have a proper attitude earn some impression points first.

“Oh?”

Gu Jia narrowed his eyes and let go of the medicine bottle. He stared directly into Zhao Yisen’s eyes, the aura radiating from him becoming even more dangerous.

“Then what did you come here for?”