Chapter 6: Troubles Arise

In her previous life, it was also at the beginning of her second year in high school that her best friend Fang Xue met the transfer student Chen Jiazhi. Fang Xue gave up her dream of becoming a singer to work behind the scenes, composing hundreds of hit songs for Chen Jiazhi. Yet in the end, she was cruelly betrayed, viciously attacked across the internet, and jumped from a high-rise building.

At that time, she had already been admitted to a sanatorium and could only learn of Fang Xue’s death through fragmented news reports.

If she hadn’t been manipulated by Lin Zhiyi to sever ties with Fang Xue, perhaps Fang Xue wouldn’t have ended up so isolated and helpless.

This time, she was determined to help Fang Xue fulfill her dream of stardom.

Gu Huaijin took out a new phone and a card, handing them to her. “If you want to buy anything, just have someone get it for you. If anything tricky comes up and you can’t reach me, call Assistant Chen.”

Qiao Weiwei looked at the card in surprise.

This wasn’t a supplementary card but a primary card issued solely to her, granting her complete control over it.

“Thank you, Uncle,” she said without hesitation, accepting the phone and card. “I will definitely repay you doubly in the future.”

From what she knew, Gu Corporation would soon face several problematic projects. In her previous life, Gu Zhiyuan had used this as a pretext to join other shareholders in ousting Gu Huaijin from the company.

She was determined to help her uncle avoid that fate.

In the following week, Gu Huaijin came to the hospital after work. At first, things felt awkward, but gradually she felt much more at ease.

Qiao Weiwei, relying on her memory, found the game acquisition deal Gu Corporation was currently pursuing.

This female-oriented game had only been launched six months ago but quickly became a sensation with its exquisite art style and unique storyline. At its peak, its daily revenue reached 100 million yuan. To capture the female market, Gu Corporation’s first choice was this game, “Spirit Demon Legend.”

However, shortly after the acquisition, someone exposed online that the original development team consisted of five female college students who were kicked out after the game’s success. The game’s quality rapidly declined.

Players began quitting en masse, and some even dragged Gu Corporation into the scandal, resulting in a furious wave of backlash against the company.

On the day of her discharge, Gu Huaijin personally came to pick her up.

In the car, she opened the game and casually complained, “Why is the second half of the story and character design so much worse? It doesn’t feel like the same team made it.”

Qiao Weiwei didn’t turn off the background sound, and Chen Li immediately recognized “Spirit Demon Legend.”

He asked, “Miss Qiao, you play this game too?”

Qiao Weiwei nodded. “Yes. At first, the heroine sought true love, but after many trials, she decided to become a demon lord. The plot and gameplay were very novel.”

She shifted her tone. “But now, the main storyline barely updates. The male characters’ card designs keep appearing one after another, and their dialogue is increasingly cheesy. It feels like the planning team has been taken over, leaving only empty shells.”

“Some people online even say this company is ungrateful—once the game became popular, they kicked out the original team.”

Hearing this, Chen Li grew alert and looked at Gu Huaijin. “Mr. Gu, should we conduct a background check?”

Gu Huaijin nodded.

With the objective achieved, Qiao Weiwei breathed a silent sigh of relief.

“How do you know so much?” Gu Huaijin asked, his gaze scrutinizing her.

She cleared her throat and said confidently, “Uncle, please don’t doubt the instincts of a devoted fan. When fans get serious, they’re even sharper than Sherlock Holmes.”

Fortunately, her acting was convincing enough that the man did not press further.

That evening, Chen Li returned to the villa with a new round of background checks.

He nervously reported, “Mr. Gu, what Miss Qiao said is true. The original team was actually removed from the company a month ago and is now gathering evidence to sue.”

Seeing the investigation results, Chen Li felt despair.

The departments below seemed incompetent to allow such a huge blunder.

Mr. Gu was always meticulous about work; this quarter’s bonus was probably gone.

He continued, “I also discovered a recent 50 million yuan transfer by the manager of the gaming department responsible for the acquisition, with the payer listed as Young Master Gu.”

“Thanks to Miss Qiao’s warning, otherwise, if the acquisition had gone through, your position in Gu Corporation would definitely be threatened.”

“I’m notifying the legal department to halt the acquisition immediately.”

However, Gu Huaijin sat with his long legs tucked under the desk, his expression calm. “The acquisition proceeds as planned.”

“Why?” Chen Li was baffled.

Gu Zhiyuan said lightly, “He’s ruining Gu Corporation. What does that have to do with me?”

Upon hearing this, Chen Li immediately understood.

When the old master of the Gu family passed away, he left all shares to Madam Gu but stipulated that if anything happened to her, all shares would transfer to Gu Zhiyuan, with no relation to Gu Huaijin.

No matter how much effort Gu Huaijin put in, he was essentially working for others.

There was no denying that, apart from Madam Gu, the rest of the Gu family were ungrateful wolves.

When Gu Corporation nearly collapsed, it was Gu Huaijin who saved it. Yet after only three years, they were eager for a change of leadership.

“Also, get in touch with the original creative team and negotiate a deal under the name of Huanling.”

“Understood.”

The old truly are the craftiest.

...

Qiao Weiwei followed Gu Huaijin to the villa. The room was on the second floor. When she opened the door, she was struck by how identical the decor was to her own home.

Glass cabinets displayed every plush toy and figurine her parents had bought for her birthday each year, not a single one missing.

It felt as if her mother would push open the door any second to call her to dinner.

Half the walk-in closet was filled with the latest fashion pieces, while the other half held her old clothes.

On the bed lay two blue velvet gift boxes containing the newest school uniform and a computer.

Her vision blurred; she had only wanted a refuge but never expected her uncle to be so thoughtful.

Glancing at the time, it was just dinner time.

Excited, Qiao Weiwei dashed to the kitchen to prepare her uncle’s favorite simple noodle soup.

The butler and maids were horrified and tried to stop her.

“Miss Qiao, Rosewood Manor’s wages are several times higher than usual households, but this master of wealth has an extremely picky palate and many dietary restrictions. The daily menu has to be changed a dozen times.”

“If you suddenly change the menu, I’m afraid Mr. Gu will fly into a rage.”

Workers cared most about their wages; messing with that was like threatening their lives.

Qiao Weiwei pondered briefly and agreed it made sense. She proposed, “You do your cooking, I’ll do mine. After it’s ready, Uncle can choose for himself. That way, you won’t be troubled.”

So the two groups busied themselves separately in the kitchen, not disturbing one another.

Soon the noodles were ready. Qiao Weiwei ran upstairs and knocked on the study door.

“Uncle, I made a bowl of simple noodle soup. Please give it a try.”

Chen Li found this amusing.

Mr. Gu was accustomed to delicacies prepared by five-star chefs. How could he be interested in a plain bowl of noodles?

Yet to everyone’s surprise, Gu Huaijin nodded and followed Qiao Weiwei downstairs.