Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Aren’t You Hot?
The first weekend after the school term began.
Despite playing games with Deng Bo and the others until the early hours last night, Gu Bai still woke up at 8 in the morning.
His constitution has always been like this, medically referred to as a "short sleeper."
Literally, it means that not much sleep is needed to stay energetic all day. This physique perfectly suits Gu Bai’s playboy persona, after all, a playboy never seems to have enough time.
If a certain jerk ancestor with the surname Luo had this kind of physique, maybe he wouldn’t have such heavy dark circles, and perhaps he wouldn’t have been caught as a jerk. Thinking of that Luo ancestor, Gu Bai was filled with admiration; the title of a master at time management wasn’t just talk.
Seeing that Deng Bo and the others were still asleep, Gu Bai didn’t wake them up. He quietly washed up and then left the dorm room.
As for what to do today, Gu Bai had already planned it out.
Li Zhun had told him a few days ago to visit the company today. Most of the internet celebrities that Yan Xiaobo was supposed to sign had been resolved in recent days as well. It just so happened that today was the weekend, and Gu Bai also planned to check it out. After all, the company belonged to the three of them, and even though he wanted to be a carefree boss, he couldn’t be too over the top. He still needed to pay some attention.
Just as he walked out of the dorm building, he received a message from Qi Man on his phone.
"Senior, where are you?"
Gu Bai wasn’t surprised by her message. These days, as long as she had time, Qi Man would message him to ask about his well-being. Though she was a goddess-level person, she turned herself into a clingy admirer.
Just as Gu Bai was about to reply, he saw Qi Man walking toward him.
"What are you doing here?"
Gu Bai asked with some puzzlement.
"The military training ended, and since I got up early today and had nothing to do on the weekend, I thought you probably haven’t had breakfast yet, so I bought some for you."
She said as she shook the bag in her hand.
The military training at the Shanghai Theatre Academy usually lasts 8-10 days, and this year, because school started later, it was shortened to 7 days.
Looking at the breakfast bag Qi Man handed over, Gu Bai didn’t decline and reached out to take it since he was planning to have breakfast anyway.
The bag contained well-packaged pan-fried buns with soy milk and eggs, information she had gathered indirectly from Gu Bai over the past few days.
For a weekend, 8am was early, but still not devoid of diligent students.
And with her 97-point beauty score, Qi Man was already recognized as the campus belle at the Shanghai Theatre Academy. There were few boys who didn’t know her.
The guys passing by the dormitory entrance looked quite jealous seeing the plainly dressed, innocent-looking Qi Man bringing breakfast for Gu Bai.
Seeing the surrounding boys’ reactions, Qi Man smiled subtly.
This was exactly the effect she wanted.
As long as Gu Bai’s affection for her was well-known at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, she could fend off a large number of competitors and gain an advantage. Though confident in herself, having fewer competitors would slightly increase her chances.
Gu Bai glanced at her, more or less understanding her thought process, but didn’t point it out.
Although he was a playboy, he wasn’t about to maintain just any "fish." If Qi Man was willing to act as a shield for him, Gu Bai was more than happy.
Watching Gu Bai eat the breakfast she bought, Qi Man’s delicate face broke into a smile.
"Senior, why are you up so early? I thought you hadn’t woken up yet."
Gu Bai found her way of addressing him awkwardly, so he replied, "I have something to do today. Also, stop calling me ’senior,’ it sounds odd."
"Then what should I call you? Just like Yiyi, calling you Oni-Chan?"
An imaginary black line appeared on his forehead, and Gu Bai rolled his eyes at her: "Whatever, call me whatever you want."
Qi Man covered her mouth with a smile, stunning the boys next to her.
"Then I’ll just call you Gu Bai, alright?"
"Sure."
"So, what are you planning to do later? Is it important? I’ve never been to Shanghai before and I’m quite bored alone; if it’s not too important, can I join you?"
As a woman with a strong sense of crisis, Qi Man definitely wouldn’t miss any chance to be alone with Gu Bai.
Would being so bold make her seem cheap?
No way. The persistent admirer eventually gets everything.
Gu Bai thought for a moment, decided there was nothing wrong with bringing Qi Man along, and nodded: "If you’re free, just come with me."
"Mm-hmm."
With approval, Qi Man’s eyes squinted with joy.
The two of them then walked shoulder to shoulder toward Gu Bai’s car.
Even though it wasn’t her first time seeing Gu Bai’s sports car, Qi Man couldn’t help but look at it with dreamy eyes.
In fact, most girls couldn’t tell how cool a sports car was, just as men couldn’t differentiate between lipstick shades, but that didn’t stop women from liking sports cars, especially given their value.
After getting in the car, Gu Bai reminded Qi Man to fasten her seatbelt.
As for helping her with it?
No way, that’s what a gentleman would do, and he’s no gentleman.
Even if he wanted to make a move, he’d do it openly, why act like a creep?
And so, with a roar, the sports car left the Shanghai Theatre Academy.
"This is my first time riding in a sports car. I wanted to try it on the registration day, but you took Yiyi then."
Qi Man sat in the car, looking around, her tone a bit sour.
"Next time if you want to ride, just tell me."
Even though it was the weekend, it was still quite congested around eight o’clock, and Gu Bai wasn’t driving very fast.
"Really?"
Qi Man wasn’t one to be subtle; her intentions were always out in the open.
Things like "Oni-Chan, this doesn’t seem appropriate. If I sit in your passenger seat, what would your girlfriend think?" would never come out of her mouth.
Seeing Qi Man’s excited expression, Gu Bai couldn’t help but tease, "Didn’t you notice there’s something wrong with the car?"
"What’s wrong?"
"The air conditioning isn’t cooling well. Aren’t you hot?"
Qi Man had heard this joke before and pretended to give a shy smile.
"Now that you mention it, it does feel a bit hot...
But I’m only wearing a single layer. I can’t just take it off, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to cool off a little too..."
Gu Bai also knew she was joking, and the two shared a knowing smile.
If she really took it off, in broad daylight, even if Qi Man didn’t mind, Gu Bai was afraid he’d get in trouble.
Being with a girl like Qi Man, who doesn’t hide her playful nature, is simple. You express what you want directly, unlike some women who are contradictory; for a lazy person like Gu Bai, that’s too tiring.
More than half an hour later, Gu Bai finally brought Qi Man to the Hu Shang Center Building.
As the tallest building in Shanghai, it was quite majestic, and the surrounding crowd consisted of white-collar workers who worked in the building. Although they often called themselves corporate slaves online, they still dressed appropriately during official work hours.
And don’t think that just because people work in such high-end offices, they don’t work on the weekends.
Don’t be naive.
In Hua Country, apart from civil servants, how many jobs aren’t 996? There are even plenty that are 997.
Gu Bai didn’t feel like parking the car in the underground garage. He found an outdoor parking spot and parked the car there. Although there were a few office workers almost late for work who were in a hurry, they didn’t compete for the parking spot with Gu Bai.
Everyone’s just trying to make a living; there’s no need to clash with Gu Bai over a few minutes. Offending Gu Bai was a minor issue. After all, in a society governed by law, what could Gu Bai really do to him? But if their car accidentally scraped Gu Bai’s, the high repair costs could potentially break a family apart.
Though exaggerated, it’s quite realistic.
After getting out of the car, Qi Man followed Gu Bai into the building.
"Gu Bai, why are you here?"
"Going to the company."
Gu Bai replied briefly, then showed the proof Li Zhun had prepared for him to the security guard, who, in return, escorted him to the internal elevator with respect.
Although there were many elevators in the building, there were even more people waiting for them. When they saw the security guard escort Gu Bai into the internal elevator and thoughtfully press the floor button for him, they looked on with envious eyes.
Gu Bai looked straight ahead, ignoring the attention.
Qi Man was different, though. Why was she so eager for money? Why did she crave entering high society? Wasn’t it for the privilege of service and the admiring glances of others?
In the elevator, Qi Man subtly moved closer to Gu Bai, the faint scent of her perfume lingering in the small space.
"Do you also have a company outside? Is it your family’s business?"
She hadn’t considered the possibility of Gu Bai working for someone else. A wealthy chad who spent tens of thousands in a nightclub as if giving a beggar a coin, working for someone else? Impossible.
The only possibility was that the company belonged to Gu Bai or his family.
"I started a company for fun with some friends."
Gu Bai was being truthful and not pretending.
If he wanted to boast, he could just hint at the company’s value.
In the midst of the conversation, the indicator light for the 30th floor lit up, and the elevator doors opened slowly.
What lay before Gu Bai was the reception area of Xingnai Media.
Unlike other floors, renting in the Central Mansion was indeed very expensive. Except for big companies, few rented an entire floor; many were partitioned and rented by several companies. But never mind that Gu Bai had the support of the system, even Li Zhun and Zhao Weiwei were super rich second-generation kids who wouldn’t care about a few bucks in rent.
"Welcome to Xingnai Media!"
The receptionist speaking was likely hired later, as she didn’t recognize Gu Bai, but greeted him with a warm smile.
The other receptionist, who was playing with her phone, looked up when she heard the voice, quickly stood up, and respectfully called out, "President Gu!"
Gu Bai nodded to them slightly and walked directly into the company.
"President Gu? Xiaoli, who is he?"
The first receptionist to greet Gu Bai asked her companion.
"Why didn’t you notify me? You’ve got me into trouble. This is President Gu, one of the three bosses of our company. If he saw me playing on my phone at work, I’m in big trouble now!"
"Wow! Our company has such a handsome boss?"
The first receptionist had a rather fascinating train of thought.
As for playing on the phone, although Gu Bai saw it, he didn’t mind at all. In contemporary society, it’s quite normal for young people to slack off at work. It would be strange if they didn’t. He didn’t have the time to worry about such things.