E-Scum Gong Chapter 21 (Part 2)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 21 (2/2)
At seven in the evening, the cocktail party began on time, with glasses clinking and lively conversation filling the room.
Gu Jinzhi, now a working adult, had naturally been dragged along by his older brother to see the world. He looked at the well-dressed businessmen at the party with little enthusiasm.
So he chose to sit in a corner, eating desserts and occasionally chatting with Amour.
His boyfriend seemed to have a work presentation to give tomorrow and needed to polish the draft tonight, then get a good night's sleep. Gu Jinzhi felt a pang of resentment but remembered how his partner had adjusted his sleep schedule for him, so he stayed supportive.
To make the most of his time, Gu Jinzhi lounged in his chair, scrolling on his phone until a group of people walked towards him.
The leader of the group was Shen Qian. He was also a rich second-generation, but his family was a few tiers below the Gu family. He'd been classmates with Gu Jinzhi since middle school and had always tried to ingratiate himself with Gu Jinzhi.
Gu Jinzhi used to give him face in everything. Shen Qian had benefited from Gu Jinzhi’s previous generosity and his little followers had also gained plenty from him. However, during university, Shen Qian’s close association with that idiot who pursued him to his face but insulted him behind his back caused Gu Jinzhi to distance himself from Shen Qian.
Of course, after that incident, Shen Qian wisely cut off ties with that person.
"Second Young Master Gu, long time no see," Shen Qian said, ingratiatingly sitting across from him.
"Do you need something from me?" Gu Jinzhi didn't even look up. He disliked this kind of fence-sitter who only looked out for his own interests.
Shen Qian felt embarrassed hearing Gu Jinzhi’s blunt remark but still replied obsequiously, “I have someone who wants to enter the entertainment industry. Could she possibly become a trainee at Second Young Master Gu’s company?”
With many siblings and strained family relationships, Shen Qian had little influence and wasn’t involved in the industry. Recently, he had become quite fond of his new girlfriend and had promised her this opportunity, so he came to beg Gu Jinzhi for help.
Gu Jinzhi finally glanced at him and sneered, “Don’t you know that I hold grudges?”
Shen Qian knew that Gu Jinzhi was in a bad mood, so he quickly flattered him, "I haven't been associated with that idiot for a long time, and my friends have distanced themselves from him too. I naturally look up to you.”
“Sycophant,” Gu Jinzhi said coldly, making Shen Qian’s face darken, though he still managed a smile.
Nevertheless, it was just a small favor and their families had some business dealings. Gu Jinzhi waved his hand and said, “Have her come to my company at her convenience. If her qualifications are decent, she can join.”
Shen Qian beamed with joy and showered Gu Jinzhi with praises before leaving.
Gu Jinzhi knew that Shen Qian was probably cursing him in his mind, but he enjoyed showing his displeasure. If he didn't like someone, he made it obvious. In the entire capital's social circle, few genuinely liked him, but with his family’s wealth and his own assets, he lived freely and could afford to be arrogant. Everyone else had to put up with his attitude.
Gu Jinzhi wasn't a villain either. With a casual flick of his finger, he would casually give out a lot of benefits.
Nearby, he saw his older brother conversing with the general manager of Lin Real Estate. As a titan in the capital's real estate market, Lin Real Estate enjoyed a status comparable to the powerful Gu Corporation. Moreover, since their industries didn’t overlap, they coexisted without competition, maintaining a tacit agreement of non-interference.
It was likely that Amour was just a small-time employee at a real estate company, but perhaps he had heard of Lin Real Estate.
He asked, “Gege, I heard from a friend that Lin Real Estate is very famous in the capital. Since you're in that industry, do you know about it?”
Lin Xu, who was reviewing his speech in his room, felt a pang of unease upon reading this. He knew that sooner or later, Zhizhi would ask him about such things.
“I’ve heard a bit about it,” Lin Xu replied vaguely, though his mind was a jumble of confusion.
Gu Jinzhi pondered this. He knew Lin Xu was just an ordinary employee, but he was unsure how to expose this fact. Moreover, given how severe the overtime was at Lin Xu’s company, Gu Jinzhi’s mind began to hatch a plan. If possible, he wanted to invite Lin Xu to work at his own company in the future. That way, both of them could enjoy a comfortable, regular work schedule and see each other daily, chatting face-to-face.
Meeting face-to-face, however, seemed like a distant prospect.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Xu asked nervously.
Gu Jinzhi did not dare to delve further into the topic, considering that he was supposed to be a college student who didn’t know much.
They had tacitly avoided discussing video calls, let alone offline meetings. Besides, Lin Xu had been transferred to the branch office in Jiang City, making any accidental meetings quite difficult.
As this thought crossed his mind, Gu Jinzhi decided to check with his assistant via WeChat. “Xiao Liu, do we have any business in Jiang City?”
The reply came quickly, “There’s a project coming up soon that will require a visit, but the department manager can handle it. There’s no need for the general manager to get involved.”
Gu Jinzhi’s heart raced slightly, but he thought it was absurd to be fantasizing about a face-to-face meeting. They hadn’t even been honest with each other yet… He forced himself to ignore it, dismissing the thought with a casual, “Oh, I see.”
The image of the other person in his mind had become a bit more concrete. He pictured him as ordinary-looking young man with a great physique, someone he probably wouldn't notice in a crowd. Gu Jinzhi wouldn’t have imagined having a special relationship with such a person before, but now, he automatically gave him a full-body filter that made this ordinary man seem extraordinary. He found himself reluctant to let their connection fade away.
It wasn’t just about fearing of losing face in the group. It was a pure reluctance to lose contact.
Gu Jinzhi felt a pang of disappointment when he thought about how Lin Xu was just going about his work without any intention of making a breakthrough. He took a deep breath and calmed himself.
Bored, he snapped a photo of a dessert and sent it. “This little cake is delicious~”
“Is it sweet?”
“Sweet.” Unfortunately, only he could taste it.
In the early hours of the morning, a shocking piece of news exploded in the group chat.
Amour was revealed to be a fraud.
His identity was fabricated. He wasn’t the wealthy bachelor he claimed to be. All the photos he used were fake, and if he needed to pretend to have a wealthy family, that meant his real family background must not be very good.
Amour's halo evaporated instantly when he was exposed as a poor man who cheated and deceived people.
The Sherlock Holmes in the group who discovered this were still actively discussing the revelation late into the night, relentlessly tagging Amour.
Meanwhile, Lin Xu, in order to fully prepare for his speech the next day, had fallen asleep peacefully. Gu Jinzhi, knowing that Lin Xu needed to get an early night, also fell asleep while playing games.
The issue had started when Zoe shared pictures from a vacation at a luxury hotel, opening everyone's eyes. Although most of them lived in the capital, many were not locals and didn't have the opportunity to stay in such a high-end hotel.
It was then that everyone realized Zoe was a wealthy individual, only keeping it hidden until now.
Therefore, his image grew even more impressive in the eyes of the group.
A man with a handsome face, impressive abs, wealth, and low-key personality seemed far superior compared to Amour.
However, some of Amour’s former admirers noticed something odd about the photos, finding them vaguely familiar.
“I think I’ve seen this somewhere before… Wait, isn’t Amour’s backdrop in the photo similar to this?”
Zoe expressed surprise, “But this is the Jiashang Hotel, a five-star resort under Lin Real Estate. How could it belong to anyone else? You must be mistaken…”
Then, old photos of Amour were pulled up again by the group members, clearly showing the same location.
They had never stayed at that hotel before, so they were kept in the dark until now.
“So it was a resort hotel. I thought the environment was too good to be true. I really believed Amour’s family is very wealthy…”
“So Amour is a fraud. I’m starting to doubt whether his photos even show his real face!”
“Previously, when Amour chatted with me privately, he asked to borrow money, which he still hasn’t paid back. It’s a pity that he found a cp afterward, so I deleted him. Was I scammed?” an anonymous group member said.
Over the course of one night, no one came forward to explain, and the matter fermented rapidly.
Now, Amour’s image had transformed into that of a broke, unattractive, and greasy old man who had even scammed money from group members — and perhaps more.
The group admin, who was a pretty decent person, began to have doubts. Seeing the evidence laid out, he became concerned for Gu Jinzhi, worried that he might have been deceived.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t friends with Gu Jinzhi, so he could only @ him to ask if he was aware of the situation.
Zoe, the instigator, watched the group explode with activity. If Amour was just a fraud, then who could compare to him?
The next morning, Lin Xu went to the school gym as usual, pleased to feel his abdominal muscles becoming firmer. He briefly glanced at the group chat and ignored it if there were no private messages from Gu Jinzhi.
Later, the entire senior year gathered at the sports field for the oath-taking ceremony, which was very grand. Not only were all the senior teachers present, but there were also some local media from Jiang City. After all, Jiang University Affiliated High School was one of the top four prestigious schools in Jiang City.
Lin Xu, in his blue and white school uniform, sat on the bleachers, surrounded by the largest crowd he had ever seen since transmigrating into this world, making him feel a bit anxious.
The two classes next to theirs were Class 2 and Class 10. Class 2 was an experimental class, while Class 10, like theirs, was an ordinary class.
The students in Class 2 were quite proud. They sat upright, facing the sunlight without blinking, looking very poised. They even held books in their hands and refrained from whispering.
In contrast, most of the students in Class 9 and Class 10 were chatting and laughing among themselves, showing no airs. The student from Class 10 who was about to go on stage was a girl with a short haircut, looking diligent and hardworking as she silently reviewed her notes.
A large screen was set up on the stage, and once the equipment was in place, it displayed images of students from a certain class.
Some students, unprepared, were caught on cam sneaking snacks, unwittingly providing much-needed comic relief for the entire year level.
Seeing this, Lin Xu immediately turned his head to avoid the camera. He briefly made eye contact with a boy from Class 2 — the class monitor Wu Zijun had mentioned. The boy stared at him for a few moments. Remembering Wu Zijun's nonsense, Lin Xu quickly looked away, lowering his head.
Such scenes were truly terrifying.
Lin Xu’s upright posture and striking appearance quickly drew attention from the students in the adjacent classes.
Students from Class 10 openly stared and even started discussing him, while those from Class 2, more aloof, only glanced over with curiosity, surprised to find such a person in Class 9.
In their impression, the students in Class 9 were all pretty average-looking, and they always came in last in any activities. Their cheerleaders were also ordinary.
Lin Xu bit his lip, feeling quite uncomfortable. He even wanted to chat quietly with the classmates next to him to appear more ordinary and blend in, but the words wouldn’t come out. He could only remain still with red ears, looking calm on the outside and pretending not to hear the discussions around him.
“Wow, he’s so fair, he’s glowing!”
“He’s sitting in that spot — does that mean he’ll represent his class? Hehe, we’ll be able to see his face clearly on the big screen.”
“Hey, what’s the name of that guy from your class? I haven’t seen him before.”
Even the students from Class 2 didn't say anything condescending, like 'someone of Lin Xu's level would be at the bottom of our class.' Instead, they leaned in and quietly asked, “Is he going on stage later? Is he always this aloof?”
“Tsk, are you guys from Class 2 actually talking to us now?” A voice from Class 9 carried a hint of pride.
Help! Lin Xu felt incredibly embarrassed.
Fearing that the camera might catch him looking at his phone, he couldn’t chat with Zhizhi to distract himself or draw strength from him.
At that moment, Gu Jinzhi was just waking up and was in danger of being late.
Of course, he greeted Lin Xu good morning first thing, then sat in the car and started scrolling through the group chat. Soon, he realized something was wrong. Many people had tagged him, informing him that Amour was a fraud and had been deceiving him...
Gu Jinzhi hurriedly scrolled through the chat history, fearing that Lin Xu had cheated on him. His heart raced, and he began to feel preemptively angry, ready to confront Lin Xu. Then he saw Zoe’s pictures and the full account of the situation.
He immediately sighed with relief. As long as Lin Xu hadn’t betrayed him, everything else was inconsequential.
However, as he leisurely scrolled through the messages, his anger grew with each passing moment.
He had always known Lin Xu was not wealthy, so he hadn’t paid much attention to it, and he even thought Zoe was butting in too much. But as he came across numerous anonymous posts accusing Lin Xu of scamming people for money and sexual favors, Gu Jinzhi’s anger boiled over.
How could Lin Xu, who wasn’t even in the capital, be involved in such deceit? And why would it involve them? Besides, not daring to post openly and resorting to anonymous accusations seemed like a cheap attempt to take advantage of the situation.
Gu Jinzhi had known Lin Xu for a long time and trusted him completely. He had never flirted with him, so how could he be accused of scamming others for sexual favors? Gu Jinzhi had always suspected Zoe had ulterior motives, and it seemed this time was no different.
Seeing that the group chat was growing more unruly because Lin Xu hadn’t came forward to defend himself, Gu Jinzhi was so angry he could explode.
He coldly commented in the group, “Stop tagging me. I’ve seen everything. For those accusing my boyfriend of scamming, show me the chat records and evidence. I’ll pay triple the amount if you can prove it. Otherwise, shut up.”
Gu Jinzhi didn't lack money, and he believed that Lin Xu would explain everything to him later. Lin Xu was always working hard at these hours, not avoiding the issue as they claimed. Besides, it was him who was supposedly deceived, so why should anyone else be involved?
As soon as Gu Jinzhi spoke up, the anonymous accusers disappeared. While some were tempted by the potential compensation, they had no evidence to back their claims, as Lin Xu had never taken any money.
Asking Gu Jinzhi for a gift was the only move Lin Xu had ever made.
The idea of scamming people for sexual favors was even more ridiculous. They were the ones who had been lusting after him before.
But it turned out that the fierce Zhizhi Mangmang was actually rich. The group they were in was surprisingly full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
Gu Jinzhi was further infuriated to see some people posting ugly photos, claiming they were of Lin Xu. Although he hadn’t seen Lin Xu’s real face, he knew at least that Lin Xu was tall and looked clean and tidy from head to toe. Even if his face was photoshopped, it couldn't be as ugly as that.
“But he’s definitely a fraud.” Zoe was surprised that the drama had settled so quickly without the actual party involved making an appearance. Zoe was envious of how seriously Gu Jinzhi took his online boyfriend and was even willing to pay his debts.
In real life, Gu Jinzhi couldn’t be bothered to help him with his debut.
“Shut up, you shit-stirrer.” Gu Jinzhi didn’t want to engage with Zoe.
Despite his anger, Gu Jinzhi felt a flicker of excitement. Lin Xu’s secret was out, and he didn’t even have to be the one to expose it. Perfect! Perhaps they could finally be more open and honest with each other.
He wondered when he would be able to tell Lin Xu that he wasn’t just a college student.
And most importantly, when could Lin Xu come to work at his company? He definitely wouldn't be a bad boss, and he would often give his boyfriend raises!
***
Translator's Note: Oh, wow, nepotism!~~~ Hello! I hope everyone still remembers my note in chapter 1. That's all, bye!
