E-Scum Gong Chapter 43
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 43
"Did you have a good time at your friend’s place?" Grandma Lin rushed to take her grandson’s bag as soon as he walked through the door.
Compared to the indifferent, even slightly melancholic expression he wore when he left, Grandma Lin felt that her grandson seemed to have become more cheerful. Lin Xu didn’t hesitate to reach out and embrace her, resting his head on her shoulder as he closed his eyes and murmured, "I had a great time, Grandma."
It wasn’t a grand gesture, but Grandma Lin could feel the genuine happiness in him.
"That’s good, that’s good! Have a nice rest, and Grandma will cook your favorite dishes. By the way, your father called to ask when you’re planning to come over."
Though she tried to sound casual, Grandma Lin was still a bit worried. She had overheard something on the phone that made her think her eldest grandson might have gotten hurt, but fortunately, it was nothing serious.
They hadn’t expected her to catch that, and now Grandma Lin didn’t dare to let Lin Xu go to the capital too soon. Should they really tell him the truth right after he graduated? She felt it might still be too early. Lin Xu hadn’t yet developed a mature, healthy personality.
"I’ll wait until the new school term starts..." Lin Xu replied, without much hesitation.
Grandma Lin breathed a sigh of relief. In previous years, her grandson had always pestered her about going to the capital, but now, he didn’t seem as eager anymore, which she thought was a good thing.
When Lin Xu first returned to Jiang City, he didn’t adjust well to the city. He refused to make friends at the kindergarten, calling them poor and dirty. He also didn’t like the food she cooked, and would always begged her to take him out for fast food. He was completely unmanageable, a little tyrant.
Back then, Grandma Lin was furious with her son, blaming him and his wife for spoiling the child and raising him poorly. She feared that if this continued, even she might end up disliking her grandson. In contrast, Lin Shen, who had been raised in their hometown, was a gentle and well-behaved child.
But when she thought about that incident, Grandma Lin found it impossible to stay angry with her grandson.
It had taken quite an effort to turn Lin Xu around at the beginning. He was young and spoiled, seeing flaws in everything and everyone around him.
After the birth of their second child, Lin Xu’s parents initially planned to keep him close because he was still so young. They thought they’d bring their older son to live with them once Lin Xu was a bit older. But with the Lin family’s business on the rise, they didn’t have the energy to spend time with their children every day. So, when Lin Xu hit a child on the head with a toy one day, they finally realized they had a problem on their hands. Things couldn’t continue like this.
The subsequent accident became the key turning point in their thinking.
When Lin Xu first came to Jiang City, he wouldn’t stop talking about going to the capital to find his parents. He remembered that his parents were wealthy, and their villa had been so full of toys that there was barely room to store them all. But in Jiang City, he had to live in a "broken house" and play with kids who didn’t know anything.
At that time, Grandpa Lin and Grandma Lin could only try to teach him that his parents weren’t rich, just ordinary people, and that Grandpa and Grandma would still buy him toys, but he had to learn to share them with other children.
But the truth was, life in Jiang City couldn’t compare to the standards he was used to in the capital.
Even in elementary school, Lin Xu still suspected that his family was lying to him, that they just wanted him to suffer.
As he grew older, his memories of those early years gradually faded. When his older brother finished high school in Jiang City and went to university in the capital, Lin Xu finally began to accept reality.
Every year, when they went home for the New Year, his parents looked just like ordinary people, with nothing about them to suggest otherwise.
Accepting that his family was ordinary was difficult for the original Lin Xu, and he never really did. Despite having everything he needed, he couldn't help but compare himself to other, wealthier kids.
The entire family felt they had wronged Lin Xu during his childhood, and as a result, they hesitated to be strict with him, fearing he might rebel. Their only wish was for him to grow up safely. Being parents didn’t come with a perfect formula, and though their intentions had been good, they had certainly made mistakes.
When Lin Xu returned to his room and pulled out his phone, it felt as if he had been transported back to earlier days. His message groups were flooded with hundreds of unread messages.
He had no interest in looking at them. Gu Jinzhi was being mean, sending him screenshots from the group chat where he was mocking Amour, and adding a "hahahaha" emoji.
The group members were thrilled about the change in the group admin's boyfriend. Especially after hearing Gu Jinzhi describe his new boyfriend as a young fresh meat, everyone was even more curious. They thought he was a significant improvement over Amour, that self-important guy.
Lin Xu was the one being praised and criticized in equal measure, while only he felt hurt by it.
Zhizhi Mangmang: “Hahaha, if they knew it was all about you, they would be so embarrassed.” After all, they had criticized Lin Xu multiple times in the group.
Lin Xu thought it was all thanks to Gu Jinzhi’s sick sense of humor. Yet, he didn’t mind the online opinions as he had never known these people personally.
The conversation had initially centered around Amour, but soon shifted to Zoe.
It had been a long time since Lin Xu had heard Zoe’s name. After learning that Zoe had started dating someone new, he hadn't paid any more attention to him, or rather, he didn't have the chance to. Hearing them discuss Zoe again piqued his curiosity. Did Zoe skip past Gu Jinzhi and go directly to the original shou, the movie emperor?
Today, he heard there was a group event happening offline, and Zoe and his new partner were attending.
"Honestly, if I had a boyfriend like that, I’d show him off too," someone commented in the group chat, referring to Zoe’s boyfriend bringing him out.
Zoe's boyfriend, Zhao Tao, seemed to be quite vain. He was so satisfied with Zoe that he wanted to show him off. But he didn't allow everyone to take photos of him, because Zhao Tao knew that he was going to debut as an idol in the future.
Zhao Tao felt more comfortable with his celebrity status.
As the head of an entertainment company, he had access to many young stars, but nearing his forties, he had grown weary of casual flings and wanted something genuine. He understood that people who attached themselves to him were often opportunistic, and he was fine with the occasional fling.
Therefore, Zoe, whom he met online, perfectly fit his preferences. Zoe fell in love with him without knowing who he was, and he was also a trainee with great potential. With his support, Zoe could become a big star who only had eyes for him.
Zhao Tao developed a genuine affection for him. Knowing that Zoe had been questioned in the group before, Zhao Tao naturally wanted to defend his boyfriend's honor. So he simply hosted a high-end event at an expensive club. He couldn't bring so many people in if he wasn't a platinum member.
At the offline event, Zhao Tao and Zoe were definitely the center of attention.
Zhao Tao showcased his wealth, and Zoe lived up to his reputation as a heavenly dish. Though he wasn’t at the absolute pinnacle of attractiveness, his looks and physique were top-notch among the 1s, which was already quite rare.
During the event, Zoe displayed complete devotion to Zhao Tao like a loyal dog, which aroused everyone's envy.
After returning home, they all cried about it in the group.
“If I had known Zoe was this handsome, I would have gone for him right away!”
“To be honest, I think Zhao Tao is a bit too old...” They didn’t fully know Zhao Tao’s background. Their work didn't overlap, and they didn't need to rely on him, so they were a bit jealous.
There were still some well-off 0s in the group.
“Wasn’t Zoe interested in Zhizhi Mangmang before? How did his taste change so much?” someone with a good memory asked.
One was a college student, and the other an older man. The only common ground seemed to be that they were both wealthy, though this wasn’t known at first.
“Hahahahaha, it feels like Zoe is a lucky charm. Whoever he’s interested in turns out to be secretly rich,” another 1 mocked.
Not everyone was poor and had to grovel at the feet of the rich.
Yan Yang, eager to maintain Zhao Tao’s favor, stepped in, “Um, please watch your words. I was merely polite with the group admin and had no ulterior motives.” As for the insinuation that he was after money, Yan Yang didn't reply. He believed Zhao Tao would understand.
“Alright, alright, let’s not be jealous. Zoe is just a great-looking guy! If it were me, I’d also be willing to support him. Besides, he seems to be in decent shape, though my real preference is Lin Xu-didi~” This person preferred innocent, younger men.
Gu Jinzhi: Oh.
Lin Xu: ...Oh.
Gu Jinzhi: “I know Lin Xu-didi in real life. He’s still young and doesn’t like people talking about him, so let’s all try to be a bit more restrained from now on.”
Sour.
But at the same time, Gu Jinzhi still felt a bit smug. It was quite exhilarating to flaunt a boyfriend like that!
“Really? Group admin, you actually know him? That’s amazing, considering you two didn't have any connection.”
Gu Jinzhi: Thanks, but I'm not that amazing. It only took me three months to connect.
“We were just chatting casually. Don’t let it bother didi. We know he's still young.”
Gu Jinzhi: Hehehe, he may be young, but he’s already been claimed.
“Oh, and please don’t spread rumors about me and Zoe. My boyfriend might get jealous!” Gu Jinzhi, the drama queen, added.
After sending the message in the group, Gu Jinzhi privately messaged Lin Xu: “Hurry up and say you're jealous.”
Lin Xu: He's not jealous at all, this drama queen.
“Sorry to bother everyone.” Had to go along with Zhizhi’s words.
For Yan Yang, distancing himself from the situation was actually beneficial, but he still felt a bit dissatisfied. He knew that Gu Jinzhi was a much bigger catch than Zhao Tao, but since he couldn't successfully pursue him, he had to give up.
But this was just an online identity. In fact, it could still be changed in the future.
“Sorry for causing you trouble,” Yan Yang politely apologized to Gu Jinzhi, tagging him in the message.
Unfortunately, Gu Jinzhi had already seen through his true nature and couldn’t be bothered to respond. It was just as they said, luck plays a big role in online dating. Gu Jinzhi considered himself very fortunate.
Someone else lamented, “At least Zoe is really handsome.”
“Amour is pretty average. It seems the group admin doesn’t have the best taste.”
Zhizhi Mangmang: “Tsk, no no no, my boyfriend is very handsome.” His standards were actually quite high.
The others thought Gu Jinzhi hadn’t seen many truly good-looking guys. He had a knack for defending ugly ones. He had defended Amour before too, and look how that turned out. They still broke up.
“It’s a shame you didn’t attend the offline gathering today...”
“...I’ll show you all the world someday,” Gu Jinzhi replied, feeling a bit exasperated, but he couldn’t deny he enjoyed pretending to be a pig to prey on the tiger.
After the usual daily banter in the group, Gu Jinzhi turned to his work.
Though he spent a good portion of his time on his younger boyfriend, he knew he couldn’t slack off too much.
That afternoon, he attended an online mid-month review meeting, where the main agenda was for his team in the capital to report on their work over the past two weeks.
One minor issue reported was that the captain of the trainee boy group had been poached by another company, which had paid the contract termination fee to lure him away.
Gu Jinzhi remembered him because he didn’t have a good impression of Yan Yang. If he left, so be it. It wasn’t a big deal for the company. There were plenty of trainees, and those who were indecisive weren’t worth much.
After the work report was finished, Gu Jinzhi stretched and lounged on his bed, playing on his phone. He wondered if it would be too much to ask his boyfriend out again tonight, even though they had only parted ways not long ago.
Just then, he suddenly received a message from his older brother: “Jinzhi, when are you coming back?”
His heart skipped a beat, and tension gripped his entire body.
What should he do…? If his older brother found out he was having too much fun, he might break his legs. But then again, this wasn’t the first time he had gone back on his word. His older brother should understand him by now, right?
Gu Jinzhi gaslighted himself.
Suddenly, he remembered something important and searched for a while before finding 001's WeChat contact. He felt relieved that he hadn’t deleted it yet.
“001, you didn’t tell my big brother about the person I asked you to investigate, did you?” He was pretty sure he hadn’t, otherwise, his older brother wouldn’t have just sent a simple message.
“Mr. Gu didn’t ask,” 001 replied, implying that if he had, the answer might have been different.
001 was nothing if not dedicated, seemingly available 24/7, always ready to make money.
Gu Jinzhi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly added, "If my big brother asks you anything, don’t tell him. You’re obligated to keep your client's information confidential!"
001: “But the one paying me is your big brother.”
Annoyed, Gu Jinzhi scratched his head. If he’d known, he wouldn’t have taken advantage of his older brother’s generosity… Gritting his teeth, he said, “I’ll pay you a hush fee right now. Keep your mouth shut.” 001 was really playing hardball.
001: “Okay. I’ll just tell him you didn’t want me to say anything.” Keeping himself out of it entirely.
Reluctantly, Gu Jinzhi agreed. “Alright.” After all, it wasn’t the first time his older brother had been upset with him… Gu Qi was up north, while he was down south. At worst, his older brother would bombard him with calls, but that was something he could handle.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to share such an important part of his life with his family. It was just too humiliating! He couldn’t afford to lose face like that.
And he felt guilty about it! He didn’t want things to be this way! But the allure of his younger boyfriend was just too irresistible…
There’s a saying: “Better to demolish a temple than ruin a marriage.” If his older brother found out, he’d definitely take on the role of the villain, maybe even pay his boyfriend compensation for emotional distress. There was no way he’d care about his younger brother’s internal struggles.
At times like these, there was no way Gu Jinzhi would let that old wretch Gu Qi sacrifice one's own blood relations for the sake of righteousness.
