The next day, back at the Cloudtop Apartments, Su Qianqian regained her usual liveliness.
Barefoot, she stepped onto the carpet by the coffee table and turned on the living room TV. The Silken Calamity had aired its first eight episodes the night before.
Gu Chengyu stayed close to her, his brows furrowed the entire time. "Put on your shoes."
"I know—" she drawled in response.
Without hesitation, he scooped her up by the waist and set her down on the sofa, then knelt to slip her feet into slippers. "What if you catch another cold?"
Su Qianqian leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and nuzzling his cheek. "A-Yu is the best."
He pinched the tip of her nose. "Always sweet-talking me."
The phone on the coffee table buzzed, the screen flashing with the word "Father."
Gu Chengyu glanced at it but didn’t answer.
Su Qianqian whispered, "Pick up? What if it’s urgent?"
The call ended automatically, only to ring again moments later.
With an irritated click of his tongue, Gu Chengyu finally grabbed the phone and walked to the window. "Dad."
Gu Zhenting’s voice was stern on the other end. "Why weren’t you at the morning meeting today?"
"Forgot. I’m taking the day off," Gu Chengyu replied, his tone indifferent as he watched Su Qianqian peel an orange on the sofa, engrossed in the drama.
"A day off? Unacceptable." Gu Zhenting’s voice rose.
"Missing the morning meeting is one thing, but the financial review later—this month’s cash flow analysis—you’re skipping that too?"
"Yeah, not going. You’re there, aren’t you?"
As he spoke, his gaze lingered on Su Qianqian, who was happily munching on orange slices. Still, he wanted to keep an eye on her today and take her back to the hospital later to check for any lingering issues.
"Dad, just handle it yourself."
"Gu Chengyu!"
Gu Zhenting suppressed his anger. "At least show up for the budget review this afternoon. Multiple project funds are pending approval."
"Who knows if someone’s trying to slip something through? I can’t possibly memorize all those accounts."
"No, Dad."
Gu Chengyu cut him off. "I’m really busy."
Silence stretched for a few seconds before the line went dead—Gu Zhenting had hung up, clearly furious.
Gu Chengyu returned to the sofa and tossed his phone aside carelessly.
He took the remaining orange from Su Qianqian’s hand, meticulously peeled off the white strands, and fed her a segment.
She nibbled it from his fingers, eyes crinkling with satisfaction, and asked in a syrupy voice, "Your dad’s mad?"
"Mm, a little."
He pulled her into his arms, resting his chin atop her head. "Let’s not worry about him."
"This afternoon, I’ll take you to the private hospital for a thorough checkup."
Meanwhile, at the Gu Corporation headquarters conference room.
Executives on either side of the long table held their breath as they watched Gu Zhenting massage his temples from the head seat.
The CFO ventured cautiously, "Chairman, about the overseas subsidiary’s accounts…"
Gu Zhenting raised a hand to stop him. "Leave it. We’ll wait for Chengyu to return."
The room collectively exhaled in relief.
The young master had a temper, but his scrutiny of financial records was razor-sharp.
During the last supply chain cost review, he’d casually pointed at a minor logistics expense:
"Why is this 5% higher than last quarter? Fuel prices haven’t risen, and the route’s unchanged. Explain."
The team had broken into a cold sweat, scrambling overnight to uncover that the outsourced fleet had secretly raised their rates.
Unbelievable—trying to swindle the Gu Corporation.
Incidents like these were countless.
Whenever the young master attended meetings, department heads had to memorize every detail of their reports beforehand.
Now, with the elder chairman presiding, though his authority remained, he didn’t grill them over such minutiae.
Gu Zhenting noted the relieved expressions around the table and felt a pang of frustration.
His son was off enjoying his leisure—no doubt cuddling that little girlfriend he’d given a billion to—while leaving him alone to wade through these accounts.
How long had it been since he’d last chaired a financial meeting?
Back then, departments had staggered their reports to give him time to process the details.
Now, with everyone rushing at once, how was he supposed to keep up?
"Meeting adjourned."
Gu Zhenting stood, his face dark. "We’ll reconvene when Chengyu returns."
The executives rose respectfully, exchanging glances that spoke volumes.
The young master’s brilliance was innate—even the chairman was powerless against it.
