“Look, that’s the handsome guy.”
Song Tianyang followed the boy’s gaze and instantly knew who he was talking about.
He wasn’t wearing a single piece of clothing with a visible logo, just a plain black shirt and white trousers, but his figure and posture were so good that his impossibly long legs somehow made this ordinary outfit look crisp, elegant, and refined.
While the blazing sun made others squint and bare their teeth, it seemed to especially favor him, gilding him in a transcendent golden light.
The two met eyes from a distance.
The boy who brought her over left immediately, afraid the other might change his mind and take back the reward.
Gu Shangyang stared at her for a moment and asked, “Can I have a word in private?”
Song Tianyang thought of the five hundred yuan she’d just earned, and the name on the Imperial Harem Panel, so she agreed to his suggestion, taking the initiative to lead him to a milk tea shop she sometimes visited. She even ordered him a glass of lemon water. “My mood is complicated.”
The noisy surroundings helped ease Young Master Gu’s tension a little.
“Originally, my engagement was with Yuan Yuan, but after what happened… she can’t be included in the He Family genealogy anymore. Adoption just isn’t as strong as a blood tie. The elders will all want to switch the engagement to you instead,”
Gu Shangyang confessed his hesitation. “I’m sorry, I can’t accept it.”
He and He Yuan had grown up together as childhood friends. The two families knew each other well, which softened the cold undertones of a business marriage.
Now, being suddenly informed that his fiancée had been switched, Young Master Gu felt, for the first time, the cruelty of being treated like a commodity. After a big argument with his family, he didn’t dare make a scene in front of Grandfather He, so he came to Song Tianyang’s university, hoping she’d back out on her own.
After he finished speaking, Gu Shangyang let out a long sigh.
Song Tianyang tore open her straw:
“If you can’t accept it, just tell the He Family. You don’t need to tell me.”
Gu Shangyang’s eyes lit up. “You agree? Then you go talk to Grandfather He first. As long as you bring it up, there won’t be any problem on my end!”
As soon as he finished, Song Tianyang frowned.
“You seem to have misunderstood,”
She lifted her face again, her chestnut-brown, slightly wavy short hair tucked behind her ear, making her eyes look even bigger and brighter, sparkling with lively light. “You want to refuse the marriage but don’t have the courage to say it yourself. I’m not going to take the bullet for you, fiancé.”
His little scheme exposed, Gu Shangyang was instantly a bit angry. “Why do you insist on clinging to someone who doesn’t like you!”
“Clinging to you?”
Song Tianyang tilted her head and gave a puzzled smile. “Standing before you is He Mingyi’s biological granddaughter. The He and Gu families are equals. If we compare ancestors, neither of us loses. The word ‘cling’ is misplaced. But I dare say to the He Family that I don’t want the He surname. Do you dare say the same to your grandfather?”
Gu Shangyang was speechless.
After just three seconds of hesitation, Song Tianyang knew he didn’t dare.
So she looked at him quietly, lips curling up. “See, you’re not as gutsy as I am.”
She had only found out today that she’d been assigned this engagement, and she didn’t want to marry the person in front of her, either.
But that didn’t mean just anyone could treat her like a fool, use her, or try to coax her into asking Grandfather He to break off the engagement first. Anyone could see he wanted to play along and reap the benefits.
Gu Shangyang’s attitude in coming to break off the engagement had been wrong from the start.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he insisted, “I don’t like you.”
“I don’t like you either,”
Song Tianyang shot back in a second, spreading her hands. “Great, then our loveless business marriage is already taking shape.”
Gu Shangyang was so angry his head was spinning, but the worst punishment he could come up with was that he’d never love her.
Song Tianyang felt there was a communication barrier between her and these rich second-generation heirs.
She took two big sips of lemon water, set down the empty cup with only ice left, and stood up. “If you go to the He Family and break off the engagement now, I’ll agree.”
“…?”
Gu Shangyang looked up in confusion.
“Come on, don’t make me look down on you.”
“You look down on me? What right do you have to look down on me?” Having his thoughts exposed again and again, Gu Shangyang felt a deep sense of humiliation and a sudden surge of anger. “You have no idea how powerful the He Family is, or what it means to be accepted back into the He Family. Of course you can say you don’t want the He surname so easily. If you grew up in the same environment as me, I don’t believe you could rebel against your family so easily. You’re not braver than me, you just don’t know anything! Do you think I’m really happy? I just want to hold on to some genuine feelings and marry someone I love! You don’t understand anything!”
Ignorance breeds fearlessness.
If your mother is rich, the children will be rich too.
But if your father is rich, the children will only end up with lots of siblings.
Gu Shangyang didn’t dare defy his elders’ arrangements because he’d enjoyed a privileged life for so long, while Song Tianyang, who’d only just been accepted back and had never lived a good day as a country girl, of course could cling to that laughable dignity and freedom.
Absolutely, absolutely not because he was a coward…
Song Tianyang paused mid-step as she was about to leave, turning to look at him. “You make a fair point.”
Gu Shangyang: Huh?
He thought she’d argue with him.
But instead, she said he had a point.
Gu Shangyang hesitated. “What do you mean?”
Song Tianyang leaned over, grabbed his collar with her right hand, and yanked him up abruptly. Their faces suddenly came very close. “Gu Shangyang, when you’re complaining in your villa about wanting lots and lots of love, I was being thrown out by my landlord with my backpack on a typhoon night. I’ve never experienced the life you describe, so don’t talk to me about it. I find it annoying.”
“Now, apologize to me.”
【Emperor Tianyang issues a King’s Edict】
Gu Shangyang was over ten centimeters taller than her. Even with him sitting and her standing, he shouldn’t have lost in presence.
But at this moment, he was just scared.
“…Sorry.”
Before he could even think, his body had already blurted out the apology.
【Gu Shangyang obeyed Her Majesty’s King’s Edict. Imperial Authority +10】
Song Tianyang was stunned for a second.
With a thought, she opened her attribute panel and indeed saw a new Imperial Authority stat.
The Emperor System explained to her: 【Imperial Authority is intangible. As Your Majesty’s authority grows, your words will become more convincing and more easily gain others’ recognition and respect. To increase your Imperial Authority, the best methods are outstanding political skill, civil and military achievements, even poetry and song. Issuing more King’s Edicts and gaining others’ obedience will also raise your authority.】
Up until now, Song Tianyang’s Imperial Authority had always been 0.
Because in the girls’ dorm, Xu Yuning would just put on her gaming headset and never listen to her.
“Heh.”
Song Tianyang let go, letting him fall back into his seat.
She’d discovered the true nature of this Young Master Gu— all bark and no bite, probably even more timid than her biological brother. A perfect tool for farming Imperial Authority. “Call me ‘big sister.’”
“Huh?”
“Hurry up and say it.”
Gu Shangyang turned his face away, his expression full of resistance, but his voice lacking confidence as he obeyed. “…Big sister.”
Song Tianyang looked genuinely surprised. He actually called her that.
【Gu Shangyang obeyed Her Majesty’s King’s Edict. Imperial Authority +5】
He really did it.
Song Tianyang’s surprise must have struck a nerve with Gu Shangyang, who looked annoyed. “You told me to call you, so I did. Why are you acting so surprised?”
She picked up his phone from the table and handed it to him. “Unlock it.”
“What are you going to do?!”
Gu Shangyang demanded fiercely, but unlocked it smoothly.
Song Tianyang immediately added herself on his WeChat. With such a good tool for farming Imperial Authority, it would be a waste not to use him. “Go do your best breaking off the engagement, fiancé.”
She tossed the phone back into his arms.
By now, Song Tianyang wasn’t angry at all.
She realized Gu Shangyang might not actually disrespect her— he was just really cowardly.
“Wait! So what did you mean just now?”
Gu Shangyang clenched his fists.
“Nothing special, just teasing you.”
Song Tianyang smiled, turned, and left.
There was a huge crowd outside Mixue Bingcheng, and in a blink, that chestnut-colored silhouette vanished into the sea of people.
Song Tianyang felt she’d really messed with him this time.
But when she opened the Imperial Harem Panel, she saw that the line with Gu Shangyang’s name hadn’t dropped in favorability at all— in fact, it had increased by a large margin!
Song Tianyang: “……”
She really couldn’t understand what pampered little young masters were thinking.
Forget it, never mind him.
The most important thing now was to complete the randomly generated Mission. If she couldn’t finish it today, the Mission would count as failed and all her previous progress would be invalid. That meant she’d have been scolded by her advisor for nothing, which was unacceptable.
Song Tianyang looked around, but just couldn’t find a suitable target for persuasion.
Anxious, she suddenly had an idea and opened Small Sweet Potato.
Since starting university, Song Tianyang had always worked part-time. She mainly used Small Sweet Potato, this social platform, to look for deals and job postings. She’d never made a post herself— her account was brand new.
She thought for a moment and drafted a topic.
“My gay older brother wants to find my lesbian best friend for a marriage of convenience. Should I push them together?”
“My fiancé says he likes my brother. What do I do? Should I let them be together?”
It was her first time posting, so Song Tianyang was a bit clumsy.
By her third post, she was much more skilled: “I ate two extra Swisse Rolls at my parents’ house and my own mom scolded me. I’m the real daughter, after all!”
On the internet, identities are self-assigned.
As expected, new accounts get lots of traffic. In less than half an hour, her notifications started popping up one after another—
“If I see another post like this, I’ll lose ten pounds instantly!!!!”
“There’s the traffic, but what about the substance?”
Besides the experienced netizens who could spot a new account, there were also kindhearted people offering advice. With their suggestions, Song Tianyang completed the last Mission requirement and successfully received her National Treasury Silver reward.
After finishing the Mission, she deleted all three posts, not wanting to pollute the internet.
Among all the shocking posts online, she was so inconspicuous that in the blink of an eye, the netizens had forgotten her, moving on to fresher and juicier gossip.
However, the online comment section is not a no-man’s land.
Half an hour later, her Small Sweet Potato posts were printed out by a senior assistant at Qidian Group and, together with other important documents, presented to the very top floor of the Qidian office building— onto He Mingyi’s desk.
Looking at those three titles,
He Mingyi— a man who had dominated the business world for decades, strategizing without ever meeting a worthy opponent— found himself, for once, utterly bewildered.
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