Chapter 38: Still Calling Him Dad? Fool!

Gu Pianran said, “Let’s talk inside.”
“You’re not allowed in,” Lu Yiting leaned against the doorframe, both hands buried in the pockets of his tailored trousers, a cigarette dangling from his lips. The smoke curled around his impatiently handsome face, and compared to his usual gentle elegance, he looked even more striking now.

Bai Lu was baffled. She had never heard that her father smoked.

Lu Yiting said, “If you have something to say, say it outside.”

Bai Lu took a deep breath, clutching her lunchbox, and bowed low. “Movie King Lu, thank you for giving me a chance, but I’m sorry, my father has already decided I should sign with Yu Xing Entertainment. I’m sorry, I can’t sign with your studio.”

Lu Yiting let out a cold laugh. “Still calling him father? Idiot. Seems like your acting is all you have going for you. With brains like yours, don’t even think about joining my studio.”

Bai Lu's eyes widened in disbelief as she turned to Gu Pianran. She hadn’t been drinking today, nor should he be misunderstanding her for taking shortcuts. She had refused her father’s studio!

Gu Pianran was speechless.

Summoning her courage, Bai Lu hesitated before asking, “Are you really Movie King Lu?”

Lu Yiting raised a brow. “If I’m not, are you? Get lost.”

Gu Pianran sighed helplessly. “Lu Yiting, don’t you always keep up appearances in the industry? What, Bai Lu isn’t part of the circle?”

A thunderbolt seemed to strike Bai Lu. So, in the industry, her father’s elegance was all an act? All these years, his refined and gentle persona had been nothing but a façade?

Growing impatient, Lu Yiting began to shoo them away. “I can’t stand fools. Just looking at her makes me angry. Are you done? If so, get out and don’t waste my time for dinner.”

Uncle Gu tried to save face for her father. “You… sigh, actually, Yiting is just frustrated with you. As a senior, seeing you like this makes him angry. Bai Lu, don’t take it too personally.”

Bai Lu was at a loss. But her father truly was a great actor. After more than twenty years in the industry, no one had realized his true nature.

Discovering her father’s real self left Bai Lu dizzy as she returned to suite 888. In her previous life, she had only seen her father at a handful of award ceremonies. As a mere “national sweetheart,” she wasn’t qualified to work with the likes of Movie King Lu. So this was her father’s true self?

The myth had shattered.

The image of Movie King Lu as a paragon of virtue was completely destroyed. Yet soon, Bai Lu felt happy again. Even if her father’s elegance and gentleness were all an act, he had taken the blame for his daughter—that was no performance.

So, her father was still her father.

And Uncle Gu made sense. Her father could put on a show for the whole industry, but in front of her, he couldn’t be bothered—clearly, she exasperated him. Anyone could see the true colors of the Shen family, yet she still called Shen Yanghong “father” so affectionately. Her father didn’t know she stayed with the Shens to bring them down from within; he must have thought she was a fool, still yearning for that fake affection.

In fact, he had gone easy on her. If their roles were reversed, she would have scolded herself even more harshly.

Oh, her dad really was good to her—he could be so harsh with an unfamiliar junior, all because he wanted the best for her. He truly was still that dashing, kind-hearted Movie King Lu.

——

As soon as Bai Lu left, Gu Pianran, full of curiosity, pressed Lu Yiting. “Why drop the act in front of Bai Lu? Why show your true colors?”

Lu Yiting paused, chopsticks in hand. “I don’t know. Just seeing her tiptoeing around, trying to please people, annoys me.”

Gu Pianran chuckled. “Rare to see someone as cold-hearted as you care about anyone.”

Lu Yiting raised a brow. “Care about her? Hell no. I just can’t stand idiots. Isn’t she the one the Shen family expects to earn money? They should be the ones bowing and scraping to her. Instead, she lets them walk all over her. She’s a total fool. She frustrates me, understand?”

After thirty years of friendship, Gu Pianran knew him too well and smiled indulgently. “Alright, I get it. Now eat. I was busy at work and only just managed to bring you food. After a whole day without eating, you still have the energy to scold people.”

Lu Yiting grumbled, “So you know I’ve been starving all day, yet you’re this late with food. I swear you’re trying to kill me.”

Gu Pianran, half laughing, half exasperated, said, “I told you I was busy. I wanted my assistant to bring you food, but you refused.”

“Would I risk letting your assistant bring me food?” Lu Yiting exploded. “I buy a new apartment, move in for a couple of days, and if your assistant brings me food, my old man will find me by nightfall! Do you know how much money I have to keep buying houses?”

“Alright, calm down,” Gu Pianran quickly soothed him. “That’s why I took responsibility and lent you my apartment. Stay here as long as you like—Chairman Lu will never find you. No matter how busy I am tomorrow, I’ll bring your food on time. Happy now, Movie King Lu?”

“Now we’re talking! Hey, where are you going? What, can’t take a little scolding? Was it your assistant that—”

“I’m calling Old Fourth,” Gu Pianran said helplessly. “To ask when he’ll be back. Once he’s back, I won’t have to keep making time to bring you food. Do you think I have nothing better to do than be your nanny?”

Old Fourth was a brilliant cook.

Lu Yiting, mouth already watering, urged, “Go, hurry.”

Gu Pianran muttered, “Lu the Second, I must have owed you in a past life.”

Lu Yiting cheerfully crossed his legs. “No need to look to a past life—this life, you owe me your life.”

Gu Pianran retorted, “Big Brother also saved my life, but he doesn’t use it as leverage every day.”

Lu Yiting raised a brow. “Old Three, I’m tired of saying this. Big Brother is Big Brother, I am who I am. If you don’t like it, leave. I’m not begging for your help.”

Gu Pianran gave him a gentle, refined smile. “How could I? Since you and Big Brother saved me, I’ll repay you both.”

Lu Yiting felt a chill run through him. Damn. It was over. Smiling Tiger Gu was angry now. He’d definitely go hungry tomorrow.

It was true—thirty years of brotherhood weren’t for nothing. Lu Yiting knew his brothers inside out.

“Gu, you’re so petty. I scolded you a bit yesterday, and you skipped my breakfast, then kept me waiting for lunch—” Lu Yiting grumbled as he opened the door, only to see Bai Lu. His face darkened further.

Bai Lu wondered if she had overheard something she shouldn’t have.

Her father said just one word: “Out.”

Bai Lu quickly held the door and offered her lunchbox. “Movie King Lu, Uncle Gu brought me a midnight snack yesterday, so today I asked the housekeeper to make something nice to thank him.”

“Get lost. Gu Pianran isn’t here.”

“If you don’t mind, could you have it instead?”

“I said get lost. I’m not hungry.”

But at that moment, her father’s stomach growled loudly.

Embarrassed, Bai Lu didn’t dare look up. She slipped the lunchbox through the door crack, and her father took it without a word.

She smiled awkwardly. “Uncle Gu is probably busy, so I’ll bring you dinner as well—”

“Get out!”