City: I Started As A Rich Second Generation Villain - Chapter 8 – The Virtuous Gentleman Gu Junqing

After returning home, Gu Junqing had a heartfelt conversation with his parents, expressing his desire for greater strength and resources.

Finally, after a lengthy discussion about the future situation, his parents agreed to allow him access to their influence and numerous resources.

They also issued a warning to all the factions in Luodu, notifying the leaders of many local powers about Gu Junqing’s existence.

They instructed these leaders to disseminate the message downward: avoid provoking him whenever encountered, and facilitate any matters he needed to handle whenever possible.

Additionally, they transferred some of the Gu Family’s own forces to Gu Junqing.

This demonstrated the influence of the Gu Family in Luodu—when the Gu Family so much as twitched a foot, all the factions in Luodu would tremble three times over.

At this moment, Gu Junqing was back home enjoying a massage from a maid.

Both the original Gu Junqing and his past-life self quite enjoyed massages, as they not only helped relieve the day’s stress but also offered health benefits, such as traditional Chinese medicine acupoint stimulation.

Lying face down on the massage bed, Gu Junqing browsed through his social media feed on his phone and noticed that Luo Ningyu had posted an update.

The caption read: “Some say, see the deer in the deep forest, see the whale in the blue sea, see you when the dream awakens—see the deer, see the whale, see you.” Accompanying it was a selfie of her making a heart gesture with her hands.

Gu Junqing couldn’t help but laugh. She truly was a literary young woman, and it made him feel a bit restless.

He regretted leaving earlier and thought he should have stayed to drink a few more sips of water.

He replied to her post: “I’ll come to your place for a drink in a few days!”

Seeing that no one else had commented, Gu Junqing knew she must have set the post to be visible only to him.

Fortunately, this girl knew to restrict the audience to just him; otherwise, he couldn’t imagine the uproar it might cause in the class.

If Murong Wan were to see it, Gu Junqing reckoned it would be quite difficult to win her over.

After his massage, Gu Junqing returned to his room, still pondering how to intercept Lin Tian’s various opportunities. Lin Tian had quite a few allies, and there were even several female leads who hadn’t appeared yet, so Gu Junqing needed to plan carefully.

“But the myriad flowers are beginning to dazzle the eyes—massages are just so comfortable,” Gu Junqing sighed.

“No, no, Gu Junqing, how can you be so decadent? Have you forgotten the plans you made earlier to deal with the protagonist? Confucius said, ‘I reflect on myself three times a day.’ I can’t go on like this; I am a gentleman!” Gu Junqing steeled his resolve, determined to work hard.

By evening…

“Ah, massages are still so comfortable!” Gu Junqing lay face down and sighed.

……

Another fine morning with gentle breezes and warm sunshine, Gu Junqing woke up in his 2.2-meter-wide bed, opened his lazy eyes, and stretched. Today was another day to hammer the protagonist.

Gu Junqing got into his recently purchased Cullinan and drove toward the school. All the vehicles on the road gave way, not daring to get too close, afraid that even a slight scratch would cost them years of wages in compensation.

Upon entering the classroom, Gu Junqing exchanged a couple of glances with Luo Ningyu, who was sitting next to Murong Wan, making her blush profusely. Then, Gu Junqing returned to his own seat.

Murong Wan, sitting beside her, looked suspiciously at their exchanged glances and quietly asked, “What’s going on with you? Why do you keep looking at him?”

Luo Ningyu lowered her head, her face red, and whispered, “It’s nothing. I just think he looks really handsome today.”

Murong Wan also turned her head to glance at Gu Junqing. Just as he happened to look over, their eyes met. Murong Wan quickly averted her gaze, thinking to herself, He really is much more handsome. If he had been this good-looking a few days ago, could I have agreed… ahem, ahem…

At this thought, she quickly coughed twice, suppressing these dangerous ideas.

This was the benefit of Gu Junqing’s charm having reached the peak of what was possible in the mortal world.

Just then, Luo Ningyu turned to her and recounted the events of the previous day, emphasizing how she had nearly been surrounded by three burly men—trapped between them—and the bravery of Gu Junqing, who single-handedly rescued her and considerately escorted her to her doorstep. However, she omitted the fact that she and Gu Junqing had become a couple and that he had gone into her home for a drink.

Luo Ningyu’s vivid and thrilling description made Murong Wan extremely worried while also filling her with gratitude for Gu Junqing’s timely intervention.

“It’s a good thing he showed up to save you. Otherwise you…” Murong Wan said, her voice trembling as she hugged Luo Ningyu tightly.

Her words made Luo Ningyu feel lingering fear, while also deepening her affection for Gu Junqing.

“Actually, he’s a good person. Although he can be a bit chauvinistic, it’s only to protect you. Later, come with me to thank him properly, and don’t hold any more grudges against him,” Luo Ningyu said, holding Murong Wan and patting her shoulder.

By this point, Murong Wan no longer held any resentment toward Gu Junqing. Not only had he helped her yesterday, but he had also saved her best friend. It was only right to thank him, though she still felt a bit embarrassed, given how harshly she had spoken to him the day before—forbidding him from getting close—only to now have to approach him herself.

She had twisted Gu Junqing’s near-illegal confinement into mere chauvinism, framing his prohibition against other men approaching her as an act of protection. Such was the power of a close friend—like the kind Xu Gao sang about, where a friend’s intervention could leave you feeling conflicted. (The reason it’s called Xu Gao is because the character for “mountain” was stolen.)

【Ding, female lead Murong Wan’s favorability toward the host has increased by 20. Reward: 2000 Villain Points.】

The voice in his mind left Gu Junqing momentarily stunned. Was a friend’s influence really this powerful? He hadn’t expected Murong Wan to show signs of forgiving him so quickly. Fortunately, he had arrived in this world early. If it had been later in the plot, probably no one could have changed her mind.

“If a friend’s influence is this strong, then should I target the friends of all future female leads… ahem, ahem, let’s worry about that later!”

“But for now, I still need to crush the male lead’s spirit to make him more extreme and ruthless in his actions.” Gu Junqing narrowed his eyes and looked toward the male lead’s only friend, Liu Yang.

Liu Yang was a chubby boy weighing over 180 pounds, as greasy as they came. He and Lin Tian had always been best buddies, both consistently at the bottom of the class academically. However, Lin Tian’s grades had recently improved, leaving the two as the only ones in the class who still resonated with each other’s vibe.

Liu Yang appeared frequently in the original story as a brother who had helped Lin Tian. However, after Lin Tian rose to success, he never brought Liu Yang along. It wasn’t until the very end of the book that Lin Tian was briefly mentioned giving Liu Yang a small sum of money—almost like charity—after Liu Yang’s mother passed away due to lack of funds for medical treatment.

This was written by the original author to depict how the protagonist repaid kindness and valued brotherhood, yet it disgusted Gu Junqing. When he rose to prominence, he didn’t lend a hand, only remembering Liu Yang after everything was settled—this was clearly ingratitude.

Currently, the two still shared an unbreakable bond. The key to turning these brothers against each other lay in a woman, because Liu Yang, like the original Gu Junqing, was a major sycophant—only the object of his devotion was Luo Ningyu.