Little Pink Starfish

In the original novel, Chen Yuanhao and Qiu Tu, these two underlings, were quite different. Though both were subdued by Qi Guan Rui’s overwhelming presence, Qiu Tu was, after all, a demon. Being accepted was already a great honor for him, so naturally, he remained utterly loyal—especially when he discovered that his master was the true ancestor of man-eating beings. His once fragile heart of glass was instantly restored.

As for Chen Yuanhao following Qi Guan Rui… that was likely related to his nature.

Everyone knows that a man going through his chuunibyou phase always believes he is the only truth in the world. In web novels, the protagonists and supporting male characters are often trapped in this phase for life—especially the smart ones. The smarter they are, the longer their chuunibyou phase lasts. Those with tragic pasts, in particular, have an even more prolonged and intense one.

Undoubtedly, Chen Yuanhao was one of them.

Chen Yuanhao believed that he had lost all hope in his decayed family, where everyone was an enemy to him and his mother. Thus, his greatest desire was to seize control of the family and dedicate supreme glory to his beloved mother.

He believed that only a mother’s love was true love; all other emotions were shallow, disloyal, and unworthy of his attention. To give his mother what rightfully belonged to her, and even more, to take revenge on the heartless man who deceived her, he was willing to sacrifice his very soul—

In short, he had a mother complex.

Now that he had met Qi Guan Rui, Chen Yuanhao was, as expected, completely enthralled. Of course, he didn’t forget to express his own tentative probing.

Qi Guan Rui looked at him with a smile and said, “I will give you as much as your abilities are worth, and you can hand it all to your mother.” He spoke slowly, “This world is vast. The Chen family is nothing more than an insignificant corner.”

He was practically glowing…

If we were to describe this scene using anime imagery, at this moment, Chen Yuanhao’s eyes were shining like stars, and Qiu Tu was also extremely excited, nearly clenching his fists in anticipation.

Subduing two devoted underlings was just that simple.

Next, Qi Guan Rui began arranging a series of matters.

While Ziche Shubai was in seclusion, he needed to resume surveillance on those he had previously been keeping an eye on. The lingering doubts in his heart also needed thorough investigation.

Afterward, as their power gradually expanded, they would begin by annexing small families.

And the inheritance of the Wu Di they had obtained from the cave would serve as the initial funding, all entrusted to the strategist underling, Chen Yuanhao, for management.

Meanwhile, Gu Bai, who had entered the library tower, was completely unaware that the plot he had originally expected to unfold two years later was already beginning to take shape.

—As if a hidden quest that was supposed to activate much later had been suddenly triggered due to the protagonist’s premature arrival.

At this moment, he maintained a noble and indifferent expression as he casually tossed three frozen beast heads onto the registration desk.

Such a sharp and imposing act instantly made the registrar take notice.

Experts, after all, have tempers.

Especially this new student, who was dressed like an aristocratic young master yet displayed extraordinary skills. Clearly, he wasn’t simple.

The registrar, being rather accommodating, quickly completed the registration and was about to hand over an entry pass.

However, just as he finished noting down the details and took out the pass, two more frozen beast heads were slammed onto the desk, rigid and grotesque.

So the registrar registered them.

And just as he finished, two more were thrown down.

So he registered again.

And then another two were thrown down…

This process continued, and eventually, the registrar became numb.

Silently, he cursed in his heart, What the hell is this? Why can’t you just dump them all at once? Are you messing with me?!

Of course, the registrar was just an employee. As a mere gatekeeper of the library tower’s first floor, he couldn’t afford to offend these officially enrolled students of Qingtian Academy.

Still, everyone has a temper. Feeling that he had been toyed with, the registrar’s smile vanished as he sternly said, “Entry pass for floors one to sixteen, here you go.”

With that, he stiffly placed a metal token on the desk.

Poor guy, he didn’t even dare to throw it down in frustration.

Gu Bai picked up the pass and belatedly realized that he had given the wrong impression.

—In fact, he was quite innocent.

The registration desk was simply too small. He had a total of over thirty beast heads, and if he dumped them all at once, wouldn’t they roll all over the place?

Besides, since two heads equaled access to one floor, he thought he was helping count by placing them down two at a time.

Yet the result ╮(╯▽╰)╭

However, due to his cold and aloof persona, Gu Bai couldn’t possibly lower himself to apologize. Pretending not to see the registrar’s constipated expression, he simply strode towards the second floor.

Meanwhile, Qi Guan Rui was indeed occupied—

He was busy with exactly the two things Gu Bai had been worried about, albeit with some subtle differences.

Firstly, he was indeed with a girl. However, it wasn’t that he sought her out—rather, it was an accidental encounter.

Secondly, why did he run into her? It was indeed because he was inspecting an enterprise.

However, this enterprise was not the small restaurant that Gu Bai had just started and barely managed to stabilize.

—It was Qi Guan Rui’s own establishment.

Using Chen Yuanhao’s abilities, he had established a new business entirely dedicated to serving women.