Some things, once said out loud, already reveal the answer.
Li Xunwen’s gaze flickered.
The moment he asked, he already knew that Gu Zhaoping was not valued at all in the Gu family — practically invisible in the eyes of the old Master Gu before this.
It made sense.
After all, a granddaughter who achieved nothing and only brought trouble — who served no purpose except for marriage alliances — was hardly someone a business tycoon like Master Gu would bother with.
But Li Xunwen’s first reaction upon hearing this wasn’t confusion or emotional turmoil, but rather:
As expected.
It was perfectly normal for Gu Zhaoping to not know that Gu Zhaoye was accompanying the old man.
She simply wasn’t the perceptive type.
Ruan Nian, standing nearby, blinked a little guiltily and then said, “Sister Zhaoping has probably been really busy lately. If you have time, maybe you can pay more attention to family matters. Zhaoye often talks about you… You should come to the old house more often.”
In the past, Gu Zhaoping really didn’t like the old house.
She seemed to smile slightly, looking at the group with a calm expression, unbothered by their subtle offense.
“Before joining the program, I asked Grandpa. It was his arrangement. What do you think?”
“Gu Zhaoye…” Gu Zhaoping paused thoughtfully.
“He hasn’t appeared at home for a long time either, right? Hasn’t even attended their male-only gatherings.”
“If you really want to see him, why not ask Grandpa to call him over?”
Her tone was calm, even laced with a faint smile, as if she didn’t mind their words at all.
Li Xunwen’s face showed some confusion.
He hadn’t expected that Gu Zhaoping joined the show not on her own initiative, but because the old man arranged it?
Strange…
Had the old man changed his personality?
He was really okay with letting Gu Zhaoping appear on TV now?
Wasn’t he worried she might embarrass the Gu family?
And now she’s taking the initiative?
Even offering to call Gu Zhaoye over?
Doesn’t she realize that if Zhaoye ends up in their group, her own group would be short one member?
That would almost guarantee failure in any group task.
They didn’t notice the drastic change in Ruan Nian’s expression.
Just as Li Xunwen taunted, “Sure, then why don’t you help us and call him over…”
Ruan Nian suddenly interrupted, “No!”
Everyone looked at her.
She suppressed her guilty conscience and forced a calm expression.
How could this happen?
Gu Zhaoye had mentioned many times that no one in the family liked Gu Zhaoping.
There was no way she’d be involved in any core matters.
It was always Zhaoye and his brothers who visited the old man.
Gu Zhaoping never went.
Her relationship with Zhaoye was certainly closer than Gu Zhaoping’s.
She had assumed that claiming Zhaoye was with the old man wouldn’t raise any suspicion from Gu Zhaoping.
Who would question something so ordinary?
But now, under everyone’s gaze, Ruan Nian quickly said, “The old master hasn’t been well lately. Zhaoye’s been in a bad mood too. I heard something happened at Yuanqi Tech. If we bother him now, the old master might get angry.”
She tried to appear calm and sincere.
The Li siblings didn’t mind.
They knew Gu Zhaoye had a temper, and Ruan Nian, being close to him, would know how to avoid triggering it.
It made sense she wouldn’t dare contact him.
Gu Zhaoping’s gaze seemed to carry another layer of meaning as she looked at Ruan Nian.
She even smiled slightly — there was a hint of playfulness in it.
“Something happened at Yuanqi Tech?”
Being stared at like that made Ruan Nian even more anxious.
She could barely keep it together.
But remembering what the system had told her — that today Gu Zhaoping would be punished and miss the shoot — gave her some reassurance.
“Yes, I’m not sure what it was, but even Zhaoye was furious. It must be something serious. Sister Zhaoping, it’s probably best you don’t contact him for now.”
She tried to sound genuine, as if she truly had Gu Zhaoping’s best interests at heart.
Gu Zhaoping quietly watched, her expression unreadable — as though she had seen through it all.
She seemed about to speak, when suddenly her phone rang.
She glanced at the caller ID, then looked at the group before stepping aside to answer.
Ruan Nian breathed a huge sigh of relief.
The Li siblings muttered disdainfully, “What’s gotten into Gu Zhaoping? Now she’s offering to ask Grandpa to send Zhaoye over? At a time like this, she still dares to contact Grandpa?”
“She’s probably just showing off,” Li Xunxi replied nonchalantly.
“She knows we won’t let her disturb Grandpa, so she’s pretending she still has status in the family.”
Meanwhile, Ruan Nian’s system voice chimed in her mind:
“Nian Nian, the punishment has been issued.”
The system didn’t mention that it had tried and failed to contact the female side character — Gu Zhaoping.
Her willpower was proving too strong, and the system would need other means to interfere.
Watching Gu Zhaoping leave to answer the call, Ruan Nian finally relaxed.
If Gu Zhaoping missed the recording, then only Liang Zhiwei and Chu Yanze would remain in that group.
She was familiar with Chu Yanze.
He had always been patient with her, even had some feelings for her.
Her charm had always worked well on him.
As for Liang Zhiwei, she wasn’t even worth worrying about.
Winning or losing a variety show usually didn’t matter.
But this one was different — the winner would get a brand endorsement from the producers.
Ruan Nian already had plenty of endorsements.
She wouldn’t be too upset if she didn’t get this one — but the one thing she couldn’t bear was if Liang Zhiwei got it.
That’s just human nature.
Liang Zhiwei’s success shouldn’t matter to her… but she couldn’t stand seeing someone with a similar face gain popularity and nearly win over someone she had worked hard to pursue.
To her, Liang Zhiwei was a knockoff — a thief of her efforts and achievements.
There was no way she’d allow her to succeed.
The program would have two judging sections: one based on task completion, and one based on audience popularity votes.
Ruan Nian was confident about popularity.
Other than maybe Chu Yanze, no one else there posed any real threat.
But for the task completion part, she had to seize every opportunity.
Gu Zhaoping walked to a corner and answered the phone, “Grandpa.”
“Zhaoping, are you recording the program now? I need to tell you something,” the old Master Gu said after a pause.
“I heard about the issues you raised at Yuanqi Tech. I didn’t expect that over the years you’ve still found time to study — you’ve learned a lot.”
“Even Zhaoye overlooked it this time, left a vulnerability, and you caught it. That’s very good.”
“You flatter me, Grandpa. It was my duty,” Gu Zhaoping replied calmly.
“You arranged for me to work at Yuanqi Tech precisely to oversee financial matters. If something really came up, how could I not raise it? Anyone with experience would’ve spotted it. The loopholes were so obvious — it’s actually lucky we caught them now. If a partner had found out during cooperation, it would’ve been a much bigger problem.”
Old Master Gu was momentarily stunned.
He muttered to himself and fell into deep thought.
Indeed, the chaos in Yuanqi Technology’s financial records was a serious problem.
How could Gu Zhaoye have failed to notice it all this time?
Was it because he lacked the ability, or was it simply too easy for his subordinates to fool him?
The more he thought about it, the more something felt off.
Old Master Gu’s expression gradually darkened, and a hint of suspicion toward Gu Zhaoye surfaced.
His tone became noticeably colder.
“Zhaoye has been a bit too arrogant lately—he’s not doing well at all. And now, we don’t even know where he is.”
“There will be a Global Energy Industry Leaders’ Summit in Los Angeles in a few days. All the top elites in the global energy sector will attend. You’ll go with me.”
Gu Zhaoping was taken aback.
Usually quick-witted, she didn’t immediately process what Old Master Gu had just said—it was too sudden.
A global energy summit?
Of course she knew the weight of that.
The Gu family made their fortune in energy—it’s their core industry.
This summit would be attended by CEOs from the world’s top 500 energy companies, energy ministers from various countries, and renowned experts from major research institutions.
The Gu family had been preparing for months to attend this summit and seek out partnerships and future opportunities.
Although Gu Zhaoping had joined the family business fairly recently and performed well, she didn’t think she’d earned a spot at such a high-profile event just yet.
She figured there would be more chances in the future.
But to her surprise, Old Master Gu handed her the opportunity so easily.
Just… like that?
What had she done right?
Gu Zhaoping paused for a moment, reflecting.
She knew she had done a good job recently, but not so outstanding as to warrant this level of trust.
If gaining power in the family were this simple, then what had she been working so hard for before?
Old Master Gu sighed.
This year’s summit had a hot topic: the integration of artificial intelligence and the energy sector.
Gu Zhaoye was supposed to attend as the representative of Yuanqi Technology.
There would be numerous potential collaborations at the summit.
But given Gu Zhaoye’s recent behavior, Old Master Gu found it hard to justify bringing him along.
“Okay, Grandpa. I’ll cancel the next episode’s filming. Should this be kept secret for now?”
Gu Zhaoping was decisive.
When an opportunity came, she was best at seizing it.
She didn’t even ask what to do about the show.
She’d just drop out.
Nothing was more important than inheriting the family legacy.
Old Master Gu silently praised her efficiency.
She was more capable than his grandsons.
“No need to make a big announcement yet, or the second and third branches of the family might start grumbling.”
He had always turned a blind eye to the rivalry between the family branches.
At his age, he didn’t want to meddle—so long as things didn’t get out of hand.
In fact, he believed that competition among the grandchildren might push them to achieve better results.
But now, he was getting irritated with the second branch constantly badmouthing others in front of him.
His impression of Gu Kaichang had also worsened.
“Once it’s a done deal, no one will be able to object. Zhaoping, you’d better perform well and not give anyone an excuse to criticize.”
“I won’t let you down,” Zhaoping said.
She had never given anyone that chance before.
“But,” she added, “the show’s appeal partly relies on us Gu family members. If I’m not in the next episode, and no other Gu shows up, that might be a bit much.”
Old Master Gu waved his hand:
“Then let Gu Zhaoye or Gu Kaichang go! If not, there’s still Gu Yingjie.”