Chapter 81 — The Second Episode of the Scripted Murder Variety Show

Gu Beicheng frowned, clutching Mu Ran’s hand as he stood, ready to leave.

“Miss Mu, even though our Mu family is related to the Qin family, we don’t conduct ourselves in such a disgraceful way. If you have the time, why don’t you and Beicheng come to my home? Let’s have a meal together. Since the two of you are together, it’s only right that our families gather for dinner,” Mu Lang said as he removed his glasses, looking at Mu Ran with sincere eyes. His mouth rattled on, “Oh, right, Beicheng, bring Grandpa Gu along too. Let’s have both families sit down together, and settle this engagement. Don’t worry, the dowry from our side will be more than impressive.”

“Big brother, are you all right? You really take care of your face—thick-skinned as ever.”

Mu Ran sighed helplessly, her brows knitted, unwilling to spare the man a glance.

This Mu Third was spouting nonsense again. A family dinner? What did she have to do with the Mu family? Her surname was Mu, not Mu from his family!

“Xiao Ran, I really like you. I’m sure my whole family will love you too, truly,” Mu Lang pressed on, his tone fluctuating with conviction, utterly sincere.

Instinctively, Mu Ran shrank away, tilting her head up at Gu Beicheng, her small face scrunched, her lips pouting. “Brother!”

“Yes!”

“Hey! I’m right here!” Gu Beicheng’s sharp gaze slowly turned to the shameless Mu Lang. He let out a cold laugh, the artery in his neck bulging. “Mu Lang, get out of here. Ranran doesn’t need another brother.”

Mu Ran’s face turned cold, echoing Gu Beicheng’s words, “Dr. Mu, I have nothing to do with you—now or ever.”

She was quite certain this Mu Third was unhinged. On their first meeting, he professed to like her and even tried to represent her family in arranging a match with the Gu family. Was his brain soaked in fetal sheep serum or something? His nerve endings must be all tangled up—certifiable.

“Hurry up and get the medicine,” Gu Beicheng’s patience with Mu Lang had run dry, his already gloomy face now frosted over.

Mu Lang gave a resigned sigh and went to the pharmacy to prepare the medicine. A few minutes later, he returned to the consulting room with a large bag of medicine, handing it to Mu Ran.

“Miss Mu, eat more—”

“Hmm?” Mu Ran narrowed her eyes. “Eat more?”

Was this Mu Third a comedian? He was so contradictory. Outwardly refined and restrained, yet his words were always out of tune.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. Just take your medicine on time. I noticed your complexion is a bit sallow. Why don’t you and Beicheng come home with me? I’ll take good care of you.”

At that moment, Mu Lang looked at Mu Ran as if he were King Zhou laying eyes on Daji for the first time.

Standing to the side, Gu Beicheng was thoroughly displeased, veins throbbing at his temple. He should have left Mu Third abroad to be harassed to death by those crazy foreign women.

Before returning to the capital, Mu Lang had been the chief physician at Wadys Hospital in Country B, under a thirty-year contract. He was a legend in the medical field of the capital: completed his undergraduate, master’s, and doctorate by eighteen, invented his own medical patent by twenty. But at twenty-one, he fell in love with a mature, seductive woman from Country B who demanded he return with her. In a moment of madness, Mu Lang signed a thirty-year contract at Wadys Hospital, with a breach penalty in the hundreds of millions.

But who could have guessed—the woman who had so bewitched Mu Lang was actually the hospital director of Wadys, who had come to China solely to seduce him and take him back.

If Gu Beicheng hadn’t gone to Country B to “ransom” him, Mu Lang would still have had twenty-five years left of his “sentence.” During those five years in Country B, neglected by his parents and dismissed by his two brothers as a fool, only Gu Beicheng cared enough to remember him enduring hardships abroad, tormented by a love built on lies.

“Beicheng, don’t look at me like that. That dagger-like gaze reminds me of the woman who broke my heart!” Mu Lang’s face collapsed. He turned to Mu Ran, pointing at her little face with a long finger. “Your skin’s not bad, but it’s a bit sallow. Have you been staying up late?”

Mu Ran, face cold, replied, “Yes.”

Lately, she’d been live-streaming every night.

“Come home with me. I have plenty of medicine at home, and I’ll give you a proper facial. I guarantee your skin will be as fair and smooth as mine.” As Mu Lang spoke, he noticed a hint of wariness in Mu Ran’s gaze.

“Beibei, let’s go home,” Mu Ran said, finding Mu Lang more and more ludicrous. The more she looked at him, the less he seemed like a decent man, constantly trying to lure her home.

“Could he be nursing a broken heart and now has feelings for you? He certainly seems a bit off,” Mu Ran thought, ignoring Mu Lang and looking up at Gu Beicheng, her small head full of big doubts.

Gu Beicheng cast a disdainful glance at the man beside him, his voice husky. “Maybe he’s just repressed.”

Mu Lang, who heard every word, coughed drily, his tone aggrieved, “Couldn’t you talk behind my back a little farther away?”

“No!”

“No!”

Two voices, one cold as ice, the other even colder.

Hand in hand, the pair left.

Mu Lang gazed at the doorway until the couple’s silhouettes faded from view. After a while, he picked up his phone and opened WeChat.

Group chat: [Big Brother Mu, Second Brother Mu, and the Dog]
Mu Third: “Big brother, second brother, dinner tonight?”
Big Brother Mu: “Not interested.”
Second Brother Mu: “Not eating with a lovesick fool, don’t want to catch it.”
Mu Third: “You’ve heard of Gu Beicheng’s little girlfriend, right? That young actress—guess who she looks like.”
Big Brother Mu: “......”
Second Brother Mu: “Who does she look like? Your ex-girlfriend, the hospital director who was ten years older than you?”
Mu Third: “Can you not twist the knife? She was once my love.”
Big Brother Mu: “So who does she look like?”
Mu Third: “Like our mom!”
Second Brother Mu: “Well, now the great lover’s become the great grumbler, calling everyone mom.”
Mu Third: “No comment—just you wait till you meet her.”

——

The next morning, Gu Beicheng and Mu Ran returned to the headquarters of the “Immersive Script Shark” production team.

“Mr. Cheng, Xiao Ran, you’re here so early. Why don’t you go to the dressing room and change, get your makeup done?” The show’s chief director, script in hand, greeted the just-arrived pair with a smile.

“Makeup?” Gu Beicheng pressed his lips together, his thick brows furrowing as he shot a cold look at Gao Minglang.

“No, no, Mr. Cheng, this round’s theme is campus life. Your current outfits aren’t quite right,” Gao Minglang hastily explained, nervously glancing at their clothes.

“All right, Director, we’ll go now.” Mu Ran gave Gu Beicheng a gentle nudge.

The man’s grim expression immediately softened, his large hand possessively gripping her shoulder as they headed for the dressing room.

Left in the lobby, sweat beading at his brow, Gao Minglang wiped his forehead and shook his head at the couple’s retreating backs, his anxious heart slowly calming.

Truly, one thing restrains another. Thank goodness for Xiao Ran, the “angel”—otherwise, no one could handle Gu Beicheng, the “devil” who held sway over everything.

Inside the dressing room, the other contestants were already prepared.

Mu Ran’s lips twitched. She and Gu Beicheng were obviously late, yet Gao Minglang claimed they were early. The power of capital was indeed intimidating.

She glanced at Gu Beicheng’s impassive face, then shook her head. An unspoken resolve formed within her—she, too, would one day become a force in the capital.

“What’s mine is yours, Ranran. Don’t wear yourself out.” Gu Beicheng suddenly lowered his head, warmth flickering in his dark, fathomless eyes. “Hmm? Did you hear me?”

“No, you’re you, I’m me.” Mu Ran shook her head, sitting before the makeup mirror to wait for the stylist.

“Sister Mu Ran, we’ll step out first. We need to study the script in advance!” Wei Xingran wore a gray sweatshirt, blue jeans, and pristine white sneakers—the picture of a college boy. With clean features and cropped hair, he radiated youthful energy.

“Okay, Xiao Ran, no need to hurry. We’ll wait outside,” Xu Yunshu and Lan Yanzhi, both dressed as fresh-faced students, stood behind her, their voices gentle, their demeanor reserved.

Mu Ran caught the wary, distant expressions reflected on the faces of the three in the mirror, puzzled. She nodded, her lips curving into a smile. “Mr. Cheng and I will be ready soon.”

The three left, and Mu Ran’s stylist entered.

“Milans?”

Mu Ran was surprised. For a small variety show to secure the services of the busy Milans—how had that happened?

“Hi, Miss Mu. Lanlan asked me to do your styling and take a few promotional photos,” Milans said with a gentle smile, nodding to Gu Beicheng before beckoning to the door with a long finger. “Come in.”

At his cue, three young women entered, arms laden with bags. Mu Ran recognized their faces immediately—they were the makeup artists and stylists of Mu Yuewei, the leading actress at City Star Pictures.

How did An Lan get these people here? Did he invite them?

Mu Ran offered the three a distant yet polite smile, then turned, eyeing the impeccably dressed Gu Beicheng with suspicion.

For a moment, her gaze grew hazy, watching the man’s every move in the standing mirror.

Sensing her gaze, Gu Beicheng, while adjusting his tie, turned to look at her.

“What is it, Ranran?” His tone was gentler than usual, his cool face softened by a faint smile, his eyes fixed on her. His tall figure, clad in a suit, exuded a different aura than his usual maturity, a certain ethereal handsomeness.

Mu Ran quickly turned away, refusing to meet those mesmerising eyes.

“Miss Mu, I’ll do your makeup now.” The eldest of the three women laid out her brushes and carefully began applying foundation.

“Hm? Miss Mu, is that a peach blossom at the end of your brow?”

Mu Ran froze, instinctively touching the spot the makeup artist indicated.

“A tattoo.”

Although she appeared calm, her heart was pounding—surely it was because of Gu Beicheng’s earlier captivating presence that she was blushing!

Twenty minutes later—

“Hurry, Miss Mu, change into your dress!” Milans handed Mu Ran a red dress, then turned to Gu Beicheng. “Lanlan wants a ‘Domineering CEO and His Sweet Wife’ photo shoot. President Gu, will you cooperate?”

“Of course, I will.”