Chapter 66—The Terrifying Gu Beicheng

“Muran, does my older brother know how wanton you are? Want to spend a night with me? I have everything Gu Beicheng does, and with me, you’d be happy.”
Gu Xiao leaned in close, intoxicated by the scent of the woman, his narrow eyes brimming with passion and mischief.
How many Z-list starlets in the entertainment industry truly make it on their own? Aren’t they all just clambering over capitalists’ beds?
Gu Xiao didn’t see anything particularly special about the woman before him, but she certainly knew how to play hard to get.
Muran brushed aside the man’s hand as he reached for her again, her eyes dark with murderous intent. Suddenly, the corner of her mouth curled up, a dangerous air swirling around her. She lifted her chin and stared him down. “There’s a price to pay for provoking me.”
“And what can you do to me? Call Gu Beicheng and Qin Yu over to deal with me together?”
Gu Xiao sneered coldly, paying her warning no mind at all.
Muran rolled her eyes at him, picked up her phone from the table, and pointed it at Gu Xiao’s pale, sharply contoured face. “Did you all see that? The illustrious Director Gu, so famous in the entertainment world, is trying to force himself on an actress, even coming to my house to threaten me.”
Through the lens, Muran realized Gu Xiao’s deep gray eyes weren’t colored contacts but naturally Western, and his face was fair, lips red, features strong and deep—he was clearly mixed-blood.
Were Gu Xiao and Gu Beicheng really biological brothers?
“Didn’t think you were a rat,” Muran taunted, arching her brow at the man’s darkened face.
Gu Xiao hadn’t realized she was streaming live and reached to snatch the phone from her, but she dodged nimbly.
“A what?”
He frowned, his instincts telling him she hadn’t meant it as a compliment.
Muran said nothing, glancing at the live chat. Luckily, her viewers’ morals hadn’t been warped by good looks.
The audience was worried for Muran, warning her to be careful around Gu Xiao.
Gu Xiao was notorious in the industry for his twisted ways and chaotic private life.
With City Star Group’s CEO Gu Beicheng behind him, he acted with total impunity.
Some viewers even threatened to call the police, lamenting that Muran’s luck was so bad that things like this happened to her twice in one day.
“Don’t worry, everyone. I’ll handle this. As for Director Gu’s films, maybe it’s better not to watch them anymore. If the man’s so crooked, how straight could his movies be?”
Muran was about to end the stream and kick the man out.
But Gu Xiao seized her phone while she was off guard.
He waved the phone, his lips curling in a wild, dangerous smile, his mixed-blood eyes narrowing with a sensual gleam.
At this moment, the man seemed utterly deranged.
“Folks, this woman is calling me out? You all like her from that dating show, right? Well, she flirts with the male guests on the show and tries everything she can to seduce my big brother in real life—yes, the CEO of City Star Group, Gu Beicheng. You really shouldn’t like this woman.”
“All right, enough talk. I have business to do with Xiaoran now.”
Before switching off the phone, Gu Xiao’s meaningful gaze and lazy, sultry tone all but screamed to the audience, “Muran isn’t just involved with those two—my relationship with her is even deeper!”
“Are you finished?”
Muran crossed her arms, her aura icy and commanding.
Gu Xiao’s expression remained playful, but he shivered inwardly, thinking how this woman was as cold and terrifying as his brother.
“An eye for an eye. You slander me—I won’t let you off.”
Muran laughed in disbelief. How could Gu Beicheng have such a shameless brother?
“Muran, Gu Beicheng is dangerous. He’s ten thousand times more terrifying than you know.”
Gu Xiao ignored her look of disgust, sitting back on the bed and bracing his hands on the mattress.
He shook out his shoulder-length hair, his narrow eyes fixed on the impassive, gloomy woman. “Gu Beicheng killed his own uncle and aunt with his own hands. He thirsts for blood. He doesn’t love women. He doesn’t deserve love!”
Muran stayed silent, quietly watching his performance.
“You don’t believe me?”

She shrugged it off. “What does it matter to me what he’s like?”
“Gu Xiao, in every way you fall short of Gu Beicheng. You’re jealous of him but can’t do anything about it, so you come after me. You think I’m some foolish actress obsessed with the casting couch, and that if you get your hands on me, it’ll drive him crazy.”
Gu Xiao’s face changed abruptly, his hands gripping the bedsheets, his lazy eyes sharpening with hatred and unwillingness. He spoke through clenched teeth:
“I am better than him! The Gu family should be mine!”
“You really are a confident and filthy man.”
Muran sneered. Gu Xiao was underestimating Gu Beicheng—far too simple.
And that bit about Gu Beicheng being a murderer…
She laughed. Was this some overbearing CEO novel? Did he think the police were idiots?
“Muran, Gu Beicheng is a capitalist. In the face of absolute gain, feelings mean nothing to him.”
Gu Xiao sat up, staring straight at her. “I’m an artist. I understand love. I could love you, pamper you. Don’t you need resources? From now on, you’ll be the leading lady in all my films.”
He knew his brother fancied this woman, but he didn’t believe she could be loyal to that emotionless block of wood.
“You think you’re an artist just because you wear your hair long?”
Muran scoffed. “If you don’t leave, I really will call the police.”
“Muran, if you won’t be with me, then you’ll have to die. If you die, do you think Gu Beicheng will kill me?”
Gu Xiao rose, closing in on her, his aura sharp and dangerous.
“I don’t know if he’d kill you, but right now, I want to!”
Muran’s long leg shot out, kicking him in the waist. With a nimble leap, she seized his hair with one hand and delivered three hard slaps with the other.
She was ready for him to fight back and try to overpower her.
But Gu Xiao stood there unmoving, licking the blood from his lips, eyes smiling at her with delight. “I like it when you hit me, but you’re not strong enough.”
Muran glanced at his already swollen face and said nothing. Was this man a masochist?
Was this what people meant by “sickly beauty”?
Wasn’t it just perversion?
“Heh, what are you thinking? Feeling sorry for me?”
While Muran was slightly dazed, Gu Xiao swiftly pulled her into his arms.
He was incredibly strong.
“Why didn’t you fight back just now?”
A drop of blood slid from Gu Xiao’s mouth. “I told you, I like it when you hit me.”
“Muran, in a few days, you’re joining ‘Immersive Script Shark’?”
She didn’t answer. Why was he suddenly asking that?
Could he be the director of that show?
“Hmm? Worried I’m the director?”
Muran continued to ignore him, her hands gripping his arm so tightly her nails dug in. She curled her lips in mockery. “Whatever you do has nothing to do with me.”
Gu Xiao grinned, lifting her chin with slender fingers. “Then I’ll see you there.”
She was at the end of her patience, but forced a shy, flower-like smile, her delicate face dazzling.
At that moment, Gu Xiao finally understood why Gu Beicheng was drawn to her.
She had a strong spirit, a perfectly cold and beautiful face, and a natural force and chill about her.
She was magnetic—a man-magnet.
“Caught feelings for me?”

Gu Xiao leaned in closer.
The scent of his cologne filled Muran’s nose. Suppressing her nausea, she kept smiling.
But the seemingly innocent, bashful smile twisted into something more sinister.
She dodged his face, grabbed his hand, and twisted it sharply behind his back.
A crack.
The sound of bone snapping.
Gu Xiao released her in pain, baring his teeth in fury. “Muran, are you insane?”
She stood up, glanced contemptuously at his hand. “With that crippled hand, you might as well retire. With a face that pale, find a rich woman to sponge off—preferably a violent one. Aren’t you into being hit?”
He stared at her for a long moment, motionless.
“Hurry up and get out. What are you staring at?”
Gu Xiao smoothed his thick brows, biting his molars, then gave a sly, dangerous smile.
“I’m leaving.”
As he passed her, he inhaled deeply. “You have a potent scent!”
Then, with one hand in his pocket, the other hanging uselessly, he strolled out with lazy, long strides.
Muran shot him a piercing glare, her contempt unmistakable.
When he was gone, she sat on the bed for a while.
Then she stood, gathered her things, and moved to another bedroom.
After moving everything, she lingered in the old room, the scent of Gu Xiao’s cologne thick in the air.
She frowned, then left and slammed the door behind her.
Less than an hour after Gu Xiao left, rumors about the two of them exploded across Weibo.
Muran gripped her phone, scowling at the screenshot from the live stream.
The next moment, she posted a statement:
[Director Gu and I didn’t know each other before, but you could say we became acquainted through conflict today. Our relationship is perfectly pure. After I ended the live stream, I found out the reason he came to me was to learn how to please men. Sorry, I don’t know how to do that.]
Attached were photos of Gu Xiao behaving intimately with several male artists and ordinary men.
These were just a small portion of the material Sanmen had given her at the Qin family’s party.
She kept the more explosive photos to herself.
Shortly after, Gu Xiao’s team did some PR but didn’t come after Muran.
—
Muran holed up at home for days, alternating between live streaming and studying investment.
On the night before “Immersive Script Shark” started filming,
Muran had just finished her bath and came out wrapped in a short, damp towel.
“Who’s there?”
The bedroom was dark—the lights were off.
She felt an unfamiliar presence: cold, dangerous.
Suddenly, she was swept off her feet, cradled in someone’s arms like a princess.
The man lowered his head, that familiar mint scent filling her nose. He rubbed his stubbled chin against the hollow of her neck, his large hand caressing her slender waist.
In the darkness, a hoarse voice sounded, “Muran, did you miss me?”