All The Villain Wants Is Money - Chapter 16

The system asked, “Host, aren’t you even a little curious about what Zhang Shi is up to?”

Xie Gu replied lazily, “Not curious. Why be curious about something I can already guess?”

The system fell silent again. Xie Gu sighed, feeling like a tired father raising a clueless child, forced to explain life’s truths to an elementary-school-level AI. “What kind of dirt could Zhang Shi possibly have on me? At most, the original body breached a contract, and maybe he’ll tack on a few fabricated scandals. But he’s not smart—he thinks that if he ruins my reputation, I’ll be done for. But even if he could smear me—so what? Will it stop me from making money?”

… Well, no, it wouldn’t.

It wouldn’t be anything serious. And if it were something serious, Zhang Shi’s false accusations would actually give Xie Gu the perfect excuse to sue for defamation, sensationalise the story, and rake in both fame and fortune.

If it thought about it that way, it really was the kind of thing where the ending was obvious from the beginning.

“How about it? Don’t you feel like your IQ just leveled up?” Xie Gu suddenly asked.

The system went silent for a moment, then stubbornly spat out two words, “Not really.”

Xie Gu sighed again. “Then I guess there’s no hope for you if your IQ hasn’t improved even after all that.”

“!!” The system nearly glitched with outrage. “Please show some respect for the system’s AI-level intelligence!”

But this time, Xie Gu ignored it and headed back into the banquet hall. He still had a speech to give later—who knows who came up with this weird tradition. Then again, today was also the official announcement of the collaboration between Gu Fei Catering and Muhe Group.

Mu Qi’an had come as well. When she spotted Xie Gu, she lifted her glass in greeting.

Xie Gu politely lifted his own in response, but then turned and frowned thoughtfully.

The system asked, “What are you thinking about, Host?”

Xie Gu said, “Something you wouldn’t understand.”

Since the system’s previous warning, Xie Gu had checked the progress bars a few more times. Xu Yucheng’s career progress was still stuck at 20%, while the counterattack progress had slowly crept up. By the time Gu Fei officially settled in the capital, it had increased to 25%. It was clear that Xu Yucheng was keeping a close eye on his movements.

But not just tonight, Xu Yucheng hadn’t made a single public appearance in the entire month since the system’s reminder.

The business circle wasn’t that big. Even without digging, Xie Gu had heard plenty about the scandal between Sun Qian and Zhang Shi. And naturally, the part where Xu Yucheng had once been Sun Qian’s target had also come up. As for how Zhang Shi ended up being the one in Sun Qian’s bed, everyone’s opinions varied greatly. But judging from Xu Yucheng’s change in behavior, it wasn’t hard to piece things together.

Xu Yucheng had handed Zhang Shi over to Sun Qian and hopped onto some other “ship,” aiming for the skies.

Only… Mu Qi’an had already been intercepted by Xie Gu. So who was this new “ship”?

Xie Gu wasn’t at all worried about whatever Zhang Shi was plotting. A person with limited mental capacity could only pull a handful of predictable tricks, nothing worth losing sleep over. But Xu Yucheng was still the protagonist of this world. Although he wasn’t a saint, his methods and luck were far beyond the average.

As the time for his speech approached, Xie Gu set down his glass, straightened his clothes, and stepped onto the stage to the microphone.

He had always disliked formalities, feeling that playing word games with old foxes was less productive than sitting down and figuring out how to make money. So his speech was brief and to the point—he directly announced the partnership with Muhe Group and wrapped things up with a neatly painted vision of the future. Then it was Mu Qi’an’s turn to speak. 

Mu Qi’an leaned towards a more sophisticated approach. Bureaucratic jargon and formal expressions fluently slipped out of her mouth. Overall, his speech was also fairly concise—praising Gu Fei, then Muhe, and finally echoing the same bright outlook for the future. The whole thing lasted just fifteen minutes.

“… I believe that through close cooperation in the future, Gu Fei and Muhe will become like family… ”

Xie Gu’s eyes suddenly sharpened—he had just recalled something he’d long since forgotten.

Family.

Those outrageous relatives from the Xie and Zheng families had been living in comfort for far too long. It had been over half a year since he’d put them in their place—it was about time they were reminded.

If the “ship” Xu Yucheng had boarded was the one Xie Gu suspected, then the other party would never sit by and let him grow unchecked. Not to mention Xu Yucheng’s hostility was rising as his counterattack progress advanced. Even if it were only a matter of competing interests, it was enough for them to launch a preemptive strike.

So what forces could the other side possibly ally with?

Xie Gu listed them down: Zhang Shi, Kong You, Xu Yucheng, Wu Borang, the Zheng family, and the Xie family—possibly even that ex-fiancée of his who seemed to share a similar level of intelligence with the system.

What was that woman’s name again?

“Bai Ying,” the system helpfully supplied. “Also, please refrain from casually comparing my intellectual level to that of humans.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Xie Gu said with affection, “You’d still beat Bai Ying.”

System: ?? Was this the point it had wanted to convey?

After the banquet ended that day, Xie Gu first had someone look into the recent activities of the relatives on both the Zheng and Xie side of the family.

Since he hadn’t been paying much attention lately, he had only asked Yu Qiao to keep an eye on them when he had time. Now that he needed the information, it wouldn’t come immediately—it would probably take another two or three days. Still, Gu Fei was already well-established by now, so he wasn’t worried about those problematic relatives being able to shake the company. As long as he could intercept things before that “ship” made its move, everything would be fine.

Moreover, within the Zheng and Xie families, Zheng Wen’s attitude still struck Xie Gu as suspicious whenever he thought about it.

It made him question certain things, but previous background checks hadn’t turned up anything unusual.

“Maybe your intuition was just off,” the system offered, trying to be comforting.

“Not at all,” Xie Gu countered. “I think the real issue is that you’re just a subpar system.”

The system was so aggrieved it almost wished it had tear ducts built into its code. If it did, it could sob uncontrollably inside Xie Gu’s brain until his stupid head burst from the pressure.

“What about Xu Yucheng, then? I’ve been monitoring him the whole time,” the system argued stubbornly.

“You’ve been monitoring what, exactly?” Xie Gu sneered. “Loneliness? Do you know what Xu Yucheng has actually been doing? Do you know what ship he’s boarded? You can’t even explain how your own code calculates the progress. What do you know?”

The system replied, “ …Loneliness.”

“Since all you know is loneliness, then go be lonely properly,” Xie Gu said. “Be good, System. Behave yourself and stop stirring up trouble.”

The system finally shut up obediently.

Three days later, the largest talent and entertainment company in the industry— Jingong Entertainment, backed by Liyuan Group — officially announced a new artist: Xu Yucheng.

“Wow, the captain switched over to Jingong!”

“Wuwuwu, our Chengcheng is finally acknowledged!”

“Looks like Banwen Entertainment is really falling apart. The last talented newcomer has left too.”

“Chengcheng has a bright future ahead!”

“So according to the comment above that one, our Shishi was trash all along?”

“Passerby here — Zhang Shi was just riding on the coattails of the talented. During the RC group days, he couldn’t compare to Xu Yucheng in talent, couldn’t match Xie Gu in looks, and didn’t have Kong You’s charisma. It was just his fanbase hyping him up — I’m getting secondhand embarrassment.”

“Oh, and Xu Yucheng is so amazing? He’s been in the industry for almost two years and hasn’t made a name for himself. He’s not even doing as well as Xie Gu and Kong You after they quit.”

“That’s hilarious. If they’ve quit, stop bringing them up, will you?”

The former RC group’s fanbase descended into chaos, but the resulting drama managed to generate a lot of buzz. Without any solid blackmail or scandals to target him, this was actually a strong debut for Xu Yucheng.

Xie Gu merely glanced at the online chatter. Once he had confirmed his suspicions, he left his office and headed to the reception room.

There was only one person in the reception room—a slender woman with delicate features. Her skin was pale, and her face was full of nervous tension.

When she saw Xie Gu enter alone, she stood up with a hint of excitement, though she stammered as she spoke.

“Ah-Ah Gu.”

It was Zheng Wen.