The next day, Lu Youling joyfully threw away his women’s clothing and announced his true gender to the world.
Old Mr. Feng and the others didn’t have much of an opinion on it, but Feng Xueping looked as if he had seen a ghost. He then pulled Gong Ze aside and stammered out questions about their relationship.
After all, everyone could see that the feelings between Gong Ze and Lu Youling were far from ordinary.
Blushing, Gong Ze told him that he and Lu Youling were already together.
“This is fraud…” Feng Xueping murmured, then roared, “This is absolutely fraud!!”
“Damn it! That cross-dressing little liar!”
In his eyes, Gong Ze was a gentle, good person and his close friend, while Lu Youling was full of sly tricks and bad ideas. Gong Ze had originally been a normal man who liked women, but Lu Youling—that little pervert disguised as a woman—had tricked him.
Back then, Feng Xueping had been so furious he wanted to fight Lu Youling. It had taken great effort on Gong Ze’s part to stop him.
From that day on, Feng Xueping’s opinion of Lu Youling grew even worse.
They argued every time they met.
Later, when Lu Youling wanted to start a business—he wasn’t the type to rely on Gong Ze as a rich man’s wife—he planned to begin with a street stall, just like in the original story.
Gong Ze fully supported him.
But Lu Youling didn’t initially know that he, as the protagonist, was destined to succeed.
He worried about failure, about letting down Gong Ze’s trust, about losing their starting capital.
During this time, Gong Ze took on the role of Lu Youling’s life mentor.
He encouraged him. He believed in him. He provided emotional support and endless comfort.
He watched him gradually become the protagonist.
“What if I fail? What if I lose all your money?” Lu Youling asked, lost and fearful.
“You will succeed,” Gong Ze told him, again and again.
“How do you know?” Lu Youling still didn’t believe it.
“Because I believe in you.” Gong Ze said, “You have originality, ideas, and the ability to take action. You’re full of energy and drive. You’re willing to work hard and never complain… If someone like that doesn’t succeed, then the heavens must have made a mistake.”
Looking at Gong Ze’s gaze—full of unconditional favor—Lu Youling’s nose stung and he threw himself into Gong Ze’s arms.
He channeled all his energy into the shop’s business.
From then on, Lu Youling’s motivation shifted from making money to not betraying Gong Ze’s trust and expectations.
In the end, when Lu Youling’s street stall business took off, Gong Ze rented a shop for him.
During his university days in his previous life, Lu Youling had worked part-time at milk tea shops and snack stores. He knew how to make things, and he was well-versed in cutting-edge modern marketing techniques.
And Gong Ze had money.
Soon, their business exploded, becoming a hot topic in the capital.
Even when many competitors emerged, trying to imitate them, they couldn’t defeat Lu Youling, whose mind was constantly brimming with new ideas.
In just one year, they opened a second chain store and a fourth snack shop.
In the coming six months, Gong Ze and Lu Youling planned to continue expanding.
By now, there was no longer any need for Gong Ze and Lu Youling to handle everything personally. Before they knew it, the two had become major new merchants in the capital. But Gong Ze knew that this wasn’t Lu Youling’s true future or wish.
·
“Where are we really going, Gong Ze?”
“Tch, you’ll find out when we get there.”
“I wasn’t asking you!”
In the corridor of the Peace Hotel, Lu Youling and Feng Xueping argued across Gong Ze, leaning around him to snap at each other.
A helpless gentleness showed on Gong Ze’s face, but deep down, he really wanted to give each of them a knock on the head and tell them both to shut up.
Taking the two of them out was like walking two loud-mouthed huskies.
They were too noisy.
Feng Xueping was annoyed at the thought that all the effort he’d put in over the past days, calling in so many favors, was ultimately helping that cross-dressing little liar who had tricked his friend. But Gong Ze had asked him for help…
His face stiff, Feng Xueping pushed open the door to the private room, revealing the medical university professors and deans sitting inside chatting. Seeing Lu Youling’s stunned expression, he felt even more irritated.
“Now you understand? This guy—Gong Ze—knew you still love medicine. He asked me to help invite these elders here for you. Hmph, if you’re happy, just say so.”
Lu Youling turned blankly to look at the man. “Gong Ze… how did you know I wanted to apply to medical school…”
Gong Ze’s eyes curved as he gently encouraged, “Go on. Haven’t you always wanted to become a doctor? You’ve bought so many medical books and been secretly reading them in private. Your medical skills are excellent, and you have talent. They’ll like you.”
Lu Youling’s eyes quickly grew wet.
He held Gong Ze’s hand, looked at the senior medical professionals chatting inside, then back at Gong Ze’s encouraging gaze. His voice choked. “But… but what about the business… You spent so much money and effort to rent that shop because of the business. How can I just selfishly leave and stop doing it just because I want to study medicine? I…”
He was afraid of letting down Gong Ze’s expectations.
That was why Lu Youling hadn’t dared to slack off for even a day, nor had he dared to say that he had only started with the street stall to make a little money.
Gong Ze had already invested so much in him. How could Lu Youling have the nerve to say he wanted to do something else?
He felt it would be unfair to Gong Ze.
Even though deep down, Lu Youling wanted to fulfill the regret of not finishing medical school in his previous life, he even bought medical books and read them in secret.
He was terrified that Gong Ze would find out.
Because he knew that if Gong Ze found out, he would definitely support him, even if it put Gong Ze in a difficult position.
But despite Lu Youling’s belief that he had been very discreet, Gong Ze had still noticed.
“It’s fine,” the man said, his dark eyes lowered as he looked at Lu Youling.
“I’ll handle the business. All you need to do is go after your dream with full force. Don’t feel guilty. As long as you’re happy, I’ll be happy too.”
Lu Youling stood there dazedly, bathed in Gong Ze’s repeated concessions and tolerance. He lowered his head in shame and cried.
Amused, Gong Ze patted the little bun at the back of his head, made from hair that had grown too long.
Feng Xueping, watching from the side with his arms crossed as his good friend dotingly loved on that little liar, said irritably, “Stop dawdling. Don’t keep the teachers waiting too long.”
At this, Gong Ze pushed Lu Youling forward by his shoulders and urged gently, “Go on. Don’t leave yourself with regrets.”
“…Mm.”
Wiping away his tears, Lu Youling quickly hugged Gong Ze, then mustered his courage and walked into the private room.
The medical experts inside saw the young man enter and broke into kindly smiles.
Old Mr. Feng waved him over. “Look who’s here. Speak of the devil. Come in, come in.”
“My old friends, this is the one who saved my life, the one I told you about. Don’t let his age fool you—Lu Youling is very talented in medicine.”
The medical experts had only come as a favor to Old Mr. Feng and Feng Xueping, but after exchanging a few words with Lu Youling, they discovered that this handsome young man not only had a solid foundation in traditional Chinese medicine but could also hold his own in conversations about Western medicine, speaking fluently and knowledgeably.
For a moment, the eyes of these senior experts lit up.
It was 1950, and Western medicine was still in its exploratory stage—especially in China, where there was a significant gap.
What had started as polite conversation turned into genuine surprise. They couldn’t help but ask Lu Youling more in-depth questions.
Unexpectedly, many of Lu Youling’s ideas were very novel, and some of his theories were still in their experimental phase.
Not only were they surprised, but their desire to take him as a disciple surged.
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