Zhao Muqing thought it sounded absurd. Was this really Shen Guanzhi? What connoisseur would willingly spend a huge sum of money on a fake?
Yet Shen Guanzhi had an unstoppable attitude. He bought the heart-shaped pink fake diamond, stepped out of the store, and placed the item right into Zhao Muqing’s palm. “Hold on to this.”
“What do you mean? For me?” Zhao Muqing stood frozen in place, holding the pink diamond, or rather, the crystal.
“Didn’t you like it?”
“After watching you spend so much money on it, I don’t like it quite as much anymore.”
Shen Guanzhi’s tone remained flat. “You can throw it away.”
“That would be a waste.” Zhao Muqing shoved the pink crystal into his pocket and gave it a couple of pats to make sure it was secure before continuing forward. “If you are going to be willing to spend this kind of money, you might as well buy a real one. Even lower quality would be better than this.”
“Next time.” Shen Guanzhi walked along the small alley, answering without looking back.
“Next time?” Zhao Muqing hurried a few steps to catch up. “Are you actually going to buy me one?”
“Depends on your performance. If you work hard enough during this period and generate revenue for the studio, you can pick any gemstone from Lisen’s collection as your year-end bonus.”
Only then did Zhao Muqing learn the name of the middle-aged man from earlier. “How am I supposed to pick? I don’t know anything about gemstones.”
“I will help you.”
Zhao Muqing’s eyes immediately turned into dollar signs. “Well, you are out of luck then. I am definitely picking the most expensive one.”
“Let’s see if you have what it takes.” Shen Guanzhi let out a rare, light chuckle.
Halfway there, Shen Guanzhi pulled the car over at a charging station. It would take about twenty to thirty minutes to get a full charge. Feeling utterly bored, Zhao Muqing began observing the view outside and discovered a temple standing atop a small hill not far away.
He looked up the temple’s name online and found out it was supposedly very effective for praying about career prospects, academics, or wealth. “How about you stay here while I go up to the temple and burn some incense?”
“What are you praying for?” Shen Guanzhi paused his movements.
“For wealth, of course. I am counting on winning your year-end bonus diamond.” Zhao Muqing made a move to get out of the car, but Shen Guanzhi reached out and stopped him. “I am going with you.”
Was he worried he would cause trouble just by burning some incense? Zhao Muqing wanted to complain, but since Shen Guanzhi was doing it out of good intentions, he held his tongue and kept his frustration in check.
Once the car was fully charged, Shen Guanzhi drove all the way to the foot of the mountain. The temple was built on a fairly low elevation, and the two of them reached the front gates in no time.
Shen Guanzhi wasn’t big on places like temples, so he stood outside the gates and waited for Zhao Muqing.
Zhao Muqing bought some incense at the entrance, lit them, and bowed devoutly before the Buddha statue several times. He mentally chanted wishes for wealth countless times before finally inserting the incense into the burner.
Just as he was about to step out of the temple gates, his gaze was suddenly caught by a fortune-telling booth on the side.
Unable to resist his curiosity, Zhao Muqing drew a fortune stick in front of the Buddha statue and donated a bit of incense money to have someone interpret it.
He originally wanted to ask about his wealth luck, but after a moment of thought, he decided that when it came to money matters, asking Shen Guanzhi was much more reliable than asking a fortune reader. So he changed his mind on the spot and asked about romance.
Ever since crossing over, he had been saddled with rotten peach blossom luck, so he was quite concerned about whether he had any good romantic prospects left.
The fortune interpreter rambled on for a long time and finally summed it up in eight words: far away on the horizon, right in front of your eyes.
Zhao Muqing immediately decided the person across from him was a fraud. He had heard that exact line way too many times in television dramas, and it sounded like a total cop-out.
Looking around the temple, there were only a few middle-aged uncles and aunties present, so even if there was a good match, it was definitely far away on the horizon.
Donating incense money allowed visitors to receive a safety amulet. Figuring that free things shouldn’t be wasted, Zhao Muqing picked a talisman for warding off evil spirits and protecting peace from among the many options.
Maybe this could help Shen Guanzhi have fewer nightmares. Zhao Muqing thought subconsciously.
Feeling deflated, Zhao Muqing returned to Shen Guanzhi’s side. “I have a feeling that was not reliable at all.”
“Human effort is the decisive factor.” Shen Guanzhi coldly tossed those four words at him.
Zhao Muqing couldn’t be bothered to argue. If he actually had any way to influence things through his own effort, why would he bother praying to deities at all?
“This is for you.” Zhao Muqing shoved the safety amulet into Shen Guanzhi’s palm. “Consider it a return gift, even if it cost a lot less than what you spent.”
“A safety amulet?”
“Yeah, for calming the mind. Try sliding it under your pillow when you sleep. Who knows, maybe you will stop having nightmares.”
“I don’t believe in these things,” Shen Guanzhi said as he tucked the amulet away. “Though there is no harm in trying.”
“Why say it like you are doing me such a huge favor? Give it back if you don’t want it.” Zhao Muqing held out his open palm toward Shen Guanzhi.
“I didn’t say I didn’t want it.” Shen Guanzhi walked straight ahead down the mountain. Zhao Muqing hurried to catch up. Since he wasn’t going to return it, why did he have to walk away so fast?
Shen Guanzhi had agreed with Xu Yingtang to deliver the design drafts within a month. Until the physical items were completed, all communication could be handled online, so Shen Guanzhi booked the earliest possible flight back to Dongyuan City.
Zhao Muqing got to ride in first class for a change. His luggage was checked straight through to Dongyuan and delivered directly to Shen Guanzhi’s villa by a courier service.
“I told the housekeeper to arrange a room for you on the fourth floor.” As soon as Shen Guanzhi stepped into the villa entryway, he casually dropped those words. He walked toward the elevator at a measured pace, clearly waiting for Zhao Muqing to catch up.
Zhao Muqing walked over with delayed realization. Didn’t he say he didn’t want to see him earlier? He sure changed his tune fast. “Really? Does it include three meals a day?”
“I will give you the contact information for my personal chef later. You can let them know in advance if you want anything specific.” Shen Guanzhi said, pressing the fourth-floor button after watching Zhao Muqing step into the elevator. “Your daily expenses in the villa will be put on my tab.”
“Thank you, Boss. You are so generous.” Zhao Muqing’s eyes practically lit up with dollar signs.
Zhao Muqing’s room was at the very end of the hallway to the left of the fourth-floor elevator. The bed, duvet covers, and other necessities were already prepared, meaning he could move right in. Without any hesitation, he threw himself facedown onto the soft mattress. Having just stepped off a plane and then endured over an hour in Shen Guanzhi’s car, he was already exhausted to the bone.
“You can return to this room whenever you want. Aside from the time right before I go to sleep at night, do not come to the third floor unless it is urgent.”
Shen Guanzhi’s room was on the third floor, or to be precise, the entire third floor was Shen Guanzhi’s private domain. Every floor of the villa had various functional rooms to meet personal daily needs, so logically speaking, aside from leaving the house through the ground floor, there was really no reason to wander onto other floors during normal daily life.
Zhao Muqing readily agreed. Just as he was about to close his eyes and rest, he heard Shen Guanzhi add one final instruction right before heading downstairs. “Have the driver take you home sometime to pack up your things and bring them over.”
Another command-like tone. Did he even agree to move in? Though to be fair, he was actually quite happy to live this wealthy lifestyle here.
Zhao Muqing hadn’t even been back to his own apartment yet. After being discharged from the hospital, he flew straight to Taozhou, and his necessary daily items and luggage were brought over by Xu Cheng using the suitcase he had previously left at the villa.
Curious about his current living situation, he took some time that afternoon to contact Shen Guanzhi’s driver, who didn’t ask any unnecessary questions and simply pulled up the GPS navigation.
Zhao Muqing let out a sigh of relief. Truth be told, he didn’t even know the exact location of his own home.
The driver finally parked the car in front of what looked like a rather upscale residential complex. While sitting in the passenger seat, Zhao Muqing had scrolled through his WeChat and discovered relevant group chats on his phone, where his nickname was already updated to Building 8, Room 707.
He located the door to his apartment and spotted a middle-aged woman standing right outside his doorway looking utterly menacing.
Zhao Muqing instinctively assumed she must be his biological mother and opened his mouth to greet her, but the woman immediately launched into a furious tirade before he could even get a word out. “You call yourself a male model? Didn’t you guys say models make a lot of money? What is the meaning of several months of overdue rent, huh?”
The original host really shouldn’t have lived in an upscale complex without any money, thank you very much.
Zhao Muqing hurriedly appeased the landlady, assuring her he could clear the balance immediately and would move out without renewing his lease. The next second, a large chunk of the remuneration he had just earned from the charity exhibition had to be transferred away.
Only then did the landlady leave with a satisfied expression, leaving Zhao Muqing to watch his remaining balance drop while his heart bled. Even though Shen Guanzhi would cover his daily expenses, having zero personal savings gave him zero sense of security.
It looked like he really needed to hustle for work opportunities. Zhao Muqing let out an imperceptible sigh.
He walked around the apartment, dug out all the necessary identification documents, picked out clothing and shoes that matched his personal taste, and grabbed whatever electronic devices were usable, stuffing everything into his suitcase to take with him.
Finally, in a small back room, Zhao Muqing found two framed memorial portraits with the names of the deceased written in the corner. He guessed they belonged to the original host’s parents.
He packed the portraits into his luggage as well. Leaving them behind as wandering ownerless spirits seemed a bit too heartless.
Zhao Muqing loaded his luggage into the car, returned to the villa, and got everything unpacked and settled. Just as he lay down on the bed hoping to rest, he noticed another WeChat message from Shen Guanzhi.
He must have owed Shen Guanzhi in a past life. The moment he tried to close his eyes, the man found work for him to do.
Shen Guanzhi. [Forget about the lesson missed this morning in Taozhou. Starting tomorrow, strictly follow the schedule for studio training.]
[Arrive an hour early. The agent will sign the contract with you.]
Wait, does that mean he didn’t have an agent before? No wonder the original host’s career was such a mess.
Using the laptop he had just brought over from his old residence, Zhao Muqing checked the schedule in his email. The morning slot was empty, meaning he could still wake up in Shen Guanzhi’s bed and head back to his own room to sleep for half a morning.
However, reality turned out to be far less ideal. When Zhao Muqing opened his eyes, he found himself still lying in Shen Guanzhi’s bed, while the space beside him was completely empty.
He instinctively reached for his bedside phone to check the time: 12:00 PM.
Training started at 2:00 PM, and he had to meet the agent an hour early, which meant he needed to be at the studio by 1:00 PM.
Zhao Muqing scrambled out of bed in a panic, threw on a barely acceptable outfit, shoved his feet into his shoes, and sprinted for the elevator.
The villa was located in the suburbs, whereas Shen Guanzhi’s studio was right in the prime downtown area. Even with direct subway or bus lines, getting there would take at least half an hour.
When he finally arrived at the studio, Shen Guanzhi had previously notified him that the meeting was in the small third-floor conference room. Unfortunately, the elevator was occupied, and he ended up waiting on the ground floor for quite a while.
By the time he finally saw Shen Guanzhi, the man didn’t even bother checking his watch before coldly slapping him with a remark: “You are three minutes late.”
“It’s only three minutes,” Zhao Muqing attempted to argue. “I actually would have made it on time if the elevator wasn’t being hogged.”
“Late is late. Do not make excuses.” Shen Guanzhi clearly wasn’t buying it.
Zhao Muqing sighed inwardly. With a demonic boss like this, he was going to suffer plenty in the future.
“Forget it. Let’s not waste time. Zhao Muqing,” Shen Guanzhi said, gesturing toward a stylishly dressed woman sitting nearby. “Your agent, Li Shuqiao.”
“Hello, you must be Zhao Muqing, right? Brother Shen has told me about you.” Li Shuqiao smiled warmly and extended her hand toward Zhao Muqing.
Zhao Muqing couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination, but Li Shuqiao seemed to be observing him with a rather subtle look in her eyes.