A long silence ensued. Lin Yue Shu knew he couldn’t play any word games with this request, like saying, “My request is for you to fulfill three more of my requests.”
Before he transmigrated into the book, he had dealt with many wealthy people and understood that they all adhered to one principle: ruthlessness.
At the same time, he was well aware that he had inherited the original owner’s identity, and given the original owner’s current situation, money, power, and fame were the only opportunities to change his fate. With money, he could roll up dollar bills into cylinders and stuff them into the holes of those old perverts who coveted him.
But he didn’t want that.
Lin Yue Shu remained silent for what felt like a century, then looked up at the bright moon in the sky. After a long while, as if making a decision, he said, “You want to settle things with me, and I dare not object. But your proposal is too sudden, and I can’t think of anything right now. Give me some time.”
Huo Yi Sen’s dark gaze fell on his face, and he lowered his voice to the minimum: “Three days.”
“Thank you for understanding,” Lin Yue Shu bowed.
*
Late at night.
Lin Yue Shu lay on the bed, eyes closed, his fingertips gently touching the stud on his tongue. It hurt, as if it was getting inflamed.
He ran downstairs to find some anti-inflammatory medicine, took it, and sucked on some ice to relieve the inflammation caused by the tongue stud, and also to ease the tearing at the corner of his mouth.
He used to be disgusted by such things, going crazy if someone even mentioned it. Now, his body was in ruins, yet he couldn’t help but recall the details of that time.
Yes, it was a double standard at play. Even in the entertainment industry, where beauties were everywhere, it was rare to see a male of such high quality.
But the male had dismissed him with “I’ll fulfill one of your requests.”
There’s no such logic in the world.
Lin Yue Shu lay with his eyes closed for a while, the ice melting and easing the pain in his tongue. He took out his phone and opened the weather forecast for the next thirty days.
After checking the weather, he was bored and started browsing Weibo.
Once a dominant figure on Weibo, he had now fallen to the point where he was untraceable in this world.
Even when he searched for his own super topic, he could only find a few hundred posts.
That’s right, this is the treatment for someone with a hundred thousand fans.
And those hundred thousand fans, more than half were bought by the company.
Lin Yue Shu fell asleep while scrolling.
The next day, he was woken up by a phone ringtone that sounded like a death knell.
Groggily, he picked it up and saw the caller ID: “Agent Liu Yao.”
It really amused Lin Yue Shu. He didn’t expect that the original owner, a top-tier nobody, could even have an agent.
He answered the call, and the rough voice on the other end was straightforward: “We’ve given you time. Today, you should come to the company to settle the accounts.”
*
Completely penniless, Lin Yue Shu relied on his long legs to walk to the original owner’s agency.
He knocked on the door, and the oppressive atmosphere inside hit him like a heavy punch. Lin Yue Shu saw the agent Liu Yao, who would later also sleep with the original owner, and the company boss Lu Boxiao, who took him to the debauched parties.
Seeing them surprised Lin Yue Shu a bit. Agent Liu Yao was as ugly as described in the book, but Lu Boxiao, whom he thought would be a sleazy middle-aged man, turned out to be quite gentle and refined, sitting there like a decent person.
Without them speaking, Lin Yue Shu already knew the upcoming plot.
In the original text, the contract between the original owner and the agency was a scam orchestrated by the husband in collusion with the agency.
A single contract completely restricted all of the original owner’s actions, not allowing him to take private jobs or arranging any work for him, just keeping him hanging until he couldn’t take it anymore and asked to terminate the contract, paying a huge penalty fee.
No money? Easy, just sleep with the agent for a night, then be led by the boss to the debauched parties, squeezing out all his value.
The scenes of group activities were too much for Lin Yue Shu to bear, so he skimmed through them quickly.
In front of him, Lu Boxiao calmly drank his coffee, but it was agent Liu Yao who spoke first: “So, you asked us for a year, and today is the deadline. You haven’t fulfilled any of the contract’s terms. What do you plan to do?”
Lin Yue Shu took the contract and looked at it. It was simply a tyrannical clause.
No wonder, if the original owner looked like him, there was no reason not to be popular.
But the company secretly rejected all the olive branches thrown to the original owner. Even if a future warrior came, they’d have to leave a kidney behind.
And the 80-20 split in the contract… this was pure bullying.
Lin Yue Shu put down the contract, ignored the unusually ugly Liu Yao, and looked at the passably good-looking Lu Boxiao, smiling: “According to the terms, I need to compensate your company seventy million, right?”
Lu Boxiao stared at him for a long time before saying, “Yes.”
Lin Yue Shu showed him the balance on his bank card, confidently saying, “I can’t afford it.”
Liu Yao got angry: “You can’t afford it, and you’re still so confident!”
Lin Yue Shu put away his phone, raised his hand to admire his beautiful fingers: “Even if you sue me, I can’t afford it. At this point, President Lu, why not think of a way to squeeze out the remaining value from me? Any loss your company can recover is something.”
Lu Boxiao looked at Lin Yue Shu’s beautiful yet distant face and chuckled softly: “So, what brilliant idea do you have?”
“It’s not brilliant,” Lin Yue Shu changed his posture to admire his fingers, “but I have a humble suggestion.”
“If you know it’s a humble suggestion, then keep it to yourself,” Liu Yao said.
Lu Boxiao interrupted him, smiling as he asked, “Let’s hear it.”
Lin Yue Shu was straightforward: “Sign a betting agreement with me. If I don’t earn seven hundred million in a year…”
He smiled: “Don’t you know many wealthy bosses? I’ve heard these bosses especially like to mistreat pretty boys with no background. If I don’t earn seven hundred million in a year, whether it’s five, ten, or a hundred people, I can do whatever positions they like.”
The smile on Lu Boxiao’s face gradually faded.
He sensed it from the moment Lin Yue Shu walked in; he felt that he was different from before. The child who used to only shrink his neck and plead was now full of confidence and boasting. Could it be that when a person is driven to the brink, they choose to gamble everything and become fearless?
Liu Yao started jumping around again: “You? Seven hundred million? You can eat more shit and dream less.”
Lin Yue Shu glanced at him and chuckled: “With your qualifications, of course, you’d think it’s a fantasy.”
“Hey, you!”
“Enough,” Lu Boxiao interrupted Liu Yao again, “Let’s do as you say. Have the secretary come and draft the contract.”
Liu Yao: …?
Lu Boxiao didn’t believe Lin Yue Shu could earn seven hundred million in a year. After all, that’s the price of a top-tier star in the industry. Besides, he and Shao Cheng Yan had an agreement in private, so they wouldn’t really let Lin Yue Shu rise to prominence.
He was just curious about how the once timid child could now stand before him, full of confidence and vigor. What had he unlocked?
Even if they took him to court, he couldn’t come up with seventy million. Giving him to those old perverts? When did those old perverts ever pay after having their fun? Even the mosquito meat Shao Cheng Yan gave wasn’t enough to patch up the west wall. This losing business should come to an end.
The secretary came in to draft the contract, and Lin Yue Shu pointed out: “Add a clause that the company cannot interfere with any of my decisions during this period.”
Liu Yao: “You really think you’re somebody.”
Lin Yue Shu ignored him, but he and Lu Boxiao spoke simultaneously: “Secretary, write that down.”
After getting the contract, Lin Yue Shu carefully read it to ensure there were no hidden clauses, then signed and stamped it.
“President Lu,” Lin Yue Shu stacked the documents neatly, seemingly casually saying, “Alder Jewelry is looking for a new spokesperson, right?”
Lu Boxiao raised his chin to look at him, giving a low “hmm.”
“Give me the recent secret itinerary of Alder’s domestic agents,” Lin Yue Shu said, looking up. “With President Lu’s connections, it shouldn’t be difficult to get this.”
Lu Boxiao slowly lit a cigarette, curled his lips, and through the swirling smoke, told the secretary: “Get a copy for him.”
*
Three days passed in Lin Yue Shu’s cycle of sleeping and waking.
Lin Yue Shu wasn’t in a hurry to reply to Huo Yi Sen. It wasn’t until the last night of the agreed time, as he expected, that Huo Yi Sen sent a message first:
[Have you thought it over?]
Lin Yue Shu wasn’t in a rush to reply. It wasn’t until the clock was about to strike twelve that he leisurely responded:
[Representative Huo, I’ve thought about it seriously. Money, power, and fame are things I feel unworthy of. I don’t think I have that value.]
After sending it, Huo Yi Sen didn’t reply for a long time.
It wasn’t until the hour hand had circled halfway around the clock that Lin Yue Shu sent another message:
[Spend a day with me, and after that, we’ll part ways and never meet again.]
Half an hour later, Huo Yi Sen finally replied:
[Time and place.]
Looking at the cold and concise four words, Lin Yue Shu couldn’t help but laugh.
Keep pretending, let’s see how long you can keep it up.
Author’s Note: ———————-