Volume 1 Chapter 19 The Most Unworthy Wretch of Love
Staring at Jun Lin’s charmingly roguish smile, Shen He found it hard to believe he was a widower who had lost his newlywed wife.
It seemed Jun Lin was a devoted lover; otherwise, he wouldn’t have turned down so many suitors.
“Princess Jun, why so fiery so early in the morning? Did you swallow firecrackers?” Shen He smiled as she handed Jun Lin a packed box of egg rice cakes.
“My grandmother came over yesterday. Remembering you like these, she specially made them and asked me to bring them to you.”
Jun Lin happily took the meal box, opened it, lowered his head to take a deep sniff, and sighed contentedly, “I’m alive again.”
He sat on the office desk eating while complaining to Shen He about a new client. “Last time, I took on a project for a young girl as a favor.”
“Damn! That girl spends all day scrolling on some social media app. At first, she said she wanted a cream-colored style. Fine, I designed a plan. She took one look and said she wanted an old-money American style.”
“One moment it’s this, the next it’s that. I’ve been spinning like a top, and in the end, she says the cream-colored style suits her better after all.”
“As if I don’t have to work, and the employees in the studio don’t need to be paid—I should just put on a show with her!”
He hardly made any money from it and was nearly drained mentally. Jun Lin still felt irritated talking about it.
Having lived a second life, Shen He was calm and Zen-like. “Stay calm. The customer is God.”
Jun Lin wore a cold expression. “I’ve converted to Taoism now. Better the Taoist friend dies than the poor Taoist. Next time I encounter such a difficult customer, I’ll just tear into them.”
Shen He chuckled lightly.
“Oh, right.” Jun Lin asked her, “You haven’t been around these past couple of days, but I’ve heard a lot about your Shen family. When you were little, did your mother really almost drown you?”
“Yeah, almost. But fortunately, a kind soul saved me, and I survived against the odds.” Shen He answered casually, as if talking about someone else’s life.
Jun Lin came from a prominent family in Jingdu and had seen all sorts of monsters and demons. But when the protagonist of the story was his good friend, Jun Lin still felt indignant on her behalf.
“Your mother is really awful. She deserves to be bedridden from a stroke, covered in bedsores until she rots to death, and not even afford a burial plot when she dies!”
Jun Lin had a whole repertoire of curses.
After cursing, he looked at Shen He with pity and sighed, “It’s really not easy for our little seedling to grow up strong and healthy.”
With Shen He’s background and experiences, it was truly remarkable that she had come this far.
Grandma Su, who raised her, was also an outstanding and resilient woman.
Shen He sneered and told him, “That’s not all. The night before last, my birth mother, to teach me a lesson, even hired a man to try to rape me. Luckily, I was prepared and sent her to jail.”
“Holy shit!” Jun Lin’s worldview was shattered. “You absolutely must make sure she rots in prison!”
Shen He said, “I have my plans. Don’t worry, I won’t let her off easily.”
Seeing that Shen He had things under control, Jun Lin felt reassured.
“By the way, will these things affect you and Mu Tingyun?” Knowing that Shen He loved Mu Tingyun like a lovesick puppy, Jun Lin was still quite worried about her.
Shen He countered, “Do you think I’m bound to Mu Tingyun for life?”
"It's not just my opinion; it's practically written on your forehead that you're utterly infatuated with Mu Tingyun." Jun Lin shrugged, reminding Shen He, "Shen He, things that are too easily obtained are never cherished. Men are all worthless scum."
This statement indeed fit Mu Tingyun perfectly.
Shen He countered Jun Lin, "And you? Are you also worthless scum?"
Jun Lin slowed down his chewing, looked out the window at the taller office building, and said with a self-deprecating tone, "I'm the most undeserving worthless scum when it comes to love."
Shen He gazed at him thoughtfully.
Everyone has their own story; perhaps Jun Lin had betrayed that girl named Xiao Jianhong.
By the time he realized his mistake, she was already gone.
People, they're all worthless scum.
Not just men are worthless; she herself was also worthless scum.
"Grandma's rice cakes are really delicious." Jun Lin shamelessly said, "I want to eat these again tomorrow morning."
"That won't work; my grandma has gone back."
"She went back already? Why didn't she stay a few more days?"
"She'll come back tomorrow night." Shen He smiled faintly, "This time, she won't go back."
"That's good." Jun Lin tidied up the finished meal box and immediately switched to work mode, "There's a young millionaire with money to burn, wanting to hire someone to design a house for his socially anxious beloved."
"You're full of clever ideas; let's go try it too."
Shen He also became interested, tidied up, and followed Jun Lin.
Jun Lin drove Shen He to a longstanding five-star hotel in Qingshi. The person responsible for receiving them was a middle-aged man, likely the millionaire's assistant.
Because the reward was generous, many studios came to register for the bidding today. Shen He saw many familiar colleagues.
While Jun Lin went to register, Shen He slipped away to the restroom to freshen up her makeup.
When returning to the lobby, passing by the elevator hall, Shen He bumped into the middle-aged assistant respectfully escorting a young man into the VIP elevator.
Seeing the man's face clearly, Shen He was deeply shaken.
She secretly quickened her pace, returned to the lobby, grabbed Jun Lin's arm, and whispered, "Guess who that young millionaire with money to burn is!"
Jun Lin truly couldn't guess, he asked, "Who?"
Shen He said, "It's Meng Shan!"
Jun Lin hadn't met Meng Shan, but he knew of the Meng family and was well aware of Meng Shan's name.
The Meng family, all of them are lawyers.
The famously renowned third-party legal institution in the financial world, Golden Judgment, is an industry controlled by the Meng family. Upper-class circles in various countries hope to hire Golden Judgment to safeguard them.
It is said that Golden Judgment handles a wide range of business; they not only provide legal assistance to clients but also undertake pawn and hiring services.
And Meng Shan is precisely the young master of the Meng family.
The more Jun Lin understood the Meng family's background, the more puzzled he became. He didn't even know Meng Shan; how could Shen He know him?
Shen He said, "Jun Lin, I must secure this deal."
In her previous life, at Song Jingcheng's funeral, Meng Shan personally appeared and publicly announced Song Jingcheng's will.
That will bore the steel seal of Golden Judgment, the Song family emblem, and Song Jingcheng's personal seal; it couldn't be fake.
Shen He also wanted to make a deal with Meng Shan, so she must secure this deal.
Jun Lin believed in Shen He's capabilities, but also understood the principle that beyond mountains there are higher mountains, and beyond people there are greater talents. He encouraged Shen He: "Go for it. If we secure this deal, I'll give you a sports car as your year-end bonus."
Shen He immediately shook his head and said, "No sports car, cash."
"Little money-grubber!"
Just as they were joking around, the male assistant came over with a stack of business cards.
He handed out cards to all the competitors in turn and informed them: "Please submit your design proposals to this email address within three days. We will respond within five business days."
Shen He looked down at the card and noticed that the name printed wasn't Meng Shan, but the male assistant Jin Hui's name.
Below the name was an email address.
Everyone had worked hard to come here, yet they hadn't even met the actual client. Many expressed dissatisfaction with such arrogant behavior.
A young guy nearby, new to the industry, grumbled: "No royal status, but suffering from royal arrogance—really putting on a show!"
Shen He really wanted to tell him that Meng Shan truly had royal status!