A few minutes later, Qiao Mai clutched her bag and walked out of the Red Peak building, utterly thrilled.
She bought it! She actually bought it! In three months, she was going to be a multi-millionaire!
“Sister Qiao.”
He Sinian suddenly turned around.
His tall, commanding figure blocked the sunlight, casting her entirely within his shadow.
“Do you usually follow beauty trends and luxury brands? How did you end up knowing so much confidential information about these projects?”
Qiao Mai gripped her bag straps tighter.
Too hasty. She had been so busy showing off and slapping faces that she completely forgot about the black-bellied tycoon standing right beside her.
Raising her hand, she casually brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
“What’s so strange about that?” she blurted out a casual fib. “I just like reading original sci-fi and tech journals when I have free time. Investment is all about information gaps, of course you have to look for the safest projects.”
He Sinian stared at her.
An unreleased sample rejection report could be found in a tech journal?
Still, he didn’t call her bluff.
Re-establishing a safe distance between them, the corners of his lips curved upward, though his smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“It seems I’ve truly latched onto a very thick thigh. From now on, I’ll be completely relying on Sister Qiao.”
Seeing that her fib had worked, Qiao Mai’s face blossomed into smiles once more.
“Easy peasy! As long as you obediently listen to me, Sister Qiao will eat meat, and I’ll make sure you never just drink the broth!”
She strode forward, her steps light and brisk.
He Sinian lagged half a step behind, his gaze fixed steadily on her back.
A moment later, he pulled out his phone, typed out a message with one hand, and hit send. Then he put his phone away and followed unhurriedly behind her.
Back at the southern suburb villa.
Qiao Mai slumped onto the sofa, pulling out her phone to order a lavish takeout feast in celebration.
Her finger swiped twice across Meituan, and the page refreshed:
[Payment failed. Insufficient balance.]
Qiao Mai froze.
She switched back to her mobile banking app. Account balance: 142.50 yuan.
Just now at Red Peak, to project an image of absolute strength, she hadn’t just invested the twenty million; she had also casually paid the lawyer’s notarization fees and service charges out of pocket. Plus, the original body’s WeChat account had only had a few dozen bucks left to begin with.
Eating next week was already going to be a problem.
When He Sinian walked out of the study, he saw Qiao Mai kneeling on the sofa, frantically tapping away at her phone.
He glanced at the empty coffee table. “Sister Qiao, what’s for dinner tonight?”
Qiao Mai quickly put her phone away and gave a dry cough.
“We just finalized a multi-hundred-million-dollar deal today, my stomach needs something light and cleansing.”
Ten minutes later.
Two steaming hot bowls of Master Kong braised beef instant noodles sat on the dining table.
He Sinian looked at the dehydrated vegetables floating in the paper bowl and didn’t pick up his chopsticks.
“Eat up.” Qiao Mai twirled a mouthful of noodles onto her chopsticks, slurped them in, and mumbled vaguely, “Investing is a long-term game. During this period, we need to experience life and temper our mental fortitude.”
He Sinian had a bad premonition, lifting his eyelids to look at her. “What are you trying to say?”
Qiao Mai felt a little guilty under his gaze.
But without money, you couldn’t move an inch. Hardening her heart, she pushed the instant noodles forward.
“I picked up a micro-drama gig for you. You’re going to audition tomorrow—one thousand five hundred a day! It’s not as high as last time, but it’s a daily cash payout!”
He Sinian looked displeased. “I told you, I’m not an actor.”
Qiao Mai knew she was in the wrong here. But she only wanted to be a lazy couch potato. This kind of physical labor that required showing your face had to fall on him.
“Darling, we agreed to support each other. I’ve already started investing in our future, surely you don’t have the heart to make me work hard all by myself?”
Blinking her eyes, she continued trying to persuade him earnestly.
“Besides, I’ve already spent my allowance for the month, and my parents aren’t giving me anymore. If you don’t go act, the only thing left for us to do is beg on the pedestrian overpass.”
“Compared to begging, you definitely prefer self-reliance, right?”
He Sinian: “…”
You reap what you sow—he finally knew what that felt like.
The next morning, Hengdian World Studios.
The entrance of the extra actors’ guild was bustling with a churning crowd.
“The crew of The Crooked-Mouth Dragon King is urgently casting a male lead! Must be handsome, over 185 cm tall, 1,500 daily cash payout!” shouted the assistant director through a megaphone.
Qiao Mai’s eyes lit up, and she shoved He Sinian forcefully to the front.
“Assistant director, look—does he work?!”
The assistant director lowered the megaphone and looked He Sinian up and down.
His looks and build were beyond reproach. It was just that his aura was too intense—even more intimidating than the chief director.
Still, they were desperately short of people today. Gritting his teeth, the director said, “Fine, he’ll do! Go change and get ready for an audition!”
Ten minutes later, He Sinian walked out of the makeshift tent.
Although the quality of the security guard uniform was mediocre, with a bit of pilling around the shoulders, a Ferrari was still a Ferrari. Even dressed like this, He Sinian commanded attention so completely that people couldn’t look away.
His aura was just a bit too freezing, causing the surrounding extras to unconsciously clear a circle around him.
Both Qiao Mai and the assistant director nodded in satisfaction.
“Come on, let me run you through the scene,” the assistant director said, leading him in front of the camera.
“This scene is where you’re the matrilocal son-in-law bringing a basin of foot-washing water, your mother-in-law kicks it over, and then she slaps you.”
“The key is to look pathetic and aggrieved! But it also has to convey a sense of hidden forbearance—do you understand?”
He Sinian listened expressionlessly.
He was once again doubting his life choices: Why on earth did he insist on pretending to be poor with Qiao Mai?
Yet he had no room to back out now. He could only nod stiffly.
“You’re definitely going to nail this, you’ve got this!” Qiao Mai chimed in cheerfully, trying to encourage him at the worst possible moment.
The corner of He Sinian’s eye twitched, refusing to look at her.
“All departments ready, Action!”
The director called out. The clapperboard snapped shut.
An extra playing an old woman picked up a basin of cold water and splashed it straight onto the tips of He Sinian’s shoes.
“Useless trash! This water is so hot, are you trying to scald me to death?!” the old woman cursed in accordance with the script.
He Sinian stood in place, lowering his gaze to look at his wet shoelaces.
When he lifted his head again, his eyes surged with a glacial chill.
The extra playing the old woman locked eyes with his gaze, felt a jolt in her chest, and completely forgot her lines.
“Cut!”
The director grabbed his script and slammed it onto the table. “What is going on here? Assistant director, didn’t you explain the scene to him?”
“I asked for a pathetic live-in son-in-law, not the Jade Emperor! If he can’t act, get lost!”
Sweating profusely, the assistant director stepped forward to apologize. After all, finding a stunt double with this kind of physical appearance for 1,500 was harder than climbing to heaven.
The director waved his hand impatiently. “Three minutes! If he can’t do it, get out right now!”
Qiao Mai turned around and pulled He Sinian off to the side.
“Big brother, aren’t you drowning in debt? Just treat this scene like those debt collectors breathing down your neck. You have to act like a little grandson begging for an extension—won’t that instantly bring out that crushed, pathetic vibe?”
He Sinian said stiffly, “I told you, I don’t know how to act.”
“What’s so hard about this!” Qiao Mai said anxiously. “Look, I’ll give you a demonstration.”
She raised her right hand, making a mock swinging motion of a slap.
“In a moment, when the old woman swings her hand over, you just duck your head like this and tilt your face to the side…”
Before she could finish her sentence, her heel caught on a tangled mess of cables lying on the ground.
In an instant, she lost her balance and lunged violently forward.
Leaning forward sharply, her raised palm was moving too fast to pull back—
Slap!
Her palm landed solidly right across He Sinian’s face.
The air froze at that exact moment.
Qiao Mai’s palm went numb, and her entire body stiffened completely.
He Sinian’s face was turned toward the right.
A few seconds later, he slowly turned his head back and stared straight at her.