Chapter 48
He often felt that, because he himself wasn’t quite unhinged enough, he didn’t deserve Xia Fengsheng.
Faced with the accusation, Shi Ye looked dead in the eyes and said with heartfelt apology, “Sorry. I wasn’t born with a third hand.”
Xia Fengsheng was arrogant and cold. “Then try not to do things that let me down in the future.”
Shi Ye: ……
With that, Xia Fengsheng strode right past him and headed down the mountain. Because he was walking with his arms folded and wearing a long down coat, his whole body swayed a little from side to side, nothing like the gloomy-handsome type his face belonged to.
Watching his tall, slender back, Shi Ye gritted his teeth in anger.
You little psycho, just you wait. One day I’m going to trick you so thoroughly you won’t even have your underwear left, and you’ll end up hugging my thigh and crying.
After spending several days at the hot spring resort soaking in the baths and unwinding, Xia Fengsheng looked much better when he came back. From head to toe, he had the air of a living person again.
His skin, once pale as death, had absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, and now he looked glowing, rosy, and full of life.
The moment he returned to school, Xia Fengsheng hurriedly dropped off his luggage and went straight to the studio.
By the time he arrived, everyone on the team was already there.
He was the last one.
Xia Fengsheng handed out the gifts he had brought back from the hot spring resort.
Zhan Shengyao: “Thanks, Xiaosheng.”
Zheng Xing: “Thanks, Sheng.”
Qin Buming: “Gah.”
Xia Fengsheng: .
A few days apart, and his senior had turned into an android.
In Xia Fengsheng’s heart, Qin Buming had always been the mature, gentle, hardworking senior who carried everything without complaint. But ever since breaking away from Yang Liwan, Qin Buming’s mental state had only grown more and more beautiful.
Everyone in the team had been friends to begin with, so they got along very freely. Even though Qin Buming was, technically speaking, the leader, he never pulled that seniority hierarchy nonsense.
Xia Fengsheng noticed that this time, not only did he look much healthier, the others all looked radiant too.
Before, the four of them had gone around looking like zombies every single day. Ever since they got Zhao-laoban’s funding, there was no one alive more obviously alive than them.
Sure enough, money was the best tonic.
A great tonic.
Qin Buming pulled a thick stack of files out from beneath the desk. These were all the work invitations they had received over the past week. Most had originally come in electronic form, but he had printed them all out for easier reading.
The stack was practically a small hill. The pile in his hands alone had at least a dozen, and that was after Qin Buming had already screened them.
In the past, they wouldn’t even have dared dream of getting this much work.
Zhan Shengyao looked at the thick pile of invitations. “This many?”
Qin Buming said, “Ever since we successfully helped Miss Zhao break up with that guy, our name’s gotten around in the industry.”
Offers for cooperation had come one after another, and naturally, Zhao-laoban and Miss Zhao had helped spread the word.
Ever since working with them, Zhao-laoban had praised them nonstop. Wherever he went, he had to bring them up at least twice. One person told ten, ten told a hundred, and soon their studio had gained a bit of a name in the industry.
Qin Buming spread all the files across the table. “Everyone, take a look.”
The others crowded over. Xia Fengsheng picked up one from the table.
File: Make a deaf-mute learn to speak.
Xia Fengsheng: ?
The moment he saw the cover page, Xia Fengsheng frowned.
The job requirement was to make a deaf-mute person learn to speak.
This was the sort of thing that might not succeed even if you went and made a wish directly to heaven, so why on earth was it sitting here?
Thinking Qin Buming had accidentally mixed some random nonsense into the work files, he put it down and picked up the next one.
File: Make my six-year-old cat get up every night and pour me water.
Xia Fengsheng’s face darkened. ……
At this point, Zhan Shengyao’s expression looked about the same as Xia Fengsheng’s. The files in her hands were each more outrageous than the last. “This is just people making wishes.”
Weren’t they in finance?
How had they turned into turtles in a wishing pond?
Zhan Shengyao shot Qin Buming a sharp glare, as if she wanted to bore a hole straight through him. “Weren’t you the one who said our abilities had made us famous in the industry and that work was coming to us from everywhere? Where’s the actual work?”
“It is work, but…” Qin Buming’s gaze shifted guiltily. “There was a little problem with how Zhao-laoban promoted us.”
Zhao-laoban had, of course, praised their professional capabilities, saying that working with them was a sure win and came with all sorts of surprises. But what he had emphasized even more was that they were miracle workers—people who could even make his son or daughter, who had clearly been cursed, suddenly wake up to the truth of the world, see through all its filth, lock up their hearts, and decisively dump a scumbag.
Zhao-laoban had described them in vivid, colorful terms, making them sound omnipotent, capable of going to heaven or earth, everywhere he went—to drinking parties, banquets, you name it.
Miss Zhao had helped fan the flames too.
Now, every client who came looking for them had a more terrifying background than the last. Qin Buming had nearly had to pinch his philtrum just reading some of their identities. Some were richer than nations, some had astonishing family backgrounds, some came from century-old evergreen corporations.
To build connections with people like that, they would have had to struggle in the industry for years.
And yet now, opportunity had come fluttering to their door of its own accord.
There was no way they could miss it. Even if the jobs themselves looked ridiculous, they were an excellent chance to build connections.
Besides, most of the clients had explicitly said that if the matter were successfully resolved, they would consider economic cooperation with the studio.
Zhan Shengyao said, “So compared to our professional ability, our reputation as all-purpose miracle workers is even bigger?”
Qin Buming nodded. “Exactly. Zhao-laoban promoted us as people who can handle any trouble whatsoever.”
As long as they fulfilled the requests, those big shots would be willing to work with them.
Qin Buming continued, “There are a lot of jobs. Of course, I also picked out the ones best suited to each of you.”
As he spoke, he pulled out several files he considered the best matches.
The one assigned to Zhan Shengyao read: Help the client steal back the nanny who has worked for their family for ten years from the neighbor next door.
A truly good nanny was as rare as pie falling from the sky, and the fact that this one had been kept for ten whole years spoke volumes about both her work ability and her importance to the family.
The client’s nanny earned an annual salary of twenty million, but because she was simply too capable, she had been poached by the neighbor next door.
The homeowner was so furious they couldn’t sleep day or night. After hearing about them through Zhao-laoban, they came seeking help, demanding someone eloquent enough to fight the whole world if necessary—get the nanny back and curse the neighbor bloody while they were at it.
Xia Fengsheng couldn’t help worrying. He had never once seen Zhan Shengyao get into a verbal fight with anyone before. This assignment was not suitable for her at all.
But Qin Buming simply patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry. Every assignment I gave out is the most suitable one possible.”
Xia Fengsheng said, “Shengyao is not the kind of person who gets into verbal fights. If it really turns into a quarrel, she’ll be the one at a disadvantage.”
Qin Buming replied, “She once took part in the world war between EXO and TF fandoms.”
Xia Fengsheng: ……
The assignment given to Xia Fengsheng was to help a cripple stand up again.
The location was Shanghai, and the client was an extraordinary woman well known in the industry—the eldest daughter of the Qi family, Qi Mingyue.
The Qi family’s medical equipment business was thunderously famous, the largest medical device supplier in the country and renowned overseas as well. The Qi family itself was a great old family, with a century-old industry and immeasurable assets.
Ever since Qi Mingyue took over the family business, she had taken the Qi family to an even higher level. She was also the first female heir in the family’s history.
And the matter she had entrusted to them was this: she wanted her elderly father, who had been in a wheelchair ever since a car accident a year ago, to stand again.
The day after receiving the assignment, Xia Fengsheng flew to Shanghai.
When he got off the plane, a driver from the Qi family was already waiting for him at the airport.
After picking him up, the driver took Xia Fengsheng to the destination.
The headquarters of the Qi Group.
Skyscrapers filled the center of the city, but the Qi Group, with its hundred-year legacy, stood there with an especially imposing grandeur.
Dressed immaculately, Xia Fengsheng wore a well-tailored suit that outlined his long, refined figure. With pale skin, a jade-like face, fox-shaped eyes, and a graceful, elegant bearing, he drew glances from employees coming and going throughout the building.
“Damn, is he new?”
“No idea. Haven’t seen him around before.”
“What a knockout.”
Xia Fengsheng strode into the elevator, the attendant following him up to the fifteenth floor.
Ding—
The fifteenth floor.
Following the attendant, Xia Fengsheng stepped out and came before a set of carved double wooden doors.
The attendant pushed them open, and Xia Fengsheng could hear the argument inside. Calling it an argument was too generous—it was more like one-sided fury. Only one voice was doing all the shouting.
Inside the room, an old man sat in a wheelchair, face full of anger, berating a woman who was crouched beside him at eye level.
The woman had smooth, seaweed-like hair and wore a sharp, professional suit. Faced with the criticism, her serious expression was filled with disappointment.
“Dad, I can’t do what you’re asking.”
“You unfilial brat!” Qi Lianshan shouted. “You won’t help your own younger brother—what kind of sister are you? I’d be better off not having a daughter like you!”
Even someone as decisive and iron-willed as Qi Mingyue could not help being hurt under her father’s unreasonable accusations. Human hearts were made of flesh, after all.
She stood up, her eyes resolute. Though hurt, she had no intention of changing her decision. She would only do what was right.
“I’m not giving Qianli any more investment money. This isn’t the first time he’s said he wants to start a business, and every single time he’s lost everything. He doesn’t make progress, and he learns nothing. I will not give him any more money.”
Qi Qianli was Qi Mingyue’s younger brother, born to the same father and mother.
Qi Lianshan burned with anger. “I gave the entire family business to you, and you won’t even invest in your own brother? Who ever succeeds the very first time they start a business? Plenty of people lose money. What’s wrong with taking a little loss and giving your brother one more chance?!”
He slammed a hand hard against the wheelchair armrest. “What’s wrong with that?!”
Qi Qianli had not failed one or two times.
He had failed more than ten times.
Every attempt had been some sudden whim, some hot-headed rush of blood, and he had accomplished absolutely nothing with any of them.
Qi Mingyue did not want to keep arguing. “Dad, today is your birthday. I don’t want to upset you.”
Qi Lianshan snapped, “You’re upsetting me right now!”
Qi Mingyue pinched the bridge of her nose, sorrow filling her eyes.
Their mother had passed away from illness a few years earlier, and that loss had hit Qi Mingyue hard. Now her father was the only close family she had left, and she treasured that family bond dearly.
But on the issue of her younger brother Qi Qianli, her father was stubborn beyond reason, and so father and daughter had reached a deadlock.
Xia Fengsheng had no interest in eavesdropping on other people’s quarrels, so he raised a hand and knocked on the door.
Qi Mingyue looked up and saw him standing there.
Xia Fengsheng curved his lips into a professional smile. “Sorry to interrupt.”
The newcomer’s appearance struck outsiders first with its elegant allure.
But what Qi Mingyue saw in his eyes was slyness and ambition.
To her, slyness was not an insult.
On the contrary, it meant a person who could get things done, someone with both ability and means.
He was extremely good at hiding himself. His smile had a fixed angle to it, like that of a fox always harboring some scheme you could never quite guess.
Business in the industry was not a field where conscience meant much. A person burning with ambition like him was exactly the sort most suited to it.
His leather shoes stepped from the shadows into the light of the room. “President Qi.”
Qi Mingyue stepped forward and shook his hand. “Hello.”
Xia Fengsheng’s eyes paused for just a second on the hand she extended, then he smoothly took it. “A pleasure.”
Qi Mingyue had none of that tasteless, masculine leader arrogance. Just because she had been born into more power and status didn’t mean she casually looked down on anyone, least of all newcomers.
Every newcomer held limitless potential, especially in finance, where the winds could change at any moment.
If Zhao-laoban thought highly of this man, then naturally he had strengths worth noting.
Qi Mingyue was about the same height as Xia Fengsheng and ten years older, thirty-four this year—exactly the age of fighting for one’s career.
“So you’re the one who came to help my father recover.”
“Yes,” Xia Fengsheng said.
Qi Mingyue continued, “Just as it says in the file—if you can make my father stand again, I will consider working with your team.”
As she said this, she glanced back at Qi Lianshan, who was still angry. “Since his car accident a year ago, his legs haven’t worked, and his temper has become much worse. I hope you’ll bear with him.”
“It’s not that my father can’t stand. The doctor says his willpower isn’t firm enough. Rehabilitation is too painful, so he gives up halfway every time. We’ve hired stricter therapists before, but they all got driven away by his bad temper.”
When Qi Lianshan had been able to walk, his temper had not been nearly this terrible. If he could recover the use of his legs, perhaps his temperament would improve too.
As soon as the topic turned to her father, the iron in Qi Mingyue showed cracks of sadness. As she led Xia Fengsheng toward him, her foot caught on the carpet.
Her center of gravity tipped and her body lurched forward. Just as she thought she was about to fall, Xia Fengsheng’s strong hands caught her.
A faint fragrance reached her nose.
The hands gripping her shoulders were long-fingered and firm.
“President Qi needn’t worry.”
His gentle voice was like running water, carrying away her sadness. Qi Mingyue looked up.
Xia Fengsheng wore a polished, gentlemanly smile, and every word he spoke made her feel reassured. “Since I’ve accepted the job, I will naturally spare no effort to make Old Mr. Qi stand again and relieve President Qi’s worries.”
For one brief moment, Qi Mingyue was thrown.
Not only was this man ambitious, he was a male fox.
“Father’s temper is bad, I know,” she said. “When it’s me forcing him to recover, I can’t bring myself to be truly ruthless. So when you help him recover, you don’t need to hold back. As long as Father stays healthy, no matter what you do, I’ll cover for you. Be bold and do what needs doing.”
Qi Mingyue knew perfectly well that Qi Lianshan’s temper was awful. She was afraid Xia Fengsheng might hold back out of consideration for status and not dare to really handle him, so she gave him this guarantee first, removing any worries he might have.
Qi Mingyue still had work to handle and did not stay long. Knowing that Xia Fengsheng was not a professional rehab therapist, she deliberately left behind a professional therapist to assist him on-site.
The therapist understood Qi Lianshan’s condition very clearly. After talking with him, Xia Fengsheng got a rough idea of exactly what the old man’s physical state was like.
The answer: perfectly healthy.
If compared to running, he could outrun ten university students in a one-thousand-meter race.
A man from a family like his had medicinal herbs and supplements flowing around him like water, plus a personal nutritionist preparing restorative meals. He would have to actively work at it to not be healthy.
The main reason he still could not stand was simply that he was an old man with too much time on his hands, a terrible temper, and a weak will when faced with painful rehabilitation.
Qi Lianshan was still angry with Qi Mingyue. Since Xia Fengsheng had been brought by her, he received no pleasant treatment either.
Qi Lianshan grumbled inwardly: What sort of person did she find? He looks wicked on sight.
“So you’re the new caretaker Mingyue brought in,” Qi Lianshan snorted.
Xia Fengsheng smiled, his lips vividly red. “Yes, Old Sir.”
After learning the initial rehabilitation methods from the therapist, Xia Fengsheng decided one technique would be enough. As long as he could get Qi Lianshan standing by himself once, the rest of the rehabilitation would be manageable.
After learning the treatment method, Xia Fengsheng took the initiative to speak with him.
“The weather outside is nice today. I’ll take Old Sir out for a walk.”
Qi Lianshan gave a snort. Sitting here was making him angry anyway, so he might as well go out. He didn’t refuse.
But when the two of them reached the elevator, they found it was broken and under repair.
Qi Lianshan immediately started cursing. “It doesn’t break early, it doesn’t break late, it just has to break now. I’d say this was done on purpose.”
No one knew who he was directing that at.
Xia Fengsheng spoke gently, soothing him like a truly professional caretaker. “Please don’t be upset, Old Sir. I have a way.”
Qi Lianshan scoffed. “What way could you possibly have? Can you fix the elevator?”
Xia Fengsheng smiled. “Old Sir, do you happen to have one yuan?”
The emergency stairwell of the Qi Group met all national safety standards. The doors were unlocked, the path unobstructed, and there was no clutter on any floor—perfectly preserving the building’s fire escape routes.
Apart from cleaners, no one used the stairwell year-round.
And yet today, it had a new sound in it.
In the empty stairwell, a children’s song echoed out:
“Daddy’s daddy is called grandpa, daddy’s mommy is called grandma…”
Qi Lianshan rolled his eyes. “Deng deng deng deng deng deng deng deng deng deng deng deng…”
Xia Fengsheng pushed the wheelchair down the stairs while singing.
To keep Qi Lianshan from falling out, he had even used a belt to secure him in the chair, functioning like a seatbelt.
Halfway down, Xia Fengsheng stopped to rest and thoughtfully asked, “How are you feeling, Old Sir?”
Old Mr. Qi immediately started cursing him out.
“@#?%*&……!”
Still able to curse—clearly his condition was excellent.
In a soft, gentle voice, Xia Fengsheng said, “Toot toot toot, little train continuing forward. Passengers, please fasten your seatbelts.”
Qi Lianshan, halfway through another curse: “You little— deng deng deng deng deng deng deng deng deng……”
To make Old Mr. Qi stand again, no effort was to be spared.
Whose effort, however, was another matter entirely.
.
“Damn it! Why did my sister freeze my cards?”
Qi Qianli found himself unable to pay while treating people to something yet again. One card got declined. He pulled out another. Same result. Every single card had been frozen.
Damn!
Swearing furiously, Qi Qianli threw himself into the car and called Qi Mingyue’s assistant. No one answered. He smashed his fist against the steering wheel in frustration.
He had already lost enough face just now when he couldn’t pay in front of a whole crowd.
Qi Qianli was a genuine rich wastrel, with no career of his own and everything in life depending on his family.
Originally, after hearing that Shi Ye had recently come back from abroad, he had planned to treat him to dinner.
Now that all his cards were frozen, how was he supposed to do that?!
Didn’t his sister always tell him to build better connections with people from strong families? How was he supposed to build them if she wouldn’t give him any money?
Qi Qianli knew Shi Ye, though they were not close. Since Shi Ye’s family had once helped the Qi family, Qi Mingyue had always held the Shi family in high regard. Among the second-generation social circle, Shi Ye had by far the most illustrious family background.
Leaving the business aside, just the old official family on Shi Ye’s maternal grandfather’s side was enough to make people’s legs go weak.
Because the Qi family and Shi family had interactions, Qi Qianli had attended Shi Ye’s birthday parties before and had his contact information, though they had never spoken much.
This time, he wanted to enter the music production business. Since Shi Ye was a producer, he definitely understood the ropes. Hearing that Shi Ye had recently come back to the country, Qi Qianli wanted to take the opportunity to get on good terms with him.
If he succeeded in currying favor with Shi Ye, his sister would definitely think more highly of him.
In truth, it wasn’t as though Qi Qianli had never tried flattering Shi Ye before.
It just hadn’t gone very well—and had left Shi Ye with a deeply terrible impression.
Back then, it had been the summer right after Shi Ye finished the college entrance exams. Shi Ye had been heartbroken for half a year and couldn’t get over it, his moods swinging wildly from day to day.
People had heard that the object of that heartbreak had been a man.
Qi Qianli had used a few tricks to get hold of a photo of Xia Fengsheng. Looking at the slender figure in the picture, he couldn’t understand why Shi Ye had fallen for a man, much less become so obsessed that he still couldn’t let go.
People with extreme thinking often did all kinds of absurd things after a breakup—cutting their wrists, letting themselves bleed, that sort of thing.
Shi Ye didn’t have an extreme personality, but that didn’t stop him from doing ridiculous things. As the saying went, people could do world-shaking stupidities for love.
Shi Ye was no exception.
The breakup hurt so much that it drove him down a rather extreme path:
he climbed into one of those blood donation vans and gave four hundred cc of blood.
To solve the problem, Qi Qianli decided that if he wanted to butter up Shi Ye, and couldn’t find Xia Fengsheng himself, then he would find a substitute who resembled Xia Fengsheng about eighty percent.
A substitute was more obedient than the real person. Give him money and he’d do anything. He would fill that hollow ache of unattainable love beautifully.
One evening, as a party was dispersing, Qi Qianli brought the substitute to Shi Ye’s side. “Shi Ye, look who’s here.”
Shi Ye was sitting on the sofa, one pair of long legs loosely bent, propping up his head with one hand as he looked at the phone in his hand with casual indifference. The screen light lit up his sculpted features.
Hearing someone call him, he lazily lifted those peach-blossom eyes.
At the sight of him, the substitute subconsciously sucked in a breath.
He had never expected the client he was meant to face to be so handsome. He’d thought it would be some disgusting old man.
Delight instantly blossomed in his heart. His eyes glued themselves to Shi Ye as if pasted there. If he got together with him, he’d have endless money to spend and could enjoy a perfect body on top of it.
How could such a good thing possibly happen to him? The substitute could hardly contain his glee, feeling as though a glittering future already lay before him, piles and piles of money waiting for his favor. And when he saw the particular look Shi Ye gave him, his excitement surged even higher.
Shi Ye’s eyes took on a different look when he saw the substitute.
Qi Qianli noticed that too and secretly rejoiced. The substitute had been the right choice. Shi Ye really was interested.
Qi Qianli deliberately added, “Shi Ye, I found him specially for you. You can do whatever you want with him.”
Shi Ye lifted a brow. “Whatever I want?”
The substitute blinked shyly.
Qi Qianli smiled. “Of course. He’s yours to do with as you please.”
Shi Ye let out a cold laugh.
“You. Yeah, you. Go over there and do a hundred frog jumps.”
The substitute: !
Qi Qianli: !
The substitute stared blankly. Frog jumps? Me?
I’m a substitute! Aren’t I supposed to be here for the money-and-bed kind of thing?! Why am I doing frog jumps?!
At the very first moment he saw that face similar to Xia Fengsheng’s, Shi Ye felt an instinctive revulsion and disgust.
Still stunned, the substitute hesitated where he stood, unwilling to give up, and asked uncertainly, “F-frog jumps?”
Shi Ye snapped impatiently, “What, you’re not doing them?”
The seventeen-year-old boy frowned. It was obvious he was displeased.
The substitute’s heart skipped in alarm. “I-I’ll do them.”
Then he glanced at Qi Qianli and started doing frog jumps off to the side.
Qi Qianli himself was dumbfounded. He had expected Shi Ye to use the substitute to soothe his heartbreak, not to make him do frog jumps.
Wasn’t he supposed to be unable to stop loving that ex-boyfriend, to the point of secretly crying under the covers at night?
Had the breakup driven him insane?
The substitute had poor stamina and dared not stop. After fifty jumps, he began moaning aloud.
He deliberately made the sounds pitiful and suggestive.
“Ah… ha…”
Shi Ye said coolly, “Shut up. Once you start making noises, you stop sounding like him.”
The substitute: ……
What a vicious one-sided love.
