Zhou Lei walked back home. After careful deliberation, he decided not to go back to the arcade. He had already spent too much time there for today. He headed home.
As he got more cautious of the potential talent scouts surrounding him again, Zhou Lei used his extensive knowledge of the area to navigate himself back home going through abandoned alleyways and saturnine streets.
"Hai, I made it." Zhou Lei entered his house again. "I"m home!"
He expected his parents to already be there, but when he entered, only Zhou Zhenya"s shoes could be seen on the rack.
"For them to be this late... what are they doing?"
.....
Let"s go back to this morning.
Zhou Xiang woke up this morning, like always.
She stretched her arms as she felt her lower half sore from all the "exercise" she and her husband did last night.
Before, as per her habit, she would turn around and see that her husband would have a haggard appearance. This would irritate her, and she would then wake him up with a special little weapon called "violence".
With their upgrade in appearance, Zhou Xiang now saw the messy look of her husband not in irritation, but in a daze.
The messiness gave him an image of a hardworking father, which Zhou Xiang loved...
This was why she agreed to marry him in the first place.
She was attracted by his perseverance.
Upon careful thought, Zhou Xiang decided to wake him up with a kiss.
Zhou Jiahao slowly opened his eyes. He felt a warm sensation on his lips. He returned her kiss subconsciously.
When they first got married, Zhou Xiang always kissed her husband to wake him up. He felt touched when she was doing it again after such a long time.
Their morning started with a pa.s.sionate kiss.
Later, as they got ready for work, everything they did was lovey-dovey. They entered the bathroom and took a shower simultaneously, they helped each other wear clothes, and they fed each other in breakfast.
Soon after, the husband and wife departed for their respective jobs, kissing each other as they left.
"Yuck!" Zhou Zhenya felt grossed out by everything her parents did.
"Stop kissing, it"s really gross!" Zhou Zhenya stuck her tongue out to her parents as they left.
Zhou Zhenya then got herself ready for school. She was really excited today, for her knowledge now reached even college level!
She left the house, making sure to lock the door.
.....
At Zhou Xiang"s workplace.
Zhou Xiang arrived after taking a day off the previous day.
She entered the office and, as expected, everyone"s eyes turned to her.
Feeling everyone"s gazes, Zhou Xiang shrugged them all off, flicking her long hair as she walked to her desk.
The one who sat beside her, Xiao Si, was muddled when this beautiful girl sat on Zhou Xiang"s chair. There was only one reason for her to do this.
"...Xiang Xiang, is that really you?" Xiao Si looked at her friend in awe.
There were traces of her previous appearance, but they were vague. Only Zhou Xiang"s close friends like Xiao Si and the boss could notice them.
"Of course it"s me..." Zhou Xiang spoke matter-of-factly.
"Eh... so the reason you took a day off yesterday was for plastic surgery?" Xiao Si didn"t expect this friend of hers to get a surgery without her knowledge.
"Who says I got plastic surgery?" Zhou Xiang shrugged off her friend"s conclusions. "I just fixed myself up more today."
"...Do you really think I"ll believe that?" Xiao Si"s voice was of disbelief. There"s no way that this was Xiang Xiang"s natural face!
"Believe what you must. I just know to myself that I didn"t go anywhere yesterday." Zhou Xiang spoke like it was just a small matter.
However, her sentiments inside had too much difference!
"Hmph. Now you notice my natural beauty?"
"Huh? Plastic surgery, you say?"
"You"re just jealous, aren"t you? Jealousy is a dangerous thing, my friend."
As she said that, she started working.
As per normal, she made multiple rookie mistakes, needing her friend, Xiao Si"s a.s.sistance to even progress without faults.
Meanwhile, someone informed the boss that Zhou Xiang had arrived. He immediately called her over.
"Be careful...!" Xiao Si sent a word of concern.
"Don"t worry!" As she said that, Zhou Xiang winked her right eye.
In the boss"s office.
Zhou Xiang stood still in the dark room. The boss had his chair turned around as he looked out the window, the only source of light in the office.
"Zhou Xiang."
As she heard her name being called, she felt an external pressure push down on her, forcing her to fall over.
She withstood this and responded. "Y- yes, boss?"
"Do you know why I called you here?" The boss spoke in a calm voice, with no trace of malice in his tone.
However, to Zhou Xiang, that made it all the more terrifying.
Normally, this boss of hers always shouted at her first thing in the morning. His serene voice was one that she had never heard of.
"Uhh... you"re entranced by my beauty?" Zhou Xiang tried to guess what it was that made the boss call her.
"..." No answer from the boss.
"I, uh..." She gulped a mouthful of saliva as she resumed, "...are you going to fire me?"
"If you give one more answer like that, then yes, I am going to fire you."
"Well, uh... what is it then?" Zhou Xiang didn"t have the nerve to guess anymore.
"I"m just going to mention to you one thing – who allowed you to take a day off?" The boss turned the chair he was sitting on around.
She saw the boss leaning his head forward, using his hands as support.
"...You?" Zhou Xiang raised her eyebrow.
The boss ma.s.saged his temples when he heard this answer. "Remind me who hung up before I could even talk?"
"...I think it was me?" Zhou Xiang pretended to be oblivious.
"Yes, it was you. So you took an unexcused absence yesterday." The boss"s eyes narrowed.
"..." Zhou Xiang bit her lip and didn"t say anything.
Likewise, the boss just stared at this incompetent woman in front of him.
"P- please don"t fire me!" Zhou Xiang kneeled on her knees and begged.
One corner of the boss"s lips curled upwards. "...Stand up. I"ll have you work overtime today."
Zhou Xiang laughed it off. "Hehehe, thank you boss..."
"Hai... why"d you get a plastic surgery? Did your plastic surgery have a deadline or something?" The boss couldn"t comprehend that Zhou Xiang went absent just for a plastic surgery.
Zhou Xiang stood up promptly and let out a sigh of relief. "What do you mean plastic surgery? This is all natural."
"..." The boss didn"t expect Zhou Xiang to be this shameless. "...Just get out."
"Thank you, boss! I"ll never forget this favor! When I"m rich, I"ll be sure to repay you!" Zhou Xiang"s voice trailed off as she exited the room.
When the boss couldn"t see her anymore, he opened a drawer and pulled a framed portrait out.
The portrait was of two students, one girl and one boy.
They were at the amus.e.m.e.nt park in their uniforms. Both of them had a cotton candy in their hands.
"...Xiang Xiang, why did you marry so suddenly?" With a trace of melancholy on his face, the boss put his hand on the picture as it slowly slid down the gla.s.s.
.....
At Zhou Jiahao"s workplace, the Diamond Agency --
There was quite a ruckus in the office. One of their celebrities got into a scandal, after all. And it wasn"t just the usual scandal, like being involved with drugs or illicit relationships with other celebrities, no.
Instead, it was a world-shaking scandal.
The handsome singer, the Nation"s Husband, Guo Linxia, was a serial killer that committed murder across every part of the country that he toured in.
Sure, there was no definite proof that Guo Linxia was the one who did it, but the ma.s.ses were convinced that he was the one who did it.
Everywhere he toured, there would be one girl that would mysteriously disappear. When it was time for him to leave, the girl"s corpse would reappear.
Of course, some of the devout fans of Guo Linxia defended him, saying that he was framed. Anyone could frame him since his tour schedule was public.
However, these people were suppressed by the majority, saying things like "Do you not feel any pity for the girls?" and "After all this, you still choose to support a serial killer?".
Guo Linxia vehemently denied the accusations, but there was no turning back now. Almost all of the people believe that their supposed prince was actually a psychopathic murderer.
Unless they caught the actual killer and gave sufficient evidence, Guo Linxia"s image would be tarnished forever!
The big boss of Diamond Agency: Qing Huo.
He was a former actor that formed his own company because he thought that his old one didn"t give the rookies any chance to shine.
Overtime, his pure intentions didn"t change, however, his past att.i.tude full of respect and kindness surely did. Nowadays, he didn"t show any mercy, whether it be to his enemies or to his friends.
Qing Huo walked around monitoring the frantic staff walking everywhere. He shook his head disappointedly.
Their biggest a.s.set was Guo Linxia. But right now, he was turning into their greatest liability.
Of course, it never once crossed Qing Huo"s mind to abandon him. After all, he knew how earnest and hardworking he was about his job. He would never do something such as murdering little girls.
Qing Huo could even imagine Guo Linxia saying, "Why would I do that? What a waste of time..."
But the shareholders in the company thought otherwise. Their stock fell down by the day, making the investors depressed at the sight.
Qing Guo didn"t sell much of his shares, so he still had the majority vote. Even then, if he combined the power of all the shareholders, they would exceed his. He needed to be careful about this matter.
Behind him was his secretary-for-now, Zhou Jiahao. Aside from himself, the man he a.s.signed as the subst.i.tute secretary had the best capabilities in the company.
He was even eager to pa.s.s on the t.i.tle of CEO to him. Of course, this couldn"t be done w.i.l.l.y-nilly.
But Qing Huo truly believed that if the company were to land in the hands of Zhou Jiahao, it would, at the very least, prosper into new heights.
Zhou Jiahao did a lot of stuff for the company. This was the reason why he went up through the ranks fast.
Even now, as the temporary secretary, he already held a lot of power.
As Zhou Jiahao followed behind Qing Huo, the female employees who weren"t in distress saw the two married men... as a [REDACTED].
If one observed their eyes, they would see the women"s fantasies of Zhou Jiahao and Qing Huo [REDACTED] and [REDACTED].
"Jiahao!" Qing Huo bellowed, triggering a reaction from the one being called.
As Zhou Jiahao had already been the secretary for 3 days, he had more or less had an idea for how to do this job. "Yes?"
"Call Shi Guan to my office."
"Understood." Zhou Jiahao immediately fled to call Shi Guan.
...Later...
Outside the door to the boss"s office, Zhou Jiahao calmed Shi Guan down.
"Will I really not get fired...?" Shi Guan shivered as he hesitated entering the office.
"Don"t worry. I"m pretty sure he"s in a good mood today." Zhou Jiahao patted Shi Guan"s back.
"Eh...?" Shi Guan lowered his head, his gaze directed toward the doork.n.o.b. "H- he"s in a good mood?"
"Yes, I"m sure." Zhou Jiahao smiled at his coworker. This smile then disappeared and turned into a serious expression. "However, that doesn"t mean he won"t fire you."
Shi Guan, who had his spirits lifted previously, turned grim again.
"Ah... you have made a big blunder this time." Zhou Jiahao opened the door for Shi Guan, startling the latter.
"W- wait, I"m not ready...!"
Zhou Jiahao basically pushed Shi Guan in. The former got impatient by his coworker"s att.i.tude.
As Zhou Jiahao entered the office as well, he closed the door behind him.
Outside the office, there was complete silence. The boss had a floor all by himself, so this was one of the reasons. There was also soundproofing from the inside, so noise could not escape the office.
However, should there be a person outside the office standing idly and the soundproofing not work, said person would be hearing things like "The Diamond Agency does not need people like you!" and "You"re fired!".
The door opened, and out came a person who looked like they just had their soul sucked out of them.
"I"m sorry..." Zhou Jiahao felt like he should apologize to Shi Guan for sending him to his doom.
"It"s okay, I"m fine..." Shi Guan showed him a smile. "...I guess I"m just not fit to work here."
Zhou Jiahao watched Shi Guan"s figure slowly growing more distant.
"Now, Zhou Jiahao, come here." Qing Huo beckoned for his secretary to come. He gestured with his hand.
With the atmosphere in the office more desolate than before, Zhou Jiahao preferred to stay outside. However, he had no reason to not follow his commands, and thus walked inside.
"Report." Qing Huo didn"t even bother to look at Zhou Jiahao as he examined the files on his computer.
"Boss, Shine Magazine wants to cancel their contract with us..." Zhou Jiahao relayed the information without any emotion in his voice.
"Fine..." Qing Huo ma.s.saged his head as he heard the very first report.
"Ah..." Zhou Jiahao didn"t expect that Qing Huo would cancel it, just like that!
"I mean, have them pay the fine." Qing Huo felt that his subordinate must"ve misunderstood.
"Ah, yes. Then the next one, Urban wants to change their model. They don"t want to continue with Guo Linxia."
"Huh? Why would they not want him?" Qing Huo already knew the answer to this question, but he still felt indignant inside. "Okay, then you go and replace him."
"Yes. Then the next- Wait!" Zhou Jiahao just comprehended what his boss said. "M- me?"
"Yes, you. Did I make a mistake?" Qing Huo sent a scheming grin as he turned his head to look at the secretary on his side.
"But I don"t have any experience! How could I possibly replace him?" Zhou Jiahao was about to say that he had an average appearance, but remembered that he was infected by the sickness in their house.
"Simple. The shooting is still a week later, right? Then you train for this whole week. Xiaoyuan will be back tomorrow anyway," Qing Huo said matter-of-factly.
However, Zhou Jiahao felt that there was some hidden undertones in what he said.
The Diamond Agency certainly didn"t suffer from any lack of models, so why did he intend to send him, an experienced office worker, as a rookie model? Not to mention his age, no, no, no!
"Is this the boss"s form of revenge?"