Release that Man

The next day, it was Brother Shuang who went to liaise with Xu Jian with the contract. Since the client was in the other city of the district, she had to drive for four hours. Han Chu would not be tagging along—he had to stay in San Lin City to keep an eye on Anthony and Albert. Other than that, he needed to handle the trouble created by the Xi Hwa Organization. He had to find some ways to create more enemies for the company.

Xu Jian was quite disappointed when he saw it was not Sister Shuang who went with him. Brother Shuang had his own reason to be there. “We share our responsibility equally. When she stays in San Lin City, I take over the cases that are out of the city and vice versa. If things are that busy, then neither of us will be in the city. Is there a problem?”

“Of course not.”

After one long afternoon of driving, they were close to arriving at the client’s city. However, the client’s location was nineteen kilometers away from the city center, and it was near the countryside. The place had once literally been in the middle of nowhere, but everything had changed when a natural gas mine had been discovered. The client’s father had originally been the village’s leader, and he had struck gold after he led the villagers to expand on the business of natural gas. Compared to the mayors of other big cities, he was perhaps even richer than them. Just on selling the natural gas, he would get 20,000 to 30,000 pure profit daily. One could imagine the man’s annual earning.

The leader’s home was on a piece of land of the countryside. He had built his own home. There was a large, three-story building was the home. From the outside appearance, there was no sign that this was a country home, even the outside gate was expertly welded. If one did not look at the surrounding environment, just focusing on the home alone, one would not have trouble imagining that this was a small castle in Britain.

“This is the client’s home?” Xu Jian leaned against the window, and his mouth was hanging open. This place was much more luxurious than the rich and famous’ homes in San Lin City. At the very least, the latter were unable to get such a large piece of land to build a villa like this.

“One generation of wealth accumulation could be larger than the wealth accumulated through generations. Certain people are that lucky, and the money cannot be stopped. Furthermore, don’t think that the leader of this village is not as rich as others simply because he is not famed among certain circles. Local tycoons are different from business magnates because a local tycoon only needs money while a business magnate has to have influence on top of their wealth. Distinguished people are also different from business magnates because distinguished people not only require money but also have to have a leading existence among the business magnates.”

Brother Shuang drove the car steadily down the road that led to the big mansion and continued to explain. “To explain it in a symbolic way, those that gained sudden wealth can be called local tycoons. Those who has been wealthy for generations and their younger generation is of a certain standard are business magnates. Distinguished people refers to the leading figures of a certain field like the leaders of a certain industry, a great teacher in the field of education, or a famed figure in the world of design, art, or sports.”

In other words, the difference between these three types of people was due to the family upbringing, not their wealth.

Xu Jian was feeling rather speechless. Even though everyone knew the concept, if they did not interact in this circle for many years, not that many people would personally meet the people from these three circles and even have the chance to compare and contrast the three of them. For example, in many people’s understanding, the local tycoon could not have been richer than the business magnate, but the actual difference between these two was not the issue of wealth but instead it was due to the issue of upbringing.

After they passed the large villa, they entered a small town. There were many shops here, and everyone looked like they lived a comfortable life. However, the city building had no sense of structure to it. Many of buildings were simply placed there because the owner wanted it that way. After turning several corners, they arrived at a hostel. At the door of the hostel, there were two young men sitting on chairs, swinging their legs around, smoking cigarettes. When they saw Ye Shuang’s car pull up to a stop in front of their building, they glanced at it with a lack of interest. Obviously, they had no interest in greeting the guest.

Ye Shuang parked the car and signaled for Xu Jian to get out with her. Then, she accosted one of the young men. “We’re here to find Wang Xueyu.”

“You’re looking for Brother Wang?” The young man finally lifted his head to address Ye Shuang. He was annoyed at how handsome the man looked, and there was annoyance in his tone. “And who might you be?”

Ye Shuang smiled and shrugged. “We’ve promised to meet Wang Xueyu here. My name is Ye.”

The client had probably already informed them because the young man finally turned serious. He stood up and used his chin to inform Ye Shuang and Xu Jian to follow him. “Come with me. I’ll bring you upstairs.”

There are three levels to the hostel. The first floor was the restaurant and lobby, and the second and third floors were the guest rooms. When they were going up to the third floor, they ran into a waiter who was standing guard at the stairs. He informed them that the third floor had been fully booked, and it was no entry to those who were not invited. The young man communicated awhile with the waiter, and he brought them up with him. Then, he told them to wait at the public space on the third floor. They were served tea by the waitress while the young man went off to find their client.

Not long after that, a not so handsome but energetic young man came out with a girl. The girl appeared intellectual and innocent. She did not have that pretty a face, but she had a calming presence about her. People would feel comfortable when they were in her presence.

The young man nodded as a signal for the young man who brought Ye Shuang up to leave. Then he led his girlfriend and sat down across from Xu Jian and Ye Shuang. He glanced at the couple. “Which of you is the one that will help me?”

“I’m just the agent.” Ye Shuang smiled and raised her hand to introduce Xu Jian, who sat next to her. “This is Xu Jian. He once held a top-tier management post at a big company. His expertise is the management of human relationship. He should be able to satisfy Mr. Wang’s requirement.”

“Should?” Wang Xueyu asked in return.

“We’ve already gone through Mr. Wang’s case request, but if you forgive me for being forward, the resume that you asked for and the price you provided are not proportional to each other. It is not easy to find an actual professional butler. As Mr. Wang should know, this type of professional butler has a family that they’re normally attached to and will not be available for temporary work like yours.”

Ye Shuang focused on the work. “And after reassessing your case, we concluded that most of the skill requirements that you have can be ignored. Mr. Wang’s main purpose is to create the illusion that your girlfriend is a socialite. I believe, with Xu Jian’s aid, that is entirely possible… as long as your father did not send someone to investigate your girlfriend on the side.”

Once upon a time, Xu Jian had turned the entire upper society of San Lin City on its head. Even though he had not really been accepted due to his resume, on the surface, no one doubted his identity. This went to show Xu Jian’s glowing ability to cheat and lie. Now, he was only required to confuse a local tycoon. As long as the girl did not show any obvious mistake, under normal circumstances, Ye Shuang believed that Xu Jian would have no problem handling this.

Under Wang Xueyu’s scrutiny, Xu Jian added, “I will create a resume for Mr. Wang’s girlfriend, and I’ll need Mr. Wang to tell me some details, like how you have introduced your girlfriend before, and I will fill in the empty blanks. Other than that, I need to spend time to practice several expressions and minor reactions with this young lady. When you come across any problems related to your resume, just follow the answer I will write for you on the script. When you really do not know how to answer, just smile and lower your eyes, or go silent for two seconds, and I will jump out to help solve the problem.

He does sound quite professional… Wang Xueyu thought.

Wang Xueyu glanced at Ye Shuang with suspicion, wondering what kind of profession this Xu Jian had in the past.

Ye Shuang tossed Xu Jian a look that said well done. Then she took out the printed document from her bag. “We will protect Mr. Wang’s girlfriend’s socialite identity within this one week, but what happens one week later or accidental exposure will not fall under our responsibility. These accidents include Mr. Wang’s father sending out his own people to investigate the young lady or Mr. Wang’s girlfriend refusing to listen to our advice and insisting on doing things that will cause a negative influence. The actual clauses are stated inside the contract—Mr. Wang, you can study it for yourself. If you’re satisfied with the contract, please sign the contract and wire the 33% down payment. The rest of the payment will be taken when the case is over.”

…

After successfully signing the contract, Ye Shuang left behind Xu Jian and departed on her own. Xu Jian had half a month of holiday in San Lin City, so he had enough time to complete this case and get the rest of the money.

Since the case was not one that was suitable for the light, technically speaking, Ye Shuang was not required to stay to follow up on the case. However, since she was in her male form, she did not want to go back to San Lin City so soon to gain trouble for herself, so she decided to live around the area for two days and treated it as some sort of holiday.

After a short rest, she found a not-that-bad restaurant in the town based on her sense of smell. Ye Shuang returned to the hostel around noon. The whole third floor was still booked, but since the people who guarded the stairs and the waitresses had seen Ye Shuang, they allowed him to get up to the third floor where Ye Shuang’s room was located. Therefore, when Xu Jian got out from the lover’s room after he set up the character and the script, he ran into Ye Shuang whom he thought had already returned to San Lin City.

“Mr. Ye?” Xu Jian walked over with some surprise. “Don’t you need to return to San Lin City?”

“Well, we’re on outstation duty. Of course, I’ll need to make use of this opportunity to steal some holiday away from home,” Ye Shuang said, but she was not completely lying. Then she asked, “So, how is the script coming along?”

“The draft has already been completed,” Xu Jian said with an awkward smile. He passed the document over to Ye Shuang. “Mr. Ye, you’ve probably heard from Xiao Shuang that I’ve done some horrible things in the past before. Even though it is nothing to gloat about, when it comes to lying, I’m quite the professional.”

“Lying convincingly is an impressive skill. Since you have considered to set up the necessary expression and little movement, that is already quite professional.” Ye Shuang nodded and opened the document. She scanned the pages of A4 paper and gave her own opinion. “The character setting doesn’t need to be so detailed. We are running out of time, and she might not be able to remember so many things. Those not-so-important questions can be covered by some vague answers…”

After Luo Mingxin accidentally opened the door to the brand-new world for her, Ye Shuang’s acting and lying skill had been improving nonstop. If not for Han Chu’s warning that the agent himself could not accept cases, actually, Ye Shuang would have wanted to try her hand at this case.

However, the first problem was that Ye Shuang could only stay in a single gender for seventy-two hours. If she wanted to extend that period, she had to kiss a member of the opposite sex. That would be very difficult when she was at this small town where everyone knew everyone. This was one of the difficulties that made it impossible for her to accept this case on her own.

The second reason naturally was because of the occupational rules. Han Chu had already warned her not to take the wrong road. She had already did it once, opening a new channel to reap a daily mission. The reality proved that was not a good idea—it led to a less than satisfactory result. In the end, she not only almost lost a good connection with her talents, some of her clients were stolen by the workshop that she had handed the cases to.

She had heard that the PI office that the traitors opened on their own did not have it easy. Since they had no powerful background and had the record of being traitors, every few days, they would have people who they had investigated come ‘visit’ them, and they were unable to get help from anyone. There was no money to be earned, and they lost plenty just from fixing the office products every few days. However, no matter how unlucky they ended up, it could not change the fact that Ye Shuang had been betrayed and the feeling that she felt when she found out.

After a lesson like that, Ye Shuang did not dare do anything that might cross the line.

…

After another short discussion with Xu Jian, Ye Shuang helped to edit a few more settings on the draft. Xu Jian was about to leave and work on the rest of the script when Wang Xueyu and his girlfriend walked out from the room holding hands.

“Mr. Ye, you’re still here?” Wang Xueyu was also shocked when he saw Ye Shuang. Then he added in an impressed tone, “I hear from my friends that Mr. Han’s headhunting team is the most professional in the business. I did not think much of it at first, but after today, I realize, just your professionalism is something that is worth admiring.”

“Mr. Wang, you flatter me. I’m just staying for two more days due to the holiday.” Ye Shuang quickly explained herself. What if the man really thought she was staying to follow the progress personally? Then she would not have been to explain her gender swap.

Wang Xueyu waved his hands and whispered into his girlfriend’s ear intimately. The girl parted and went downstairs to have lunch. Then, the man sat down before Ye Shuang and Xu Jian. “The fact is, Mr. Ye is staying with us for another two days. Whether this is a coincidence or not, I cannot just ignore that fact. By the way, if you’re planning to visit the area, why don’t you come stay at my place for a few days? I’ll just tell my father you’re my friend—he will not mind something like that.”

Wang Xueyu naturally was not doing that for no reason. Due to his family background, the man had the cleverness of a countryside person, but with the wealth of his family, he had been sent to a good university. At the university, where he had been exposed to a large city, he had learned the reality of things. Combining both, Wang Xueyu actually had the best of both worlds.

For example, inviting a friend over was something very simple—it was something that a person might just say casually. However, when Wang Xueyu said that, he had to consider the many aspects this might bring. If the person became a home guest, would that increase their relationship? How could this relationship be beneficial to him in the future? What would the person do when he was staying over, and how much time and effort would he have to put in to entertain the guest? How much would the overall cost be?

Many people might think he was being overly stingy, but in reality, everyone had the natural instinct to go for the better benefit. Who would invite someone that no one liked to their home as a guest? If they were going to invite someone, it had to be someone whom they admired in a certain way. However, normally for others, it was a subconscious choice, but while Wang Xueyu made this choice, he was calculating it consciously. Of course, it was the same for Ye Shuang, who was invited.

Firstly, she would be able to guarantee that Xu Jian would be able to complete his job. If Wang Xueyu was not satisfied with Xu Jian, he could go to the agent immediately.

Secondly, if Ye Shuang went to his house as a guest, Wang Xueyu’s attention on the girlfriend would be divided. It was not to say that the father would just be fooled like that. However, as many people would have experience, when there was a guest at home, the parents would not trouble or scold their kids too much. A mistake that normally would lead to their legs being broken might be solved with just some light scolding when the guest was around. This was called ‘don’t wash one’s linen in the public’.

Therefore, after all the calculation had been made, Wang Xueyu thought that inviting a man over for a two day stay was a transaction that he had nothing to lose from.

At least, he sincerely thought that was the truth before he stepped into his own home.

“Wow!” A little girl made a surprised squeal, and her face instantly became red from excitement. She charged over like she was given a shot of drug. “It really is big brother!”

Why is she so friendly toward me today?

Wang Xueyu was flustered by the sudden welcoming. He was about to put on the status of a stable big brother when he saw his high schooler younger sister, who by then had reached his chest, shoot past him like the wind. She ran excitedly to the handsome man behind him, and as she ran circles around the man, her eyes lit up. “It’s really the big brother! Wow! Wow!”

Ye Shuang was caught by surprise as well. But her mind turned, and she instantly grasped what was happening. She lifted her head and smiled lightly at the young girl. The young girl held her chest, and she looked like she was about to die from happiness.

Ye Shuang raised her head to ask Wang Xueyu, who was stunned, “Mr. Wang, is this your little sister?”

“Er…” Wang Xueyu was feeling rather speechless, and he suddenly realized that there was a problem that he had been ignoring. “Actually, before this, I already thought Mr. Ye is quite familiar looking…”

However, at the time, he had only thought that the man was handsome, and that was the reason why. But now, thinking back, he realized that might not be the issue, and his sister’s reaction was something that he needed to take into consideration.

Ye Shuang chuckled. “I once had a cameo role in a movie. Could it be that Mr. Wang has seen that movie before?”

Sister Wang also cheered excitedly saying. “It’s big brother! That’s not a cameo character; it’s big brother!”

Sister Wang’s actual big brother went silent as his face twitched twice. The memory finally came back to him.

“I remember it now.” As he spoke, he tossed a complicated gaze at Ye Shuang, “So, Mr. Ye, you also have other part time work?”

“It’s just something that I needed to do for a living.” Without noticing it, Sister Wang had shoved a pen into Ye Shuang’s palm. The girl then raised her eyes in shyness and anticipation. “Big brother, can you give me your signature? Just sign it on my hand.”

Ye Shuang picked up the girl’s hand, and as she was about to drop the pen, she asked with a gentle smile, “On the hand?”

“Yes yes!” Sister Wang was about to faint from the bliss. She held her face to lower the temperature on her cheeks. “I’m going to tattoo this signature to keep it as a memento!”

Ye Shuang’s pen shivered. She quickly changed the direction and signed on the girl’s collar. After she finished the swift signature, she pulled the pen back and stood up with a smile. “I think it’s better if you have it embroidered on your shirt.”

Sister Wang was slightly disappointed but was also quite excited from getting the direct order from her idol.

Wang Xueyu finally lost his patience and coughed to get his sister’s attention. Then with a dark face, he chased his biological sister back into her room.

“A star chaser is only after the beauty.” Facing Wang Xueyu’s frowning expression as he turned around, Ye Shuang twirled the pen twice on her fingers. Her handsome face was as charming as the power of religion—there was a power within it that made others bow down to her. The magnetic voice also drifted into Wang Xueyu’s ears through the air.

“Indeed, star chasing is something very juvenile because no one knows whether the beautiful image that one chases after is real or just a result that is packaged or faked. However, if we go down to its core, star chasing is actually a desire for something beautiful.

“I like you because you’re pretty. I like you because you have a beautiful voice. I like you because you’re attractive and powerful… The star chasers like beautiful things, and adults think they’re being juvenile because the younger people do not have the ability and experience to discern the real from the fake while the adults have already seen through the haze,” Ye Shuang muttered with a smile.

Wang Xueyu’s frown softened, and he commented with a smile, “I’m not particularly targeting Mr. Ye, but I know a thing or two about the entertainment business. Honestly, I personally do not look up to these celebrities. I can still remember at Xiao Yu’s adult ceremony last year, I invited more than ten A-list celebrities across the country, including three best actresses and one best actor.”

Those who could be moved by money were those that were not valuable. Even though this was a kind of business transaction that was perfectly official, in Wang Xueyu’s eyes, if he was about to use money to make those people who appeared so powerful and influential on screen bow down, it would have shattered his impression. After all, as a normal male, Wang Xueyu had also spent part of his youth chasing stars.

How high he had once placed those stars on the pedestal was how disappointed he had been when they were brought down in real life.

Ye Shuang thought about it and said, “I’m sorry if I’m being offensive… but those best actresses and actor, they’re most likely washed up already, yes?”

Now that he thought about it, Ye Shuang was right. Even though they had been very famous in the past, it had been such a long time since he had seen these people playing a popular character.

“The most dangerous weapon to celebrities is time. Even celebrities have to eat. If they do not earn more while they still can, what are they going to do when they’re old? Ha ha, let’s not talk about that anymore. We should go in first. I believe your father has been waiting for a long time already.” Ye Shuang saw the awkwardness on Wang Xueyu’s face, and she quickly changed the subject. She rushed over and followed Wang Xueyu to the door.

They had just reached the door, and before Wang Xueyu even pushed it open, they could hear a shrill young male’s voice screaming, “What stupid big brother! Stupid celebrity! You are stupid too for chasing after people like that at your age!”