The Empress’s Gigolo

Ren Baqian stood by the window for a while, and it seemed like he was somewhat familiarized with the feeling of being on Earth. He turned around and went over to check the surveillance camera, wanting to see how he actually left his apartment.

He sat on the chair and rewound the footage from the surveillance camera. Just when he appeared on the screen, he stopped the recording and then fast forwarded from there.

At that time, he was sleeping on his bed. Soon after, he vanished into thin air together with his bedsheet and the items which were by his side.

There was neither any sign of something that was going to occur nor anything that was amiss.

Ren Baqian rewound the footage again and played it in slow motion twice. Indeed, there wasn’t any sign at all. He vanished into thin air just like that.

After viewing the footage twice, Ren Baqian leaned on his chair. If that’s the case, it would be difficult for him to find the reason why he teleported to and fro.

It couldn’t be possible that he had to incessantly teleport to and fro?

Suddenly, Ren Baqian thought that if he had a choice to choose to live in either world, would it ultimately be better to remain on Earth or on the other world.

The advantage of staying on Earth would be stability. In addition to that, there was also the existence of his computer, phone, and all sorts of convenient items.

As long as the black mud cream hit the market, he could simply buy an island to pass his days leisurely.

As for the other world, it was full of uncertainty. From the kirin, Sword Mountain, and also the top ten experts, and perhaps, there were still other things that he didn’t know.

If he was in the other world, he would experience many uncertainties.

However, the disadvantages were very distinct as well. For instance, he was ultimately under the empress’s control.

To be honest, it wasn’t that Ren Baqian felt she wasn’t good. But, there was a huge disparity between their strength and their status. He was just like a mole cricket or an ant in front of the other party. If one day, the other party found him an eyesore, she could just crush him to death with just one hand.

This made him feel that there wasn’t any sense of security at all— his heart would always be suspended in his chest.

He wasn’t a thrill seeker to begin with. And as such, it seemed that he would rather remain on Earth however he thought about it.

What a pity that he didn’t have the option to choose.

Ren Baqian had no other choice but to continue being passive.

He went to the kitchen and cooked a packet of instant noodles. It had been a long time since he last ate it.

“I wonder how will it turn out if I bring a few packets of instant noodles for the empress?” A random thought popped up in his head.

But, after thinking for a while, he decided to forego the idea. It appeared that the empress liked sweet stuff and preferred alcohol more than anything else. He could actually give her those instead.

After finishing every bit of the instant noodles, Ren Baqian returned to his room, sat in front of the computer and searched for techniques related to prospecting of iron ore mines, extraction, steelmaking, as well as manufacturing blast furnaces.

At some point in time, Ren Baqian heard noises from outside and it seemed like someone entered his apartment. He pushed open his door and realized that it was the housekeeper.

“Mr. Ren, you are back,” the other party greeted upon seeing him.

“Yes, go on with your work.” Ren Baqian nodded, closed the door, and looked at the time. To his surprise, it was already one in the afternoon. He spent the entire morning searching for information and did not notice the passing of time.

Fortunately, he had already completed the bulk of his search. Furthermore, Ren Baqian had already extracted the information which he required and should be able to use it back in Dayao. The only thing left for him to do was to print the information out.

Ren Baqian went out to have his lunch and then headed to the supermarket to shop around. He bought various kinds of sweets as well as chocolates. This time, he didn’t only buy White Rabbit Creamy Candies but also Xu Fu Ji and a few other snacks.

[Xu Fu Ji – a type of Chinese crispy candy which originated among Manchus in Northeast China.]

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He also bought two boxes of wine: one containing Hongxing sorghum wine and the other Niulanshan sorghum wine. Even though those were the most basic wines, it was already much tastier than those hard liquors from the Yun Nation.

After carrying all these items back to his car, the items prepared for the empress were considered almost completed.

However, Ren Baqian felt that he should buy some other things that could pique her interest as well.

He then went to a specialized gift shop and bought a spiral spring musical box with a crystal ball at the top. There was also a crystal carousel inside, and the melody playing from it was “Castle in the Sky”.

At the very least it was sparkling and translucent. Younger women would definitely like it.

The price of the musical box was also very cheap. It costed less than 200 yuan.

“I wonder if this will pique her interest,” Ren Baqian wondered as he held the musical box in his hands.

At this moment, Ren Baqian had an inexplicable feeling, as if he was buying a gift for a girl he had a crush on. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case. Indeed, he hasn’t done such a thing before.

It appeared that when he was still in junior high, he once liked a certain girl. But, he had never resorted to confessing. Presently, he couldn’t even recall how she looked like.

Such an inexplicable idea barely emerged in his head before it was immediately suppressed by him.

It was just a moment of reverie.

When Ren Baqian returned home, the housekeeper had already left. He placed the things aside, held his phone, and lay on the sofa. In the past, whenever he returned to Earth, he would immediately check his phone. Nowadays, he wouldn’t even remember to check his phone upon his return.

There were only a handful of people looking for him. Even for Chen Qing, Ren Baqian had also reduced the amount of contact with him. The only people he genuinely needed to contact were his parents.

“Mum, you called?” Ren Baqian took a glance before returning the call.

“Previously, the lady which I have told you about has just moved to your area recently. If you have the chance, go and help her out. Even if the both of you are not fated, you can still be friends and what not.

“Got it, send me her phone number .” Ren Baqian pulled the phone away from his ear and waited for the noise at the other end to soften before promptly replying.

“I have already sent her phone number and full name to you on WeChat. Quickly contact her.” His mother urged him once again.

“Got it.” Ren Baqian actually wanted to add in,

If you have nothing to do, stop matchmaking me. Your son is actually fond of guys.

But, the dreaded conclusion to that would be his parents charging over to his apartment tonight.

He threw his phone aside and didn’t even take a glance at the WeChat message his mum sent.

Whoever’s daughter or niece, what has that got to do with me?

At present, he already had enough problems on his mind and truly didn’t have the mood to care about others.

The following two days, besides making a singlr trip out to print the information, Ren Baqian had been cooped up in his room. During this period of time, it was rare for him to diligently tidy up his bedroom. His slippers left marks on the floor which was strange since he usually kept his windows shut.

When Ren Baqian woke up two days later, he had already returned to that unfamiliar room in the palace. He had whatever he’d wanted to bring along with him. There were two boxes of 24 wine bottles, as well as a musical box, a set of printed information, and also a pile of sweets.

Ren Baqian pushed open the door, and there had been a change of guard at the doorway.

“Can I see Her Majesty now?” Ren Baqian asked.

“I’m afraid that Her Majesty is in the midst of a court session, and Storyteller Ren has to wait for a while more,” that guard turned around and answered.

Since that night at the empress’ birthday celebration, everyone began to size him up from head to toe whenever they saw him. Ren Baqian was already slightly accustomed to such gazes.

Only when noon was arriving did that guard come to inform Ren Baqian, “Storyteller Ren, Her Majesty summons you to meet her.”

“I’ll have to inconvenience you to help me carry some things. Many thanks.” Ren Baqian conformed with the principle of ‘not utilizing someone is a waste’.

The guard carried the two boxes of wine while Ren Baqian brought the sweets and crystal ball to the Empress Hall.

The empress was currently standing in front of the mirror and Qing Yuan was coiling her hair into a bun. Ren Baqian hinted to the guard to place the boxes on the ground while he walked forward and said, “Regardless of how Your Majesty dresses up, nobody can match up to your beauty. Moreover, it would make others feel themselves inferior.”