Chapter 81: Extra Chapter 1

The morning light was warm. After a night of quiet, people got up one after another. Commuters rushed for the early bus to work, while elementary school students were forcibly held by their grandparents, not allowed to run around. Another day in Beijing had begun.

Mo Xingchen woke up fifteen minutes later than usual today, because she usually just made it into the hospital by the skin of her teeth. She didn’t even have time to meticulously do her makeup; she just dabbed some BB cushion on her face, put on lipstick, and rushed out.

As she was leaving, she changed her shoes at the door and saw a pair of blue slippers beside her pink ones.

She had specifically bought them with the same pattern as hers, just in a different color. Now the owner of the slippers was gone, but the slippers were still there. After changing into her high heels, she muttered angrily, “Idiot.”

After cursing, she picked up the slippers, grabbed her bag, and left.

When she got downstairs, she found a trash can and casually threw the blue slippers in.

Clang! The sound of the slippers dropping in was like throwing away bad memories along with them.

She drove a Volkswagen, a car she bought in her senior year of university for internships. After all, she had chosen the hospital’s physical examination center back then, unlike her classmates who rotated through various departments. But she didn’t know what was wrong with this car; it rattled when she drove it.

She’d have to take the car in for repairs this weekend.

The hospital was bustling early in the morning. She clocked in at the office with only two minutes to spare.

“Good morning, Dr. Mo,” a colleague from next door greeted her as soon as she reached her desk. She nodded, smiled, put down her bag, and turned on her computer.

After a while, she took out her phone and secretly went on Weibo.

She was a fashion blogger on Weibo with millions of followers, occasionally leaking news about fashion magazines or endorsements. So she was very well-known in various celebrity fan circles.

As soon as she opened Weibo, various comments and private messages were asking her who was on the cover of the latest issue of ELLE.

The cover person for the five major fashion magazines each month was something fans of various celebrities kept a close eye on. Fans of popular young actors and actresses now valued fashion resources more than anything. If someone could be on the cover of one of the top five, no amount of praise was too much. Especially at the end of the year when summing up, if other idols had appeared on several of the top five, and then added up other quasi-first-tier and second-tier magazines, they could have a total of ten or twenty covers.

But if their own idol had none of the top five and very few magazine covers, they would feel embarrassed without anyone needing to say anything.

Ultimately, it was vanity at play.

That’s why fashion bloggers like Mo Xingchen were especially important. Some major celebrity fans even directly offered her money to promote their idols more.

Now is the era of the traffic economy. The fan economy that a popular traffic celebrity can bring is truly surprising until you actually experience it.

________________________________________

“Dr. Mo, have you had breakfast?” a female doctor from the same department asked her.

Mo Xingchen shook her head. She had woken up late that morning, so she had no time to eat. She casually pulled out some whole-grain crackers from her bag. The bag she was carrying today was a bit small, and the crackers were all crushed.

Actually, her job wasn’t that busy; compared to other departments in the hospital, the work in the physical examination center was orderly, and even the working hours were very fixed.

At noon, she and her colleagues from the department had just returned from the cafeteria when they saw wedding candies and invitations on the desk.

“What is this...?” Mo Xingchen asked, a little surprised.

A female colleague who hadn’t gone to the cafeteria, holding a lunchbox, laughed and said, “It’s a wedding invitation from next door. The wedding banquet on Saturday invites all of us.”

“Another invitation! This is the third one this month,” complained the colleague who went to eat with Mo Xingchen. There were many people in the hospital, so social obligations were unavoidable every month. But it seemed like an unusually high number of people were getting married recently; red envelopes were coming one after another.

So the colleague couldn’t help but grumble, “How much is a month’s salary? It all goes to these gifts!”

She wasn’t the only one complaining; others agreed that it was indeed true.

Mo Xingchen reached out and flipped through the invitation. It was actually a handwritten invitation, and the calligraphy was quite good. Both her parents were teachers, and her father was even a university professor, so she was taught from a young age to write well.

Now, with computers becoming so prevalent, very few people could write good calligraphy.

“By the way, Xingchen, you don’t have a boyfriend yet, do you?” a colleague sitting opposite her asked.

Mo Xingchen was startled, then nodded. The colleague immediately beamed, saying, “I have a cousin who just passed the civil service exam. I actually wanted to introduce you two before, but he hadn’t passed then, so I was embarrassed. But now that he’s passed, I thought about setting you two up.”

Mo Xingchen looked at her colleague’s plump face, full of smiles. Of course, she wasn’t discriminating against round faces, but she was born a “face connoisseur” and had only ever befriended good-looking girls since she was young. Let alone finding a boyfriend; he could have nothing else, but he absolutely had to have a good face.

She was just such an honest face connoisseur.

She only looked at faces.

A colleague next to them was probably also enjoying the show and, seeing them chatting, immediately said, “Xingchen, go meet him anyway, it’s not like there’s anything else to do.”

“Well...” Mo Xingchen was trying to figure out how to refuse when there was a sudden knock on the door outside.

Everyone looked up and saw a young man in a blue uniform, holding a large bouquet of champagne roses. The bouquet was so huge, almost half his height, that even he, a man, struggled to hold it.

“Is Miss Mo Xingchen here?” the delivery man asked politely.

Everyone immediately turned to look at her. Mo Xingchen stood up awkwardly. The young man quickly stepped forward and said, “Miss Mo, this is a bouquet a gentleman ordered from us. Please sign for it.”

“This bouquet is really big,” a colleague whispered.

The delivery guy immediately explained, “This is a very popular extra-large bouquet this year. Many people choose this type of bouquet to give to their girlfriends.”

“Xingchen, did your boyfriend send this?” a colleague asked enviously.

Mo Xingchen chuckled and quickly signed the delivery slip. When the young man handed her the flowers, her arm sank, and she almost dropped them.

“Seriously, these flowers are huge. Xingchen is quite tall, and these are almost up to her knees,” several colleagues, who had never seen such a large bouquet before, gathered around to look.

The colleague who had just offered to set her up with her cousin said somewhat awkwardly, “Xingchen, you already have a boyfriend? Why didn’t you tell us? I was going to introduce my cousin to you.”

Mo Xingchen gave a slightly embarrassed smile and said, “He’s not a boyfriend.”

“Sister Zhang, it’s not necessarily a boyfriend. Maybe she just has an admirer. But this person is really generous; these flowers must cost over a thousand,” said a well-known budgeter in the department who meticulously calculated the cost of everything.

Mo Xingchen actually didn’t know who sent them, but since everyone was there, she felt awkward asking the delivery guy.

She had planned to call the flower shop later to inquire.

However, a sharp-eyed colleague pointed at the flowers and said, “Xingchen, there’s a card here.”

Mo Xingchen quickly placed the flowers on the floor; the table was too small to hold them. She reached out and picked up the card. The palm-sized card, once opened, revealed a handwritten line, with sharp calligraphy, indeed a rare example of good penmanship.

“My conquest, you are, Xingchen.”

Her gaze fell on the signature at the end: Xu Siyang.

Immediately, the card was clenched in her hand.

If she didn’t know Xu Siyang’s identity by now, she would be a real idiot. The day Yi Zechen and Huo Ci appeared at her doorstep, she started feeling that something was off.

But she never expected him to be Yi Zechen’s biological uncle.

She thought of all the lies he told her—that he grew up without a mother, suffering from others’ cold shoulders; that his father was in poor health and he himself was a failure. Looking at his handsome face and listening to him say those words, Mo Xingchen genuinely felt sorry for him at the time.

She even thought, it doesn’t matter if he has nothing.

As long as she liked him.

But as much as she pitied him then, she was equally furious when she learned the truth—so furious she wished she could kill him.

But she knew her fury was just out of embarrassment. She was angry that he had lied to her. He probably knew all her little thoughts, her gaze at him was even so undisguised. Yet, when he had to lie, he still did so without hesitation, showing that those few days were just a game for him.

She, Mo Xingchen, was just his amusement.

At this moment, her colleagues, having finished their excitement, had returned to their respective seats. No one saw her crumple that card.

________________________________________

No sooner had she crumpled the card than her phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number. She casually answered, and the person on the other end probably didn’t expect her to pick up so easily. With a hint of happiness and excitement, they immediately said, “Xingchen, it’s me.”

As soon as Mo Xingchen heard Xu Siyang’s voice, she prepared to hang up.

However, the person on the other end probably anticipated this and quickly called out, “Don’t hang up yet, can you give me a few minutes to finish what I have to say?”

Mo Xingchen said coldly, “No.”

Then, without further ado, she hung up the phone.

Xu Siyang looked at his phone in frustration. He had even used an unfamiliar number to call her, but as soon as she heard his voice, she hung up immediately, as if she had seen a ghost.

He sat in the car, exhaling softly. His buddy, standing outside, tapped on his car window and asked, “What do you think of this car?”

“It’s alright,” Xu Siyang said indifferently.

Kevin immediately snorted in annoyance, “This is my dream car, and you’re just dismissing it with ‘it’s alright’?”

“That just means your dreams are too low,” Xu Siyang chuckled, pushing open the car door and stepping out.

The car dealership staff stood by, looking at each other in bewilderment upon hearing his unenthusiastic tone. They were probably racking their brains trying to figure out how to convince these young masters to place an order.

Xu Siyang was accompanying his friend to look at cars today; he was just offering an opinion.

Xue Kaiwen was displeased. He playfully punched Xu Siyang’s shoulder and asked, “Then tell me, what’s your dream car?”

Xu Siyang mentioned a name. Xue Kaiwen cursed under his breath, but still said, “That car must be over 30 million yuan, right?”

Although Xue Kaiwen also loved cars, his family background couldn’t compare to Xu Siyang’s. He could easily buy a car worth four or five million yuan. But if a car cost tens of millions, his father would skin him alive.

“If you buy it later, let your buddy have a taste,” Xue Kaiwen reached out and put his arm around his shoulder again.

Xu Siyang pushed him away, “I’ve noticed your habit of speaking is really bad. Don’t be so handsy.”

Xue Kaiwen didn’t mind his fussiness and just laughed.

Xu Siyang sighed and said, “But I’m just thinking about it; I won’t have the chance to buy it.”

“Is your old man still mad at you?” Xue Kaiwen knew about his situation; they both studied abroad in the UK together. However, after returning to China, Xue Kaiwen happily joined his family’s company, but Xu Siyang didn’t like that path.

Xu Siyang shook his head and whispered, “Not my old man, but my brother-in-law. Since he’s in that position, I still need to keep a low profile.”

Xue Kaiwen had a good relationship with him and was naturally familiar with his family situation. He knew Xu Siyang had a half-sister who was more than twenty years older than him, and that his brother-in-law was indeed in a very powerful position.

However, Xue Kaiwen was a bit confused and asked, “What does your family’s wealth have to do with your brother-in-law? Everyone knows what kind of person your old man is. Even if you really drove a car worth tens of millions, that would still be because of your old man.”

“There are so many people online who spread rumors, who knows when something might blow up,” Xu Siyang glanced at the people from the car dealership nearby and didn’t want to talk about his family matters. He asked him, “Are you buying this car or not?”

“Yes, of course I’m buying it. I finally have enough money to marry my wife, and I just brought you here to see it today,” Xue Kaiwen had actually decided on this car long ago, otherwise, he wouldn’t have dragged Xu Siyang along today.

He couldn’t get a license plate right now, so Xue Kaiwen planned to get a temporary license plate for the car first.

As the two were about to leave, they saw a group of people entering the store, making a commotion as they walked in. Xu Siyang casually glanced over and immediately stopped. Xue Kaiwen, who had finished the paperwork, came over and called out to him, but he didn’t hear him.

“Do you know this Mr. Meng?” Xue Kaiwen asked, a little surprised.

Xu Siyang turned to look at him and asked instead, “Do you know him?”

Xue Kaiwen snorted disdainfully, “Just a nouveau riche. You absolutely shouldn’t associate with this kind of person; they’re toxic.”

Xu Siyang knew Xue Kaiwen’s personality; he was a good-natured person who wouldn’t offend anyone. Even the most despicable people, he could treat with gentleness. This was the first time Xu Siyang had seen him so disgusted with someone.

He asked, “Why are they toxic?”

Xue Kaiwen whispered, “This Mr. Meng’s family operates a gambling den in Macau, specifically luring mainland bosses to gamble there. It’s said they earn millions or even tens of millions overnight. The money of such people is stained with the blood of others.”

Macau is a world-class gambling city. Eighty percent of Macau’s economy is driven by the gambling industry, and eighty percent of the gambling industry’s business is occupied by VIP rooms supported by casino junkets. Even the Wall Street Journal once pointed out that Macau’s gambling industry earns over 45 billion USD annually, while the income of those junkets is 30 billion USD, accounting for over 60%.

This shows the enormous wealth these junkets can accumulate.

Perhaps it’s precisely because these people earn money quickly that they spend it as if it were nothing.

This Mr. Meng’s family was in the business of being a casino junket in Macau.

No wonder even Xue Kaiwen looked down on them. In his opinion, this kind of family had no foundation, not even any real industries. Their downfall could happen overnight. Moreover, the money they used came from gamblers, and who knows how many families have been ruined because of it.

Over there, he was talking to the staff about picking up the car. Mr. Meng yelled, “I spent over ten million on this car! Didn’t I say I’d pick it up in a week? What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Meng, the car was air-freighted from abroad. A week’s time is really too tight. We also called and communicated with you about this before,” the staff member was a woman, so anxious she was almost crying, but dared not offend such a wealthy client.

Xu Siyang watched coldly as that Meng An kept calling himself “Laozi” (an arrogant way of saying “I”), his finger almost poking the female staff member’s head.

He was about to step forward, but Xue Kaiwen quickly stopped him, whispering, “Why bother stooping to his level?”

At this moment, a long-haired, big-eyed girl next to Meng An reached out and pulled his hand, saying sweetly, “Since that car hasn’t arrived yet, never mind. Even if you curse her to death, you’ll just be angry. Why don’t we look at other cars?”

Meng An then smiled, reached out and grabbed the girl’s neck, kissing her on the cheek.

Only then did he lead a group of people to browse the store again.

Xue Kaiwen saw Xu Siyang still not leaving and asked him curiously, “Do you know this Meng An?”

Xu Siyang sneered, “Know him? More than just know him.”

Song Ruiqing dumped him for this man.