Chapter 2

"Name?"

"Huai Shi."

"Age?"

"Seventeen."

"Seventeen?"

The man conducting the interview raised his brows and looked at the youth before the desk. The skinny boy carrying a heavy instrument case hurriedly flashed a fawning smile.

He wore a somewhat worn formal suit, his face pale as though he had not seen sunlight in a long time. His hair was slightly messy, but his pitch-black eyes shone as if lit by candles, almost frighteningly bright.

"Gothic style? That's rare. Quite a few people are into that these days..."

The interviewer muttered inexplicably, then scrutinized the youth and turned serious. "Listen, Little Huai. You need to understand that our club follows an elite route. Not just any Agou can come here."

"Elite, elite! I understand!"

Huai Shi straightened his small frame and nodded vigorously, utterly obsequious. "Old Yang explained it all before I came. Your standards are strict here, but don't worry, I'm highly experienced!"

As he spoke, he even forced out a smile that could only be called ingratiating.

The requirements might be strict, but the pay was good too!

The economy was in a terrible slump these days, and huge numbers of people in New Sea had recently lost their jobs. God knew how hard it was for a poor student to find a part-time job playing music. Huai Shi was practically on the verge of starving to death. When the agent Old Yang told him he had found him a lucrative gig, he had nearly gone mad with joy.

If he let this job slip through his fingers, he would be struck by lightning!

Old Yang had told him that this was a membership club catering to wealthy people. Even the waiters carrying trays inside could earn several thousand in tips. If he could play here, would he still have to worry about making money?

Perhaps surprised by his inexplicable sincerity, the interviewer froze for a moment before nodding slightly. "All right. Your interview form says you can play the cello too. Perform something. Don't be too lousy."

"You can rest assured about that!"

Brimming with confidence, Huai Shi sat down and opened his case. He settled the cello against himself, lifted the bow, and after a brief moment of thought, the cello's uniquely deep melody flowed from the strings.

He might be nervous about other things, but when it came to the cello, he had never backed down. Since childhood, he had won so many certificates that his hands went soft from holding them. If he could have afforded a famous teacher, he might already have been showing his face at international competitions.

This Sea C piece, which he had practiced countless times, was flawless even by professional judges' standards. The moment he began to play, his mood immediately calmed. His performance was even better than usual, and the profound melancholy within those lively notes seemed ready to spill forth.

Yet after only a few minutes, the interviewer waved a hand in boredom. "All right, that's enough."

"Huh?"

Huai Shi looked up in astonishment, not knowing what he had done wrong. He hurriedly rummaged through his backpack. "I also have professional certificates. ABRSM Grade 8. If that's not enough, I'm taking the beginner professional exam next month..."

"All right, cut out that fancy nonsense."

The interviewer shook his head impatiently. "We don't care about qualifications here. It's enough if you can play passably and have some kind of gimmick. What matters most is your skill..."

As he spoke, he bent down, took several items from a drawer, and placed them in a row on the desk. He pointed at them. "Which one can you use?"

"What?"

Huai Shi was dumbfounded. He stared at those things on the table in complete confusion.

"What... instruments are these?"

"Hey, do you even know what you're doing? Didn't you say you had extensive work experience?"

The interviewer pointed at the table and introduced them unhappily. "Rich Woman's Joy Ball, Rich Woman's Joy Fire... Which one can you use?"

"..."

Huai Shi pondered for a long time, looked at the cello in his arms, and asked with his last shred of hope, "Rich Woman's Joy... cello?"

Boss, would a cheat ability work?

"So you can't do anything after all?"

The interviewer flew into a rage and pointed at his nose as he berated him. "Do you know how busy I am? You don't know anything, yet you come here to work as a gigolo? I turned down several appointments just to interview you. Isn't that wasting my time?"

"...Wasn't this place a restaurant hiring musicians?"

Only now did the utterly baffled Huai Shi realize that he seemed to have been screwed over by that idiot agent again... Huh? Why had he said again?

"Wait!"

He raised a hand solemnly. "Sir, I sell my art, not my body!"

Bang!

The office door shut behind him.

Huai Shi, kicked out of the office, sat on a chair in the hallway. The lingering fear was overwhelming. He felt that he had just been one step away from losing the chastity of half his life. But after glancing at his bank balance, he could not help feeling tempted to take that step after all...

He had been selling his art for so many years already. What difference would selling his body make?

Once the lights were off, it was all the same anyway. In the end, it was still... As long as they paid readily enough, it did not seem entirely unacceptable.

Just as he stroked his chin in thought, that whole series of "Rich Woman's Joy" products popped into his mind again, making him shudder all over.

At that moment, Huai Shi deeply realized that happiness in this world was conserved.

Forget it. Forget it...

With tears in his eyes, he rejected money's temptation and walked out of the club, turning back every few steps. Looking at the stone lion outside the entrance, covered in a layer of gold, he could not help wanting to turn around and go back in.

"Wait!"

Someone suddenly called out behind him. It was a man in formalwear, handsome but cold-faced, his gaze sweeping over Huai Shi with harsh scrutiny. "You! Stop!"

"Me?"

Huai Shi felt a little panicked. Under the man's stare, he instinctively leaned back slightly.

"You're the newcomer from today? You're leaving without even paying respects to Brother Number One of the club? Don't you know the rules?" The man walked before him, stood high on the steps, and looked down at him. He nodded. "Your face is decent enough, but you'd better behave yourself. When it comes to beauty, you can't compare to me."

As he spoke, he flirtatiously raised a hand to comb through his long hair, streaked with a few dyed golden locks. Huai Shi felt a wave of disgust and snapped back irritably, "Sorry, Brother Number One, I'm not a gigolo!"

"Oh, they're called male escorts now. Same thing."

Brother Number One nodded in understanding and waved generously. "It's fine. Since you've called me Brother Number One, I'll look after you from now on."

As he spoke, he pulled a bottle from his handbag and stuffed it into Huai Shi's arms. He patted his shoulder earnestly. "Even gigolos need to be professional. Go home and get rid of the oil on your face. Your skincare routine is far too rough. What a waste of such a pretty little face... Use it sparingly. This is high-end European stuff."

Without waiting for Huai Shi to "express his gratitude," he lifted his chin and turned away.

"..."

Huai Shi stood at the entrance, dumbstruck, looking down at the cosmetic product in his hand. He had no idea whether he should smash it at the door and shout something like, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—do not mock a poor young man!"

After a long while, he looked at the exquisite little bottle and tucked it into his clothes with a toothache.

Forget it. Since he was already here, and it looked expensive, throwing it away would be a pity... It had not even been opened yet. He could have Old Yang sell it later.

Poverty made me humble.

Why was he still so poor when he clearly had a cheat ability?!

He pulled out the notebook from his backpack, flipped through it over and over, let out a long sigh, and stuffed it back into his pocket.

Thinking of Old Yang made him grit his teeth in anger again. He took out his phone, dialed the number, and unleashed a string of curses. "Old Yang, are you fucking sick? You introduced me to an interview for a gigolo job? Are you so desperate for agency fees that you've gone insane?"

"Hey, I didn't ask clearly enough. They wanted someone young, experienced, good-looking, and talented... Brother was only thinking of you because you're so poor. Don't be mad. How about I treat you to dinner the day after tomorrow? We can celebrate your sister-in-law getting out of the hospital recently. Remember to bring some leeks..."

"Bring you a fart! Want to eat that?"

Huai Shi hung up angrily. That bastard had definitely done it on purpose. He was counting on Huai Shi accidentally boarding the pirate ship and earning him that agency fee.

But when he thought of Old Yang's family situation, he could not stay angry.

That bastard was practically working himself to death to scrape together medical expenses for his wife with cancer. Otherwise, he would not even take on these tiny part-time jobs from people like Huai Shi just for a commission of a few dozen yuan... Besides, other than refusing to discount the agency fee, the guy was fairly decent. He had not invented excuses to squeeze more money out of him.

They were fellow sufferers, after all.

Forget it, forget it...

Huai Shi sighed and heard thunder.

In the gloomy sky, black clouds drifted in from afar. Under the dim sunlight, he could vaguely see coral colonies growing amid the clouds, along with the shadows of schools of fish swimming through them...

The faintly blue ocean swayed gently, scattering rippling light across the earth.

It was going to rain.

They said that seventy or eighty years ago, Coral Clouds had not been so common. Back then, they were still in the sea instead of floating up into the sky and drifting all over the world.

Many scientists claimed it was caused by rare elements or air pollution, but few people believed them.

At first, everyone panicked like crazy, thinking the apocalypse had arrived. But after waiting for decades, no classic apocalyptic species like zombies ever appeared.

After enough time passed, people got used to it.

There was just one more thing floating in the sky. At worst, it rained a little more. Planes could just change their routes and keep flying, couldn't they?

Money still had to be made, debts still had to be repaid, and life still had to go on.

After a few days of chaos, everything returned to normal.

It seemed no different from life before.

Thunder rumbled again and again.

Huai Shi had not brought an umbrella and did not dare waste time. He turned and sprinted home, but while running, he heard another massive boom from afar.

This thunderclap was especially clear. Even the ground trembled.

He looked up toward the sound and saw smoke and fire rising from the distant docks, as though something had exploded.

Pedestrians on the street looked at one another blankly. Some excitedly took out their phones to film it, while others eagerly moved closer, hoping to catch some of the excitement.

Normally, Huai Shi might have gone to see the spectacle too. But now, he felt as though the double burden of life and gigolo work was about to crush his spine. As for excitement, forget it...

He sighed, turned left into an alley ahead, and quickened his pace.

Bang!

At the end of the alley, a bottle was kicked into the wall. Glass shards scattered everywhere, then a leather boot crushed them beneath its sole.

Someone staggered out from the corner beside him as if drunk. Their footsteps were unsteady, yet they did not slow down at all. Brushing past Huai Shi, they went splat against the wall.

Huai Shi froze.

What kind of hero was this?

But unexpectedly, that "hero" staggered backward from the impact. Upon seeing Huai Shi, he suddenly lunged at him.

Huai Shi could not dodge in time. The man grabbed his wrist, then shoved a heavy box into his arms.

"What the hell?"

He stood there stunned and instinctively tried to pull free, only to feel something wet on his hand. Thick red liquid flowed from the man's sleeve.

Blood.

Only then did the dense, overpowering stench of blood hit him head-on.

Huai Shi suddenly felt intense dizziness and a splitting headache. He bent over and involuntarily retched out a mouthful of saliva.

When he raised his head, he finally saw the man's twisted, ferocious face and distorted features. The man stared at Huai Shi in shock, as though he wanted to say something, but instead opened his mouth and spat out a huge mouthful of blood.

The scene was clearly bizarre, yet Huai Shi accidentally noticed something in the pool of blood the man had coughed up... a little goldfish?

It was not even large, just the kind of ornamental goldfish people kept in fish tanks. It looked plump and especially adorable.

"Buddy, you've got some serious tastes. Can you even eat that? And raw, too!"

Huai Shi stared in disbelief. "Did you eat something bad?"

But then he saw the goldfish flopping in the pool of blood rapidly shrivel up. In the end, it became a clump of ash-like substance that dissolved into the blood.

With the goldfish's death, the man seemed to lose all his strength. He collapsed to the ground and stopped breathing. Only thick blood continued to seep from beneath his trench coat.

In the silence, Huai Shi was the only one left in the alley.

Along with the box that had been shoved into his hands...

The box was somewhat larger than an ordinary Rubik's Cube. It felt heavy in his hands, and when he shook it, it seemed filled with liquid.

It had the cold texture unique to iron and copper, and its surface was carved with lavish patterns Huai Shi had never seen before. But those patterns were covered in the man's sticky blood and could not be seen clearly, though they seemed to possess an incredible magic.

Huai Shi swallowed.

He felt thirsty.

Simply holding it in his hands made him want to open it. It was as though something inside held an incomparable allure for him, making him desperately want to possess it, to obtain it...

He took a deep breath.

In a situation like this, did he even need to think about what to choose?

Without hesitation, Huai Shi took out his phone.

"Hello? Is this 110?"

Anyway, long time no see, everyone. How about a bookmark and a recommendation? During the new book period, I'll try to update twice a day and become the hardworking little Feng Yue you all love again.