Jiang Ze spent the entire night trying to figure out how to come up with ten million, then got up the next morning with two huge dark circles under his eyes.
When he went downstairs, he actually found Meng Zhiyuan at home instead of at work, a practically unprecedented sight.
"Uncle Zhiyuan, why are you home today?"
Yawn... so sleepy. I spent all night figuring out how to ask the big boss for a loan.
Meng Zhiyuan casually handed him two slices of freshly toasted bread. Still half asleep, Jiang Ze took them and put them in his mouth.
They were sweet, strawberry-flavored, too.
Jiang Ze smacked his lips and polished them off in a few bites.
"It's the weekend. I'm taking a day off."
Meng Zhiyuan watched his groggy expression with some amusement, knowing he had lost sleep over Cheng Feng.
Jiang Ze stared at him in surprise. President Meng, the workaholic in the novel who practically treated his company as his home, was actually giving himself a day off!
Ignoring his expression, Meng Zhiyuan turned and asked the housekeeper to give him an egg.
"Get some nutrients. Help you grow taller."
Jiang Ze silently glanced at the 187-centimeter-tall man in front of him, then at his own measly 175 centimeters. In a fit of rage, he... got angry for a moment.
All he did was quickly devour the egg in his hand.
Seeing the dark circles beneath his eyes, Meng Zhiyuan lowered his gaze.
In fact, he had already sent people to look for that underground boxing arena, and they had found some leads that morning.
B City did not have many underground venues thanks to strict government regulations, so finding it would only take a little effort.
After they finished breakfast, Meng Zhiyuan wiped his mouth and spoke unhurriedly.
"Are you interested in joining that variety show Mu Shaoxuan mentioned?"
Jiang Ze blinked, not understanding what he meant. He wasn't in show business, so why would he go on a variety show?
He was just about to refuse when he reconsidered and swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.
Wait, this isn't just any variety show. It's the one Shen Yun is joining! This is a perfect chance to wreck the protagonist's plans!
He nodded at once, indicating that he was very interested.
"Mm. The appearance fee is two million."
Jiang Ze was stunned. He had neither fame nor... fame. Surely he was lucky not to have to pay them to let him appear.
There was actually a deal this good!
He was short on money right now. This was like being handed a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.
"When do we join the crew and start filming?"
He was already itching to get started. Points and money were both beckoning to him.
Meng Zhiyuan found his enthusiasm amusing.
Jiang Ze was actually getting onto the show through connections, as someone recommended by an investor. There was no appearance fee; Meng Zhiyuan was putting up the two million himself.
"In another two weeks. Someone will notify you then."
After saying that, Meng Zhiyuan took a card from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Ze.
"There's five hundred thousand on this card. Consider it an advance on your appearance fee."
In both his previous life and this one, Jiang Ze had barely had any contact with the entertainment industry. He knew nothing about appearance fees or advances, so he accepted whatever Meng Zhiyuan said.
Dazed, he took the five hundred thousand that had appeared out of nowhere. So this was what getting rich overnight felt like.
Sure enough, I have to cling to the big boss for dear life. I'll say it ten thousand times!!!
The corners of Meng Zhiyuan's mouth curled up. The kid was pretty easy to keep happy.
With money in his pocket and nothing to do that afternoon, Jiang Ze headed straight to B City's largest mall for a shopping spree.
As the saying went, joy turned to sorrow. Trouble struck on his way back.
He had just stepped out of the mall and, by sheer bad luck, entered a surveillance blind spot when an old man tottered up to him.
"Young man, have a heart. I haven't eaten in two days. Please give me some money..."
Jiang Ze looked over his neat clothes and even his jet-black hair, which had clearly been dyed recently.
Were scammers this unprofessional now?
He didn't want to engage. Just as he was about to walk away, a powerful shove from behind sent him stumbling.
He brushed right past the old man, who promptly collapsed to the ground and began shouting.
"Oh, help! Someone's going to die! These old bones of mine! I haven't eaten in two days, and now this young man's knocked me down and wants to walk away without taking responsibility!"
The old man looked sixty or seventy, but his voice was remarkably powerful. Before long, his shouting had drawn a crowd of passersby eager to watch the drama unfold.
"Good grief, this young man looks respectable enough. How can he have such awful character?"
"Exactly. With all those shopping bags, he doesn't look short on money."
"What kind of person bullies an old man!"
A somewhat gruff male voice rose from the crowd amid the other voices.
"Hurry up and pay for the old man to get checked out!"
The crowd began chiming in, and Jiang Ze suddenly became the target of everyone's outrage.
Jiang Ze: "..."
Great. Do I really look that much like an easy mark?
A young woman in heavy makeup among the crowd couldn't resist posting the scene online when she saw how handsome Jiang Ze was.
Perhaps because Jiang Ze's looks rivaled a celebrity's, the incident quickly became a trending topic, and commenters began urging the poster to start a livestream.
His expression cold, Jiang Ze discreetly glanced at the man in the crowd who had just demanded compensation and understood.
This was probably a scam ring working together to extort people. They had carefully set him up.
They must have marked him while he was shopping in the mall.
"System, this is awfully convenient. Don't tell me it has something to do with Shen Yun and Meng Zimu, too?"
He always felt that coincidences like this inevitably involved the plot pushing things along.
"Nope, host. This scene wasn't in the novel. You're just unlucky~"
Fine, fine, fine. I'm just not supposed to have money, am I?
His expression chilled as he looked at the people condemning him without bothering to learn the facts. They reminded him of those mocking faces at the banquet when he had first transmigrated.
They all wore the same repulsive expressions, waving the banner of their own supposed righteousness while spewing the most hurtful words.
Without a trace of panic, Jiang Ze simply called the police.
Seeing the young man remain calm and completely unflustered, the crowd gradually grew less heated.
After all, when the police arrived, they would side with whoever was in the right.
"Sir, there are no cameras here. You say I knocked you down, but your voice sounds strong, and you don't seem to be in any discomfort. I could just as easily say you're trying to scam me!"
At his words, the old man shouted even louder, claiming one part of him hurt and then another, never answering him directly.
Jiang Ze was already tired from shopping, so he simply stopped arguing and quietly waited for the police.
"Hey, what actually happened? That old man looks like he's putting on an act. Could this really be a scam?"
"Can the commenter above stop assuming the worst of people? Don't you have elderly relatives? How can you see this and have no sympathy at all?"
"That handsome guy is so good-looking, and he's wearing all designer brands. He doesn't look like someone who'd knock a person down and refuse to own up!"
"You can't judge a book by its cover! I think that pretty boy just doesn't want to pay!"
The young woman who had impulsively started streaming earlier was drawing more and more viewers. The comments ran the gamut, and viewers even split into two camps and began fiercely arguing.
Unaware that being scammed had actually made him famous, Jiang Ze gave the police a straightforward account of what had happened when they arrived.
After hearing his account, the officer surveyed their surroundings. This spot was indeed outside the cameras' coverage.
The responding officer was middle-aged, and his years of experience told him there was something fishy going on.
He frowned as he looked at the growing crowd around them.
"Everyone, quiet down. If you have no business here, move along."
Some people obeyed the officer and left, but most wanted to watch the drama and stayed a short distance away.
"System, redeem a truth serum."
Among the cheaper items in the exchange interface were various potions. According to the system, they were all products from the future and weren't worth much in that world.
Even so, they cost several thousand points. Jiang Ze's heart ached at the expense. This was truly a disaster out of nowhere.
Seeing the officer's troubled expression, Jiang Ze ignored the old man's tearful lies to the police and used the potion directly.
"Officer, let me ask this gentleman a few questions."
The officer watched the young man step forward in bewilderment, unsure what asking him directly could accomplish. The old man was plainly trying to extort money from him.
"Do you have accomplices working with you to scam me?"
Everyone thought he had lost his mind. The old man had been shouting for compensation for almost half an hour. How could one casually worded question possibly make him change his story?
Before you continue