Had He Stumbled into a Nest of Millions?

The car was quiet, with soothing music playing through the speakers up front. Neither of them spoke, but it didn't feel awkward.

"You..."

"You..."

They spoke at the same time, then looked at each other and laughed.

"You go first."

Bo Lin's smile softened the sternness of his face.

Hua Jian smiled. "Nothing much. I just wanted to ask where we're going to eat."

Bo Lin pulled up a page on his phone and held it out for him to see.

"Assistant Jiang found this online. He said it's one of those trendy restaurants you young people like."

Hua Jian's eyes immediately widened, and he grumbled inwardly.

Isn't this the trendy restaurant Feng Qian just mentioned? What are the odds?

Bo Lin's lashes trembled. He lifted his eyes to glance at him. "You don't like it? Then let's go somewhere else. Western food or Chinese?"

Before Hua Jian could answer, Bo Lin swiftly withdrew his phone.

Hua Jian hurriedly said, "There's no need to go to any trouble. This place looks great."

Great?

What was so great about it?

Was it great because Feng Qian had suggested it?

Bo Lin said evenly, "I just took a closer look. The decor is frivolous, and the feng shui is terrible. Cui Peng, take us to Jiangnan."

The driver immediately switched on the turn signal. "Yes, Mr. Bo."

Hua Jian was baffled. They had to consider feng shui just to eat?

The world of powerful men really was beyond an ordinary person's imagination.

Still, since Bo Lin was treating him, Hua Jian had no objections to wherever they ate.

Jiangnan was a small, three-story villa.

When they arrived, luxury cars filled the entrance and courtyard.

"Welcome, Mr. Bo. Please follow me, both of you."

A sweet-looking manager waited at the entrance. Hua Jian followed behind, taking in his surroundings.

Seeing this, Bo Lin explained, "The food here is decent, but the decor is a mishmash. Just have a casual look around."

Hua Jian, who had been about to compliment the place, abruptly shut his mouth.

Ever since he had transmigrated into the novel, Hua Jian usually spent his free time during the day working out, apart from attending classes and working part-time.

As a result, his appetite had grown tremendously. Bo Lin, by contrast, hadn't had much of an appetite over the past two days.

Holding his cup, he watched the young man across from him eat with gusto.

Hua Jian felt a little embarrassed. "Bo Lin, why aren't you eating? Is it not to your taste?"

At that, Bo Lin picked up his chopsticks. "What do you think of the food here?"

"It's pretty good."

Hua Jian was very curious about Bo Lin. The most mysterious big shot in the original novel had actually invited a cannon-fodder character like him to dinner.

"I see you working part-time everywhere. Are you short on money?"

This was the real reason Bo Lin had invited Hua Jian to dinner.

Bo Lin suspected that the million-dollar watch had been bought with money Xie Zhiwei had given him.

Now Hua Jian was actually trying to sell the watch and working part-time everywhere. He had to be desperately short on money.

Bo Lin hadn't had anyone investigate Hua Jian's background, but he could make an educated guess.

Hua Jian must have come from a poor family. Perhaps he even had an elderly relative bedridden at home.

And studying fine art in Imperial University's art department was another enormous expense.

Xie Zhiwei must have taken advantage of his vulnerability and offered to keep him.

Bo Lin let out a quiet sigh.

Suddenly, the food in Hua Jian's mouth no longer tasted good.

Originally, he had only needed to save up for Madam Hua's retirement.

But now, somehow, he owed Xie Zhitan tens of millions.

He didn't answer. Bo Lin looked up at him, his gaze moving from Hua Jian's hand to his face. "Why did you stop eating?"

Hua Jian smiled. "I'm eating. You should eat too, Bo Lin."

He sighed inwardly. Thinking about how much money I owe, I couldn't stomach even the finest delicacies.

The young man's voice carried despair over his lot in life, and an inexplicable ache rose in Bo Lin's heart.

It felt as though something had given it a vicious squeeze.

He frowned and parted his lips. "I'm planning to open an exhibition hall.

"I've seen your paintings, and I really like your style.

"Would you be interested in painting a mural on one of its walls? I'll pay you."

"An exhibition hall?"

Hua Jian was puzzled. Aren't the walls of an exhibition hall supposed to be white?

Bo Lin's fingers twitched slightly. "Yes, an exhibition hall."

Hua Jian said, "Sure. When do you need it? When should I go paint?"

"Sometime in the next few days. Oh, and this exhibition hall is very important to me. Once you finish, I'll pay you a million."

"Cough, cough!" Hua Jian coughed violently. "How much?"

Bo Lin remained perfectly composed. "A million."

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he'd said one dollar.

Hua Jian was sorely tempted, but still asked, "Isn't that too much?"

Bo Lin found his reaction interesting. He clearly needed money badly, yet he still thought it was too much.

"A good painting is worth any price. After all, I want to build the best exhibition hall."

Hearing that, Hua Jian immediately said, "All right, deal!"

Far away, Assistant Jiang was eating in the Bo Group cafeteria when he received a message from his boss.

[Find a storefront in downtown Imperial Capital immediately and hire someone to put together a plan. I'm opening an exhibition hall.]

Utterly bewildered, Jiang Kai replied without thinking: [Exhibiting what?]

Bo Lin's finger paused above the screen before he typed: [You have one day.]

"Bo Lin, thank you for dinner. It was delicious! Come to UP sometime, and I'll mix you a drink."

Outside the car, the young man beamed.

Even his black-framed glasses looked pleasing now.

Bo Lin put away his phone and nodded. "All right. See you next time."

Something stirred in Hua Jian's heart. For some reason, Bo Lin seemed rather serious about it.

The odd feeling lasted only a moment. Hua Jian shut the car door and watched Bo Lin's car drive away.

In the early hours of the morning, South Mountain once again rang with the roar of engines.

Jiang Yueming spotted Hua Jian as soon as he appeared.

"Young Master Qin, your savior's here. You know, he really is good-looking. Why don't you have him keep you company for some fun?"

"What kind of fun? Risking our lives?" Qin Ci glanced at Hua Jian and said coldly, "He's a bartender at UP. Doesn't that make him one of Lu Zexi's people?"

Still, what bothered Qin Ci most about Hua Jian was his inner voice.

That night, before his collision with Cui Zhao, Hua Jian had said Cui Zhao would toy with him until he died two years later.

Qin Ci had never forgotten it.

He slowly exhaled a ring of smoke, watching Hua Jian approach from the distance.

"Good evening, young masters. Young Master Qin, you look positively radiant. Something good must have happened to you lately."

"Tsk. Do you know Cui Zhao?"

Hua Jian looked puzzled. "The man from the crash last time? No."

Last time, Cui Zhao had Shu Yao lure Qin Ci to Moyan. I pulled a little trick, so Cui Zhao didn't get his way. Has he made another move?

A sudden burning sensation seared Qin Ci's hand. He hissed and dropped his cigarette butt.

"Young Master Qin, are you all right?"

Qin Ci lowered his head, hiding his expression. "You go to the same university as Shu Yao. I thought you might have seen Cui Zhao pursuing him on campus."

Hua Jian looked utterly innocent. "That bastard Cui Zhao is actually pursuing Young Master Shu? But Young Master Shu and I aren't in the same department, so we rarely run into each other."

What's gotten into Qin Ci now? Did Cui Zhao fail to hurt him the first time and send Shu Yao to try again?

Someone like Cui Zhao is rotten to the core. When he wants to destroy someone, he uses either drugs or men.

Seeing Qin Ci's ugly expression, Jiang Yueming grew a little anxious. "Hey, what's wrong? You look terrible. Haven't you recovered from your injuries yet?"

Qin Ci raised his eyes to look at Hua Jian, who was pretending to be concerned, and gave a slight shake of his head.

"Quit your part-time job at UP. Come work for me. I'll pay you a million a month."

Hua Jian's eyes widened at yet another windfall dropping into his lap. Had he stumbled into a nest of millions today?