"Hm? Why didn't you leave?"
Gu Zhe looked at the woman before him, dressed like a stylish office worker. She stood by the door but hadn't left with the others.
Instinctively, his gaze swept up and down her body.
She had curved brows, liquid eyes, red lips, and white teeth. Her chiffon blouse and women's slacks accentuated her full breasts, slender waist, and pert backside. She was big where she should be big and small where she should be small.
At twenty-five or twenty-six, she was in full bloom.
Seeing the look in Gu Zhe's eyes, Ming Xuan inwardly spat.
The little pervert's gaze was far too blatant. He didn't even try to hide it, as if openly appraising her.
If their earlier conversation hadn't left her confused, vaguely impressed, and entertaining a few other ideas, she would have turned around and left long ago.
Having finished looking her over, Gu Zhe noticed that the woman seemed to have something on her mind, something she wanted to say.
"Let me say this first. I know I'm handsome and have great potential, but feelings need time to develop. I'm not that shallow."
He watched Ming Xuan's expression turn bewildered and incredulous.
"Heh, if you really want to ask me out, this handsome fellow could consider it, given your sincerity. Let you sample a younger man. Ahem, how about tonight? Your place, or..."
Ming Xuan froze at Gu Zhe's shameless words, then flushed with anger.
Who the hell wants to ask you out? The men pursuing me could line up all the way to Europe.
Sample a younger man? I'm not even old! What a slick-tongued brat, pretending to be so young.
Looking at the young man before her, she wanted nothing more than to put him in a joint lock and teach him that she was not to be trifled with.
But then she remembered her younger cousin's pitiful expression, filled with fear and longing.
She took a deep breath.
She hesitated.
Then she forced a gentle smile onto her face.
"Mr... Gu, after hearing your conversation with them, I feel you're an expert in ghosts and the supernatural. My family has encountered something supernatural, and I hope you can lend us a hand."
Thinking of the despair on her second uncle's family's faces, thinking of her poor younger cousin.
Ming Xuan bent forward in a bow.
"Mr. Gu, please help us. Save my younger cousin."
As she bent over, her exaggerated curves and spectacular figure became even more apparent.
Gu Zhe nearly sucked in a sharp breath.
However.
Gu Zhe wasn't some hopeless simp. He knew that simps ended up with nothing after all their groveling. Heh, he despised people like that-just like a certain someone who had been dumped by a manipulative woman at Heaven on Earth that day.
So he didn't immediately agree just because the sight had taken his breath away.
Although he now had Paper Figure guards, was she saying this supernatural incident had happened in the real world?
Would the danger be manageable?
This wasn't like the Netherworld, where he only descended with a sliver of consciousness and could simply leave if things went wrong...
Always cautious in his actions, Gu Zhe naturally needed to ask questions and get the whole story.
He also needed to understand the rights and wrongs of it, the grudges involved, and who was at fault. A ghost might certainly be a ghost, but some humans weren't necessarily human.
Before that, however, he noticed the occasional flicker deep in her eyes, as though she were looking at a pervert. There was also that attitude of, "I'm asking you for help, but only because circumstances forced me to. I might as well believe you, just in case."
Gu Zhe decided to tease the beauty and raised his eyebrows playfully.
"Besides, why should I help you?"
He saw astonishment appear in her eyes.
"You don't think I have to help just because you bow and show a little courtesy, do you?"
"And don't bother with all that stuff about righting wrongs, protecting the weak, and vanquishing demons. I've always followed my own judgment. If I feel like doing something, I do it. If I don't, I lie back and do nothing. Nothing else can sway me."
"Ahem, don't assume I'll definitely fall for your beauty trap!"
Ming Xuan was speechless.
Could you stop saying "definitely" so loudly? It sounds like you're hinting at something.
She gritted her teeth.
"As long as you save my younger cousin, I... I'll give you all my savings!"
Gu Zhe grew a little curious.
She was willing to bankrupt herself to save her family. Suddenly, he felt a little moved.
Curiously, he asked:
"All your savings? How much?"
"I... I have twenty thousand yuan..."
Seeing Gu Zhe's expression, she remembered how those Underworld Apartments of his, real or not, had apparently gone for fifty or a hundred thousand a month. It seemed he could rake in money without lifting a finger.
Ming Xuan blushed a little.
Instinctively, she explained:
"I know you just made five million without any trouble by making arrangements for their deceased father, but... but this really is all my savings."
"I'm not some big boss. I'm a wage worker too. I earn eight thousand a month, and girls have to buy clothes and get beauty treatments and things, so there's not much left. Don't worry, my second uncle and aunt still have money. They'll definitely make it worth your while. Just name your price."
Gu Zhe was speechless. One moment, this woman seemed haughty; the next, she was adorably clueless.
He waved a hand.
"Forget it. Come inside and tell me what happened!"
A figure barged in before anyone could react.
His voice rang out, loud as a frog in summer.
"What? Five million? Buddy, what kind of business did you just do?"
Ming Xuan stared blankly at the greasy-looking man who had suddenly appeared.
When she recovered, embarrassment appeared on her face.
Looking at Gu Zhe, she lowered her voice further.
"Sorry. I didn't know that was a trade secret."
Gu Zhe watched her smooth, lowered chin press against a certain fullness and couldn't help stealing another couple of looks.
An inexplicable twinge of guilt crossed his mind. Yun Qing wouldn't be angry, would she? Sigh, your big brother has to grow up too.
Only then did he look at Fatty Zhang from next door.
"Small change. Those people just asked me to look after their deceased father, give him a Spirit House or something."
He winked and pointed at his head.
"You know how it is. Some rich people... heh, you get it..."
Fatty Zhang was speechless.
That was it? Five million?
Was this what business opportunities looked like for young people in the internet age? Where had he hooked those rich idiots?
He watched Gu Zhe and the beautiful woman go inside.
It seemed she wanted him to do something too.
First he swindled rich people, then sexy, adorable girls?
For a moment, he stood rooted to the spot.
Why him?
"I even have golden-thread nanmu urns! Aren't those better than his shoddily made Spirit Houses?"
He recalled how politely those rich people had treated young Gu before leaving.
And the look on that woman's face, as though she was terrified young Gu would refuse.
A phrase flashed through his mind: Dumb people, deep pockets, hot girls-come quick...
Why the hell him?!
Meanwhile, Liu Zhaodi and her mother were on the other side.
They were stunned too.
Liu Zhaodi's mother suddenly drew in a sharp breath.
"That young Gu... he's something else!"
"Forget it, forget it. What's the point? I'm staying out of you young people's business. I don't understand this world. Do those people just have money to burn?"
It wasn't the money that had stunned Liu Zhaodi.
For many people who were still in school and hadn't entered the working world.
Money wasn't a particularly concrete concept.
What had left her dazed was the breathtaking curve of that woman's body when she bowed.
Even as a woman herself, Liu Zhaodi's heart had trembled.
Instinctively, she looked down at her own little steamed buns.
Her face paled.
"No, I have to go keep an eye on them. A man and woman alone together-I can't let Brother Gu make a mistake. Hmph, that old woman can forget about taking advantage of Brother Gu."
"Uh, you little brat. Young Gu is discussing business. What are you going over there for? Forget it, forget it. I'm staying out of it!"