The birth of Cui Qianqian Studio

"Huh? Y-you already have a fiancée?" Xue Ning exclaimed.

Cui Qianqian's expression also darkened.

Even so, she forced a smile and said to Wen Xiancheng and Xue Ruigao, "You two make a lovely couple!"

Xue Ning discreetly pinched Cui Qianqian.

Cui Qianqian seemed not to react at all.

Hearing Cui Qianqian's words, Xue Ruigao smiled and held out her hand. "Hello, I'm Xue Ruigao."

Cui Qianqian shook her hand. "Cui Qianqian."

Xue Ruigao started in surprise. "Cui Qianqian? Are you the second daughter of Cui Shang, the richest man in Dai City?"

Cui Qianqian gave a strained laugh. "Not his second daughter. His illegitimate daughter."

Wen Xiancheng stared at Cui Qianqian in shock.

The illegitimate daughter of the richest man in Dai City?

She really was rich.

Recalling how earnestly he had tried to persuade Cui Qianqian earlier, Wen Xiancheng flushed with embarrassment.

He had not known about Cui Qianqian's family background before.

Now that Xue Ruigao had mentioned it, he wished he could find a hole in the ground and crawl into it.

He really was an idiot, trying to scheme his way into a rich young lady's pockets!

Luckily, Cui Qianqian wasn't like those other spoiled young ladies.

Otherwise, he probably would have been treated to a round of mockery.

Wen Xiancheng gave Cui Qianqian a grateful look.

Although she was a little plump and no beauty, her character left that of ordinary rich young ladies streets behind.

For all the help she had given him lately, Wen Xiancheng silently resolved to fulfill his original promise and make the "Cui Qianqian" brand famous.

Xue Ning also held out her hand and shook Xue Ruigao's. "You guessed right. That's her."

Glancing at Wen Xiancheng, Xue Ning said pointedly, "Although the Cui Family won't accept Cui Qianqian because of her status, Cui Shang has always treated her pretty well. At the very least, she isn't short of a high-grade spirit stone or two."

Wen Xiancheng smiled sheepishly and said to Cui Qianqian, "Well, I'm sorry. It's true that I was trying to take advantage-"

Cui Qianqian waved her plump hand and shook her head. "Don't listen to Ning'er's nonsense. I genuinely want to work for you. My dad gives me a lot of money every month, but that's money I'm given, not money I earn through my own abilities. I may earn less here, but it really is money I earn with my own hands."

As she spoke, she glanced at Xue Ning with a pleading expression.

Xue Ning huffed before saying to Wen Xiancheng, "If she says so, then fine! Anyway, let's go. I want to see what kind of place you've found for us. And what work can we do?"

Xue Ruigao looked at Wen Xiancheng in surprise. "Orange, are they going to live with us?"

Wen Xiancheng nodded. "I've taken on a lot of orders this time, and it would be inconvenient for them to keep traveling back and forth, so I asked them to move in. Oh, and I've moved somewhere else. It's nearby, just a little bigger."

Xue Ruigao gave Cui Qianqian and Xue Ning a wary glance, hugged Wen Xiancheng's left arm, and smiled. "That makes sense! Let's head back, then!"

Cui Qianqian and Xue Ning walked side by side behind them.

Xue Ning lowered her voice. "Cui Qianqian, have you lost your mind? Fight for him! Why are you backing down?"

Cui Qianqian said, "Stop talking nonsense! At most, I only had a bit of a crush on him before. Now that I know he has a fiancée, why would I keep throwing myself at him? Someone like me is perfectly fine alone."

Xue Ning looked at Cui Qianqian as though she were a piece of rotten wood that could never be carved. "You'll regret this, Cui Qianqian!"

"I won't regret it. Not ever," Cui Qianqian insisted. "After all these years, I'm already used to it."

Seeing that neither oil nor salt could get through to Cui Qianqian, Xue Ning shook her head and gave up trying to persuade her.

The four of them arrived at the new rental.

Xue Ning walked inside with a slight frown.

Cui Qianqian's expression revealed nothing.

Xue Ruigao, on the other hand, was delighted. "It feels so much more spacious than the old place! Orange, the rent must be expensive, right? Can we afford it?"

Smiling, Wen Xiancheng took out a deposit slip and spread it on the table. He said to Cui Qianqian, Xue Ning, and Xue Ruigao, "Look at this! These are the advance payments our clients made for the orders I've taken over the past two days."

Xue Ruigao's lovely eyes narrowed slightly, and she cried out, "Seventy-four high-grade spirit stones? Orange, where did you get so many spirit stones?"

Wen Xiancheng said, "I just told you! They're the advance payments for the orders I've taken over the past two days!"

Even Xue Ning beamed at that. "Not too bad. That's enough to cover a week of my game top-ups!"

Cui Qianqian asked curiously, "We used illusion arts on so many textbooks before and only earned a little. Why is it so much this time?"

Wen Xiancheng took out four contracts and spread them on the table. "Actually, I still have some advance payment money on hand, ready to use whenever we need it. These are the contracts for the orders. They're different from the previous ones."

Taking out the biology class contract, Wen Xiancheng said, "Most of the money this time comes from this."

"The biology classroom."

"For this one, I'm afraid we'll have to rely on you two, Cui Qianqian and Xue Ning. Xue Ruigao and I will handle the other textbooks, while you two handle this classroom. All the specific requirements are in here. Tomorrow, we'll have to go and stay at the Noble Primary School for a while, until we finish these tasks."

Cui Qianqian leafed through the contract. "It looks pretty simple."

Wen Xiancheng smiled.

This Cui Qianqian really was a star student.

It looked like he could learn quite a few tricks for cultivating illusion arts by working alongside her this time.

Walking into the room, Wen Xiancheng took out a stack of blank paper and said to the three young women, "Next, let's talk about the things we need to keep in mind while working together this summer, and possibly in the future."

Pressing his palms together toward Cui Qianqian and Xue Ning, Wen Xiancheng said, "Before that, thank you both very much for being willing to work with us."

Xue Ning scoffed. "It's not as though you can repay us by offering yourself."

Xue Ruigao said solemnly, "He's my fiancé."

Xue Ning said, "We know, we know. Nobody's fighting you for him!"

Cui Qianqian tugged at Xue Ning's sleeve, and only then did Xue Ning say to Wen Xiancheng, "Go on. What do we need to keep in mind?"

Wen Xiancheng said, "First, the profit split. Xue Ruigao and I will take one-third, one-third will be set aside for emergencies, and the remaining third will go to the two of you."

"Well, we're not really short of money." Cui Qianqian glanced around. "Ning'er and I can just take a quarter."

Xue Ning shook her head. "No, we want a third! Only an idiot turns down money, especially money we've worked hard to earn!"

Wen Xiancheng said, "Then it's settled. Next, our group will be a small studio called Cui Qianqian Studio. That's the name we'll use when dealing with outsiders."

Cui Qianqian smiled.

Wen Xiancheng continued, "And for every batch of orders we complete, no matter what it is, we'll print the name 'Cui Qianqian' in the most prominent position."

Looking at Cui Qianqian, Wen Xiancheng said, "I told you I would help make the 'Cui Qianqian' brand famous and let everyone under heaven know that you, Cui Qianqian, have the potential to become the Yue Kingdom's second Liu Lanzhi!"

(End of chapter)