Chapter 18: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes
Chen Fan and Zhao Chenxi stared at each other, eyes wide.
“You know I’m a feng shui master, but you don’t know what a birth chart is?”
“Is that so strange?” Zhao Chenxi scoffed. “Anyway, you helped Sister Xueyue solve a big problem, so you can help me too!”
“First of all,” Chen Fan paused, “I can’t help with relationship issues, and you have to pay me upfront.”
In the next moment, Chen Fan revealed his payment QR code.
Zhao Chenxi, with a serious expression, transferred fifty thousand yuan to him.
“I’ll pay half first! Help me solve my problem, and I’ll give you the other half! You’ve ruined the image I had of feng shui masters.”
“What image?”
“Immortal and otherworldly! Floating with ethereal grace! Disdainful of human suffering, able to solve any problem with a mere wave of the hand!”
Chen Fan looked at Zhao Chenxi and couldn’t help but laugh.
There were indeed such immortals, only to be slaughtered upon entering the mortal realm.
“Trust me, you wouldn’t want to know the true nature of other feng shui masters,” Chen Fan said lightly. “Even without a birth chart, I can see the problem... don’t move your face.”
Zhao Chenxi ignored him and turned her head away.
This woman was not only proud but rebellious, Chen Fan thought with a secret sigh.
He glanced at the time; soon, Fu Xueyue would be leaving the company.
Without hesitation, Chen Fan cupped Zhao Chenxi’s face with both hands and looked straight into her eyes.
“You…”
Zhao Chenxi’s fair face instantly flushed a deep red.
“You! What are you doing! You pervert! You…”
Before she could finish scolding, Chen Fan asked with a puzzled look, “Don’t you know your family has gone bankrupt?”
“Bankrupt?!” Zhao Chenxi’s eyes widened, momentarily forgetting Chen Fan’s earlier actions.
She shook her head frantically, unwilling to believe it.
“Impossible! No way! How could my family be bankrupt?”
“Our family isn’t a giant like the Fu Group in Jinling, but bankruptcy is out of the question!”
“My parents just came back from a trip abroad. Bankruptcy is impossible!”
“You must be blind! That’s nonsense!”
Chen Fan watched Zhao Chenxi’s agitated reaction and shook his head slightly.
But... did Fu Xueyue know about the Zhao family’s bankruptcy?
“I’m telling the truth. If you don’t believe me, check your assets yourself,” Chen Fan raised an eyebrow. “Given your family’s situation, our cooperation is only halfway done, and you’ve paid half.”
“If you want to terminate now, I won’t count it as a breach of contract...”
Before Chen Fan finished, he received the remaining payment.
“It’s just fifty thousand! I can afford it!” Zhao Chenxi bit her lip, indignant. “Even if my family is bankrupt, I can still pay!”
“I’ll... go check. If you’re lying to me, you’ll be going to jail!”
Chen Fan shrugged indifferently and said calmly, “I’m going to see Boss Fu.”
“Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead!”
Chen Fan glanced at the flustered Zhao Chenxi and quietly walked out.
Making a hundred thousand yuan by reading a fortune was truly effortless.
Back in the lobby, while waiting for Fu Xueyue, Chen Fan transferred the one million yuan Song Shuqiao had given him, along with Zhao Chenxi’s hundred thousand, to an anonymous overseas account.
From there, through the anonymous account, the funds were forwarded to others.
Moments later, Chen Fan received a formal thank-you message from a charity foundation, to which he smiled softly.
Soon after, a notification popped up on his WeChat.
[Zhou Heng: Master Chen? Have you returned?]
A feng shui master cannot hold onto wealth easily; money earned through feng shui is considered windfall wealth.
It’s not impossible to keep it, but the more prosperous the fortune, the more other blessings and good fortune decline.
So when Chen Fan received money, it was either spent on feng shui materials or donated to a trusted foundation.
Zhou Heng’s foundation was special, aiding survivors afflicted by feng shui misfortune or attacked by evil cultivators and malevolent spirits.
“Who are you chatting with?” Fu Xueyue leaned over and fixed her gaze on Chen Fan’s face.
She didn’t look at the phone screen, simply watched Chen Fan with curiosity.
“Nobody,” Chen Fan shook his head slightly; he had no intention of replying to Zhou Heng.
Fu Xueyue smiled mysteriously and said, “I have a surprise for you.”
“What surprise?”
“You’re in for a treat—I’ll cook for you myself!”
Chen Fan raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
...
Night fell.
Chen Fan looked at the dinner table adorned with cream-colored linens, upon which lay dishes burnt to a pitch black.
He couldn’t tell if the food looked like that before it was cooked.
“Ahem, I’ll take over. I used to cook for myself anyway.”
Chen Fan immediately took charge in the kitchen.
First, he didn’t want Fu Xueyue to ruin the ingredients any further.
Second, he truly didn’t want to eat those charred things.
“Did you cook like this at the Jiang household too?” Fu Xueyue asked curiously. “Have you cooked for Jiang Xiao?”
Chen Fan nodded slightly but remained silent.
“Then from now on, only cook for me, okay?” Fu Xueyue rested her delicate, fair chin on her slender fingers, smiling warmly at Chen Fan.
She watched Chen Fan bustling about in the open kitchen and smiled faintly.
Whether he was practicing geomancy or cooking, the charm came from Chen Fan himself.
“Jiang Xiao... why didn’t she know how to cherish you...” Fu Xueyue murmured to herself.
Before long, four dishes and a soup, full of color, aroma, and flavor, appeared on the table.
Fu Xueyue took a bite and said, “I think... I can fire my chef.”
Chen Fan chuckled softly. “Boss Fu, I never signed a contract to be your chef.”
“Then you don’t want to cook for me? Are you looking down on me?”
Fu Xueyue made a pitiful expression that made it impossible for Chen Fan to imagine how cold and aloof she was as a CEO outside.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Chen Fan cleared his throat twice.
“Boss Fu, do you know about the Zhao family going bankrupt?”
“Has there been any change in the Fu Group’s accounts?”
“Especially anything related to the Zhao family?”
“I suspect… the Zhao family is the mastermind behind it.”