Chapter 84: On the Difference Between Spiritual Bootlickers and Physical Bootlickers

Becoming his own agent meant he would at least never have to worry about being betrayed or having his assets quietly taken away.

Following Zheng Yuechan’s advice, a typical debut as a celebrity meant appearing on a few variety shows to build heat and followers, taking on small endorsements, and maybe filming an online drama.

Once the buzz got strong enough, he could land major ad deals and then go after better resources.

It sounded simple, but without connections and money, it would never work in practice.

So Cheng Yao decided to start as an internet influencer.

When he eventually became truly stable, what project he chose to film would be entirely up to him, wouldn’t it?

Whether it was Lu Mengyao, Lin Ketong, or even Liu Hanyue, his relationship with these girls was fairly close, so taking advantage of proximity to secure favor first was not…

No—better to say that wealth should not go to outsiders…

That still didn’t sound quite right.

In any case, refusing an easy advantage made one a fool. Besides, he was usually very free.

Cheng Yao kept dangling the bait. “Think about it carefully. You only work as a car model for a few days each month. In your spare time, you can start out as an influencer, build up a foundation for yourself, and even if you never become a star or get famous, you’ll still make money. You won’t have to worry about the rest of your life. What do you think?”

“Mm…”

She did have a point.

Lin Ketong nodded faintly. Could this guy be trying to sleep with me, and so binding me to his side?

“What about your company?”

“I’ll register it tomorrow. I’ll also need to find technical staff. Filming and editing, and planning, are already settled.”

Cheng Yao felt that with his current advanced photography skills, handling both filming and editing would be no problem, and he could also serve as director.

Zheng Yuechan would provide the planning; all he needed was to find operations, publishing, postproduction review, makeup artists, and so on.

He had no intention of saving money; he would do everything to the highest standard.

“Come on, eat more.”

Lin Ketong nodded lightly, feeling a little more at ease. At the very least, she no longer felt disgusted.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they walked around the streets for a while. By then it was already late.

Lin Ketong rarely showed a hint of a smile. “Then take me back.”

“It’s too late. Let’s get a room.”

“...?” Lin Ketong stiffened. The look she gave Cheng Yao immediately turned hostile.

In the end, Cheng Yao used soft words and hard persistence, taking Lin Ketong on a leisurely detour, giving her a little mental preparation, and then, with a string of coaxing excuses, headed straight for the hotel.

Cheng Yao had come to understand: women had to be coaxed. As long as they were happy, wasn’t everything just a matter of one sentence?

As for men, if they groveled too much all the time, women would grow immune to it. It only worked when used at the crucial moment.

Cheng Yao knew that women liked having a dog of their own.

So that night, he became Lin Ketong’s ultimate devoted lapdog, fawning from head to toe without even sparing her hair. It was outrageous.

Having her own lapdog, Lin Ketong was certainly pleased…

And after that, the way she looked at him changed.

“I’m your lapdog, and you’re still not satisfied?”

“You’re a pervert...”

Lin Ketong’s image of him as cold, handsome, and aloof had completely collapsed. What kind of rich, handsome elite was this? He was practically a shameless degenerate.

Ordinary lapdogs were about…

Flattery.

Spiritual lapdogs.

But you were…

A physical lapdog?

Lin Ketong was at a loss for words. In any case, Cheng Yao had completely refreshed her understanding of lapdogs, and of second-generation rich heirs. The man was truly a dog.

Congratulations. Today’s spending earned a tenfold rebate, for a total rebate of three million yuan.

Host: Cheng Yao

Appearance: 85

Skills: Guitar, extraordinary hearing, heavenly voice, piano, acclaimed actor, racing god, photography

Wealth: 120,158,000

Girlfriends: Zhang Ya (bound), Lu Mengyao (bound)

Items: None

...

The next morning, Lin Ketong got up early.

Cheng Yao gestured to her, and Lin Ketong frowned. “What is it?”

“I’m just making a bit of hard-earned money…”

“?”

Lin Ketong was almost tempted to whip out a thick stack of cash from her bag and slap it against his face, then ask coldly, “Don’t you have cash? Aren’t you supposed to be registering the company?”

“Mm…”

After leaving the hotel, Cheng Yao went to print out the documents Zheng Yuechan had sent him—articles of incorporation and the like—filed them, verified the five-million-yuan capital, and spent little time on the registration process. Then he went to the relevant office to complete the formalities.

The company was called Midsummer, as a commemoration of this summer. The registered capital was five million.

“Midsummer?”

“What’s wrong?”

“It sounds rather ordinary...”

Cheng Yao smiled. The name of the company had no special meaning. It had simply flashed into his mind. This midsummer was the beginning; he wondered how many summers from now, when he looked back, he would remember the things that had happened now and still keep his original heart.

The company was now established. Next came stabilizing Lin Ketong and turning her into his money-making darling.

By rights, Lin Ketong’s spending power should be no less than Lu Mengyao’s, since their starting points were about the same.

“I’ll give you a base salary of one million a year, and we’ll split the profits seventy-thirty. You take seventy, I take thirty...”

“Seriously?!”

Lin Ketong was a little suspicious. The company hadn’t even started operating yet. Was he trying to fool her with empty promises?

If that was the case, she really could earn a lot of money, and it would be easier than being a car model, though she would have to endure Cheng Yao’s hidden rules.

Cheng Yao said, “Do you think I’d lie to you?”

“Aren’t you always lying?” Lin Ketong looked at him expressionlessly.

Cheng Yao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “I won’t play any tricks with money. Whatever I should give you, I’ll give you. Even if I take a loss, I’ll accept it.”

In truth, with a money tree of his own, the company was only a facade. A small company could never amount to much. It was nothing more than adding a little halo so he looked more impressive than an ordinary person, so others would call him boss.

He still had to make his money through Lu Mengyao and Lin Ketong, of course, and he certainly wouldn’t shortchange them on wages. Killing two birds with one stone, he could keep them close while making a fortune himself. Why not?

Besides, once he had his own company, everything would be even more legitimate.

“Mm.”

“I know you still don’t feel at ease. Once I’ve set up the office space and equipment, I’ll have you sign a contract and advance you half your salary.”

“Okay!”

Lin Ketong agreed without another word. That way, she could feel a little more at ease. After spending these past few days with Cheng Yao, she had realized that the man might be a human Teddy bear in disguise...

She feared that one day she would be stripped clean of everything, get nothing in return, and still end up working for him for thousands.

Just thinking about it was miserable.

And nowadays, many people pulled off this kind of scam—pretending to be rich second-generation heirs to cheat women out of money and sex. In the end, the woman would get pregnant and lose both her money and her dignity, unable to call for help from heaven or earth.

Though it was their own fault, Lin Ketong still felt those women were foolish.

At the very least, looks and money—one had to be worth noticing for.

She did not deny that one reason she had slept with Cheng Yao was because he was indeed handsome, exactly the kind of face she liked. Money was also crucial, or she would not have followed him to sleep outside that very night.

As for him being a scumbag, she truly had not expected him to be this much of one.

Still, if he was willing to spend money, maintaining the current relationship for the time being was not impossible. After all, staying stiff and awkward all the time was bad for work...

Lin Ketong had already given up expecting anything from Cheng Yao. Things were already like this, and surely nothing could be more unacceptable than this now.

So, for the moment, she accepted him.

You successfully bound the target of your pursuit, Lin Ketong. Current affection level: 80. During your relationship, all money spent on her will receive a tenfold rebate.

Congratulations. You can extract one exclusive skill from your girlfriend, Lin Ketong, within her field.

As the prompt sounded, Cheng Yao’s eyes lit up. At last, it was done.

When he had first bound Lu Mengyao, her affection was only 50. Here with Lin Ketong, it had jumped straight to 80. As expected, the shortcut to a woman’s heart was...