Chapter 91

Chapter 91

He Yuchuan drove after Huang Yuanrui all the way to the rear parking lot of a plastic surgery hospital.

He looked up at the hospital’s name: Ouya Plastic Surgery.

Huang Yuanrui pulled into an empty spot, got out, and walked toward the hospital while talking on the phone.

He Yuchuan rolled down his window and heard her say in a shrill voice, “I’m already downstairs… Damn, isn’t being half an hour late totally normal? Oh, what, all your other clients show up right on time? You think this is a regular office job? I made an appointment with you in advance, so why are you still seeing other clients? Hurry up and come get me on the first floor…”

He Yuchuan immediately drove in after her and parked to the side. Sitting in the car, he called He Qian.

“Sis, I’ve followed her to-”

He Qian cut him off. “Xiaoyu, I saw that ashtray again.”

He Yuchuan froze for a second. “Which one?”

Holding the ashtray, He Qian walked toward the window as she answered, “The one I left in his office.”

She reached the window and examined the ashtray carefully in the sunlight.

He Yuchuan said, “Why did he bring it to the hotel again?”

He Qian looked around, and then suddenly noticed there was an identical ashtray on the vanity.

Now she was completely confused.

He Yuchuan said, “Sis?”

He Qian said, “There’s another one on the vanity…”

He Yuchuan laughed. “Does Qin Song’s company sell ashtrays or something?”

He Qian said, “I can’t tell which is which anymore.”

He Yuchuan said, “Maybe those two are trying to be romantic and bought matching ones.”

He Qian asked, “Then how am I supposed to tell them apart?”

He Yuchuan said, “Tap it with your hand. If it rings clear, it’s the real one. If the sound is dull, it’s the one I gave you. Weigh them, too. The lighter one is real; the heavier one is the fake.”

He Qian tapped it and realized the one she had brought out of the bathroom was the one He Yuchuan had given her.

She put the fake “ashtray” on Huang Yuanrui’s vanity and returned the real one to the bathroom.

He Yuchuan said, “That makes things a lot easier. I don’t need to have a friend get another one for me.”

He Qian said, “But his office…”

He Yuchuan replied, “It doesn’t matter. You’ve more or less found out everything you needed to know from him, right? Anyway, our focus was going to shift to this woman now.”

He Qian thought for a moment, then gave a soft “mm.”

After going home, He Qian officially began her “surveillance operation” on Huang Yuanrui.

No matter what she was doing each day, she always had one earbud in.

After a while, her mother-in-law asked, “Why have you been wearing earphones all the time lately?”

He Qian turned her head. “Oh, I’m listening to novels. I can claim coins every ten minutes.”

Her mother-in-law said, “You’d better take them out and just play it out loud. Wearing those all the time is bad for your ears.”

He Qian turned her head back and pretended she hadn’t heard.

He Yuchuan had very poor self-care skills, and his apartment was a mess everywhere.

If He Qian didn’t go to his apartment for three days, he could accumulate seven bags of trash.

And so, on top of grocery shopping, cooking, and listening in, He Qian’s daily routine gained another task-taking care of He Yuchuan.

Every time He Qian scolded him for being perfectly able-bodied yet useless by choice, he would grin and say, “I just want to see you more. I’m creating opportunities for us.”

He Qian was never truly angry. She only found him shameless and cute.

He Yuchuan still cared about his appearance the same way he had in high school. His clothes always crammed his wardrobe full, and for the extras, he bought three standing garment racks to hang them on.

He told He Qian this wasn’t just a hobby; it was also an occupational habit.

Back when he was in vocational college, he had worked part-time as a male livestreamer and a print model. Maintaining a good outward image had once been part of the job.

Curious, He Qian asked, “What does a print model do? Do you walk the runway?”

He Yuchuan took a sip of coffee through his straw. “No, no, no, Sis. It’s not as glamorous as you’re imagining! Print modeling is mainly about photo shoots. Like magazines, brochures, video ads, sample wedding photos… Oh, and clothing shoots, too.”
He Qian: “Then why have I never seen you in any magazine catalogs?”
He Yuchuan grinned mischievously. “That just means you haven’t looked at enough of them! I was pretty good-looking at my peak. Looks like you missed out.”
He Qian: “You must have earned quite a bit back then, right?”
He Yuchuan thought for a moment. “I did earn a fair amount on and off, but I spent it all.”
He Qian: “On what?”
He Yuchuan: “Buying clothes.”
He Qian: “You bought clothes to be a model. And you modeled to buy clothes?”
He Yuchuan: “Keeping sheep, saving up to marry a wife and have kids-isn’t that just so the kid can grow up to keep sheep, save up, and marry a wife?”
He Qian reached out and smacked him on the head.
He Yuchuan blocked her hand while laughing. “Sis, sis, don’t hit me! I’ll show you photos from back then!”
As he spoke, he opened his phone and tapped into the cloud album to show He Qian the photos he had taken.
He Qian noticed that when He Yuchuan pushed his hair all the way back, it accentuated his clean features, giving him a fresh, boyish vibe; when he let it down slightly covering his forehead, paired with a few days of stubble on his cheeks, he had a mature, rugged feel.
She flipped back and forth through a few photos of different styles and nodded sincerely. “Your look is really versatile.”
He Yuchuan smiled with satisfaction. “Of course. Back then I was very malleable. But you can’t overlook the hairstyle, the outfit, and the ancient Eastern dark arts-makeup.”
He Qian: “So if this career suited you so well and you liked it, why didn’t you keep modeling later?”
He Yuchuan’s smile suddenly froze.
After a second’s pause, he said, “Modeling is a career for the young. I was just a kid then. Look how old I am now.”
He Qian: “There are models of all ages. Magazine catalogs don’t only need young faces. With a beard, you could easily pass as a middle-aged guy.”
He Yuchuan shook his head like a pellet drum. “I’d rather not make a fool of myself. I’d rather just lie flat.”
He Qian suddenly sighed.
He Yuchuan: “What, disappointed that I have no ambition?”
He Qian pointed at the earphones in her ears. “No. I just feel like listening day after day isn’t leading anywhere. I’m starting to doubt if this is really doing any good.”
He Yuchuan took her hand. “Don’t get discouraged. Remember the saying ‘stay true to your original heart,’ right? As long as she shows us an opening we can exploit, it’ll be a huge breakthrough!”
He Qian took off the earphones and set them aside.
He Yuchuan: “So tell me, what have you been hearing lately?”
He Qian: “You won’t believe this… she’s been watching The Temptation of Going Home nonstop.”
He Yuchuan burst out laughing.
He Qian: “And The First Half of My Life, Why Women Kill, Marriage Battle, Why Get Married, Pretty Housewife, Pre-Marriage Rules, Feather Flies to the Sky…”
He Yuchuan rolled off the bed laughing and landed stiffly in a pile of clothes on the floor.
He Qian pulled him out. “What are you laughing at! I’m starting to think she knows I’m listening and does this on purpose to make fun of me.”
He Yuchuan wiped the tears of laughter from his face and tried to put on a serious expression. “Sis, this is good news. It at least shows she’s already looking forward to marrying your husband… hahahahahahaha… ah, I can’t…”
He Qian rolled her eyes and put the earphones back on.
After listening for a bit, she reached out to He Yuchuan with a “shush” gesture.
He Yuchuan stifled his laughter: “What happened?”
He Qian looked like she’d just discovered a new continent. “They’re fighting!”