Chapter 106 - How come it sounded like he was backing her up?

Young Master Huo had agreed to have meals with someone else.

Even Butler Lin had never seen that before.

Neither had Siyi.

Both of them were stunned motionless.

And, Gu Shishi, the one who started all these, was also shocked.

She didn’t know what had gotten into her that made her ask and she never imagined that the boss would agree to it!

After they had got to the side dining room, quivering, Gu Shishi followed behind the boss and waited for him to pull out a chair, sat down, and picked up the fork before she dared to move.

Truth be told, the boss’s look was fairly appetizing.

She had been thinking about this previously. She had always found the way he held his fork very attractive. He even made the food taste two degrees better.

Dining with him today had proven her correct!

The boss’s graceful movements were of the perfect speed, neither too fast nor too slow, both appropriate and elegant.

He was like a host of a classy food channel online!

Watching him eat had definitely increased her appetite as well!

She would give him a look and have a bite of her food.

Delicious!

“Uncle’s cooking is always amazing.”

Gu Shishi hadn’t forgotten to give some praises while she ate.

“Much better than anything that they had at the banquet.”

The Uncle Chef at the mansion had long figured out what kind of food she liked.

He made her a dish of roast chicken with boiled broccoli and a plate of beef chow fun on the side. The cooking and the taste were both to perfection.

“But there was also this cheesecake at the banquet in little cube-size. Those were quite good too. It tasted quite authentic. The rest were blah.”

Huo Sishen glanced over at her.

That was probably the only thing that she was able to eat.

Judging by the venue, the Chen’s banquet was probably in the buffet format.

She did well, leaving after a bite of the cake.

He didn’t say anything.

Gu Shishi, however, noticed that he didn’t look too unhappy and didn’t seem to be bothered by the subjects of the conversation.

For the sake of breaking the ice and to relieve some of the awkwardness, she carried on.

“This circle was quite small. I even ran into a girl that I have met online and totally startled her.

“And that Mr. 111, he’s the nice, wealthy gentleman who bought my painting last time. His delivery address was also in this city. I wonder if he was at the banquet as well and that we just didn’t recognize each other…”

Gu Shishi’s logic was very reasonable. After all, there were only so many magnates in this city.

Huo Sishen had a peculiar look on his normally cold face.

“You want to meet him?”

Gu Shishi shoved a bite of rice into her mouth and nodded.

He was the first person she wanted to deliver into a long-term customer.

She finally swallowed the bite of rice before she patted herself on her chest and said, “I have always heard that the Chen’s was one of the biggest families and that they had pretty much invited anyone of status to the banquet today.”

Huo Sishen snickered immediately, “The biggest? I think not.”

Yes, yes, yes, nobody could be bigger than you, boss.

Gu Shishi pursed her lips.

Of course, she would never dare say that out loud. “That Mr. 111 just dropped $30,000 like that without even blinking his eyes. He couldn’t be just an ordinary fella. So there was a very good chance that he was at the venue today~”

The last half of her sentence made Huo Sishen raise his brows.

“You should eat in peace. Why do you have so much to talk about?”

Oh, so she even knew whether he blinked or not?

Gu Shishi stuck her tongue out quickly.

Of course she wouldn’t have dared to contradict the boss.

As quiet as chickens, the two ate faster.

She didn’t think she’d be able to eat much, but when she came to, most of the food in front of her was already gone.

With her slightly stuffed stomach and another satisfying sip of orange juice, she squinted her eyes.

She had recovered quite quickly.

Looking at her satisfying look on her face, Huo Sishen squinted his eyes.

He tossed down the fork and stood up wordlessly.

His slender legs walked right past her.

“You don’t need to go to those gatherings in the future if you don’t want to,” came his deep voice when his back disappeared from the dining room.

“They didn’t even have the courage to send the invitations here.”

Holding her cup in her hands, Gu Shishi paused for a little.

Was she… imagining it?

How come it sounded like he was backing her up?

As long as she didn’t want to or wouldn’t be happy to, she didn’t have to go.

Was the boss backing her up while being his proud self?

###

Chapter 107 - And she had the audacity to spill the red wine on Miss Gu. Tsk.

After Huo Sishen had returned to his study, Siyi quickly knocked and walked inside.

“Boss ,we had learned something regarding the incident when Miss Gu was almost hit by the chandelier. All of our lights in the mansion are inspected daily by specific personnel. But the one responsible for the light in the hallway resigned suddenly a week ago.”

Having said that, Siyi’s pitch black face looked gloomy.

“The employee in question said that he needed to go back home with his wife, yet we’ve found evidence of him taking off on a plane three days ago.

“He didn't go back home; he left the country.”

Siyi’s head lowered as he carried on talking.

“There was an unusual deposit of $1,000,000 into his account a week ago. The source of the income was from a venture capital company.”

Huo Sishen looked up with his black eyes.

His cold look was enough to make even Siyi shudder.

Siyi willed himself to carry on.

“We haven't yet figured out who was behind the company.

“I have sent someone to contact the resigned employee already....”

SNAP!

Before he was done talking, the pen inside Huo Sishen's hand was broken into two halves.

“I will give you three days’ time.”

A storm roiled inside his black eyes.

His voice was cold and deep.

“I don't care who it was. If they dare to take actions on my territory, there’s a price to be paid.”

Siyi shuddered again. “Yes, Sir!”

The chandelier that fell was not an accident; someone caused it purposefully.

It was a malicious effort to cause an accident, and the intention was to throw Huo Sishen back into the center of rumor that he brought others back luck, so he’d be ostracized once again.

Regardless of whether the chandelier had hit anyone, it would cause panic among those within the mansion..

“In addition, halt all cooperation with the Li’s.” Sitting on his chair, Huo Sishen rotated his watch. His look was sharp and vicious. “Go and contact the other suppliers.”

Siyi was stunned. “The Li’s of Tong Wah?”

“Send a gift to them by mail tomorrow.” A cold and cruel smile appeared on the corners of Huo Sishen’s mouth. “Send them my bottle of ‘85 red wine.”

“Yes, Boss!” replied Siyi right away.

It was until he had left the study before Siyi dared to show a complicated look.

The Li’s of Tong Wah relied on Huo Sishen’s company for 45% of their revenue.

Halting the cooperation between them meant cutting off half of their source of income!

The girl in red today, who chased behind Miss Gu and shouted at her, was the Li’s Third Young Miss.

She probably never would have imagined that just a simple thing that she said would have ruffled the boss’s feathers so. He hated nothing more than being said that he brought bad luck to others...

And she had the audacity to spill the red wine on Miss Gu. Tsk.

Siyi shook his head with compassion before he walked down into the basement cellar.

***

After lunch, Gu Shishi yawned and returned to her own room. It was almost 2 p.m. in the afternoon.

She changed and hopped straight into her new wooden bathtub!

The bathtub with its primitive wooden smell circulated hot water at the perfect temperature, as well as having pulsating massage jets. Lying inside of it, Gu Shishi couldn’t be any happier.

All in all, this had been a very fruitful day.

The few old ladies from the prominent families had fairly sizable speaking power among the upper-class circle. Gaining their fondness was a very important first step for her entering into the upper-class circle.

Even though she had conquered them with her alias as the “Guru”, when the time was right, she could drop the alias and reveal herself.

And gain a big round of fondness!

“Oh right, the system must have completed its update by now!”

Gu Shishi’s eyes beamed.

###

Chapter 107 - And she had the audacity to spill the red wine on Miss Gu. Tsk.

After Huo Sishen had returned to his study, Siyi quickly knocked and walked inside.

“Boss ,we had learned something regarding the incident when Miss Gu was almost hit by the chandelier. All of our lights in the mansion are inspected daily by specific personnel. But the one responsible for the light in the hallway resigned suddenly a week ago.”

Having said that, Siyi’s pitch black face looked gloomy.

“The employee in question said that he needed to go back home with his wife, yet we’ve found evidence of him taking off on a plane three days ago.

“He didn't go back home; he left the country.”

Siyi’s head lowered as he carried on talking.

“There was an unusual deposit of $1,000,000 into his account a week ago. The source of the income was from a venture capital company.”

Huo Sishen looked up with his black eyes.

His cold look was enough to make even Siyi shudder.

Siyi willed himself to carry on.

“We haven't yet figured out who was behind the company.

“I have sent someone to contact the resigned employee already....”

SNAP!

Before he was done talking, the pen inside Huo Sishen's hand was broken into two halves.

“I will give you three days’ time.”

A storm roiled inside his black eyes.

His voice was cold and deep.

“I don't care who it was. If they dare to take actions on my territory, there’s a price to be paid.”

Siyi shuddered again. “Yes, Sir!”

The chandelier that fell was not an accident; someone caused it purposefully.

It was a malicious effort to cause an accident, and the intention was to throw Huo Sishen back into the center of rumor that he brought others back luck, so he’d be ostracized once again.

Regardless of whether the chandelier had hit anyone, it would cause panic among those within the mansion..

“In addition, halt all cooperation with the Li’s.” Sitting on his chair, Huo Sishen rotated his watch. His look was sharp and vicious. “Go and contact the other suppliers.”

Siyi was stunned. “The Li’s of Tong Wah?”

“Send a gift to them by mail tomorrow.” A cold and cruel smile appeared on the corners of Huo Sishen’s mouth. “Send them my bottle of ‘85 red wine.”

“Yes, Boss!” replied Siyi right away.

It was until he had left the study before Siyi dared to show a complicated look.

The Li’s of Tong Wah relied on Huo Sishen’s company for 45% of their revenue.

Halting the cooperation between them meant cutting off half of their source of income!

The girl in red today, who chased behind Miss Gu and shouted at her, was the Li’s Third Young Miss.

She probably never would have imagined that just a simple thing that she said would have ruffled the boss’s feathers so. He hated nothing more than being said that he brought bad luck to others...

And she had the audacity to spill the red wine on Miss Gu. Tsk.

Siyi shook his head with compassion before he walked down into the basement cellar.

***

After lunch, Gu Shishi yawned and returned to her own room. It was almost 2 p.m. in the afternoon.

She changed and hopped straight into her new wooden bathtub!

The bathtub with its primitive wooden smell circulated hot water at the perfect temperature, as well as having pulsating massage jets. Lying inside of it, Gu Shishi couldn’t be any happier.

All in all, this had been a very fruitful day.

The few old ladies from the prominent families had fairly sizable speaking power among the upper-class circle. Gaining their fondness was a very important first step for her entering into the upper-class circle.

Even though she had conquered them with her alias as the “Guru”, when the time was right, she could drop the alias and reveal herself.

And gain a big round of fondness!

“Oh right, the system must have completed its update by now!”

Gu Shishi’s eyes beamed.

###

Chapter 108 - Side Quests

She happily sat up a little inside the bathtub, with her back up against the jets and slowly enjoying the pleasure of the jet striking her body. She took another sip of her leftover orange juice before clicking open the system’s interface.

[Host: LV2 – The Wife of The Prominent Family That Started Entering Into The Upper Class Circle]

[Maximum Life: 7 days]

[Remaining Life Balance: 4 days 23 hours.]

The main interface had no changes.

A few of the menus did, however.

[Skill and Halo List] When she clicked inside of it, she saw 16 small squares.

Among them, “Rose Body Smell (With Sleeping Aid)” and “Cool Skin In Summer Time” were already lit up. The rest were still greyed out.

“Meaning, there are 14 more halo skills?”

Gu Shishi stroked her clear and smooth cheek.

“Are they all look-related?”

Who didn’t want to be a pretty little princess?

Most importantly, she’d no longer need to spend extra time on skin care, what an amazing news for someone as lazy as her?

She randomly tapped on one of the other items.

She had inadvertently found out that once she clicked on it, a small line of text hovered over it.

[Snow White Halo]

[Activate after receiving seven different gifts (6/7).]

“Eh?”

Gu Shishi was a little stunned by this very fantasy-sounding name, but quickly she looked very happy.

She had already received six gifts from the boss?

She had only been living in the mansion for two weeks.

Boss Huo wasn’t half bad!

“Just one more to go? That means it won’t be long before it happens?”

Gu Shishi was very excited all of a sudden.

She wondered what kind of skill would this Snow White Halo bring her.

Snow White was a character in a fable surrounded by seven dwarfs; this halo must be quite mighty?

Gu Shishi couldn’t begin to guess what this halo would do, but she was certainly happy about how the beauty of Snow White was described in the fable.

She tapped on the other greyed out squares, but nothing happened.

It looked like she had to activate this next halo first before the new skills would be unlocked.

She’d just have to wait.

She tapped on [Personal Attribute].

This was the one she worried about the most.

[Doting of the Male Lead: LV2. 50% progress toward LV3.]

[Can accept side quests that would increase fondness.]

[Failing to complete side quests will lead to a deduction in fondness.]

Gu Shishi sweated.

“Side quests? This is my life we are talking about. If it is too risky, I’d be done for.”

She hasn’t been doing any side quests but the fondness has been increasing gradually on its own.

The boss might be proud and moody, but he was quite generous when doling out fondness.

If she took on side quests, she would be opened up to the possibility of fondness being reduced if she failed to complete them.

[Host, big risks, big rewards!]

Gu Shishi, “……”

She wasn’t going to fall for this stingy system!

Better spend some time observing it for a while until it was the last resort.

She looked at the other one and squinted.

[Acknowledgement of Others: LV3. 0% progress toward LV4.]

That was another mysterious number.

After this level up, there was an additional small text of explanation.

[As a good prominent wife, you need to be able to exhibit poise and ease among the upper-class circle and be appropriate and graceful.]

[Close girlfriends, errand boys, elders… they would all become important networks for you in your future obstacle-filled path. “Acknowledge of Others” was calculated using the combination of these factors. Keep on keeping on.]

“Oh, I see.”

Gu Shishi finally got it. This number had always baffled her. From the way it sounded, her speculation was correct. The closer the individual was to the upper-class circle, the more rewarding was the fondness.

[Side quests available.]

[Failing to complete side quests will lead to a deduction in fondness.]

“Not again!”

Gu Shishi’s mouth twitched.

But this “Acknowledge of Others” was worth giving it a shot.

She didn’t have enough people in her network, and it was quite difficult for her to level up each time.

###

Chapter 109 - A whole digit of increase in her number of fans was a huge improvement

Now that her colleagues like Ling Xiaomei, etc. no longer provide her with any additional fondness; that made levelling up even more difficult for her.

Unlike the boss’s side, at least he was back at the mansion every night. Plus, there’s no upper limit on the amount of fondness. If she really wanted to, she could work on that harder.

“Okay, let's give this one a try.”

Gu Shishi felt that since the stingy system had been pushing it so much, there must be a reason for that.

As soon as she had said it, a large, colorful spinning wheel appeared in front of her.

[Number of spins daily: 1]

Gu Shishi nodded decisively.

The colorful wheel started spinning immediately, and as it spun, rings and rings of gold light appeared and spread from the middle out. It was quite mesmerizing.

It didn’t take long for it to come to a stop.

Finally… it stopped on the red section.

[Red: Girlfriend assignment.]

[Side quest: Make Chen Kexin see the light and leave the Gu Wushuang troop!]

[Reward: 20% progress in “Acknowledgement by Others”.]

Just 20%?

So frugal! Gu Shishi couldn’t help but critique the system.

[At LV3 of “Acknowledge of Others”, you will normally need fondness of 10 regular friends of 5 from the upper-class circle for 10% progress.]

[As the level increases, the difficulty will increase accordingly as well.]

[Note: A real friend is hard to make.]

Ain’t that the truth…

Gu Shishi couldn’t help but pursue her lips.

One could have any acquaintances, but when push comes to shove, one could only rely on a real friend.

That being said, she hadn’t expected that her first assignment would have to do with Chen Kexin.

That poor kid…

She was probably completely bewitched by Gu Wushuang and her crowd by now.

“Alright. I think I will be able to handle this one.”

She accepted the assignment. The side quest didn’t seem too difficult.

The reward wasn’t spectacular, but at least there’s no time limit that she needed to complete it in.