Chapter 1: The Model and the Poor Boy

In a first-tier city in southern China, Yuehai City.

April 27, 2017, at noon.

In an ordinary restaurant, almost all the men's gazes were fixed on a table by the window. Some were sneaky, others bold, but all had a look of desire in their eyes.

At the table by the window sat a man and a woman.

The man looked to be in his early twenties, about 178 cm tall. He had a clear and refined face, but still fell within the range of ordinary appearance. He wore cheap clothes that were hardly worth mentioning.

The woman, on the other hand, was stunningly beautiful. She was around 24 or 25 years old, about 167 cm tall, with skin as smooth as jade. Her fox-like almond eyes were particularly alluring. Her tousled short hair gave her a touch of laziness.

She had a charming face, a voluptuous figure that was not at all fat, a slender waist, and a pair of enticing long legs. Her chest, however, was overly curvaceous, giving her an overall appearance of being soft and infinitely alluring.

The men in the restaurant were all stunned, looking at her fiery figure and her oval face, which was as charming and alluring as peach blossoms, seemingly emitting a seductive fragrance. This woman was truly a beauty.

Lin Chen, looking at the ancient book the beautiful woman had given him, couldn't help but ask, "Xixi, why did you think of giving me this?"

The beautiful woman across from him smiled and said, "I went to the antique street yesterday and saw this book. It seemed to have some history, and it wasn't expensive. The vendor said it was a medical book. I remembered you seemed interested in medicine, so I bought it for you."

Lin Chen was touched, not expecting that his casual words would be remembered. He had left his village two years ago and come to this big city. After a cliché hero-saving-the-beauty scenario, this beautiful woman had already helped him a lot.

It wasn't really a hero-saving-the-beauty scenario; he had just seen Su Xiran almost being dragged into an alley by a drunk and hit the drunk with a brick, knocking him out. This hero-saving-the-beauty was rather ordinary and boring.

But after that, Su Xiran had taken good care of him and given him a lot of help. If it weren't for her, he would have spent his first night in the city under a bridge.

The book on the table had yellowed pages, seemingly from a long time ago. Of course, it was also possible that the book was a fake, as antiques were precious and not easily obtained.

The cover of the book was adorned with the words "Dongliu Mibao" in bold and powerful calligraphy. Even someone like Lin Chen, who knew nothing about calligraphy, could feel the domineering aura of these four characters.

Lin Chen put the book away and looked at the beautiful woman with sincerity, "Xixi, you've been so good to me. I will definitely repay you in the future."

The beautiful woman's face flushed slightly as she met Lin Chen's eyes, then smiled, "Silly, I don't expect any repayment from you, Xixi. But I believe you will achieve great things in the future."

Lin Chen nodded and said no more.

The two continued to eat. Lin Chen occasionally told jokes to make Su Xiran laugh, and seeing her radiant smile, he was very happy, completely ignoring the jealous glares of the other men in the restaurant who wished they could take his place.

After finishing the meal, Lin Chen parted ways with the beautiful woman and returned to the company alone.

This company, called Qixing Model Company, was quite well-known in Yuehai City. Su Xiran was the top model of this company. Lin Chen, introduced by Su Xiran, now worked as an assistant in the photography department. As an assistant, he mainly did odd jobs and errands.

"Lin Chen, why are you late?" Lin Chen had just entered the office when he heard a sinister voice.

Lin Chen frowned and turned to a young man on his left, who was about 28 or 29 years old, wearing glasses, and pale-faced. "Photographer Huang, it's 1:29 now. I'll be late in one minute. Your watch might not be very accurate."

Photographer Huang glanced at the time in the bottom right corner of the computer screen, then coldly snorted and left without a word. Clearly, Lin Chen was not late.

This photographer, Huang Wenbin, was the chief photographer of the company.

It was said that many women to enter the modeling industry and many models to gain more opportunities had slept with Huang Wenbin. He was a lecher, but he was also skilled in photography, so the company turned a blind eye to his behavior as long as it wasn't too blatant.

The reason he disliked Lin Chen was because of Su Xiran.

Even in a company full of beautiful models, Su Xiran was the most beautiful. Huang Wenbin naturally wanted to get close to her and coveted her, but no matter how he hinted, she ignored him. So he vented his anger on Lin Chen, whom everyone in the company knew was under Su Xiran's protection.

However, he didn't want to fall out with Su Xiran, so even when he was angry with Lin Chen, he found ways to dock his salary rather than fire him directly.

Seeing that Huang Wenbin didn't pursue the matter, Lin Chen returned to his seat and continued his work. Soon, a colleague from the department asked him to go to the HR department to pick up some documents. Under Huang Wenbin's arrangement, such errands were always given to him.

As Lin Chen passed the general manager's office, he suddenly heard the name "Su Xiran" and stopped, frowning. He then approached the door and listened intently.

Inside, Huang Wenbin and the general manager were talking.

The general manager was clearly angry, "Huang Wenbin, what the hell is going on? Why is the market response to your work getting worse and worse? Especially with Su Xiran, why is the effect of the photoshoot so bad this time?"

Huang Wenbin panicked, "Manager, you know, we haven't had any excellent new talent recently. The same models in sexy photoshoots get boring after a while. As for Su Xiran, the clothes she wears are always too conservative. It's already a miracle that we get the current results."

The general manager sneered, "Oh? So you mean I can only watch the performance decline? And then I'll have to pack up and leave?"

Huang Wenbin thought for a moment and gritted his teeth, "Manager, I have an idea!"

The general manager coldly snorted, "Speak!"

Huang Wenbin shockingly said, "If Su Xiran takes nude photos, we can make a fortune! If she agrees to do more, our performance this year will at least double!"

Lin Chen, hearing this, was furious and wanted to rush in and stomp Huang Wenbin's mouth, but he suppressed his anger and continued to listen.

The general manager was clearly tempted, "Do you really think the performance will double? What if it doesn't? Su Xiran won't agree, but with the contract she signed, we can control her. However, forcing her to take nude photos will ruin her career and be a loss for the company."

Huang Wenbin, picturing Su Xiran's beautiful face and devilish figure, said firmly, "I guarantee that if she takes nude photos, the performance will definitely double! If not, I'll resign immediately!"

Huang Wenbin sneered inwardly, "Su Xiran, you've always acted so high and mighty in front of me, but in the end, you'll have to strip for everyone to see. Hmph, then you won't dare to resist me anymore."

The general manager thought for a moment. Last year's performance was already poor, and if it didn't improve this year, he would have to leave. Finally, he thought about the bonus he could get at the end of the year if the performance doubled and nodded, "Alright, let's do it your way!"

Lin Chen, listening to their plot outside the door, was both shocked and angry, but couldn't think of a way to reverse the situation. Rushing in now would only alert them.

He knew that Su Xiran had indeed signed an unfair contract with the company, giving her no choice and requiring a huge compensation if she breached it. Moreover, the general manager had connections in both the underworld and the legal world, so how could Su Xiran possibly stand up to him?

Lin Chen immediately called Su Xiran to ask where she was. Hearing that she was at home, he said, "Wait for me at your place," and hung up, then rushed out of the company.

No matter what, he had to discuss a plan with Su Xiran.

In his haste, Lin Chen ran all the way, forgetting to look both ways as he crossed the street. Suddenly, a car sped by, and with a loud bang, it hit Lin Chen, sending him flying.

Lin Chen was thrown about five or six meters, feeling intense pain all over his body, as if all his bones were broken and his internal organs were displaced. He could hardly breathe, but he didn't immediately lose consciousness.

He struggled a few times and spat out a mouthful of blood. He felt utterly hopeless, never imagining his life would end this way. His eyelids grew heavier, and he eventually lost consciousness.

A middle-aged man quickly ran out of the car and, seeing Lin Chen's condition, immediately called for an ambulance.

No one noticed that the blood had stained the book Su Xiran had given him. A faint green aura from the book followed the path of the blood and entered Lin Chen's body through the wound. Then, the book was blown away by the wind and instantly turned to dust, disappearing.