2: Chapter 2 The Queen's Hush Money
Jiang Fan wrapped his arms around Xu Qingya's soft waist.
He brought her to the 1.2-meter single bed in the corner of the security room.
Xu Qingya lay on her back, her long, loose hair spreading across the pilled pillow.
A surreal contrast formed between her black hair and the yellowed pillowcase.
He propped one hand beside her ear and stroked her smooth neck and shoulders with the other.
Beneath the unbuttoned collar lay a thin lace edge.
He gently pushed it aside with his fingertips.
Xu Qingya's body trembled slightly under his palm; she lifted her face, her eyelashes fluttering, her lips slightly parted.
Jiang Fan lowered his head.
Xu Qingya leaned in to meet him.
The moment their lips touched, her fingers tangled in Jiang Fan's hair, pulling him down.
It wasn't much force, but her intent was clear.
Jiang Fan's hand traveled down along her waist.
His fingertips brushed against the thin black silk on the outside of her thighs, the sensation cool and smooth.
He grasped her ankle and lifted it gently.
The heel of her shoe left the edge of the bed, hanging in mid-air.
Jiang Fan casually tucked the pillow under her lower back.
The tip of Xu Qingya's high heel tilted slightly upward.
The black patent leather reflected the dim, yellow light from the ceiling, swaying gently with their movements.
...
When Xu Qingya opened her eyes, it was still dark outside the window.
Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the blinds, casting stripes of light across her body.
She waited for a few seconds, but the familiar hangover headache did not come.
Instead, there was a deep soreness throughout her entire body.
She shifted her body, and the bed frame let out a creak.
Everything that met her eyes was unfamiliar.
Xu Qingya bolted upright, looking around in panic.
The space was less than five square meters.
A monitor screen was lit, displaying a grid of nine views, surveilling the empty building.
The air was still filled with the scent of cheap tobacco.
This was not her apartment.
Xu Qingya looked down at herself.
Her twenty-eight-thousand-dollar bodycon skirt was crumpled, and there was a clear tear where the hem split.
She was barefoot.
She had no idea where her high heels had been kicked off to.
Her gaze slowly shifted to the floor.
A pair of black stockings had been torn into several pieces, scattered messily on the concrete floor.
Fragments of last night's memories flooded into her mind.
That scent that made her feel so incredibly at ease, and that creaking bed.
No.
Impossible.
Shame and anger instantly overwhelmed her.
At this moment, she heard the sound of water.
Xu Qingya looked up.
A man was standing with his back to her, in front of the sink in the corner.
He was wearing a loose white tank top and was wringing out a towel to wipe the back of his neck.
A patch of his tank top was soaked, clinging to his back and revealing the defined contours of his muscles beneath.
Who was he?
The man turned off the faucet, draped the towel over his shoulder, and turned around.
Xu Qingya saw his face clearly.
The security guard from the building entrance.
He was young and undeniably good-looking.
But none of that mattered right now.
Jiang Fan glanced at her.
His gaze traveled from her messy hair to her crumpled skirt, and finally back to her face.
He raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth slowly curling up.
"Diva Xu, you were really… passionate last night."
Boom.
This sentence was like a thunderbolt exploding in Xu Qingya's mind.
Xu Qingya's expression shifted several times.
From shock to disbelief, finally settling into an anger so intense she nearly ground her back teeth.
She, a top-tier Diva of Tianyu Entertainment and the nation's goddess, had actually been with a doorman…
She felt a wave of nausea in her stomach and nearly vomited on the spot.
Xu Qingya gritted her teeth and grabbed her handbag from the side of the bed.
She unzipped it and pulled out a stack of cash.
She slammed the money onto the bed.
"Shut up."
Xu Qingya's voice returned to its usual coldness.
"Last night, nothing happened."
She stared into Jiang Fan's eyes: "If you dare to say a single word about this, I promise I'll make you disappear from Shanghai."
After saying this, she bent down to pick up her high heels and walked out without looking back.
Jiang Fan came to the bedside, picked up the scattered money one by one, and counted it.
Eighteen thousand.
Jiang Fan folded the money, stuffed it into his uniform pocket, and patted it.
Only a fool would turn down money.
Jiang Fan cleaned up the security room, throwing away what needed to be thrown and hiding what needed to be hidden.
The pair of black stockings on the floor that had been torn into several pieces.
Jiang Fan wrapped them in newspaper and stuffed them into the bottom of the trash bag.
After everything was back to normal, he sat back down in the chair in front of the surveillance console.
He closed his eyes, focused his thoughts, and the translucent panel appeared again.
[Host: Jiang Fan]
[Lifespan: 5 hours 10 minutes 50 seconds]
[Lifespan Value: 3000 points] (Deep Compatibility × 3)
[Lifespan Value Exchange Rate: 100 points = 1 day]
Jiang Fan stared at the data on the panel for a few seconds.
There was a line of small print at the bottom of the panel.
[Special Effect: Every Deep Compatibility session repairs the target's sub-health state, improving skin quality, sleep, endocrine system, etc.]
[Supplementary Note: The higher the compatibility, the greater the reward. The target's status and influence will affect the compatibility rewards.]
In other words, the reason Xu Qingya gave so much Lifespan Value was not just because of the frequency, but because her own "value" was high enough.
A top female star in the entertainment industry, worth billions, with influence covering half the industry.
For a target of this level, the rewards were naturally incomparable to those of ordinary people.
His gaze shifted to the right side of the panel, where an icon labeled "system store" was blinking.
He opened the store interface, which was categorized and filled with a dazzling array of items.
[Skills] — Martial Arts, Combat, Driving, Medicine…
[Works] — Songs, Scripts, Novels, Variety Show Planning…
[Special] — Cooking, Bartending, Musical Instruments…
Each item was marked with the Lifespan Value required for exchange.
Jiang Fan casually clicked on the "Songs" category, and the list was densely packed with names he was familiar with from his past life.
Jay Chou, Lin Junjie, Eason Chan…
These songs did not exist on Blue Star.
He then clicked on "Film and Television Works".
"Wolf Warrior", "The Wandering Earth", "Ne Zha"…
These were all box office blockbusters on Earth, and in this world, they were also completely blank.
Jiang Fan's finger stopped casually on a song he had particularly liked in his past life.
["invisible wings" Exchange Price: 200 Lifespan Value points]
Two days of lifespan for a song.
Is it expensive?
If this song could get him into the entertainment industry, allow him to contact more female targets, and acquire more Lifespan Value…
Then it wasn't expensive.
It could even be said to be a huge profit.
Jiang Fan leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping the desk unconsciously.
He now had two paths.
First, continue working as a security guard and find a way to have relations with Xu Qingya again.
But given her attitude just now, this path was basically blocked.
When the icy queen is awake, let alone getting close, even taking another look at her might get him fired.
Second, enter the entertainment industry.
Walk into that world filled with actresses and singers, where he could contact more targets.
And —
Jiang Fan glanced at those god-tier works from Earth in the store.
What he held in his hands was the largest gold mine in this world.
It's just that he didn't have enough capital right now, so he couldn't spend lavishly; he had to be calculated.
Jiang Fan didn't hesitate and directly exchanged for ten days of lifespan first.
The numbers on the panel jumped.
[Remaining Lifespan: 10 days 4 hours 50 minutes]
[Remaining Lifespan Value: 2000 points]
Within ten days, he had to knock open the door to the entertainment industry.