Chapter One: Starting the Job

"Take a look at this list first. If you meet all the requirements, we can proceed," she said, sliding an A4 sheet across the table to the man. Jian Qing sipped her coffee, eyes sparkling with interest as she watched him from across the table.

Passersby glanced at the striking pair. If not for the café’s tranquil ambiance, no one would have guessed this was a blind date.

Thirty-two blind dates, and not a single one had caught Jian Qing’s eye.

Compared to the demands on her list, they all fell short.

But this one before her—at least in terms of looks, she was satisfied. He was a solid nine out of ten.

He wore a charcoal three-piece suit with a black pointed-collar shirt, making his swan-like neck appear even longer and fairer. His slender, jointed fingers held the paper, sunlight seemed to reside in his pale gray eyes, and his petite, well-shaped nose, paired with lips rosy beneath his poised fingers, made him resemble a meticulously crafted work of art.

No, she thought, he was a perfect ten.

Jian Qing's lips curled involuntarily.

Lowering his gaze, long lashes cast a shadow over his eyelids as his eyes landed on the top line of the sheet:

Number: 33, Name: ______, Age: ______, Score: ______.

He arched a brow. "So I'm candidate thirty-three?"

"More or less," Jian Qing replied without preamble. She retrieved a bank card from her bag and tossed it onto the table.

"This is a blind date, but you don’t actually need to fall in love with me. Just show up when I need you, and make my cheating fiancé and his mistress suffer. For each success, I'll transfer a hundred thousand to the card. If you manage to infuriate them to death, that's extra."

She reclaimed the paper, twirling a pen between her delicate fingers. "Height?"

"Not starting with my name?" he asked.

"I'll decide your name. All the domineering CEOs in novels are called Shen, Gu, or He. Pick your favorite. Personally, I recommend He Jiangyu—he’s the big boss in the jewelry world, but hardly anyone’s seen him. You have the charisma to carry that name."

He was silent for a moment, his expression darkening.

"One hundred ninety centimeters."

"And the length?"

He’d already noticed the odd question, but hearing her utter it so coolly made his ears burn.

Hiding his shyness behind his cold exterior, he sipped his coffee. "I thought that would be a practical assessment."

"You do look like you'd be good in bed. Perhaps I’ll indulge myself with you eventually."

Indulge… she said it as if it were nothing. She didn’t notice the flush creeping down his neck.

Jian Qing glanced at his refined features, jotted down ‘20’, bit the end of her pen, then added a question mark. "Duration?"

He choked on his coffee, coughing twice.

She didn’t wait for an answer, musing aloud, "They say men with big noses have strong desires. I’ll generously give you an hour. You’ll need to train yourself if you want more. Xiao Yunchen always boasts he can last three hours. I won’t be shown up in that regard. I’ll test you by year’s end."

She nibbled her pen cap, her emerald eyes gleaming. "Length is also a criterion."

The man fell silent.

There were thirty questions in all; she hadn’t asked about money, property, or cars, but everything from the state of his health to his underwear size was tallied. On this sheet, he had no privacy left.

When she finally wrote ‘90’ in the score column, he grew curious. "Where did I lose those ten points?"

His voice was cool, even, but tinged with disbelief.

"Your looks," Jian Qing replied solemnly. "You look too young. The elders say, 'A man without a mustache can’t get things done.' I’ll put your age as twenty-eight. In front of my fiancé, you must stick to that age."

He seemed to find something amusing; two fingers pressed the paper before she could stow it away.

"You can make it thirty."

When he smiled, the icy façade melted away, becoming almost unreal.

"You… how old are you then?" she asked.

"My thirtieth birthday is next week."

Eight years older than her. Perfect.

Her fiancé, Xiao Yunchen, was twenty-eight this year.

The Xiao family, real estate tycoons, had long been close with the Jian family, a jewelry dynasty. The two had been betrothed since childhood.

The Jian family was powerful; Jian Qing had taken her mother's surname at birth.

But last month, her father, Ren Tianchuan, brought home a girl named Ren Yishan, claiming she was the long-lost eldest daughter of the Jian family.

Publicly and secretly, Ren Yishan had made things difficult for Jian Qing, even persuading her father to confiscate her house and car.

Jian Qing’s life grew instantly constrained.

It was a far cry from her former days, where she could spend hundreds of thousands just to amuse herself.

Her smile had migrated to Ren Yishan’s face.

Worse, last week her father demanded she give her fiancé to Ren Yishan.

Childhood sweethearts, over twenty years of affection—Jian Qing refused, naturally.

But to her astonishment, the next day she discovered Xiao Yunchen had happily clambered into Ren Yishan’s bed.

Xiao Yunchen—a must-have accessory for every nouveau-riche socialite.

At first, Jian Qing felt almost heartbroken.

But that vanished after she sampled every male model-for-hire in the capital—

Lost love can always be replaced.

If you lose your conscience, you can replace that too.

That night, Jian Qing realized only poverty could truly bind her.

Love? It was nothing—nothing respectable, at least.

She began her journey through a series of blind dates.

But even her own efforts abroad couldn’t match her mother’s discerning selections. The first thirty-two candidates were all scions of wealthy families, but each spun empty promises as skillfully as a street magician.

In the end, Jian Qing surrendered and begged her mother overseas to set her up.

She didn’t mention Ren Yishan—only that she and Xiao Yunchen had broken up.

Her mother sent a business card, and another the next day, plus a five-million transfer, calling it 'starter funds for romance.'

Gazing at the man before her, Jian Qing rose, tossing her hair. The confidence born of wealth and adoration mingled with the scent of neroli in the air.

"I should mention the remaining rules.

"Every night before nine, you’ll report your schedule to me. Once we move in together, all the housework is yours.

"Of course, if you’re good at it, I can pay you by the hour."

She spoke with a captivating lilt, her bright eyes fluttering like butterflies.

The man unconsciously sat straighter, adjusting his shirt to cover the tension in his trousers.

"So you’re hiring me as a gigolo?"

"I mean if you do the housework well, you’ll get a bonus."

He fell silent.

Noticing his pursed lips and the soft sigh, Jian Qing nodded with a bewitching smile.

She admitted she was teasing him.

After all, she was a helpless slave to good looks.

Even if they never married, he would make the ideal kept man.

"I’ll pick you up here tomorrow at noon," she said, rising to leave.

The man narrowed his eyes, maintaining a calm demeanor, though his ears rang with the sound of his own heartbeat.

Fully dressed and composed, he felt utterly exposed.

She was a siren.

The moment they met could have been called love at first sight—or perhaps lust at first glance.

After their conversation, he found her even more intriguing.

Being with her was like riding a pirate ship; you never knew what she’d say next.

And whatever she said, she seemed capable of doing.

He loosened his tie, silently sat through two iced Americanos, and finally made his way to the underground garage. He climbed into an Alpina B5 GT parked in the VIP spot.

His assistant, Qin Jin, studied his usually reticent boss with care and tentatively asked, "President Li, are you feeling unwell?"

Li Jingche cleared his throat. "What was the name of that company He Jiangyu wanted me to invest in?"

"Hengfu Jewelry. You previously dismissed it as small-time, so I declined on your behalf."

"Invest ten million."