Chapter 15：The Daily Life Of A Happy Host

In the morning, the dew gathered on the bow, and there were wet stains on the cello case.

On days as humid as today, these things should be properly maintained and cared for… but Huai Shi did not have the time for that now.

After he practiced his cello and meditated for two hours as per his routine, he sat on the step in his garden and stared.

Of course, his butt felt cold as a result.

"I'll just put a cushion here next time."

Once he could no longer sit there, he stood up and patted the dust off his trousers, going for an aimless walk around the bald garden.

The sutures sealing the wound on his arm still hurt as he swung his arms.

It reminded him once more just how much danger he had been in last night.

No, rather, it deeply reminded him just what kind of a situation he was in right now… As he was now, he was far from being able to guarantee his own safety.

Although he always felt that a life as steeped in poverty in this one was meaningless, no one who could live would prefer to die.

Besides, Huai Shi's life had not truly begun yet.

Living was pretty nice.

He wanted to stay here a little longer.

"Daydreaming in the garden again?"

He suddenly heard the sound of a crow landing on the fence. "Couldn't you choose a different place?"

"I like it. Is that so wrong?"

"You should work a little harder, Huai Shi. You're really close to Ascending." She sighed like a disappointed parent and gestured with her wings. "It's just such a little bit to go."

Huai Shi was not at all enthusiastic about this, though. "There's not much point even if I do Ascend, right? Will I be able to make more chili powder, maybe?

"No matter how much stronger I get, I can't beat that thing last night, can I?"

"How many times do I have to tell you? The Disastrous Dust is just a side-product of your soul's attribute. Your soul will only drastically change after you complete your Ascension. Besides, did you think that monkey was really using its own power last night?'

"Hmm?"

"The Nue is a stigma from Weizhou's legendary records. It's a product of the third stage, Etherification."

The crow gave him a meaningful look. "Ascension is just the beginning, Huai Shi. Ascenders with potential tend to awaken at eleven or twelve years old, so you're already at a disadvantage. Don't go slacking off now.

"Perhaps you're hoping that everything will go back to normal after this incident, but I think I have to make one thing clear— owners of the Book of Destiny will be fated to walk down the path to the pinnacle of this world. Power, riches, beauties, all will be within reach, but the only thing you will never have is a peaceful life."

Huai Shi was silent for a long time, holding the notebook in his hand.

"...Is there still time for me to throw this away?"

The crow gave it some thought, and suddenly she seemed excited. "I don't recommend that, but I haven't heard of any such precedent in history before, so I'm really curious about what will happen. Do you want to give it a try?"

Huai Shi rolled his eyes. 

"That's why, if you can't fight it, just enjoy it." The crow stretched out her wing and patted his shoulder sympathetically. "At least you still have a relatively peaceful life right now, in a manner of speaking."

That was right, aside from the fact that he was almost dead broke, working at a gigolo club, stumbled across a corpse on the street, was randomly hunted down, was now living with a bald gigolo, and was being used as bait…

For some reason, when he thought of that, Huai Shi suddenly remembered that girl he had only seen twice, the girl in the wheelchair who only seemed to be one or two years older than him.

Ai Qing.

He seemed to have seen her somewhere before, but when he really thought about it, he could not find any memory of her in his short and empty life until now.

No matter what, nobody would forget seeing such a pretty girl in a wheelchair, right?

He scratched his head, but he just could not remember anything, no matter how hard he tried.

Finally, he heard the car horn at the door telling him to go to work, and it was only then he picked up his cello case, reluctantly shuffling over.

It was the start of another day of torture in the life of the half-*ssed gigolo, Huai Shi…

As was only natural, he soon got into trouble again.

...

"If you're working here, it means you're selling yourself, right? So why are you acting all high and mighty?"

In front of Liu Dongli, that skinny woman who was old enough to be Huai Shi's mother pointed at Huai Shi, who stood behind Liu Dongli. All of a sudden, she splashed wine at Huai Shi.

"I've bought more than a dozen champagne towers here now, so is it that hard to get him to come here for a drink or two with me? Does he really think he's some angel? Get your manager out here, I don't f*cking believe this…"

It was utter chaos, and Huai Shi just stood at the back, smiling awkwardly. Finally, he was shoved out of the room in a hurry.

After some time, Liu Dongli finally settled the problem and searched high and low before eventually finding Huai Shi waiting for lunch in front of a pancake stall outside the club's back entrance.

The punk had been letting his daily allowance of eight hundred bucks get to his head. He even dared to add two ham sausages to his pancake, looking like he was on top of the world. Liu Dongli had been extremely frustrated, but now he could not help but click his tongue in amazement. "It's only your second day of work, and you've had six complaints already. How do you do it?"

Huai Shi gave it some serious thought before venturing, "Maybe it's cuz I'm good-looking?"

"Huai Shi, seriously…" Liu Dongli sighed. "She threw wine at your face and even scratched you, so how can you act like it's nothing?"

"What else can I do?"

Huai Shi stared at him blankly. "Do you want me to go back in there and kick her in the butt, telling her that the tides come and go, so she should not think I'll stay poor forever?

"Besides, I expected this to happen. Is it really anything to be angry about? If I get mad over every small thing like this, I would've died of anger four or five years ago."

"..."

Liu Dongli had no words for that, so all he could think was, 'This kid always tends to have some unexpected merit in all these weird places.'

Ever since he brought Huai Shi to work, partly as a mean joke, Huai Shi had encountered a ton of terrible things, but he never once lost his temper or flipped a table. Even when he received wine in the face, he just smiled and moved aside. He did not fight back when he was hit or cussed out.

Although he could not keep his mouth clean for a second in private, it was true that his patience was extraordinary.

He was so optimistic that one could not help but wonder if he had a screw loose somewhere.

Liu Dongli watched as he waited for his pancake, all smiles, and for some reason, it frustrated him. It made him feel like he was bullying an honest kid and forcing him into sinning, as though his conscience had been reduced to shreds.

"You don't have to keep waiting, let's go."

Liu Dongli yanked him back into the club to get changed. "Let's skip work in the afternoon, and I'll bring you somewhere good to eat."

"Really? Have you finally found your conscience?" Huai Shi was pleasantly surprised. "So when will you pay the electricity bill?"

Liu Dongli was climbing up the steps, and he nearly tripped. Turning back to glare at Huai Shi, he said, "I'm acting as your bodyguard for free, so why do I have to pay for the electricity too?"

"You're the one who wanted a water heater," Huai Shi said. "Can't you just use cold water?"

"Hey, do you have a conscience?! I even got hurt trying to save you last night, and cold water baths are really bad on the skin, alright?!"

"...Yeah, it's really bad for your hair, too" came Huai Shi's reply from behind.

Liu Dongli visibly stumbled on the stairs and nearly came rolling down.

When he changed, Huai Shi purposely put on sunglasses and a huge mask, covering his face. He looked just like a hoodlum ready to stir up some trouble.

He had no choice. Working at the club was one thing, but if his friends really managed to take a picture of him, that would be another problem altogether.

He finally managed to get away last time, but he could not afford to be recognized again this time.

Unfortunately… things never went the way he wanted. Luck was never on Huai Shi's side, and as soon as he walked out of the door, he heard a voice behind him call,

"Is that Lil Shi? It's Lil Shi, right?!"