Chapter 1
June solstice, the bright sun high in the sky.
On the shores of Yunshui Lake, a top-notch residential community with continuous greenery, koi fish play in the pond, presenting a traditional Chinese courtyard style.
“The landscape here is designed by a famous courtyard designer, and the community’s green coverage exceeds 80%,” the real estate agent said with a perfectly professional smile, holding up a sunshade to block the impending sunlight while providing commentary.
As the group moved from the shade into the sunlight, except for the two individuals under the umbrella, everyone instinctively frowned, shielding their eyes with hands or brochures to avoid the harsh sunlight.
“Mr. Shang, what do you think of the environment in this community?” asked Li Kaifu, standing under the umbrella.
This well-dressed man, with a square handbag under his right rib and a large gold watch on his left wrist, clearly portrayed the appearance of a wealthy individual.
The “Mr. Shang” mentioned stood beside him, wearing a simple light blue polo shirt with straight long legs covered in white capri pants, maintaining a tall and straight posture, calmly surveying the courtyard landscape.
Unaware of the sunshine on his polo shirt’s shoulders, Li Kaifu noticed and quickly turned to the real estate agent on the other side, saying, “Move the umbrella over a bit, don’t let Mr. Shang get sunburned.”
The real estate agent, a young girl in her twenties, holding the umbrella but still standing in the sun herself, replied with a quick “okay.” She then moved to the other side, trying to raise her arm as high as possible to shade the man who was at least six feet tall.
People in real estate often possess the skill of observing and understanding people’s expressions. The young girl discreetly assessed the man beside her, noting his sharp eyebrows, high nose, and the distinctive lines of his masculine jaw and prominent Adam’s apple. It was evident he possessed exceptional looks.
However, he didn’t seem very gentlemanly.
The young girl, standing at less than five feet, with her arm fully extended and still exposed to the sun, didn’t receive any consideration from this handsome man.
Nevertheless, she quickly withdrew from impractical fantasies. Instead of daydreaming, she realized that selling houses was currently more important.
Under the umbrella, Shang Tingzhi slowed his pace, glanced around, and then nodded slightly to Li Kaifu, “Not bad.”
The real estate agent breathed a sigh of relief. She could tell that whether or not they would close the deal today depended on whether this handsome man would give face.
“This community is mainly targeted at middle-aged successful individuals, and the landscape design incorporates symbolism. For example, the plain tree at the main entrance and the oak tree at the back door, phonetically representing a continuous and prosperous family,” she explained.
Shang Tingzhi cast a faint glance at the agent, even though Li Kaifu had not introduced his identity. It was clear the agent had already figured out he was a Feng Shui master.
“Let’s go upstairs and take a look,” the agent led the way towards a residential building in front.
At the entrance of the residential building, there were two white stone lions about a meter tall. The agent paused and began explaining the symbolism of the lions. However, she was interrupted by someone basking in the sun.
“Can we go inside and talk?” Xia Leyang fanned himself with a brochure, impatiently asking.
The agent felt a moment of awkwardness. She instinctively assessed the two people under the umbrella and, seeing no objection from either, stopped her explanation and led the group into the lobby on the ground floor.
While waiting for the elevator, the agent quickly assessed the person who had interrupted her. However, the result was inconclusive: inscrutable.
There were a total of five people visiting today, excluding the wealthy man and the Feng Shui master. It was apparent that two others were their assistants. However, the remaining person, the one who had interrupted her earlier, didn’t reveal his identity.
He was around 5’9″, with attractive facial features and fair skin. Despite only being in the sun for ten minutes, his cheeks and neck had already started to turn red.
His clothes showed no prominent brand, seemingly not too expensive. Judging from the sports watch on his wrist, it was leagues away from the million-dollar watch on the Feng Shui master’s hand.
His handsome face didn’t quite match the image of a rich man’s son. He seemed nonchalant and somewhat like a bystander.
The agent quietly withdrew her gaze, thinking that this person probably wasn’t that important. However, as she urged the clients to pay attention to the floor while waiting for the elevator, she noticed that the seemingly unimportant young man was wearing a pair of limited edition sneakers that money couldn’t easily buy.
Xia Leyang was unaware of the agent’s scrutiny. He looked up at the elevator panel, feeling not just irritated but increasingly annoyed.
At twenty-five, Xia Leyang had been studying abroad in prestigious schools since junior high. He had assumed that upon returning, his family would let him manage the family business. Instead, his father, without much explanation, assigned him to be an assistant to someone named Shang Tingzhi.
Xia Leyang’s family primarily dealt with real estate development and was the wealthiest in Rui City. He had initially thought Shang Tingzhi was some kind of business genius, and by following him, he could learn a lot. However, after a quick check, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “What the heck.”
“Master Shang?” Xia Leyang turned his head, squinting at the phone screen, and asked his father, Xia Guohua, “Are you sure about this person?”
Xia Leyang was a modern young man and didn’t believe in feudal superstitions. In his eyes, a Feng Shui master was no different from a scam artist.
“Don’t think doing business is easy,” Xia Guohua leisurely sipped his tea, “Feng Shui is something you can’t ignore.”
“So, do I have to study Feng Shui?” Xia Leyang, accustomed to long stays abroad, couldn’t help throwing in a few English words from time to time.
“No need to study, just feel the atmosphere,” Xia Guohua casually placed down the teacup, “Mr. Shang usually interacts with influential figures in the business world. Follow him and get acquainted first.”
So, Xia Leyang inexplicably found himself at the house viewing scene.
Li Kaifu, who came to view the house, was in the stone business. Xia Leyang didn’t know him, but he recognized the young master of the Xia family.
People in Rui City’s business community knew that the Shang family and the Xia family were close, so Shang Tingzhi bringing Xia Leyang along didn’t seem strange to him.
The elevator finally stopped on the top floor, a standard feature of luxury homes with direct access from the elevator.
The real estate agent opened the German-made double doors, armored with burgundy velvet shoe covers distributed to everyone.
“The characteristic of this suite is the separation of movement and stillness,” the agent took the lead into the open entrance with a white jade carved screen, spreading her right palm, “On the right is the active area, including the living room, side hall, sitting room, and kitchen-dining room.”
Following the agent, the group admired the layout and decoration of this luxury home.
Inside the house, away from the outdoor heat, Xia Leyang’s irritations lessened a bit.
The information sheet listed the price of this top-floor luxury home at 55 million. Although the interior design was vintage Chinese style, which Xia Leyang didn’t particularly like, the overall atmosphere of wealth immersed him involuntarily, coming from a family deeply rooted in business.
“The cabinets here are a custom collaboration between Bodebao and Lamborghini, costing approximately three Teslas,” the agent introduced.
Thinking about the family’s ride, Xia Leyang asked, “Lamborghini makes cabinets too?”
The agent was momentarily stunned by Xia Leyang’s pronunciation and replied, “Yes, and there’s Bentley’s bed in the bedroom later.”
Shang Tingzhi’s car happened to be a Bentley, which Xia Leyang had just ridden in when they came to the community. Thinking back to the iceberg-like face Shang Tingzhi had shown him in the car, Xia Leyang pursed his lips and didn’t say anything further.
Moving from the active area to the quiet area, the group reached the highly private bedroom area. The master bedroom had three sides of natural light, and the floor-to-ceiling windows used gold crystal ultra-white glass, combining luxury with simplicity.
“Well, the view is quite good,” Li Kaifu opened the floor-to-ceiling windows and took a deep breath. Then, he turned to Shang Tingzhi and asked, “Mr. Shang, how is the Feng Shui of this house?”
Shang Tingzhi also approached the window, glanced at the boundless lake below, and said, “Overlooking Yunshui Lake in front, backed by Loyi Mountain in the rear, excellent ventilation from south to north, a gathering of qi in a treasure land, excellent Feng Shui.”
Li Kaifu’s face brightened. However, Shang Tingzhi suddenly changed the subject, “The overall Feng Shui is fine, but there’s a need to improve the minor Feng Shui inside the house.”
The agent’s heart fluctuated with Shang Tingzhi’s words. She couldn’t help but tentatively ask, “When you say ‘improve,’ what do you mean?”
Shang Tingzhi withdrew his gaze from outside the window, walked to a corner of the master bedroom, and said, “This northwest position is slightly yin, not suitable for placing jade items. It can be replaced with copper decorations.”
Li Kaifu quickly instructed his assistant, “Quick, take note.”
Shang Tingzhi circled around the house again, pointing out several areas that needed improvement, all minor issues.
Li Kaifu nodded repeatedly, looking as if every word from Shang Tingzhi’s mouth was like gold.
Xia Leyang just couldn’t understand.
Changing a square bathtub in the bathroom to an oval one makes it a treasure basin?
Replacing flowers in the balcony potted plants with trees makes it a money tree?
This fabrication needs to have some limits. Just by listening, Xia Leyang felt that Shang Tingzhi was making things up. However, the wealthy man acted as if he had received invaluable advice, eager to elevate Shang Tingzhi.
It turns out that rich people in the country are easily deceived like this?
Xia Leyang couldn’t help but think of his parents. He wondered how much money they had been swindled by this Feng Shui charlatan, all while supporting his education abroad. The thought alone made him feel bitter.
So when Shang Tingzhi looked at the open balcony, saying it was “filled with colorful qi,” Xia Leyang couldn’t hold back, furrowing his brows and asking, “Where? I didn’t see it.”
Li Kaifu, in a good mood, laughed and said, “Mr. Shang has a discerning eye. What he can see, we ordinary folks may not necessarily see.”
The ordinary-looking Xia Leyang scrutinized Shang Tingzhi’s eyes. Except for being a bit deeper and having slightly thicker eyelashes, there didn’t seem to be anything extraordinary about them.
He didn’t compromise and continued to ask, “Where is there colorful air? Isn’t it all just air?”
Shang Tingzhi, without much emotion, glanced at Xia Leyang and tersely uttered four words, “You can’t see it.”
With that, he turned and walked towards the direction of the living room, while Li Kaifu and his assistant quickly followed suit.
Watching Shang Tingzhi’s arrogant figure, Xia Leyang muttered under his breath, “Colorful air, probably just nonsense.”
Shang Tingzhi paused for a moment, then continued walking without any reaction.
Xia Leyang was the type to speak his mind, unable to keep things to himself. When he was studying abroad, he faced discrimination due to his East Asian identity. However, he always retorted when others mocked him, unintentionally developing a habit of being outspoken.
Initially, when Shang Tingzhi came to pick him up at his house this morning, he was relatively polite. He not only politely introduced himself but also expressed a desire to get along well with him.
However, when they arrived at the garage, Xia Leyang couldn’t help but comment when he saw the top-of-the-line Bentley, “Living the fraudulent good life, huh?”
Since then, Shang Tingzhi hadn’t looked at him with a straight face.
Li Kaifu readily decided to purchase the luxury mansion. Before leaving, he decided to take another look, leaving Shang Tingzhi and Xia Leyang waiting in the living room.
Thinking about sharing a roof with Shang Tingzhi later, Xia Leyang didn’t want the relationship to be too strained. So, he took the initiative to ease the atmosphere, saying, “Hey, the mystical stuff you were talking about earlier, was that serious?”
Shang Tingzhi, looking at his phone, found the English words coming from Xia Leyang somewhat ironic. After a moment of contemplation, he looked at Xia Leyang without much expression and said, “Did Uncle Xia not tell you to stay by my side for at least three months, or don’t bother going home?”
Xia Leyang nodded, “Uh-huh, I’m here, aren’t I?”
“I don’t need you by my side; as you can see, I have an assistant.” Shang Tingzhi pointed to Tang Fengyi standing beside him.
Tang Fengyi wasn’t concerned about losing his job and nodded slightly to Xia Leyang.
“Well…” Xia Leyang tilted his head, understanding that Shang Tingzhi was setting the stage for him.
“But, you have to listen to the elders. If you want to stay by my side, you can.” Shang Tingzhi paused for a moment, then continued, “I have one condition.”
“What?” Xia Leyang asked nonchalantly, thinking that Shang Tingzhi probably just wanted him to keep quiet and not undermine him.
Shang Tingzhi remained silent for a moment, staring directly into Xia Leyang’s eyes and said word by word, “DoB>http:www.wuliaozw.comB>ound?young?pee.”
Xia Leyang was initially confused, but after thinking for a while, he finally understood the meaning behind Shang Tingzhi’s words.
The phrase was a mix of English and Chinese, conveying a clear message with a touch of sophistication in simplicity and a bit of show-off in seriousness.
For Xia Leyang, who was used to arguing in English without missing a beat, he was momentarily at a loss for words.
He reluctantly pursed his lips, thinking, “Damn, this charlatan English is kind of good.”
