Chapter 109: Underestimated Her

Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Underestimated Her

That one ambiguous word drifted into her ears like the wind, piercing straight into her heart.

Qiao Suluo was no longer an innocent young girl; she had long since Contracted with Que Hongjin and Bai Qianluo. Normally, one was gentle and the other was aloof, but during those intimate moments, they were exceptionally seductive. Thus, she was no longer dense about certain things. She understood his meaning the moment she heard it.

The impact of his words made Qiao Suluo’s face instantly flush red. She looked up at him with wide eyes. "You... you..."

How could he say such a thing?

Her face grew even redder, her eyes completely round. She had no idea how breathtakingly radiant she looked in that moment. Her eyes were bright, her eyelashes fluttered lightly, and her skin was as fair as snow, exuding a lively and vibrant aura. She was so dazzlingly beautiful that it seemed she could illuminate the darkest gloom hidden deep within a person’s heart.

Tushan Feishang had only wanted to tease her. He hadn’t expected such a reaction.

"So you understood?"

"How... how could you say such a thing?" Qiao Suluo found herself unable to retort for the first time. The more she struggled for words, the redder her face became. Her almond-shaped eyes were wide open, and a crimson hue dyed her delicate, fair features. Overcome with bashfulness, she looked like a blossoming begonia bud. Her full lips parted slightly, rosy and alluring.

Tushan Feishang narrowed his eyes slightly. Although she was still a bit chubby, she had indeed become much prettier. A bewitching glint flashed in the depths of his eyes as he smiled with a wicked charm. "Am I wrong? Didn’t you want my body before?

"If we go to Nanfeng Building, and if you want to, we can even do it at Nanfeng Building..."

Qiao Suluo hastily backed away, wanting to weep but having no tears. "No, I don’t want to go.

"And I never wanted your body. It was all a misunderstanding before."

Tushan Feishang crossed his arms, a malicious smirk curling the corners of his lips. "Are you scared now? But what can we do? You sold me to Nanfeng Building, and I truly learned quite a few skills there. If I don’t let my wife experience them, how could I possibly live up to the painstaking effort my wife went through?"

The corners of his lips hitched up slightly, and his slender fox-like eyes arched. The look in his eyes was like a bottomless abyss, threatening to swallow her whole.

Recalling the system’s warning that his descent into darkness was growing increasingly severe, Qiao Suluo really didn’t dare provoke him any further. "I know I was in the wrong before. I can make it up to you in other ways."

Seeing her looking somewhat listless with her head bowed, Tushan Feishang let out a soft laugh. "Looking at you like this, did you really think I’d be interested in you, or that I’d actually do anything to you?

"I called you over for something else."

Hearing this, Qiao Suluo breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes lit up once more, and she quickly caught up with Tushan Feishang.

When they reached a private room on the second floor of Nanfeng Building, Tushan Feishang flicked his finger, and the door clicked shut. Only the two of them were left in the room.

Tushan Feishang sat lazily in a chair. Propping his elbow up, he tapped the armrest with his other hand and said indifferently, "Sit."

"Right, right." Qiao Suluo sat down.

Tushan Feishang’s expression was languid, a trace of imperceptible exhaustion seemingly hidden in the depths of his eyes, making his striking features look faintly weary. Qiao Suluo’s heart pounded with apprehension, having no idea why Tushan Feishang had called her here. Judging by his demeanor, he wasn’t the least bit interested in her and even thoroughly despised her, so he probably wasn’t planning to do anything untoward. With this thought, she felt reassured, and her tense body relaxed.

Seeing Qiao Suluo’s reaction, Tushan Feishang hooked his lips in amusement. "What? You’re so unwilling to Contract with me? Does it displease you that much?"

Qiao Suluo puffed her cheeks out and retorted, "Stop joking around with me. You don’t have that intention at all."

Tushan Feishang chuckled. "At least you have some self-awareness." His recent gloomy mood had actually improved a bit because of her lively reactions. Just as he thought, making her bristle with irritation always put him in a good mood.

"What exactly did you call me here for?"

Tushan Feishang tapped his finger against the table and said mildly, "Since you were able to bring Drunken Immortal Tower back to life, then take a good look at Nanfeng Building. Figure out a way to take the business here to the next level."

Nanfeng Building was a place his subordinates used to gather intelligence. However, as a male himself, he was unwilling to let the males in the building do the degrading work of serving females, so they only sold their talents in the arts. But because of this, Nanfeng Building’s business was very mediocre, which in turn slowed down their information gathering. Happening to learn about the situation at Drunken Immortal Tower, he had his subordinates investigate, only to discover that it was his wife’s doing. He had underestimated her.

But how could a person change so drastically all of a sudden? Even her facial expressions and demeanor were completely different.

"Ah? What?" Hearing Tushan Feishang’s words, Qiao Suluo froze, entirely suspecting she had misheard him.

"Nanfeng Building... how... how could I possibly change the business of Nanfeng Building?

"That’s completely unrealistic."

Qiao Suluo had no desire to do a thankless job. Besides, she didn’t want to draw too much attention to herself. What if she attracted more assassins? If Que Hongjin hadn’t arrived in time the other day, she probably would have been killed by that assassin. She still had her parents and brothers; she couldn’t bring danger to them because of her own actions.

Watching Qiao Suluo shrink back, Tushan Feishang spoke up. "The boss said that if the business at Nanfeng Building can improve, it won’t matter whether I stay here or not. When the time comes, you can take me back without spending any silver."

At these words, Qiao Suluo’s eyes lit up. This was a great deal! She could save silver.

Tushan Feishang observed all of Qiao Suluo’s expressions from the side.

Although Qiao Suluo was somewhat tempted, she remained cautious. She asked, "Your boss won’t go back on his word, will he?"

"He won’t. Our boss is the most sincere person there is."

"But how will we judge if the business has improved? We can’t just rely on our eyes without any solid evidence. If your boss goes back on his word then, all my hard work will be for nothing."

Tushan Feishang gave a soft laugh. "You’ve grown a brain, it seems."

Qiao Suluo wanted to argue that she had always had a brain. However, remembering the things the original owner of this body had done—things that only a brainless person would do—she decided not to retort.

Tushan Feishang simply pulled a ledger out of the drawer and handed it to Qiao Suluo to review. "The deadline is one month. Just doubling the profits will be enough."

Qiao Suluo opened the ledger. FLIP, FLIP, FLIP. She rapidly leafed through the pages and said, "Does Nanfeng Building really earn this little silver in a month? The expenses are surprisingly high! After deducting the overhead costs, Nanfeng Building only made a little over one hundred and twenty taels of silver last month?"

She had thought Nanfeng Building’s business was quite good. Looking at the numbers, it was unbelievable.

"Playing instruments and singing doesn’t attract many customers to the building," he said. "Furthermore, once the novelty wears off, fewer females come to visit."

This was indeed the truth. However, Tushan Feishang was looking at her with profound meaning right now. A former good-for-nothing idiot could actually read a ledger. He was beginning to realize that his wife had quite a few secrets hidden away. He hadn’t noticed before, or perhaps she had just hidden them well.

Masking the look in his eyes, he asked lazily, "So, do you have a solution?"

Qiao Suluo pursed her lips. "I do have a solution. But if I’m going to help Nanfeng Building double its profits, we need to sign a contract stating clearly that once the profits are doubled, the building will grant you your freedom."

She had plenty of ideas in her head. She was also thinking of collaborating with Nanfeng Building later on. If she could supply them with pastries to sell, she could make a lot of silver. However, she didn’t know if she would be too busy to handle it all, but she could always bring her parents and brothers along to help make them.

Teaching someone to fish is better than giving them a fish.