Qi Yuan left, and his face was so dark it was scary. Wang Qian felt a chill run down his spine, wishing he could just pack Lin Can up and shove him into his car to make up for his mistakes.

“I’m really not far from death now,” Wang Qian muttered to himself as he watched the exhaust fumes from the speeding car, his expression dazed.

“Is it really that exaggerated, Qian Ge?” Lin Can, standing next to him, asked with a rather innocent look.

“Don’t call me ‘Ge’,” Wang Qian quickly waved his hand, pulling away from him, “From now on, you’re my Ge, you’re my Ge.”

He dared to refuse Qi Yuan’s requests, and not just once. A person like that was more than qualified to be his brother, even his ancestor!

Lin Can frowned slightly.

Looking at that face, which was still handsome like a comic book protagonist even when displeased, Wang Qian sighed.

When he first saw Lin Can leaning against the shop door, dizzy from low blood sugar, he knew he had struck gold. In fact, Lin Can didn’t let him down; he easily charmed a bunch of lecherous guys, earning him at least a few million in profits.

But gold shines everywhere, and Lin Can’s advantages were so obvious that it was only natural for others to notice.

Wang Qian felt regret over only one thing: the person who noticed Lin Can was Qi Yuan.

If it were someone else, he could still fight for it, but against Qi Yuan, he could only concede.

Lin Can was still wrapped in the bath towel that Qi Yuan had casually tossed to him earlier, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Why is everyone afraid of Qi Yuan?”

“Wow, you really asked that,” Wang Qian laughed, a hint of mockery in his tone, as if he found Lin Can’s ignorance amusing. “This is Jing City. You can randomly pull someone off the street, and they’ll have connections up top. And yet, Qi Yuan can still be the boss. What do you think his background is?”

Lin Can pulled the towel up a bit, mumbling an “oh” in response.

After spending a few days together, Wang Qian had a good impression of Lin Can. Knowing that Qi Yuan had taken a liking to him, he didn’t view it through tinted glasses; instead, he advised him, “Just cooperate honestly. Yuan Ge is very domineering. If he likes something, he will definitely get it, and struggling is useless.”

Lin Can pressed his thin lips together and didn’t say anything more.

After what had happened, Wang Qian didn’t dare to make Lin Can continue working. He just told him to head back to the hotel first and that they would discuss the rest later.

Lin Can said, “If I’ve caused you trouble, then I’ll just resign.”

His words were straightforward, and Wang Qian quickly sensed something was off. “What? Do you have other plans?”

Lin Can nodded, “I was thinking of leaving Jing City and going back home.”

The original owner was from a small county in the mountains, so it made sense to go back.

Wang Qian shivered. If he let Lin Can slip away, Qi Yuan would definitely skin him alive!

He hurriedly said, “Why would you want to go back home? Your hometown can’t be better for making money than here!”

“But…”

“There’s no ‘but.’ At worst, just don’t teach swimming. Just sit at the front desk; I guarantee Yuan Ge won’t say anything!”

Fearing that Lin Can wouldn’t be tempted, Wang Qian even mentioned that his salary wouldn’t change.

Lin Can genuinely wanted to leave, but unfortunately, he didn’t even have enough money in his pocket to buy a train ticket. The original owner had maxed out his credit card to buy brand-name items, and the repayment date was looming, leaving him no time to mess around.

The original owner could ask Ran Yang for money, so he had no burden with his overspending. But he only received the bank’s collection notice after his divorce, and he couldn’t even find someone to borrow money from.

Thinking about the string of numbers he needed to repay, Lin Can felt overwhelmed and could only agree to come back to work tomorrow.

Lunch was in the staff cafeteria. Lin Can grabbed a tray and filled it with food when he suddenly heard someone loudly calling his name.

“Lin Can! Were you taken in by a customer?”

Following the voice, Lin Can found that it was A Hai, the swimming coach who had been leading the charge to ostracize him.

A Hai was quite good-looking. Before Lin Can arrived at Blue Shore, he had been the most handsome one in the shop. Not only did customers like him, but many of the female staff also had crushes on him, and he was always showered with different desserts.

But after Lin Can showed up, all of A Hai’s perks were snatched away. Not only did the female staff stop talking to him, but his regular customers also stopped getting cards from him!

Hearing that Lin Can’s salary was different from theirs, A Hai had been unhappy for a while. Now that he had finally caught a piece of dirt, he naturally wouldn’t let it go.

It was lunchtime, and aside from a few employees still on duty, most of the staff at Blue Shore were in the cafeteria. Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Lin Can.

Even the cafeteria lady paused her work, her expression filled with suspicion as she looked at Lin Can.

Lin Can frowned and denied, “I wasn’t taken in.”

“Then why did a customer come looking for you, saying you were flirting with a rich woman?” A Hai said, “We were all outside at the time, and we heard everything.”

The employees who were outside with him chimed in, “Yeah, I heard it too, and it was a guy.”

“Oh, oh, oh, is he a friend of the boss? Wearing sunglasses, really tall, looked like a big star.”

Qi Yuan had come in the morning, and aside from the kids who came specifically for lessons and some parents with ulterior motives, there were no other customers in the swimming pool, so not many staff members saw him, and even fewer recognized him. Thus, there wasn’t much discussion about him.

Everyone’s focus was on Lin Can.

“Lin Can wouldn’t really be taken in, would he?”

“Then why is he still coming to work?”

“Come on, what does he even call work? Just teaching a few kids, selling his body, a rich person’s little lover killing time.”

“Did his sugar daddy come looking for him?”

“It’s obvious the sugar daddy just found out. Didn’t the sugar daddy say Lin Can was flirting with a rich woman, trying to find a good catch?”

“I can’t believe it, it can be like this…”

Hearing the crowd’s discussions, A Hai couldn’t help but feel smug. It seemed he wasn’t the only one; everyone thought the same about Lin Can.

Isn’t it said that human imagination is limitless? Just based on Qi Yuan’s one sentence, this group could imagine a dramatic, melodramatic story, and their logic was all coherent.

“I wasn’t taken in,” Lin Can said, “That person wanted to take me in, but I didn’t agree. I just want to work hard and make money, not to be a little lover.”

“Nice words,” A Hai exchanged glances with those around him and then scoffed, “Do you think we would believe that?”

Lin Can was puzzled, “What does it matter to you whether you believe it or not?”

The crowd fell silent, thinking he was provoking them, but seeing his expression, they felt he was genuinely asking.

“Alright,” a female voice came from the corner, each word dripping with impatience, “If someone wanted to be taken in, they wouldn’t be here squeezing in the cafeteria with us. You all must have soaked in the pool too long; your brains must be waterlogged.”

Everyone turned to see that it was the new female coach, Qiu Ran, and they immediately shut their mouths.

Although her name sounded elegant, Qiu Ran’s muscles were impressively developed, and she didn’t need to try hard to show off her shape.

Her track record was also quite impressive; just a few days ago, she had beaten up a male customer who tried to harass a female staff member, sending him to the hospital.

Seeing everyone quiet as chickens under Qiu Ran’s intimidation, Lin Can felt especially grateful. “Thank you, you’re right.”

Qiu Ran was taken aback. She had noticed that this person looked like a playboy, but his personality was that of a typical honest guy who couldn’t even argue.

“Did that person say how much he would give you?” She stuffed a mouthful of food into her mouth, glancing at A Hai, who still looked unconvinced, and deliberately asked again.

Lin Can replied, “Fifty million.”

“Wow…”

Someone gasped, and the looks they gave Lin Can became complicated.

Fifty million, money they would never earn in their lifetime, and he had so easily turned it down.

Qiu Ran smacked her lips, seeing A Hai’s expression turn uncontrollable with jealousy, and felt a rush of satisfaction. She had long been annoyed by this narcissistic man.

“Starting with fifty million, there’s room for price increases later,” she said.

Lin Can shook his head, “I don’t want to be taken in. Once I earn enough money, I’ll go back home and live a good life.”

“How much is enough?” Qiu Ran asked curiously.

Lin Can thought for a moment, “One hundred thousand, I guess.”

Just enough to pay off the bank loan.

Wang Qian, who was about to push the door in, heard this and felt like the sky was falling.

Oh no, oh no, so his high salary was actually causing trouble!

Lin Can’s base salary plus the current commissions from card sales—forget one hundred thousand, it would be at least two hundred thousand!

Could it be that this person really wanted to run away from him?

Wang Qian thought for a while and decided to give Qi Yuan a call.

“Don’t worry, I have plenty of ways to make him stay obediently.”

That’s what Qi Yuan said.

*

Days passed peacefully, and just as Blue Shore was about to issue salaries, Ran Yang’s married news suddenly exploded on the trending topics.

Lin Can had been keeping an eye on Ran Yang’s news during this time, and as soon as the trending topic came out, he noticed it.

Although he knew that this time he wouldn’t be causing trouble, and Ran Yang would soon get through the difficulties with the help of the company and the main character, seeing the rapidly dropping number of Ran Yang’s fans and the ugly insults made Lin Can restless.

He tried to contact Ran Yang to ask if he needed him to step in and explain, but whether it was WeChat or phone, he was blocked, and he couldn’t reach him at all.

Lin Can could only silently repent in his heart.

“Wow!” The two girls at the front desk who worked with him greeted each other with a national treasure.

Usually, they never cursed in front of Lin Can to maintain their image.

“Did you know? Ran Yang got married!”

“I saw it! I can’t believe it! I was one of his die-hard fans! Earlier, when someone said he was married, I argued with them, saying he was a brainwashed hater. Now looking back, I’m the idiot!”

“Don’t mention it. My best friend is just like you; she cried all night and has now turned from a fan to a hater, cursing him in his super topic.”

“I’m speechless. What’s the point of being married if you’re still an idol? That’s not how you scam money! Give me back the money I spent on merchandise! Damn scammer!”

The girl who claimed to be a die-hard fan was typing furiously on her phone, her strength so intense she seemed ready to break it. “A large part of our fan group has left, and the remaining few are tagging Ran Yang to come out and get scolded.”

“Ugh, the opposing fans are congratulating us on getting a sister-in-law. I’m just…”

Lin Can felt a chill run down his spine.

Nie Wei’s revelation was at midnight. Not only were the night owl netizens online, but the staff on Ran Yang’s side had also clocked out, catching them off guard and missing the perfect time for public relations.

But it shouldn’t be like this…

Looking at the trending topic still hanging on the first page, with a black-red “explosion” word trailing behind, Lin Can couldn’t help but wonder.

In the original book, Ran Yang’s company had already acted to remove the trending topic. If it weren’t for the original owner causing trouble, Ran Yang would have already gotten through this hurdle.

Why was the studio not taking action now?

Moreover, in the wedding certificate photo of him and Ran Yang, his part was pixelated. The Nie Wei in the original book wasn’t this kind-hearted…

“Lin Ge, come here for a moment.”

Wang Qian walked to the front desk, knocked on the large stone table in front of Lin Can, his expression complicated.

Lin Can followed him into the office and immediately spotted someone who had left with a dark face a few days ago.

“I think you should really want to help your ex-husband, right?”

That person was sitting on a black leather sofa, crossing his long legs, asking with a determined tone.