Chapter 3: The Big Fish  

Lu Huaichuan’s lips twitched slightly, his high brow casting a shadow over his deep-set eyes, the smile in his narrow gaze growing increasingly inscrutable.  

This man had initiated the flirtation first, so Shen Simo figured it wasn’t too much to play along with the same pretense.  

Seeing his slightly deflated expression filled her with satisfaction. She chuckled and immediately gave him an out, teasing playfully, “I was just joking, Teacher Lu! How could you take me seriously? I was afraid your fees would be too high. I’m just a small-time model—I can’t afford an artist like you. It’s not like I can sell myself to buy a painting, right?”  

As she spoke, she nudged Lu Huaichuan in the direction he had pointed earlier. Spotting Li Xue up ahead, she quickened her pace and handed the wheelchair back to Duan Yu, who had referred to Lu Huaichuan as “Teacher Lu.”  

The moment the group met, Shen Simo immediately began showering Lu Huaichuan with praise. Though it sounded insincere, as the saying goes, “Fine words can buy.”  

To get close to someone, one must always start with flattery.  

“Wow, Teacher Lu is truly amazing. For such a young artist, you’ve already produced so many outstanding works.” Shen Simo smoothed her long hair and adjusted the leather bag on her elbow, tugging at Li Xue’s arm. “It’s so inspiring—it makes me want to work even harder.”  

“Huh? Oh… yeah, right, absolutely, very impressive.”  

Lu Huaichuan returned the compliment at a leisurely pace. “Not at all, I’m not that young anymore. By the time Simo reaches my age, she’ll surely be far more accomplished than me.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s getting late, we should—”  

“Teacher Lu, I’m so sorry,” Shen Simo cut him off. “I have an audition this afternoon—I really have to go. Next time,” she glanced at the young man behind the wheelchair, “when we both have time, let’s have dinner together.”  

After a brief farewell, Shen Simo and Li Xue left without looking back. The moment they stepped out of the gallery, they both brought up the oil painting that had drawn so many visitors to a standstill.  

Li Xue sighed deeply and patted Shen Simo’s shoulder, speaking with grave sincerity. “Simo, I told you, didn’t I? This guy has some really strange tastes. What kind of decent person would display his girlfriend’s… as an exhibit for everyone to see?”  

Girlfriend? Shen Simo doubted that.  

Seeing no reaction from her, Li Xue pressed on. “What did you two even talk about earlier? I heard you mention dinner before leaving?”  

“Nothing much, just casual conversation. The dinner thing was just politeness.”  

“You’re really into him?”  

Wasn’t it only natural to be drawn to a handsome, wealthy man?  

Still, Shen Simo’s feelings were complicated at the moment—hard to put into words. On one hand, she was annoyed that Lu Huaichuan had played her, but on the other, she was oddly exhilarated by the hidden depravity lurking beneath his innocent facade.  

No matter how she looked at it, Lu Huaichuan was the perfect prey right in front of her.  

Shen Simo scoffed. “Let’s go home. I need to relax my trapezius muscles.”  

Just as she had expected, before they even made it back, Lu Huaichuan sent her a message—and just like that, they had already settled on a time and place for their next dinner.

As for why she was so confident that Lu Huaichuan would definitely contact her, it was probably because of the involuntary awkwardness and desire to escape he displayed in front of Duan Yu’s oil painting. That lack of confidence was the most powerful proof that his attitude toward her had surpassed an ordinary friendship.  

For him, if Shen Simo were just an insignificant person, he would absolutely have properly explained the meaning behind that artwork—after all, no writer would want to exhibit a piece at their own show that could damage their reputation and status.  

What she needed to do now was build a good relationship with Lu Huaichuan, get access to his social circle, and actively promote herself, striving to secure stable photography work even without signing with an agency.  

Shen Simo stared at the transfer record in the chat interface and ultimately didn’t accept the money Lu Huaichuan had sent her. But this scene just had to be witnessed by Li Xue, who widened her eyes and stared intently at Shen Simo’s phone screen, practically itching to snatch it from her hands.  

“What kind of decent person spends 3,000 on a taxi ride? Did you take a cab back to your hometown? The two of you barely even talked—why is he already sending you money? And why didn’t you take it? If it were me, I’d definitely take it. Old foxes playing *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio*.”  

Shen Simo didn’t know whether to call her naive or just plain stupid.  

She hadn’t accepted Lu Huaichuan’s money not to leave him with some pure, innocent image of herself, but to test just how deep his pockets were.  

To put it bluntly, Shen Simo just wanted to hint to Lu Huaichuan that this amount was too little for her—she looked down on such petty cash—and see how he would react, whether he’d be scared off.  

If he got scared off, then he wasn’t worth much anyway.  

Besides, Shen Simo didn’t want to be the one splitting Lu Huaichuan’s pie—she wanted to make his pie bigger. Their industries were related, and she was confident she could help him connect with more collectors. Once the pie grew, she’d naturally get a bigger slice.  

By then, whether it was money, status, or connections, she’d achieve a qualitative leap.  

She sighed and shot a slightly disdainful glance at the woman beside her, who was getting worked up over a mere 3,000 yuan from Lu Huaichuan. “If it were you, you’d just hand yourself over for free?”  

“How is that for free? It’s called seizing the opportunity early—lock down the relationship first, and then you’ll have everything you want.”  

*Hmph, have everything you want? If you don’t end up losing everything, it’d only be because the guy has a conscience.*  

Li Xue crossed her arms and adopted a lecturing tone. “Don’t doubt me—I’ve even taken classes on this. If you want to profit, a woman has to be like a Pixiu—only taking in, never giving out.”  

*Only taking in to avoid being taken advantage of isn’t wrong, but you can’t generalize everything. Lu Huaichuan is clearly the type who’d give generously even without prompting. For someone like him, a slow and steady approach, leveraging small gains for bigger returns, is more cost-effective.*  

Besides, if everything had to be explicitly priced, wouldn’t a living person just become a cold, lifeless commodity? Wouldn’t that strip away the thrill of human interaction and strategy?  

*Buzz!*  

Shen Simo’s phone chimed again.  

Li Xue craned her neck, curiosity burning as she peered at the screen.  

**[Transfer: 5,200]**  

**[Please accept it—consider it an apology for not being able to pick you up myself.]**

Li Xue’s dumbfounded expression was absolutely hilarious—her eyes wide as saucers, mouth half-open, head tilted in confusion, wanting to speak but unable to find the words.  

“Sis, you’ve got it too good. Why can’t I ever meet a generous man? If someone sent me money and didn’t ask for it back, I’d be thanking the heavens.” She plopped down beside Shen Simo, muttering to herself, “Then again, fair skin, delicate features, long black hair, and a bare face prettier than my full makeup. If I were a man, I’d definitely pick you too. Maybe I should get some plastic surgery.”  

If you’re no good, don’t blame the road for being uneven.  

Shen Simo swept her hair back, glanced at the time, and was about to head to her room for her livestream when Li Xue grabbed her wrist and yanked her back.  

Her gaze sharp, her tone mocking, Li Xue asked, “You’re not planning to cling to Lu Huaichuan while still stringing along the big spenders from your streams, are you? Aren’t you afraid of getting burned?”  

“Stringing them along?” Shen Simo twirled a lock of hair between her fingers, eyeing the woman whose molars were practically grinding. “I don’t even have their contact info, let alone met them offline. They choose to send me gifts on the platform—what does that have to do with me?”