episode 70

Cheng Qianyu.

Oh!

I should have thought of that earlier.

The "very popular female celebrity" that An Simiao's agent mentioned is Cheng Qianyu.

In the world's entertainment industry, who else besides Cheng Qianyu could be considered the most popular female star in Asia?

But would such a popular female celebrity need such a wicked method to satisfy her desires?

She's already so famous, what more could she want? Not enough? Want even more? Is becoming a global superstar her goal?

He Xun didn't understand, but he roughly understood the nature of human greed.

Having the ambition to become a world-class superstar is not wrong, but resorting to crooked methods is still unacceptable.

Cheng Qianyu quickly followed the black-clad Ajarn into the house. She was so beautiful that she seemed to automatically cover the place with a layer of soft mist, making the humid Southeast Asia seem drier.

The tall bodyguards stood guard outside, their hands behind their backs, their postures alert and their expressions serious.

He Xun took a few steps back thoughtfully, returning to the excellent vantage point in the center of the rooftop.

Even though Bangkok is in its cool season, it still can't escape the overwhelming humidity inherent in Southeast Asia, with sticky, unidentified water stains seeping from the reddish-brown roof tiles from time to time.

"Sizzle—"

A green-bodied, yellow-bellied forest snake, its bright red tongue flicking, slid gracefully and eerily up the rough tree trunk beside the house, finally disappearing into the damp, dark green leaves.

He Xun let out a breath, gripping the tiles even tighter, his tender red fingertips turning white, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. He opened his pupils wide and looked down into the dimly lit room.

The black-clad Ajarn pulled out a bamboo chair from the wall and gestured for Cheng Qianyu to sit down.

Cheng Qianyu first handed the brick-sized box in her hand to the black-clad Ajarn, then greeted him with her hands clasped together before sitting down, smoothing out her long skirt.

She crossed her legs, her snow-white calves swaying freely and gently, her toes shuffling in high-heeled sandals, bobbing up and down like a small boat with each movement.

He Xun narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the box in the black-clad Ajarn's hand.

Judging from its appearance, the box was probably made of peach wood. There was nothing special about its exterior, but its shape was a bit strange. Rather than being rectangular, it looked more like a small coffin.

Cheng Qianyu raised an eyebrow and smiled, then asked the black-clad Ajarn, "What do you think of this shipment?" (in Thai)

!

He Xun's eyelids twitched violently.

She speaks Thai!

He Xun immediately opened the translation software, held his phone (which was already on silent) close to the gap, and breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that the translator had started simultaneous translation.

The black-clad Ajarn didn't speak, but his twitching cheeks revealed an undisguised excitement as he cautiously opened the peach wood box.

He Xun then looked closely—

My heart skipped a beat!

Inside lay... a fully formed fetus!

The tiny figure was a hideous dark purple, its small hands and feet stuck together with other indistinguishable flesh and skin, curled up in a ball. The red umbilical cord, like a venomous snake, greedily and forcefully coiled around the frail body. From a distance, it looked like a blurry lump of flesh, but its two eyes, which were neither round nor round, were clearly discernible as if carved, only misplaced and embedded on the top of its head.

Pink blood slowly seeped out from beneath the pool of flesh, and cherry blossom pink splattered on the inner wall of the peach wood box, as if it had just been dug out of the mother's womb and offered here.

Along with the intense visual impact came an almost overwhelming stench of decay.

It's like 100 dead rats mixed with rotten eggs that have been exposed to the sun and rotten pork, creating an indescribable sour smell.

He Xun felt a churning in his stomach, his throat tightened, his face turned pale, and he gripped the sharp tiles tightly with his palms, almost vomiting.

In her dizziness, she thought of the pregnant woman who had unexpectedly bled and appeared at Cheng Qianyu's villa in the middle of the night.

Cheng Qianyu made a strange appearance and said that the woman was her cousin.

He suddenly realized something.

This is the source of the goods that the black-clad Ajarn mentioned!

I never knew it was like that!

He Xun covered his mouth and nose tightly, enduring the discomfort, and raised his phone to take several photos from top to bottom.

Judging from the location of the genitals, it is vaguely discernible that it is a female fetus.

Oh!

This kind of thing seems to favor women over men, doesn't it?

The black-clad Ajarn stared at the lump of flesh, his bloodshot eyes gleaming, a satisfied yet undeniably wicked smile spreading across his face: "Good stuff, the finished product will definitely be excellent." (Thai)

"Of course, this is a little baby who just came out of its mother's tummy." (Thai)

Cheng Qianyu slowly rose to her feet, raising her hand to caress the fetus's body with adoration, her face filled with insatiable desire. She sighed softly, "Amitabha, may the Bodhisattva protect me, this is my precious baby." (Thai)

"Miss Cheng, what do you want to do this time?" (Thai)

"No rush, let me think about it carefully. Keep her here for now." (Thai)

Cheng Qianyu withdrew her hand, a slight smile curving her rosy lips. "I have an event to attend on the banks of the Chao Phraya River tonight. I'll come find you after it's over." (Thai)

"Okay." The black-clad Ajarn clasped his hands together and smiled knowingly at her. "Then I wish you good luck." (Thai)

The two stood there facing each other for a moment, then suddenly looked up at the sky above them!

"Clatter—!"

It was the sound of footsteps suddenly fading into the distance.

There were no longer any eyes watching them through the gaps in the ceiling.

Staring at the empty space above, Cheng Qianyu tilted her head back and suddenly smiled with great interest.

The black-clad Ajarn carried a ladder up, peeked out, looked around, and then quickly climbed back down like a lizard.

He said, "Miss Cheng, he is no longer here." (Thai)

Cheng Qianyu laughed even harder, her laughter tinged with disbelief and mockery, as if she couldn't believe that someone so fearless would dare to investigate her. "Master, how many days has he been squatting here?" (in Thai)

"Today is the third day." (Thai)

The black-clad Ajarn then said, "But I don't understand, you clearly knew he was eavesdropping on our conversation on the roof, so why did you dare to give this to me?" (Thai)

He was referring to the fetus.

Cheng Qianyu glanced at him, teasingly and regretfully saying, "Let him see the world before he dies."

“This is how I always deal with those junior reporters who follow me.” She stuck out her tongue playfully, “Then I’ll send the corpse to you as a funerary object.”

After saying that, she sat back down in her chair, took out her phone, and with her slender fingers slightly bent, dialed a number.

"Beep-beep-beep-"

What's there to be afraid of?

She wasn't afraid the person on the roof would hear her.

Because the other party definitely won't survive tonight.

Clench your fingers together and grip the phone tightly.

The call was quickly answered, and a respectful male voice came from the other end: "Hello, Sister Yu!"

"Contact various media outlets and marketing accounts and tell them that I will be participating in an event near the Chao Phraya River tonight—any event will do, you can make it up yourself."

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Qianyu stroked her phone screen and said cheerfully in Chinese, "Tonight is going to be very interesting."

— Separated by a wall.

He Xun's body was pressed tightly against the edge of the roof.

Before I knew it, dark clouds had gathered overhead again, and countless water droplets roared down from the sky.

He stared at the news about Cheng Qianyu's trip to Thailand that was popping up on various browsers on his phone, and curled his lips in a mocking smile.

*

The media can act on the orders of those in power.

Journalists are also allowed to write press releases while disregarding the facts.

Marketing accounts will stop at nothing to profit from tragedy and gain traffic and money.

Their choices, whether in their past or present lives, have never disappointed He Xun; they are all birds of a feather.

He Xun admired the beggars on the street even more; at least those people knelt on their own legs, while those people ripped out their hearts.

Strip away the flesh of the spirit, the skin of self-respect, and in the end, only a skeleton remains to walk the earth, making their fortune and living their good lives.

Sucking on other people's flesh and blood.

How wonderful! How wonderful!

Some people only need a casual remark to get the entire media industry to endorse them.

Compared to them, how naive those ordinary people who have nowhere to turn are!

He Xun really wanted to tell them, "Stop kneeling outside the gates of the brothel under the scorching sun and freezing snow, begging for fairness and justice! You need to work hard to eat people and become rich, powerful, and influential!"

Eat! Eat until there's not even a bone fragment left!

There's hope!

Amitabha Buddha, may the Bodhisattva protect you.

—But, knowing full well that tonight's banquet would be a trap, He Xun still decided to go.

He was genuinely curious about the extent of Cheng Qianyu's influence.

The Chao Phraya River flows through the entire city of Bangkok, and it only takes fifteen minutes to drive from downtown Bangkok to the banks of the Chao Phraya River.

"What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"

Mo Shilin, who was standing next to He Xun, put his arm around He Xun's shoulder and looked down to find him staring blankly at a photo of the Chao Phraya River at night on his tablet.

Her usually bright almond-shaped eyes were drooping, her eyelashes were downcast, and she seemed preoccupied.

Mo Shilin closed the work page on his laptop, touched He Xun's cheek, and asked in a low voice, "You haven't looked well since you came back this afternoon. Are you feeling unwell? Should we call a doctor? Or would you like to go for a walk? Hmm?"

"It's nothing." He Xun subtly moved a little further away from him.

Mo Shilin was taken aback for a moment, then pulled his hand back and joked, "What? Did I make you angry? You won't let me touch you after I went out for a while."

He Xun shook his head, turned off the tablet, and straightened his back: "No, I just want to ask you a question."

"Go ahead and ask."

"Do you think there is absolute fairness and justice in this world?" He Xun's expression was unusually bewildered. "I don't understand why so many people can work so hard and risk their lives for those meaningless things, even at the cost of stepping on others to get ahead. What is the spiritual meaning they are pursuing?"

Seeing He Xun's expression, Mo Shilin's expression also became serious. He remained silent for a moment and then said, "Let me answer your first question first. Given the inferior animal nature of humans, there can be no absolute fairness and justice in this world, because the essence of humans is greed. Later, people even gave this essence a grand name: desire."

He paused, raised an eyebrow, and continued, "But what I'm getting at is that you think money is something meaningless?"

He Xun didn't speak, but silence usually means acquiescence.

Mo Shilin smiled, took He Xun's tablet, skillfully opened the mind map, and then took out the stylus to draw on the screen.

“Let me give you an example,” he said, writing in red pen. “When market values ​​infiltrate non-economic areas, such as the three major areas of justice, healthcare, and education, it will inevitably lead to the devaluation of social justice. For example, the rich can buy anything with money, even power and a person’s soul, upgrade prison conditions, and undermine procedural fairness. And there’s the recent uproar over the legalization and commercialization of surrogacy. These wealthy people have the ability to reduce the value of life to a commodity transaction.”

Mo Shilin narrowed his eyes and smiled mockingly: "This is the pleasure of having power, the enjoyment of being above the lives of others. For these people, this is the meaning of life they pursue. It's immoral enough, but such a life is enjoyable. At least most people think so. You could even say that the people in my circle are all qualified businessmen who prioritize profit."

"Of course, money isn't entirely evil; at the very least, we need it to eat, dress, and do what we want."

“People need to learn to face the ugly reality to avoid internal conflict. To put it bluntly, fools are happier than smart people.” He looked at He Xun with complicated eyes, and the video content on He Xun’s account unconsciously floated into his mind. He said in a low voice with affection, “He Xun, you will suffer a lot if you keep getting stuck in a rut.”

He Xun, however, did not think it was a painful thing. At most, he would feel a little confused at times. After all, people like him were rare and it was hard to find companions.

He smiled and met Mo Shilin's gaze: "So the most important lesson in life is learning to demystify anything and everyone, or, as you would say, accept it?"

“I agree with that view.” Mo Shilin nodded. “If it’s still too painful, then the only option is to become a monk and escape the hustle and bustle of the world.”

"Whether becoming a monk can truly lead to liberation is debatable." He Xun curled his lips, then suddenly changed the subject sharply, asking, "And you, a noble young master like yourself, how do you view those illusory things?"

Mo Shilin seemed to find the term "young master" ridiculous. He scoffed and then said after a long while, "Me? Actually, I'm not as noble as you think. I've had a very bad relationship with my parents since I was a child. I didn't want to do the things they wanted me to do. In order to force me, they even changed my college application without my permission. They cut off my living expenses from middle school onwards. At that time, I could only work part-time to earn tuition fees."

He Xun paused for a few seconds, then continued bluntly, "But your resources are still far superior to those of ordinary people. Your status, position, and reputation—it's not an exaggeration to call you a chosen one of heaven, is it?"

Mo Shilin shrugged: "I don't deny that."

As he spoke, he leaned closer to He Xun and chuckled softly, "You hate people like me, don't you?"

He Xun blinked at him but didn't say anything.

Mo Shilin laughed and pinched He Xun's cheek hard: "Then you're not allowed to call me Young Master Mo from now on!"

He Xun paused slightly, then muttered softly, "I stopped calling you that a long time ago, even before you lost your memory..."

"What?"

“It’s nothing. I just wanted to say that although you’re not from the ordinary class,” He Xun coughed twice and continued, “I still admire you in some ways.”

Mo Shilin looked at him with great interest: "Hmm? What do you mean?"

“No high-ranking capitalist would personally fire a male employee for such a ‘trivial matter’ as sexually harassing a female employee,” He Xun said calmly and firmly. “Except for you.”

"Mo Shilin, you are the first person I have ever seen who did this and didn't even release a press release to earn a good reputation for himself."

Mo Shilin didn't speak, but he was thinking to himself, "Is this why you used your own account to speak up for me?"

"......"

Waiting for a reply, He Xun glanced at him with displeasure and said, "What's wrong? You're not happy about being praised?"

Mo Shilin suddenly came to his senses. He coughed twice and put his arm around He Xun's shoulder as if to coax him. A smile appeared on his handsome face: "No, no, I meant to say that there is a story in the Indian Buddhist scriptures that you should have heard of, called Monkey Trying to Catch the Moon."

"Um."

"The most well-known meaning of this story is that it's like a flower in a mirror or the moon's reflection in water—it's all for naught," Mo Shilin said slowly. "But I think the original Buddhist interpretation is more interesting."

"What?" He Xun asked curiously, tilting his head.

“The monkeys stacked themselves up to try and catch the moon's reflection in the water, which ultimately led to them falling into the river,” Mo Shilin said. “This is an obsession with illusion and a collective unconscious greed.”

He Xun raised an eyebrow and scrutinized him: "What's the connection between this and what I just said?"

"Greed will inevitably lead to its own downfall." Mo Shilin stared intently at He Xun with his dark eyes. "Didn't you just ask for my opinion and views? This is my answer."

This is the fundamental reason why he decided to fire the employee who sexually harassed women.

Meeting Mo Shilin's deep gaze, He Xun's heart skipped a beat.

So, could he interpret it as Mo Shilin being a different kind of person from him, but sharing the same core values?

Mo Shilin seemed to be able to see through what he was thinking, and chuckled, saying, "Don't guess wildly, it's just what you think."

The words were spoken cryptically, but He Xun understood them.

He smiled brightly, put his arm around Mo Shilin's shoulder, and changed the subject again: "I want to go to the Chao Phraya River tonight."

Mo Shilin supported his waist, glanced at his watch, and looked clearly annoyed: "...Tsk, I have to meet a client at six tonight, I can't keep you company."

"It's alright." He Xun, who had expected this, smiled mischievously and sighed deliberately, "So you've chosen bread over dreams and reality."

Mo Shilin was taken aback, a rare hint of guilt appearing on his usually cold and stern face. "He Xun, actually..."

"Alright, alright." He Xun grabbed his hand, her almond-shaped eyes slightly raised, a half-smile on her face. "I'm not angry with you. I know you're busy. We'll go together next time."