Professional Stand-in, With an Hourly Salary of 100,000

He was just about to end this vexing conversation and change the topic when Ji Fanyin suddenly whacked his forehead with a chopstick and said, “Don’t keep things to yourself. If you ever feel uncomfortable, make sure to tell me right away. You’ll at least feel better once you confide in me.”

Bai Zhou didn’t expect Ji Fanyin to suddenly hit him. The pain on his forehead made him glare at her and roar, “What are you doing?” 

“Since you don’t like it, I promise you that I won’t play with that person anymore,” said Ji Fanyin as she placed the chopsticks she had just used to whack his head in front of him. “You’re the one whom I really care about. Everyone else is of no importance, do you understand?”

Bai Zhou frowned. “But you told me that…”

“It doesn't matter. Be it that person’s gender, appearance, or background, none of those matter at all.” Ji Fanyin interjected with a forceful tone that allowed no room for no doubts. “You shouldn’t waste your time on people who can’t be compared to you.”

Bai Zhou: “…”

His face began to redden bit by bit. He slowly picked up his chopsticks and reached for the nearest dish before hurriedly stuffing some into his mouth. 

… 

Ji Fanyin was glad that she had managed to beguile Bai Zhou. 

Bai Zhou’s words were unclear, but it wasn’t too difficult to figure out what had happened.

Most likely, Ji Xinxin had gotten overconfident and tried to hook two fishes at once, only to end up giving herself away. 

Ji Fanyin might have managed to placate Bai Zhou for the time being, but that didn’t solve the root of the problem. Ultimately, the only one who could resolve this issue was Ji Xinxin herself. 

Ji Xinxin should stop expanding her fishery for the time being and focus on stability instead. It’s not hard to expand the fishery, but sustaining it does take quite a bit of effort once it gets too large. 

Ji Fanyin began digging into the food as she wondered if Ji Xinxin had realized that Bai Zhou was already onto her.

To be honest, this didn’t really have anything to do with her since she was nothing more than a hired actor. It would suffice to leave the headache for Ji Xinxin to deal with. 

Ji Fanyin raised her head to take a look at Bai Zhou, only to realize that her earlier remark about how others couldn’t be compared with him was a little too potent. 

They were several minutes into the meal by now, but Bai Zhou’s head still remained lowered. He continued to tackle that single dish placed in front of him, as if he was going to stuff himself full with that one dish. 

Ji Fanyin heaved a deep sigh before topping up her foolish client’s plate with the other dishes. “Here, try this fish. Do you want a bowl of soup?”

Bai Zhou quietly passed his bowl to her, and Ji Fanyin took the bowl, stood up, and began serving soup for him.

It was then that a ringtone sounded. Bai Zhou’s phone, which was placed by the side of the table, lit up, revealing a display picture that familiar Ji Fanyin was familiar with. 

Ji Xinxin.

Bai Zhou leisurely glanced at his phone when he first heard the ringtone, but when he saw whom the call was from, he put down his chopsticks and anxiously reached forth to grab it.

His vigorous movement caused a huge ruckus as bowls and plates were shoved around. 

However, Bai Zhou was hardly in the mood to care about the state on the table. His complexion as he grabbed his phone was awful, almost as if he was a scum caught cheating by his girlfriend.

Ji Fanyin calmly put down the ladle and wickedly asked, “What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to pick up the call?”

Bai Zhou looked at the phone in his hand with a deep frown before raising his head to look at Ji Fanyin. He hesitated for a moment as to whether he ought to excuse himself, but in the end, he decided to pick up the call on the spot.

“Big sister? Mm… I have something up today, so I won’t be joining you for the game. Have fun.”

Meanwhile, Ji Fanyin quietly pushed the bowl of soup in front of Bai Zhou. She even specially made her way over to a drawer to grab him a soup spoon.

God knows how difficult it is to find all of these crockeries and eating utensils in Bai Zhou’s home. It’s almost as if someone has sealed his kitchen off from the day renovations were completed. 

“What I’m doing now?” Bai Zhou anxiously raised his head to glance at Ji Fanyin. “Cough cough… I’m having my dinner now… Yes, I’m alone. I called for delivery.”

Ji Fanyin settled back into her chair and began gracefully digging into her meal. 

Really, the food I make fits my palate the best. 

She noticed that Bai Zhou was looking at her with a nervous smile, so she responded with a gentle smile before popping another piece of meat into her mouth.

She couldn’t tell what Ji Xinxin said afterward, but Bai Zhou’s face suddenly grew even darker. He spoke with an almost displeased tone, “… Who told you about the affairs that happened tonight? Song Shiyu?”

Ji Fanyin pondered about the question over the meal.

Would Song Shiyu tell Ji Xinxin about the happenings during the banquet earlier on? Hmm… I think his motive is lacking.

At least for the time being, it doesn’t seem like the involvement of illegitimate children would affect Bai Zhou’s future, let alone his place in Ji Xinxin’s heart. Besides, snitching is at odds with the kind of refined gentlemanly character Song Shiyu had chosen to play. He stands to lose more by trying to gossip behind others. 

The culprit should be someone else.

The intuition to process and evaluate information was extremely important to a ‘King of the Seas’. While Ji Fanyin was still making logical deductions on the situation, Bai Zhou’s conversation had already moved on to the next phase.

“Tomorrow?” Bai Zhou’s finger moved around the table nervously. “… My account has been banned. I might not be able to join you for the next few days. I’ll call you when my account is finally unbanned.”

Ji Fanyin was so free that she even started to help Bai Zhou keep count .

Three lies so far, and each is smoother than the previous.

“See you, big sister.” It seemed like the conversation had ended there, but Bai Zhou didn’t put down his phone right away. Instead, he hesitantly asked, “Big sister, there’s something I want to ask you…”

He paused for several seconds here before continuing on, “… Never mind, it’s nothing much. Make sure to take care of yourself.”

Ji Fanyin thought that it was quite fascinating. It interested her to watch as a person’s feelings slowly changed in nature due to the complications of their own mind. 

However, it was best for her major clients not to have a change of heart till she finally decided to do away with this job. So, when she saw that Bai Zhou had hung up her phone and was just about to say something, she cut right in and said, “Careful, the soup is still hot.”

Bai Zhou clicked his tongue. Almost as if he was venting his anger at himself, he lifted the bowl and gulped it down in a single mouthful.

Ji Fanyin: “…”

Youngsters. What’s the point?

She stayed at Bai Zhou’s house for two hours in total. She made sure to clean up the bar counter and kitchen properly after the meal. Just as she was about to leave, Bai Zhou, who was leaning against the walls of the entryway with crossed arms, suddenly stopped her with a question.

“Song Shiyu looked for you last night?” he asked.

Ji Fanyin was in the midst of putting on her heels when she turned over to look at him.

As service time was already over, Ji Fanyin’s attitude had reverted back to her usual lackadaisical self. “Mmhm. What’s wrong?”

“For free?”

“For free?” Ji Fanyin repeated before refuting it with a chuckle. “How’s that possible?”

After putting on her heels, she rose to her feet. As her heels were fairly tall, Bai Zhou naturally reached out to support her in case she lost her balance, but she subconsciously avoided his touch. 

This set of actions surprised the two of them. 

Bai Zhou clicked his tongue and retracted his hand unhappily, and Ji Fanyin didn’t bother explaining her avoidance of his touch. She calmly bade him farewell as if nothing had happened and walked out of the house.

“Hey,” Bai Zhou suddenly called out to her. “Aren’t you curious why I asked you that?”

“I have no interest in my client’s personal life,” replied Ji Fanyin as she rubbed her fingers together, a gesture for money. “You don’t have to worry about me divulging whatever that has happened today to anyone else.”

That’s why, my esteemed customer, please don’t fall for me that easily.