"What? Dan Heng's photobook?"
"Yes, Mr. Jiang Ge, The daughter of one of our employers at Victoria Housekeeping seems to be a fan of Mr. Dan Heng."
"Uh... I'll ask him about it later."
After parting ways with Lycaon and Rina, night had already fallen.
So, after Jiang Ge tugged on Lycaon tail for a long while, Lycaon suggested that Victoria Housekeeping prepare a sumptuous dinner for Jiang Ge,.
"It's not Rina cooking, is it?"
"Rest assured, it won't be Rina."
This was whispered between Jiang Ge, and Lycaon.
As long as it wasn't Rina cooking, Jiang Ge was reassured.
In any case, Jiang Ge truly enjoyed a delightful feast that evening.
However, after the meal, Lycaon asked Jiang Ge if he could do him a favor. Having enjoyed the meal, Jiang Ge told Lycaon to speak freely.
So, Lycaon immediately asked if he could have a photo of Dan Heng, preferably one not available on the market.
It turned out that the daughter of one of Victoria Housekeeping's employers was a fan of Dan Heng—perhaps adding the word "ardent" would be more appropriate. According to Lycaon description, her room was covered with Dan Heng's photos and posters.
That's right, Jiang Ge had once impersonated Dan Heng and cashed in on his "male appeal." And it wasn't just Dan Heng others as well theis was part of the startup capital for "Good enough" came from this.
However, that was all a long time ago. Jiangge had long since quit.
How could he just take a photo on demand now?
But Lycaon said that the young lady spends every day scouring the internet, asking everywhere for information about Dan Heng. She's even been tricked into going to dangerous places, all just for a chance to meet Dan Heng.
Really?
Moreover, Lycaon had let him tug his tail today and prepared dinner for him. It felt a bit heartless to refuse outright.
However, there's a saying that goes: when in doubt, procrastinate.
So, Jiang Ge made an excuse, saying he needed to discuss it with Dan Heng first, but his real intention was to drag the matter out.
After all, once Victoria Housekeeping's contract with that employer ends, it won't be their concern anymore.
Just after seeing off Lycaon and Rina, Jiangge received another phone call.
"Hello? What? The person I recommended didn't handle things well for you? I'm truly sorry about that. You should take it up with them directly. "Good enough" isn't clear about the specific details."
It turned out to be the media company that had requested Joanna's return wad calling.
Jiang Ge indeed hadn't returned the memory card to them, only claiming it was destroyed and the person was dead. A simple apology closed the matter. Although they were furious, there was nothing they could do, as they couldn't verify any information.
How could they possibly verify it? The account that accepted their commission was a throwaway once Jiang Ge had no use for it.
However, this phone was the dedicated business line for "Good enough." What did this wretched company want by calling him now?
"You want what... compensation? New photos of Dan Heng? You'd even take ones with Blade? And you're not picky about Jing Yuan's either? I must decline."
Jiang Ge refused outright and hung up, letting out an annoyed huff. Just as he put the phone down, Ellen suddenly approached.
"Jiang Ge."
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Jiang Ge noticed Ellen staring intently at him and felt a sense of foreboding for some reason.
"I have a classmate who also really likes Dan Heng and Blade..."
"Let me guess, your next sentence is asking me to help take photos, right?"
"Yes," Ellen nodded and said, "She's been talking about them non-stop in front of me lately, and even asked if I knew them."
"You didn't spill the beans about me, did you?"
"No, but I said I have a friend who might know them."
"Never thought I'd become the 'friend' in someone else's story one day," Jiang Ge sighed helplessly. "That classmate of yours... she doesn't also cover her room with photos of those two like the young lady Laikaen mentioned, does she?"
"Not exactly, but..." Ellen continued, as she took out her phone from her pocket, scrolled through it, and finally held it out for Jiang Ge to see. "She wrote a novel about the two of them and insisted I show it to them."
"A novel?"
Jiangge was taken aback and looked at Ellen's phone. On the screen was a txt file. With a sense of trepidation, Jiangge opened it, but the very first passage nearly made him lose his composure.
"...What? What do you mean Dan Heng and Blade are a pair of lovers who admire each other?"
"Pledged their lives to each other, eloped, living together in the the Outer Ring of New Eridu—are you serious?"
"They even have a child? Probably adopted, right?... Born in the outer ring? How in the... did Blade give birth?"
As Jiang Ge read the novel, he could no longer suppress the smile on his face. Finally, after finishing the tenth chapter, he hurriedly returned the phone to Ellen, saying he couldn't read any more, or he might laugh himself awake in his sleep tonight.
"So, it's not good?"
"It's not that it's not good, it's just... Dan Heng and Blade were indeed once good friends. But, well, a lot of things happened. Dan Heng forgot about Blade, and Blade now sees Dan Heng as an enemy."
"So that's how it is."
Ellen was surprised; this was the first time she had heard about Dan Heng and Blade's past, and it came from Jiang Ge himself.
"Alright, alright, I'm not going to take any photos. Hurry back and get some rest, I should sleep too."
As Jiang Ge spoke, he got up to go upstairs to his bedroom, but then his phone rang again.
"Don't tell me it's that wretched company again... Belle?"
Jiangge thought it was that lousy media company calling to harass him again. He picked up his phone, ready to reject the call outright, but then he saw that the caller was actually Belle. What could she want, calling so late?
"Hey, Belle, what's up calling so late?"
Jiang Ge answered the phone and asked with a chuckle. However, after a long while, he received no reply.
"Belle? Hey, Belle? Hello—"
After three minutes, there was still no sound from the other end. Jiang Ge thought, "Oh no, could something have happened at the video store?" So, he planned to send Ellen and , who was cleaning the dishes in the kitchen, to check on the situation.
But just as Jiang Ge was about to tell Ellen and Corin to head out, a hoarse voice finally came through the phone from Belle.
"Are... you asleep?"
"About to be, why?"
"I can't sleep—"
Jiang Ge hung up the phone.
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A/n: While I am a new translator, I have a Patreon! While it may be a bit empty right now both this and the other book on my page has advanced chapters posted on patreon. Set up for my web novel will be 2 chapters for every book a day and if you go to my patreon you'll see the set up there.
patreon.com/deadlygoober