Celeste Luxury.
A famous and powerful brand.
A brand Mo Fei had once worked for.
The same brand that dropped him within forty-eight hours of the scandal.
The same brand that had publicly stated:
"We value integrity"
Then replaced him before the rumours had even cooled.
Chen Yu felt the tension settle over the room and quickly placed a hand on Mo Fei's arm.
Mo Fei glanced at him and gave a weak smile.
A valuable opportunity hung in the air.
Celeste Luxury.
Months ago, they had loved him. They had called him family and spoken beautifully about loyalty, partnership, and trust.
And Mo Fei had worked diligently for them.
Then the scandal happened.
Suddenly, loyalty became very expensive.
Pathetic.
"Do you want to accept them?" Louis asked.
Without hesitation, Mo Fei answered, "No."
Then he picked up his spoon and continued eating.
Louis studied him carefully, trying to determine whether the answer had come from emotion or pride.
Unfortunately for him, it was neither.
It was memory.
"That's a major brand," Louis said.
Mo Fei smiled slightly. "They should have remembered that before they abandoned me."
At that, Louis did not argue.Because he understood.
The fashion industry talked endlessly about loyalty. Until loyalty became inconvenient. Then it became a business decision.
Still, Louis had a job to do.
Because even business decisions had consequences.
"What if they apologize?" he asked.
Mo Fei laughed.
It was a short, bitter sound.
"An apology is for hurting my feelings." He shook his head. "They hurt my career."
Louis leaned back into the couch. "I'll pass the message along."
Mo Fei said nothing.
He simply lowered his gaze and continued eating, while the name Celeste Luxury sat between them like an old wound pretending to be an opportunity.
Chen Yu offered Louis a cup of coffee.
Louis accepted it gratefully.
At least there was something to keep him alive today.
He took a sip and inhaled softly in delight.
The rumours truly did Chen Yu no justice. Apparently, whatever Chen Yu touched naturally turned divine.
Louis glanced down at the cup.
He was beginning to suspect that if Chen Yu touched a bottle of water, it would become the world's finest mineral water overnight.
He set the cup down and tapped on his phone.
"Mo Fei," he said, "in the past, you were usually paid one week after a job. But for a reason even I don't know, the company decided to pay you early this time."
Mo Fei lifted the cup of coffee Chen Yu had placed in front of him.
"Mm." He took a small sip. "How much is it?"
Louis smiled faintly.
"Straight to the point, aren't you?"
Mo Fei frowned. "Well, last time I worked with Xi Beauty, I didn't receive anything."
"That's because the company used your profit to clear up the scandal mess going on at the time," Louis said.
"They can do that?" Chen Yu's eyes narrowed in irritation. "I thought they were supposed to help for free."
"That's not how it works, Chen Yu," Louis replied calmly. "Perhaps if Mo Fei had been more active in the industry and more valuable to the company, then yes."
Mo Fei felt a sharp stab in his chest, he simply lowered his gaze and sipped his coffee gently.
"How much was I paid?" he asked again.
Louis looked at his phone.
"Zhen paid ¥1.08 million for the closing walk. After company deductions, management fees, and processing costs, you're left with roughly ¥860,000."
Mo Fei nearly choked on his coffee.
Excuse me?
He had walked angrily and dangerously beside a daylight vampire and somehow become rich overnight?
"What?" Mo Fei said.
"What?" Chen Yu said at the exact same time.
"That's a lot!" Mo Fei said, completely baffled.
"That's too low," Chen Yu snapped immediately.
Mo Fei turned to look at him. "Eh? How is it small?"
Because to an absolute pauper like him, making ¥860,000 overnight was not something he had ever dreamed of.
Chen Yu looked personally offended.
"You closed Zhen's show," he said through gritted teeth. "Do you know how much that could have earned you? How dare they belittle my little Feifei?"
He looked like he wanted to vent his anger on something. Preferably something breakable or someone named Nil.
Louis looked between the two friends, both of them wearing completely different expressions.
"I don't make that decision," he said. "Chen Guoliang is mostly in charge of these things. I only do as instructed sometimes."
"That snake" Mo Fei bit his lower lip in annoyance. "So he stole some of my money," he said.
Louis chuckled softly.
Then he transferred the ¥860,000 to Mo Fei's account.
A second later, Mo Fei's phone chimed with a notification.
The money had arrived.
"Be glad he didn't take more and tag it as part of company reassurance," Louis said.
Mo Fei stared at the notification.
For a moment, every other thought in his head became meaningless.
¥860,000.
In his account. Are you kidding?
He was rich. Well, maybe not rich-rich. But rich nevertheless.
Chen Yu, however, was far from comforted.
"You're his manager," he snapped at Louis. "Do better."
Mo Fei reached over and patted Chen Yu's shoulder, consoling him. "Let it go, Yuyu," he said with a smile. "I'll get other gigs soon." His smile slowly turned cruel. "And then we can shove it up his arse."
Literally, if necessary.
Mo Fei imagined Chen Guoliang kneeling and begging him.
The image was beautiful.
Truly, money had a way of improving the imagination.
Louis' phone buzzed and he glanced down at the screen and tapped on the message that had just appeared.
The moment he read it, his expression changed.
Mo Fei noticed immediately.
So did Chen Yu.
The room, which had been filled with coffee, breakfast, and barely contained financial rage, suddenly went still.
Mo Fei lowered his spoon slightly.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Louis did not answer at once.
Instead, he closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and slowly exhaled, as though preparing himself for another round of chaos. Then he opened his eyes and looked at both of them.
"You got invited," he said, his voice calm but heavy, "to the Vogue China edition party."
Mo Fei froze.
Chen Yu blinked.
For a second, no one spoke.