A Tentative Opportunity and a Brewing Plan

A wave of relief washed over Luo Yao, seeing that Mu Yaochen had actually afforded him an opportunity.

“Alright, if anything arises, simply seek out Frost,” Mu Yaochen stated, her words cutting through the air as she swept past Luo Yao and ascended the stairs to the second floor with a deliberate pace.

That afternoon, Mu Yaochen had work to attend to.

Feeling a flicker of concern for Luo Yao, she instructed Frost, her usual bodyguard, to instead safeguard him.

“Miss…” Frost, who had been occupied with her duties moments before, stood nearby, utterly unaware of the events that had unfolded during lunch.

She now cast a bewildered gaze between Mu Yaochen and Luo Yao.

“I’ll arrange for a temporary replacement for your duties; rest assured and focus on your new assignment.

Furthermore, I need you to come upstairs with me,” Mu Yaochen announced, pausing mid-stride and turning to address Frost below.

Upon hearing Mu Yaochen’s instruction, Frost had no choice but to dutifully comply, slowly ascending the staircase.

Before long, however, Frost descended from the second floor, though Mu Yaochen was conspicuously absent behind her.

****

Meanwhile, Luo Yao remained seated on the sofa.

He was engrossed in contemplating how best to spend the three hundred thousand yuan Mu Yaochen had promised him, contingent, of course, on her honoring her word.

As Luo Yao pondered, Mu Yaochen reappeared at the top of the stairwell.

This time, Mu Yaochen was clad in a perfectly tailored office suit, her previously bare legs now elegantly encased in sheer black stockings.

Without a word to Luo Yao, Mu Yaochen merely cast a fleeting glance at Frost, who stood beside him, before opening the door and departing.

Frost, for her part, instinctively understood: Mu Yaochen had evidently secured a temporary replacement for her duties.

‘Hopefully, this replacement is nothing more than a temporary arrangement,’ Frost mused inwardly.

Once Mu Yaochen had gone, Frost shot Luo Yao a resentful glance, as if to imply that he was the sole reason for her sudden change in duties.

Frost was an exceptionally versatile woman, adept at combat, office administration, and proficient in operating various modes of transport.

Yet, the prospect of babysitting a young man struck her as an altogether different, and far more challenging, endeavor.

Luo Yao, after all, possessed a beauty that could captivate anyone, leaving Frost genuinely bewildered as to why her mistress hadn’t made a move on him.

When confronting Luo Yao alone, Frost relied not only on her years of accumulated experience but also on a touch of her innate frigidity.

Nevertheless, Frost had to concede that Luo Yao was, without a doubt, the most exquisitely handsome man she had ever encountered in her entire life.

Though Luo Yao currently exuded an air of pure innocence, Frost knew that with just a little embellishment, that purity could effortlessly transform into captivating allure.

“Um… Sister Frost?” This marked Luo Yao’s first attempt to initiate a conversation with Frost.

While he held little affection for the “wicked” Mu Yaochen, he harbored no strong animosity towards Frost.

Yet, as he turned, he found himself at a loss for how to address her properly, knowing he couldn’t simply call her by her given name as Mu Yaochen did.

“Simply call me Frost. Is there something you need?” Frost replied, her gaze falling upon Luo Yao seated on the sofa, her face utterly devoid of any discernible emotion.

“Um… could I perhaps go for a stroll this afternoon?” Luo Yao inquired, his large, sparkling eyes fixed on Frost, while internally he grumbled.

‘Is this woman suffering from facial paralysis?’ he thought.

‘A poker face is far superior, at least it’s infinitely better than a lecherous one.’

Luo Yao shivered slightly, remembering the predatory stares he often received from office workers in their uniforms during his daily subway commutes.

“Go out where, exactly?” Frost’s voice remained utterly devoid of any emotional inflection.

“Just for a walk.

Oh, and about that… the mistress mentioned she could lend me three hundred thousand yuan.

Do you happen to know anything about it?” Luo Yao asked, a hint of awkwardness in his tone, hoping this subtle approach might elicit a favorable response from Frost.

“Three hundred thousand…” Frost murmured, a flicker of confusion crossing her features.

Moments earlier, after she had accompanied Mu Yaochen upstairs, her mistress had indeed handed her a bank card, instructing her to use it to purchase anything Luo Yao desired.

‘What exactly does the mistress intend by this?’

The thought left Frost feeling somewhat bewildered.

“What do you need it for?” she asked, assuming the three hundred thousand Luo Yao spoke of referred to the balance on the card she held.

“Nothing specific… just inquiring,” Luo Yao replied meekly, having observed Frost’s unyielding expression.

He had just performed a rough calculation of the capital required to open a bubble tea shop near the entrance of a bustling residential complex.

Three months’ rent for a prime location with significant foot traffic would likely hover around one hundred thousand yuan, perhaps a little more or less.

The remaining expenses would cover raw materials, renovations, and equipment.

Luo Yao’s plan was remarkably sound, largely because, in his previous life, a friend of his had successfully established several chain bubble tea shops.

During their casual conversations, his friend had once shared insights into the entire process of setting up such a business.

While not exhaustive, those discussions had nonetheless provided Luo Yao with a valuable framework of ideas.

Moreover, in this current era, large-scale bubble tea chains had yet to proliferate to every street and alley, leaving ample room for new ventures.

Thus, Luo Yao intended to draw inspiration from the marketing strategies of certain renowned bubble tea brands.

While accumulating eight million yuan might be an unrealistic aspiration, establishing even one such shop would at least allow him to continue surviving in his human form.

After all, Luo Yao harbored little confidence that he wouldn’t eventually be tormented into madness by the “she-devil” Mu Yaochen.

“Walk around everywhere?” Frost recalled Mu Yaochen’s specific instructions from upstairs: to fulfill Luo Yao’s requests as much as possible, provided they weren’t overly extravagant.

‘Surely, a simple outing wouldn’t qualify as excessive, would it?’

“Very well, where would you like to go?” Frost inquired, offering a subtle nod to signal her acquiescence.

“Just anywhere,” Luo Yao replied, his gaze drifting towards the distant view beyond the main gate, a sudden wave of melancholy washing over him.

While the budget provided by Mu Yaochen had indeed surpassed Luo Yao’s initial expectations, a meticulous calculation revealed that the sum still appeared insufficient.

After accounting for rent and renovation expenses, what remained for staffing, various equipment, raw materials, and promotional efforts seemed meager.

“Let’s go,” Frost said, her eyes lingering on the somewhat melancholic Luo Yao.

She found herself momentarily lost in thought, realizing this was the first time she had ever witnessed such profound sadness in him.

“Mm, alright,” Luo Yao assented with a nod, then trailed behind Frost into the garage.

The car from that morning had not been driven off by Mu Yaochen, remaining quietly parked in its original spot.

“Tell me precisely where you wish to go,” Frost stated, settling into the driver’s seat and securing her seatbelt.

Truthfully, Luo Yao’s vague desire to “just walk around” presented a challenge for someone as direct as her.

“Let’s explore the vicinity of Fanhai New City,” Luo Yao suggested from the back seat, having carefully considered the high-traffic residential areas within Fanhai City.

He then named a school district area relatively close to his own school.

While geographically nearby, it would still necessitate a considerable walk to reach.

His primary objective this time was to survey the surrounding topography, and his choice of a school district was predicated on a simple rationale.

Students, without exception, possessed an inherent weakness for bubble tea.

Furthermore, Luo Yao was in urgent need of seeing Su Mengqi.

Despite her troublesome nature, Su Mengqi represented his last desperate hope for salvation.

His family was beyond relying upon; he had been missing for nearly a week, and it seemed his relatives had utterly forgotten his existence.

While Luo Yao was keenly interested in the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, it was not his immediate priority.

Though he yearned for a reunion with his family, the present moment was simply not conducive to such an endeavor.

The car glided slowly through the wind, and beyond the window, Luo Yao felt as though he glimpsed his own uncertain, fleeting future.

****