Chapter 20: Keep acting!

"Hey, Old Liu, help me look someone up."

After Andy left, Qin Hao dialed Old Liu's number.

Old Liu teased, "Another scumbag getting close to your sister?"

"Get lost. It's a friend's younger brother. His brother was adopted by an orphanage in Daishan, and then he lost all contact," Qin Hao said irritably.

Hearing this, Old Liu sounded a bit hesitant. "This won't be easy to investigate. You know how low-key domestic adoptions are; the adoptive families are terrified people will find out they are infertile."

"I've gathered some clues. He should still be in Daishan. He has mental health issues, so check welfare institutions like psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes, and orphanages. If you really can't find him, the fee won't be low," Qin Hao revealed.

"Alright, I'll give you a discount this time. Fifty thousand."

"Fine. Get on it as soon as possible; this is quite urgent."

"Nothing you do isn't urgent. Don't worry, there's money to be made, so I'm more anxious than you are."

The next day, Guan Ju'er hitched a ride with Andy to work. This scene happened to be seen by her colleagues, who all assumed she had landed a wealthy boyfriend. During lunch, two female colleagues teased her relentlessly, leaving Guan Ju'er feeling flustered and helpless.

As it turned out, they happened to run into Andy eating with an unremarkable-looking man in the restaurant. Guan Ju'er hurriedly stepped forward to ask Andy to testify for her.

Andy explained the situation, and Guan Ju'er, being perceptive, did not disturb Andy and the man any further, instead sitting at another table with her colleagues.

Through their conversation, Wei Wei learned that Andy owned a luxury car, though looking at her attire, this wasn't surprising at all.

"I only know how to eat, not how to order, so I'll leave it to you," Andy said, declining the menu Wei Wei handed her.

Wei Wei inquired, "Do you have any dietary restrictions?"

"None. I love meat—the heavier the better."

After ordering, Wei Wei and Andy resumed their conversation. Andy finally felt a bit of that "Singularity" sensation she had experienced online.

"Oh, what a coincidence, you're all eating here."

"Qiu Yan, what are you doing here?" Andy and Guan Ju'er were both surprised to see Qin Hao.

Qin Hao shrugged. "I just finished a business deal near Financial Street today, so I stopped by to grab a bite."

Seeing Qin Hao sizing up Wei Wei, Andy introduced them: "Qiu Yan is the older brother of my neighbor, the young girl. This is Wei Wei, a netizen I met on a sci-fi forum. Today is our first time meeting in person."

"Hello, Mr. Wei," Qin Hao said, shaking hands with Wei Wei.

Seeing how familiar Qin Hao and Andy seemed, Wei Wei couldn't help but suspect their relationship. However, on the surface, he maintained his gentlemanly demeanor and exchanged business cards with Qin Hao.

"Haoran Technology. President Qiu is quite young to have started his own business; you are truly a man of great promise. At your age, I was still working aimlessly for others, having no idea what I wanted to do with my life."

Qin Hao frowned inwardly upon hearing this. The words seemed like praise, but they were actually a reminder of the age gap between him and Andy, and they carried an unconscious, condescending "elder" vibe that was quite uncomfortable.

"It can't be helped. I didn't catch the good times of Mr. Wei's generation. If I had been born a few years earlier, maybe I could have secured a place in the mobile internet era. Now, I can only pick up the leftovers. It's just for a living," Qin Hao retorted directly, refusing to indulge the man's bad habit.

*If you want to act like a senior, then I'll let you act to your heart's content.* Based on Wei Wei's age in the original drama, he was nearly forty; based on the original owner Qiu Yan's age, he could be called "Uncle."

Wei Wei became momentarily embarrassed. "Actually, I was just quite preoccupied with foreign trade in recent years, which resulted in some gray hair. I'm not much older than Andy."

"Is that so? My apologies, please forgive my bluntness. It seems my age is actually closer to Andy's," Qin Hao said with a cold smile.

Andy didn't think much of it. "Qiu Yan, why don't you join us? It's hard to get a table here."

"No thanks, I'll just share a table with Guan Guan and the others." Qin Hao had no appetite to eat in front of Wei Wei's old face.

Guan Ju'er hadn't expected Qin Hao to suggest sitting with her.

"Would you two beauties mind if I shared your table?" Qin Hao asked with a smile.

Seeing that Qin Hao was handsome and well-spoken, the two colleagues happily agreed.

"To thank you both for taking me in, this meal is on me."

"Oh, that would be embarrassing." *A handsome guy to look at and a free meal? Where else can you find such a good deal?*

Guan Ju'er originally wanted to refuse, but since her colleagues had already agreed, she felt awkward speaking up. She could only plan to pay her share of the bill later.

"Handsome, I heard you say just now that you've started your own business? What kind of business is it?" Mi Xue'er began to probe into Qin Hao's situation during the interval while the food was being served.

Qin Hao didn't put on airs and simply handed each of them a business card. "Oh, I opened a small company specializing in social media operations."

Guan Ju'er's mouth twitched. She had seen the "small company" Qin Hao spoke of; it completely subverted her concept of the term.

"Social media? I heard it's very popular lately. It must be quite profitable, right?" Zheng Xin asked curiously.

Qin Hao shrugged. "It's alright. Just enough to put food on the table."

Guan Ju'er fought the urge to roll her eyes. She had heard Fan Shengmei say that Qin Hao's company earned hundreds of thousands from a single livestream. With so many streamers working for him and the revenue from social media, even after deducting all costs, the annual profit must be in the tens of millions. And he called that "just enough to put food on the table"?

At the table, light laughter occasionally erupted from Mi Xue'er and Zheng Xin.

"Is it true? Why are they called snow peas here, but in the Netherlands, they are called Chinese peas?"

Qin Hao spoke eloquently. "Of course it's true. Snow peas are an authentic Chinese variety. It was just that in the 17th century, the Dutch brought them to Southeast Asia for large-scale cultivation. Conversely, they weren't consumed on a large scale domestically at that time, and only began to be re-introduced from the Netherlands in modern times. That's why many people believe they are a Dutch variety."

Having worked in social media operations for so long, Qin Hao had learned many strange pieces of trivia, which was more than enough to entertain the girls.

Once the meal was finished, Qin Hao called the waiter to pay. When Mi Xue'er saw that Qin Hao pulled out a Black Card, her eyes instantly lit up.

As investment banking professionals, they naturally knew that only high-net-worth clients with tens of millions in liquid assets could obtain a card of that level.

"Guan Guan, I have some business to attend to near Financial Street this afternoon and should be back around 6:30. If you aren't working overtime tonight, I'll come pick you up," Qin Hao said to Guan Ju'er as they parted.

Guan Ju'er wanted to refuse, but her mouth wouldn't open.

"Mm, thank you, Brother Qiu."

After Qin Hao finished, Andy and Wei Wei were also nearly done. Qin Hao simply said his goodbyes and left.

Back at the office, Mi Xue'er suddenly whispered to Guan Ju'er.

"Guan Guan, are you and Qiu Yan dating?"

(End of Chapter)