Guide To Lying Flat And Getting Rich As A Kept Alpha - Chapter 60

60

It was past midnight when Luo Hetu finally returned home after a busy day. Cheng Youqing was already asleep. Luo Hetu tiptoed past her room and quietly slipped into her own bedroom.

For the next few days, Luo Hetu was out early and back late, completely swamped with work.

Li Baitian, who was stationed at Sunday Entertainment Company, had seen Luo Hetu around for several consecutive days. She carefully observed the sun’s trajectory to confirm it wasn’t rising in the west, then scrutinized Luo Hetu and came to a conclusion: “Something’s up with you, isn’t it?”

“Something’s up. This is an entertainment company I hold significant shares in, after all. Let’s make a plan for its future development.”

“You’ve never been this invested before.”

“Nonsense. Didn’t I tell you to sign that person?”

Sunday Entertainment was starting to take shape. So far, they had only signed the one artist Luo Hetu had mentioned. The company was gradually taking on small projects to build experience and connections. Li Baitian had handed over the management of Sunday Audio-Visual to a store manager and was now fully occupied with running the company.

In Li Baitian’s office, Luo Hetu handed her a meticulously handwritten business plan.

Li Baitian took one look at it and immediately treated it with utmost importance. She and Luo Hetu discussed its feasibility for a long time, reaching a preliminary agreement. They then called in industry professionals they’d hired for a discussion, which eventually turned into a full-blown meeting in the conference room.

Luo Hetu had spent a long time preparing the plan. She had filtered a vast amount of information about this world’s entertainment industry through Xiaotong, combining it with her real-world experience. The entertainment industry’s general trajectory was similar enough. Right now, Hong Kong stars were at the peak of their popularity, while the mainland had no idols to speak of. However, the mainland could focus on TV dramas. The blockbuster TV dramas from her world would likely be just as popular here.

In the meeting room, Luo Hetu casually spun her prayer beads and said, “Find this author auntie and tell her we want to adapt her book into a TV drama. Negotiate the rights properly and prepare to shoot a trilogy. Have that girl—what’s her name?—play the fake princess.”

Li Baitian sighed helplessly. “You can’t even remember the name of the person you wanted to sign? Wen Xiaotong.”

“Oh, right. Let her play the fake princess. As for the other actors, let the casting department handle it. Don’t hire Hong Kong actors—they’re expensive and look down on mainland dramas. We’re aiming for low investment, high returns.”

“Got it. You guys work on this.” Luo Hetu stood up. “I’m out.”

Everyone in the room: …

Seeing is believing. So this was the legendary “master” of the boss, huh? They’d heard she didn’t care about managing things but had a sharp eye. Today, they’d finally witnessed it.

Luo Hetu suddenly remembered something and asked Li Baitian, “Short on cash?”

“Desperately!” Li Baitian hurriedly dragged her back to the office.

Her “master” promised to inject 200,000 yuan in cash in exchange for more shares. By the time they finished talking, it was late. Li Baitian finally turned her attention to Luo Hetu’s unusual behavior.

“Everything okay lately? You didn’t fight with my mistress, did you?”

Luo Hetu: “You’re so clever, aren’t you? Always running your mouth.”

Li Baitian: !!!

“Get back to work. They’re waiting for you to lead the meeting. We’ll talk later.”

Luo Hetu left Sunday Media. She wanted to confide in Li Baitian about her troubles but didn’t want to be too explicit.

After all, her marriage to Cheng Youqing had been a hasty decision based on practical considerations. How could she possibly admit something like, “My wife doesn’t love me”?

These days, she’d been coming home late. In the mornings, while Cheng Youqing was at work, Luo Hetu took hacking jobs on the computer in the study. Once she put her mind to it, no one could stop her. She took on a lot of jobs and did them well, quickly climbing the international hacker rankings. Her reputation grew on forums, with people speculating about her, though no one knew anything about her beyond her IP likely originating from China. After all, a good hacker’s first priority was ensuring their own computer wasn’t hacked.

With the increased attention, Luo Hetu became even more selective about the jobs she took. She avoided anything blatantly illegal or likely to cause trouble down the line. Her ranking stabilized at a certain level—visible but not too conspicuous. Earning some extra cash was her goal.

In the afternoons, she’d head out to Sunday Media, Sike’s Internet Café, Shanhe Tuling, or occasionally Southern Publishing to drop off a couple of manuscripts. Sometimes, she’d visit Qianbao to chat with Xiao Ba, where she stumbled upon some gossip: Xiao Ba had a partner now. That perpetually impatient face of hers was starting to show patience, and she often sneaked away to make private phone calls. Luo Hetu began to worry that Xiao Ba’s newfound happiness might affect Qianbao’s business.

Xiao Ba propped her chin elegantly. “I can’t keep relying on my looks forever, can I? I deserve to fall in love too. Besides, they just want to see my face. Dating won’t make me any less pretty.”

True, it wouldn’t make her less pretty, but getting upset or hurt might make her sad.

Luo Hetu huffed a couple of times, unwilling to breathe in the sour stench of Xiao Ba’s romance.

She usually didn’t get home until eight or nine at night. By then, Cheng Youqing was either in the study or hadn’t returned yet, allowing Luo Hetu to avoid her. She’d retreat to her bedroom, wash up, and rest.

This went on for several days until one night, someone pushed open her door.

Luo Hetu had just finished washing up and was about to turn off the light to sleep when Cheng Youqing appeared at her bedroom door, wearing a silk robe.

“Are you avoiding me?” Cheng Youqing’s face was expressionless, her voice laced with icy shards that sent shivers down Luo Hetu’s spine.

Luo Hetu cleared her throat. “No.”

Cheng Youqing let out a cold scoff.

Luo Hetu looked at her stunning wife, dressed only in a sleep gown. The perfect glimpse of skin, the unapologetic curves, the neckline barely containing her full figure, her face as cold as frost, yet her lips vibrant and enticing.

Her throat tightened, and Luo Hetu forced herself to look away.

She hadn’t properly looked at her in days. Now, seeing her, she felt like there was something wrong with her brain. How could she resist clinging to or hugging such a beautiful wife, yet still act cold and indifferent?

She was truly impressive.

Cheng Youqing: “Are you sleeping alone again tonight?”

Luo Hetu stammered, “Uh, yeah.”

“Fine.” Cheng Youqing sneered. “Then keep sleeping alone.”

She left, slamming the door loudly.

Luo Hetu sat on the bed, dazed, tormented by Cheng Youqing’s words: “Keep sleeping alone.”

Wahhh.

Clutching her pillow in distress, she went to Cheng Youqing’s bedroom and pushed the door. It wouldn’t budge.

It was locked.

Luo Hetu knocked softly. “Wife, open the door, please…”

She knocked for five minutes before the door opened.

Cheng Youqing stood there. “Weren’t you going to sleep alone? Weren’t you avoiding me?”

Luo Hetu pouted. “I have my reasons.”

“Then why can’t you tell me?”

Luo Hetu fell silent.

Cheng Youqing waited patiently for thirty seconds. When no words came, she shut the door again.

Cold, ruthless.

Luo Hetu began scratching at the door like a puppy. “I was wrong. Please give me another chance, wife.”

This time, her wife didn’t give her another chance. The door stayed shut.

The next day, Zhou Chenghuan was working a regular day shift when she received a call from Cheng Youqing.

Thinking it was some juicy gossip, she answered excitedly, only to hear Cheng Youqing’s calm voice: “I’m not feeling well.”

“How bad is it?”

“I fainted earlier. My assistant found me.”

Zhou Chenghuan immediately grew anxious. “Come to me right now. I’ll give you a full checkup.”

“I’m on my way.”

“You scared me! Don’t you have all those people around you? An assistant, bodyguards, and that useless wife of yours who’s supposed to be your bodyguard? She can’t even handle this?”

There was a long silence on the other end before Cheng Youqing said, “I fired her.”

The fired “bodyguard” was holed up at home like an internet-addicted teenager, surfing the web.

She checked her bank account—barely anything left. Money came in, money went out; she was destined to be a spendthrift.

Before pouring all her money into Sunday Media, she’d spent 300,000 yuan on a few stocks. Now, like millions of investors in her previous world, she watched the stock charts’ thrilling ups and downs, throwing in the few tens of thousands she’d just earned.

Turning stocks into stable wealth management was probably something only she could pull off. With Xiao Tong and her real-world experience, picking a stock that didn’t make big money would be the real challenge.

She didn’t bother checking how much was in her stock account. She still owed money for Sike’s Internet Café storefront, but she wasn’t paying it back. Any money she had went straight to company investments or stocks. Ask her, and she’d claim to be a broke ghost.

Caught up in these tasks, evening arrived before she knew it. As usual, she changed to head out but froze, the events of last night—deliberately ignored all day—finally flooding her mind. She began to feel upset.

She’d figured it out. Counting on Cheng Youqing was pointless. Cheng Youqing didn’t know Luo Hetu’s core had changed. To her, Luo Hetu was the same person as the original. How could she be jealous of herself? Of course, Cheng Youqing wouldn’t realize how much pain she was in.

She had to sort this out herself. Either accept that Cheng Youqing didn’t love her or argue with her and confirm it again. But the whole issue was meaningless—she was the one stubbornly diving into this dead end. Rather than avoiding Cheng Youqing, she was angry at herself for being so pathetic, furious that Cheng Youqing didn’t like her. Round and round, she was the one suffering.

Maybe she should just let it go. Hadn’t she already decided? It didn’t matter if Cheng Youqing didn’t love her or liked someone else.

Maybe, with time, she’d come to love her.

Being a simp wasn’t a big deal. Being Cheng Youqing’s simp—wasn’t that a reward in itself?

Lost in thought, Luo Hetu suddenly decided she couldn’t keep avoiding her. She needed to talk to her today. She’d definitely upset her, so she had to find a way to make it right. If this went on, forget love—Cheng Youqing might get so mad she’d divorce her.

That would be tragic. Not being loved was one thing, but not even getting to be a simp or a tool? Unbearable.

Luo Hetu’s heart itched with anxiety. She ran downstairs, shooed Aunt Wang away, and insisted on cooking herself.

Cheng Youqing came home at four in the afternoon, unusually early.

Her assistant, Xiao Zhang, dropped her off, looking uneasy. Aunt Li took her coat and bag, and Cheng Youqing caught a faint aroma of stir-fried food.

Before she could say anything, her face paled, and she hurried to the bathroom.