Fate Trading System – Chapter 169

Plan A

Spirit Alliance 10

East Wind

It seemed the boss’s attitude towards Sister Mountain Chicken wasn’t very good either.

“Boss, I’ll go get you a yukata [浴衣 | yu yi | Japanese-style bathrobe] first. Put it on and go freshen up. Next time, don’t drink so much alcohol. You were really scary yesterday, and you vomited so severely—it’s not good for your health.”

“Can’t be helped, business requires it.”

Chu Qiu pressed her temples, though she knew she should exercise more control next time.

“Why do you have to work so hard? Isn’t the company doing well now? You already have a lot of wealth.”

From a human perspective, Su Xin could understand Chu Qiu’s position—after all, there’s no end to making money, so earn more when you can. But from a spirit’s perspective, it was incomprehensible.

“I don’t know either. I guess it’s become an obsession of mine. It’s all the fox’s fault for teaching me bad habits.”

Chu Qiu casually placed her hand on Su Xin’s waist, speaking with a hint of complaint.

Su Xin’s body stiffened. The little hamster’s body was still very sensitive. Yesterday’s wolf paws weren’t much of an issue, given the differences in body size and species—there weren’t any other thoughts besides fearing the wolf’s claws might scratch her skin. But now it was different; the hand on her waist carried human warmth.

Although humans feared wolf packs, dreading being torn apart, more often they would bring adequate tools to capture them. Chu Qiu’s clan’s fur could fetch an expensive price, and thus they suffered all kinds of hunting.

When Chu Qiu first transformed into human form, she was still naive. After entering society, she happened to meet the fox.

At that time, Chu Qiu gained an exceptionally clear understanding of money’s importance.

In human society, money seemed capable of accomplishing many things. Their clan was hunted because their fur could be sold at expensive prices—all driven by the pursuit of wealth. After some time, one wouldn’t need to travel exhaustively and endure hunger while waiting for prey; one could freely purchase things in the human world.

Back then, the fox told her, “If you want to become stronger and live a better life, then earn more money. I love eating chicken, and humans in society constantly strive just to eat more delicious chicken meat.”

The fox treated the then-penniless Chu Qiu to lamb chops once. No wolf clan member could resist the temptation of lamb meat, and this prepared lamb was far more delicious than primitive tearing and biting. Human hands were magical, capable of transforming one ingredient into various different flavors.

The fox said, when you have the ability, you can come eat these things yourself—things like whole roasted lamb, as much as you want to eat.

The fox worked for chicken meat, Chu Qiu for lamb meat, so they continuously strived in human society, climbing up step by step, until reaching positions ordinary people couldn’t attain.

After hearing the boss’s brief story, Su Xin could only sigh inwardly—indeed, the power of food was infinite. What did humans work so hard for? Wasn’t it for a better place to live, to eat delicious food, to enjoy a pleasant life? Spirits were the same.

“Is Mr. Fox the founder of the Spirit Alliance?”

There must have been more than one fox, right? She wasn’t sure if the fox Chu Qiu spoke of was the same fox she knew about.

“That’s right, it’s that fellow. Very clever. Fortunately, he had already left by the time Mountain Chicken appeared.”

“Is he dead?”

“Of course not. That crafty creature probably lives longer than me—who knows where he’s enjoying himself now.”

Foxes were the craftiest. In terms of enjoying life, they were perhaps the best among all animals. At least foxes didn’t have to work themselves to death earning money like him. The fox’s brilliance lay in not expending any effort, yet people would rush forward daily wanting to give it money.

“If the fox were still here, he definitely wouldn’t allow a scratching head and posing flirtatiously mountain chicken to prance around in front of him.”

Chu Qiu evaluated her money tree without mercy using this four-character idiom.

“What exactly did Sister Mountain Chicken do? Several senior spirit predecessors have already warned me to be careful of her.”

This lady had never appeared directly before her, but the jianghu was full of her legends.

“She’s quite foolish, actually. Long ago, she didn’t know she was a mountain chicken—she thought she was a peacock.” [LP: Reminder that she’s actually a pheasant]

When the mountain chicken had just hatched, her mother hen and other siblings were hunted and eaten by other animals. That animal, for whatever reason—perhaps being already full—left behind just one egg there.

The mountain chicken struggled to emerge from its shell, only to find itself all alone. It grew day by day, relying on the help of other animals in the mountain forest.

She remained confused about what kind of creature she was. After becoming a spirit, she could converse with other animals who had also become spirits. A bird told her that perhaps she was a peacock, because peacocks had beautiful feathers, and the mountain chicken was a very special chicken with beautiful tail feathers.

After becoming a spirit and transforming into human form, the mountain chicken entered the human world. Only when she saw peacocks and mountain chickens on television did she understand that she wasn’t actually a beautiful peacock at all, but just a very ordinary mountain chicken.

“When I met her, her thought process was already abnormal. She was extremely keen on provoking others, venomous-tongued and courting death.”

When the mountain chicken first debuted, she once mocked a female celebrity, and then her Weibo was overwhelmed with people mocking her, saying ‘Where did this wild chicken come from, trying to steal scenes.’

The words ‘wild chicken’ struck a nerve with her, and she exploded.

“She actually has quite a lot of controversial material, always maintaining popularity through negativity. Her thinking patterns are different from ours, and though we want to manage her, we can only watch constantly without being able to do anything.”

Su Xin could sense deep helplessness in Chu Qiu’s sigh.

“I’ll go freshen up first. Rabbit should be here soon with my clothes.”

“Ah… Boss, I’ll go get you a bath towel first.”

“Okay.”

Su Xin ran to get the bath towel, making a gesture to Yangyang on her way back, telling him to hide.

After Chu Qiu finished freshening up, Rabbit knocked on the door right on time.

“Boss, your clothes.”

“Mm.”

After changing clothes, Chu Qiu walked out of the guest room and bid farewell to Su Xin.

“I’m heading to work first. See you tonight—how about I come find you?”

“Okay.”

Rabbit squinted her eyes suspiciously. What was this rhythm—could something unspeakable have happened between the boss and the little hamster last night? Otherwise, why arrange to meet again in the evening?

Su Xin told Ling Tian about choosing her script, and after confirming with her, Ling Tian set up the interview time with the production team.

“The story in the script you chose is in that drama’s second unit. Go for the interview three days later. I’ve already confirmed the location with the production team. There might be three or four competitors then. If you want to go through the back door [走後臺 | zou hou tai | use connections], that’s completely fine—I can arrange it, but personally, I think you should still interview and go through the proper process.”

“Brother Ling, no need to help me go through the back door. I’m confident I can get this role.”

“Actually, I originally wanted to consider another script for you. That one had a playful tone, but this character you’re going for is rather tragic, which doesn’t match your appearance. On variety shows, your persona was the opposite of this. This role really tests acting skills—if you can perform it well, it should be a minor success.”

An actor’s breakthrough role is very important, even more so for celebrities. The role an actor plays in their breakthrough work often becomes their label for a period of time. If they play a bubbly and cute character, people will subconsciously assume the celebrity themselves is that type of person.

“I understand, Brother Ling. Oh right, Brother Ling, yesterday I tried calling you for help but couldn’t get through. This morning I talked to the boss about what I wanted to request—I want to recommend a small role for my benefactor, but I wasn’t sure if that role was still available, so I asked the boss.”

“I’m really sorry about yesterday. I’ve already spoken with the boss today, so it should be no problem.”

“Alright.”

“Since you’re confident, familiarize yourself with the script then. Work hard to perform this role you want to play well. After all, this is your debut performance, and you’ll be very, very busy from now on. Get ready, little hamster.”

“Yes!”

Not long after, Chu Qiu called to tell Su Xin about securing the role for her. That small role originally only had one scene and two lines of dialogue—just a simple greeting.

After thanking her, Su Xin waited for Chu Qiu to hang up.

“I’ve already picked out pajamas for you. Someone will deliver them to your home later. Remember to sign for them.”

“Okay…”

Thanks to your whole family [謝謝你全家 | xie xie ni quan jia | sarcastic expression of gratitude].

After the call ended, Su Xin immediately went to chat with Bai Qianqian.

Su Xin: Qianqian! I secured a role for you, though it’s just a walk-on part with one scene and two lines. Would you like to do it?

Bai Qianqian: Of course I would!

Su Xin: I’m going to interview for my role in three days. Your role doesn’t need an interview. After I succeed, you can join the production with me when it’s my part. Though your main issue is your agent—you might get penalized if you take roles without their permission.

Bai Qianqian: Okay, that problem can be solved. It’s not a big role anyway, just a walk-on part.

Su Xin: Good, I’ll contact you when it’s time. In two weeks, you should see me appear on a variety show.

Bai Qianqian: What variety show?

Su Xin: 《The Charmer》.

Bai Qianqian: Really!!! Oh my god, you’re amazing… but… aren’t you still just a newcomer?

Su Xin: Yeah, I have strong backing.

With a boss backing me, there’s nothing to fear.

Bai Qianqian held back from exclaiming out loud, even though there was no one else who could hear.

She had a feeling that this east wind [東風 | dong feng | metaphor for favorable circumstances] really might mean her situation wouldn’t get worse anymore, and perhaps she could still stay in this circle.

Su Xin: Wait one more year, and you’ll be free.

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