Chapter 063: You Really Can Brag!

Chapter 063: You Really Can Brag!

In a room dim-lit and lavishly furnished, Wu Chen lay face-down on a wide, plush massage table, phone pressed to his ear.

A young technician—an eight out of ten with her makeup on—sat astride his lower back, working the tension from his shoulders. Her build was distinctive, nothing like the willowy, stick-thin figure that was standard fare: a narrow waist, wide hips, curves drawn in bold, exaggerated lines, the kind of physique you’d expect on a European or American fitness model.

Everything that was supposed to be generous was generous. Everything that was supposed to be narrow was narrow.

“You sound pretty worked up.” Wu Chen laughed into the phone, his breathing unsteady thanks to the massage. “Hear something interesting? Jealous?”

He was baiting her on purpose.

Also testing her, in a way—which was exactly why he hadn’t told the technician to stop when the call came in.

Back in the office, Li Ruobing went cold and still in an instant.

She herself couldn’t say why she’d reacted so sharply.

The moment she’d heard that woman’s voice—does this feel good?—she’d shot upright without meaning to, some feeling stirring that even she hadn’t expected.

“Hmph.” She laughed coldly and sat back down. “You’ve got time to spare, apparently. Off chasing women in the middle of the morning. That fired up, are you?”

“Can’t help being young.” Wu Chen laughed it off.

He offered no explanation.

The truth wasn’t remotely what she imagined.

He was only there for a massage.

He would never tell her the real reason—that after hours of straight training the night before, he’d woken up in agony from head to toe, and had come here purely to work the soreness out.

In his old life, there had been no future to speak of, trapped as he was in an endless loop of July 7th. Exercise meant nothing back then—every gain would simply reset. His body had stayed, permanently, that of an ordinary college student.

But yesterday he’d genuinely overdone it. He’d woken up this morning and the pain was real.

This was just what happened when you started training hard. Everyone went through this stage; he’d known it was coming.

If he wanted the muscle, a little pain wasn’t the worst trade.

He had no intention of explaining any of that to Li Ruobing, though. It would only make him sound like a complete idiot.

Not because of the massage itself.

Because of the reason for it—having worked himself half to pieces.

“When are you coming to the company? When will you be done?” Li Ruobing’s voice had gone cold again.

“Just over an hour in. Maybe another hour to go…” Wu Chen answered without thinking much of it.

“You really can brag!” Beep, beep, beep…

She hung up before he could get another word out.

Wu Chen blinked. Brag about what, exactly?

It took him a second to work it out.

She thought he was off with a woman doing that—and when she’d asked how much longer, he’d casually said an hour in, another hour to go.

“Heh.” He laughed, sighed, and set the phone aside.

His jacket had been in the cabinet, phone in the pocket. The technician had fetched it when it rang, which was why it had taken him a good ten seconds to answer at all.

“Sir, how’s this?” the technician asked once he’d finished the call.

“Mm. A little more pressure there.”

Soon it was eleven.

The door swung open. Li Ruotai stepped in, still in his suit, tilting his head toward Wu Chen. “Come on, Brother-in-law. Lunch. It’s already noon.”

The place Wu Chen was lying in was none other than Li Ruotai’s own establishment—Crown Entertainment.

For something like a massage, you wanted a real professional, and while Crown wasn’t exactly a spotless operation, the technicians here had trained properly. They genuinely knew what they were doing.

So Wu Chen had driven straight over, told Li Ruotai his neck had locked up overnight, and asked for someone skilled with strong hands.

Which explained why the woman working him over had a build straight out of a fitness magazine. She wasn’t the prettiest girl on staff—plenty of surgically enhanced faces outranked hers—but her technique was the real deal.

More to the point: strength. Real strength, built from actual training. Some clients specifically asked for her kind of build.

That was the point.

“I’ll skip lunch.” Wu Chen checked the time on his phone. “All right, that’s enough for today. I’ve got somewhere to be.” At that, the technician rose and stepped back, gathering up her oils.

Li Ruotai glanced at her—he knew his own staff well enough, but he asked anyway. “Good session, Brother-in-law?”

“Good. Skilled hands. Worked hard the whole time.” Wu Chen sat up, offering the compliment with a smile.

“Thank you, sir.” She thanked him at once.

Praise from the boss’s brother-in-law demanded a proper response.

“All right, go on.” Li Ruotai tipped his head toward the door.

She gathered her bag and headed out. Passing Li Ruotai, he leaned in and murmured, “Go collect ten thousand. Take the afternoon off, go enjoy yourself.”

“Thank you, boss!” She bowed happily and hurried out.

She’d known there’d be a reward for handling the brother-in-law well. Cash and time off both—though the job itself had been brutal, over two straight hours working every knot out of the man’s body.

Once she’d gone, Li Ruotai leaned against the doorframe, hands in his pockets. “Something urgent, Brother-in-law? If not, let’s eat first. Won’t cost you much time.”

“Your sister’s calling for me. You tell me if that’s urgent.” Wu Chen looked up, smiling.

He hadn’t actually answered the question, but Li Ruotai’s face already showed complete understanding.

When his sister came calling for her man, urgency wasn’t really the question. Urgent or not, you treated it like it was.

Li Ruotai left first.

Wu Chen showered before changing—no getting around it, covered in oil the way he was.

By the time he pulled up to CBD Building Seven, it was nearly noon.

Lunch hour or not, Li Ruobing was still in her office, waiting.

“Contract signed?” Wu Chen asked the moment he walked in, looking toward Li Ruobing behind the desk as she watched her computer screen. He smiled and headed for the sofa.

She turned, expression blank, gaze dark and following him the whole way—until he sat facing her and crossed one leg over the other.

“Something growing on my face? Say something. What’s wrong—didn’t it go well?” Wu Chen asked, smiling at her silence.

“You…” Li Ruobing’s eyes narrowed. She paused before continuing. “Couldn’t you just keep a woman on the side? Why go to one of those places? ‘Sir, does this feel good?’—doesn’t that disgust you? Aren’t you worried about catching something?”

She was still stuck on it.

That single line—does this feel good, sir—had told her everything. That woman wasn’t his lover. She was staff, from that kind of place.

Wu Chen burst out laughing before he could stop himself.

“Ha! Aren’t you taking a rather personal interest? Actually jealous, are you?”

“I’m worried you’ll catch something and drop dead early, that’s all! We’ve still got a whole act to keep running! Jealous—as if!” She waved the whole thing off, visibly deciding it wasn’t worth the energy, and pivoted sharply. “You know Lei Cheng?”

“A friend.” Two words, no more.

“Since when?” she pressed.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit much to ask?” He smiled. “You should know by now—in our line as information brokers, some things stay secret.”

Li Ruobing shut her mouth, expressionless.

She’d known he wouldn’t say.

No point asking at all.

“Come here. Apologize.” Wu Chen didn’t bother easing into it either. He lifted one hand, gesturing to the spot on the carpet in front of him.

Telling her to walk over, and kneel.