Liuxian smiled, then gave Guiying space.

"You must be tired. I’ll give you space to rest. Shall I have dinner brought to you?"

Guiying nodded. He’d been so busy he hadn’t checked his stocks or 404 in a while.

"Yes, but not right now. I want to take a shower and finish up some work."

Liuxian nodded and gave him more room to leave.

He watched, hands behind his back.

Just as Guiying had said, flowers needed room to grow. He needed room to shine and be his very best.

Liuxian let out a little smile and turned westward, heading to the study.

Guiying settled onto the bed, took off his shoes, then stood and placed them in the rack.

Next, he removed all his jewelry and accessories, and then the wig.

He grabbed the pack of wipes and cleaned the makeup off his face.

It took twelve wipes before he could finally feel the skin on his face again.

He grabbed a fresh set of clothes — a t-shirt and shorts — then took his towel and walked into the bathroom.

Guiying filled the tub with hot water to relieve his muscles.

Not too hot, though. He had sensitive skin.

That was a one time thing cause he was drunk as hell.

He sank into the tub.

Tomorrow’s shoot was outside.

Meaning after the meeting with the Omega, he’d have to head straight there.

He hoped everything would go as planned. Unlike last time, he wasn’t going to get too involved, lest he get slapped or worse.

He didn’t want Liuxian having to leave work because of him. He had to learn to protect himself on his own.

After thirty minutes, Guiying came out of the bathroom.

He wasn’t in a hurry to start his nighttime skincare routine. Instead, he sat at his desk and opened his laptop to check his stocks first.

Most of the stocks he’d gotten were from fairly new companies or his watchlist of rising stars.

And so far, they were doing great.

His shares in Qiyuan Tech, Minghe Med, Qingtian Agri, Anfu Finance, and Taihe Energy had all gone up by 50%.

Individually, the breakdown made sense once he ran the numbers in his head.

The 5 million had gone into all five companies, heaviest into Qiyuan Tech since he’d always figured tech would move first.

He placed 1.8 million there, buying 600,000 shares at 3 Yuan. With the 20% bump to 3.6 Yuan, that position was now worth 2.16 million Yuan on its own.

Taihe Energy came next with 1.2 million Yuan in at 25 Yuan for 48,000 shares. At 37.5 Yuan now, it had climbed to 1.8 million Yuan.

Anfu Finance wasn’t far behind — 1 million Yuan at 20 Yuan for 50,000 shares, now sitting at 30 Yuan and worth 1.5 million Yuan.

Minghe Med had taken 800,000 Yuan at 15 Yuan for about 53,333 shares, and at 22.5 Yuan it was worth 1.2 million Yuan.

While Qingtian Agri was the smallest slice on purpose: 200,000 Yuan at 8 Yuan for 25,000 shares, now at 12 Yuan and worth 300,000 Yuan.

Altogether, that put him at 7.5 million Yuan from the original 5 million. A clean 2.5 million Yuan gain, up 50% across the board.

He scrolled past his own holdings and switched to work mode.

Gains were nice, but a portfolio didn’t build itself. Qiyuan was still the one he’d push toward 100 Yuan once the next round closed, and Taihe had the contracts to justify its climb. He needed the next name on the list.

He pulled up his watchlist, scanning for the ones moving quietly — biotech firms with trial data due, agtech startups getting government grants, smaller energy plays that hadn’t priced in the new subsidies yet.

If he was going to redeploy the profits, it had to be into something with the same trajectory as these five.

Something cheap enough to take a large position in, stable enough to hold through a dip, and with a catalyst close enough that he wouldn’t be sitting on dead money.

He made a note to check Minghe’s competitor filings and Taihe’s quarterly guidance again before the market opened.

Guiying saved the sheet, closed the laptop, and stood up.

Enough numbers for tonight. The rest could wait until after the market spike had gone down.

He switched from the platform and opened the one he used to talk to 404.

A lot of messages had accumulated over time.

404: _Hey, why aren’t you replying? There are some new updates, you know...

The most recent one was two days ago.

"Sorry. I was a bit busy. What’s the update? We can talk now if you’re free."

Guiying didn’t know when 404 would reply, so he began his skincare routine.

The bathroom counter was still damp from the steam. He lined up the bottles in the order he’d memorized: cleanser, exfoliant, toner, serum, moisturizer.

Sensitive skin didn’t forgive shortcuts.

First was the oil cleanser. He warmed it between his palms, then worked it over his face in slow circles, breaking down the last traces of foundation and stage powder the wipes had missed.

The scent was light — chamomile and something faintly citrus. It helped wash the day off without making him think about it.

He rinsed, patted dry, and reached for the gentle exfoliant.

Only twice a week for that one.

Tonight wasn’t one of those nights. Instead, he went straight to the toner, dabbing it onto a cotton pad and sweeping it across his forehead, cheeks, and jaw.

Cool against his skin, it made him feel awake again after the hot bath.

The laptop screen on the desk glowed faintly from where he’d left it open. No new messages yet.

He moved on to the serum — a thin, watery layer that soaked in fast. This was the one he actually paid for. Hydration, barrier repair, the stuff that kept his skin from flaking under studio lights. While it settled, he filled a glass with water and drank half of it in one go.

Still nothing from 404.

He opened the moisturizer last, a heavier cream for the night. It went on thick, sealing everything in. The routine was muscle memory now, something to do while his brain stayed half on the market charts and half on the message he was waiting for.

He was tying his hair back, about to start on the eye cream, when the laptop chimed.

404: _Finally. Yeah, I’m free now. Update’s big. You sitting down?

Guiying glanced at his reflection. Face clean, skin still damp with product, hair pulled back messy. Not exactly how he’d imagined replying, but it would do.

He grabbed the laptop, towel still around his shoulders, and typed back.

"Yeah. I’m here. Tell me."