Chapter 1 Gu Shen and the "Madam"

Gu Shen returned to Miyanusha (Dream Interpreter), finding only Sister Xiaoxin at the clinic.

"Mr. Tang called and said you might be a little late today." Zhou Yexin teased with a smile, "What, did you oversleep too?"

"Ah ha... yes."

Gu Shen explained, without batting an eye, "Something came up last night."

Justice Tang Qingquan had actually covered for him. That must have been Cui Zhongcheng's arrangement. After he made that call from the Jiangtan (River Beach) last night, Mr. Cui had considered today's situation.

Since that was the case, he might as well play along.

With a laugh, Gu Shen changed the subject, asking curiously, "Sister Xiaoxin... no customers today?"

"Yes... of course there are!"

At this, Zhou Yexin leaned in with a serious expression, gravely saying, "We took a phone reservation this morning... said that a very rich and important figure would be coming, and they booked Miyanusha (Dream Interpreter) for a private session in advance."

Gu Shen was somewhat surprised, "Can we... even book a private session?"

"Actually, we can't." Sister Xiaoxin sighed. "But there's no way around it, they're offering too much."

"Although our goal is to complete the experiment, we still have to rely on revenue to live." Zhou Yexin wrung her hands nervously, sighing, "Mr. Tang has such good judgment. You're a truly amazing person. Since you came to Miyanusha (Dream Interpreter), our business has been getting better and better."

Gu Shen scratched his head.

If it weren't for the hypnosis, Sister Xiaoxin wouldn't just be marveling at the word "amazing," would she?

Overnight, the little clinic's walls were covered in silk banners.

"Keep it up. Keep it up. Keep it up." Zhou Yexin rubbed her face, constantly cheering herself on, "If we land this deal, we'll have the shop's rent for a year."

Gu Shen smiled, "Isn't Mr. Tang... waiving the rent?"

"He may not want it, but I can't not give it. Mr. Tang has already sponsored me so much. If I have the ability, I will definitely repay him well." Sister Xiaoxin said earnestly, "Besides, the location of Lipu Street is so good, the shop rent isn't cheap. Don't let its small size fool you, it costs thirty to forty thousand a month."

Then the reward for this deal wouldn't be four or five hundred thousand?

Gu Shen was stunned.

Then he quickly reflected that his consumption habits had indeed changed since joining the Arbitration Council. His first reaction wasn't that the rent was too expensive, but rather curiosity about who exactly this person was, to be able to spend so lavishly.

As he was thinking, a commotion arose downstairs.

Sister Xiaoxin pulled open the curtains and looked out the floor-to-ceiling window, where a black Wraith slowly advanced amidst the crowd, eventually stopping at the side of the street.

That big black car must be very expensive.

Gu Shen thought to himself silently. He didn't know much about cars, but he knew about people...

After the car was turned off, another three minutes passed, and only when the people who had gathered to watch had dispersed a bit did the driver get out of the car gently, open the rear door, and hold up an umbrella, blocking the gazes from the crowd.

"Here they come, here they come."

Zhou Yexin paced back and forth anxiously. This was her first time meeting such a big client, and her mind was blank. She was very nervous at the moment, clutching the pocket watch tightly in her hand.

What should she say when they meet?

What if in the end... the treatment wasn't as effective as they hoped?

A pile of trivial thoughts flooded her mind.

Then these thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

"Thump, thump, thump—"

The sound of high heels.

Slowly but surely climbing the stairs.

Each step seemed to land in her heart.

Even though she didn't have a single idea in her mind, she was nervous. Zhou Yexin glanced at Gu Shen, and found that this young man was unexpectedly calm.

Gu Shen's mood hadn't changed at all from beginning to end, only marveling at the employer's wealth.

Now he was just curious... Although Dadu was prosperous and full of wealthy people, there probably weren't many who were this "lavish," right?

Just now, when that big black car was parked on the side of the street, surrounded by people, looking through the glass, the view was a bit blurry. He didn't see the face of that big client clearly, but he could tell that it was a woman.

On the other hand, the driver who got out of the car to hold the umbrella for the big client, a man who was most likely a bodyguard, caught Gu Shen's attention... He felt like he had seen that guy somewhere before, at least his figure and posture were familiar to him.

The first to ascend the stairs was that man, his footsteps extremely light, almost inaudible under the cover of the high heels. Ordinary people wouldn't notice this detail, but Gu Shen敏銳地捕捉到了。

This guy walked like a ghost.

He was a very powerful expert.

……

……

At this moment, Song Yingji, who was ascending the stairs, wore a suit and exuded a calm demeanor.

On the way here, he had been curious about who this young man recommended by Cui Zhongcheng was. After thinking it over, he couldn't recall when such a young talent had emerged in Dadu.

Finally, he could catch a glimpse of his true face...

Now, he actually felt a little nervous.

"Clatter."

The sound of the last step was a bit loud.

In the solemn and tense atmosphere of the Miyanusha (Dream Interpreter) clinic, the moment their eyes met, two neat and uniform exclamations burst out.

"Holy crap?"

Song Ci looked at Gu Shen as if he had seen a ghost.

The expressions on both of their faces were very colorful, and unacceptable.

Gu Shen's expression was quite complicated. It took him a full ten seconds to accept that the handsome and well-dressed guy in front of him was the slovenly crow who had run away after inviting him to lunch today...

No wonder the figure in the crowd just now looked so familiar!

Only one person on the second floor was completely clueless.

Zhou Yexin stared blankly at the two of them, the three of them looking at each other in confusion.

Then, a gentle and powerful voice rang out from the stairwell.

"Yingji, do you know each other?"

Song Yingji quickly regained his senses. He returned to his calm and composed image, stepped aside to make way for his wife, and supported her as she slowly ascended the stairs, somewhat awkwardly responding, "It's a coincidence, we just met today..."

The Madam glanced at Gu Shen and then at Crow. She knew very well what Song Ci liked to do in the old city. Judging from the strange expression on the young man's face, he had most likely done something immoral like running away after inviting someone to lunch.

"It is indeed a coincidence. To meet again so soon after just meeting shows that you are destined to be together." The Madam smiled softly, looked at Gu Shen, and said, "After this is over, you can have a good chat."

The Madam received no response.

The young man who was standing there in a daze... From the moment the Madam ascended the stairs, he had only glanced at her at first, but after that one glance, his eyes were glued to the Madam's face, and he hadn't looked away.

It had been dozens of seconds.

This was inevitably a little rude.

A huge wave arose in Gu Shen's heart.

What shocked him even more than seeing Song Ci again... was the woman in front of him.

Song Ci had the Chenxin Hui (Sincere Heart Society) symbol tattooed on his body, had close ties with the Zhao family, and had mentioned a mysterious big shot at noon.

Now, a certain big shot was spending lavishly at Miyanusha (Dream Interpreter) just to seek treatment.

Putting these two pieces of information together, it was not difficult to guess that the woman in front of him was the legendary "Madam" who could control everything in Dadu as a woman.

And what shocked Gu Shen even more than the Madam's identity was her appearance.

Snow-white skin, red hair, almond eyes, peach cheeks, her long hair pinned up in a bun behind her head.

The Madam was really good-looking, very young...

Very much like Nan Jin.

Except for the hairstyle and temperament, the two of them were 90% similar in other aspects.

It was like... they were sisters.

[Or they were sisters.]

At this moment, Gu Shen's mind automatically recalled many details from the past that he had overlooked.

On the night before leaving for Dadu, when his senior brothers and sisters were having dinner together, Nan Jin's expression would subtly change whenever the name Cui Zhongcheng was mentioned.

On the way to the orphanage, Nan Jin inadvertently mentioned that she was richer than he imagined.

Mr. Shu said that Nan Jin was brought from Dadu, and after joining the Arbitration Council, she worked tirelessly and constantly performed missions.

And most importantly—

Whenever Gu Shen asked about Nan Jin's past, she would simply remain silent and not respond.

She seemed to have no concept of family, and was unwilling to reveal her past to outsiders.

Gu Shen could feel that, for Nan Jin, the word "past" was like a blank sheet of paper soaked in the deep sea. If possible, she would have liked to stuff this blank sheet of paper ten thousand miles into the sea, soaking it until it was rotten... But unfortunately, no matter how deeply the past was hidden or how rotten it was soaked, it would one day be turned out and exposed to some people's eyes.

Seeing the Madam, Gu Shen speculated about many things in a chaotic manner.

It wasn't until Zhou Yexin forcefully tugged on his sleeve that Gu Shen realized his gaffe.

He quickly averted his gaze.

Zhou Yexin quickly stepped forward and apologized with a humble attitude, "I'm sorry... this young man is my assistant. He hasn't been in Dadu for very long, please forgive him."

The Madam smiled gently and said nothing.

"Are you Dr. Zhou Yexin?"

She said softly, "I heard Tang Qingquan mention you, you are very remarkable."

Zhou Yexin was stunned by these words... In fact, she had met some so-called big shots of "high position and authority" over the years, but none of them could be like the Madam in front of her, who could deeply infect her just by hearing her voice.

She didn't yet know who this big shot was.

But from the moment she heard her name from the other party's mouth, she felt a great sense of honor in her heart.

"I... I..."

Zhou Yexin didn't know what was wrong with her. She was so clumsy today.

She tried hard to make herself clear.

The Madam smiled again, "Don't bother, I'm looking for Dr. Gu... that one, your assistant."

"Ah... ah? Oh..."

Zhou Yexin's expression was somewhat surprised. For some reason, after learning that they weren't looking for her, she didn't feel too disappointed. Instead, she felt a sense of relief.

"Please."

Song Ci got up and opened the door to a single room on the side, glanced inside to check, and then gave the Madam a look to indicate that the place was safe.

At this point, the Madam slowly got up and entered the single room.

Gu Shen followed behind.

As they passed each other, Crow reminded him in a low and serious voice, "You've been hiding yourself well... Do you know who this is? I'll be guarding here the whole time."

"You haven't been hiding badly either."

Gu Shen sighed softly and said with emotion.

"This big shot is indeed very big."