“Hello? Yes, this is Ye Shuang.”
“Then, it’s right,” a female voice said with suppressed rage. “I suspect my husband is cheating on me. He just bought two properties for no reason!”
“…Then I suggest you go find a private investigator, I don’t…”
“You’re the one who found the vixen that was troubling Xiao Ning’s home, right? I’ll give you 5,000 to help me find that b*tch! But you cannot let her know that we’re looking.”
“We’re not…” a PI team but talent scouts.
“8,000! If not for Mrs. An’s personal recommendation, I would not have come to you, don’t push it,” the woman warned. “I got your account number from Mrs. An already, and I’ll send you the money now. Just help me find out who the damn vixen is!”
Then the call was hung up. Ye Shuang held the phone and was silent for at least half a minute before she understood what had happened. It was probably An Zining’s mother who helped spread the word for Ye Shuang. Since Ye Shuang had managed to help her find Chen He’s mistress, that probably gave her the wrong impression of the nature of Ye Shuang’s work. Normally, head hunters dealt with specific, high-end cases, but recently, Ye Shuang had received many cases that were related to extra-marital affair or investigation of a family member.
This was not anything illegal, and from how Ye Shuang saw it, while this work was technically within her job scope, it was not what talent scouts like her would normally do.
According to Han Chu, if she continued to bend over backwards for the sake of money, her career would easily veer off the straight path and ended up as a private investigator. Ye Shuang did not heed his warning. Even though the talent storage at San Lin City was not high, it was not low either. When there were no cases, filling the void with these small requests could not have been more normal. To be honest, both Ye Shuang and the talents needed a source of income.
Not long after that, Ye Shuang received a message on her stating that 8,000 had entered her account. The amount was not high, but she could still get around 500 to 600 worth of commission. Ye Shuang thought about it before sending a message to Han Chu to explain the situation. The reply soon came. Basically, Han Chu’s idea was for her to do anything she wanted at San Lin City. Han Chu had already become immune to everything when Yao Zhixing was his agent for half a year, so when he was threatened into giving the agent post to Ye Shuang, he had already decided to give up on this place.
In any case, a private investigator could be considered a talent as well. Therefore, Ye Shuang happily contacted Lawyer Lin, whom she had an amiable working relationship with. The man was more receptive of the job than Han Chu. After exchanging the information, he assigned a computer expert at the workshop to follow the client’s husband’s bank account and phone activity. After hanging up, Ye Shuang accepted that private investigation would be part of her business, something that she could do when there were no big cases. This was a win-win situation for herself and the talents of San Lin City.
Ye Shuang then spent the night looking through the store of movies they provided at the hotel. After a whole night of studying the micro-expressions of various stars, the next morning, Sister Shuang grabbed her backpack and left for the biggest bookstore in Jing Hu City.
The cashier counter provided a book searching service. Ye Shuang gave the person the title of the Face Reader, and she was told that the store only had seven to eight copies of the books published by the man. If she wanted the rest, she would need to order them online. The books were in area E on the second floor. Ye Shuang thanked the man and headed upstairs. There were fewer customers there than first floor; thus, it was quieter.
Beside the bookshelves stood or sat individuals who were reading their favorite books. Occasionally, they would bring out a notepad to write something down, but most of the time, they were focused on reading. Of course, they could just buy the books to take home, but it just felt better reading at the bookstore for some reason.
Reading at the bookstore would garner a better focus than reading at home. Since everyone else was doing it, the psychological part of it enabled the reader to assimilate into this atmosphere more easily. Secondly, there were simply too many distractions at home. Like when you were just turning over the second page, you would hear your family opening the television in the living room.
Since Ye Shuang had nothing arranged for the rest of the afternoon and she had an incredible memory, her initial plan was to read at the bookstore and then leave. She walked to Area E and found the books by the Face Reader. Ye Shuang carried a stack of books and looked around. She soon found a hidden corner by a glass window. The lighting was perfect and the location even more so.
There was enough light for reading, and being in the corner meant that she would not be so easily disturbed. She did not want others to come looking for the books she was reading. Then again, this worry was rather unfounded because those interested in Area E’s psychological analysis books were not that common.
After all, this was not an easily-mastered skill. Knowing the theory did not mean knowing the skill. For example, the most basic skill of psychological analysis was the study of facial expression followed by artful speech.
The former could help one analyze the other party’s thought while the latter could help one influence others. It had to be stressed that this was how Ye Shuang categorized these things—how psychology was really studied had to be different from how Ye Shuang understood it.
In any case, it was true that those who knew psychology either had great observational power or read plenty of books. These people were mostly successful figures in their fields and would not have time to read the books provided by the bookstore. Their instinct and experience would give them the thing they needed to face various problem, and they would not need to rely on books.
In comparison, those who were interested in psychology were mostly those normal workers who desired success. They did not have the natural talent in this area and thus had not found success. After scratching the surface of psychology, they would think they had stumbled upon another shortcut to success, but they did not realize that without talent, it would require decades for them to even familiarize themselves with the basics of psychology.
These people saw psychology in books like “How to trick your boss” or “How to get the girls that you want”. They hoped that through guidance provided in such books, one day, they would turn their lives over and became the rising stars in their industries.
This was how it was with specialized skills. Those who knew them had no need for the books, and those who read the books would not be able to learn them anyway. Other than those who specialized in studying this field, these books would normally be of no help to anyone.
Time passed by slowly. The stack of books beside Ye Shuang slowly diminished until two were left. By then, the sunlight that filtered through the window had inched upwards from her toes to her well-defined calf. Her fair skin glittered like a diamond under the ray of the sun.
The first thing Luo Mingxin saw was this pair of legs. Even a celebrity like him was a man too, and it was normal for a man’s gaze to linger on the opposite sex. Luo Mingxin was impressed by the masters that seemed to be hiding among the general public. First, there was that impossibly handsome man, and now a beauty with perfect legs. Just her fair skin was something that could not be achieved by many A-list celebrities. His gaze moved upwards, but it was blocked by a rather familiar cap when it reached the head. The woman who had her head lowered from reading only showed her jaw.
Where have I seen this before‽ But this cap is sold at most roadside stalls. Luo Mingxin was thinking about this when the girl noticed his gaze on her. She also raised her head to look at him. She’s quite pretty, around 80 marks. Not enough to cause a traffic accident but pleasing on the eyes. However, the rare thing is she’s not wearing any make-up.
Luo Mingxin was rarely recognized on the street. Basically, he played the role of a gentleman before the camera, so no one would expect he would be wearing earrings, sunglasses, a baseball cap, and jeans with holes in them when he was out on a walk.
Therefore, facing the girl’s gaze, Luo Mingxin was calm. He flashed a bright smile and planned to turn away. However, what the girl said next stunned him.
“Who would have thought that Brother Luo likes to pretend to be young as well?”
What‽ Who the f*ck are you‽ Luo Mingxin whipped his head around in microseconds to examine his surroundings. Thankfully, there was no one near him, and no one seemed to pay attention to this normal-sounding greeting.
Luo Mingxin sighed in relief and pulled his cap lower. He dashed up the stairs and squatted down beside the girl to whisper, “And you are‽”
Ye Shuang was easily confused by the social circles of her different sexes. She did know Luo Mingxin, so the greeting came out of her naturally. However, she realized what was wrong when she heard the female voice escape her lips.
Looking at the caution on Luo Mingxin’s face, Ye Shuang put the book in her hands away and smiled. “Of course, I’m a fan.”
“…Stop kidding, you don’t look like a fan at all.”
No matter how rational a fan was, even if they did not scream in his proximity, they would be nervous, but Ye Shuang was so calm that it felt like she was conversing with her friend. Luo Mingxin had a weird feeling that he had seen this woman before… perhaps they had once been friends?
“Take a guess!” Ye Shuang tossed the question back. After all, she was not the curious party—why should she make up an excuse‽
Luo Mingxin frowned. “Fine, at least tell me how you managed to recognize me.”
Ye Shuang looked at him, and the answer she gave confused Luo Mingxin even more. “Cranial comparison.”
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