Business Partnership with Mu Tian Part I

Bai Zhe woke up at 4 a.m. this morning to read the entertainment news on his smartphone. He found news of Alice, the singer he had met yesterday. It stated that she had suddenly gotten sick with severe diarrhoea. The doctor could not find its cause, thinking that it might be some new variant of virus. This required Alice to be put in quarantine in an isolation room.

‘Who told her to interrupt my conversation? But her skin might be much healthier from now on. Consider it as a redemption gift from me,’ thought Bai Zhe as he saw a particular announcement.

“Eh? A call for competitive eaters to apply for the Eater King competition on TV? Hmm, interesting. It’s also a TV station under the LSA.” When he saw that, Bai Zhe immediately sent messages to Chen Feng, asking whether he could join the competition.

After sending the message, Bai Zhe waited for quite some time, but there was still no reply from Chen Feng. He guessed that the old man might be busy, caught up with some work, or had already fallen asleep. Thus, the boy went to sleep.

Bai Zhe’s school, the next day

Today, Mu Si Cheng immediately went straight to Bai Zhe. He threw his arm around Bai Zhe’s neck the moment that the boy entered the classroom. Of course, Bai Zhe could have dodged if he had wanted to. But he had to act like a normal student so he would not be building a wall to keep people away from him.

“Bai Zhe, my dear friend, let’s play football today,” said Mu Si Cheng.

“Who said that he wouldn’t invite me again?” Bai Zhe narrowed his eyes at Mu Si Cheng, thinking that this boy might be planning something.

“I just want you to exercise and break a sweat. That’s all,” said Mu Si Cheng. His face looked like he was hiding something, so Bai Zhe looked around the room. Then, he saw something. Yes, on Mu Si Cheng’s table, there were 2 packs of handkerchiefs.

‘Oh, now I understand. This boy is seeking to benefit from me. Hehehe, dream on,’ thought Bai Zhe.

“No, I have to conserve my energy for work. The match with you guys the other day made me fall asleep almost immediately after I got home,” said Bai Zhe. Mu Si Cheng still did not give up, while the girls around them pricked up their ears, trying to hear whether or not Bai Zhe would agree to play football this afternoon.

“Bai Zhe, please. I’m begging you. The girls will kill me otherwise. You don’t have to play football. I just want your sweat.” Mu Si Cheng was so anxious he had to tell Bai Zhe what he had been pressured to do.

“So, this is your real purpose, is it? The answer is no,” said Bai Zhe coldly. He then walked to his seat, with Mu Si Cheng’s arms still wrapped around his waist, letting Bai Zhe drag him along.

“Please help me, Bai Zhe. They’ve already paid me.” Mu Si Cheng continued his confession.

“The answer is the same. No. Anyway, you are already rich, Si Cheng. Why do you have to sell this stuff?” asked Bai Zhe.

“Well, the girls who wanted it came to pamper me. So, I agreed,” said Mu Si Cheng shyly.

“Forget it. What kind of business is your family doing, by the way?” asked Bai Zhe, because he had been able to think of a new way to make money.

“Cosmetics and dietary supplements. Why are you asking me this? W…wait... Hmm, this is interesting.” In no time at all, Mu Si Cheng understood what Bai Zhe was trying to say.

Mu Si Cheng thought that Bai Zhe’s idea was possible. He had heard that the ancient Greeks used to apply animal fat to the body of combat athletes who were heavily sweating, with the hope of collecting pheromones that indicated physical strength. They distilled the fat into an ancient pheromone fragrance which was used by the upper class. If this technique was used with Bai Zhe’s sweat, it would make a remarkable fragrance that would amaze his father.

“Bai Zhe, you are my golden goose.” Mu Si Cheng leapt forward to hug Bai Zhe, making many of the girls bring out their handkerchiefs to wipe their nosebleeds.

“Hey, let go of me. Si Cheng, this is gross. Things could get out of hand. You weirdo.” Bai Zhe tried to push Mu Si Cheng, who had suddenly leapt forward to hug him, off. His adopted brother in Da Xian did not even hug him this closely. The feeling of being close to a man like this reminded him of the Crone of the Hereafter Cave, which was an old mental wound of his.

“Well, I will share the profits with you. I will give you 80, and my part will be 20,” said Mu Si Cheng.

“That’s a good idea. But you should set a high price. If it is cheap, I might be drained dry,” said Bai Zhe. He could not sit and sweat all day like a moving sweat factory.

“Deal, my friend.” Mu Si Cheng beamed.

After school, Bai Zhe gave Mu Si Cheng two bottles of his sweat that he had gone to the trouble of forcing out. The first one was used with the handkerchiefs that Si Cheng wanted to sell to the girls. The other, he had Mu Si Cheng send to the lab to extract the smell in order to try to use it in a fragrance made by the Mu family’s company.

Of course, Bai Zhe asked Mu Si Cheng to keep this a secret, which the boy agreed to do. Mu Si Cheng then left to take care of the handkerchiefs that the girls ordered. Bai Zhe felt his smartphone vibrating so he hurriedly found an out-of-the-way spot to pick up the incoming call.

“Hello, this is Bai Zhe,” he said after answering the phone.

“Oh, Master Bai. No, let me call you Bai Zhe. First of all, I saw your message. You want to join the Eater King competition?” Chen Feng, who was on the other end, asked.

“Yes, so I wanted to consult with you whether I could join the competition. The reward is 1 million yuan. I want it to help lighten the burden on my parents,” said Bai Zhe.

“Haha, you think I don’t know about the cheques from Xi Lua and Meng Dong? Another thing, do you think it’s easy? Just re-watch the previous seasons. The eaters eat about 4 to 6 kilograms each. Do not even mention the champion, Dan Dan. He ate 8.4 kilograms of steaks. You cannot compete with that. Don’t waste your time,” Chen Feng warned. He did not want Bai Zhe to waste his time doing something a 15-year-old boy who did not have experience in eating competitions could not possibly do.

“Everything has a first time. Can I try just once? If I succeeded, it would certainly benefit the drama that you are about to film,” Bai Zhe said, trying to use every angle to persuade Chen Feng.

When Chen Feng saw that the boy was insisting on joining, he allowed it. This was so Bai Zhe could face the truth and see his own limits. Also, the boy could learn from his mistakes. Chen Feng would contact the program and let them know that he would send a new actor from his company to join the competition.

“Though I am the person who sent you, you have to join the qualifying round like other people, in accordance with the program’s rules. If you cannot pass it, you will not have any right to ask me for any other things, except filming the drama with me,” said Chen Feng in a serious voice.