How can I justify myself as a Magnate if I don't indulge myself?

It wasn’t the type of physical longing, after all, he could always have someone arrange for a beauty whose looks far surpassed He Jing’s if he wanted.

This craving was more of a psychological nature.

No matter what, He Jing had always been a goddess-like figure by his side during that period.

There was somewhat of a nostalgia for past crushes.

He Jing also realized that Gu Heng was sizing her up. In the past, she might have bantered with him, but now she was acutely aware of the huge gulf in their statuses and had no interest in doing so.

She then seriously responded to Gu Heng, "Jiajia is currently tied up at the office dealing with contract issues, so she asked me to pick you up."

"Can’t leave? Is the problem severe?"

Lin Jiayun, as one of his kept canaries and the most sensible one, always positioned herself correctly. As long as he provided enough money, she wouldn’t care about his personal life, warming him with calls three times a day while also sending occasional mildly sensual photos and videos.

She was extremely excited to learn that he would return to Hang City.

Gu Heng believed that if it weren’t for a serious issue, Lin Jiayun definitely wouldn’t have let He Jing come to pick him up on her behalf.

Hearing this, He Jing nodded, "The company is about to be acquired by Wuyou Media, and all the talent contracts under the company’s name will be transferred to Wuyou Media. However, Wuyou Media requires all the internet celebrities and hosts under our banner to sign new ten-year contracts with them, and the share they are offering is extremely low, almost like a life indenture.

Jiajia didn’t want to sign, so she is hoping to cancel this contract before the acquisition goes through, but Zhang Yang won’t agree since he’s relying on Jiajia and Xiao Lan to uphold the company’s value at 7 million and has been dragging this out."

"Oh?"

Gu Heng was actually unaware of this situation, as Lin Jiayun hadn’t mentioned it to him at all.

However, Gu Heng sensed something from He Jing’s words and couldn’t help asking, "Relying on Lin Jiayun and Xiao Lan? What about you?"

Anticipating Gu Heng’s question, He Jing turned with a radiant smile, "Me? I’ve moved to an administrative position now. I’ve handed over my account with 4 million followers to the company to operate. I only need to appear on camera occasionally to ensure the follower count doesn’t drop.

I no longer need to livestream to entertain viewers either, and the work I do now is at least ten times less than before! It’s absolutely fantastic!"

Although He Jing was smiling, Gu Heng could still see the unusual tint in the depths of her eyes and delivered his jab, "The workload was reduced by ten times, but I suppose the income has plummeted by more than ten times too?"

He Jing: "..."

Hit right on the mark by Gu Heng, He Jing could only respond with silence...

Before, she could easily make over a hundred thousand a month, and during months with high advertising commissions, earning two or three hundred thousand wasn’t an issue...

But now, all she could earn was a basic monthly salary of 15,000 with no bonuses at all...

15,000 might seem a lot, but after paying the mortgage every month, she was left with just two or three thousand for living expenses...

Her lifestyle had sharply shifted from being somewhat bourgeois to impoverished...

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t affected by this change at all, but thinking that she at least owned a car and a house in Hang City and no longer needed to entertain demanding live stream viewers from nine to five, He Jing regained her smile, "A drop in income is for sure, but being happy is what matters."

"Are you really happy?"

Hearing Gu Heng’s words, He Jing faltered once again, the smile vanishing from her face.

Really happy?

She wasn’t sure herself.

With a rueful smile, she shook her head, "Sometimes when I see Jiajia and Xiao Lan inviting me out to high-end restaurants, I do have regrets. But after all, this is the path I chose, and regret is pointless.

Plus, I’m not one to be overly sentimental. If I can’t accept the atmosphere in the influencer circle, then I certainly can’t make money from it.

When the company is acquired, I’ll move to another industry. Even if it’s harder work, there will be opportunities to shine—I’m certainly better off than most, owning a car and a house here in Hang City.

Don’t you think so?"

Having said that, He Jing smiled sweetly at Gu Heng, showing her dimples as she posed the question.

Gu Heng simply smiled faintly.

In the past, he would believe that hard work would definitely be rewarded, that after hardship comes the sweet.

But now...

After everything he’d been through, he knew all too well that such talk was just pure bullshit. If you’re willing to endure hardship, you’ll never run out of it; if you’re willing to work, there’ll always be more work...

"Do you think Lin Jiayun is trying hard? She’s in the internet celebrity circle now. Does she need to flatter the big brothers in the live broadcast rooms?"

He Jing was at a loss for words...

Ever since Lin Jiayun got together with Gu Heng, she never bothered to cozy up to the so-called big brothers in the live broadcast rooms, and she even neglected her fans. Her usual broadcasts were just perfunctorily filling the time. This was exactly the kind of internet celebrity life she had dreamed of, where she didn’t need to curry favor or suck up to anyone and could still showcase herself in front of the camera...

But she was aware that all of this was a gift from Gu Heng to Lin Jiayun...

Without Gu Heng, if Lin Jiayun had tried to pull this off, she probably would’ve been eliminated from the internet celebrity circle a long time ago...

But what of it?

Now, Lin Jiayun had no worries about food or drink, drove Gu Heng’s multimillion-dollar Bentley Flying Spur, lived in a multimillion-dollar mansion purchased by Gu Heng, and to put it crudely, thanks to Gu Heng, Lin Jiayun had reached what most women dream of as their finish line in life...

Even someone non-competitive like He Jing sometimes couldn’t help but feel jealous of her...

Seeing He Jing’s near-collapse demeanor, Gu Heng, although somewhat reluctant to keep hitting her when she was down, still couldn’t help but say, "In today’s society, whether you can succeed or live comfortably has little to do with how hard you work."

He Jing, somewhat unconvinced, asked, "Then what does it have a lot to do with?"

"Choices. Sometimes, if you choose correctly, you don’t even need to take a step; you can rise above others and enjoy what others can’t."

"Like who?"

"Like Lin Jiayun."

"..."

Gu Heng closed his eyes, leaned back in the passenger seat, and slowly continued, "Actually, you could choose the same path as Lin Jiayun. Whatever she has, you could have too, even more than what she has received.

I’m going to take a nap; wake me when we arrive."

Gu Heng felt he had laid enough groundwork for He Jing.

Certainly, he wouldn’t keep laying groundwork like he did for Ouyang Nana.

Now was the opportunity.

Taking advantage of her current confusion, he’d strike directly into her heart, and then naturally progress to her body.

Although doing so was somewhat exploitative...

It was definitely not despicable.

Wasn’t he just helping an ambitious young woman achieve her dreams? How was that despicable?

After listening to Gu Heng’s words, He Jing looked at his face for a long time without speaking...

As an internet professional, she knew every piece of news about Gu Heng, and she understood that he was a billionaire beyond her imagination...

If she agreed to Gu Heng, she could continue working in her favorite industry, possibly even become a little star, without worrying about any hidden rules...

And she had witnessed Lin Jiayun’s lifestyle...

She too wanted to drive a multimillion-dollar luxury car, live in a multimillion-dollar mansion, and carry hundreds of thousands worth of luxury designer bags.

But the thought that the man in front of her was her close friend’s "boyfriend" stopped her from crossing that moral barrier in her heart... @@novelbin@@

She had to forcefully stop herself from thinking about these things...

But the more she tried not to think about it, the heavier the thoughts weighed on her, as if a little devil was manipulating her, making her almost agree to Gu Heng’s proposal...

After struggling for who knows how long, He Jing eventually just sighed and said nothing, honestly starting the car.

And Gu Heng, whose eyes had been slightly narrowed, now shut them completely, a slow smile spreading across his lips.

It was almost done.

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Just one final push was all it’d take.