Chapter 96: Finding Her First Case
Eva's sister did not know about her own sister part-timing in a kind of job that had existed since time immemorial. This was perfectly normal. If the little girl knew, she would not have this push-over personality, and Eva herself would want to keep it a secret. She wanted to have a life of ease and have a supporter who would help her career in the entertainment business. So, naturally, she had to give something back. Without talent or experience, she would have to rely on some other method to survive.
However, that did not mean that she wanted the world to know the kind of lifestyle she was leading, especially in front of her little sister, who had no interest in the entertainment industry.
Ye Shuang did not expect that saving this innocent little rabbit would lead back to the thousand-year-old vixen. After all, they were not even of the same species. In any case, she was not going to waste her energy thinking about it. If a ready-made clue was going to present itself to her all wrapped and ready, she was not going to say no.
Eva hesitated in the presence of her sister. Even though it did not like being threatened, she soon realized that the leaking of this message would not affect herself personally, so she glanced at her little sister, who was looking their way with interest, before whispering hurriedly, "That woman hasn't left the state; she's residing in a small village in the south-eastern region of the state where Mr. Chen's company has an ongoing project. The project manager is looking after her, and if you follow this lead, you'll find her soon enough."
Ye Shuang smiled naturally as if she had heard where she could buy the cheapest vegetable. "Thank you."
Eva sighed before glaring at the handsome man. "Keep your mouth shut. I don't want any rumors circulating at the school."
This man is already way past his schooling age, so why is he hanging out with so many students‽ It's not even a famous school.
"Don't worry." Ye Shuang shrugged to claim her innocence. To be fair, she had not thought of spreading gossip.
The night soon ended. The next morning, on the way to work, Ye Shuang gave Han Chu a call, asking what the protocol was if there was a ready case that she would like to take.
Han Chu said that she should find the client and then find the talent; she could not accept it personally. The most important limitation to an agent was that they could not take the case themselves. This was not an issue of payment but preservation of the product chain. If she accepted this case because the payment was lucrative or simply because she had the time, then she would be stealing the work of her talents.
All the good resources were taken by the agent, and the talents were given the sloppy seconds. This would leave a bad taste in the mouths of the people who cooperated with her, and that would not be good for her future.
Therefore, the actual job scope of an agent was being the middleman. The higher the number of cases that had been completed, the greater the total commission, and the stronger the link between herself and the talents as well as the clients. Even if she stumbled across a case for which she was perfect, she would still have to introduce it to her talents.
Of course, since she was perfect for the case, she could lower the difficulty of the case by giving more hints and information, thus increasing the commission ratio.
For example, for A level cases, the commission ratio was ten percent, but with the clues she provided, the case's difficulty level would drop to D or E. The reward money would remain the same, but the commission ratio would increase at least by threefold. In other words, the commission ratio for A level cases had remained the same, but for the others, it had been raised.
The original ratio that Chen He had offered Ye Shuang was two percent, but after some grumbling from Yao Zhixing, her ratio was raised.
Ye Shuang thought about it and decided that this was a missing person case, so the difficulty level should be around E. She could negotiate the case with the people from the An family, and the reward money would not be too low. If the reward was more than 100,000, she would be able to take a commission of about 7,000. It still felt quite little, giving others the meat while she had to satisfy herself with the soup. Why was there such a hidden rule in this world?
After communicating with Han Chu, Ye Shuang considered the possible targets for the case, and she eventually sent her sight on An Zining's parents. However, she had to acquire their number first.
Before Ye Shuang could start worrying about it, Yao Zhixing's call came. "The driver's licenses are ready. Are you coming to collect them, or shall I have my people send them to you?"
This was the power of people who had influence. Even though it was not the exam period, there were driving licenses to be had.
"I'll collect them from you after work," Ye Shuang said. "By the way, do you know the phone number of the An family's two elders?"
"An? Which An?" Yao Zhixing asked his group of lackeys. "Hey! Does anyone of you know the number for the An family?"
Then a commotion filled up the line. Soon enough someone said, "Is it Uncle An who owns an electronics business? I have his number."
Ye Shuang very luckily got a match. Her original plan of stealing An Zining's phone was thus abandoned. Then, everything else went smoothly. Ye Shuang made the phone call on the balcony and cut straight to the point.
The name of San Lin City's agent was quite useful. Ye Shuang said that she could help them find Mr. Chen's pregnant mistress and asked if would they like to hire her services. Mr. An, who was with the Chen family at that moment, did not doubt her ability but tactfully said that they could talk about this later as it was not a convenient occasion for him.
However, Ye Shuang did not catch the hint. She said that if everyone was agreeable to the conditions, she would go over then with the contract, and after An family signed it, she would have her people depart on the train immediately. After all, this case could not be dragged on any longer; the negotiation would be more difficult after the mistress' stomach became larger.
Chen He's father asked with a concerned frown, "In-law, do you have something important to do? If that's the case, we can talk about this later. After all, we cannot intervene too much into the younger generation's business."
Even if your daughter refuses to take back our son, we're not worried because we still have another grandson.
Father An changed his attitude. After he hung up the phone, he typed a message to send while smiling kindly. "Sure, we should take about this later. By the way, I have come into a new brand of tea leaves..."
Don't be happy so soon, when the mistress is found, let's see how confident you are then...
The two old foxes smiled at each other like they were the best of friends. At the same time, Ye Shuang followed the number given by Father An to call An Zining's mother.
Things could not have been smoother with Mother An. She had been trying to find that mistress for a long time already, but the investigators in San Lin City were useless. They had been giving no progress. Ye Shuang said that she had confidence that they could find the mistress for her. Mother An did not care whether Ye Shuang was lying or not; after all, she would just not pay if the people could not be found.
"150,000 for the exact address, 200,000 if you bring the person before me! If you cannot do that in fifteen days, then the case is closed." Mother An gave the conditions readily.
Ye Shuang smiled. "Then I will visit you with the contract now. By the way, do you mind helping me request leave from Sister An? Currently, I'm on working hours."
...
There was template for the contract, so Ye Shuang only needed to change a few details. After signing the contract with Mother An, Ye Shuang still had to assign the case. She was too lazy to search through San Lin City's talent list, so when she returned, she dropped the case contract before Lawyer Lin. "Does your workshop accept missing person cases? E level case, the location and clues have all been settled. Basically, you only need to send someone to confirm the exact address and intercept the target; the reward is either 150,000 or 200,000."
Lawyer Lin was surprised by this sudden offer. After he read the contract, he asked, "Where is the target? How did you know about her location? And is the source trustworthy?"
"I'm 80 percent confident." Ye Shuang poured herself a glass of water. "The source is confidential. If your workshop wants to take this case, you can depart tonight. If not, I'll go and find someone else."
Lawyer Lin made a call that sounded like he was discussing with the boss of the workshop. He then nodded before jotting down a name. He accepted one set of the contract and handed back the other. "We'll take it. Keep this for yourself."
Ye Shuang put away the contract and was about to leave when she received a call from her mother. What a busy day.
Mother Ye's excited voice came through the line. "Xiao Shuang, your advertisement is finally released! You're so handsome! Have you seen it? It's being shown on the local station Channel 2; you look so photogenic on screen!"
For real‽ Ye Shuang turned back to the living room. She apologized to Lawyer Lin before turning on the television. One second later, when the screen came on, an advertisement showed her male persona standing on the balcony barefooted, leaning against the bannister and looking at the sunset. Then the contact number of Fang Mo's company rolled on screen.
Lawyer Lin looked at the man on screen and then looked at Ye Shuang beside him. He nodded to himself before advising kindly, "Brother Wong should have kept a pair of sunglasses in the house, albeit the styling is a little... In any case, do you need a pair?"
"...Do you think I really need one‽"
Ye Shuang had almost forgotten she had shot an advertisement because too many things had happened since then. Now she realized that since Fang Mo's company was the leading local company, the advertising effect was going to be powerful. However, Ye Shuang was curious about why there was not a single shot of Fang Fei. Didn't they shoot the advertisement together?
Lawyer Lin said with a smile, "Even though I am slightly envious, I have to say you are easily recognizable. Of course, it is your prerogative to not use the sunglasses, but I personally advise you to use them."
Ye Shuang silent for half a minute. "Do we have a mask?"