Movie variety show soul travels between two worlds to become a rich man

Chapter 570 Seeking Official Position: A Joke Becomes Reality
"No need to look, it's genuine."

Gao Dongxu smiled at Fang Zhen and said softly, his right hand, which was around Laura's waist, moved down and patted her gently, "Two cups of coffee—"

The beautiful and alluring Laura smiled, gave him a charmingly disdainful look, turned around, and gracefully walked towards the kitchen with her long, slender legs.

Fang Zhen gently placed the rabbit head back on the table, his fingertips lingering on the cool bronze surface for a moment, as if bidding a final farewell to this national treasure lost overseas. He looked up at Gao Dongxu, who was sitting leisurely opposite him, his gaze filled with complex and unfathomable emotions.

Gao Dongxu's slender fingers pulled two cigarettes from the pack, casually tossing one to Fang Zhen. The cigarette traced an elegant arc in the air, and Fang Zhen caught it reflexively. He noticed it was a special edition Panda cigarette, the gold-plated national treasure design on the filter tip gleaming with understated luxury under the light.

With a "snap," a cluster of pale blue flame flickered in Gao Dongxu's Dupont lighter. He lowered his head slightly to light a cigarette, the rising smoke blurring his sharply defined profile. Fang Zhen took out his Zippo; the metallic click of the cap opening was particularly crisp in the quiet room, the flame illuminating his slightly trembling fingertips.

“Young Master Gao,” Fang Zhen took a deep drag of his cigarette, letting the nicotine temporarily calm his turbulent emotions, “since we met, have I ever offended you, have I?” His voice carried a deliberately suppressed grievance, like a child whose toy had been snatched away by a friend.

Gao Dongxu chuckled, his smoke rings slowly spreading between them. He leaned back lazily in his chair and said, "Alright, Lao Fang, stop complaining. Even though the news came from you, you arrived in Paris more than a week before me."

He narrowed his eyes, a playful smile curving his lips. "You know the rules of this business better than I do. It's all about skill; you can't blame anyone else."

Fang Zhen shook his head with a wry smile: "Don't even mention it. We were tricked by those Frenchmen this time." He suddenly leaned forward, a sharp glint in his eyes. "Young Master Gao, I'm really curious, how did you get JC to willingly hand over the rabbit's head?"

Gao Dongxu flicked his cigarette ash, the Patek Philippe on his wrist reflecting a cold light. He raised an eyebrow at Fang Zhen, a hint of mocking pleasure flashing in his eyes: "It's simple, I had someone invite members of his team over." He paused deliberately, enjoying the gradual change in Fang Zhen's expression, "Of course, he initially refused, but after my 'enthusiastic invitation,' he finally agreed."

"This..." Fang Zhen's Adam's apple bobbed, and he nearly dropped his cigarette. He forced a smile. "Young Master Gao's skills are indeed extraordinary. But these methods are a bit too..."

"Too reckless?" Gao Dongxu picked up the conversation, his smile suddenly vanishing. His motion to stub out his cigarette carried an undeniable force. "In China, I can be a law-abiding good boy..."

His voice suddenly turned cold. "But abroad, I only recognize two things—" He held up two fingers, "money, and guns."

Fang Zhen's pupils contracted sharply, and a fine layer of cold sweat broke out on his back. For the first time, he saw the sharp glint in the eyes of this young man who always wore a cynical smile.

Gao Dongxu stood up, the wrinkles in his suit trousers smoothing out cleanly with his movement. He walked to the window, looking down at the scenery below: "You haven't studied or lived in Europe or America, so you don't understand that they only superficially proclaim civilization and law; in reality, it's still a dog-eat-dog world."

His fingertips lightly traced the steam on the glass. "To gain the upper hand when dealing with a bunch of descendants of bandits whose ancestors made their fortunes through plunder, you have to be more like a bandit than them."

As he turned, the sunlight cast sharp shadows on his sharply defined face: "Take this rabbit head, for example. JC stole it from Earl Matthew's castle, but the earl preferred to send his men to take it back rather than call the police. Because this thing was stolen from the Old Summer Palace by their ancestors!"

Fang Zhen's breathing became rapid. He saw something chilling burning in Gao Dongxu's eyes; it wasn't just simple ferocity, but an extreme calmness born from a thorough understanding of the rules.

"In this dog-eat-dog world of predator culture," Gao Dongxu's voice was as soft as if he were telling a secret, "the law is nothing more than a cage drawn by the strong for the weak. The real predators."

He walked over to Fang Zhen, the scent of cologne mixed with tobacco wafting towards him, and gently patted his shoulder, saying, "They all set the rules with their fangs."

Fang Zhen's heart pounded violently. He truly hadn't expected that this seemingly harmless, merely lecherous, and even someone he had a good impression of and intended to befriend because Gao Dongxu wasn't the arrogant, domineering, or power-hungry second-generation rich kid, was hiding a beast deep inside.

Darkness, unbridled, ruthless and domineering, believing in the survival of the fittest.

The still-burning cigarette trembled slightly between his fingers, and ash fell softly to the floor, much like some of his beliefs crumbling at that moment.

"coffee--"

At this moment, the beautiful and sexy Laura came over with two cups of coffee and placed them on the table. Fang Zhen hurriedly thanked her with a dry laugh.

Laura smiled slightly at Fang Zhen, then gracefully turned and walked away, without interrupting their conversation.

Fang Zhen looked at Gao Dongxu, who was holding up his coffee cup with a smile on his lips, and said with a wry smile, "Alright, I was naive. Young Master Gao, now that you have the rabbit head, what's your next step?"

"Hehe. Guess—" Gao Dongxu raised an eyebrow, a sly glint in his eyes. Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a mysterious golden glow on his profile.

Fang Zhen shook his head and chuckled, "You certainly won't bring it back to China through normal channels, so you can't sell it openly. You can only go through underground transactions, but that's definitely illegal. How about our Cultural Relics Protection Bureau helps you contact museums in China, and you can sell it at a lower price?" "Hehe, who said I wanted to sell it?" Gao Dongxu said with a smile, sipping his coffee.

"Huh? Not for sale? You want to keep it for yourself?" Fang Zhen was a little surprised. After all, based on his understanding of Gao Dongxu, this young master Gao only treated antiques as a business, making money was his top priority, and he didn't have the demeanor of a collector at all.

“I’m going to donate it—” Gao Dongxu put down his coffee cup, smiled and reached out to stroke the rabbit head, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Fang Zhen, whose eyes were wide with shock at the answer.

"Really? Young Master Gao, you can't be joking about something like this. You really want to donate it to the country?!" Fang Zhen stood up excitedly, the solid wood chair scraping against the floor with a harsh sound. His voice trembled with excitement.

He genuinely hadn't expected Gao Dongxu to have such awareness and make such a decision. However, remembering the other man's penny-pinching nature, Fang Zhen immediately smiled and said, "Young Master Gao, if you have any additional conditions, you can tell me. If I can't agree to them, I can report it to Director Luo, and he'll try his best to meet them. Subsidies for the repatriation of cultural relics, tax breaks, media publicity..."

His speech became faster and faster, as if he was worried that Gao Dongxu would change his mind.

"Hey, Lao Fang, I'm really disappointed. I never thought I was such a mercenary person in your eyes." Gao Dongxu looked regretful and disappointed, like a misunderstood child, shaking his head and sighing softly.

"Ahem... Young Master Gao, I was wrong, please stop joking. Seriously, are you really going to donate the rabbit head to the country?" Fang Zhen sat down, both amused and exasperated, then looked intently at Gao Dongxu to confirm.

“No,” Gao Dongxu uttered softly, and seeing Fang Zhen’s face turn pale instantly, he suddenly smiled and continued, “Not only the rabbit head, but also the rat head and the rooster head, all three zodiac animal heads, I want to donate them all to the country.”

"What!?" This time, Fang Zhen really couldn't sit still anymore. His face turned red, his eyes widened, and he jumped up from his chair. He excitedly grabbed Gao Dongxu's hand, which was on the table, and said in a trembling voice, staring intently into Gao Dongxu's eyes, "Young Master Gao, this is not something to joke about. Are you serious!?"

"Young Master Gao!" His voice was hoarse and barely audible. "Do you know what these three national treasures mean? Of the twelve zodiac animal statues from the Old Summer Palace, only five have already returned. These..."

Fang Zhen was genuinely excited to donate three bronze animal heads at once. Each animal head could fetch tens of millions of yuan at auction, so the three heads were worth two or three hundred million yuan.

He simply couldn't believe that this young, powerful man, whom he thought was only interested in profit, would actually donate three national treasures free of charge!
"Alright, let go. Don't get so worked up. I'm not going to run away, so why are you so nervous?" Gao Dongxu said irritably, slapping away Fang Zhen's hand that was gripping his wrist.

"Ahem, sorry, sorry, Young Master Gao, I got too excited. Hehe, I didn't expect that the rat head and the rooster head would both be in your hands. It's great to have all three animal heads back at once..." Fang Zhen was genuinely excited and happy.

"Hehe, don't get so excited yet. I can donate the three animal heads to the country, but..."

"Just name your conditions. As long as they don't violate the law or principles, we can discuss them." Fang Zhen smiled at Gao Dongxu, feeling relieved. Sure enough, he was still the familiar Young Master Gao. If he didn't mention any conditions, he would feel a little uncomfortable.

"Hehe, let me tell you, you can't make the decision yourself. You should call Director Luo. I'll talk to him personally," Gao Dongxu said with a smile as he sipped his coffee.

"Okay, wait a moment, I'll call Director Luo right away." Fang Zhen also knew that the conditions Gao Dongxu offered in exchange for the three animal heads were definitely not something he could decide.

The call was quickly connected, and Fang Zhen excitedly reported the situation to Director Luo in a trembling voice. Gao Dongxu listened with a smile as Director Luo's equally excited voice came through the phone.

“Director Luo wants to talk to you personally—” Fang Zhen immediately handed the phone to Gao Dongxu.

"Hmm." Gao Dongxu smiled and took the phone, saying, "Hello. Director Luo—"

"Haha, Xiao Gao, tell me your conditions—"

Hearing Director Luo's excited voice, Gao Dongxu smiled and nodded at Fang Zhen while holding his phone. As he walked towards the bedroom, he chuckled, "Hehe, don't worry, Director Luo, my conditions aren't demanding..."

Fang Zhen saw Gao Dongxu enter the bedroom and close the door. He knew he couldn't hear the details of the deal. Although he was curious about what conditions Gao Dongxu would propose, he would just wait patiently since Gao Dongxu didn't want him to hear.

"I want an official position. I want to establish a special secret department under the Cultural Relics Protection Bureau, headed by me, with ten armed staff. Its authority will be to handle all cases related to tomb raiding, loss of cultural relics, and recovery of lost artifacts... I've even thought of a code name for the department—749... Director Luo, are you listening?"

Gao Dongxu's eyes sparkled with excitement, and he spoke eloquently with a smile playing on his lips.

(End of this chapter)