The dating reality show host just wanted to give up, but the rich girl fell for him.

The air seemed to freeze.

The bright red five hundred yuan bill lay out of place in that Chanel bag.

Lin Mo took a deep breath.

Those eyes, which were usually half-open and half-closed, as if they were perpetually asleep, suddenly opened wide at that moment.

Deep within his pupils, it seemed as if a burning fire was flickering.

That pride, ingrained in his bones from being a top craftsman in his past life, was abruptly awakened by these few banknotes and the provocative tone.

"Boss Jiang, collect the bill."

Lin Mo's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a cold, unyielding quality that left no room for argument. "This order is considered expedited."

Jiang Ruoyun was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously clutched her bag tighter.

She looked at Lin Mo's profile, and her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

This guy... how come he suddenly looks kind of handsome?

Lin Mo didn't waste any more words.

He picked up the copper ladle, which weighed at least two pounds, with one hand and stirred it vigorously in the sugar pot.

A spoonful of piping hot golden syrup was scooped up, stretching into a long, crystal-clear thread in the air.

There was no rush to put pen to paper.

Lin Mo's wrist hovered three inches above the stone slab, as if searching for some kind of rhythm.

"Playing tricks."

The bald man snorted and was about to slam his fist on the table again to urge them on.

Swish!

Lin Mo moved.

This time, it wasn't the lightness and grace I showed when drawing the rabbit earlier.

It's a wild, unrestrained style!

With a flick of the wrist, the copper spoon tilted.

The golden syrup didn't "flow" down; rather, it was "flicked" out by him with a skillful flick of his wrist!

The sugar strands collided wildly on the stone slab, splashing out, but miraculously they did not scatter. Instead, they quickly condensed into neat, irregular, scale-like patterns.

Those are the back feathers of a phoenix!

The live stream chat exploded with comments, some even appearing as afterimages.

Holy crap! Is this painting or ink splattering?

[Is this hand speed even humanly possible? I couldn't do that even after being single for thirty years!]

I don't understand it, but I'm deeply moved!

Wait a minute...look at the layers in those feathers! They're actually three-dimensional!

Experts know the intricacies.

Lin Mo's wrist was trembling with an extremely small but high frequency.

This tremor, carrying a sugary syrup, piled up layer upon layer on the stone slab.

Each stroke builds upon the still-wet syrup of the previous one, creating a hollowed-out effect reminiscent of a relief sculpture.

This is a top-tier sugar painting technique that has long been lost in modern times—

"The Flowing Dragon Brushwork"!

The key is "the brush moves like dragons and snakes, the sugar breaks but the meaning remains connected".

The phoenix raises its long neck, proud and elegant.

Huge wings spread out on both sides of the stone slab, as if blotting out the sky and the sun.

The most amazing thing is its tail feathers.

Lin Mo suddenly gathered his energy, raised his wrist high, and almost squatted down, pulling himself back in an extremely exaggerated posture!

Five long strands of sugar drew graceful parabolas in the air and landed precisely on the edge of the stone slab.

Flowing and graceful.

It was as if a breeze was blowing, and the tail feathers were really trembling!

"hiss--"

The dozens of onlookers gasped in unison.

The bald man had long since dropped the cigarette from his mouth onto the ground, burning a hole in it, but he was completely unaware.

He stared wide-eyed at the golden creature on the stone slab.

Is this candy?

This is clearly a work of art cast in gold!

last step.

Lin Mo held his breath, his wrist as steady as a rock.

A drop of the thickest, darkest caramel was gently placed on the phoenix's head.

The finishing touch!

boom!

It was as if an invisible phoenix cry exploded in everyone's ears.

The phoenix came to life.

Under the dim streetlights of the night market, it shimmered with light, looking as if it were about to take flight. The overwhelming sense of oppression and magnificence made everyone feel an urge to worship it.

Lin Mo breathed a sigh of relief.

With a clang, the copper ladle was thrown back into the pot.

He wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead, and instantly deflated like a punctured balloon, slumping back onto the small stool.

That astonishing aura vanished instantly, and he reverted to being that lazy, good-for-nothing youth.

"I'm exhausted..."

Lin Mo muttered, rubbing his sore wrists, "I'll have to pay more for this kind of strenuous work next time. Five hundred is too much of a rip-off."

The scene was silent for a full three seconds.

Then, thunderous applause and screams erupted.

"Awesome!!"

"Master! This is absolutely a master!"

"That 500 yuan was well spent! It's enough to be exhibited in a museum!"

The bald man was also stunned by this aura.

Although he was a rough man, he knew right from wrong.

Take this thing home and put it in the living room, and the prestige will be much better than any famous cigarettes or wines!

"Good! Good! Good!"

The bald man laughed three times, then reached for the golden phoenix on the stone slab. "A bet's a bet, this bird is mine!"

His hand was only halfway out.

"Smack."

A slender hand, holding a bamboo skewer, lightly blocked his path.

Lin Mo didn't even lift his eyelids, and reached out his other hand to Jiang Ruoyun: "Boss lady, take out the money."

Jiang Ruoyun was engrossed in watching when she heard this and subconsciously took out the five hundred yuan.

Lin Mo took the money and slapped it directly into the bald man's hand.

"Take the money and leave."

The bald man froze, his face contorted with rage: "What do you mean? You think the money isn't enough? I'll add another five hundred!"

"It's not about the money."

Lin Mo carefully scooped up the huge golden phoenix with a bamboo skewer.

The movements were as gentle as if they were handling a rare treasure.

He stood up and, to everyone's astonishment, turned to face Jiang Ruoyun.

"You can't control this kind of overwhelming situation."

Lin Mo looked at the bald man, a mocking smile curving his lips, then pointed at Jiang Ruoyun, "But this phoenix is ​​only worthy of my boss's wife."

After saying that, he handed the golden phoenix, which was still emitting a warm fragrance, to Jiang Ruoyun.

"Here, it's for you."

"It's inedible, but it looks nice to hold."

Jiang Ruoyun was stunned.

She held the huge sugar painting in both hands, feeling its weight.

The golden feathers shimmered under the light, making her already stunning face even more radiant and captivating.

The surrounding crowd instantly erupted in uproar.

[Ahhh! I can't take it! This is so swoon-worthy!]

[Refund but not sell? Only give away your wife? What kind of domineering CEO script is this?]

[Bald guy: Who am I? Where am I? Have I become part of your play?]

[Jiang Ruoyun's gaze... was that the way she looked at the cook? That was the way she looked at her husband!]

The bald man's face turned a deep liver color.

He'd been around this area for so long, and this was the first time he'd ever been humiliated like this.

But looking at the pairs of eyes around him that admired Lin Mo and despised him, and considering that Lin Mo had just shown off his skills and intimidated the crowd, he knew that he was doomed to suffer a loss today.

"Fine...you've got guts!"

The bald man glared fiercely at Lin Mo, grabbed the money, and slunk away into the crowd.

"Alright, alright, let's all pack up and leave!"

Lin Mo waved his hand, as if shooing away flies, "If you want to buy some, come early tomorrow. There's no candy left today."

Actually, there was still some food left in the pot.

But he was just too lazy to draw anymore.

My hands are sore, and I feel sleepy.

However, the crowd did not disperse.

That scene was so shocking that someone recorded the whole thing on their phone.

Five minutes later.

The video, titled "A God-Level Sugar Painting Artist Appears at the Night Market, His Dragon-like Brushstrokes Reappear!", was uploaded to Douyin and quickly rose to the top of the local trending list.

……

Beijing.

In a quaint and antique study.

An elderly man with gray hair and reading glasses was scrolling through his phone out of boredom.

He is the president of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritance Association and a leading figure in the domestic sugar painting art.

"Young people these days are so restless..."

The old man sighed and was about to turn off the light and go to sleep.

My finger accidentally swiped across the screen.

A blurry video of a night market popped up.

The old man was about to swipe away, but when his eyes swept over the golden sugar lines, his fingers suddenly froze.

"etc!"

He sat up abruptly, pushed his reading glasses up, and stared intently at the screen.

In the video, the young man's wrist is undergoing that strange, high-frequency vibration.

Layers upon layers of feathers bloomed on the stone slab.

The old man's breathing became rapid, and his hands were trembling.

"This...this is..."

"The 'dragon-like' brushwork?!"

"Impossible! Wasn't this skill lost by the end of the Qing Dynasty? Even I only know a little bit of it, how could this kid perform it so smoothly?!"

The old man was so excited that his face turned red, and he stood up abruptly from his chair, almost knocking over the teacup on the table.

His hands trembled as he opened the comments section, wanting to see where he was.

"Yunhai City... Night Market..."

The old man took a deep breath and immediately dialed a phone number.

"Feed? Little Li! Wake up!"

"Book me a plane ticket to Yunhai City! The sooner the better! Even a standing ticket is fine!"

"I'm going to see a master!!"

……

The night market finally began to close.

The noise gradually subsided, leaving only scattered lights and the rustling sound of cleaners sweeping the floor.

At Lin Mo's stall.

Jiang Ruoyun sat on the small stool without any regard for her image, her high-end custom-made coat worth tens of thousands of yuan casually draped to the side.

She carefully held the golden phoenix in one hand, while her other hand was helping to count the money.

"One hundred...two hundred...five hundred..."

It was all crumpled change, some even with sugar stains on them.

But Jiang Ruoyun counted them with great interest, even more so than when she looked at financial statements at the board meeting.

"Lin Mo! Guess how much we made today?"

Jiang Ruoyun raised her head, her peach blossom eyes sparkling with stars.

Lin Mo was tidying up the pots and pans when she poured cold water on the situation without turning around: "After deducting the cost, it's only enough for you to buy a bottle of makeup remover."

"Tch! Can't you even make me happy for once?"

Jiang Ruoyun carefully arranged the thick stack of banknotes and presented it to Lin Mo as if it were a treasure.

"That's two thousand three hundred and fifty yuan in total!"

"Lin Mo, this is the first time in my life I've ever earned so much cash!"

From childhood to adulthood, money has always been just a number to her.

But this thick stack of banknotes brought an unprecedented sense of security and accomplishment.

Lin Mo turned around, looked at her greedy expression, and couldn't help but smile.

He reached out and took the money, then casually patted it in his hand.

Then, without even looking, he stuffed the whole wad of money into Jiang Ruoyun's bag, which wasn't zipped up yet.

"Take it."

Jiang Ruoyun was taken aback: "What?"

Today's wages.

Lin Mo hung the large stainless steel tea mug on his waist and dragged his tired body back.

"It's reasonable for the proprietress to be in charge of collecting the money."

Jiang Ruoyun stood there, looking at the man who was wearing flip-flops, had a slightly hunched back, yet was inexplicably tall.

She looked down at the money in her bag, then at the golden phoenix in her hand that shone brightly under the streetlight.

Suddenly, she realized that this phoenix was more precious than all the antiques she had collected at home.

"Hey! Lin Mo! Wait for me!"

She lifted the phoenix high, like a little girl who had received candy, and chased after it, her high heels clicking as she went.

"Are you coming again tomorrow? I can help you collect the money!"

"I'm not coming anymore, I'm tired."

"Come on, come on! I want to see you draw that dragon!"

"I won't draw, it's too much trouble for my hands."

The two figures walked further and further away, leaving two long shadows that looked particularly harmonious in this bustling night market.

And at the intersection not far away.

Zhao Kuo clutched the pile of glow sticks that hadn't sold at all, and seeing this scene, he was so angry he felt like his teeth were going to break.

His meticulously maintained face appeared deathly pale under the neon lights.

In my pocket, I only had two coins left over from the taxi fare.

"Lin Mo..."

Zhao Kuo slammed the glow stick to the ground.

"Why should I?!"

"Why can he make money just by setting up a street stall?! And why does that germaphobe Jiang Ruoyun have to count his dirty money for him?!"

He took out his phone, dialed the director's number, and his voice was as sinister as a venomous snake.

"Hey, director."

"Tomorrow's mission... I want that deserted island."

"I'm going to make sure that country bumpkin Lin Mo, who only knows how to perform monkey shows, dies completely on that island!"