Astral Ascendant: My Goldfinger's Forte is Deception

Debut Performance

The next day.

Auntie Wang went to work as usual.

Meanwhile, Zhao Fao did not prepare for school but downloaded some applications on his phone instead.

His foster brother, Wei Jun peered over his shoulders and frowned.

"Why are you borrowing money from loan apps, brother?"

Zhao Fao hid the screen and scowled at the nosy kid.

Wasn't he late for school? Surely there were better things to do on a fine morning like this?

"You're yet to prepare for school yourself," Wei Jun pointed out. "A final year student like yourself should take classes more seriously, no?"

Zhao Fao frowned and simply left for his room.

His foster brother had always been like this; nosy and all in his business.

Today, he wasn't interested in engaging in unnecessary quarrels except one.

[Mission Duration Countdown: 2 days and 8 hours]

The notification spurred Zhao Fao to act faster. He quickly registered his details on several loan apps and soon had a small fortune in his bank account.

300,000 teals!

Little Zhao Fao's account had never held such a huge amount of money before.

Even though the interest rate was a heart-wrenching 72.5% every two weeks of defaulted payment....

The amount was just enough.

Next, Zhao Fao left the house and took a cab to the suburbs.

Then he visited a couple of popular clothing store and made some purchases.

12PM sharp, he walked into Ruby Pavilion Hotel.

The receptionist took one look at the newcomer and her posture straightened instantly.

The branded suit and expensive accessories.

The lazy look in his eyes and the slight arrogance in his demeanor.

Above all, he was really good looking and had appealing aesthetics.

Clearly, the teenager was a rich young master from some prestigious family. The hotel rules stressed the importance of treating such guests with respect. As such, she got to her feet and greeted him with her sweetest voice.

Zhao Fao appeared unfazed and barely glanced at her.

"Give me a room."

"Absolutely. Shall I book a VIP suite or do you have other preferences?"

Zhao Fao was secretly relieved. The over-respectful etiquette meant his act was working.

"A VIP suite is fine."

The receptionist couldn't help but steal a couple more glances at Zhao Fao's face as she took his details.

So handsome!

If she was a couple of years younger....

She would have secretly collected his contact number.

It was such a a pity she was already married and had six kids.

When it was time for Zhao Fao to pay, he brought out his card.

The receptionist was surprised.

It was a simple black card, the type used by ordinary folks.

The rich people used customized, premium card.

On second thought, she realized something else.

The clothes Zhao Fao wore weren't actually so expensive.

The shoes he wore were a tad inferior compared to the real deal.

If an ugly person had worn the same thing as him, she would have labeled them a poor bloke trying to act rich.

It was only because Zhao Fao had handsome looks that the clothes looked natural and real on him.

The receptionist was about to speak when she heard the handsome fella grumble to himself.

It was something about how small his pocket change for the week was.

She secretly checked the balance on the card and was dazed.

275,000 taels.

Her total salary in a year was only 75,000....

Bloody hell!

She replied, "I apologize for the delay. It's harder to initiate payment transactions above 100,000 taels on common bank cards."

In other words, she was indirectly asking, "Why do you have an ordinary bank card instead of a platinum one?"

Zhao Fao grumbled again.

It was something about his father teaching him a lesson and cutting off access to his main accounts.

Even making him wear these cheap clothes as punishment...

The receptionist was dazed.

Did this even count as punishment?

The alternate account for the rich kid's weekly spendings was almost four times her yearly salary!

The world of the rich....

It truly was enviable!

Zhao Fao noticed the shift in her expression and smiled to himself.

The mission stated that he was to act like a rich young master.

And now, he successfully did that and fixed the loopholes in his act to solidify the impression.

All that was left was the next phase of the plan.

Zhao Fao secretly sent a message to Auntie Wang.

It was time....

"Can I speak to the manager?"

The receptionist looked up in alarm.

Had she done something wrong?

Zhao Fao shook his head and repeated, "I just want to speak to the manager."

"Oh!"

The receptionist quietly made a call.

It was better not to ignore the VIP's request.

Soon, the long-legged manager came to the front desk.

She was a tall, average-looking lady with too much makeup on.

"Did you call me here because of this wannabe?"

The manager was displeased.

From her many years in the industry, she was able to look past Zhao Fao's handsome features immediately.

His clothes were cheap replicas of the original...

He only had good looks to boot.

The manager hated this kind of people the most.

Humph, do you think looking pretty is all that matters?

Unsurprisingly, Zhao Fao's face darkened at her words.

"You DARE speak to me this way? Do you know who I am?"

Zhao Fao's voice was raised.

His arrogant demeanor was on full display. He was clearly livid.

Secretly, he was pleased. The fish had jumped into his net without him needing to throw a bait.

He didn't have to initiate any of the several plots he had schemed to throw the manager into a tantrum.

It was simply perfect.

A small crowd quickly formed to watch the drama.

"I don't know who you are and I don't care! Our hotel doesn't take in poor riffraff guests who ask to speak to the manager. Let me guess, you were going to bargain a reduction in the f*e?"

The receptionist spoke weakly in the background, "Manager, he...."

"Shut it!" The manager cut her short. "The next time you call me here to speak to a black card holder, you'll be fired immediately."

Th spectators were a bit lost.

The handsome young man was clearly a rich kid but the manager was being such a b*tch.

Auntie Wang suddenly made an appearance on the scene.

She was the Deputy Manager of the establishment.

She looked around and asked politely, "What's going on here?"

Zhao Fao laughed indignantly, "I just booked a VIP suite and wanted to speak to the manager about paying upfront for a period of time. Instead, she called me derogatory names and embarrassed me publicly."

"VIP payment, you say?" The manager cackled maliciously. "I doubt black cards are capable of holding that much money without getting blocked."

Auntie Wang walked to the front desk and checked the records.

"Hhm, a successful payment of a hundred thousand taels for a VIP suite thirty seconds ago?"

There was silence everywhere.

The manager froze on the spot and suddenly felt dizzy.

Her mind raced and she turned to the receptionist.

She couldn't go down for this so she would have to pin the blame on her.

"It's your fault!"

The receptionist frowned immediately.

Since this manager resumed office two weeks days ago, she had already gotten on many workers' nerves. Now, she was looking for a scapegoat to bear her offence?

Hell no!

Meanwhile, the manager was apologizing profusely to Zhao Fao, "Usually, the receptionist calls me on specific lines to indicate there's someone causing trouble at the front desk. She contacted me on the wrong line, hence my impolite behavior when I arrived just now."

The receptionist stood out and protested loudly, "There is no way in hell I'm going down for you, Manager Shu. You and I clearly know that didn't happen."

In a few words, she narrated the entire event, even including the details about Zhao Fao being a rich kid under punishment.

The crowd gasped.

Punishment was equal to a black card with over two hundred thousand teals in it as weekly stipend?

Auntie Wang frowned, "Manager Shu, you're making the establishment look bad. Please admit your fault and apologize to the gentleman truthfully."

Zhao Fao glanced at Auntie Wang and the receptionist and commented, "The professionalism of these two lovely ladies is what I'd expect from the staff of any establishment."

He brought out his phone to make a call.

Even though it was a cheap model, nobody felt it was weird.

The rich kid was clearly being punished by his parents and had to use this temporarily.

It didn't mean he wasn't stinking rich.

Auntie Wang asked Zhao Fao nervously, "Young master, may I ask who you're making a call to?"

Zhao Fao replied impassively, "One of my father's friend owns a major share in this hotel chain."

The manager was scared stiff and started to apologize profusely.

It was a pity it was too late.

Zhao Fao had already made the call.

At that moment, three hefty security men stepped into the hotel.

They were radiating powerful auras and were clearly cultivators.

"Manager Shu, you have been relieved of your role and are therefore banned from visiting any of our establishments."

Everyone was dazed. The young master's influence was that terrifying?

Actually, Zhao Fao was secretly shocked himself.

What in the convenient plot twist was going on?

He quietly hung up the fake call he was making and looked at the manager arrogantly.

One of the cultivators cupped his fists respectfully and handed him a tablet.

The screen was a video call with the owner of the hotel.

"I apologize for the inconveniences, young sir."

Zhao Fao accepted the fat man's profuse apologies.

He was even given a lifetime pass to enjoy the services of any Ruby Pavilion Hotel branch around the world.

Zhao Fao accepted it without looking too impressed.

The owner was gratified at his acceptance.

Zhao Fao suddenly spoke, "One thing though. The deputy manager and the receptionist were really professional in their conduct earlier." His words carried an unspoken insinuation.

The crowd was more impressed.

Look, this was what a young master was supposed to be like. Handsome, rich and kind.

He even took the time to seek rewards for the sensible staff present.

"I understand. The management will forward their promotion letters in a while."

Afterwards, the cultivators escorted Zhao Fao to his private suite. The drama ended just like that.

The receptionist was dazed.

Auntie Wang was both dazed and jittery.

The crowd was impressed.

******

[Ding! Demo System Mission completed successfully!