Superstar's Development Diary
Chapter 114: Testing Human Nature

Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Testing Human Nature

He Jinxia saw so much money, but her expression didn’t change a bit, instead, it was Cheng Xiaohua’s shocked look that made her laugh.

Her eyes slightly curved, she said with a smile, "Aren’t you going to count how much money there is?"

Cheng Xiaohua snapped back to reality and quickly started counting. By the time she had finished calculating today’s earnings, her mind was still in a haze, which had only deepened.

A thousand-dollar initial cost had yielded a return more than six times over—how could one not be astonished?

People were actually buying!

Nobody actually stole the money!

Had the world suddenly become this loving, or had she been living in a fake world before?

To hell with the coldness of the Mortal World, if she had embraced Fat Emperor’s mindset earlier, would she already be living a millionaire’s life?

He Jinxia organized the money in order of denominations and looked up to see Cheng Xiaohua with her mouth agape and a longing expression.

She patted her shoulder and calmly said, "Have a little ambition, your drool is coming out."

Cheng Xiaohua immediately closed her mouth and instinctively reached to wipe—nothing was there.

Cheng Xiaohua: "..."

Laughter burst from beside her; turning her head, He Jinxia was now helplessly laughing on the bed: "Haha, Sister Xiao Hua, why are you so silly!"

Cheng Xiaohua glared at her and quickly pulled her sitting body up, enthusiastically saying, "Shall we continue the stall tomorrow? But we don’t have any more fruit, shall we buy some early tomorrow before setting up?

Alas, I should have bought some back today—I didn’t know it would be this lucrative. Some people even generously gave more money! Jinxia, you’re going to be rich!"

He Jinxia’s smile faded, and she shook her head, "Sister Xiao Hua, I’m not going to set up anymore."

While Cheng Xiaohua was still fantasizing about making a fortune in Film City, He Jinxia’s words hit her like a cold splash, and she froze.

"Why not set up? Isn’t it going well now?"

He Jinxia looked at her with a serious and earnest expression, "But this was just an experiment, from beginning to end, just an experiment. I told you yesterday, now that the experiment is completed, there’s no need to continue."

Cheng Xiaohua did remember what He Jinxia said yesterday about the self-service fruit sale relating to some study of societal changes and trust between people, but she hadn’t taken it to heart.

Who would spend thousands on such an impractical research, not being some kind of anthropologist or sociologist?

But seeing He Jinxia now...

Cheng Xiaohua swallowed hard and asked quietly, "Fat Emperor, are you really not setting up anymore?"

He Jinxia nodded firmly and calmly said, "Yeah, I’m not setting up anymore, from the start, it was to conduct an experiment."

Initially, when Sheng Yan first mentioned this method, she had fantasized about earning money for a few days, but then Sheng Yan warned her few words and doused all her enthusiasm.

She looked at Cheng Xiaohua and said, "This experiment is risky. We can ensure the fruits are fresh but ultimately didn’t supervise them. What if someone with a grudge tampered with our fruits? There are many celebrities coming and going in Film City. Even a minor issue can attract significant attention, that’s one aspect.

Another aspect is, the money jar wasn’t stolen today, but what about tomorrow, the day after, or the days following? Real money is just sitting there; it’s there for the taking, and all it takes is a stretch of the hand. How would you feel? That also tests a part of human nature."

All these words were what Sheng Yan had told her that day, instantly pulling He Jinxia back from her beautiful fantasy into a perilous reality.

The experiment looked simple, but the things it tested were anything but simple.

When He Jinxia heard this, she didn’t even want to do the experiment. However, it was Sheng Yan who comforted her, telling her that according to his analysis, nothing would go wrong on the first day, and encouraged her to carry out the experiment to provide a reference data for the great research, so she reluctantly agreed to do it.

From somewhere nearby, Cheng Xiaohua’s voice came weakly, "Fat Emperor, aren’t there surveillance cameras at the scene? It shouldn’t be... so unlucky..."

The more she spoke, the less confident Cheng Xiaohua sounded.

He Jinxia shook her head and said in a gentle and soft voice, "Sister Xiao Hua, never test human nature; it’s the most elusive thing.

The first success was largely due to people’s curiosity, but the second time might not be the same. I agreed to do this experiment initially because a friend asked me to help him with it. If something went wrong, he would take responsibility, but only for the first time."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xiaohua sighed disheartened and said, "Alright, you make a lot of sense."

Soon, her thoughts drifted elsewhere, and she asked curiously, "Who is this friend of yours, a scholar specializing in humanities and social sciences?"

This question took He Jinxia aback.

A vision of Sheng Yan’s proud and aloof demeanor flashed through her mind, and He Jinxia couldn’t help but curl the corners of her lips, saying, "He’s not a scholar, but if something happens to me, he will definitely cover for me."

Even though she hadn’t deliberately learned about Sheng Yan’s family background, she had gathered a bit from Mrs. He’s few words here and there.

A person of such pride, even if he didn’t become a top superstar, he would probably achieve great success in other areas.

Seeing the soft smile on He Jinxia’s face, Cheng Xiaohua’s brow furrowed imperceptibly, a strange feeling emerging within her.

But what that feeling was, she couldn’t quite say.

When Cheng Xiaohua returned to her own room and woke up from a dream in the middle of the night, a sudden epiphany hit her—the expression on He Jinxia just now was that of a woman admiring a man.

Thus, Cheng Xiaohua tossed and turned, thinking about it all night long, and splendidly suffered from insomnia.

Is He Jinxia’s romantic relationship important?

Of course, it is!

If she really was in a romantic relationship, the whole team would need to replan her future career path and prepare for the possibility of her romance being exposed. If the paparazzi unexpectedly blew the lid off, it could potentially affect her entire career as a star.

Cheng Xiaohua, who was rare to become Fat Emperor’s assistant, naturally hoped for Fat Emperor’s career to proceed without a hitch, so she could bask in the reflected glory. If Fat Emperor’s image suffered, her job would naturally be affected as well.

The next day, when He Jinxia opened the door, she saw her assistant with panda eyes.

He Jinxia asked in confusion, "Sister Xiao Hua, did you not sleep well last night?"

Cheng Xiaohua coughed a few times, "Hmm, had a bit of insomnia. Breakfast is ready, you should go eat."

He Jinxia, unsuspecting of anything, sat down to eat her breakfast.

While she was eating, Cheng Xiaohua felt restless and anxious, something He Jinxia picked up on.

After finishing her porridge, He Jinxia looked at her silently and said, "Sister Xiao Hua, is there something you want to tell me?"