Chapter 52

: First Impressions
Translator: 
Lonelytree 
 Editor: 
Millman97
Han Chu was the name of Fang Mo’s Ivy League friend. A graduate from one of the top schools in the world who had entered the head-hunting business, this action of his had confused many of his friends and classmates.
Of course, each line of work has its own unique pride, so beyond that confusion, none of them looked down on his choice, especially in a foreign environment where personal enjoyment was placed above wealth and status. Even a professor could resign from their post to be a volunteer, so Han Chu’s action when placed in such a society that regarded personal freedom highly was not so strange.
Han Chu’s action might have been looked down upon in China, thinking he was wasting his talent and youth, but in foreign countries, he was praised for having the courage to pursue his individual value and purpose in life. Compared to Fang Mo, who was a model citizen in the elder generation’s eyes, Han Chu was technically an example of what not to do.
Regardless of the chaos Han Chu had caused with his career choice after graduation, he had eventually made a name for himself in the field and was having a good time at it.
After hearing Fang Mo’s recommendation, Han Chu was quite interested in this martial arts master introduced by his friend. It was not that he did not have a physically impressive individual among his contacts, but these people were normally expendable; they were either hired as long-term personal guards by clients or lost their ability to work after participating in high-risk cases.
Furthermore, according to Fang Mo, this martial arts master also seemed to be a genius. Han Chu knew Fang Mo was not one to exaggerate, so even if the person had no professional certification, he was considering the possibility of enrolling this person into his private storage of Foxes. When he heard Fang Mo say that the person had shown interest in his work, coming to appraise the talent was the natural next step.
Han Chu did not look down on women. It was merely that he had expected that Fang Mo’s friend would be male. Furthermore, Han Chu had just accepted a case that he wanted to start working on immediately, and the case would not fit a female that well.

…
After hearing the reflexive shock on the other end of the phone, Ye Shuang was also silent for a few seconds before uttering with disappointed sigh.
What? A woman can’t enter this field?

Han Chu did not even make the effort to conceal his disappointment.
So be it, a woman it’ll be.

He was sure he could find some other Foxes to take up this new case. At the end of the day, a new talent was more important than a case because they were rarer, and a talent could be used repeatedly, unlike a case.
I’ll go find you this afternoon; you’re free, right?

Even though it was phrased in the form of a question, it sounded more like an order. In any case, Han Chu did not think that the other party would not be free. For one, he had heard from Fang Mo that Ye Shuang was currently unemployed and was planning to find some work through him, and for another, it was the weekend.
Regardless, life was that funny; it had a way of throwing a wrench in the works. Ye Shuang uttered after a moment’s hesitation,
Do you mind changing the date, or moving it to tonight? I’ve promised a friend to help her appraise a horse this afternoon.


Horse appraisal? There sure are plenty of horse races today, and here I thought… Wait a minute, is the horse appraisal you’re talking about for the race at the Countryside Racecourse this afternoon?
Han Chu was surprised by the coincidence. Then his exasperation turned into intrigue.
Not bad, truly not bad, so you’re the horse appraiser representing San Lin City?

Han Chu was fascinated. Based on the voice on the phone, Han Chu would have no problem believing it belonged to a prim and proper young lady from a Great House. But from what Fang Mo had told him and from what he had heard so far, this person was not a normal hidden talent; she even knew how to appraise horses. Looks like she does know plenty of things!

Han Chu’s voice peaked with interest.
Then, I shall see you at the racecourse! By the way, the rider for the Capital Team was personally hand-picked by yours truly, so if you win this competition, you can start by taking Level C cases from me directly in the future.

Hoping to make this more interesting, mostly for himself, Han Chu offered this additional perk. Even the best talent would start with Level F cases to get themself familiar with the job. There would be a training partnership system where the rookie had to follow the more experienced Foxes on cases before they were allowed to take independent cases. To be able to take Level C cases on entry level, Han Chu was giving too much face to both Ye Shuang and Fang Mo.
Alas, his kindness did not affect Ye Shuang, who had no idea of the inner-workings of the job structure. Before this, she did not even know head-hunting cases were delineated according to difficulty; therefore, her focus was not on the same thing as Han Chu. Instead she gasped,
Win the competition? But the problem is, I only appraise horses; I do not race them myself. No matter how good I am at my job, it will only contribute a slight advantage to the actual race. Don’t you think your request is a bit fantastical?


Fan…
Han Chu almost choked.
In any case, it’s up to you whether you want to take the chance or not; I’m only interested in the outcome.

The phone call soon concluded. At least it did not end up with both parties yelling at each other, but it was true that they did not see eye to eye on the supposed ‘test’.
At the end of the day, Ye Shuang’s horse appraisal was doing her friend a favor. She was not there as a professional horse appraiser, so no matter how good the group of socialites’ first impression was of her, it was unrealistic to expect them to follow her every word.
So, the only thing she could do was find the best horse from the bunch to compete with the best horse flown over from England. That alone was hard task, but combined with the difference in the level of the riders themselves…
Ye Shuang saw Han Chu’s request as unreasonable and absurd.
Equally, Han Chu saw Ye Shuang’s multiple excuses as a sign of someone difficult to work with. In any case, both parties had a bad first impression of each other.
After a while, before Ye Shuang could come up with a solution to win the race, the call from Sister Yuan came.