CHAPTER 133: A SECRET FRAME ON HIS DESK

Even though Lando said his meeting wouldn’t take long, I still ended up waiting for him for an entire hour. I had already walked around his office more than twenty times, checking out all the expensive things he displayed on his shelves.

That’s when I realized that his taste in art was... questionable. Most of the decorations and paintings on his walls didn’t look aesthetic at all.

There was one painting that was literally just a bunch of abstract lines. When I searched it up online, I found out it was worth at least three million and was supposed to represent "a chaotic life."

Yeah... I still didn’t see it.

It felt like all the artwork in his office was just his way of storing money. After all, if he ever wanted to sell them, he wouldn’t have to pay taxes.

Well, even if his taste was strange, at least he didn’t hang nude paintings in his office. Maybe not all rich men, but a lot of the wealthy guys I met back then always had a nude painting somewhere in their office or their house.

People would say it’s just a natural representation of the human body, but if the pose looks sensual, then it’s still objectifying women’s bodies.

But honestly, what could I expect from them? Most rich people have weird hobbies just to feel something.

I glanced around his desk and noticed there were no family photos, but that made sense. His entire family consisted of bastards, and he wouldn’t be dumb enough to leave anything personal on the desk of the so-called "Mr. Lan."

When I was about to sit back down on the sofa, I spotted a picture tucked under a messy stack of papers on the desk.

My eyes widened as soon as I pulled it out. "I didn’t expect him to keep this," I whispered to myself.

It was a picture we took when we went on a date at the mall. The photo was inside a small frame, and it looked like he had quickly hidden it under a stack of files at the last minute.

In other words... he usually kept this picture on his desk. But why? It wasn’t even a formal photo, just something we took in a photobooth.

But the picture was adorable, though. I also displayed mine in my room.

When I heard the door open, I immediately slipped the frame back under the documents and quickly stepped away from his desk.

"Husband, you’re back!" I greeted him with a smile as he walked in. "I thought your meeting would take longer."

Lando’s face, which had looked tired earlier—probably because the meeting was awful—suddenly brightened when our eyes met, or maybe I was imagining it. Who knows.

"Helcia, I’m sorry," he said softly, pushing his wheelchair further into the office. "I didn’t expect the meeting to drag on like that."

I tilted my head. "Was there a serious problem?"

Please don’t tell me this company is going bankrupt before I get the chance to buy their shares?!

"No, nothing’s wrong. Actually, it’s the opposite." Lando let the door close behind him. "You’ve heard about the game Zentra is about to release, right?"

I walked toward him and nodded. "Yes. Love in The Jungle."

"It’s already entered the final stage, and because of that, I had to spend a long time reviewing the full report in detail." He paused for a moment and cleared his throat. "Since Mr. Lan couldn’t attend the meeting today, I had to take his place."

Right.

Of course he also needed to make sure I wouldn’t get suspicious when I saw him acting like someone truly important in this company.

Without wasting any time, I said, "Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about."

I told him that I wanted to buy shares of Love in The Jungle before the game was released. Lando looked surprised at first because he probably thought I didn’t have that much money yet.

"Buying shares while they’re still cheap is a good decision," Lando said gently, "but since this project is still new, there’s always a chance the game might fail. And if it does, you’ll lose your money. Anything you put into the shares won’t come back."

I understood that very well. That was why, at first, I didn’t want to use half of my money to buy the shares. But Penny kept reminding me that I couldn’t buy less than 50%, so I didn’t have any other choice.

"But I believe in you," I said with a smile. "I’ve never once heard Zentra fail at anything, whether it’s movies or the streaming department. So I also believe that you can make this game successful."

Lando’s pupils trembled a little, though I couldn’t tell if it was because he was touched... or worried that I had somehow figured out his true identity.

"I mean... I believe in Mr. Lan, of course," I added quickly. "But since he’s not here, I have to talk to the person he trust the most."

I was really just saying whatever came to mind, but at least it kept Lando from getting suspicious. Besides, he was doing the same thing to me anyway.

A moment later, Lando helped guide me through the process of buying the shares. When I was about to transfer the money, he held my hand a little tighter and asked, "Are you sure? It’s a lot of money."

I had $625,976 in my account, which meant I had to hand over at least $312,988. That amount probably looked tiny to Lando, but since he knew my income—aside from Penny’s rewards—was still small, he seemed to be wondering how I even got that much money in the first place.

"Don’t worry, I’ll get new income once my filming starts," I said with a smile, lying. "And don’t worry, I didn’t do anything strange to get this much money. It’s actually the payment I received from the Rosèlle Beauty endorsements."

Rosèlle Beauty actually hadn’t given me the percentage from the purchases made through my link yet, since they said they would transfer the money every month.

But at least the excuse sounded believable enough for Lando.