Chapter 984: Hey, Jiang Ran, Where’s My Little Sister?

“Heh-heh, Boss, you’re awful.”

Jiang Ran teased him.

Though he said that, if it weren’t for the Danger Warning System, he really would have believed it.

He asked, “Can I touch it?”

The Boss nodded, and Jiang Ran reached out to feel it.

“Strange. Why does it feel so good? Has artificial skin really gotten this good?”

The Boss folded his arms. “Technology is advancing by leaps and bounds these days. Maybe they couldn’t make something like this before, but now all kinds of new materials can be synthesized, making anything possible.”

“Some of those high-end, custom-made dolls have skin that feels almost just like a person’s.”

Jiang Ran fell silent.

Next, the Boss pulled a wooden box out of a drawer beneath the workbench.

The box was dark brown, and Jiang Ran couldn’t tell what kind of wood it was made of.

But it had a faint, pleasant fragrance.

The Boss opened the box.

He took out a painting.

“Is this a painting? It doesn’t really look like one.”

The painting was about the size of two palms.

It had a frame and glass.

The reason it didn’t look like a painting was that paintings were usually made on a single, complete sheet of paper.

But this one was different. The so-called painting surface didn’t fill the entire frame, and its edges were irregular.

“This is a Human-Skin Thangka. It’s painted on human skin, though this is artificial human skin,” he explained, then added.

The Boss handed Jiang Ran the Human-Skin Thangka along with its box.

Jiang Ran studied the Human-Skin Thangka. It showed some sort of creature with a rather frightening, ferocious appearance.

The Boss noticed his confusion and said, “This is a Dharma Protector.”

“Oh, I see.”

Jiang Ran put the wooden box away and returned to the front with the Boss.

Now that he had what he came for, he didn’t linger.

He returned to Alice Apartment and handed the Human-Skin Thangka to Manager Wu Wen.

Manager Wu Wen took the box and opened it. He saw the Human-Skin Thangka inside, held it in his palm, moved it farther away, then brought it closer. He admired it carefully.

Jiang Ran asked, “How much is this thing of yours? I can’t appreciate it. Just imagining it sitting at home gives me the creeps.”

Manager Wu Wen said mysteriously, “Mine was free. But if you wanted to buy one, the price would start with this number.”

He held up one finger.

“Hundred?” Jiang Ran asked.

Manager Wu Wen was usually calm and composed, utterly unruffled. But Jiang Ran’s guess of a hundred genuinely left him stunned.

He took a few breaths and said, “It would need the word ‘thousand’ added after it, at least.”

Jiang Ran’s eyes widened. “What? A million? For this creepy thing?”

“The figure on it is a Dharma Protector. You should choose your words a little more carefully. You can’t insult it. Be careful you don’t bring trouble down on yourself.”

Jiang Ran ignored that and said, “Damn, making Human-Skin Thangkas is that profitable? Maybe I should get into it too. I could have a factory make this kind of artificial skin to order, hire someone who can paint to do the pictures, then sell them.”

Manager Wu Wen said nothing. He just looked at Jiang Ran calmly. “I’d still advise you to drop that idea. Don’t jump into this line of work so easily. If you do it that way, you won’t have a reliable channel of buyers. You’ll lose your initial investment.”

What he really wanted to say was: Jiang Ran, Jiang Ran, haven’t you realized this is real human skin?

If you really went about it the way you described, you might actually be able to buy one for a hundred yuan.

Because it would be completely worthless.

And you might as well skip hiring an artist and just have the factory print them on an assembly line.

Jiang Ran scratched his head. “I was just saying. It’s a business venture, and someone like me is better off working a regular job. Starting a business, getting rich, and becoming the boss just aren’t for me.”

He handed the painting over to Manager Wu Wen.

Then he went back to his apartment. Seeing that it was already getting late, he ordered food delivery.

It was a serving of dumplings.

He dipped them in vinegar as he ate.

Then he scrolled through TikTok, and before long, he came across a video like this.

Recently, a certain famous director made a movie, but it didn’t do well at the box office. So he invited someone very famous to help bring in more ticket sales.

In the end, the director’s own reputation took a hit too.

Even making a brief appearance had become a hot topic.

Jiang Ran didn’t feel much about it as he watched.

He never went to the cinema to watch movies. What would be the point of wasting that money?

A movie ticket cost dozens of yuan, enough to pay for several video-streaming subscriptions.

Wasn’t it a better deal to watch a huge selection of movies on your phone?

“But it’s true that movies are doing terribly at the box office these days.”

“And it’s true that the movies are bad.”

“People these days are too impatient. It feels like every industry is just chasing money instead of genuinely trying to make something good.”

Talking about spending money on movie tickets reminded him that after he woke up last time, he checked his phone and found that, besides the hospital expenses, there were also charges from all sorts of restaurants and places selling food and drinks. Even more ridiculous, there was a buffet charge worth over eight hundred yuan.

He wanted to swear. Was it easy for him to earn money? He scrimped and saved, only for all of it to be spent by you alternate personalities.

Especially that buffet costing over eight hundred yuan. He wouldn’t even treat himself to something like that.

Of course, even more ridiculous was that he had apparently paid a fine to the police station and transferred money to a stranger.

Jiang Ran naturally didn’t think one of his alternate personalities had been scammed. Judging by the time of the police fine and the transfer to that stranger, he figured that one of his alternate personalities had probably gotten into a fight with someone and paid compensation.

Jiang Ran was fairly familiar with this sort of thing. Hadn’t he paid Huo Yunyun and her Black boyfriend 200,000 yuan last time?

And judging by this time’s compensation, after deducting the fine, it only came to a little over three thousand.

Jiang Ran concluded that this time, the alternate personality hadn’t injured the other person too badly.

After all, if it had been as serious as last time, it would have cost tens of thousands.

Thinking about it made Jiang Ran ache with regret all over again. As he was brooding over the money, his phone suddenly rang.

“Good luck is coming! Good luck is coming!”

Jiang Ran had set that ringtone only a few days ago. Maybe, just like the lyrics said, he was hoping for a little more good luck.

He looked at the phone screen. The number was unfamiliar.

But it was a local Nancheng City number.

He answered.

A woman’s voice came from the other end. It was crisp and decisive, but still quite pleasant to listen to.

From her voice alone, he could tell that she was probably the sort of person who did whatever she wanted and made decisions quickly.

“Hey, Jiang Ran, where’s my little sister?”

That was what the woman said as soon as he answered.

Hearing that, Jiang Ran wondered if he’d misheard.

He asked in confusion, “What do you mean, your little sister? Who are you?!”

“I’m Huo Xiaoxiao.”

It turned out the woman was Huo Xiaoxiao.

Jiang Ran was even more confused. “Oh! Huo Xiaoxiao. But you’re calling me to ask where your little sister is? How would I know? She isn’t with me. You’re making it sound like I’m her boyfriend!”