Superstars of Tomorrow

According to the loan agreement, if Will was free in the day, Fang Zhao would let Curly Hair go over.

When Will was writing his thesis, Curly Hair would lie down and nap inside the newly bought kennel. During mealtimes, he would be called out to eat, and he would put on a leash and go for a walk in the afternoons. After the walk, Curly Hair would return to Fang Zhao’s place and game throughout the night.

Fang Zhao had told Curly Hair not to game the whole day, so Curly Hair would play games at night and sleep during the day.

After trying out keeping Curly Hair for two days, Will felt that keeping a dog was very simple. Fang Zhao had said there was no need for him to bathe the dog or make arrangements for someone to trim Curly Hair’s nails. All he needed to do was provide board and lodging and keeping an eye on Curly Hair on walks. It was that simple.

When Will spoke to his family over the phone, Will even said, "That dog is really well behaved. He doesn’t gnaw on the sofa, doesn’t damage the furniture, and doesn’t destroy my paintings. He doesn’t bark for no reason, and he knows to defecate in the designated area. He sits obediently and doesn’t move when I comb his hair. In my workstation, he is especially quiet, though he eats quite a lot."

Will believed that everything that was said online was wrong. Clearly, keeping a dog was very easy! There weren’t any worries at all! The only thing that made Will gloomy was that he still didn’t have any inspiration to pick up the brush and was still unable to draw anything when he faced a sheet of paper.

However, Will Sr. felt a lot more reassured when he heard this. "He really is much smarter than other dogs and deserves his value of 200 million. As for inspiration, it is something that can be gained but not sought. You don’t have to painstakingly think about it. Perhaps it will automatically come to you after some time. You must remain patient."

Will understood what his father was saying, but he had an indescribable feeling that he would make no headway if this went on. He didn’t have peace of mind, and he felt that something was lacking, but he couldn’t tell say what it was.

Whatever, I’ll continue keeping it this way. Perhaps it will be as father said and inspiration will come after some time.

Will Sr. then asked Will about some other matters. Knowing that everything was fine, he felt relieved. He thought nothing much about the "though he eats quite a lot" that Will had said. How much of an appetite could this tiny dog even have?

After the call, Will had only just turned around when his servant handed him an express delivery that had just arrived.

"Sir, you bought snacks for the dog again. The storeroom in your quarters is almost full to the brim with them." This servant had served Will for over 30 years, so she spoke rather casually with Will.

"The previous trending dog snacks were no good. It doesn’t like to eat them. I asked Fang Zhao already; it likes snacks that are a little harder." Will unwrapped the package hurriedly and tossed an artificial bone for grinding teeth into Curly Hair’s bowl.

This servant had experience keeping a dog. When she saw that bone, which simply couldn’t be bitten by such a small dog, and the details on the packaging, she told Will, "This is meant for large dogs. It is a specialized snack for large dogs with great bite strength to gnaw on. Small dogs won’t be able to bite..."

She hadn’t yet finished when she heard "crraacck."

This so-called "specialized snack for large dogs with great bite strength to gnaw on" was treated like a biscuit by Curly Hair as he devoured it in just one bite.

The servant: "..." She subconsciously backed away from the dog.

The sounds of cracking continued. Other than Will, who was not the least bit bothered, Curly Hair’s danger level rose in the hearts of the servants and bodyguards.

The servants and bodyguards also discussed this in private.

"Should we tell Master Will Sr. this first? If anything should happen, even a visit to a hospital might not be enough to completely recover."

"We have to. With this sort of bite strength, just one bite would result in a tragedy!"

"That is Master Will Jr.’s hand that created a painting worth 30 million. Does he have insurance?"

"Speaking of Master Will Jr.’s painting... I think I saw that it hit 37 million yesterday."

One bodyguard had just opened up the webpage displaying Will’s art and choked out, "No... Just... just recently, it hit 40 million!"

"A 40-million-dollar painting... Master Will Jr.’s hand is really too expensive. In the future, we must absolutely prevent him from touching the dog!"

...

In a certain city in Huangzhou, an investor had just placed a bid of 40 million and officially brought this auction into the 40-million-dollar range.

Beside him, his son was extremely perplexed by his father’s actions. "So, Dad, you also like this portrait? Since when did you learn to understand paintings?"

"No, I think highly of these two, Will and Fang Zhao." The investor waved his finger but didn’t continue to explain. Instead, he posed his son a question: "A genius artist plus a genius rising star in both art and commerce. What do you get?"

"Two geniuses?"

"It’s money!" That investor drummed his fingers on the table and stared fixedly at the figures that were slowly rising on the display. "Considering this momentum, if Fang Zhao can generate some big news at the Corale Film Festival, the value will rise further."

The investor’s son didn’t really understand what his father meant, but he knew of the Corale Film Festival. A quick search online yielded the latest push-notification news, and he went blank for a second.

"Huh? Fang Zhao sold his dog? He has finally sold his 200-million-dollar dog?"

Some news about Fang Zhao selling his dog had appeared online. Furthermore, there was also "photographic evidence"—the accompanying images were of Will walking the dog on a leash.

But they were people that refuted it. By now, it was common knowledge that Will and Fang Zhao were neighbors. It didn’t mean that the dog had been sold. Rather, Will might have been helping walk the dog.

However, most of the online push-notification news was dominated by the Corale Film Festival. The topic of Fang Zhao selling his dog had only just appeared when it was pushed down by news of other celebrities. For example, a certain celebrity’s photos at the seaside, or so-and-so appearing at a coffee shop together with someone else on Corale Island, and so on and so forth.

Elsewhere, Fang Zhao had applied for leave and was preparing to head to the Corale Archipelago to attend the Corale Film Festival.

The Corale Archipelago was a region in Huangzhou. Having gotten its name from coral, the archipelago possessed beautiful waters and colors that were really unforgettable. The Corale Film Festival, which was held there, was one of the most artistic and influential film festivals in the world. It was also the most comprehensive film festival, as it included awards for movies, serials, short films, and more. Other than the political and commercial elements, it also emphasized art, and the highest prize was the Golden Coral Award.

Nanfeng had already started making preparations even before Fang Zhao received his invitation.

"As an all-around assistant, I have already made reservations for a parking space on Corale Main. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to get a parking space and would have to park the flying transport at one of the other small islands."

Yan Biao straightened up his new bodyguard attire and chuckled as he viewed photographs of the flying transport that Nanfeng had rented. "Oh, Nanfeng, this flying transport is really excellent, a deluxe model. Renting it couldn’t have been cheap, right?"

"Boss will be heading to the Corale Film Festival, the film festival that creates violent storms in the entire world’s entertainment circles every year! We can’t scrimp on our allocations—we can’t be looked down on by others or become a laughing stock! Besides the flying transport, I have also rented a flying car. It can be driven out when we get there. Most importantly, Boss can cover the expenses, hehehe..."

Fang Zhao had seen and approved everything Nanfeng had applied for. One had to act according to the rules of whatever circle they belonged in. Nanfeng was the most familiar with film festivals, so as long as it wasn’t overboard, Nanfeng’s requests and activity expenditures would be approved by Fang Zhao.

"It’s rumored that boss might win an award this time—best supporting role or something like that," Zuo Yu remarked as he wiped the shades in his hands before putting them on.

"How come I heard that it is probably a newcomer award?" Yan Biao went online and started to search. He didn’t really know much about this stuff and didn’t understand some of these awards.

Nanfeng had also hired a stylist from one of his contacts. He already had it all planned out. When they reached the Corale Archipelago, he would give Fang Zhao a new appearance every day so that he wouldn’t lose out to others.

After Fang Zhao had finished giving his last lecture before setting off, he returned to his quarters to tidy up his things. He didn’t bring much with him, as Nanfeng had mostly prepared everything.

Before he left, Fang Zhao headed next door to check things out.

From his past few days of observation, Fang Zhao had realized that Curly Hair was adapting very well. The little thing also seemed rather happy and was enjoying himself next door. With a lifestyle of eating, drinking, and sleeping in the day before returning home to game at night, how could he not feel refreshed?

However, Curly Hair was already controlling the amount of food he ate and drank next door to conceal his peculiarities. Now, his appetite had increased considerably and he ate as much as three large dogs put together. Therefore, after Curly Hair had eaten next door, he would still eat the dog food that Fang Zhao prepared when he returned, though nobody else knew about this.

Fang Zhao had already instructed Curly Hair on what was needed, so Fang Zhao didn’t need to say much when other people were present.

Will even brought out his new shopping list to prove that he would definitely not treat Curly Hair poorly. The list was filled with dog food and treats of the expensive variety, so nutrition was guaranteed.

Nanfeng was a little worried and said, "Isn’t this a little too excessive? Don’t feed him till he turns into a pig."

With a straight face, Will replied, "That absolutely won’t happen!" How can a dog turn into a pig? Is this man an idiot?

When Fang Zhao left the dormitory building, Yan Biao and Zuo Yu were already stationed beside the car door.

Yan Biao noticed Fang Zhao carrying a wrapped-up case in his hand and hurried over to help Fang Zhao carry it. "Boss, what is this? It’s rather heavy."

"Miniature aquarium," Fang Zhao replied.

Curly Hair wouldn’t be coming along this time, but Fang Zhao was bringing the "rabbit" with him. Fang Zhao didn’t know what Curly Hair might do to the "rabbit" if it was set free. Given Curly Hair’s stomach, which could even digest a bullet, Fang Zhao reckoned that his toxin resistance would be rather high and he might be just fine eating the sea slug, at most having the runs.

Furthermore, the Corale Archipelago was surrounded by the ocean, and there would be many people keeping sea slugs on the islands so Fang Zhao wouldn’t have to worry about the feed. Perhaps he could take the opportunity to look for more choices of feed, since the appetite of the "rabbit" had increased recently.

The car arrived at the transfer station and the party set off toward the Corale Archipelago in the flying transport Nanfeng had rented.