Chapter 28
Chapter 28
As Zhu Yin spoke, one hand began reaching into her pocket.
Barbara knew that movement far too well and cried out repeatedly, “Host! Host! You must be careful about using your items! We’re only supporting characters. This is just a peaceful, simple world about the entertainment industry. There’s truly no need for anything so advanced!”
Barbara had not even dared ask about the strange thing she summoned the previous night!
By now, it suspected that its host might have some extraordinary identity. The Central System had contacted it and assigned it a task: rein its host in a little and keep her from going too far. Time-reversal items in particular were unnecessary. Truly, completely unnecessary.
Barbara was a brand-new rookie. Precisely because it was a rookie, it had spent nearly a month on the World-Hopping Bureau’s system forum before officially starting work, all so it could learn more basic knowledge and make fewer elementary mistakes.
The forum contained all sorts of discussion threads among systems, including plenty that mentioned the Central System.
According to the other systems, the Central System was mysterious, powerful, and sparing with words. Whenever it wanted something, it simply issued a notice. When had it ever spoken so politely and tried to persuade someone?
Barbara was a juvenile system less than a year old. It might not have been particularly intelligent or learned, but it was certainly no fool!
Its host was a powerful backer!
Barbara had to cling tight!
Zhu Yin paused, then casually withdrew her hand from her pocket.
Sun Lie had no idea what he had just escaped.
He was nearly irrational with anger and felt he had just suffered the greatest humiliation of his life.
He no longer cared about his injuries, nor could he spare any attention for Lu Yao, the person who had caused them.
At that moment, Zhu Yin was the most vicious woman in the world in his eyes.
He even forgot the main issue and snapped, “You’re lying through your teeth! What normal woman possesses that kind of monstrous strength?”
Behind him, his assistant opened their mouth. They wanted to say: Why are you venting at an assistant? Is she even worth it? Winning an argument with her won’t benefit us. Focus on the actress who hurt you!
But seeing that Sun Lie was so furious he seemed on the verge of losing his mind, the assistant chose to remain silent.
Fine. Let him vent.
If he did not get this anger out of his system, he would remain upset and end up tormenting his assistant instead.
Sun Lie himself was very confident.
No one understood the condition of his fellow actors better than he did. Under today’s distorted camera standards, the thinner an actor was, the better they appeared onscreen, especially in costume dramas.
Many actors whose figures looked perfectly normal in television dramas were thin and slight in real life, little better than racks of ribs.
In Sun Lie’s own estimation, a male actor like him, who worked out once a week without fail and could just barely be said to have a thin layer of muscle, already had an exceptionally fine physique among his peers.
How dare she humiliate him like this!
Faced with his challenge, Zhu Yin sank into thought.
After a moment, she came up with a good idea.
Sun Lie watched Lu Yao’s assistant look him up and down with an appraising expression.
A sudden sense of foreboding rose in his heart, and his feet instinctively tried to retreat.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
A hand reached toward him with irresistible force. Before Sun Lie could react, someone had seized him by the collar.
No one else had expected Zhu Yin to act so suddenly either. When they saw her grab Sun Lie, their confusion gave way to shock. Could this assistant possibly intend to beat someone in front of everyone?
Some of the quicker thinkers had even discreetly opened their phone cameras, preparing to record a video.
Naturally, Zhu Yin did not strike him in full view of the crowd.
Instead, something even more outrageous happened.
Everyone watched as she seized Sun Lie by the collar and swung him casually. As though tossing a weightless bundle, she whirled the six-foot-one man a full one hundred eighty degrees through the air and deposited him on the back of the small white horse grazing nearby.
???
Sun Lie remained completely bewildered until the moment he landed in the saddle.
Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?
He met Zhu Yin’s gaze in flustered confusion.
Zhu Yin spread her hands innocently. “I told you that you were thin and frail. I can pick you up with one hand and toss you onto a horse.”
“Aah!”
Only then did everyone recover. Sun Lie’s assistant let out a belated shriek.
Another bout of pandemonium followed. A crowd surrounded Sun Lie, helped him off the horse, and examined him for injuries.
Zhu Yin had clearly exercised far more control than Lu Yao. Beyond frightening him, she had made no unnecessary movement throughout the entire process. Sun Lie had not so much as scraped his skin.
When questioned, Zhu Yin declared candidly, “He challenged me first. I was merely proving it to him.”
Then she played her trump card. “I knew exactly what I was doing and controlled my strength. I was only joking with Brother Sun. Brother Sun is my senior, has seen plenty of the world, and is a grown man. Surely he won’t hold it against me?”
Lu Yao knew that kind of tone all too well. She had no idea how many times she had suffered because of it over the past several days.
Anyone who still failed to understand that Zhu Yin had done it deliberately would have to be an idiot.
Sun Lie’s assistant snapped, “You’re completely lawless! I’m going to the media and exposing everything you’ve said and done!”
Zhu Yin heartily agreed. “Good idea. You over there–”
She waved toward someone nearby. “The guy in the black hat, come here! I saw you recording from the very beginning, so I’m sure you didn’t miss a single detail.”
Then she turned to Sun Lie. “Brother Sun, look at that. The person you arranged happened to record everything. I suggest you post it immediately. Yao and I will apologize at once. We deeply regret frightening you.”
Sun Lie was silent.
He practically ground out a cold laugh through clenched teeth. “You–”
Zhu Yin helpfully supplied, “My name is Zhu Yin.”
Sun Lie nearly shattered his teeth from grinding them. “Miss Zhu Yin certainly loves to joke. Lu Yao and I are coworkers. When filming action scenes, it’s normal for someone to lose control for a moment and cause a little friction. How could I blame either of you?”
If that video was posted, he would be the one finished.
Sun Lie could practically imagine the word “frail” following him for the rest of his life. At the very least, whenever rival fandoms attacked him, they would display it in bold red letters in the most conspicuous place possible!
Zhu Yin frowned. “Really? Is that truly what you think, Brother Sun? Your assistant doesn’t seem to agree.”
Sun Lie shot a glare at his assistant. The assistant forced out a smile and stiffly claimed that Zhu Yin had misunderstood them.
Zhu Yin answered with a mild smile, then swept her gaze over everyone else.
Everyone she looked at, including Xu Qiaoqiao, averted their eyes.
This was a fearsome strongwoman who could swing a male actor weighing over fifty kilos with one hand. Even Sun Lie had admitted defeat. Why would any of them try to show off?
Only Ji Lingze continued to stare coldly at her.
Zhu Yin had no fondness for this beast in gentleman’s clothing. Tilting her head, she asked, “Do you have any advice for me, Director?”
Ji Lingze merely gave her a long, searching look and said nothing.
The main event that day was the hero and heroine’s first meeting and the opening assassination attempt.
A large portion of the hero’s scenes took place on horseback.
But Sun Lie had first been kicked off the horse like a piece of garbage, then tossed back onto it like a bundle. The experience had left him somewhat traumatized, so the director had no choice but to announce that they would film the supporting characters’ scenes first.
Lu Yao was free for the moment.
Zhu Yin found two small folding stools and gave her one. When she lowered her head, she met the young woman’s shining eyes.