Chapter 32

Chapter 32

As soon as Lu Yao left, the cheerful atmosphere from moments before instantly turned cold.

Zheng Yushu studied Zhu Yin searchingly and ventured, “Miss Zhu Yin, you don’t seem to like me very much.”

“Not at all. You’re probably imagining it,” Zhu Yin said perfunctorily.

How could he be imagining it?

Zheng Yushu gazed sincerely at her. His charming eyes seemed made for conveying affection, and when he focused intently on someone, they resembled a deep, enchanting pool.

Unfortunately, all that charm was utterly wasted on Zhu Yin.

Unmoved by romance, Zhu Yin said, “I advise you not to look at me like that.”

Something stirred in Zheng Yushu’s heart. Smiling, he asked, “Why?”

Zhu Yin gave a cold laugh. “When a man stares unblinkingly at a beautiful woman, he can easily be mistaken for a creep and get beaten up.”

Zheng Yushu smiled bitterly. “See? And you still claim you have nothing against me.”

This dog of a man was excellent at pretending, Zhu Yin thought. No wonder Lu Yao had been deceived so thoroughly.

She did not want to pay him any attention, so she simply stopped responding. Silence did not embarrass her in the least.

Zheng Yushu rarely encountered a young woman who treated him so bluntly. He rubbed his nose and changed the subject. “Miss Zhu Yin, you have such exceptional qualities that you’re every bit Lu Yao’s equal. Don’t you feel it’s a waste to work only as an assistant?”

Zhu Yin gave him a strange look. “What? Are you trying to poach me?”

Zheng Yushu smiled. “Those of us in this profession naturally feel tempted when we encounter talent and beauty like yours.”

“You’re too late. Someone already tried to poach me,” Zhu Yin said.

Zheng Yushu looked surprised, then recovered his composure. “You didn’t accept?”

“I rejected them, and I’ll reject you too,” Zhu Yin said coolly.

“Why?” Zheng Yushu’s interest was piqued. He was genuinely curious. “As a star, you’d stand beneath the spotlight in boundless glory, with every eye upon you. Doesn’t that appeal to you at all?”

He pointed toward Lu Yao filming in the distance. “Just like Yao right now. Look how brightly she shines.”

Zhu Yin wholeheartedly agreed.

“I think Yao shines brightly too.”

“And my task is to protect that light.”

Zheng Yushu froze.

Zhu Yin’s tone became meaningful. “Beautiful things always attract the covetous gaze of filth. Yao is young and innocent, and she can’t distinguish truly good people from beasts in gentleman’s clothing. As her older cousin, I naturally have to remain at her side and keep a close eye on things for her.”

She turned her head, her dark eyes fixed squarely on Zheng Yushu. “Anyone with wicked designs on Yao deserves punishment. Wouldn’t you agree, Manager Zheng?”

Zheng Yushu’s gaze was involuntarily drawn into those shadowy eyes. Perhaps it was an illusion, but he thought he saw a flash of scarlet pass through them.

His vision blurred. The sunlight must have been too bright, he thought.

An inexplicable unease spread through his heart. Forgetting his attempt to persuade Zhu Yin, he agreed distractedly, “Naturally. Naturally.”

A crisp clap sounded as Zhu Yin happily brought her palms together.

The unease within him grew stronger. The beautiful young woman beside him beamed at him. “You agreed to it yourself, Mr. Zheng.”

Zheng Yushu was baffled. Agreed? What had he agreed to?

But Zhu Yin no longer paid him any attention. She bent down and scooped something up from the ground.

He focused and saw a white cat. Its fur was a remarkably strange shade of white. Although clearly snow-white, it sometimes seemed covered in a faint pink glow beneath the sunlight.

It was astonishingly beautiful.

Zheng Yushu rubbed his eyes wearily and wondered where the cat had come from.

The cat was Barbara, of course.

Moments ago, it had sensed an incomparably terrifying presence from its host. The aura leaked out for only an instant and quickly vanished, but that tiny trace was enough to leave an inexperienced little system trembling.

It practically shrieked, “Aaaah! Host, what did you just do?”

To be fair, it had personally witnessed its host summon from empty space a creature that absolutely should not exist in this world. The person who saw that being had spent every day since then shouting about ghosts and still did not dare return to the production.

Barbara was worried its host might accidentally make the man before her disappear.

After all, even Barbara had been furious when it read the plot.

But Zheng Yushu was an important character in the story. He could not be killed.

After listening to Barbara’s agitated stream of words, Zhu Yin put on an innocent face. “What are you talking about? Am I that kind of person?”

“Even if he weren’t an important character and was only an insignificant passerby, I would never casually hurt someone.” Looking aggrieved at being misunderstood, Zhu Yin declared, “I’m a kind and good person!”

Barbara was silent.

It did not dare argue and only asked in a tiny voice, “Then, my kind host, what did you just do to Zheng Yushu?”

Stroking its soft fur, Zhu Yin said cheerfully, “It was only a tiny little contract. You heard the terms. He isn’t allowed to harbor ill intentions toward our mission target. If he breaks the agreement, he’ll suffer a backlash.”

Anyone looking over would see a bright-eyed young woman sitting with a cat in her arms, relaxed and docile.

No one could have looked more innocent. “He said so himself. I didn’t do anything.”

Barbara curled itself into a tighter ball and tried to bury itself in its host’s embrace, not daring to speak.

Zhu Yin said nothing either. When she disliked someone, even one extra sentence felt like bad luck.

Zheng Yushu had arrived with his head full of probing questions. Yet for some reason, panic and unease filled him now, and his instincts screamed: Leave! Get away from here! Get away from the woman beside you!

He had finally made a trip to the set and had not yet spoken properly with Lu Yao. How could he resign himself to leaving now?

He had no choice but to suppress his unease, although he had lost all desire to strike up another conversation with Zhu Yin.

To the people secretly observing nearby, it simply looked as though the two truly were not close and could not even be bothered to pretend otherwise.

Lu Yao’s performance that day was equally outstanding.

For the first time, Zheng Yushu watched her act with such care, and the longer he watched, the heavier his heart became.

He had never expected Lu Yao to possess such extraordinary talent. She had only just entered the industry, this was her debut project, and she had never received any systematic instruction or training, yet she could already perform this well.

She seemed born to act.

If he had not harbored those secret thoughts about her, signing such a genius would have driven him wild with delight.

But once his poisonous obsession had taken root, his dreadful greed and desire for control left him unwilling to watch this fledgling eagle spread its rapidly strengthening wings. Once she rode the wind into the higher reaches of the sky, she would fly farther and farther from him.

No, I have to hold on to her…

Before the thought could deepen, a sharp pain suddenly stabbed through his chest. It felt as though invisible shackles had clamped around his heart and were cutting into his flesh.

His vision went black, and he fell straight to the ground.