The car sped along.
Lin Zhu shut his eyes tightly and leaned hard against the seatback.
“Lin-laoshi…”
After hearing his brief explanation, the planning manager’s face turned pale. He asked cautiously, “That Wu Chen… he wouldn’t really be that evil, would he? They have been old friends for so many years. Would he really go so far as to use drugs to harm Zhong-laoshi?”
It wasn’t exactly rare in the industry. Everyone knew that once someone touched it, there was no turning back. They had no idea how something so confidential had somehow leaked to Lin Zhu, but it was already enough to leave people trembling with fear.
“Zhong-laoshi doesn’t even smoke. He might not fall for it…”
The planning manager clenched his fists, muttering unconsciously under his breath, trying to convince himself. “Actually, it might be fine. It’s not like there aren’t people in the industry who’ve done it before. Zhong-laoshi wouldn’t be doing it on purpose. As long as nobody says anything, it’ll be okay! Lin-laoshi…”
He was still trying to calm himself when his gaze swept over Lin Zhu’s left hand. His heart lurched. “Lin-laoshi!”
Lin Zhu was gripping a key tightly in his left hand. It was trembling slightly.
The bamboo-shoot-shaped keychain had smooth, rounded edges, but the hard metal teeth of the key had dug deeply into his flesh. Thin lines of blood trailed down.
With his eyes closed, Lin Zhu seemed unaware of the pain. “Nothing will happen.”
His voice was flat. Noticing the planning manager’s stare, he opened his eyes and casually wiped the blood away with a tissue. “Go… remind PR to keep a close watch tonight and work overtime if needed. Li Yijie just left the set. I’m worried someone might stir up trouble while they can.”
The planning manager quickly agreed, hesitating before asking, “Then—”
“It’s probably just a false alarm. No need to tell them.”
As if guessing the question, Lin Zhu answered in a low voice. His gaze rested on the streetlights flashing past outside the window. “Have everyone rotate shifts more frequently these next couple of days. It’ll be hard on you…”
He wanted to give more instructions, but his voice had already gone completely hoarse.
Lin Zhu turned his head and rolled down the car window a little, letting the cold wind rush in.
Even if… something really had happened, he had to hold it together.
If it was just the first time, there should still be a chance. Once this film was finished, they could cancel all remaining arrangements. He would accompany Zhong Yao abroad again for a while and figure out a way…
Figure out a way…
The problem wasn’t solved yet. Lin Zhu forced himself not to think further. He had the planning manager continue dialing Zhong Yao over and over, and while his mind was still functioning, he briefly arranged the plans for the next few days.
The planning manager didn’t know who he should be more worried about and didn’t dare to advise. He listened and jotted things down anxiously. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as they fell on the phone resting on Lin Zhu’s knee. “Lin-laoshi, the call! It’s Zhong-laoshi!”
Lin Zhu’s heart trembled lightly as he opened his eyes.
“Help me… answer it.”
Startled, the planning manager hurriedly pressed the accept button and held the phone to his ear.
“Xiao Zhu?”
Zhong Yao’s gentle voice came through as always. “There was no signal inside just now… You called me? Why are you awake so soon—”
Lin Zhu’s chest rose and fell. He gripped the key again and softly interrupted, “Ge.”
It felt as if a large hand had suddenly squeezed all the air from his lungs. Lin Zhu parted his lips and forced himself to speak. “Ge… did you smoke?”
“So sharp… such a keen nose?”
Zhong Yao sounded slightly surprised, then laughed and admitted honestly, “They did. I didn’t touch it, afraid you wouldn’t like it. I just got a bit of smoke smell on me. I was thinking of getting some fresh air before heading home…”
Lin Zhu closed his eyes. His whole body went limp.
After hearing “I didn’t touch it,” he couldn’t make out another word.
The sharp pain in his head, suppressed until now, surged up with the sudden relief. A buzzing filled his ears. His head throbbed as if something solid were stirring thick paste inside it. His sweat-soaked clothes turned icy in the cold wind.
A false alarm…
Tilting his head back, Lin Zhu suddenly felt the urge to visit Potala Palace again.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Zhong Yao sensed something off in Lin Zhu’s condition and spoke again. “Xiao Zhu? I’m fine here. Did something happen on set? Don’t panic. When I get back, we’ll handle it together—”
“No need… I’m on my way.”
Leaning against the seat, listening to Zhong Yao’s voice, Lin Zhu slowly regained some strength. “Ge, have you left the club? If you haven’t, stay where you are. Don’t touch anything anyone gives you. Absolutely don’t touch any cigarettes. I’ll be there soon.”
A false alarm, but it wasn’t over.
Whoever had plotted against Zhong Yao wouldn’t stop so easily.
Zhong Yao didn’t press further and agreed gently.
Knowing he wasn’t in good shape, Lin Zhu was about to have the planning manager hang up when Zhong Yao spoke again softly. “Xiao Zhu?”
Lin Zhu forced himself to focus. “I’m almost there, Ge. We’ll talk when we meet—”
“I know,” Zhong Yao said gently. “Can we not hang up?”
“It’s okay. If you don’t want to talk, don’t. Just keep the line open. Let me know you can hear me.”
Though Zhong Yao still didn’t know exactly what had happened, he had already guessed part of it. Patiently, he reassured him again and again, “I’ll wait for you at the entrance of the club. Don’t worry, I didn’t smoke. Didn’t even touch it. I barely ate anything either.”
After a brief pause, he continued, “I can hold on. I’m fine…”
Lin Zhu’s heart suddenly ached.
Zhong Yao…
On the way here his thoughts had been in chaos. Now that he had confirmed Zhong Yao was safe and his mind had settled, he could even more clearly realize how cruel this was for him.
They were all Zhong Yao’s friends… friends who had endured hardship together back then, helping and supporting one another.
He had already been stabbed in the back once by someone close. This time the relationship was even nearer, and the blow even more vicious…
Lin Zhu didn’t dare imagine how much it would hurt Zhong Yao.
He couldn’t let Zhong Yao handle this himself.
The decision he had already made wavered faintly again. Lin Zhu hesitated, his left hand gripping the key with difficulty, before slowly sliding it back into his pocket.
He pressed hard against the seatback and slowly sat upright, forcing down the circling thoughts.
This was his fault. He couldn’t forgive himself… but he couldn’t keep running away every time he made a mistake.
Right now, Zhong Yao needed him.
His throat burned. His voice was soft. “Ge, wait for me a little longer. I’m almost there…”
The planning manager’s surprised voice rang out. “We’re here, we’re here!”
Lin Zhu suddenly looked out the window. The car had sped all the way to the club entrance. Before security could even stop them, a familiar tall figure had already walked over and signaled the guards to let them through.
“Finally here. Lin-laoshi, hurry and check on Zhong-laoshi.”
The planning manager had heard earlier that Zhong Yao hadn’t smoked. So happy he had almost jumped out and run, he hadn’t even felt tired from holding the phone up the whole way. Beaming, he blurted without thinking, “Just saying it isn’t enough, you need to check up close. This kind of thing has to be done by you. It’s actually a great opportunity—”
Before he could finish, the car door swung open. Lin Zhu had already jumped out before the car fully stopped.
Zhong Yao had just confirmed his identity with security and was striding over, steadily pulling him into his arms.
Lin Zhu was damp and icy cold. His lips were so pale they were nearly colorless. Only the faint light still in his eyes gave him a trace of vitality.
Zhong Yao’s heart sank slightly, though his expression didn’t change. Without a word, he took off his coat and draped it over Lin Zhu, leading him inside. “No rush. Tell me slowly…”
The clubhouse lights were bright and the heating was strong, quickly driving away the biting winter cold outside.
Leaning against his arm and gripping the hem of his clothes tightly, Lin Zhu’s mind finally settled a little.
He shook his head and looked up. “Ge… let me handle this. Okay?”
He had thought the entire way here. He had decided not to let Zhong Yao get entangled in this mess again. If he handled it himself, no matter how ruthless he had to be, it would be his own matter, his own karma.
His own karma didn’t need to stain Zhong Yao.
Lin Zhu closed his eyes briefly and slowly straightened up again.
As if guessing his thoughts, Zhong Yao looked at him for a long moment before finally giving a slight nod.
“However…”
Zhong Yao paused, rubbed Lin Zhu’s hair, and was about to speak, when several people came out laughing and chatting noisily.
Lin Zhu lifted his head. The light in his eyes turned cold for an instant.
“Haven’t seen you for so long! We thought you came out to meet a secret lover. Turns out you’re just here to find your agent?”
The middle-aged actor at the front was slightly tipsy, shaking his head as he joked. “Your manager really keeps you on a tight leash. Almost like Song Tianlang’s.”
“Don’t talk nonsense,” someone beside him retorted. “Song Tianlang’s agent drags him around to toast investors and flatter them. When have you ever seen our Zhong-laoshi bow his head to anyone?”
Everyone laughed good-naturedly. One of them patted Zhong Yao on the shoulder and turned to Lin Zhu. “Kid, lend us your Zhong-laoshi for half a day. We’ll return him later, alright?”
Lin Zhu didn’t respond. His gaze swept meticulously through each pair of eyes.
His head throbbed badly. The mind-reading was coming in disjointed fragments; he could only extract the most important pieces. After carefully looking through everyone one by one, his heart finally eased slightly.
At least… they weren’t all in on it together.
At least Zhong Yao wouldn’t suddenly lose all his friends at once.
Lin Zhu didn’t respond, and Zhong Yao didn’t smooth things over either. One hand stayed protectively at Lin Zhu’s back, loosely holding him the entire time.
Seeing something was off between the two, the others exchanged looks. The chatter gradually died down.
Lin Zhu walked straight through the crowd, locked onto a middle-aged man hiding in the back, grabbed his tie, and yanked him forward without hesitation.
No one expected him to suddenly make a move. They froze in shock and were about to step in when Lin Zhu had already fixed him with a piercing stare, his eyes icy. “Mr. Wu…”
Wu Chen’s face turned deathly pale. He stammered, “Y-you— what are you doing? You can’t hit people here, you—”
Before he could finish, Lin Zhu shifted slightly, took half a step, and kicked hard at the back of Wu Chen’s knee, sending him crashing to his knees.
“Take it out,” Lin Zhu said coldly. “Hold it yourself.”
It was Wu Chen’s first time doing something like this. He hadn’t even managed to get Zhong Yao to take the bait before being exposed. For a moment he suspected Song Tianlang’s side had betrayed him; then he feared he himself had slipped somewhere. His face drained of color. “What thing? I—I don’t—”
“Take it out!” Lin Zhu barked.
Startled by the viciousness in his eyes, Wu Chen’s resolve instantly collapsed. Feeling utterly doomed, he tremblingly pulled out the pack of cigarettes.
No one present was a newcomer. They had heard of all sorts of tactics in the industry. Seeing this scene, most of them had already guessed what it meant. Their faces changed again and again.
They were supposed to be the most trusted friends. No one had imagined someone would exploit that trust for such a dirty trick.
A chill ran through everyone. Each desperately tried to recall whether they had touched the cigarettes Wu Chen had offered. The crowd fell into a silence as heavy as death.
Lin Zhu closed his eyes, suppressing the violently surging thoughts in his mind. His voice was hoarse. “Call the police.”
They had been friends for years, trusted enough to entrust everything. He had already begun considering forming a studio, seeking ways to help these friends avoid being pushed out by the market, giving them space to show their talent.
Things had already begun moving step by step toward realization. Why couldn’t they just… wait a little longer?
Wu Chen shuddered violently, his soul nearly gone. “N-no!! Can I compensate? I’ll pay damages! Zhong Yao didn’t smoke it, I can testify! I offered it to him, but he didn’t smoke, he didn’t! The police won’t sentence if nothing happened—”
Public figures feared criminal cases the most. Let alone something this vile. Once reported and exposed, there would be no possibility of a comeback.
Wu Chen staggered to his feet, trembling. “I—I didn’t want to ruin him. I just—I just really needed a chance. I’ve debuted for ten years and haven’t filmed a single decent project. My company is about to terminate my contract…”
He hurriedly explained, glancing at Lin Zhu’s cold expression, then turning to Zhong Yao. “Yo—you understand me, Zhong Yao. You’re popular now. Someone’s putting real effort into promoting you. But I can’t. I—”
Before he could finish, Lin Zhu kicked him hard in the abdomen. Wu Chen’s face turned ashen with pain, his body curling in on itself, unable to make a sound.
“Did you misunderstand something?” Lin Zhu bent down. “I told you to call the police because I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop myself from doing something even more extreme.”
He didn’t want Zhong Yao to see this side of him. He tried to hide the violence in his eyes. His voice was low and steady, as if he didn’t know whether he was speaking to Wu Chen or to himself.
“I’m Zhong-laoshi’s agent now. If I really do certain things, I’ll only cause trouble for him.”
“You’re lucky,” Lin Zhu said quietly. “While I’m still his agent, hurry up and call the police.”
