Luo Yingbai knew about Peppa Pig and had been teasing her. He laughed and turned to Xia Xianning but saw her quickly glance at his watch. So he said, “Are you busy? Go ahead; I’ll play with these two.”
Luo Yingbai let Cangling Yue translate back onto the knife, shrinking the saber into a small pendant and went to the nearby cocktail party venue.
Strawberry Platform had always been influential, and this time nearly half of the entertainment circle attended. It was regrettable that film emperor Zhou Junyi was reportedly unable to attend due to illness. However, many popular young traffic stars were present, including Chang Weiyu.
“Weiyu, I heard you received an invitation from the ‘Changping’ production team?”
The speaker was Chi Hong, a newcomer from the same company as Chang Weiyu. ‘Changping’ was a major historical drama, and although Chang Weiyu couldn’t play the lead, obtaining such good resources was enviable.
“Yes,” Chang Weiyu said, “Pity it’s just a third male lead.”
“The third male lead still has quite a lot of scenes!” Chi Hong said. “Moreover, the role suits you perfectly.”
I feel your acting has improved a lot since being guided by Young Master Luo…”
This sentence touched Chang Weiyu’s sore spot, darkening his expression – his popularity was both created and destroyed by Luo Yingbai.
Initially struggling with the audition script and lacking sufficient skills, Chang Weiyu cleverly imitated Luo Yingbai to win the favor of directors and secure the role.
But Luo Yingbai had warned him that playing the character Yue Huan might encounter many strange events, and he might potentially get involved. Chang Weiyu had agreed, but as his fame grew, he began to treat this as a dark history, becoming averse to comparisons with Luo Yingbai or mentions of receiving his guidance.
One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers – who would want to live in someone else’s shadow? Even if he initially had a good attitude, he couldn’t bear netizens arguing that he wasn’t as good-looking or talented as Luo Yingbai. Moreover, Chang Weiyu was inherently ambitious.
He had thought those people’s comments were meaningless, as his name was still on the cast list. Luo Yingbai remained just an ordinary person, constantly fawning over Xia Xia Xian Ning. Chang Weiyu didn’t believe he was superior in any way.
But unexpectedly, Luo Yingbai’s identity was suddenly exposed – he was an official’s second-generation descendant.
Chang Weiyu’s sense of imbalance instantly peaked.
If they hadn’t been connected from the start, it would have been fine. But why was someone else’s life so fortunate!
Chang Weiyu thought this, interrupting Chi Hong dissatisfiedly: “My acting skills were developed by myself, without anyone’s guidance.”
Chang Weiyu listened with anger, but still picked up his wine glass, his eyes once again wearing a smile, and leaned towards Luo Yingbai—many times, resources they had struggled for years to obtain could be resolved with just a word from the other party.
Behind him, Qi Hong and several others exchanged subtle expressions.
“Just now, he was pretending to be aloof, and now he’s the first to cozy up!”
“As you said, he was just ‘pretending’ to be aloof. Do you know why he got the role in ‘Changping’? I heard he’s recently found a mysterious sugar daddy…”
Chang Weiyu had a utilitarian personality, was jealous, and didn’t have good interpersonal relationships. This time, seeing him still have the audacity to join in, everyone was waiting to see him fail.
In fact, Chang Weiyu wasn’t blindly trying to curry favor; he thought he understood Luo Yingbai’s personality, believing this young master had a good temper and didn’t like to dwell on things, and wouldn’t lose face.
Unfortunately, Chang Weiyu had miscalculated.
He finally squeezed through a group of people who were subtly pushing each other, approached Luo Yingbai, and said, “Young Master Luo, I’m sorry about before…”
Luo Yingbai said, “Please move aside.”
Chang Weiyu: “…”
He could almost hear the suppressed laughter behind him. His hand holding the glass didn’t know whether to extend or retract. In his shock and anger, he turned to see Luo Yingbai striding towards a server carrying a tray.
Luo Yingbai wasn’t intentionally trying to embarrass Chang Weiyu; he hadn’t even clearly seen who was speaking to him. He had just suddenly noticed a suspicious man nearby.
During a break in conversation, Luo Yingbai caught a glimpse of a casually dressed person with a small bag at their waist, walking along the wall. Part of their side face was visible beneath shoulder-length hair, lips tightly pressed, looking unnaturally tense.
Luo Yingbai put down Chang Weiyu and walked directly past the person, picking up a plate of desserts from a nearby table without drawing the person’s attention. He then retraced his steps and casually said, “Hey, your bag’s zipper is open.”
The man was clearly startled, looking up with a fierce glint in his eyes, quickly covering his waist, then immediately letting go. Seeing it was the handsome and refined Luo Yingbai holding food, he relaxed his guard slightly, glancing at the small bag and indeed finding the zipper half-open.
“Got it, thanks,” the man said, turning to leave. Luo Yingbai suddenly reached out and grabbed the bag’s strap, his palm vibrating, and the strap broke. The sudden change caught even the man off guard. In his hesitation, the waist bag was already snatched by Luo Yingbai. He shouted, “What are you doing?” and pulled out a knife, lunging at Luo Yingbai.
The sudden turn of events caused the entire venue to erupt in screams. Luo Yingbai shouted, “Everyone, move back!” He quickly identified a clear direction and threw the bag against the wall, simultaneously ducking to avoid the incoming knife.
Several nearby people wanted to help, but the man clearly had some skills, wielding the knife in a way that prevented anyone from approaching. Luo Yingbai blocked the man’s arm, then swept his leg to trip him, immediately pinning him down with his knee on the man’s back, immobilizing him, and grabbing the wrist holding the knife.
Everyone was puzzled, discussing what the man’s intentions might have been and who his target was. Security immediately began checking the entire venue and conference rooms, simultaneously taking a headcount.
The Xia family’s bodyguards also rushed over. Luo Yingbai waved his hand, “I’m fine. Take care of Ah Zhi and Nini. Don’t leave them and don’t let the children come over here.”
Not over yet, several police officers arrived quickly. Luo Yingbai did not know these police officers, found a sofa to rest, and did not approach to speak. The lead police officer inquired about the basic situation with Director Cao, when suddenly a scream was heard from the direction of the changing room. This caused the already nervous guests to panic again, with some brave people running towards the source of the scream. Luo Yingbai was among the first to arrive. Upon arrival, he saw the changing room door wide open, with a security guard standing at the entrance looking terrified. Two women were lying inside, one in a black dress was actually Wen Qianqian, and the other was her assistant. Behind him, several more people followed, and Chang Weiyu’s panicked voice came: “What happened? Sister Wen! Was she killed by the person from earlier?!”
