Chapter 18: The Movie King and the Husky 01

The moment 3376 spoke, the task could not be issued, and the amount of information was so overwhelming that Tang Bin didn’t know where to start interpreting it.

He focused his gaze on the male lead, Lin Moning, and the numbers above his head—13—stared back at him, making him feel utterly hopeless.

“How much affection do I need to complete the task?” Tang Bin asked.

【100.】 3376 replied: 【Only when the affection reaches 100 and the romantic relationship with the target is established, will there be hope for a happy ending (HE) and the completion of the task.】

“Oh…” Tang Bin responded with a tone of dread.

With the affection level currently at only 13, he had no idea how he would manage to reach 100.

In the meantime, he had already helped Lin Moning up and, unconsciously, Tang Bin asked with concern: “Are you okay?”

This action stunned not only the three people who had been hitting him and the one who had ordered the beating, Zheng Zhe, but even Lin Moning froze for a moment.

Who was Luo Rui?

In Sanjiu City, no one was more arrogant than him and his family.

Would Luo Rui personally help someone up?

Would he even bend down to help someone covered in dirt get back on their feet?

“Young Master Luo? What are you doing here?” Zheng Zhe’s face darkened. He couldn’t understand how Luo Rui had suddenly appeared here and what was going on.

Zheng Zhe and Lin Moning had been long-time rivals.

They had been practice trainees at the same time, often compared due to their similar looks.

Moreover, Lin Moning was said to have come from a scholarly family. Although now in decline, his good education made him more talented and refined than Zheng Zhe, who, though of humble origins, never admitted defeat. This caused the two of them to clash, right up until their debut, when both had been arranged by their respective managers to meet with Young Master Luo.

“Huayu Entertainment is just a small business under the Luo family. Whoever can please Young Master Luo will become famous,” Zheng Zhe’s manager had said this clearly to him.

Zheng Zhe knew that in this industry, there was no way to avoid the unspoken rules. He had long been mentally prepared for it.

Moreover, Young Master Luo was very handsome and slender, looking very clean and elegant. Although he had a reputation for a bad temper and being hard to please… he was still far better than the fat, greasy big bosses with beer bellies!

Thus, when Zheng Zhe first met Young Master Luo, he dressed up carefully, eager to do everything he could to win Young Master Luo’s favor!

However, what he didn’t expect was that, on what should have been a day where all the attention was on him, Lin Moning, who should have been his greatest competition, had dressed… very poorly.

Lin Moning himself was quite handsome, a fact that Zheng Zhe acknowledged, which was why he considered him his number one competitor.

But on the day they were supposed to meet Young Master Luo… for some unknown reason, Lin Moning’s face had swollen, and he was wearing clothes that didn’t just look ordinary but actually detracted from his appearance. He went to meet Young Master Luo dressed like that.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong that day, and Young Master Luo’s aesthetic sense was still normal. He chose Zheng Zhe and didn’t even spare a glance for the mediocre Lin Moning.

Zheng Zhe vaguely remembered that Young Master Luo looked a little displeased that day.

Young Master Luo’s long eyes were downcast, looking sickly and disinterested, which was in stark contrast to the Young Master Luo sitting next to him now, with his back straight, radiating confidence and composure.

In addition, on that day, Young Master Luo, who was in a bad mood, even said, “What kind of people dare to send themselves to me?” This made Zheng Zhe think that it was Lin Moning’s mediocre appearance that upset Young Master Luo.

In fact, that was exactly the case. After that, Lin Moning seemed to be frozen out by the company, and there were no more rumors of plans to debut him. His manager treated him like air, as if his presence or absence didn’t matter to the company. Once his trainee contract expired, he was automatically released from the company.

This confirmed Zheng Zhe’s suspicion.

With one less competitor, Zheng Zhe’s mood lightened considerably.

Moreover, since he was about to debut and was already quite famous, the other trainees in the company looked up to him. When Zheng Zhe was in a good mood, he would sometimes reflect with his younger companions, saying that he originally thought Lin Moning was pretending to be aloof, but it turned out he was truly aloof. He would rather have his face look like a pig’s head than be accepted by Young Master Luo. Zheng Zhe admired that, truly admired it.

However, despite his words, there was a distinct tone of sarcasm.

It was as if he were saying, “You, Lin Moning, are aloof, but I’m not. Yet I will still outdo you and rise higher than you.”

But after lowering his guard, Zheng Zhe never expected that today, on such an important day—Young Master Luo’s birthday—Lin Moning would unexpectedly show up uninvited and enter the bar!

And he was dressed like a decent person, looking as handsome as ever!

Wasn’t this a sign that he had changed his mind and was trying to seduce Young Master Luo again?

The more Zheng Zhe thought about it, the angrier he became. He couldn’t stand it anymore, so he led a few of his people to confront Lin Moning. To his surprise, Lin Moning didn’t say a word and immediately punched him!

Zheng Zhe couldn’t tolerate it. Especially today, such an important occasion—what if his face was ruined and it spoiled Young Master Luo’s appetite?

Unable to endure any longer, Zheng Zhe instructed his underlings to start attacking Lin Moning.

His underlings were all trainees and had a good relationship with him. They were brought in by Zheng Zhe for this birthday celebration, which was filled with handsome men and beautiful women. Naturally, they all followed his orders.

At first, Lin Moning fought fiercely and unexpectedly landed a punch on him, but in the end, he was not a trained fighter, and his physique was weak. Soon, he was pinned to the ground by three of Zheng Zhe’s underlings.

That’s how things went, but no one expected that Young Master Luo would suddenly appear at this moment!

And… he personally helped Lin Moning up!

Zheng Zhe examined Lin Moning’s face—it had already been beaten to a horrible mess, swollen and purple, now completely resembling a pig’s head. There was no trace of his former handsomeness.

Zheng Zhe was baffled. He didn’t understand what had gotten into Young Master Luo.

Tang Bin, unaware of everyone’s thoughts, was just relieved that he had entered in time to prevent the male lead from taking more hits.

He still didn’t know how to proceed with the task in this world.

But since he had an assistive tool, increasing affection was clearly the most important thing.

Tang Bin was still not sure about his own abilities, and he was filled with fear about this unfamiliar world.

And obviously, he didn’t realize his own elevated status.

Because of this, someone asked him why he was getting involved, and he answered seriously:

“Fighting is wrong. You can’t fight.”

Zheng Zhe and his three underlings: “……”

Lin Moning: “……”

Young Master Luo placed Lin Moning half behind him in a protective stance, which made Zheng Zhe’s heart skip a beat.

At first, he had been so caught up in the fight, seeing red, that he hadn’t realized it.

But now, he felt that physically fighting with someone was definitely ruining his “good boy” image. Young Master Luo was probably angry now.

“Young Master Luo…” Zheng Zhe, playing the role of the wronged party, purposely spoke with a tone of grievance. “This kid hit me first. Look at my face.”

“Well, you were the one who insulted him first, and that was wrong,” Tang Bin replied with a very reasonable tone. “It was too harsh.”

As he said that, he glanced at Lin Moning… If it had been him who was insulted like that, he’d probably be too embarrassed to hold back his tears. But the male lead was actually pretty tough.

—

Tang Bin looked at Lin Moning, and Lin Moning was looking at him as well.

That sharp gaze was like a knife, making Tang Bin feel uncomfortable all over… He didn’t dare look at him any longer.

Tang Bin timidly looked away, which only made the people in the room more confused.

But Zheng Zhe didn’t dare offend him. Since Young Master Luo said he was wrong, he had to admit his mistake.

He immediately changed his expression, putting on a smile and acting meek as he moved closer to Tang Bin. “Young Master Luo, I know I was wrong. This whole thing was a misunderstanding. I’ll explain everything to you later. Let’s head back now…”

As he said that, he reached out, trying to link arms with Young Master Luo.

But Young Master Luo instinctively pulled away.

“Young Master Luo?” Zheng Zhe’s arm hung in midair, looking lost and confused.

“Can I leave now?”

Just when Tang Bin didn’t want to be touched by Zheng Zhe and wasn’t sure how to refuse, he heard the person beside him speak.

The young man’s voice was indifferent, calm, as if the noise around them didn’t concern him at all.

“Leave… Where are you going?”

The moment he said he was leaving, Tang Bin felt a little panicked—he had just been racking his brain, searching through the original owner’s memories, and he finally remembered who Lin Moning was.

The original owner’s memories of this person were very faint.

It seemed that Lin Moning was a trainee under a subsidiary entertainment company of the Luo family. Tang Bin didn’t understand much about it, but based on the memories, it seemed that the male lead had once been selected like in a beauty pageant, and those chosen by the original owner could become popular.

But at the time, the original owner thought Lin Moning was too thin, too frail, and wasn’t interested.

The original owner wasn’t interested, but Tang Bin couldn’t afford to be uninterested.

He didn’t want the male lead to leave just like that.

But in his panic, his voice betrayed his hesitation, making it sound as if Young Master Luo didn’t want Lin Moning to leave.

Not only were Zheng Zhe and the others startled, even the young man beside him couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.

Lin Moning furrowed his brows and glanced at him.

He was still very young, with no signs of aging, even his brows were smooth.

But he must be someone who often frowns.

Lin Moning didn’t seem to want to answer Young Master Luo’s question.

His attitude was even somewhat impatient.

Tang Bin was taken aback by his reaction and fell silent, instinctively shrinking his shoulders and not daring to ask any further questions.

Fortunately, before the atmosphere could grow tense, the door to the small private room was opened again.

This time, a large group of people poured in.

At the head of the group was a waiter in uniform, who rushed in and questioned, “Where have you been? Didn’t we agree you’d be changed and at the bar by 8:30…?”

It seemed that he only realized there were others in the room after rushing in, and standing next to Lin Moning was…

His voice abruptly cut off as he turned respectfully to greet Tang Bin, “Young Master Luo.”

By now, Tang Bin had grown used to this form of address, and he was fed up with the way others treated him as if he were some revered ancestor.

But what could he do? Even though he felt uncomfortable all over, he had to endure it.

“Since I’m in this position, I have to deal with it,” Tang Bin thought, “Enduring it is better than playing the role of a courtesan or sycophant trying to please others.”

The original owner often came here, so Tang Bin recognized the man as the manager of the bar.

He tried to maintain a stern expression and pretended to be unaware, asking, “What’s going on?”

“Oh, it’s nothing, really,” the manager answered. “Since it’s your birthday today, Young Master Luo, Young Master Yuan arranged everything in advance. We were worried there wouldn’t be enough hands, so we hired some temporary workers early. Lin Moning is one of them. We didn’t expect him to go off to change, and now he’s disappeared…” As he spoke, the manager began to shout again, “Lin Moning? What happened to your face? You actually got into a fight?!…”

So he was here working…

Zheng Zhe couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. It turns out that Lin Moning wasn’t here to seduce Young Master Luo…

He had overreacted earlier.

And the reason he’d been so upset and pulled Lin Moning aside to question him was simply because he was intimidated by him.

Not to mention anything else, Zheng Zhe felt embarrassed in front of his three underlings.

But before he had a chance to fully process his embarrassment, his thoughts were interrupted by a clear, calm voice—

He heard Young Master Luo ask, “Would you come with me?”

—

Not only was Zheng Zhe startled, but the leader of the group also fell silent again.

Young Master Luo’s gaze was now fixed directly on Lin Moning, and it couldn’t be clearer. The question was directed at Lin Moning.

The others exchanged glances, all looking at the bruised and battered Lin Moning as though he were a ghost. Almost immediately, as they realized what had happened, Zheng Zhe’s head spun, and he nearly fainted.