Chapter 7.2

With a sense of relief, Yan Zhao smiled and said, “It’s alright, I’ll find a moment to explain to him; he’ll understand.”

They were currently treating each other with respect, so even if rumors spread, the other party(Shen Yuanting) probably wouldn’t get angry.

Qiu Chengtian, looking puzzled, asked, “Do you have a way to contact Ying Hongyu? How will you explain this? You should clarify it quickly. Just now, in the restroom, I ran into his manager, and oh, the look he gave me, as if he wanted to swallow me alive. It’s not like I’m involved in rumors with Ying Hongyu; really…”

Clearly not possessing Conan’s detective skills, Yan Zhao blinked, stayed silent for a few seconds, then moved to his seat, picking up a cup and taking a sip.

After a moment, realizing the cup was empty, he calmed down and searched online about his rumored relationship with Ying Hongyu.

It turned out that after the variety show aired, fans caught onto the phrase ‘a certain someone unwilling to reveal their name’ and immediately speculated that it referred to Ying Hongyu, who had lent him the guitar.

This shows that having an uncommon surname wasn’t necessarily a good thing. If it had been a ‘Wang,’ ‘Li,’ or ‘Zhang,’ the fans wouldn’t have been able to come up with… No, they were all like Sherlock Holmes; there was no information they couldn’t dig up.

…

The program recording went smoothly; the Mu group ignited the atmosphere with their dance at the beginning, and later, the gaming and casual chatting sections followed the script smoothly. Except for the silver chain around his neck constantly hitting his face when he moved or jumped, there were no unexpected incidents.

Ning Yunfan and the others were still living in the small dorms provided by the company, but Yan Zhao took a different route and, with the assistant on leave, he drove back home alone.

Halfway through the drive, he suddenly remembered leaving his script in the lounge, so he turned back.

…

Work hours had long ended, and the people in the TV station had mostly left. The underground parking lot resembled the stomach of a monster, with only a few scattered cars visible.

The ceiling light was malfunctioning, flickering on and off, casting an eerie darkness in the parking lot.

“…He may not be as skilled as you, may not win the gold award, and might face ridicule, but at least, I was happy when I filmed his scenes.”

Yan Zhao held the script, walking without stopping, and thinking: It’s so late, and there are still people who haven’t left like him.

He had no interest in eavesdropping. As his hand touched the car, there was a muffled sound, as if something had hit a car. Following that, a furious shout erupted: “Are you saying that shooting a film with me is painful for you?!”

The other party did not answer but coughed twice, saying, “Cao Zhicheng, let me go.”

Cao Zhicheng, the director of “Falling Venus.” A renowned director getting into a late-night argument in a parking lot?

Yan Zhao casually glanced at the source of the noise and immediately frowned.

Beside a red Cayenne, a slender young man was being choked by another man against the car door, his eyebrows furrowed, and his face was pale.

Both of his hands were gripping the man’s arm, trying to pull it away, but the power difference was too great, and the man held him firmly like a mountain.

—Choking someone’s neck? What kind of murder scene is this!

Yan Zhao widened his eyes in surprise, took light steps, and walked towards the scene.

As Yan Zhao approached, the faces and voices of both sides became clear. In a twist of fate, the young man being choked against the car door turned out to be his rumored romantic interest, Ying Hongyu.

Ying Hongyu, an exceptionally talented individual, had only been in the industry for three years but had already won the Best Actor award at an international film festival. With both looks and talent, he was rumored to come from a powerful background, making him a rising star in the entertainment industry.

He doesn’t have many scenes in the book, but Yan Zhao’s impression of him is so deep purely because he shamelessly identified with this character.

Naturally gifted, good-looking, talented, and wealthy – wasn’t he the epitome of Yan Zhao’s own illustrious acting career (not to mention his face)?

However, witnessing Ying Hongyu’s fate left Yan Zhao speechless.

During a certain filming, Ying Hongyu accidentally fell off a cliff, his life was saved, but his legs were paralyzed, and he would be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

The lead actor was disabled, and no matter how sad the director was, he had to replace him, so he picked an lively person from the crew to replace Ying Hongyu, and this person was Ning Yunfan.

But that wasn’t the end of the story. Ignoring the doctors’ advice, Ying Hongyu insisted on continuing with the production, solely to mentor Ning Yunfan on acting. As a result, Ning Yunfan, the new male lead, quickly surpassed his peers in skill. Meanwhile, Ying Hongyu, having achieved his goal, with a wave of his hand, left the scene in silence, never to be heard from again.

What’s the difference between this and the white-bearded old man who secluded himself in a cave for decades, waiting for the protagonist to come and pass on all his skills to him? It’s like a living, breathing NPC ^[1]NPC = Non-Player Character passing on his skills!

One reader in the comments once remarked: [Better looking than the protagonist, more talented, superior family background, and, most importantly, you’re not the main character? If we’re not sacrificing you, who are we sacrificing to the heavens?]

Yan Zhao had a good impression of Ying Hongyu. Seeing him nearly choked into unconsciousness, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

Yan Zhao’s courage was impressive as he silently approached Cao Zhicheng from behind, moving with steady and light steps like an assassin. Cao Zhicheng remained completely unaware of his presence.

Upon seeing Yan Zhao, Ying Hongyu’s eyes trembled slightly, but he didn’t reveal any unusual reaction. He weakly chuckled and said to Cao Zhicheng, “Now, you’re just like the villain in a TV drama.”

“I am the villain, so what about him? The male lead, your good director?” Cao Zhicheng was provoked by Ying Hongyu, and he didn’t even notice the abnormality behind him. “That poor dog, what benefits can you gain by following him? But if you follow me, you can have everything you want. Don’t you like money? I have plenty!”

This statement was crude and lacked cultural refinement. His behavior was also violent. Dream on if he thought he could win over a male god with such an attitude!

Yan Zhao smirked, about to deliver a socialist harmonious punch, when suddenly a bright light shone from a distance. And a security guard shouted, “What are you doing?!”

Cao Zhicheng quickly turned his head and locked eyes with Yan Zhao. He immediately released his grip and staggered backward.

Yan Zhao squinted, his hand in front of his forehead, blocking out some of the dazzling light, feeling slightly relieved.

Little did he know, Cao Zhicheng scrutinized him from head to toe, chuckled twice, and called out to the security guard, “What are you standing there for? Come help!”

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhao sensed something was wrong. He delivered a punch directly to Cao Zhicheng’s nose, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground.

Ying Hongyu held his neck in pain, his face contorted. His voice hoarse, he said, “They are together… You should leave quickly!”

He meant that the dimly lit parking lot was already suspicious, and if the surveillance cameras were also malfunctioning, it seemed that the security guard and Cao Zhicheng were in cahoots, with one keeping watch and the other causing trouble!

Yan Zhao moved his fingers and at the same time, he kept an eye on Director Cao on the ground and the security guard in the distance. He took a few steps back and said coldly, “Then I’ll leave first, you take care of yourself!”

Ying Hongyu: “???” Isn’t it normal for him to stay and protect him???

Ying Hongyu lowered his eyes, staring at the tip of his shoe. In his peripheral vision, the figure of the other person quickly moved away.

For a person, self-preservation is the top priority. He had already taken the first step, which was enough…

Ying Hongyu took a few steps, his knees weak. Each step felt like walking on a suspended tightrope, unsteady.

The person behind him had already stood up. Because his nose was injured, his pronunciation was a bit awkward. He cursed, “Damn it, where did this idiot come from? If I see him again, I’ll fucking kill him!”

Ying Hongyu gritted his teeth, each step he took seemed to exhaust all the strength in his body. His shoulder sank as Cao Zhicheng’s palm pressed against him. The man grinned and said, “Even with all this, you couldn’t save yourself. You see, this is fate, right?”

Ying Hongyu closed his eyes, a sense of despair engulfing him from all sides. Just as Cao Zhicheng’s hand touched his face, a bright light surged like a tsunami. Even with his eyes closed, he could sense the brightness of that light.

He lifted his eyelids and saw an ordinary nanny car rushing out from the corner!

The speed of the car was so fast that it didn’t seem like it was driving in a parking lot. It didn’t care whether it would stumble or trip. Like a giant whale leaping out of the sea surface, the momentary sense of oppression almost made people kneel down!

The car headed straight towards them, rapidly closing the distance. In the blink of an eye, the massive front of the car was already in front of him!

Encountering scum was bad enough, but encountering the reckless drivers in the parking lot was really pushing his luck to the extreme… Indeed, when he went out today, he should have followed the divination and worn the jade pendant to ward off evil spirits.

Ying Hongyu closed his eyes, waiting to meet the King of Hell in the underworld, but the imagined pain didn’t come.

A honk sounded.

He opened his eyes, and the car window of the nanny car rolled down a small gap.

Yan Zhao put on a pair of sunglasses and said, “Get in the car!”