Chapter 20 The King of Verbal Strength

The inertia caused her to lean forward, only to be violently pulled back into her seat by the seatbelt.

"What are you doing?!" Ling Wei turned on the car interior light and stared at the perpetrator, still shaken.

To her surprise, Lu Zhao reacted even more strongly, almost yelling, "Why are you taking off your clothes in the car?!"

Ling Wei rolled her eyes, looking at him like he was an idiot: "Are you going to wear these wet clothes to dry them off? Are you out of your mind?"

After she finished speaking, she suddenly realized something, her eyes turning dangerous as she slowly narrowed them: "Wait...aren't you driving? Where are you looking?!"

After the man came to a sudden stop, he kept his neck stiff, only showing her the taut back of his head.

But in the dim light, her ears and neck quickly blushed at a visible speed.

Ling Wei raised her hand and smacked him on the back of the head, making a crisp sound.

"rogue!"

Lu Zhao knew he was in the wrong, so he kept quiet and didn't say anything back, but even when he's driving, he has to use his peripheral vision, you know!

His heart skipped a beat when he saw that patch of fair skin on her neck and shoulders.

He reached out and snapped the interior lights off, plunging the car into darkness with only the dashboard emitting a faint glow.

In the darkness, the senses become exceptionally sharp.

The rustling sound of the fabric rubbing together was amplified, and with Ling Wei's movements, a faint, sweet fragrance belonging to her wafted out.

Lu Zhao suddenly remembered that she had complained about his strong body odor earlier, and now, his coat, which was covered in his scent, was clinging tightly to her skin... This realization made his throat tighten.

When the rustling sounds from Ling Wei's side stopped, indicating that the change was complete, Lu Zhao still didn't turn on the lights or start the car.

Ling Wei reached for the car's interior light switch: "What are you daydreaming about? Drive!"

His wrist was suddenly grabbed by a hand with distinct knuckles and a burning heat. Lu Zhao's voice sounded unusually low and hoarse in the darkness, as if he was trying his best to suppress something:

"Wait a moment."

Ling Wei asked, puzzled, "What is he waiting for?"

The system that sees through everything and speaks it out: "Isobaric (wooden gun)".

Ling Wei: "......"

In my mind: "Aaaaaah! This pervert!"

System: "No, isn't this your type?"

Who is this hesitant person?! Get out of my host's body!

Ling Wei: "I can bully him, but he can't do that to me! He's a pervert!"

She can act like a hooligan, but you can't act like a hooligan in front of her!

System: Got it... This is a well-known case of double standards, a master of empty rhetoric.

Lu Zhao remained silent for a few seconds before taking a deep breath, restarting the car, and seemingly adjusting his seating position almost imperceptibly.

"Hold on tight." His voice was still a little strained.

The car smoothly drove back into the rain, and Ling Wei had already retreated to her seat, as quiet as a chicken.

Lu Zhao forced himself to look straight ahead, reached out and turned on the car's music system, trying to dispel the inexplicable ambiguity and heat in the car.

But it felt like the results were minimal.

He simply rolled down the car window, and the wind from the speeding car rushed in instantly. The cold raindrops hit his burning face, which finally brought him a little more sober.

Ling Wei was startled by the sudden cold wind and raindrops: "???"

Once his emotions had calmed down a bit, Lu Zhao couldn't help but glance to the side.

Ling Wei was already leaning against the car window, looking down intently at the footage she had just shot on her camera.

He cleared his throat, trying to regain his normal tone, with a hint of barely perceptible boasting and anticipation: "My second round audition video was released online at noon today."

Ling Wei didn't even look up, and gave a perfunctory "oh".

Lu Zhao was taken aback by her reaction, and asked again, unwilling to give up, "...You didn't see it?"

"I'm busy," Ling Wei replied curtly.

"You..." Lu Zhao felt a lump in his throat. How could this woman be like this! "Then look now!"

"No." Ling Wei continued fiddling with the camera. "I'm so busy right now that I don't even watch variety shows while eating; I'm just analyzing movies. Anyway, you'll be famous sooner or later, so it doesn't matter whether you watch or not."

Such a simple sentence, as if stating a self-evident fact.

But it was precisely this sense of entitlement that caused a surge of inexplicable joy to rise within him, almost causing him to lose his composure.

Lu Zhao: "There's still room for improvement..."

Ling Wei finally raised her head. In the dim light, her peach blossom eyes glanced at him slyly: "Want to see my professional commentary? Sure, pay up."

Lu Zhao was taken aback: "You're charging me? You didn't charge me for your reviews before!"

"That was a trial period perk, honey," Ling Wei said in a light and cheeky tone. "Now that the trial is over, it's time to pay for the knowledge."

The deliberately drawn-out "dear" sound tickled Lu Zhao's heart like a feather, making his ears inexplicably hot.

"...How much?" He pursed his lips, but couldn't help asking.

Ling Wei held up three fingers and waved them in front of him.

"three hundred?"

Thirty thousand.

"What? Just a critique?" Lu Zhao felt cheated. "Why don't you just rob me?"

"I'm practically robbing you out of my sight," Ling Wei grinned like a sly little fox. "Really? Really? The young master of the Lu family actually thinks it's too expensive?"

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Lu Zhao retorted, but in reality, he only gained a clear understanding of prices after leaving home.

Ling Wei shrugged, then laughed at herself, "Alright, alright, I'll give you a 90% discount, three thousand."

Professional reviews, precise positioning, a direct path to success – you won't regret it, dear!

Lu Zhao glared at her bright yet hateful smiling face, struggled internally for three seconds, and finally gave in, practically squeezing out the word through gritted teeth: "...Fine!"

Ling Wei then put away her camera with satisfaction, took out her phone, and opened the stage cam that had been trending on social media for a day.

The carriage resounded with loud music and cheers from the audience.

Ling Wei watched quite attentively, pausing occasionally to tap the screen with her fingertip: "Here, the timing is very accurate, and the strength control is better than in the last round."

"Your high notes are a bit tight; relax your throat next time."

"The arrangement of C's solo performance was more creative than in the previous round."

Lu Zhao appeared focused on driving, but his ears were perked up, catching every comment she made.

Hearing these affirmative details, he couldn't help but smile slightly.

However, when the video reached a certain group dance segment, Ling Wei paused again: "But here, compared to the teammate in the center position, your sense of extension in the movements and the fullness of the emotions are still a little bit lacking."

"What's wrong with it?!"

Lu Zhao was instantly unconvinced and instinctively stepped on the brakes, pulling the car to the side of the road. He leaned over to see for himself, saying, "I clearly handled this part with more power!"

He picked up the phone, looked down and carefully examined the clip, trying to find evidence to refute it.

Just as he was engrossed in watching, he suddenly felt the person next to him lean slightly in his direction, as if to get a better view.

His coat, which was too big for her, was slightly open at the collar.

From his angle, with the light from his phone screen and the occasional flashes of streetlights outside the window, he could vaguely see inside...

Lu Zhao's breath hitched, his body froze instantly, and his mind went blank.

Ling Wei looked down following his suddenly frozen gaze—

"Aaaaaaah! Pervert!!"

The next second, a slap filled with shame and indignation landed squarely on his face, making a loud noise in the quiet carriage.

Lu Zhao's head was turned to the side by the blow, and a low groan escaped his throat uncontrollably.

The sound was a gasp of pain mixed with a hint of sexy panting.

...

It's even more insane!