Chapter 24 Blacklisting

Lu Yan's cool and aloof expression softened unconsciously, like the first melting of spring snow: "Happy New Year. Where are you?"

"Me? Dad took us to the riverbank where we can set off fireworks!"

Her voice was loud, as if afraid of being drowned out by the wind. Then the screen suddenly shook, and she shouted at a figure not far away, "Dad! Come over here and say hello to my sugar daddy! He's... he's the great guy who lent us money!"

Lu Yan's breath caught in his throat, and he instantly didn't know what to do with his hands and feet. Almost immediately, he straightened his back and spoke hastily to the swaying figure on the screen, his tone more solemn than ever before: "Uncle, you..."

However, Ling Wei didn't give him a chance to finish speaking before the scene abruptly cut back to her drunken face: "Oh, never mind, never mind, Daddy can't hear the fireworks!"

As she spoke, she pointed the camera at the night sky, "Big shill, look! I'm giving you a live fireworks display!"

As a result, Lu Yan's screen was filled with shaky images.

The camera suddenly shifted to the night sky, and with a "bang," fireworks exploded in the darkness, scattering light in all directions. Immediately afterward, several more fireworks of different colors bloomed in succession, illuminating a small patch of sky.

The wind whistled past the microphone, mixed with Ling Wei's soft breathing. The breathing was very close, as if it were lingering in Lu Yan's ear, carrying a slightly intoxicating warmth.

The fireworks quickly came to an end, and the camera suddenly panned, unexpectedly focusing on Ling Wei's chin.

She called out into the distance, "Daddy? Is that it?"

After receiving a vague response, she muttered under her breath, "They can't even let my big boss perform for a little longer in a show..."

Before she could finish speaking, she hurriedly adjusted the camera.

In that instant, Lu Yan unconsciously held his breath.

On the screen, Ling Wei's cheeks were flushed with a drunken blush, and a few strands of hair were blown by the wind and stuck to the sides of her face.

Those usually bright and lively peach blossom eyes were now glistening with tears, reflecting the lingering fireworks in the distance, shining incredibly brightly.

"My dear benefactor," she smiled a little foolishly, but with utmost seriousness, "I'll perform a sparkler show for you!"

The phone was placed aside. The screen first showed the warm silhouettes of Ling's parents walking side by side along the riverbank in the distance, and then Ling Wei started playing with sparklers by herself.

Burning silver sparks danced and circled in her hands as she twirled clumsily yet joyfully in the wind, waving the dazzling beams of light, her hair and the hem of her clothes fluttering in the breeze.

"Did you see that? Did you see that?!" she shouted, waving her arms and panting slightly. "This composition! The blurred, loving parents are the background, the dynamic light trails are the leading lines, and your sister... oops, I mean, your debtor, I'm the foreground focus! A top student from the directing department presents you with the most beautiful New Year's Eve composition!"

Looking at the chaotic yet incredibly real joy on the screen, Lu Yan couldn't help but smile slightly and responded softly, "Yeah, I saw it."

It's a beautiful composition, he thought, but what's even more beautiful is the vibrant person at the center of the composition.

Ling Wei started patting her chest again, making such a strong thud that you could hear it through the screen: "Big sir! Thank you for saving me from this crisis! In the future... if I need to pretend to be your girlfriend again, I'll do it without hesitation! I promise I'll act even better than last time!" She tilted her head back, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the camera, as if waiting for praise.

Lu Yan finally chuckled softly and shook his head helplessly.

Just then, a head suddenly popped out from the edge of the screen, accompanied by a low, incredulous shout filled with suppressed anger: "What did you say?!"

It is Lu Zhao.

He had long been drawn to Ling Wei's incredibly penetrating voice next door and couldn't resist eavesdropping by pressing his ear against the wall.

At first, when I heard her calling him "Big Boss" repeatedly, I wondered what kind of strange thing she was doing, since he was her "VIP client"!

The more he listened, the more something seemed off, until the words "pretending to be his girlfriend" exploded in his ears like a thunderclap. His mind went blank, and he couldn't care less about anything else.

Ling Wei, her eyes blurry with drunkenness, looked at the extra person on the screen, paused for a moment, then pointed at him with a grin and said, "Hey! Isn't this my little servant? Why don't you greet your master? You're being naughty!"

Lu Zhao was so angry that his face turned green. He snatched the phone from Lu Yan's hand, pointed the screen at himself, and roared at Ling Wei on the other end, "Ling Wei!!! What exactly is going on between you and my brother?! What do you mean by pretending to be a girlfriend?!"

Ling Wei tilted her head, reacting a beat slower, then exclaimed "Ah!" as if suddenly realizing something, her tone carrying a frankness of "what's the use of trying?": "Ah, it seems... we've been exposed."

She quickly raised her chin again, reverting to her infuriating tone, and said, enunciating each word clearly, "That's exactly the situation! Your brother and I have a purely platonic creditor-creditor relationship! You've been fooled, you idiot! Hahahaha!"

"Ling Wei!!!"

Lu Zhao's roar almost lifted the roof off.

The girl in the picture immediately covered her ear closest to him with one hand. The wind blew a few strands of her hair to her lips. Her eyes were red from drunkenness and emotions. Her brows were furrowed into a small knot. In the light of the fireworks, her reproachful look inexplicably hit Lu Zhao's eyes, making his heart skip a beat and instantly forgetting his words.

She shook her head to herself, saying, "I can't hear you, I can't hear you—hehehe!"

She lowered her hand and immediately accused, "Who told you to say I was a substitute the first time we met! And you were so, so, so mean to me!"

Lu Zhao was speechless for a moment, then remembered something and a vein throbbed on his forehead: "Didn't you retaliate on the spot?! Ten slaps! And you're turning the tables on me!"

"I don't care! I won't listen, it's like a turtle chanting scriptures!" Ling Wei covered her ears, like an unreasonable child.

Lu Zhao gripped his phone tightly, refusing to hand it back to Lu Yan, who was frowning and trying to take it back. He gritted his teeth and said to the screen, his tone filled with hurt and anger at being deceived: "Video call me right now! I need an explanation!"

But then he saw the girl in the picture give him an extremely arrogant smile, and then slowly and clearly give him the middle finger.

"Let's go pick up your sister Yuqing!"

I'm not playing with you!

Go ahead and talk to my blacklist!

"Ling Wei!!!"

Before he could finish speaking, the screen suddenly went black, and the video call was disconnected.

The terrace fell into a deathly silence, with only the faint sound of fireworks in the distance and Lu Zhao's heavy breathing.

He hurriedly took out his phone, unlocked it, opened that familiar chat window, and quickly typed a series of questions and exclamation marks before sending it.

The next second, a merciless red exclamation mark appeared.

The message has been sent, but the recipient has rejected it.

She really... blocked him!