Mu Fengyin changed the subject, "But it's best not to be in last place or second to last."

"Why?"

“Otherwise, netizens will question our physical strength.” Mu Fengyin looked at Cen Yu. “After all, some of the regular guests are not in very good health.”

Cen Yu immediately understood Mu Fengyin's meaning—

You don't want netizens to question your physical condition, do you?

Cen Yu chuckled inwardly, thinking that Teacher Mu was too concerned about saving face, which was why he cared about such trivial matters. Someone as indifferent as him would definitely be ranked last!

...

After parting ways with Mu Fengyin, Cen Yu immediately spoke with He Ci about it.

He Ci took a deep breath on the other end of the phone—

"……I see."

"Boss, are you alright?" Cen Yu asked, feigning concern.

"This is terrible," He Ci said. "I'll be so angry tonight that I'll write 'you're the murderer' on the wall all night."

He Ci asked Cen Yu earnestly, "Have you considered changing companies?"

"I can help you settle the penalty for breach of contract."

Cen Yu chuckled. "Boss, let's not do such bad things." He thought for a moment, "You're already being tagged and cursed online every day. Doing such immoral things will only shorten your lifespan."

He Ci was obviously just saying that out of anger.

The talent show initially just wanted to capitalize on Duan Zhou's popularity. Although they apologized promptly afterward, they never expected it would sow the seeds of this disaster.

But in He Ci's opinion... this matter is not a big deal. The reason it has become like this is because Duan Zhou is petty and the atmosphere in the entire studio is despicable and vicious.

He thought for a moment, then comforted Cen Yu, saying, "This is not your fault..." He was just sharp-tongued, but after thinking about it, he was worried that Cen Yu might hold a grudge, so he decided to try to comfort her.

After all, anyone who encounters such a thing when they first debut would be traumatized.

“Of course,” Cen Yu replied immediately.

"Of course it's not my fault."

"..." Although that made sense, He Ci inexplicably felt that the emotions he had just cultivated had been wasted.

He was currently with one of his top artists on the set of an advertisement shoot, and he took the call during a break. After thinking about it, he decided to leave the matter directly to Yan Chongning.

“Yan Chongning will handle the rest, so you don’t need to worry,” He Ci said after thinking for a moment.

"As for Duan Zhou..."

"No need to give him face," He Ci said bluntly.

He thought the same as Mu Fengyin: Duan Zhou, being such a scoundrel, would definitely not let this go easily; he must be harboring a lot of evil intentions.

Yun Xing was not someone to be trifled with, so He Ci directly told Cen Yu not to hold back.

However, He Ci regretted it after saying that, and he couldn't help but add, "...Be mindful of your words."

He was genuinely afraid that Cen Yu would beat Duan Zhou into a broken piece.

“Boss, I understand.” Cen Yu leaned against the terrace, wearing headphones as he spoke to He Ci.

At this moment, several birds flew to the edge of the terrace and looked at him curiously. Cen Yu just looked and did not intend to touch them. He remembered what the production team had said earlier: these animals could only be viewed and not touched.

He leaned against the edge of the terrace, watching the birds that had temporarily stopped to roost. After hanging up the phone, he bent down and looked at Xie Jinshen standing below the terrace. "How long have you been here?"

Xie Jinshen had also changed his clothes at this time.

He looked up at Cen Yu, "Just arrived."

Cen Yu didn't believe it. He raised an eyebrow at Xie Jinshen, "He hasn't said a word..."

"Are you playing Romeo and Juliet?"

Xie Jinshen was not embarrassed by being exposed for lying. He had been standing there the whole time and had naturally heard his conversation with He Ci. Although he couldn't hear what they were saying, since it was something that needed to be reported to He Ci, it was probably not a trivial matter.

Xie Jinshen stood on the terrace for a moment before extending his hand, "May I invite you down?"

He stood there, as if he had transformed into Romeo from Shakespeare's play, overcoming numerous obstacles just to see his Juliet.

However, Cen Yu simply smiled.

"Sorry, I'm not Juliet."

He leaned against the balcony, looking at Xie Jinshen, who was less than 2 meters away from him—

The terrace isn't high; it's just a little distance from the ground.

"If you want to come up, figure it out yourself."

Xie Jinshen nodded, seemingly understanding Cen Yu's meaning... He took a few steps back, then quickly ran forward, using the momentum to grab the edge of the railing on the terrace of Cen Yu's small villa.

The birds on the railing were immediately startled by the stranger and flew away.

Xie Jinshen, however, had already stepped onto the edge of the terrace and climbed over to the other side.

He looked at Cen Yu, seemingly unaware that Cen Yu had just made things difficult for him... He didn't even pant, and simply stood in front of Cen Yu.

Cen Yu stepped back slightly, his gaze lingering on Xie Jinshen's strong arm, further confirming one thing—

The Xie Jinshen in the original work has absolutely no relation to the pitiful, honest man.

“This place is not safe,” Xie Jinshen said.

Cen Yu turned around and sat on the sofa on the terrace. "Why isn't it safe?"

“It’s very easy for someone to get in,” Xie Jinshen said.

Cen Yu wanted to say that not everyone has inexhaustible energy, but when he looked up and saw Xie Jinshen's serious expression, he didn't say it.

He reached out and patted the spot next to the sofa. Xie Jinshen sat down beside him without him having to invite him.

After Xie Jinshen sat down, he suddenly frowned and glanced at Cen Yu. "What did you just touch?"

“…?” Cen Yu was baffled.

He glanced at himself. "What did I touch?"

Xie Jinshen didn't speak. He could sense a faint, unfamiliar perfume scent on Cen Yu, with a hint of whiskey and woody rose. It wasn't the perfume Cen Yu usually used.

Many figures flashed through his mind, but the one that remained in the end was Mu Fengyin, who often looked at Cen Yu with a smile.

"Mu Fengyin?" Xie Jinshen murmured the name, tilting his head to look at Cen Yu. "You were just with Mu Fengyin?"

"?" Cen Yu lowered his head and sniffed himself again. "What do you smell?"

He was genuinely puzzled. "I was indeed with Mu Fengyin just now."

But he couldn't smell anything else at all.

Xie Jinshen looked at Cen Yu, and casually touched Cen Yu's neck. "I smell it..."

"An unpleasant taste."

Xie Jinshen's gaze lingered on the hem of Cen Yu's clothes.

He suddenly reached out and touched the faint bloodstains on Cen Yu's clothes. The bloodstains seemed to have only recently dried... Xie Jinshen rubbed them a few times with his fingernails, then looked up at Cen Yu, "What is this?"

"Blood?"