Chapter 28
The next second, the smile on his face seemed to be amplified tenfold, as if a catalyst had been added! He was like a husky that had just discovered a treasure, radiating an exaggerated heatwave, and "whoosh!" he rushed over! His target was—Zhuohua!
"My God! Goddess! It really is you!!"
His voice rose eight octaves with excitement, completely ignoring Lu Xiao's presence. He rushed to Zhuo Hua, clasped his hands together, and his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness, filled with undisguised worship and... sycophancy.
"Last night! The elevator! I'm so grateful to you! You saved my life! Goddess!" He was incoherent, gesturing wildly, trying to grab Zhuohua's arm to express his excitement, but after being swept over by Zhuohua's calm and indifferent gaze, his hand froze in mid-air and he awkwardly withdrew it.
Su Qing finally couldn't stand it anymore. She stood up, coughed heavily, and said in a tone that was both helpless and stern, "Lin Yang! Mind your image! This is an office!"
The man named Lin Yang then slightly toned down his exaggerated movements, but his gaze towards Zhuo Hua remained as fiery as ever, capable of melting an iceberg. He scratched his head and grinned at Su Qing, "Aunt Su, I was just too excited! I met my savior!"
Aunt Su?! Lu Xiao's heart skipped a beat when he caught that address! This relationship... is unusual!
Su Qing rubbed her temples, turned to the bewildered Lu Xiao and the still expressionless Zhuo Hua, and put on a professional smile again, introducing them: "Lu Xiao, Zhuo Hua, let me introduce you. This is Lin Yang, the youngest son of Chairman Lin of our Xingyao Group. He just returned from abroad and has recently started to get involved in some of the company's business."
The chairman's... youngest son?!
Lu Xiao was completely dumbfounded! The guy in the elevator last night who looked a bit gloomy and whose evil spirits had been casually exorcised by Zhuo Hua was actually the company's heir?! This reversal was too dramatic!
Lin Yang immediately straightened his back and gave Lu Xiao and Zhuo Hua what he thought was his most handsome smile, although Lu Xiao thought the smile was a bit too bright (even a bit silly): "Hello, hello! My name is Lin Yang! Yang as in sunshine! Please take care of me in the future! Especially the goddess!" He then turned his eager gaze to Zhuo Hua.
Zhuohua showed no reaction to his self-introduction, her gaze not even lingering on his face for a second longer. She simply looked at Su Qing indifferently, as if asking: You called us here just to watch him perform?
Su Qing was clearly not surprised by Zhuo Hua's reaction. She cleared her throat and said seriously, "Lin Yang, stop fooling around. Let's get down to business. Lin Yang has already told me in detail what happened last night."
She looked at Zhuohua, her eyes filled with unprecedented seriousness and a hint of inquiry, "Zhuohua, Lin Yang said...you helped him?"
Lin Yang immediately nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, eagerly saying, "Yes, yes, yes! Goddess! You don't know! When you asked me that question last night, I felt something was off! Then that finger you pointed at me... Wow! So cool! It was like something out of a movie! Although I couldn't see it clearly, I could feel it! My shoulders felt lighter! Like a huge boulder weighing hundreds of pounds had been lifted off my shoulders! I felt so much better! I slept so soundly when I got back! I slept until dawn! I felt so refreshed!" He described it with exaggerated gestures and expressive facial expressions.
Lu Xiao, listening from the side, was dumbfounded. This...this young master's personality...is too unpredictable! He's completely different from the gloomy person he was in the elevator last night!
Su Qing continued, "Lin Yang... is usually a bit eccentric, but his behavior has been quite unusual since he returned from abroad, and some of the details he mentioned..."
She paused, not elaborating, but her eyes made it clear that she believed most of Lin Yang's words. "So, the reason I invited you all here today is twofold: first, for Lin Yang to thank me in person, and second..."
She looked at Zhuohua, her tone carrying a barely perceptible request, "What Chairman Lin means is, he wants to ask you, Zhuohua... if it's convenient, could you take some time to take another look at Lin Yang? Or... is there anything we need to be aware of? After all..." She didn't finish her sentence, but her worry was evident.
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Lin Yang immediately chimed in, moving closer to Zhuo Hua with a fawning, obsequious smile, like a large dog wagging its tail. "Goddess! Please protect me! I feel like I've been having a really bad run of luck lately! I tripped and fell while walking, choked on water, and several of my investment projects failed! There must be something evil haunting me! Can you take a look at me? Exorcise the evil spirits? Price is negotiable! My dad's rich!" He patted his chest as he spoke.
Zhuohua finally fixed her gaze on Lin Yang's expectant face. She looked at him for a few seconds, her eyes calm and unwavering, as if she were examining an object. Then, she uttered two words with extreme indifference:
"It's gone."
"Huh?" Lin Yang's smile froze. "N-nothing? What's gone? The dirty stuff is gone?" He subconsciously touched his shoulder.
"Um."
Zhuohua responded, too lazy to explain further. That faint shadow of resentment had been completely annihilated by her purification talisman last night. As for Lin Yang's bad luck... it was purely his own bad luck, or... a chain reaction caused by doing something wrong, unrelated to evil spirits.
"Oh..." Lin Yang drawled in disappointment, but quickly perked up, his eyes still sparkling as he looked at Zhuo Hua. "Then...then, goddess! Can I come see you more often in the future? To learn a few moves from you? Or...do you have any amulets or something? Sell me a few! Hang them in my car! Hang them in my office! To keep me safe!"
His thoughts were jumping around wildly, and he had already begun to imagine himself dominating the battlefield with the amulet made by the goddess.
Lu Xiao listened from the side, his lips twitching involuntarily. This young master… his thought process is just too bizarre! Seeking exorcism skills from Zhuo Hua? And needing to buy amulets?
Looking at Lin Yang's eagerness to stick to Zhuo Hua, he felt a strange sense of... annoyance. Although he knew that the other party was just grateful and curious, this kind of enthusiasm was too annoying!
Zhuohua clearly had no interest in Lin Yang's chatter and enthusiasm. She frowned almost imperceptibly and looked directly at Su Qing: "Is there anything else?"
Su Qing noticed Zhuohua's impatience and quickly smoothed things over, "It's alright, it's alright! Today was mainly to express our gratitude and confirm the situation. Zhuohua, Chairman Lin is very grateful, and in the future, the company will definitely prioritize giving you resources. Lin Yang, stop bothering Zhuohua!" She glared at Lin Yang.
Lin Yang reluctantly withdrew his gaze from Zhuo Hua, but still unwilling to give up, he forced a big smile at her: "Goddess! I'll be going now! I'll treat you to dinner another day! You must do me the honor!"
He then turned to Lu Xiao, patted him on the shoulder with a "I believe in you, bro" expression, and said, "Lu Xiao, right? Keep it up! Act well! I'll protect you guys from now on!"
After saying that, he left the office, looking back every few steps, like a peacock spreading its tail feathers.
The office door closed, and the air instantly became quiet.
Su Qing let out a long sigh of relief and gave Zhuohua and Lu Xiao an apologetic yet helpless smile: "I'm sorry you had to see this. Lin Yang... grew up abroad and his personality is a bit... too lively. But he's not a bad person at heart, he's just very curious. Thank you, Zhuohua, for what happened last night."
Zhuohua gave a faint "hmm".
Lu Xiao quickly said, "Director Su, you're too kind. Zhuohua... it was just a coincidence."
Su Qing nodded, her face regaining its professional smile: "Alright, that's all the business. Have you read the new script? 'Under the Blue Sky' has been very well received, and we're already in talks with several good scripts. Wang Li will communicate with you as soon as possible. Go back and get some rest, and stay in shape."
They left the director's office and stepped into the elevator. Only the two of them remained in the small space.
Looking at Zhuohua's calm and composed profile, Lu Xiao finally couldn't help but ask, "Zhuohua... that Lin Yang... what exactly happened to him last night..."
"It's tainted with a bit of resentment." Zhuohua said succinctly, clearly not wanting to elaborate. "That's all."
"Oh..." Lu Xiao responded, and the slight displeasure he felt due to Lin Yang's excessive enthusiasm dissipated somewhat.
He hesitated for a moment, then muttered under his breath, "He...he seems to really admire you...and he even wants to treat you to dinner..."
Zhuohua turned her head and glanced at him. Lu Xiao felt a little guilty under her gaze and quickly looked away.
"Troublesome." Zhuohua withdrew her gaze, looked at the numbers flashing on the elevator door, and uttered two words indifferently.
Lu Xiao was taken aback for a moment, then a strange sweetness welled up in his heart. Troublesome? She found Lin Yang troublesome? So... so she didn't like that kind of enthusiasm?
He secretly glanced up at Zhuo Hua's cool profile, and couldn't help but let a smile creep onto his lips.
The elevator arrived at the first floor. The door opened.
Zhuohua walked out first, her steps composed.
Lu Xiao quickly followed, his steps light and quick. He looked at Zhuo Hua's tall and slender back; sunlight streamed through the glass curtain wall of the building, bathing her in a halo of light. His glassy eyes reflected that figure, filled with pure, unreserved adoration and dependence.
Although Lin Yang was a bit annoying, Zhuohua thought he was troublesome enough. Lu Xiao thought happily, quickly catching up to her and walking side-by-side.
The afternoon sun streamed through Xingyao Media's massive floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling across the gleaming marble floor and creating a warm, languid atmosphere typical of modern cities. Zhuohua leaned back in the soft leather sofa, her fingertips unconsciously tapping lightly on the armrest, carrying a timeless rhythm that seemed completely out of place with the hustle and bustle of traffic outside.
Lu Xiao sat beside her, clutching the freshly printed variety show proposal in his hand. The pages rustled as he flipped through them, his brow furrowed with a mixture of excitement at his first opportunity and a barely perceptible nervousness. "Mysterious Realm... a large-scale outdoor immersive scripted murder mystery?" He read the title aloud, turning to Zhuo Hua, his eyes sparkling like fallen stars. "Hua Hua, look! It's supposed to be a big production, with a strong guest lineup. The company has really gone all out this time! Can we... can we really pull this off?"
Zhuohua's gaze shifted from the bustling traffic outside the window to his young and energetic face. That pure, slightly naive ambition was a rare bright spot in her long life.
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