Chapter 24 Part 2

Chen Junyan was a designer. Along the way, she half-complained, half-shared fun work stories with Shen Yu. By the time they finished statements, they were pretty familiar.

“I just took a commission today. Guess the rate?” Chen Junyan flashed a number at Shen Yu, making his heart itch.

Her gaze swept over him. “Eh, but you probably aren’t short on cash. That number’s probably meaningless to you.”

Shen Yu: No, no one has more concept of it than me.

Chen Junyan asked, “Guess what he wants me to design? Hint: for holding stuff.”

She was great at guiding topics with questions. Shen Yu blinked, eyed her just-robbed bag, then ventured, “For holding stuff? That’s too broad a hint. Wild guess: a bag?”

“A bag? I don’t design bags. A golden cage, for keeping pets.” Chen Junyan shocked herself saying it aloud. She hesitated over gold bracelets, but this sugar daddy was casting a whole Golden Cage. People really couldn’t compare to pets.

Shen Yu: …This world had gone mad.

Chen Junyan adroitly teased him again. “Guess what he wants to keep in it?”

Shen Yu asked, “What?”

“A lion.”

After the prior shocks, even something outrageous from Chen Junyan felt reasonable. He repeated, “A lion?”

“Yeah, a wild lion. No idea what these rich folks are thinking.”

“It needs to be exquisitely vintage, spacious enough for the pet to stretch and play comfortably, structurally solid to prevent escapes and injuries. The design should allow easy observation by keepers—basically no different from usual, just extra focus on safety. Can’t imagine the consequences if a wild lion got loose, so I put extra thought into the locks and latches.”

“Definitely need to mind those.” Shen Yu agreed deeply. Wild animals were aggressive by nature. The keeper was mentally off, but at least not out to harm others—still somewhat normal.

Though not by much.

They left the station into foggy night. Chen Junyan checked the time, remembered her errand, and hurriedly told Shen Yu, “I gotta rush to class. Next time, dinner on me to thank you properly.”

Shen Yu pointed to the car parked roadside. “Need a ride?”

Chen Junyan eyed the luxury car—subdued color but screaming “you can’t afford me” from every angle. She waved frantically. “God, no, I don’t wanna be that flashy. My ride’s coming. Gotta go—see you next time.”

“Alright, see you.”

Shen Yu watched Chen Junyan leave before slowly driving back to Little Zhou Mountain.

The Zhou Mansion was lit up brightly, like a grand castle.

When Shen Yu returned, it was exactly eleven o’clock, an hour past the so-called curfew time.

He had thought something might happen, but he made it all the way back to his room without any issues. Zhou Jinsheng was indeed not there. The butler greeted him with a normal expression when he entered the door and did not ask why he was back so late.

Nothing happened?

So why had they specifically told him about the curfew time that morning?

As soon as he returned to his room, 007 reminded him: 【Host, there’s new surveillance again.】

Shen Yu’s mouth twitched. He was too lazy to dismantle the surveillance in the bedroom anymore; he would just remove the one in the bathroom. Right now, he only wanted to take a good bath and then sleep.

His fingers probed along the side of the mirror frame, sliding all the way to the edge. Shen Yu skillfully removed the miniature surveillance device and tossed it into the trash can.

007: 【There are five more.】

Shen Yu’s fingers paused sharply: “……”

007: 【They’re respectively on the right side of the lighting fixture, at the bottom of the waterproof platform, in the vent, on the left side of the bathtub handrail, and to the right rear of the sink. Very well hidden.】

“……”

Shen Yu fell silent.

The surveillance installed that morning was at least in places a normal person might think of. What the hell was the bottom of the waterproof platform???

Shen Yu crossed his arms and scanned the entire bathroom. Now, everywhere he looked seemed suspicious.

007: 【Ahem, Host, do you still want to bathe? It’s so late. Zhou Jinsheng probably won’t watch… right?】

【Heh heh.】

【Bathe, why wouldn’t I?】

Shen Yu sneered, filled the bathtub with water, and turned sideways to take off his sweater. The bathroom light was in cool tones, making the man’s skin appear even paler.

In the camera’s view, his body was like peeled fruit flesh—less black by an inch, more white by an inch.

Shen Yu bent slightly at the waist, pulled out his belt from his casual pants with a snap, and tossed it casually onto the floor. The black trousers slid down to his ankles. He stepped out of them and strode into the bathtub.

His body under the rippling water surface faintly appeared and disappeared in the shimmering light. Shen Yu quickly finished washing, stretched out his arm to grab the towel hanging nearby, and wrapped it around his waist as he stood up. His waist and abdomen were lean and narrow, his shoulders broad, creating an astonishing curve, like a line pinched out by hand.

As Shen Yu moved, he reached up and slicked his wet black hair back from his forehead. Beneath his full forehead, his peach blossom eyes, moistened by the steam, looked even more sensually alluring.

Shen Yu leaned against a wardrobe in the dressing room. His long, dense eyelashes veiled his eyes as he held his phone and messaged his secretary, ignoring his secretary’s shocked silence. He sent the address of the Zhou Mansion and instructed them to deliver some personal clothes tomorrow. As for a certain someone—

Tch, watch if you want. It’s not like it’ll cost me a piece of flesh. You can’t eat it anyway.

His upper body was bare, his arm muscles relaxed and stretched. Even through the lens, one could feel the thin mist of steam rising from his muscles.

Water droplets from the tips of his hair trailed down his snowy white shoulder and neck, winding downward, finally sliding along his sleek and sexy mermaid lines. The veins on his lower abdomen mingled with the round water droplets, disappearing downward—

Three thousand and seven kilometers away from the Zhou Mansion, atop a high-rise building, the man sitting on the sofa narrowed his eyes slightly. His gaze fell on the computer screen in front of him, dark shadows gathering in his deep eyes.

“Bzzz—”

His phone vibrated.

Zhou Jinsheng frowned slightly. He picked up his phone and, upon seeing the message, the furrow in his brow relaxed. Then it slowly smoothed out entirely, followed by a magnetic, pleased laugh filled with rare satisfaction.

The previous message in the chat was still from eight years ago.

The latest one had just arrived.

23:32—

[Dead Pervert.]

“——What do you mean this role was practically made for me?” Shen Yu sipped his lemon juice while going over the new script once more.

A gentle autumn breeze brushed across his face. The script was as good as ever. If he hadn’t suddenly remembered what He Qian had said before, it would have been even more pleasant.

As Shen Yu began appearing frequently on set, Yu Qi surprisingly joined the crew early too, several days ahead of the agreed time. This delighted He Qian to no end.

Yu Qi had just finished makeup, wearing a crisp and clean blue-and-white school uniform. He really looked like a high school student. His scene was next. He walked over, sat on the small stool next to Shen Yu, picked up the script Shen Yu had set down, and flipped through it.

An arrogant and peculiar smile appeared on Yu Qi’s lips: “Because you all have one most important thing in common.”

Shen Yu looked at him.

To avoid being recognized by acquaintances, Yu Tingsi’s face had clearly been altered by surgery. Though the facial features were similar, no one would associate the person before them with the lawless young master of the Yu Family from years ago.

They had only met once at Blue Sea Bay, where the lighting was dim and everything was hazy. He wasn’t sure if this man still remembered him. From a certain angle, this person had been the one to help him out of a jam at Blue Sea Bay back then, though the method wasn’t particularly friendly.

Shen Yu was somewhat puzzled and smiled as he asked: “What common point?”

Yu Qi’s eyes rolled up and down, scrutinizing Shen Yu thoroughly. His gaze was unfamiliar, not friendly at all. It seemed he didn’t remember Shen Yu at all.

He didn’t answer Shen Yu’s question first. Instead, a playful, cold smile tugged at his lips as he turned the question back: “Do you know why Director He had you explain the scene to Zhang Miaomiao?”

Answering a question with a question—the answer lay within the question itself.

Why? Because he knew Zhou Jinsheng?

Before Shen Yu could voice his confirmation, it was Yu Qi’s turn again. Back when Xu Shengyang had his accident, to avoid wasting venue fees, they had filmed many scenes without the male lead first. So now there were a lot of reshoots. Since joining the crew, Yu Qi practically hadn’t rested.

Yu Qi had striking looks, with exquisitely contoured brows and eyes that carried a bone-deep sharpness and edge. Anyone who saw him would think he was not easy to get along with.

But quite the opposite—everyone who had worked with Yu Qi praised his professionalism. During filming, he worked harder than the director. For the bullying scenes, he even insisted on real hits from the extras for authenticity, scaring the group actors half to death. They had to negotiate for a while before reaching an agreement.

He Qian had privately chatted with Shen Yu more than once, expressing great admiration for the man. He was wild and dedicated, a ruthless character. Even Xu Shengyang couldn’t match that desperate struggle and resistance for survival.

Indeed.

After Yu Qi joined, the film’s progress went surprisingly smoothly. With the fame of Huai Shi and Yu Qi, the buzz skyrocketed like a rocket, then got another boost.

“Rumored that a certain new director surnamed He is being kept by a certain domineering CEO surnamed Shen—”

“Holy shit, who bought this hot search?!!”