Li Changqing sucked in a deep breath before asking: “To what do I owe the honor of this phone call, Mr. Lu?” He hoped that the phone call was actually good news, and not bad news. Even if it was bad news, well, there was no avoiding it now; he might as well get it over with before the fear and suspense triggered a heart attack.
“What did Zuo Fanrui ask you to do to Yan Huan?” Lu Yi asked in his usual toneless voice. His fingers had stilled on top of Little Bean’s round, tiny head.
“Yan Huan?”
Li Changqing frowned as he wondered whether to tell the truth or lie. He finally settled on telling the truth; Lu Yi was not someone who was easily deceived. More importantly, Li Changqing knew he would be in deep trouble if he tried to lie to Lu Yi.
“He asked me to ice Yan Huan.”
“I see…” Lu Yi lapsed into silence. He moved his phone from his right ear to his left, and then moved Little Bean from his lap to the sofa. He got up and walked towards his balcony.
“Zuo Fanrui’s fall from grace will be made public very soon. Do you understand what I’m getting at?”
Li Changqing stared uncomprehendingly at the documents on his desk. It was a long moment before he finally understood what Lu Yi was saying. Was Lu Yi acting on Yan Huan’s behalf? Zuo Fanrui had fallen from grace? When? It had only been half a day since Zuo Fanrui walked out of Li Changqing’s office after threatening him and ordering him to ice Yan Huan—had he fallen from grace right after that? Was such supernatural efficiency possible?
“Mr. Lu, do you actually know Ms. Yan?” Li Changqing asked tentatively.
Lu Yi leaned against the railing of his balcony, his clear eyes fixed upon the view in the distance. It was a long way down—at this perilous height, he would smash into smithereens upon the ground if he slipped and fell, but the height did not faze him. Instead, he half-closed his eyes in contentment as he inhaled the fresh air.
“If anything happens to her in the future, let me know. This is my private number.”
Lu Yi had sidestepped Li Changqing’s question, but Li Changqing was no fool—he had understood the hidden implication behind what Lu Yi had just said. The message was crystal clear.
Li Changqing let out a long sigh of relief when the call finally ended. He picked up the reports and documents on his desk, feeling like a victim of a tasteless prank: one man had tried to get him to ice Yan Huan, and when he had finally completed all the messy, troublesome arrangements, another man had appeared to save her.
He wondered when and how Yan Huan had been acquainted with Lu Yi. Li Changqing had been worried for Yan Huan; he was afraid that her career was advancing too quickly, that someone would resent her rapidly growing popularity and try to knock her down a peg. Showbiz was a stormy, treacherous industry, after all.
But he knew now that he had been worried for nothing: Yan Huan had someone backing her, and that person was Lu Yi. Lu Yi! That man was at least ten times more powerful than Zuo Fanrui. Zuo Fanrui was powerful enough to ice any actress at any time, but Lu Yi had pulled the mighty Zuo Fanrui down from his lofty horse within half a day. What a plot twist!
Li Changqing did not know that Zuo Fanrui was, at that moment, lying in a hospital, unconscious, his testicles crushed by his wife. The entire situation was so bizarre Li Changqing would not have known how to react to it.
Li Changqing got out his phone and dialed Yan Huan’s number happily. It had pained him a moment ago to have to enter her number, but now he did it easily, with open delight.
“Okay, understood.” Yan Huan spoke into her phone as she adjusted the gold crown on her head. She had been on the phone with Li Changqing for more than five minutes now.
“Thank you, Manager Li.” Yan Huan thanked him before hanging up.
She dialed another number. She knew that she had to thank Lu Yi personally for saving her from such a huge mess; she owed him that much, at least. No, she corrected herself, I owe him many “Thank You”s, not just one.
