Chapter 195

Yu Liang looked at the tightly bundled woman before him and said to shoo her away: "We're not taking photos today."

Yu Liang had gone a day and night without sleep; now he was exhausted and just wanted to rest.

But the woman didn't leave; instead she sat on the nearby chair, then took out a thick stack of money from her bag and placed it on the table beside her.

"As long as you give me the photos you took of those people today, this money is yours."

Yu Liang looked at the money on the table; if it had been two days earlier, he might have been tempted, for back then he was so poor he couldn't even afford a meal.

But this time he glanced at it once and then looked away: "Not for sale!"

The woman seemed not to have expected Yu Liang to refuse; a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, and she immediately produced another stack of money and placed it on the table: "Is this enough?"

Yu Liang shook his head again: "It's not about the money; after the photos were developed, the client took both the prints and the negatives, so here I have nothing to give you no matter how much money you offer."

Yu Liang thought that saying this would make the woman back off, but instead she said: "Tomorrow I'll bring people, and you'll retake the photos of them."

Yu Liang immediately realized what she meant; he was fairly certain the woman before him was one of those who had copied Su Ruo's clothing, so he said coldly:

"I've already joined the Xia Hua Clothing Factory; I can't photograph clothes made by other factories, so please seek someone else more capable!"

The woman's eyes instantly turned sharp; she hadn't expected Su Ruo to have outright poached the staff, giving her not a single chance.

But the woman didn't give up; she spoke in a cold tone: "Whatever they're paying you, I'll offer double."

Yu Liang smiled and said: "It's not about money; since I've promised someone else, I can't go back on my word—one ought to have some integrity, shouldn't one?"

The woman hadn't expected this man she utterly despised to refuse her twice; anger rose in her chest, and she gritted her teeth: "Ten thousand yuan—if you help me, the money is yours."

The woman thought the man had probably never seen so much money in his life and would surely rush at it immediately.

This time Yu Liang couldn't even be bothered to speak; he simply waved her off.

Seeing Yu Liang's attitude, the woman's gaze grew more sinister, and she snarled: "You'll regret this!"

Yu Liang just felt bored; seeing the woman finally leave, he locked the door and went back to his room to sleep.

Yu Liang never thought he was so in demand; this woman sought him purely to use him against Su Ruo.

Although Yu Liang was short on cash, he would absolutely never betray his benefactor; moreover, Su Ruo was his patron, while this woman, in his eyes, was a petty person who would discard him once she'd used him.

Yu Liang thought that after his clear refusal the matter was over, but he hadn't expected that very night the photo studio would catch fire.

Yu Liang was awakened by smoke; upon discovering the fire, he immediately grabbed his camera and photo album and started rushing out.

But he found the door locked from the outside, impossible to open; thick smoke choked him, making him wonder if his life, just beginning to improve, was about to end in a blaze.

Yu Liang stubbornly pulled at the door a few more times, but it wouldn't budge; as the flames grew higher and he sank into despair, suddenly he heard a tremendous crash as the door was kicked in.

At that moment, Su Ruo's familiar voice came from outside the door: "Yu Liang, Yu Liang, are you in there?"

Yu Liang could no longer think of anything else; he immediately replied: "I'm here!"

Su Ruo: "Get out of the way!"

Yu Liang swiftly stepped aside.

Then, with a tremendous crash, the old wooden door gave way and fell to the ground.

Yu Liang watched Su Ruo emerge from the flames; at that moment he felt she was his peerless hero, descending on colorful clouds to rescue him.

Seeing Yu Liang standing there dazed, Su Ruo rushed forward, grabbed him sharply, and urged in a hurried tone: "Are you stupid? Hurry up and leave!" Yu Liang snapped to his senses and hurriedly followed her out.

The two had just stepped outside when they heard a loud groan; a beam crashed down exactly where Yu Liang had been standing.

Seeing that, Yu Liang couldn't help feeling a chill down his back; if Su Ruo had arrived even a moment later, his life might have ended right there.

"Th-thank you..." Yu Liang stammered.

Su Ruo looked at the house being devoured by tongues of flame and said: "No need to thank me; you might have been dragged into this because of me."

These past days, Su Ruo had been thinking about Die Lian; if it were ordinary business competition, Die Lian could easily avoid the malls where Xia Hua Clothing operates, making detection harder and allowing them to copy longer and earn more.

But Die Lian's blatant snatching of orders looks less like competition and more like seeking vengeance.

To confirm her suspicion, Su Ruo, when she left today, deliberately had the system set up surveillance at Yu Liang's place.

As expected, Su Ruo's guess was correct; right after she left, a woman in a black cloak approached Yu Liang.

But the woman was so tightly wrapped that Su Ruo couldn't see her face clearly; she only felt the eyes were somewhat familiar, though she couldn't recall who it was at the moment.

Su Ruo had just dozed off in a haze when the system's alarm woke her; through the surveillance footage she saw someone coming to set the fire.

If it weren't for the system's alert and her timely arrival, Yu Liang might have been burned to death.

To kill over a disagreement—the other party is truly ruthless and cruel!

Upon hearing Su Ruo's words, Yu Liang also recalled the woman who had come the previous night and immediately cursed:

"Holy shit, just because I refused to take her photo she tried to burn me alive—truly the most venomous woman's heart!"

Su Ruo didn't respond; she stared at the roaring flames before her, knowing that if she didn't swiftly eliminate the opponent, endless future troubles would follow.

The surrounding neighbors also noticed something was wrong and rushed over to help fight the fire, but the blaze was too large to be contained.

Two hours later, Yu Liang's dilapidated little house was completely burned to ruins.

Yu Liang looked at the place where he had grown up, feeling somewhat downcast.

"You were implicated because of me; I will compensate you for the rebuilding costs and any losses I caused."

Su Ruo felt a twinge of guilt; if she hadn't dragged Yu Liang into this, he wouldn't have gone through any of this.

Yu Liang, however, shook his head and said: "No need; without destruction there can be no renewal—perhaps breaking all this is what's needed to go out and forge a new world."

Having experienced tonight's events, Su Ruo grew ever more admiring of the man before him; he can resist the lure of money and remain positive even in adversity—a rare quality.

Moreover, Yu Liang has skill, ambition, dreams, and perseverance; Su Ruo believes that if given a chance, his future achievements will certainly not be lacking.

"Good, I support you!"

What Su Ruo didn't realize at the time was that this very statement would forge the future film king and pioneer the nation's cinematic frontier!