Chapter 2526: Non‑human: Xiao Chen

Lights blazed outside the clubhouse, and well‑dressed men and women chatted as they entered.

Ye Lu and a few friends had just stepped out of a ride‑hailing car, obviously having dressed up carefully.

"I heard it's hard to get a reservation here, Lu Lu—you're amazing!" a friend said, hooking an arm around Ye Lu and flattering her.

Ye Lu smiled politely, but delight showed in her eyes: "I just happen to know the manager here through a friend."

Mist drifted over, blanketing the step Ye Lu was about to step on.

"Ouch!"

Ye Lu stepped onto the step without hesitation, her ankle twisted outward violently, she lost balance and fell hard to the ground.

He winced, curling up instantly, clutching his rapidly swelling ankle; tears welled uncontrollably, swirling in his eyes.

Jin Chen hovered low, the edge of the mist curling slightly in satisfaction.

He should probably leave now.

He even adjusted his state, preparing to sneak over and sample the halo energy when Ye Lu was helped up.

Yet Ye Lu sat on the ground, sucking in cold air for a moment, and with her friends' help she gritted her teeth and stood up again.

He cautiously moved his injured ankle, each motion making him grit his teeth in pain, brows furrowed.

But it seemed the bone was fine—just a ordinary sprain.

"I was scared to death…" Ye Lu said, voice trembling, complaining to her friends, "Thank goodness it's just a twist, but it really hurts…"

His friends rushed over to comfort him, thinly veiled flattery showing: "Yeah, yeah, Lu Lu, you're really lucky."

Jin Chen, who had carefully engineered the accident: "?"

He stared in disbelief at Ye Lu's ankle, filled with confusion and frustration.

【He's the monster—this shouldn't even work!】

This human body is truly strange.

Ling Gun Gun hurried to explain: 【Host, stay calm—perhaps his protagonist halo is still in a strong phase, bolstered by fortune, so such a minor mishap is easily resolved.】

【Looks like brute force won't work; we need strategy.】 The Pixiu Lord coaxed gently.

【Better to let him follow the plot and go inside, then intervene at the key point—that way we can effectively consume the energy.】

Jin Chen was extremely annoyed, rolling about irritably; he could only reluctantly retract his mist and drift in behind Ye Lu's group into the clubhouse.

Ye Lu, supported by a friend, limped to the lounge and found a booth to sit in.

A waiter soon brought an ice pack; he applied it to his ankle and, with his friends, ordered a few pricey cocktails.

After a few drinks, the pain eased somewhat, and the conversation turned to their usual complaints.

First they complained about petty work, a strict boss, difficult coworkers, their tone full of frustrated talent.

But soon the talk inevitably circled back to Zhou Chengjun.

"Still, the group still has Chief Zhou," Ye Lu said, cradling her drink, the ice pack off to the side, her gaze becoming distant and hopeful.

"Just thinking that I could see Chief Zhou every day, in the same building or even the same floor, makes me feel…… any hardship is worth it; as long as I can see him, I feel happy."

His friends exchanged knowing glances, then teased him, saying he was deeply infatuated.

Just then, footsteps and low voices came from the passageway beside them.

Zhou Chengjun's party happened to be leaving the billiards hall, heading for their reserved private room; the two groups met in the dimly lit corridor.

The sharp‑eyed young man beside Ye Lu immediately lowered his voice, nudging her excitedly: "Lu Lu, look—who's that? Speaking of Cao Cao, here he comes!"

Ye Lu looked up, her gaze sweeping across the crowd, and saw Zhou Chengjun being lightly shielded by Liu Zou and Liang Yanzhe as he turned his head to speak with Chief Wang.

He was overjoyed, as if this meeting were fate ordained by heaven, and he could see nothing else.

"Chief Zhou, good evening!"

Ye Lu almost forgot her ankle pain, sprang to her feet, and strode straight over, completely ignoring that this was clearly a high‑end business gathering.

And the imposing business partner standing beside Zhou Chengjun.

But Chief Wang, a worldly old hand in both pleasure and business circles, immediately gave a knowing, ambiguous smile and nudged Zhou Chengjun with his elbow in teasing.

"Chief Zhou really is…… extraordinarily charming. When you come out to talk business, you always get a pretty little thing like her rushing over to say hello."

Zhou Chengjun: "?"

He furrowed his brows, but having seen too many such scenes, he was already immune.

In the world of tyrant CEOs, it's always like this—wherever you go, some oddball will come flying at you.

Fortunately, he only has his little Tang in his heart; to him, those fluttering girls are no different from pebbles by the road.

After all, he didn't even remember that person's name.

Zhou Chengjun let out a tyrant‑CEO‑style sigh.

Liang Yanzhe's sharp gaze swept past the crowd and landed on the hazy black mist hovering not far behind Ye Lu; a flicker of doubt crossed his calm eyes behind the lenses.

It had been like this before in the company office—Jin Chen always liked to linger around Ye Lu.

Liang Yanzhe felt a strange blockage in his chest, uncomfortable, even inexplicably displeased.

But he quickly suppressed that untimely emotion, stepped forward, and subtly placed himself in front of Ye Lu, who was still trying to edge toward Zhou Chengjun, separating her from Zhou Chengjun and Chief Wang.

Chief Secretary Liu Zou interjected at the right moment, his tone full of polite dismissal: "Ye Lu, good evening. This is Chief Zhou's important business engagement; it's not convenient to disturb you. If you have work matters, please contact your superior during office hours."

Liang Yanzhe glanced at Ye Lu and sighed.

Can't this person change bosses?

Ye Lu's smile froze; she pouted resentfully, looking at Zhou Chengjun—who didn't even give her another glance—as the crowd ushered her toward the inner private room, she could only stomp her foot in frustration.

As a result, bumping the injured spot made her suck in a breath from the pain.

Jin Chen instinctively wanted to follow Liang Yanzhe into the private room, but Ling Gun Gun reminded him: 【Host, you're not going to follow Ye Lu on her mission anymore—the key plot is still with her!】

The mist lingered, gazing after Liang Yanzhe's departing direction: 【I'll go tell my wife first, then come back.】

Ling Gun Gun quickly thought: 【But we can't lie—how are you going to explain to your wife why you're tailing Ye Lu?】

【Could it be that you're saying you want to go eat the halo energy on Ye Lu's head?】

Jin Chen fell silent for a moment, the mist drooped a bit, 【Oh yes.】

Moreover, Liang Yanze had warned him multiple times not to cause trouble tonight; if he knew he planned to go cause damage, he would definitely get angry.

He didn't want to make his wife angry.

It's still better not to let his wife know.

He could only reluctantly turn his direction again, like a gloomy dark cloud, following the limping Ye Lu back to the booth in the leisure area.