Chapter 422: The Little Girl Wears a Buddha

For Zhou Yi's kind of behavior—using public resources for private gain—Sun Yanzi held him in deep contempt. But even with all that contempt, she had no good solution; his hands were attached to his own body, after all. She couldn't very well take a knife and chop them off, could she?

Thinking this, Sun Yanzi's gaze drifted downward, landing on the back of the man's hand.

"What are you looking at? What's wrong with my hand?"

"Just studying where to make the cut, so I don't have to sing some messy lyrics you write."

"..."

Zhou Yi said nothing, but that sweeping glance of contempt he cast over Sun Yanzi said everything. The latter gritted her teeth until they ached, yet she was helpless; in the end, she could only turn her gaze toward her good sister Cheng Hao to seek help—

Two against one; the advantage is mine.

"Alright, stop teasing her." Cheng Hao shook her head with a smile, her peripheral vision flicking toward Zhou Yi, whose eyebrows twitched imperceptibly.

"Yanzi, come on, I'll take you to see the place I rented downstairs."

Hearing this, Sun Yanzi's eyes instantly lit up. She stopped paying attention to Zhou Yi's blatant "insult" and nodded vigorously: "Great, great."

The floor Cheng Hao lived on was right below Zhou Yi's. The decoration style wasn't as extravagant as Zhou Yi's; there were no particularly eye-catching design elements, but the various warm-toned furniture pieces combined to create an extra sense of comfort.

Just as Sun Yanzi was looking east and west, occasionally entering various rooms to touch things after getting permission, Zhou Yi and Cheng Hao began chatting on the balcony outside the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room—

"What's wrong?"

With his back to the railing and arms spread out resting on the bars, Zhou Yi let the cold wind blow through the tips of his hair as he turned his head to look at the woman who had followed him up.

"The circles in the Imperial Capital haven't been very peaceful lately. Yanzi is a Singaporean with few friends here. My thought is whether we should let her move in here too; at the very least, the safety level would be much higher."

Raising a hand to smooth her wind-tousled hair, Cheng Hao spoke: "She's too famous. Being tied to you and constantly in the eye of the storm makes her an easy target in the Imperial Capital. Of course, if you're unwilling, just pretend I never said it."

"Not very peaceful?"

Zhou Yi frowned: "What do you mean?"

"The gossip Wang Xiaoyu heard is that a bold criminal was released from prison last year. But instead of repenting, he gathered a team to start buying guns and other weapons, preparing to kidnap and extort rich people, especially the big stars who are popular across the country."

"These desperate men have no regard for the law. As long as you and Yanzi are in the Imperial Capital, you are basically the most dazzling stars here. Everyone knows you're famous and you're rich, especially you."

For the sake of safety, since Zhou Yi had already decided to move in, Cheng Hao naturally thought of Sun Yanzi as well.

After all, because of Zhou Yi, Sun Yanzi's work focus had clearly shifted to the mainland; her album's premiere was no longer exclusive to Taiwan.

"Specifically targeting rich people, especially the big stars popular across the country?"

Zhou Yi's frown deepened, and a name instantly surfaced in his mind—Wang Li.

Speaking of this thoroughly villainous criminal, many people might not know who he is, but there is a movie about kidnapping and extorting big stars that was adapted from his deeds—"Save Mr. Wu".

The prototype of the big star kidnapped in that movie is Wu Ruofu, a regular lead actor in serious dramas who is still quite active in the domestic film and television industry.

Of course, in reality, Wang Li's team initially didn't want to kidnap him, but rather Zhang Tielin, the British actor who became famous across Dajiangnanbei thanks to the "My Fair Princess" and "Iron Teeth and Bronze Teeth Ji Xiaolan" series.

After all, Zhang Tielin was far more famous than the one surnamed Wu, and certainly richer.

However, on the very day Wang Li's team took action, Zhang Tielin suddenly changed his itinerary, which led to the unlucky Wu Ruofu being taken as a substitute.

After all, since they were already there...

As for exactly why Zhang Tielin suddenly changed his mind and didn't show up on time that day, opinions vary. His own explanation was that he was lucky and happened to have something to do that day, but there are also rumors that he turned around and left after hearing definite news.

"That is indeed a problem. I'll have Zhou Jianhui upgrade the security again later; safety is the most important thing."

Zhou Yi nodded, then spoke: "As for living here, charge her a high rent. I want her to work hard for me."

"..."

Cheng Hao finally couldn't hold back her laughter and instinctively raised a hand to cover her mouth: "Is that necessary for the two of you? Why are you acting like children who haven't grown up?"

"Knock, knock, knock."

Just as the two were talking, suddenly, two crisp knocks on the glass door rang out, interrupting their laughter and conversation—

Turning their heads in unison toward the sound, Sun Yanzi, with her short hair, cheerfully turned the handle, pushed open the floor-to-ceiling door, and poked her head in with a grin: "What are you two chatting about? Can I join?"

"We're discussing the rent issue."

Zhou Yi's tongue swept over his slightly dry lips. After a light chuckle, he spoke: "I plan to use my reputation in the industry to raise the rent and selling prices in this area. Do you want to join me?"

"By then, we Warner twins will be moving into this area one after another, plus Cheng Hao, whose show 'Pink Ladies' is about to premiere on the mainland. The rent here will definitely go up. After all, in the entertainment industry, the thing people trust the most is absolutely feng shui."

"Ew, you're becoming more and more like the evil capitalists you used to hate."

Sun Yanzi, whose heart was instantly overjoyed but whose face had to pretend to be disgusted, sneered at this kind of merchant behavior.

On the side, Cheng Hao's exquisite face froze for a moment. Then her eyebrows curved, a faint smile rose at the corners of her lips, and her gaze toward Zhou Yi was exceptionally gentle.

"Black-hearted maggot, seriously, should you change the lyrics? Is it too shameless for the three of us to sing these lyrics to you?"

"Change what? Change it? Not only do I plan for you to sing it this way, I also plan to name the song 'Superstar', which perfectly corresponds to my 【Star】 Tour."

"You don't still plan to have us sing this song to you at your concert, do you?"

"Good idea."

"Ew, gross. You? A superstar? Just being a star would be enough."

"Why can't it be Superstar? Let me tell you, for my other song, the promotional track for 'Donggan Didi', I plan to invite Zhou Jielun to sing it. Do you know why Mobile hired him?"

"Isn't it because he's also very famous?"

"Nonsense. There are plenty of famous singers. It's because my relationship with him is decent; Mobile is loving the house because of the bird, planning to use his collaboration with me as a gimmick. I write, he sings."

"..."

As the man and woman chattered endlessly, bickering with each other, watching the two of them exchange childish remarks like "bounce back" and "I'll bounce back again" as if throwing a tantrum, Cheng Hao smiled while also raising her head to look at the azure blue sky above—

In the living room, Zhou Yi was still barking endlessly at Sun Yanzi;

Her hands clasped the jade Buddha hanging around her neck, palms pressed together, eyes closed as she silently prayed in her heart: May everyone around me be safe and sound until old age.

The wind brushed past the green plants arranged on the terrace, making the branches and leaves rustle.

Upon close inspection, the red string threading the jade Buddha had tiny, unique patterns, clearly belonging to the same temple that polished the Guanyin jade pendant she had previously given Zhou Yi as a birthday gift...

(End of Chapter)