Chapter 95

Boss Lu was relentless.

"Ning Hao, contact Fan Bingbing and have her come over to reshoot the female lead's scenes."

"Yes, Director!"

Although Ning Hao sympathized with the innocent young girl, he couldn't help but carry out Lu Kuan's request at this time; he was the director, investor, and producer.

Moreover, this Cheng Jingfei was too mercenary, aiding the villain, which had made him itch with anger just now.

"Little Lu!"

"Director Lu, this..."

Cheng Jingfei and Liu Xiaoli exclaimed at the same time, not expecting Lu Kuan to be so temperamental that even their soft words couldn't appease him.

Liu Yifei pouted aggrievedly to the side, not daring to speak. Except for when filming and doing morning exercises, this was the first time she had seen Lu Kuan in such a rage.

Thinking that the character she had worked so hard to build was going to be cut, she felt a wave of bitterness.

She had no position to blame Lu Kuan; after all, it was her godfather and mother who had gone too far, only caring about flattering Liu Zeyu and being sycophantic.

It was just a pity for herself; could she still film with Lu Kuan in the future? Could she still do morning exercises with him...

She thought back to that day in Xiangjiang, on the balcony of Mei Yanfang's house, when Lu Kuan encouraged her to cast aside distractions, love acting, and become a real actor...

The young girl felt a heart-wrenching pain; Lu Kuan was the true mentor and guide of her acting career, and she didn't want to lose that...

Cheng Jingfei's mind raced, and he lowered his status to whisper ingratiatingly: "Director Lu, look at this mess. Xiaoli and I were indeed inconsiderate."

Thinking of Mei Yanfang's musical resources, Lu Kuan's film lead role, and the newly acquired script, this successful businessman also made up his mind to play the game of equivalent exchange.

"How about this: Xiaoli and I will transfer another 10% of Red Star Dock shares to you. Once the film reaches the Venice main competition section, we will immediately register the change for the remaining 10%..."

Liu Xiaoli also nodded repeatedly; they say people only know pain when they lose something.

When the two birds were in the forest, she waited for a better price; now that one fake bird had been pecked to death, she seemed to have woken up from a big dream.

Boss Lu was secretly delighted.

In this way, he would be the second-largest shareholder after Cheng Jingfei, increasingly able to enjoy the share dividends brought about by Liu Yifei's rapid development in the next year or two.

He was just waiting for an opportunity to cannibalize Cheng Jingfei's shares and kick him out.

"Hmm..."

Lu Kuan glanced at the two of them, both looking at him with anticipation, and pondered for a few seconds.

Just as he was thinking about how to manipulate them further, he saw Zhuang Xu and Sun Wenwen walk out of the private room.

"The money is here. I'm going out to pick it up."

Boss Lu's eyes lit up. The money from Xiangjiang had arrived; *Chinese Paladin* would never have any more reversals. This matter was finally settled.

"You wait a moment; I'm going out to see someone."

Lu Kuan and Zhuang Xu left the hotel together and stood at the entrance smoking, waiting for the taxi of Huang Pi's underling.

It was midsummer, and the street where the hotel was located was filled with small tables for barbecue and beer.

Neither of them noticed a man in a black tracksuit and baseball cap watching him from the mouth of the alley.

Lü Changchun had been waiting here for two hours.

Today, the *Whiplash* crew had booked the wrap party hotel. He had scouted the location but didn't rush in, thinking he would wait until they finished drinking and came out before making a move.

A month ago, he had accidentally killed someone during a brawl at the Langfang train station and had been on the run, hiding in places like Huairou.

At this time, the Sky Net project wasn't advanced, and the case-solving speed was slow, but all intersections and major traffic routes were under surveillance for him.

Lü Changchun wanted to flee to his hometown in the Northeast and was waiting for Zhang Tianshuo to send him money, but he unexpectedly learned the news that he had also been caught.

With the connections he had behind him, that shouldn't have happened!

After inquiring in many ways, Lü Changchun learned that the person who ruined things was the director Lu Kuan, who was holding a wrap party at this hotel today.

The gang leader, who hadn't eaten his fill in days, couldn't suppress his anger and quietly crept up...

As for whether the source of the information he inquired about was deliberately leaked by people like Wang Xiaolei and Liu Zeyu, that was unknown.

Inside the hotel, the crew members were singing and dancing. Lu Kuan's recent face-slapping of the mastermind Liu Zeyu had made them cheer with satisfaction; it looked like they were going to drink until they dropped tonight.

Liu Xiaoli gently wiped the tears from her aggrieved daughter's face, feeling extremely remorseful, knowing that she had done a poor job and had even implicated her daughter, who had put in so much effort.

"Xixi, don't worry. Lu Kuan still recognizes your efforts. I'll talk to him later."

Liu Yifei couldn't bear to blame the mother who had raised her with such hardship, but a breath was stuck in her heart and wouldn't go away.

"I'll go find him myself. I want to explain to him."

The young girl wiped her tears with the back of her hand, her almond eyes red and endearing, and shook off her mother's hand to walk toward the door.

"It's here."

Zhuang Xu watched the taxi stop and walked up to greet the person from Xiangjiang.

Lü Changchun, hindered by the fact that the two were too close just a moment ago, saw Zhuang Xu walk away and seized the opportunity to rush out from the shadows. The cold glint of the dagger in his hand was about to strike Lu Kuan, who had his back to him.

Liu Yifei had just reached the door and watched in horror as the thug rushed to kill. She screamed loudly and, without thinking, rushed over, wanting to knock Lu Kuan away from behind.

"Careful!"

"Ah!"

Liu Yifei had been dancing since she was a child, and her body coordination and explosive power exceeded that of ordinary people.

Especially after two months of morning exercises with Lu Kuan, as a professional actor, she was more familiar with the muscle control and force exertion of all parts of her body.

She didn't dare to face the blade head-on, but just turned her body to knock Lu Kuan aside. Lü Changchun's strike failed, and the dagger in his hand grazed Liu Yifei's delicate forearm.

A bright red bloodstain appeared, and fresh blood bloomed on her white, lotus-root-like arm, which was shocking to behold!

"Little Liu!"

Lu Kuan's reaction was not slow; he steadied his body, turned around, and kicked Lü Changchun in the calf.

The latter stumbled, then climbed up again and rushed over to kill again.

Seeing his enemy right in front of him, he thought, "Heroes of the underworld die in the underworld," and he couldn't care about anything else. Taking one with him before he died wouldn't be a loss!

Suddenly, a fierce, peerless force penetrated his lower back. Lü Changchun didn't even have time to groan before he was kicked down at the waist.

The figure who rushed down from the taxi smashed a suitcase onto the back of his neck, and the thug passed out on the spot.

Lu Kuan looked on, still shaken, at this subordinate of Huang Pi—the cold-faced underling who had come to his bar with Wang Minhui last time to help them park their cars.

The waist is an extremely fragile part of primates; not only does it lack much muscle protection, but it also contains various internal organs.

First the lower back, then the back of the neck; every strike was meant to kill or maim, showing just how ruthless this parking underling was.

"Junior Brother!"

"Xixi!"

"Director!"

From the assassination to the arrest, it had been only a few dozen seconds. Whether it was Zhuang Xu or Liu Xiaoli and the others in the hotel, they only now rushed over as if waking from a dream.

Lu Kuan calmly arranged for Ning Hao to take people to subdue Lü Changchun and call the police, and had Zhuang Xu leave with the money first, otherwise, it would be hard to explain when the police arrived.

He himself picked up Liu Yifei and rushed into a taxi.

"Go to the nearest hospital!"

"The nearest one is the Railway General Hospital."

"Drive! Fastest speed, be careful, I'll take responsibility if you run a red light!"

"Got it!"

(End of chapter)