Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

"Bang—"

"Bang—"

Several loud bangs echoed through the air. Lu Yan exhaled, removed his ear protectors, and casually glanced at the score displayed on the small screen.

"It's been a while since you came here, but your skills are still sharp," the shooting range owner said as he approached, handing over a bottle of mineral water.

"I've been caught up with some things."

The shooting range was quiet today, with everyone focused on their targets, so Lu Yan didn’t have to worry about being recognized. The owner sat down on a nearby stool, feeling at ease.

Half an hour passed, and Lu Yan kept going without a break.

"You've been at it for almost an hour. Why not take a break?" the owner suggested, eyeing the unopened bottle of water.

Lu Yan pulled off his ear protectors. "Since when do you turn away paying customers?"

"I'm just worried your eyes could strain from staring for so long," the owner said, looking at his scores, which were still among the best for an amateur. "You shoot so accurately. Do you really need post-production or editing for archery scenes in your movies?"

Lu Yan chuckled. "Since when are you an expert? Shooting and archery are completely different."

"I was just joking. You've been shooting for so long; I thought you might need to cheer up. Are you feeling down?"

Lu Yan replied bluntly, "Yes."

"Then you've come to the right place," the owner said with a snap of his fingers. "When you're in a bad mood, just come here and blow off some steam by shooting. Even if it doesn't solve your problems, at least you can vent your frustration."

Just as he finished speaking, a new customer walked in. The owner quickly got up and headed to the counter, but not without a final sales pitch: "Besides, learning to shoot has its perks—like throwing darts in a bar, for example?"

Lu Yan let out a light laugh, put his ear protectors back on, and started another round of shooting.

He wasn't sure if shooting practice had any effect on dart throwing, but he certainly was spot-on when it came to tossing bottles.

When it was time to pay, the owner took his membership card with a smile. "Today's price is three times the usual rate. Feel free to come back anytime you’re stressed."

"You're a real hustler," Lu Yan said with a laugh. As he reached for his phone to pay, he noticed several missed calls from Lin An.

He dialed back, and the other end picked up immediately. "You finally answered the phone."

"What's up?"

"We've been waiting outside your door for almost half an hour, man. Did you forget about the gala tomorrow? We brought the suits you need to try on, but you’re not here. Where are you? Did you remember to wear your mask and sunglasses? Everything alright?"

Lin An fired off a barrage of questions. Wincing at the volume, Lu Yan moved the phone slightly away from his ear. "I'll be home soon. Just go in and wait for me. The password to get in is 199011."

After saying this, there was no response for a while. He looked at his phone and realized it had died.

When Lin An and Xiao Liu saw the elevator doors open, they looked like two kids about to cry. The suits they were holding were sponsored, all of them pricey. Afraid of wrinkling the clothes, they didn’t dare sit, holding the suits up for nearly half an hour. Their arms were so sore they had to lean against the wall to keep steady.

When they saw Gu Xu stepping out of the elevator, they looked even more miserable...

Lin An was the first to react. "Hello, Mr. Gu."

Gu Xu nodded. "Why aren't you inside?"

Lin An forced a smile. "Xiao Yan isn't home."

Gu Xu raised an eyebrow: "Don’t you have the password to his apartment?"

"No," Lin An hesitated, "We used to, but something happened, and Lu Yan changed the password. We were shooting at that time, so we forgot to ask. Are you here to see Xiao Yan too? Bro Yan’s phone seems to be out of battery, and we can’t reach him, but he’s already on his way back."

He swore he wasn’t prying; he just wanted to remind them to be careful and avoid getting caught on camera!

"I live here," Gu Xu replied, skillfully keying in the door code. The door beeped and swung open. "You can go in and wait for him."

Xiao Liu: ???

Lin An: …………!!!!?

Inside the house, the atmosphere was awkward, and no one spoke for a while.

Xiao Liu remained silent because he was just a junior assistant, scared to breathe too loudly for fear of taking up the air around the other two.

Lin An, on the other hand, had a whirlwind of questions and thoughts swirling in his mind, leaving him speechless.

Does Gu Xu know Lu Yan’s door password? Bro Yan?

Did Gu Xu say he lives here?

What’s with him sitting on the couch like he owns the place?

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing...

Gu Xu leaned back on the sofa, breaking the awkward silence: "What’s this?"

His gaze lingered on the suits. Lin An immediately responded, "Tomorrow is Star Entertainment’s anniversary celebration. We came tonight to help Xiao Yan pick out a suit. Bro Yan."

The man’s eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly: "Star Entertainment."

"Yes, it’s Xiao Yan’s previous agency..." At this point, Lin An immediately remembered Xu Ze. The man in front of him was suspected to be living with Lu Yan. He quickly changed the subject and added, "Actually, Xiao Yan didn’t want to go, but considering media and exposure, it’s better to show up."

"Hmm," Gu Xu stood up as soon as he finished speaking.

Xiao Liu finally spoke up: "Are you leaving, Mr. Gu? Bro Yan will be home soon."

"Just going back to drop something off," Gu Xu said, and only then did they notice he was holding a black document bag.

"Wouldn’t it be troublesome to go back and forth? Why don’t you wait for Xiao Yan to come back? Bro Yan."

As Lin An spoke, Gu Xu had already reached the door: "It’s just a short walk."

With that, he walked out before they could fully digest the meaning of his words.

-

Backstage at the wedding.

Liu Mingyi leaned on Zhou Ming’s shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

"What should I do now? What exactly happened? Bro Yan."

Zhou Ming hurriedly comforted her: "Don’t worry, I’ll find someone to manage the PR crisis."

Today was supposed to be a grand Western-style wedding at this hotel, but now the venue was in chaos. Half an hour ago, a group of people rushed in and started smashing the wedding site without a word. They left as quickly as they came, clean and efficient, without leaving any trace. They seemed like professionals; not only were they not caught, but even the cameras were useless, all covered up, allowing them to escape unscathed.

The wedding being trashed was bad enough, but Liu Mingyi was already entangled in various scandals involving escorting and drinking. Now, with the wedding site destroyed and several media outlets broadcasting it live, it didn’t take long for the news to spread online, with everyone digging up Liu Mingyi’s dirt. Netizens even speculated about various dramas—Liu Mingyi falling out with her lover, some wealthy lady seeking revenge on Liu Mingyi, and even some claiming Liu Mingyi was a mistress who had risen to power, which was why the wedding was ruined.

Liu Mingyi was so angry she almost smashed her phone: "PR? How can we PR this? Everyone is cursing me!"

Zhou Ming was fuming. He grabbed his phone and stormed out.

He found his son's number, but a robotic female voice responded: "The number you have dialed is temporarily unreachable. Please try again later."

After two unsuccessful attempts, he bit back his anger and dialed another number.

As soon as the call connected, he exploded: "Lu Miao, how the hell did you raise our son?! Take a good look! What kind of mess have you raised?!"

Lu Miao was taken aback by the sudden tirade and took a moment to respond: "What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about? Go ask your precious son what he's done! Disrespect is one thing, but now he's come to ruin his own father's wedding? He's rebelling! I should have never had him! Spare me from his betrayal now!!" Zhou Ming, having grown up in the countryside with equally rough parents, had no shortage of vulgar language, and it was as harsh as it could get.

"Zhou Ming, watch your language!" Despite any lingering feelings from their past marriage, Lu Miao couldn't tolerate Zhou Ming speaking about her son like that, and her tone immediately changed.

"Watch my language? I've been civil with you all this time, hoping you'd help control that troublemaker, but what have you done? You can't even manage your own kid. What good are you?" Zhou Ming, in a fit of rage, tore off the mask of civility. "I'm telling you, if I'm going down, I'm taking you all with me! Wrecking my wedding, huh? Just wait and see if I don't destroy that brat's name!"

After listening, Lu Miao was silent for a while, then let out a cold laugh, her tone surprisingly calm.

"Oh, really?"

Zhou Ming was displeased: "What kind of response is that..."

"Zhou Ming, let me tell you, it's okay if you've hurt me, but if you harm my son, we'll settle this."

After hanging up, Lu Miao quickly sipped some water to steady herself.

Li Shufang: "What's wrong?"

Lu Miao sighed and told her friend about the upsetting event.

Li Shufang frowned: "How does he know it was Lu Yan who caused the trouble?"

"..." Lu Miao looked worried: "Honestly, I think it was Xiao Yan..."

She knew her son's temperament best. Lu Yan was indeed capable of such a thing, and she couldn't think of anyone else who would ruin Zhou Ming's event, unless it was someone from Liu Mingyi's side.

"What's done is done," Li Shufang quickly comforted her, "Call Xiao Yan and check if he left any clues. No one was hurt, it's not a big deal. Don't worry."

Lu Miao glanced at her phone; it was almost 9 PM back home.

Lu Yan's sleep was all over the place when he was filming. After some thought, she said: "I'll ask him tomorrow. I'm concerned he might be asleep."

-

As soon as Lu Yan got home, Lin An pounced on him.

"Why did Gu Xu come to your house? How does he have your door code? What exactly is your relationship?"

Lu Yan paused while taking off his hat: "He was here?"

"Yeah, he just left."

Lu Yan nodded: "What time do we need to be at the venue tomorrow?"

Successfully diverting the topic, Lin An pulled up his phone's memo: "We need to be there by six. It's not far. The company will send a car to pick you up at five in the afternoon. Xiao Liu will bring the shoes and watch sponsored by the brand tomorrow. Remember to show the watch during the interview, it's required by the sponsor."

While Lin An was talking, Lu Yan picked up a suit and went into the bedroom.

When he came out, he casually glanced at the full-length mirror and decided: "This one."

Xiao Liu looked at the other three suits laid out on the sofa: "Bro Yan, there are three more. Aren't you going to try them on?"

"No need to try, this set is fine."

Lin An sensed something was off: "What's wrong, are you feeling unwell?"

Lu Yan replied casually: "I've been shooting for too long; my eyes are tired. You can head back."

"You went to the shooting range again? Do you know how bad that is for your eyes? I'll get you some eye drops." Lin An said as he went to fetch the eye drops.

After applying the eye drops, Lu Yan hinted for them to leave. Lin An was still nagging as he walked out the door, and only after closing the door did Lu Yan feel the world finally felt quiet.

He opened the text message app. Gu Xu rarely used WeChat, so they almost always communicated via text.

Opening their chat page, he typed, "Did you need something?"

His thumb hovered over the send button for a long time. Finally, he lowered his eyes and deleted the message word by word, then tossed the phone aside and headed into the bathroom.