Chapter 98: Almost Exposed

What do you think I came looking for you for? Don’t you have the slightest clue?

“What clue am I supposed to have? Don’t slander me. Careful I don’t go complain to Lu Yiqi and tell her you can’t stand me, so you’re falsely accusing me for no reason.”

Xie Xu played innocent so convincingly, and twisted the blame back so neatly that Yan Yi almost wanted to applaud him. His performance was even more natural than that of some professional actors.

But Yan Yi was the one who had been wronged, and those words made him want to spit blood. He had not even gone to complain yet, and Xie Xu was already volunteering to beat him to it?

“Stop talking nonsense!”

“What? Then tell me—what exactly did I do to make you this angry?”

Xie Xu was determined to remain innocent to the very end.

Yan Yi ground his teeth in fury, his face turning pale and then dark with anger. After drawing a breath, he said, “That role was arranged for me by you, wasn’t it? You said the producer specifically named me, but it was really you, wasn’t it? Getting me out of the picture for a few months—what are you trying to do?”

“I don’t have that much power, all right? If the producer specifically named you, that only means he saw your brilliance, which is why he felt one role in the film had to be yours. You know how it is in entertainment—some famous directors would rather let a good script gather dust than settle for an actor they don’t want. So if he chose you, that’s your own ability. It means you’re excellent. It really has nothing to do with me.”

Xie Xu, with a conscience as black as night, showered Yan Yi with a long stretch of praise.

Yan Yi asked, “How do you know it was a famous director who named me specifically?”

Xie Xu froze for a moment, then his mind snapped into motion.

“I guessed. Besides a well-known director, what other director could be so willful as to call for you by name? And your fee is so high—it’s not something just any director could afford.”

Phew. That had been close.

After hearing Xie Xu out, Yan Yi still did not quite believe this had nothing to do with him, but most of his suspicion had been dispelled.

That night, when he got home, Yan Yi asked someone to look into Xie Xu’s background. And when he discovered that the Xie Group owned a film and television company, he completely lost his composure.

Damn it. He really had been fooled by that little wretch Xie Xu.

But since the role had already been accepted, dropping out now would not be wise. Yan Yi was truly at his wit’s end.

He might as well not have taken it at all. He could afford the enormous penalty fee, of course, but he simply could not come up with that much money on such short notice.

Yan Yi spent the entire evening in a foul mood, brooding over how he had ended up being set up by that brat Xie Xu.

Since there was no changing what had happened, he let out a long sigh and decided that tomorrow, no matter what, he would have to get under Xie Xu’s skin once more to recover some of his pride.

...

The next morning, Yan Yi did something unprecedented and took the day off, staying away from school.

That left Xie Xu feeling odd when he did not see Yan Yi that day. Before he could ask anything, Lu Yiqi suddenly crouched down to tie her shoelaces. Since she was carrying her backpack on one shoulder, the moment she bent over the strap slid down along her arm. Seeing this, Xie Xu bent down and said, “Lift your arm.”

Lu Yiqi instinctively obeyed and raised her hand. Xie Xu took off the backpack and slung it over his own shoulder. His movements were so smooth and natural it was as though he had done this countless times before.

After tying her laces, Lu Yiqi stood up and held out a hand. “Give me my bag back.”

But Xie Xu shook his head. “With a skinny little frame like yours, how are you supposed to carry so many books? Let your Lord Xu carry it for you. Your Lord Xu is a good man, after all.”