Chapter 301: Chapter 301: The Bug
“Jiang Nanshu?” Zhou Yanbai muttered to himself, chuckling lightly, “That’s her, isn’t it? Ranran, are you scared of her? Or is it because she is Lu Qingyan’s fiancee that you don’t want to see her? Do you still hold feelings for that man, Lu Qingyan?”
Su Ran suddenly looked at him, her expression filled with terror: “You…”
“Heh.” Zhou Yanbai sneered, his smiling face turning cold in an instant, as if enveloped by a raging storm.
Su Ran, filled with fear, backed against the door.
He was always emotionally unstable, capable of going mad at any moment.
“Do you think you made it back to the country safely because you bribed the villa’s servant to let you leave? Ranran, without my permission, you wouldn’t even be able to board the plane back home. I just want to see who you would abandon me for.”
“Look what I found.” Zhou Yanbai pulled a photograph from his suit pocket.
Su Ran’s eyelashes trembled, tears forming in her eyes. That was the only photograph of her and Lu Qingyan together, taken by a street photographer who noticed their good looks while she was handing him his exercise book.
The photographer gave her the developed photo, which she cherished and kept a secret from everyone.
In the end, the first time it was revealed, it was she who intentionally leaked the photo, stirring up public opinion about her and Lu Qingyan to help her through her difficulties.
“Su Ran, stop lying to me. You’re back in the country to see him, aren’t you? In fact, I saw him in Port City last time. He certainly deserves to be called promising. Under his leadership, the Lu Family is bound to thrive even more. He seems to be interested in expanding into Port City,” Zhou Yanbai turned around, pulling up a chair to sit down.
Three meters away from Su Ran.
Allowing her tense posture a moment of relaxation.
“I don’t care about him, stop talking to me about this.” Su Ran turned her head, her lips pressed tightly together.
Zhou Yanbai looked at her profile and asked with a smile, “Is it that you don’t care, or that you’re not worthy of caring? Think carefully, and then answer me.”
He was always like this: arrogant, autocratic, and devoid of consideration for others’ feelings.
Even though she had once used all her savings in the hospital to save his life, he showed no gratitude.
He had even restricted her freedom.
The 30 million from Old Sir Lu was all spent on him.
Otherwise, his enemies would have found him long ago, and he wouldn’t have been able to return healthy and take over the Zhou Family.
She looked up at him, her anger evident, “What right do you have to meddle in my affairs? You monitor me, meddle in my life, restrict my actions, but you can’t control my heart. Whom I care about, or whom I don’t, that’s my business, and nobody has a say in it.”
Su Ran waited for Zhou Yanbai to erupt in anger, hoping he would cause her to lose the child she was carrying inside her. She was in so much pain.
Yet, the usually volatile Zhou Yanbai anomalously remained calm.
His handsome face still wore a smile, “Baby, are you trying to provoke me on purpose, threatening me with that piece of flesh in your belly, right?”
Su Ran’s face stiffened.
Just thinking about how she had become pregnant with this child, under his degradation, made her want to die.
The tears that had gathered in her eyes finally fell, and with a self-deprecating smile, she said, “If I could truly threaten you, that would be my honor. If this child can impose on you, and if you don’t want it, then just get rid of it, please?”
Zhou Yanbai narrowed his eyes, his smile turning malicious, “Dream on. You must give birth to it. As a reward, I will give you Lu Qingyan’s hands, oh, and this Jiang Nanshu, too. You don’t like her looking at you, right? How about I take her eyes out and use them as decorative items in your room? I’ll take care of the preservative process, ensuring her eyeballs won’t stink.”
His chillingly succinct description turned Su Ran’s face pale.
She covered her mouth, rushing to the washbasin to throw up violently, disgusted just by listening.
How could anyone enjoy playing with human eyeballs?
She did want Jiang Nanshu to disappear, but not in this grotesque manner—keeping her organs near would give her nightmares.
Su Ran’s reaction pleased Zhou Yanbai.
He had never liked timid women, but he somehow found Su Ran appealing—appearing faint-hearted but actually, quite daring in her own way.
The image of Jiang Nanshu’s bright and gorgeous face crossed his mind.
Her almond-shaped eyes were big and luminous; she looked so beautiful when she cooed and laughed.
Zhou Yanbai rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, thinking she would make a stunning trophy.
She would be turned into a beautiful doll. Wouldn’t Lu Qingyan be pleasantly surprised then?
…
Next door in the hotel.
Jiang Leyi had yet to recover from the scene she had just witnessed.
She sat on the bed and finally spoke after a few seconds, “Why would that man appear in Su Ran’s room? What’s their relationship?”
Jiang Nanshu looked around.
Her gaze settled on the flowerpot.
“Shh.”
She put up a finger to her lips, signaling for silence.
Jiang Leyi immediately stayed quiet, holding her breath as she watched Jiang Nanshu’s movements.
She saw Jiang Nanshu dig out a listening device from the bottom of the flowerpot.
Jiang Nanshu smirked and threw the listening device violently to the floor, crushing it to pieces.
Jiang Leyi’s face went pale.
Jiang Nanshu carefully searched again and found another bug in the room’s air vent. She waved it at Jiang Leyi before smashing it decisively with a heavy object.
“All clear, we can talk now,” Jiang Nanshu declared, sweeping the pieces of the listening devices into the trash can.
She yawned and sat down on the suite’s sofa.
“Why would my room have something like a listening device? Who could have put it here…” Jiang Leyi looked dispiritedly towards the trash can.
Her status in the industry was barely that of a minor third-tier celebrity, relying on the company to funnel attention toward her and continually creating topics of interest. Whether it was set leaks or event appearances, the company had to spend money on trending searches to push her to her current position.
But she wasn’t highly ranked and was still young. Who would plant listening devices in her room? If she said something she shouldn’t and a malicious party exposed it, her career would be over.
Jiang Nanshu cast a pitying look at her, “It must be because you’ve provoked Su Ran, right?”
Jiang Leyi opened her eyes wide in incredulity, “What the hell? Su Ran and I have a normal competitive relationship. We are both in the same circle, and when it comes to resources, it’s fair game. I’m not a saint who would just hand over good opportunities. Plus, when I joined this production, she got the female lead through Bao Yan and deliberately had me demoted. I haven’t even settled that score with her, and now she’s trying to turn the tables on me?”
Jiang Leyi was getting angrier the more she spoke.
This was utterly maddening.
She had earnestly filmed two dramas with Su Ran.
In the first campus drama, Su Ran was the female lead, and she was the third female lead.
In the second drama, Su Ran was still the female lead, and she was the second female lead.
The only progress she had made was getting more screen time.
“What’s normal in your eyes might be seen as bullying by others. And aren’t you curious about who that man with her is? He’s the newly appointed head of the Zhou Family, Zhou Yanbai.”