Chapter 321: I Know
On the other end of the phone, Song Zhibai was indeed just as his agent had told the public—he had been cut off from the internet while on set.
But losing internet access didn’t mean he was completely in the dark. There were still plenty of people on set with access, so he only heard the news a night later than everyone else.
“I know,” Song Zhibai said softly.
His agent felt like his heart was being pricked by tiny needles, a dense and aching pain spreading through him. He didn’t know how to comfort Song Zhibai.
But Song Zhibai wasn’t looking for pity or comfort. Instead, he said, “Thank you for kindly informing me. I still have scenes to shoot. I’ll contact you if anything comes up.”
After hanging up, Song Zhibai handed his phone back to Ouyang Ouyang.
Ouyang Ouyang was also looking at him with a concerned expression.
Song Zhibai gave a bitter smile and said, “Don’t look at me like that. People might get the wrong idea. If rumors spread, it could hurt her reputation.”
Ouyang Ouyang felt a pang of sadness. This was his first drama, and he had spent the most time with Song Zhibai on set, so he understood him better than anyone.
“You’re good at everything… why is it that you just can’t get what you want?” Ouyang Ouyang said, his voice trembling slightly.
Song Zhibai didn’t want to continue this topic. He made an excuse about needing to change costumes and walked away.
Meanwhile, even though Xu Youyou had gained the title of “fiancée,” she didn’t find anything odd about it. She was still fully focused on her tasks.
The system hadn’t sent any new notifications in the past few days, but she kept wearing gloves and flipping that fragile slip of paper over and over, studying it carefully.
After resting for a few days in Hucheng, she couldn’t hold back her curiosity anymore and wanted to see the place in person.
It seemed the system thought she had rested enough because it finally issued a new treasure-hunting task.
The task deadline was fifteen days, and the target location was lazily designated by the system—it was exactly the spot written on the paper Xu Youyou had been holding.
“I’m really curious what the ultimate goal of these treasure hunts is…” Xu Youyou murmured.
As soon as she said it, her heart gave a jolt. Why had she said the word “ultimate”?
“System, is this the last task?” she asked in a trembling voice.
It took a long time for the system to reply: [Host, are you afraid this is the last task?]
Of course Xu Youyou was afraid. The last task meant the system would leave her. Even though she had been reborn, her previous life had been a mess—she had never really amounted to anything.
If not for the system, how could she have achieved her current success?
But the system said: [Host, you have to believe in yourself. Now, whether or not you have the system, you’re already an exceptional human being.]
Xu Youyou’s heart softened. She never thought there would come a day when she’d be comforted by a system.
Thinking back carefully, even though she had been lazy in the past, she had never stopped learning. Almost every night, she studied in the system’s training space. She had already mastered many skills. Even if one day she lost everything, she could still earn a living with what she had learned.
What she didn’t realize was that in all her countless what-if scenarios, she had thought of everything—except Lu Jingyao. Even though she had gained half of Lu Jingyao’s shares, she still believed she should rely on herself.
Xu Youyou immediately made travel plans and flew directly from Hucheng to Treasure Island.
Lu Jingyao was busy these days, so he stayed behind. But when he took her to the airport, he handed her a list of names and contacts:
“These are people I know on Treasure Island. If anything happens and you need help, call them. Don’t be shy—they all owe me favors.”
Xu Youyou marveled at Lu Jingyao’s strong connections but couldn’t help teasing him: “Do you like making people owe you favors?”
Lu Jingyao shook his head. “It was all overseas. I just lent a hand for the sake of being fellow countrymen.”
Xu Youyou became even more curious: “What exactly happened?”
Lu Jingyao’s face flushed slightly in rare embarrassment. “Youthful recklessness. Better not to talk about it.”
Carrying that curiosity, Xu Youyou arrived at Treasure Island. As soon as she got off the plane, someone was already there to pick her up.
“Sis-in-law.”
The man seemed a couple of years older than Lu Jingyao, but he kept calling her “Sis-in-law” in a very affectionate way, making Xu Youyou feel a little awkward.
“Sis-in-law, I’ve only seen your photos before. Now that I’ve met you in person, I can see that only someone like you is worthy of our Brother Lu. And only our Brother Lu is worthy of you,” said Cao Qianli with a smile.
Xu Youyou thought this guy was quite the talker. Judging from his clothes and the car he drove, he was obviously from a wealthy family too.
The car drove them to one of Lu Jingyao’s mansions on Treasure Island.
“Brother Lu really had a good eye, buying this place early on. By the time we thought about buying, the prices had already gone up several times,” Cao Qianli praised Lu Jingyao again.
Once inside, he added, “This painting was done by Master Zhang. Back then, Zhang wasn’t famous yet, but Brother Lu saw his potential and bought a bunch of his paintings. Now that Zhang has passed away, his works are worth a fortune…”
Xu Youyou felt like her ears hadn’t had a break the entire trip. She said helplessly, “I get it—you guys are close. But Xiao Cao, you don’t have to praise Lu Jingyao for every little thing. It’s a bit much.”
Cao Qianli scratched his head awkwardly and said, “Sis-in-law, Brother Lu told me to take good care of you. I wouldn’t dare slack off.”
Xu Youyou still felt he was being overly flattering and asked, “Did Lu Jingyao save your life or something?”
Cao Qianli looked even more awkward, opening and closing his mouth but not knowing where to start.
Xu Youyou paused. “He really saved your life?”
Cao Qianli laughed nervously: “Youthful recklessness, youthful recklessness. Let’s not talk about it, Sis-in-law…”
Xu Youyou couldn’t help but laugh. These two really used the same excuse. Now she was even more curious about what had happened overseas.
That evening, the Cao family hosted a banquet, inviting many of Lu Jingyao’s friends. It was both a welcome party for Xu Youyou and a chance for her to meet his circle.
“Sis-in-law, if you’re going to Hualien, you must check in with Xiao Liu. His family practically rules Hualien,” Cao Qianli said, dragging over a tall young man.
Liu Yishou was burly and strong-looking, but when he spoke, it shattered the impression: he slapped Cao Qianli lightly and said, almost pouting, “Don’t exaggerate. You’re making it sound like we’re gangsters. I’ll have you know—we’re legitimate businesspeople. We just happened to make our fortune in Hualien, that’s all. We’ve never tried to ‘rule’ anything, okay?”
