After Breaking Up with the Stoic CEO - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: If All Else Fails, There is Still That Person

Lu Wu was dressed in a professional-style suit today, wearing light makeup and a pair of lensless black-rimmed glasses, with her hair casually tied back. She was naturally beautiful and habitually wore a smile, making her appear quite easygoing.

When the man spoke, the surrounding onlookers were quickly influenced by first impressions.

“Who is this? She’s quite pretty, but a bit of a fresh face.”

“Probably some starlet who just debuted. There are plenty of minor celebrities like that in this film city.”

“I see that woman is just driving a white SUV; what’s so special about that car? Just pay her for it.”

“That white SUV isn’t ordinary. It’s a Porsche Cayenne that just hit the road recently—market price starts at a million yuan.”

“Even changing one tire costs over two thousand. I just saw that boy slash both rear tires right through. That’s not a small sum.”

“So the man wants to skip the bill? Can he pull it off?”

“Who knows. If his brother really is some famous director, maybe this little actress will just have to swallow the loss.”

The crowd buzzed with noise and wouldn’t settle down. Hearing this, the man felt increasingly confident, straightening his collar and standing a bit taller.

Standing in the center of the crowd, Lu Wu acted as if she hadn’t heard the discussions. Not much time had passed since the incident, and she quickly found the footage of the boy slashing the tires on the dashcam. She downloaded the backup to send to her lawyer and called the police in one smooth motion.

“Hello, someone has intentionally damaged property here at the Film and Television City, 128 Huacheng Road, by the parking lot entrance.” “Yes, I will wait for you here.”

Hearing Lu Wu’s words, the man immediately grew wary again. He shielded the boy behind him and asked, “Who did you just call?”

Lu Wu stated an obvious fact: “The police.”

The man froze, not expecting this little starlet to be so tactless. His face instinctively contorted into a grimace. “Did you not hear what I just said? My brother is a director. Aren’t you afraid of being blacklisted?”

Lu Wu finally looked up at him, as if she had only just heard the content of his words, appearing thoughtful. “Oh, may I ask which director it is?”

Thinking she was scared, the man lifted his chin and said arrogantly, “Niu Bi, Director Niu. The crew of Unforgettable setting up nearby—you should have heard of them.”

Lu Wu had only just returned to C City and hadn’t looked into such matters, so she was actually a bit curious. But after searching her memory, she had never heard of a so-called “Director Niu,” nor could she link any popular IP to Unforgettable.

Seeing Lu Wu remain silent, the man assumed she was intimidated and became immensely smug. “He’s coming over right now. Hurry up and call the police back to explain clearly. Don’t narrow your own path.”

Xiao Yin couldn’t stand it and was about to argue with him again. “Even if your brother is a director, he has to be reasonable. Our dashcam clearly recorded what your son did. This is a society ruled by law…”

The man didn’t give her a single glance, stubbornly refusing to budge. “In any case, it couldn’t be my son. I’ve already called someone to come take charge. Just you wait.”

‘Take charge.’ One would think he was talking about some mountain bandit king.

Lu Wu raised her hand to stop Xiao Yin. Dealing with such people couldn’t be done purely through reason. There was only one solution: find his weakness and be more assertive than him.

She took a few steps forward, standing straight half a meter away from the man. He instinctively took two steps back. “What do you want to do? Get physical?”

Lu Wu only smiled and didn’t answer. She took off her glasses, leaned down, and looked at the boy. “How old are you this year?”

Under her gaze, the boy didn’t seem nervous at all, saying proudly, “I’m sixteen.”

Lu Wu arched an eyebrow, looking surprised. “Already sixteen? Why are you still so short? I thought you were only in primary school.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the boy’s self-esteem was offended, and his face instantly turned ugly. “You! What do you mean?”

Lu Wu curled her lips and continued, “But that’s just right. Once you’ve reached sixteen, you can be held responsible for all criminal offenses. The total price of two tires is just enough to meet the standard for a criminal case, and added to your bad attitude and refusal to repent…”

“Detention or a prison sentence? Once the police arrive, it won’t be too late for us to settle the score.”

“Prison sentence…” Her tone was serious, and the boy was terrified. He shrank back uncertainly and turned to the man for support. “Dad, she’s not telling the truth, is she?”

The man was also feeling apprehensive, but there was no reason the name of Niu Bi wouldn’t work here. He patted his son’s shoulder and calmed him down. “Everything will be fine with your uncle here. Don’t be afraid, nothing will happen.”

Lu Wu heard clearly and found it amusing. She stood up straight and looked at the man in front of her. “You seem to have misunderstood. I think I need to explain. I am not an actress, and I don’t care who your brother is.”

The man was stunned, his momentum suddenly weakening. “Then who are you?”

Walking downstairs surrounded by Du Hengxu and others, Li Jin saw Lu Wu standing in the crowd from a distance.

“President Li, we have made full preparations. Rest assured, when the movie is released later, it will definitely give you a big surprise. I am confident that this year’s Oscars will definitely have us—” “Eh, President Li, where are you going? The parking lot is that way! We need to go this way…”

That said, whatever the financier wanted to do surely had its own reason. Li Jin’s pace didn’t hesitate, and Du Hengxu could only follow closely behind. Halfway there, the confused group finally saw Lu Wu, who was surrounded by several layers of people.

A hot-shot screenwriter in the industry was in trouble; this was a good opportunity to build a favor. Furthermore, Du Hengxu had a sneaking suspicion that Li Jin had come for this very reason. He seized the moment, pushed through the crowd, and walked over quickly.

“What’s happened here?”

The second she saw Du Hengxu, Lu Wu looked back with a premonition and indeed saw that familiar figure not far away. After pausing for a few seconds on those cool eyes, she withdrew her gaze and acted as if everything were normal.

“It’s nothing, a small issue. I’ve already called the police.”

When Du Hengxu heard that the police had been called, he knew it was no small matter. He was about to ask for the details, but the man on the side beat him to it.

“Director Du, you’re finally here!”

Only when his name was called did Du Hengxu turn his gaze to the other person present, his tone puzzled. “Do you know me?”

The man beat his chest and acted familiar. “You’ve forgotten me? We’ve met before. I’m Niu Bi’s brother, Niu Chun. This is my son; the child even called you ‘Uncle’ before.”

Du Hengxu thought back carefully and finally remembered meeting the crew next door when he first arrived. They were filming a low-budget, crude web drama, something called Unforgettable. The director seemed to be a legitimate film school graduate, but after drifting in the industry for over a decade without any noteworthy work, he wasn’t someone of high standing. As for the other… there was even less of an impression.

Thinking of this, Du Hengxu’s face showed little emotion, only replying casually, “Oh, it’s you.”

Niu Chun thought he remembered and felt relieved, hurriedly crying out his grievance. “Director Du, you’ve come at the right time. You must judge this fairly for me! we were just passing by today, but this woman insisted on slandering my son’s innocence.”

Du Hengxu followed the man’s finger and met Lu Wu’s meaningful gaze. “Does Director Du know him?”

Du Hengxu could see exactly what the situation was and hurriedly waved his hand to clear himself. “Screenwriter Lu, don’t misunderstand. It was just a joke; I’ve only met this person twice and don’t even know his name.”

‘Screenwriter Lu’? Hearing Du Hengxu’s words, Niu Chun’s mind immediately became active. As someone who hung around film crews, he naturally knew that a screenwriter wasn’t considered a very important role. That meant once Niu Bi arrived, he could still dominate the scene. Thinking of this, his expression relaxed considerably.

Just then, a raspy male voice rang out from the distance. “Chun-zi, what’s going on? Who’s bullying you?”

A short, fat man hurried over—naturally the brother Niu Chun had been longing for. He arrived with a significant entourage, nearly thirty people following loosely behind him. At this moment, without understanding a single bit of the cause or process, he had already reached a conclusion, unprincipledly favoring his own side. He didn’t look like he was there to solve a problem, but rather as if he had come for a gang fight.

It was Xiao Yin’s first time in C City. Being in an unfamiliar place and seeing a crowd of people walking toward them, she was inevitably nervous. “Sister Lu, this… nothing bad will happen, right?”

Lu Wu only leaned against the car, watching the scene unfold calmly. “No.”

Naturally, nothing would happen. Du Hengxu was here, and the police were on their way. She would not sit and wait for death.

And if all else failed, there was still that person.

Sure enough, just as expected, as soon as Niu Bi walked over, Du Hengxu had already spoken up. “What does Director Niu intend to do?”

Niu Bi clearly hadn’t expected to run into Du Hengxu here. The latter had considerable fame in the industry and had been nominated for major awards. Compared to a “local snake” like himself who barely got by through connections, they were like heaven and earth. Niu Bi stopped his pace and showed some courtesy.

“Director Du, please step aside. I need to settle a private grudge with that woman beside you.”

Du Hengxu frowned and asked, “How do you plan to settle it?”

Niu Bi smiled, the fat on his face piling up, looking exceptionally greasy and disgusting. “If it can be settled nicely, we’ll do it nicely. If not… hehe, you understand.”

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