The Late-Blooming Iceberg Top (Entertainment Industry) [GL] - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ye sat astride Qian Luo, one paw pressed against her face in a gesture of “hating iron for not becoming steel.” She interrogated her: “Did you see it? Did you see it yet?”

Qian Luo’s face was squashed against the floor. She coughed twice. “How am I supposed to see anything with you doing this?”

Ye’s anger was clearly bordering on excessive, but she didn’t explain. She simply vented her temper, scratching at Qian Luo for a moment before suddenly standing up and giving her a sharp kick in the stomach. She snapped: “Stand up and look!”

Qian Luo scrambled up, muttering something under her breath—likely about how other people’s cats act all cute in their laps while hers is a ferocious demon who will never find a husband—but after a sharp glare from Ye, she obediently turned her attention to the TV.

On the screen was the image of Zhou Xiaoming peacefully “sleeping.” Her face was sweet, her lips a healthy red—truly beautiful. Qian Luo dazed out for a second before finally focusing on the people surrounding her.

Xiaoming’s mother, Lin Wanchen, was once a top star in the entertainment industry. Using her stunning beauty, she climbed to fame before marrying Zhou Lu, the eldest son of Shumei Media—Xiaoming’s father. It had caused a massive scandal at the time.

Lin Wanchen hadn’t shown up at the Zhou residence until Zhou Xiaoming was three years old, child in arms. After a DNA test, the Zhou family had no choice but to accept them. Qian Luo scanned the data and found that the media had reported the Zhou family’s “messy business” in exhaustive detail.

Zhou Hailing, the eldest daughter, was ten at the time. Her mother (Zhou Lu’s legal wife) had died very young, so Hailing had been raised by Yin Tong since the age of ten.

The timing was quite curious: the period when Lin Wanchen officially joined the Zhou family was the exact same time Zhou Lu hired Yin Tong. Back then, Yin Tong was just fifteen years old, serving as the eldest miss’s companion and servant, responsible for her daily life and teaching her noble etiquette.

After Lin Wanchen married into the family, public interest waned and media coverage stopped. However, twelve years later, with Zhou Xiaoming’s death, the media had begun a fresh round of excavations.

The once-glamorous Lin Wanchen had since divorced Zhou Lu and—within the six months prior to Xiaoming’s “suicide”—had married a third-rate director.

Ye and Qian Luo stared at the screen, looking at the still-charming Lin Wanchen and the middle-aged aristocrat Zhou Lu for a long time before reluctantly… shifting their gaze to the stepfather. He was short, fat, and had a lecherous appearance.

Doubt flickered in Ye’s emerald eyes. She asked Qian Luo, “What’s that word you humans use? ‘Hidden rules’ (casting couch), right?”

Qian Luo nodded slowly, looking wounded. “Yes.”

Ye immediately said, “Then I’d rather believe she was subjected to hidden rules.”

Qian Luo’s voice was low. “…I’d like to hope so too… but…” She suddenly erupted into a roar. “Have you ever seen a tiny director who can’t even get investment dare to pull ‘hidden rules’ on the ex-wife of a CEO?!”

Ye countered instantly, “Then I’d rather believe she’s just blind.”

Qian Luo adopted the air of a mature “old pro,” saying slowly to Ye, “You have to understand, in romance novels, this is called ‘insane revenge.’ It’s like saying: ‘I’d rather marry a pig than look at you; I’d rather hurt myself just to hurt you.’ It’s an extension of ‘great love.'”

After she said this, the two of them looked up at the magnificent chandelier on the ceiling for a long time, whispering mournfully, “What an expensive way to get revenge…”

After a while, Qian Luo raised another point: “Why can’t we just believe they are truly in love?”

Ye froze. She looked at Qian Luo, and Qian Luo looked back.

On the TV, Lin Wanchen was still weeping like a pear blossom in the rain. Her white pearl shirt perfectly accented her waist and figure, while her fitted trousers emphasized her long legs. Beside her, the long-haired, pudgy “Dragon Big-Head” gave a wry smile, revealing a row of yellowed teeth.

Meanwhile, Zhou Lu stood elegantly to the side, looking at his biological daughter’s body as if nothing were wrong.

The upper class is truly a mess.

In that moment, both felt a chill of horror. They realized that the “true love” theory was actually… much creepier.

Qian Luo turned to her: “So what exactly did you want me to see?”

Ye stared at Qian Luo with the look one reserves for an idiot. She stood up and pointed at the screen. “Here. This is a paparazzi photo of Zhou Xiaoming sleeping normally, right?”

Qian Luo nodded. “Right.” She didn’t forget to swallow nervously.

Ye ignored her lack of composure and pointed back at the news. “Zhou Xiaoming’s expression at the time of her death is exactly the same as when she’s normally sleeping. Doesn’t that make you think of something?”

Qian Luo lowered her head, rubbing her chin and murmuring, “Sleeping pills… sleeping pills…” Something was hovering in the back of her mind, a realization about to burst forth.

She suddenly gasped. “This was murder!”

Ye leaned against the back of the large TV, waiting for Qian Luo to process it.

Qian Luo stood up abruptly, propping a hand against the TV as she stared at Xiaoming’s sweet face in the report. She said bitterly, “She was sleeping. She had no idea she was dying! Look at her… so beautiful, like a red rose in full bloom…”

The girl’s crimson lips were indeed like a rose blooming on a jade-like face.

Ye glanced sideways at the girl, unwilling deep down to admit the child was pretty.

Qian Luo immediately began packing her things. “We’re leaving now. We investigate immediately.”

Ye seemed displeased. She walked over, kicked Qian Luo, and said coldly, “What’s the rush? Have you checked enough data?”

Qian Luo was digging through her suitcase for her ritual tools. “Who knows the secrets better than Yin Tong? Let’s go find her—”

“Hey,” Ye interrupted. “Have you forgotten why you’re investigating this case?”

Qian Luo looked up, puzzled. “For the money?”

Ye’s deep eyes fixed on her. “But you’re starting to let yourself get sucked in. A case is just a case. If you’re going to investigate, you shouldn’t bring your own emotions into it.”

Seeing Qian Luo’s confused gaze, Ye suddenly turned her head away and cleared her throat. A faint blush crept onto her naturally pale skin. She muttered, “I just don’t want you like this.”

Qian Luo was still lost. “Like what?”

Ye looked elsewhere and whispered, “Investing your emotions into someone who has nothing to do with you.”