Awei had braced himself to be eaten, hoping only that the brown bear could hold one tiger at bay while he would then shoot the other tiger in the head as it fed, allowing Mei Mei to escape safely.
He hadn’t expected the brown bear to quickly defeat the tiger it was facing and then swiftly move over to take down the second tiger as well.
Now, all three tigers were incapacitated, and the danger had passed.
Awei climbed down from the tree cautiously, avoiding the motionless tiger lying beneath it, and made his way to the tree where Mei Mei was located.
Mei Mei also climbed down from the tree. She ran over and hugged Xiong Yu.
Through telepathy, Xia Yu sensed the girl’s surging goodwill.
At the same time, the brown bear’s enhancement increased to LV2.
Xia Yu currently had no use for the brown bear or the girl, so he didn’t dwell on the matter.
He escorted the girl and Awei to the village before returning to the scene of the incident.
All that remained on the ground was a pool of blood; the three tigers had vanished.
Judging from the marks on the ground, two of them had dragged the third one away. Whether this was out of affection or hunger, Xia Yu couldn’t say.
As winter approached, food became increasingly scarce. Even adult male tigers sometimes went hungry, let alone females and juveniles.
Who would have thought there were so many fierce beasts in this forest?
Xia Yu felt some concern but was relieved that his current body was that of a brown bear. If it had been a black bear, things might have been more dangerous.
Brown bears could hold their own against adult male tigers, but black bears were generally no match for adult males and could even be preyed upon by female tigers if they weren’t careful.
A good birth was extremely important.
Letting out a yawn, Xia Yu tidied up the area, covering the bloodstains with soil before falling asleep in the small cabin Awei had built for him.
In his sleep, eight hours passed.
Returning to his own body, Xia Yu played some games casually before going to sleep again.
On November 4th, he was scheduled to take his driver’s license exam. Although he could have let the proxy Yu handle it, Xia Yu decided to take the test himself.
After finishing the afternoon exam and having dinner at An Siyao’s place, Xia Yu logged into Wen Ziying’s body.
After a moment of darkness, Xia Yu saw a highball glass glowing red.
He was at a banquet, surrounded by people in suits moving about.
Beside Wen Ziying stood a middle-aged woman wearing glasses.
Dressed in a woman’s suit, the woman handed Xia Yu a drink and said, “Take a deep breath. Don’t be nervous or anxious.”
Her words were not meant for Xia Yu but for Wen Ziying.
From the woman’s words, Xia Yu inferred that Wen Ziying had just been tense and anxious?
“Here, have some juice,” the woman in the suit took a glass from the tall stack of cups and handed it to Xia Yu.
He took a sip—it was lemon juice.
It was a bit sour.
Putting the lemon juice down, Xia Yu picked up an orange juice instead.
He took the opportunity to examine Wen Ziying’s appearance. The girl was wearing a blue dress, a backless style, leaving her back slightly chilled.
The woman in the suit spoke to Xia Yu again, “The director will come over later. You don’t need to say anything; I’ll handle him for you.”
At this moment, Wen Ziying also spoke in Xia Yu’s mind, “This is the wrap party for the TV drama. This dress is kind of uncomfortable.”
If it’s uncomfortable, why wear it?
Wen Ziying paused before adding, “I don’t like the director.”
So the real reason was the director.
Xia Yu wanted to ask Wen Ziying whether they could afford to offend the director. If so, he wouldn’t have to hold back.
But with others nearby, he couldn’t speak openly.
Thinking for a moment, Xia Yu crossed his arms and wrote on his sleeve.
Wen Ziying recognized the strokes and replied, “He’s a relative of the publisher’s boss with some connections in the film industry. We can’t afford to offend him.”
Xia Yu continued writing, “You’re already such a well-known author. Can’t you even offend a nepo baby?”
“If someone truly earned their position, they’d value their reputation and wouldn’t cause trouble. Those who rely on connections are the most likely to stir things up,” Wen Ziying explained. “Besides, there are plenty of authors with the ‘beautiful young female writer’ label. Without major awards to back me up, my value is actually quite limited.”
Xia Yu nodded. The publishing industry was struggling, and with the copyright winter, it was no longer the age of writers.
“No one can stay popular forever. There’s only so much in your head, and one day it’ll all be written. Even if you don’t stop writing, when you grow old and the times change, no one will care about the old-fashioned stories you write. I’m a little better off as a traditional author, but I’ve heard online writers have it even worse. Without becoming top-tier, you’re just an ant.”
Wen Ziying rambled on, her tone somewhat low, and Xia Yu sensed a feeling of sadness from the girl.
From Wen Ziying’s words, Xia Yu felt the girl’s anxiety about her unstable future and lack of security.
He felt Wen Ziying would be fine, as she had the talent for screenwriting and inspiration, which could make her a globally renowned writer.
He listened quietly.
About ten minutes later, a somewhat overweight man, flanked by his entourage, approached Wen Ziying.
Beside him, the woman in the suit—the one responsible for Wen Ziying—stepped forward to speak with the man.
Xia Yu paused his conversation with Wen Ziying and listened to their talk.
They exchanged pleasantries first, discussing the TV drama, then the man brought up Wen Ziying’s other book, saying he had read it and thought it had potential for adaptation into a TV series. If appropriate, it might even be made into a low-budget film.
As the woman in the suit expressed delight, the man changed the subject, suggesting Wen Ziying join them for karaoke after the banquet.
The woman’s face showed some hesitation. She stood there for two seconds before her expression turned determined.
Returning to Wen Ziying’s side, the woman said, “After the banquet, we’ll go to karaoke together. You can discuss your next book’s adaptation with Director Liu.”
Xia Yu amusedly twirled his glass. At the beginning, he had thought the woman was a good person, but apparently, the mere prospect of an adaptation had made her switch sides?
“Sure,” he agreed, giving Director Liu a bright smile.
Director Liu’s face quivered with happiness.
After Liu left, the woman hesitated but offered no explanation to Xia Yu.
Xia Yu guessed she wanted to warn Wen Ziying about what might happen after karaoke, to prepare her, but she feared scaring Wen Ziying off directly, so she decided to say nothing and just proceed.
Taking a sip of juice, Xia Yu considered whether he should acquire a director talent and enter the industry himself.
This field seemed somewhat interesting.
But he was only thinking about it. Playing with these broken things wasn’t better than going back to play role-playing games with An Siyao.
However, An Siyao could only play the role of a director-worshipping girl half-resisting, not the role of an actress being forced by a director.
Maybe he should find Xu Youxiang?
That would become a plot where the director forces the actress, who resists helplessly, then curses him out loud.
Immersed in these idle fantasies, Xia Yu waited for Wen Ziying to speak, but she remained silent for a long time.
Glancing at the woman in the suit who had walked away, Xia Yu quietly spoke to Wen Ziying, “Are you really planning to sacrifice yourself?”
“It’ll hurt you if you do,” Wen Ziying replied.
She knew the unknown being inside her wouldn’t let her suffer any loss.
Satisfied with the girl’s trust, Xia Yu said, “Don’t worry. I guarantee he’ll lose interest the moment he sees you.”
“What are you planning to do?” Wen Ziying asked curiously.
“You’ll see,” Xia Yu replied, raising his glass for another sip.
As a waiter passed by, he asked for a shawl to cover the girl’s chilly back.
“By the way, are you the screenwriter for this TV drama?” Xia Yu asked again.
Wen Ziying’s talent wasn’t actually in writing but in screenwriting; writing was just a side application of her screenwriting talent.
“No. Originally, I didn’t even plan to come. It was Wang Jie who asked me to,” Wen Ziying replied. Wang Jie was the name of the woman in the suit, who handled all of Wen Ziying’s affairs.
Xia Yu nodded. So Wang Jie had planned this from the beginning, though she probably hadn’t expected Director Liu to be so direct.
Thus, sipping juice and eating pastries, Xia Yu watched the time slowly pass as the banquet neared its end.
Director Liu came to find Wen Ziying. Behind him were a man and a woman, plus Wang Jie, making five people total—two men and three women.
Xia Yu recognized the other woman somewhat; after thinking for a while, he recalled she was a rising young actress. Wen Ziying identified the other man as Liu’s assistant director.
If one man were surrounded by a group of women, there might be questions, but with two men, especially if they were all related to the industry, it wouldn’t be suspicious.
In the elevator, the slightly tipsy Director Liu tried to put his arm around Xia Yu, but Wang Jie hurriedly stopped him.
“Director Liu, there are still people on the first floor,” Wang Jie said.
She was more concerned about Wen Ziying’s reputation than her body, as Wen Ziying still bore the image of a pure, beautiful young female writer.
Director Liu restrained his hands but not his eyes, which fixated on Wen Ziying.
He had interacted with idols and actresses before, but a beautiful young female writer was a first. He wondered what special qualities she might have.
He felt his mouth dry.
When they reached the first floor, he loosened his belt.
Originally planning to wait until they left the hotel, Xia Yu couldn’t stick to his original plan. He turned and gave Director Liu a scare.
He intentionally held back a bit to prevent Liu from becoming too flustered.
Looking at Wen Ziying, for some reason, Director Liu’s mind suddenly conjured up an image of a concrete mixer churning cement.
He swallowed hard and tightened his belt again.
On the way from the hotel to the parking lot, Liu stubbornly kept looking at Wen Ziying, but every time, his mind would suddenly conjure up the image of a concrete mixer. He loosened and tightened his belt repeatedly.
Xia Yu hadn’t expected Director Liu to be so persistent, so he increased the intensity.
This time, instead of just the mouth of the concrete mixer, Liu’s mind conjured up its interior.
After tightening his belt again, Liu felt a bit frightened.
“Hahaha, I also like playing with belts sometimes,” the assistant tried to humor Liu, but Liu had no mood to talk to him now.
Liu excused himself to go to the restroom, heading to a secluded area to check himself. Finding nothing wrong, he noticed that whenever he looked at Wen Ziying, the image of the concrete mixer inexplicably appeared again.
When he returned, he tried observing the rising young actress instead, but there was no problem.
So the issue was definitely with Wen Ziying.
Feeling something strange, Liu grew even more frightened.
A rumor from the industry flashed through his mind—supposedly, the once-famous singer Ning Qiuer had a little ghost that protected her career. Driven by jealousy, the ghost had also caused the deaths of all the men around her.
The sudden appearance of the concrete mixer in his mind was clearly abnormal. Thinking about it, Wen Ziying had indeed had a smooth path, much like Ning Qiuer in her prime.
Recalling the industry insiders around Ning Qiuer who had faced bankruptcy, suicide, arrest, and murder, Liu’s body trembled.
“Director Liu, what’s wrong with you?” Xia Yu approached Liu, extending his hand, ready to deliver a stronger scare.
Now they were in the garage, with no one around, so there was no need to worry about being filmed or getting involved in anything.
But he hadn’t expected that before Xia Yu could fully unleash his scare, Liu backed away in terror, even falling over.
“Don’t come near me!” Liu shouted in fear.
The rising actress, Wang Jie, and the assistant director were all stunned.
“That film copyright deal—we’ll buy it. I’ll make the decision. You all go back first. I just remembered I have to have dinner with my wife tonight, so I won’t be singing,” Liu decided to cut his losses.
Actually, it wasn’t even his money but the company’s. Buying either option was fine; he was just losing an opportunity to gain some extra benefits.
To prevent any accidents, Xia Yu gave Liu another scare before following Wang Jie to her car.
Wang Jie still felt a bit regretful. Although she had gained some benefits, she hadn’t managed to connect with Director Liu.
Arriving at Wen Ziying’s home, Xia Yu chatted with the girl.
“How did you do that?” Wen Ziying asked curiously.
“Alien technology,” Xia Yu replied.
“You said last time you were a stand user,” Wen Ziying reminded Xia Yu not to change his character setting.
“Anyway, that’s how it is,” Xia Yu brushed it off vaguely and asked, “That Wang Jie was scheming to sell you out. Do you still plan to stay with this company?”
“She’s not too bad. At least she’s not too domineering,” Wen Ziying replied. “If I don’t agree, no one can force me. At most, my books will get fewer resources.”
Wen Ziying didn’t want to continue the topic. She said to Xia Yu, “Can you come over on the 7th? In the afternoon.”
“What for?” Xia Yu asked.
“You’ll find out when the time comes,” Wen Ziying teased.
After agreeing, Xia Yu changed into pajamas, played some games on Wen Ziying’s computer, and returned to his own body.
After sleeping a bit more and waking up in the morning, Xia Yu logged into An Siyao’s body and went to Hu Lianglu’s house.
As soon as the door opened, Xia Yu was attacked by Hu Lianglu.
Hu Lianglu grabbed his wrist from behind, trying to pin him to the ground, but her move lacked any technique, relying only on a surprise attack and brute force. Xia Yu simply pulled his hand free and pinned Hu Lianglu to the ground instead.
After resolving the danger, he began to think:
What’s going on here?
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