Chapter 28: A Leak from the Bureau

As soon as he heard the doorbell, Xiao Zhang stood up from the sofa.

His expression was unusually restrained, his hand tightly clutching his briefcase.

He immediately looked towards the true owner of this house.

Yu Ziyu’s slender figure appeared behind the door.

Accompanying his arrival was a sidelong glance he cast at Xiao Zhang.

Although it was just a glance, it gave one the illusion that the owner was sizing him up.

Xiao Zhang immediately raised both hands and blurted out, “I didn’t break in on purpose.

Someone, someone opened the door for me…”

His voice grew softer and softer, then faded away.

A belated fear appeared on his face, as if he suddenly remembered that Yu Ziyu fundamentally had no roommate.

So what exactly had opened the door after he knocked—

“I didn’t ask about that,” Yu Ziyu said casually.

“So you’re not surprised at all, right, Teacher Yu…

Forget it, I’m not going to make excuses, and I don’t really want to know.”

Xiao Zhang shivered, deciding not to think about what kind of thing he had shared a room with for a few hours.

He reached up to cover his face, slumped back onto the sofa, and let out a long sigh.

“I came here to tell you, we have a problem.”

Hearing this, Yu Ziyu’s expression didn’t change.

He simply closed the door behind him, locking the sound of the wind outside, leaving only the cold, stifling air of the villa’s hall.

Now, a dead silence hovered above the two of them, inexplicably making people nervous.

Xiao Zhang took documents out of his briefcase.

Deciding not to dawdle, he simply said it all in one go: “Teacher Yu, you’ve been photographed secretly.

The photo is already trending now.

Although I had people deal with it in time, the picture still got out.”

“The marketing accounts can be controlled, but as for ordinary netizens…

I won’t say more.

You know your own fame.”

Xiao Zhang muttered.

“I know you don’t want people to know what you look like, but setting that aside, I can’t really say whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

First of all, the sales of your photo collection in the past few hours have been really impressive.”

Hearing this, Yu Ziyu narrowed his eyes.

One could imagine the buzz brought by his photo.

Although Yu Ziyu was just a photographer, his works had broken out of their niche several times.

Combined with his maverick way of doing things and the mysterious background that remained uncovered, he was quite famous among young people.

One could completely use “influencer” as a title for him.

Without even thinking, one knew how many people were curious about what he really looked like.

Xiao Zhang took out his phone.

He knew that even if he said this, Yu Ziyu wouldn’t bother to look at his phone himself.

After all, the other party was completely insulated from the modern internet.

He would have to take the initiative to show him.

He scrolled through the trending searches.

The current tag had become

#TheStarkContrastBetweenAngelicLooksAndHorrorPhotography#.

He clicked into it and quickly scanned the comments.

Most of them were marveling at the huge contrast between the photographic works and the photographer himself.

There were no unfavorable remarks.

Even passersby were attracted and eagerly joined this topic.

This was why the trending spot wouldn’t go down.

This buzz wasn’t bought by someone scheming behind the scenes; it was genuinely boosted by the onlooker crowd.

Actually, a part of Xiao Zhang’s heart could understand why the buzz was so high.

Think about it.

Ever since Yu Ziyu debuted under the name “Ziyu,” the photos he took had all been about eerie, bloody themes.

Just looking at them made one’s hair stand on end, made one uneasy even in midnight dreams.

But his appearance was incomparably delicate and beautiful, even carrying a hint of pure fragility, and a bit of arrogance.

Few people could resist this kind of contrast persona.

That photo was very well taken.

Although it was just a profile, Yu Ziyu was looking down slightly, coldly glancing to the side from beneath his long, thick eyelashes.

A beam of light shone directly from the other side, casting a pure white halo on his features.

No wonder someone commented, “Oh my god, am I seeing an angel??” and “Can someone like him really take those creepy photos?!”

His appearance really was that good.

But only those who had interacted with him knew that this exterior was completely an illusion.

Anyone who had ever heard a single word he said wouldn’t doubt for a second that he was the one who took those photos.

Evil.

A person with such a pure, almost compassionate face was the most cold-blooded person Xiao Zhang had ever met.

“There are no malicious comments.”

Xiao Zhang looked away and relievedly put his phone away.

“Basically, people are becoming fans because of your face.

Some are also getting interested in your work because of it.

If you went online, you’d probably see your follower count skyrocketing.”

As his words fell, Xiao Zhang remembered something.

Yu Ziyu basically never logged into his social media accounts.

He had the account and password; in fact, it was Xiao Zhang who managed them… posting some photographic works.

Xiao Zhang didn’t have the guts to go over Yu Ziyu’s head and post anything more personal.

So even if people became fans and went to check out photographer Ziyu’s account, they would only find that aside from photos, there was nothing else.

“This buzz seems useless,” after thinking, he couldn’t help but mutter.

“What did you see?”

Xiao Zhang was startled and looked around the villa.

“What?”

“Do I look like I’m short of money?”

Yu Ziyu frowned with annoyance.

“I really don’t need popularity.

Since you’re getting paid, deal with this matter as soon as possible.

If this thing really blows up, I’ll quit the industry.”

“Wait—What?!”

Xiao Zhang was startled, jumped up from the sofa, stared blankly at Yu Ziyu, and nearly scared to death.

“No way, man, do you really not realize how famous you are?!

If you quit, it would be…”

No way, does someone like this really exist who’s completely uninterested in fame?

But… come to think of it, Teacher Yu indeed has that tendency.

Having been with him this long, I can’t see any particular preference he has for anything.

To him, photography seemed just a tool to pass the time, not a true passion.

So once it became a stumbling block affecting him, he would immediately make a choice and directly abandon it.

“So go do it quickly.”

Xiao Zhang took a final breath and said extremely reluctantly, “…Fine, I’ll give it a try.”

Having said that, he couldn’t help but glance at Yu Ziyu.

He found no particular expression on the other’s face, as if he wasn’t especially annoyed about the photo being exposed.

But his forceful tone conveyed something else.

He always felt Teacher Yu was thinking about something.

Soon, he snapped out of his thoughts and found Yu Ziyu looking at him.

He instinctively responded with a confused look.

“So what are you still doing here?”

Yu Ziyu said.

“Waiting for me to turn you into dinner?”

“…”

This dismissal was pretty familiar.

Generally, when Yu Ziyu told him to do something, he’d better do it immediately, otherwise something unexpected might happen.

So, Xiao Zhang involuntarily let out an “uh,” stood up, and put his briefcase on the table.

“I know, it’s because it’s getting dark, right…

Last time, Teacher Yu, you said not to stay until that time.”

As his words fell, Xiao Zhang showed a confused expression.

He felt his brain sting for a moment, a blank image suddenly flashing by, but quickly disappearing.

Only after a moment did he hear his own rapid breathing; only then did his five senses finally return to normal.

“It’s not because of that,” Yu Ziyu said casually.

“It’s just that you really should go.”

Having said that, he looked out the window.

A dark cloud hovered in the sky.

A line of birds glided past in a low formation.

The last gray bird in the formation trembled, fell from the sky, and disappeared into the nearby woods.

“It’s going to rain soon.”

It was currently the rainy season, with continuous rain.

One rarely felt the touch of sunlight on one’s skin.

This city was growing colder.

Xiao Zhang couldn’t dwell on what his words really meant.

When it came to Yu Ziyu’s vague statements, it was best to play dumb.

This was absolutely the primary rule for self-preservation by his side.

“…Alright, Teacher Yu.

After I leave, you can look at the documents on the table.

Contact me by email.”

“What’s this now?”

Yu Ziyu showed annoyance, lifting his delicate chin slightly towards the sofa.

It had to be said, Xiao Zhang could confirm as a straight man that even if the other appeared astonishingly arrogant, Yu Ziyu was the best-looking person he had ever seen.

Despite being so domineering, he didn’t incur dislike from others.

“This is the draft of the interview questions for Power magazine.

The photos for the last issue have been finalized.

The editor-in-chief is very satisfied with you and wants to know if you could attach a written interview along with the photos.

After sorting out your schedule, I agreed.”

“Oh.”

“But I’m not sure if Teacher Yu can accept these few questions.

After you look at them, if there’s anything you want to change, just tell me, and I’ll immediately contact Power.”

This kind of thing had happened before.

Although Yu Ziyu didn’t want his likeness to be leaked, he could still accept a small amount of written interview—though not in person, but via social media accounts.

So Xiao Zhang had confirmed it first.

Yu Ziyu didn’t make any sound of objection.

Under his nervous gaze, he simply walked to the sofa and picked up the documents from the table.

Xiao Zhang breathed a sigh of relief.

At least he hadn’t made a mistake with this matter.

He really didn’t want to face a big devil who thought he had overstepped his bounds.

Since that was the case, he’d better leave.

“Where was the photo of me taken?”

Yu Ziyu suddenly said coldly.

Hearing these words, Xiao Zhang had just reached the door.

He immediately stopped in his tracks, turned around to look at Yu Ziyu, and couldn’t help showing surprise, because this was the first time he had asked a question.

“It wasn’t at that ritual.

Fortunately, it wasn’t at the police station either.”

He paused and said dryly, “I didn’t mention it because I didn’t want to add to Teacher Yu’s worries.

It was a few hours ago, probably when you went to the Supernatural Management Bureau.”

So, this was completely an internal job.

Xiao Zhang was also very puzzled why it was there.

This might be related to Lou Chen, which was why he hadn’t mentioned it before.

But now it seemed Teacher Yu fundamentally hadn’t realized someone would take a photo.

Considering Yu Ziyu’s perceptiveness, this was obviously not quite normal.

“I see.”

“You know who took it now?”

Xiao Zhang couldn’t help pressing further.

“Obviously.”

Yu Ziyu showed a thoughtful expression.

Then, he waved his hand behind him, signaling the utterly confused Xiao Zhang that he could leave.