Chapter 191: Haruto’s Request

Lin Haizao?

Hearing that name, Luo Shaotian nodded and gave an evaluation.

“Mm. It’s a good name. Sounds quite artsy—and pretty normal.”

“Normal? I mean… you haven’t seriously never watched that old TV drama from decades ago, have you?” Lin Yu complained.

“Those Haizao imitation skits have been blowing up like crazy on Douyin lately!”

Faced with Lin Yu’s rant, Luo Shaotian shook his head blankly.

Lin Yu subconsciously turned back to glance at the three girls in the rear seats, only to find that they all wore the same confused expression of ‘What’s that? Can you eat it?’

Alright. Case solved.

If even someone Luo Shaotian’s age didn’t know, there was no way these three little girls would.

So it turned out that among everyone present, she alone was the outdated antique who couldn’t keep up with the times?!

Cough, cough…

To cover up that inexplicable sense of generational gap,
Lin Yu coughed twice tactically and forcibly dragged the topic back on track.

“Um… anyway, my identity card is set now. As for the persona, it’s that kind of…”

As she spoke, Lin Yu’s voice grew smaller and smaller.
That delicate, pretty face nearly buried itself into her prominent chest, and she muttered in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz:

“Just… your kept—kept little secretary… that’s okay, right?”

The air froze for a moment.

In the driver’s seat, Luo Shaotian’s breathing skipped a beat.
His Adam’s apple rolled uncontrollably, and his voice tightened slightly.

“Th… that’s fine.”

“—Cut! Stop, stop, stop!”

Just as the subtle atmosphere was beginning to heat up, an extremely mood-killing shout abruptly interrupted the two of them.

Li Qing leaned halfway out from the back seat like a strict film director, squeezing her face—full of ‘I can’t believe how useless you are’—right between the two.

“Hey, hey… I say, you two actors,” She planted her hands on her hips and scanned them with an expression of utter disdain.
“Do you think just slapping on some half-baked character settings means you can act this scene?
How naïve!

Interaction!
Do you even understand what interaction means?!”

Li Qing jabbed a finger hard into Luo Shaotian’s shoulder.

“Luo Shaotian, what’s with that upright, righteous gaze of yours?
Are you going in there to conduct inspections, or to wh—
cough cough—to spend money?”

“Think about it yourself.
A filthy rich boss, with such a top-tier little mistress by his side—
Where should your eyes be looking?
What kind of gaze should you have?”

“It should be desire that wants to devour her!
Greed!
Not that righteous nonsense, okay?!”

Luo Shaotian was scolded into silence and awkwardly turned his face away.

“And you too! Senior!”

Before he could even recover, Li Qing’s firepower instantly shifted to the passenger seat.

“Your expression management is completely unqualified too! Zero points!”

“Please, you’re a little secretary willing to climb the ladder for money.
Facing the big sponsor who’s spending money on you,
What kind of expression should you have?”

“Look at yourself right now!
Shrugging your shoulders, looking like the world owes you money—
Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were some village girl being abducted,
About to bite your tongue and die!”

Lin Yu was sprayed until her face turned bright red.
Clenching her teeth, she still tried to make a last stand.

“Th… that, um, Director Qing… this is an infiltration mission after all…”

She weakly raised her hand in protest.

“The key point is ‘infiltration,’ right?
Since it’s infiltration, shouldn’t I keep a low profile and avoid drawing attention, maybe—”

“Rejected!”

Li Qing mercilessly cut off her argument and raised a single finger.
In that instant, she seemed to transform into the godfather of infiltration.

“Are you the professional, or am I the professional?”

“Let me tell you—since joining, Lady Red Fox here has executed a full thirty-seven high-difficulty infiltration missions. Every single one completed perfectly. Zero mistakes!”

She shot Lin Yu a disdainful glance.

“Low profile? In this line of work, the more low-key and sneaky you are, the more it screams guilty conscience! Only people with something to hide try to act restrained!”

“Listen to me! To fool others, you have to fool yourself first!”

“High profile! You must be high profile! Only when you act even more real than the real thing Does it become the perfect disguise!”

Faced with Li Qing’s confident, overbearing nonsense, Lin Yu instinctively sensed danger.

Like a drowned puppy, she cast a pleading look toward the other two teammates in the back seat, the ones who looked more reliable.

However—

“Accept your fate.”

Chen Bing crossed her arms, her tone calm.

“Although I really don’t want to admit it,
This pink-haired fox may look unreliable most of the time, but when it comes to infiltration and disguise…
She really is the most talented among us.”

“Mm.”

The usually taciturn Yano Hotaru added another blow.

“At least she’s far better than you, a rookie who only knows how to brute-force things and guess blindly.”

“Alright…”

Completely isolated, Lin Yu could only resign herself to fate.

She scratched her head in despair, took a deep breath as if heading to an execution ground, and tremblingly extended her hand, taking the initiative to hook it around Luo Shaotian’s arm.

The instant their skin touched, it was as if an invisible electric current shot through them.

Lin Yu’s cheeks were instantly dyed crimson, and the man who was being held stiffened completely.

That arm was rock hard, muscles tense like iron.

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“Th… this… is this okay now?” Lin Yu asked guiltily.

“Wow! Wow! Not—even—close—enough!”

Li Qing crossed her arms into a huge “X,” wearing an expression that screamed ‘Are you kidding me?’

“What is this? Elementary school kids holding hands after class?!”

Before Lin Yu could even react,
This lawless little fox suddenly extended her sinful hands—
One slammed down on Lin Yu’s shoulder, the other grabbed Luo Shaotian’s elbow, and shoved them violently together!

“Stick—together!!!”

“Ugh—!”

In that instant,
That unbelievably soft sensation slammed into the hard elbow without any buffer at all.

“Gh—!!!”

Luo Shaotian’s entire body jolted like he’d been electrocuted.
Behind the sunglasses, his pupils practically shook,
And even his breathing grew noticeably faster.

That sensation…
That warmth…

“Eek—”

Lin Yu also instantly realized just how catastrophically awkward this situation was.
After all, the interior of the car was already cramped—
This shove had practically welded the two of them together.

A tsunami of shame crashed over her, and she instinctively tried to retreat.

However—

“Oh?”

A sinister voice whispered softly by her ear.

Li Qing rested her chin on Lin Yu’s shoulder, her tone dripping with provocation.

“So…
Is this really all the ability the dignified 【Gray Crystal】 has?”

“As a grown adult man who’s already been beaten up by society… Are you really going to tuck your tail between your legs and run away from such a slightly ‘difficult’ little task?”

“Tsk tsk tsk…
What a trash-tier performance~”

“N-no… it’s not that… I just…”
Lin Yu blushed furiously and tried to explain.

“Just what?”

Li Qing gave her no room to breathe, pressing step by step.

“I say, Senior—
Isn’t this just simple physical contact?
Why are you acting like it’s such a big deal to stick this close?”

“Haven’t you always treated this body as nothing more than a ‘skin suit’?”

“If it’s just a skin suit, then what’s the harm in touching it a bit? It’s not like a piece of flesh is going to fall off!”

“B-but…”

“Tch—”

Li Qing let out a scornful snort, her gaze growing increasingly playful.

“Oh my, what’s with that blushing face?
And what’s with those shy little eyes?”

“Could it be… That you’ve already gotten too deep into the role, and completely forgotten your original identity…”

“And are starting to feel more and more like… You really are that delicate little ‘Lulu’?”

“—Absolutely not!!!”

Those words were like a red-hot needle,
Stabbing straight into Lin Yu’s fatal weak point— Her so-called “male pride.”

The shyness in her eyes was instantly replaced by a blaze of reckless fury.

What a joke!
Who would think they were that affected woman?!

I’m a hot-blooded, ironclad real man!

How could I lose face like this
In front of a bunch of underage girls?!

“Fine, I’ll act! Who’s afraid of who?!”

Lin Yu steeled her heart and shut her eyes.

Not only did she not retreat— She angrily tightened her hold around Luo Shaotian’s elbow instead!

What’s more, she even pushed her luck further,
Gently pressing her cheek against his broad, solid chest.

Feeling the warmth seeping through his shirt, and that powerful, steady heartbeat—

Lin Yu took a deep breath and forced herself into character.

I am Lin Haizao…
I am a kept woman who’ll do anything for money…

She slowly lifted her head.
Those moist eyes gazed through her lashes at the man in sunglasses,
And in a voice soft enough to drip water, she called out sweetly:

“Boss…”

Because of the sunglasses,
Lin Yu couldn’t see Luo Shaotian’s expression at that moment.

But she clearly saw that his usually cold, stern face
Uncontrollably… twitched hard.

A moment later.

The hand that wasn’t being held slowly lifted.
Somewhat stiff, yet carrying an indescribable carefulness, it gently landed on the top of her head, and stroked her smooth hair twice.

He said nothing.

But that expression…
That look of indulgence mixed with helplessness,
And helplessness tinged with doting tolerance…

It perfectly portrayed a big boss who obeyed his little lover’s every whim.

Lin Yu blankly felt the warmth on her head, And couldn’t help sighing inwardly:

This acting…
It’s really incredible…

That expression… It looks almost… real…