Chapter 35: The Unseen Observer

The young woman’s words were so earnest and fervent that even Lin Wan felt a blush creep onto her seasoned face.

“I—I understand. I won’t say another word. I wish you both great happiness.

“There’s a minimum three-month interval between two synchronization tests. It’s quite a long wait, but I doubt Lily of the Valley will seek out another cinematographer in the meantime.

“Make sure to prepare thoroughly during this period.”

The young woman’s eyes immediately brightened. In her excitement, she straightened her back and offered a shallow bow, only to once again send the documents she had painstakingly restacked onto the desk scattering with an inadvertent headbutt.

“Thank you so much! I’ll go tell Lu Chen immediately!”

Lin Wan watched the papers flutter to the floor, her temples beginning to throb once more.

“Don’t you dare run off! Clean up this office before you leave—”

Mid-sentence, a knock echoed from the door. Lin Wan turned her gaze, spotting Lu Chen and Lily of the Valley standing side-by-side in the doorway.

The young man spoke:

“Excuse me, Sister Lin. Is this a convenient time?”

“It’ll be convenient if you come help clean up the room later. What do you need?”

Lu Chen raised the camera in his hand, the very one designated for synchronization tests.

“The synchronization test allows for one revision, correct? I’d like to change the submitted photos.”

Upon hearing this, Xia Shi immediately scurried to the young man’s side, her eyes brimming with eager anticipation as she gazed up at him.

Lin Wan, however, merely shrugged, a helpless expression on her face, and responded:

“I’m sorry, Little Lu, but that’s not possible. The AI only accepts photographs taken during the test period and strictly prohibits any post-capture editing or modifications.

“Even if I were to submit it into the system for you, it would only result in a score of zero. You’d be better off preparing for the next test instead.”

Lu Chen’s lips curved upward into a confident smile.

“There’s no need for you to resubmit anything.

“The system should have already recorded all the photographs I captured moments ago. You simply need to switch out the one designated for scoring.”

Lin Wan cast a suspicious glance at Lu Chen.

“…That’s certainly not an issue, but what’s the objective? Which photograph do you intend to modify?”

Though she feigned asking Lu Chen which photograph he wished to modify, Lin Wan had a strong inkling of his likely choice.

To successfully pass the test, Lu Chen needed to achieve 50% of the combined score from both photographs, amounting to 100 points.

The first photograph, despite its inherent difficulty, had only garnered a meager 10 points thus far.

To reach the passing threshold, he merely needed to elevate its score from 10 to 40—a feat, according to historical records, achieved by 5% of test subjects.

Conversely, boosting a score from 60 to 90 was considerably more challenging, with fewer than 1% of participants ever reaching such a high mark.

As a former cinematographer who had meticulously prepared for the synchronization tests, Lu Chen was intimately familiar with these statistics. He had no logical reason to invite unnecessary trouble.

However, the young man’s reply utterly defied her expectations.

“I’d like the second one.”

“…Are you certain?”

“Thank you for your consideration, but I am certain. Please replace the second photograph with the seventeenth one I captured during the test period.

“Shall we head to the training grounds to view the results?”

Lin Wan retrieved her phone, launched an application, and began operating it with practiced ease.

“There’s no need. Our company excels at creating all sorts of flashy yet ultimately meaningless cloud platforms, so this can be handled right here. There, modification complete—”

As the revised photograph materialized on the screen, Lin Wan’s breath hitched involuntarily.

The photograph captured Lily of the Valley in a breathtaking moment, suspended mid-air as she launched a precise assault on the dummy.

The dummy’s head was thrown back, vibrant, colorful orbs splattering across the air, casting a neon glow upon the stark steel jungle. The young woman’s form was taut as a drawn bow, coiled like a leopard in a corner, her gaze as piercing as the blade in her hand, fixed unerringly on the enemy’s core.

In terms of lighting, composition, and even narrative depth, it was utterly flawless.

Had Lily of the Valley not previously refrained from being photographed, Lin Wan would have suspected a system bug, believing she was viewing a meticulously edited photograph prepared for publication.

Lin Wan gazed at the image for a prolonged moment, then let out a weary sigh, her heart heavy.

“Little Lu, I’m going to exercise my prerogative as an examiner and deduct 10 points from your score.”

Before Lu Chen could even utter a word, Xia Shi’s brow furrowed, and a fiery glint immediately sparked in her eyes.

“Why? Please provide a reasonable explanation at once!”

Lin Wan raised her phone, displaying the screen to the young woman, and the number ‘100’ instantly registered in the latter’s vision.

‘Even with a 10-point deduction, Lu Chen had already surpassed the passing standard.’

“Because this fellow’s approach to the test was less than serious; he deliberately held back, forcing us to ride the elevator back and forth needlessly.

“Now then, capturing these photographs was merely the initial stage of the synchronization test. Everyone, let’s return to the training grounds and complete the remaining steps.”

With that, Lin Wan tucked away her phone, preparing to exit. Xia Shi seized the opportunity, quickly scurrying to Lu Chen’s side. She smiled, gently poked his waist, and whispered softly:

“I knew you were concealing your true abilities. By the way, why didn’t you modify the first photograph earlier?”

The young man gazed down at the young woman’s smiling face, then playfully poked her waist in return. Instead of answering her question directly, he posed one of his own:

“Which dummy did you prefer? The first or the second?”

The young woman pondered seriously for a moment before replying:

“The second one was a bit better, and you captured it wonderfully… It’s just a shame Sister Lin only showed it to me for a brief moment, so I couldn’t get a clear look. Is something amiss?”

Lu Chen nodded, a pleased expression on his face.

“Excellent. I guessed correctly. As long as it pleases you.

“Once the test concludes, the system will destroy the majority of the recorded photographs within a few days.

“However, it will retain any photographs submitted as final products that score above 80, uploading them to the company’s database.

“Once we return, we can download that particular one and examine it closely.”

The young woman froze for a moment, a faint blush blooming across her fair cheeks. She immediately lowered her head, her voice dropping to a barely audible whisper.

“…Oh, honestly. What if something unexpected had happened, and I hadn’t passed?”

Xia Shi’s voice was a blend of shyness and delight. Hearing it, Lu Chen felt a warmth bloom in his heart, and he couldn’t help but recall the conversation he had overheard moments ago through the camera.

Yet, as the memory resurfaced, a chilling unease subtly crept up the young man’s spine, causing him to gently bite his lip.

‘Who, exactly, in that room had been observing him then?’

He was unwilling to suspect Xia Shi, yet he had no logical reason to suspect Lin Wan either.

The notion of a perfectly invisible anomaly having infiltrated the office, coincidentally monitoring him for some unknown reason, was an utterly preposterous fantasy.

Lin Wan’s voice cut through his thoughts, momentarily pulling Lu Chen from his reverie.

“You two, could you perhaps find another time and place for your flirtations? In any case, I’m heading to the training grounds now to set up the system. Make sure you’re both there within five minutes.”

“Yes, I apologize.”

Lu Chen offered a brief apology, then turned to follow his superior out of the room. However, his gaze suddenly snagged on a sheet of paper lying on the office desk—his own personal data.

Lu Chen paused, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, as a compelling hypothesis formed in his mind.

He gently patted the young woman’s shoulder and murmured softly:

“When you were chatting with Sister Lin just now, you were staring at my profile for a while, weren’t you?”

Upon hearing this peculiar question, the young woman tilted her head in surprise, a trace of confusion clouding her beautiful eyes.

“I did look for a moment. Why do you ask?”

Lu Chen let out a small sigh of relief. Perhaps, staring intently at one’s own photograph could also be construed as a form of ‘peeping,’ thereby triggering Silvermoon’s magic.

‘But this profile had been lying on Sister Lin’s desk for several days; she must have seen it numerous times before. Why hadn’t the magic been triggered then? Was it because she hadn’t looked long enough? Not focused enough? Or was there some other reason entirely?’

The young man’s thoughts deepened, and he couldn’t find an immediate answer. He could only offer a perfunctory response to the young woman.

“No, it’s nothing. Let’s go.”

While the young man was deep in thought, the young woman was observing his expression. She smiled and said:

“I have a question too.

“Just now… about a few minutes before you entered the office, your heart rate sped up for a bit. What was that about?”

Lu Chen was startled. The time the young woman mentioned coincided with when Silvermoon’s magic had been triggered.

“N-no, it’s nothing. How did you know my heart rate sped up?”

Xia Shi took Lu Chen’s hand and pointed to the bracelet on his wrist.

“I told you, didn’t I? This bracelet is enchanted. I can sense things if I shake it. Actually, I occasionally use it to sense your heartbeat. I just happened to try it on a whim earlier.”

‘That’s it! That action was deemed ‘peeping’!’

Lu Chen let out a long breath, his brows relaxing. However, the young woman stood on her tiptoes, her slightly narrowed eyes fixed intently on him.

“So, what exactly happened? Could it be that you were secretly meeting another girl?”

The image of Morning Star flashed across his mind. Although he hadn’t done anything to betray Xia Shi, sweat still beaded on Lu Chen’s forehead.

He quickly gripped the young woman’s hand and said:

“How could that be! Actually—”

The young woman winked slyly.

“I’m just kidding. You’re the most important person to me; how could I ever suspect you? Let’s go.”

‘…Indeed, how could I suspect the most important person?’

Lu Chen cast his trivial doubts aside and walked out of the room with the young woman.