Release that Man

Before Ye Shuang showed her hostility, and combined with Xia Cheng’s self-incriminating effect, Edward was actually more supportive of the former. After all, one was someone whom he shared a good morning with, while the other was a colleague. Be it from personality or attitude, Xia Cheng was not someone that Edward could admire. Therefore, with such an obvious comparison, it was clear who he was going to like and who he was going to ostracize.

And also because of that, after Ye Shuang introduced herself, other than surprise, Edward did not have any other thoughts. “Oh, so you’re the person who blocked his way?”

Edward was surprised, but he did not turn hostile. Instead, he nodded naturally, and then he even nodded with understanding. “Then, he was not exaggerating to me. If your partner is as good as you, then if I was a woman, I would not abandon you to go for Xia Cheng, that kind of fool.”

“Then I shall thank you for your compliment.” Ye Shuang laughed drily. Seeing how friendly Edward was, she could not help but ask, “Your friend… I mean, Xia Cheng, didn’t he tell you bad things about us?”

That was practically certain. The man had no moral guideline, and it was understandable for him to find back-up since he could not handle them alone. Since Edward was in France, there was no reason for Xia Cheng not to seek him out. Since Xia Cheng had already stated the situation to Edward, then why would the latter be so friendly around her?

Edward shrugged. “He indeed said many things about your partner, but what does that do with me?”

“…” Ye Shuang.

“Never mind, since you have already offended the man, if you don’t want extra trouble, just be patient a while longer. I think his days are already numbered.” Edward chewed on a piece of gum and used the tone of an ally to tell Ye Shuang that.

Ye Shuang felt the world was rather interesting—the enemy’s ally was standing by her side… Could it be that Xia Cheng was such an annoying person? Or was she too friendly and had an easy time triggering an old friend feeling in others?

“Since you’ve said that, then I shall be patient.” No matter what, Xia Cheng’s threat was neutralized. With the tip from Edward, Ye Shuang could confirm that Xia Cheng indeed did not have any more trump cards, and his plan to start over in France was not going to happen. The only possibility was that Edward might suddenly decide to lend Xia Cheng a hand. As much as he looked down on Xia Cheng, he might still help him due to the fact that they were colleagues.

…

They both ignored Xia Cheng and walked into the studio to go look for James. Edward had not met James for a long time. They went off to chat once they met. Ye Shuang naturally went to find Qiu Yu and Su Zheng.

Su Zheng had gone missing again, and Rong Su was walking around the set. After she finished a set, she was not scolded by James. When she saw Ye Shuang talking to Qiu Yu, she ran over to join happily. “Sister Shuang, you’ve come to France as well, huh? Xiao Su is not around, do you want me to help you find her?”

“I came to take up your Brother Shuang’s work.” Ye Shuang turned over while gritting her teeth. She looked around before asking, “Where is Xiao Su? I wanted to call her this morning to ask about your address, but her phone was off, and I still cannot find her… Didn’t we promise to meet up today?”

Sister Shuang and Brother Shuang knew French—that was understandable—but for a girl who had not been to France to find Karen’s home, that would be too hard to explain. After all, the place was not on any bus route. Unless someone drove her there, someone who had not been there would have a hard time finding her way. If not for that, why would Ye Shuang have insisted on contacting Su Zheng first?

“Oh, you mean the phone?” Rong Su caught up to the situation, and she showed pity and tried to comfort Ye Shuang. “Sister Shuang, don’t be mad, actually this is not Xiao Su’s fault… Er, it’s like this. Xiao Su’s phone was stolen this morning, and she was mad after she found out. Then she could not remember the hotel that you were staying at…”

“…Wait a minute!” Ye Shuang interrupted her. “Repeat what you said again?”

Rong Su stopped and then repeated even though she was confused. “Xiao Su was mad?”

“No, before that.”

Rong Su thought about it. “Xiao Su’s phone was stolen this morning?”

“That’s it!” The shocked Ye Shuang sucked in a cold breath. “You said that Xiao Su’s phone was stolen. Where did this happen? Are there a confirmed suspect?”

“How could we know that‽” Rong Su sighed. “James and Vincent have already warned us about this. There are many thieves at France, and Paris is especially famous for the high crime rate. Many visitors do not dare come shopping in Paris because of it. If you run into smaller groups, it’s still quite lucky because they normally just steal. If you run into certain groups, you might be mugged… I’ve already told Xiao Su to give it up, just consider it a lesson learned.”

That is not the point! Ye Shuang felt so powerless. The key issue is, just how good and brave must the thieves in Paris be to steal from an experienced thief like Su Zheng?

No wonder they said that there was always someone better. Ye Shuang had thought that Su Zheng was already the best, but the girl had found her match in Paris.

Later, when Su Zheng showed up, she was seething with anger. “This is too maddening! I purposely went for a walk with my wallet, but I failed to fish the man. Tomorrow, I’ll do it again. I don’t believe I cannot lure this thief out who stole from me! By the way, how did you come here today, Sister Shuang?”

“When you finally remembered me, I would have been homeless already.” Ye Shuang sighed. She used his thumb to point at Edward, who was talking to James. “Xiao Su, didn’t you realize that James is not as angry as he normally is?”

“Huh? Now that you mention it…” Both Rong Su and Su Zheng were surprised. Just now, the two quickly went off to chat on their own because normally when James called someone over, it was to have them scolded. Therefore, when he did not call for anyone, no one would purposely wander around him. Because of that, even though there was a living human next to James, due to the scary influence of James, no one noticed the addition.

It was not until Ye Shuang pointed out Edward’s presence that Rong Su and Su Zheng suddenly realized the fat foreigner that had appeared next to the director.

“Sister Shuang, who is that?” Su Zheng pulled on Ye Shuang’s sleeve. When Rong Su went to find Qiu Yu to contact the make-up artist, she took the chance to ask. She noticed that the foreigner was not a simple character—could a simple character talk to James‽

“You’ve heard of Edward, right?” Ye Shuang made the introduction. “The partner that James once worked with, and later, I told you that I suspect he’s some sort of criminal… I happened to run into him when I was wandering down the streets. After some conversation, I realized that we are quite similar, so we got to know each other…”

Su Zheng looked at Ye Shuang with a mixture of fear and admiration. “Sister Shuang, I realize that you have the tendency to run into people that normal people would not have met. Could it be related to your aura?”

Frowning, Ye Shuang was not sure that was a compliment or not. “Your compliment sounds so weird.”

Su Zheng thought about it and then shrugged with impatience. “Oh well, at least it is not something bad.”

Just as the girls chatted, the conversation between James and Edward was also going well. Initially, James wanted to introduce Brother Shuang to Edward, but Brother Shuang did not show up that day. Naturally, James’ plan had been ruined. However, before James could get angry at Brother Shuang for not giving him face, Edward introduced him to Sister Shuang, and he gave her high praise. Due to this surprising development, James naturally had nothing else to say.

Even though the result was different from what he expected, Sister Shuang thankfully lived up to his expectation as well.

“How about we go for dinner after the shoot?” After getting to know Sister Shuang through Edward and Rong Su, James held the camera and then said, “I hear from Edward that you are very talented.”

“I also don’t have any intention of joining the entertainment business,” Ye Shuang said.

James frowned, and his displeasure was plain as he touched his goatee. “Do youths nowadays hate the idea of being famous so much, or are the youths that I run into that unique?”

Edward leaned against the sofa, and he looked his usual lazy self. His tone was still so condescending, like he could not wait for the whole world to hate him. “The young lady is not someone who would like to live under the spotlight… Jim, if you’re looking for a new actor, you’re looking in the wrong place.”

“I just want to find a suitable partner to help me with my film.” James was not happy. “There are more and more idiots joining this industry… Of course, I need people’s help to finish a film… You can’t expect me to do everything on my own, right?”

“That’s your problem. In any case, I’m not interested.” Edward’s tone was harsh. “I believe the young lady is not interested as well. Since we’re friends, heed my advice—I really don’t want you to get rejected like that.”

“How did you know she will reject me?” James asked.

Edward flashed a meaningful smile. “Because she is the same type of person as I am…”

“Wait a minute!” Ye Shuang quickly interrupted. “You’d better clarify what kind of person you are first, or people might misunderstand.”

“…” Edward.