Evelyn, having finally relaxed, paused for a moment before sharing the results of her investigation directly with Andrew. After all, hiring Andrew as a bodyguard for safety's sake implied a fundamental level of trust.
As he listened to intel that could only be described as utterly clueless, Andrew's eyes narrowed instinctively.
Suddenly, Andrew sensed something amiss and asked, "Evelyn, is Astra Yao's route something that gets leaked easily?"
At Andrew's prompt, Evelyn immediately realized the anomaly. She replied, "No. Others might not be clear on this, but at least when it comes to the Young Miss, given my anti-tracking capabilities, it should be basically impossible for someone to track us the entire way without me noticing."
"In that case..."
Andrew and Evelyn locked eyes and spoke in unison: "Then there's a mole leaking the intel!"
Betraying Astra Yao's itinerary could be a minor annoyance or a major crisis. If it were just leaked to fans, it would simply mean a few more fanatics blocking the road. But if it were someone with darker intentions, that was an entirely different matter.
Regardless, the existence of a mole placed Astra Yao in potential danger.
Rooting out the mole was a necessity.
However, simply knowing there was a mole changed nothing. The most important thing now was identifying the person who received this intel—what did they plan to do with her route?
Mere fanatical fans wouldn't engage in such seemingly meaningless maneuvers.
The mystery had unraveled slightly, yet the fog shrouding it hadn't dissipated; instead, it had thickened.
Recalling Evelyn's earlier comment that the other party's wording resembled the style of the Outer Ring, combined with the uproar over the Monica kidnapping threats online over the past two days, a grim thought surfaced in Andrew's mind.
"Could it be that their target was Astra Yao from the very beginning?"
This thought popped into Andrew's brain without a shred of evidence, purely a product of intuition.
But once the thought emerged, Andrew immediately raised his guard.
After all, guessing wrong is fine, but what if he guessed right?
Just then, Hank, who had previously been nothing but submissive and timid, suddenly appeared before them, looking utterly smug.
"Heh, I'll give you one last chance. Are you going to be obedient?"
The contrast in his expression was so drastic that Andrew didn't react immediately, but Evelyn's gaze sharpened the moment she saw him.
A killing intent, forged from a lifetime of danger and combat, instantly radiated from her.
Hank immediately felt a chill on the back of his neck; his body shivered involuntarily, and his legs began to tremble once again.
But after recovering, and seemingly emboldened by some unknown source of confidence, he thrust his chest out and said arrogantly, "You'd best make Astra Yao behave from now on, otherwise what happens next might not be pleasant."
He tilted his head back as far as it would go, attempting to strike a pose that looked down on them.
But with his height of 165cm, standing before Evelyn—who was 173cm plus heels—and the 195cm Andrew, his posture looked nothing short of ridiculous.
Evelyn's eyes narrowed slightly, the fingers of her right hand twitching instinctively, though she quickly suppressed the urge.
In the end, she simply said with a look of disdain, "Listen to you about what? Attending those cocktail parties organized by fat pigs? Or those circle-jerks made up of disgraced artists, just to serve as a stepping stone for their clout?"
Looking at Hank, Evelyn didn't even want to waste her breath.
"I think the current state of peace is quite nice. At least you still get to sit in that seat, don't you?"
Tch.
Although she knew he was a moron, she didn't expect him to be this much of a moron.
Arranging for her to participate in those kinds of activities?
The reason Evelyn hadn't beaten him to death was at least eighty percent because Astra Yao hadn't yet established a firm footing at DGA Entertainment, right?
After all, rather than swapping him for a leader who might be a wildcard, it was better to continue using this director who was already under her thumb.
That way, she could guarantee more say in matters.
Evelyn's threat caused the smugness to vanish from Hank's face, replaced by a gloomy scowl. His teeth ground together loudly, his attitude looking like he was about to explode, which piqued a sliver of interest in Andrew.
Immediately, Andrew's right fist began to itch, ready to play dentist and take a good look at the guy's teeth.
The specific method of dentistry involved summoning his fist in Attack Position and directly striking the opponent's cheek.
Once his teeth were scattered all over the floor, he could observe the condition of each one perfectly.
Disappointingly, in the end, the guy only dared to leave a harsh remark.
"I hope you won't regret this. Just you wait!"
With that, he turned and fled quickly without looking back.
Although Hank had fled, Evelyn fell into deep thought.
At the same time, the massive disparity in his behavior before and after felt wrong even to Andrew. After shaking his fist in disappointment, he said, "I think he's got a problem."
Responding to Andrew, Evelyn thought aloud as she spoke, "I think so too. That smug look of his... I've only seen it before I caught him with dirt. But today he suddenly reverted to that."
Watching Hank's figure disappear into the crowd, Andrew rubbed his chin.
"Sounds like a guy like that wouldn't be capable of such provocation and sudden change without some assurance."
Evelyn nodded.
"No leads at the moment. After ensuring the Young Miss gets home safely, I'll look into what exactly he's been up to."
However, the rehearsal was over, and it was time to take Astra Yao back.
Andrew didn't care what kind of trouble Hank was stirring up in the company; internal company matters had nothing to do with him as a bodyguard.
Even if he wanted to intervene, he couldn't.
Evelyn herself had said she could handle the internal affairs completely, and all he needed to do was protect Astra Yao perfectly.
Hank's threats didn't alter their pace in the slightest; they prepared to proceed with the original plan.
Andrew, who needed to ride his bike separately, took the stairs to the underground parking lot ahead of time, planning to wait at the elevator entrance for Evelyn to pick up Astra Yao.
However, halfway there, Andrew received a text message from Evelyn.
According to her, the ever-energetic Astra Yao was currently in a heated dispute with the director over how best to perform the final dance move, so Andrew would likely have to wait a little longer.
Right at that moment, a message from a stranger on 'Knock-Knock' suddenly popped up.
[Anonymous: Shopkeeper, what is your current location?]
This sudden message made Andrew pause for a moment, as he didn't recall adding this friend.
However, seeing the title, Andrew immediately scrolled through his Knock-Knock friend list again.
____
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