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Evelyn revealed the tasks assigned to her by her superiors, starting with sabotaging the equipment at the premiere ceremony.
This was entirely within Arden's expectations.
Since there had been no interference during the filming of Divine Tiger Companions, Arden had long felt that Odeum HAE and Fugue were up to no good. The reason they hadn't disrupted the shoot was, first, because the filming process had been tightly guarded, leaving them no opening, and second, because they were waiting for the right opportunity to strike big—such as the premiere ceremony attended by figures from both political and business circles.
However, when Evelyn mentioned that her superiors had also ordered her to seduce him, Arden's expression turned strange.
"Mm… maybe if you seduce first and then confess, it'd be more profitable?"
Arden fiercely swept his gaze over Evelyn's alluring body curves.
No wonder she's that female bodyguard with an absurdly high popularity rate—nearly 50%—on R-rated Pixiv!
As for the assassination that came after, Arden subconsciously ignored it.
"What did you say?"
Evelyn hadn't clearly heard Arden's muttering.
"Ahem! Nothing."
Arden coughed lightly and brushed past the whole seduction topic. "Anything else?"
"There's more."
Evelyn nodded. "I believe I'm not the only mole they planted in Suibian Film & Media."
She was very clear about this. Suibian Film & Media and the other two entertainment companies under TOPS had long-standing grudges. There was no way Odeum HAE would gamble the entire plan of bringing down Suibian Film & Media on her alone.
Not to mention Fugue.
If Odeum HAE had placed Evelyn, a female spy, through the organization, then what about Fugue? Was it possible they had planted their own people as well?
That possibility was extremely high.
"The plan to sabotage the premiere ceremony is something I only obtained very recently. In fact, this likely isn't even their full layout. I think we should—"
'We,' huh…
Looking at Evelyn's serious expression, tinged with a bit of worry, Arden nodded inwardly. She had completely cast aside her identity as a mole and fully placed her stance with Suibian Film & Media—no, rather, firmly on Astra Yao's side.
"I'll pay extra attention on the security front. As for Astra's safety, I'll continue to entrust it to you."
Arden patted Evelyn's shoulder earnestly. "No problem, right?"
"Am I… still worthy of trust?"
Arden's trust was beyond Evelyn's expectations. She had originally thought that even if she wasn't dealt with due to her voluntary confession, she would at least be removed from Astra Yao's side—this extremely important position—and placed under supervision at Yunkui Summit, forbidden from leaving freely until the matter was resolved.
"Heh, if I think you're trustworthy, then you're trustworthy!"
Arden gave a firm answer, a smile appearing on his face.
Evelyn had took the initiative to come and confess, which meant she had already made her choice in her heart. With that, what was there not to trust?
"Don't look so surprised. I think Astra Yao feels the same way I do."
"Thank you!"
Evelyn sincerely expressed her gratitude for Arden's trust.
...
Morning.
Arden accompanied Evelyn to find Astra Yao, who had just woken up, and revealed Evelyn's true identity.
Her reaction was exactly as Arden had said—she naturally chose forgiveness.
"I'm sorry, Miss. All this time, I didn't have the courage to tell you that I'm Odeum HAE's spy. My codename is 'Scheele's Green.'"
"What!? But Evelyn's hair is clearly ginkgo-leaf yellow."
"You… don't mind? But I've been deceiving you from the very beginning. My existence itself is a lie."
"What lie? That you didn't tell me your real name?" Astra Yao chuckled. "You're you—the you standing in front of me is the Evelyn I trust."
"…"
Creek—!
Arden stepped out of the room and gently closed the door.
Leaving time to those two was more appropriate now. If Arden were standing in Astra Yao's position, he'd probably be hearing a system prompt like [Evelyn's Loyalty +100] right about now.
…..
Today was the day of the premiere ceremony.
The premiere would air three episodes back-to-back. In addition to the premiere event at Gravity Cinema, TV stations would also broadcast it simultaneously.
Gravity Cinema.
"Master, you have a letter."
Yiji handed a letter to Arden. Judging by her expression, she seemed rather unhappy.
"…"
As soon as Arden looked at the letter, he immediately understood why Yiji was upset.
A pink envelope, wafting a sweet fragrance, addressed to "Dear Daoist Arden," with the wording already somewhat ambiguous—and covered in little hearts.
Clearly, it was highly suspicious as a love letter.
"I understand."
Arden patted Yiji's head. Whether it was her sulking or the letter itself, he didn't take either too seriously.
After all, Arden was quite popular in Waifei Peninsula. Receiving the occasional love confession letter from female fans was perfectly normal.
"Mm..."
Arden cast a spell to inspect the letter. After confirming there was no issue, he opened it and took a look.
"As expected—it's a confession letter."
Line after line expressing admiration and feelings, even specifying a time and place to meet. At the end, it emphasized: "Whether you accept or reject me, I hope to receive a definite answer."
"What a hassle!"
In the past, if someone confessed to him, Arden might've felt a bit excited. But now, with plenty of experience, he had long grown indifferent and instead found it troublesome.
He took out his phone, contacted Ju Fufu, and sent her a message.
"I'll just have Ju Fufu take me to reject them."
With the premiere ceremony imminent, everyone was busy—except Ju Fufu, who was the most idle of all.
Arden felt she was the most suitable choice.
And besides, similar situations had happened before. Ju Fufu would always eagerly volunteer to go in Arden's place and reject them harshly. This time should be no different.
…..
Gravity Cinema, backstage preparation room.
"Breath in… breath out… breath in… breath out…"
Astra Yao took deep breaths in a steady rhythm, exhaling, then continuing the cycle.
"Yes, that's it. The rhythm can be a bit slower."
Arden stood by the side, giving guidance.
That's right—he was teaching Astra Yao a breathing technique to improve childbirth experience—to relieve nervousness.
"Astra, feeling better? With me here, you don't need to be so nervous."
Evelyn, standing nearby, looked a little worried.
Even though Astra Yao was already a big star, this was still the premiere ceremony for her very first TV drama. Feeling nervous was inevitable—no, not just nervous, but terrified, nervous to the point of feeling like she was about to die!
Knock knock knock~!
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it!?"
Evelyn immediately became alert, her bodyguard instincts kicking in.
There was less than an hour left before the premiere ceremony. There was no room for even the slightest mistake.
"Delivery's here."
A voice came from outside the door.
"Delivery?"
Evelyn glanced at Arden, as if asking whether he had ordered it.
Arden shook his head, then looked toward Astra Yao.
"Hehe!"
Seeing both of them looking at her, Astra Yao stuck out her tongue playfully. "Waiting was too boring, so I ordered milk tea… there's one for everyone."
"Evelyn, let's all have milk tea together, okay?"
Astra Yao hugged Evelyn's arm and shook it coquettishly.
"You, honestly!"
Unable to withstand Astra Yao's attack, Evelyn dotingly tapped her on the forehead. "Just this once!"
"Hehe, I knew Evelyn treats me the best."
As she spoke, Astra Yao stood up and moved to open the door—
But Arden stopped her.
"I'll do it."
At the same time, Evelyn took up a guarded stance, shielding Astra Yao behind her in case anything unexpected happened.
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