The red carpet was laid out in front of the Junyue Hotel, and flashes from cameras went off incessantly. Lin Xiaoyu lowered her cap, clutching the invitation she had found in Xu Ya’s trunk. Her palms were sweaty. The name on the invitation was “Lin Ya,” but the photo had been cleverly scratched out. The security guard glanced at it and let her in—at such events, no one would bother verifying a small screenwriter’s identity.

The banquet hall was dazzling, with a champagne tower glowing in the center. Lin Xiaoyu shrank in the corner, searching for Zhou Ziyu. On stage, Xu Shichang was giving a speech. In his sixties, he wore a well-tailored suit, his silver-gray hair neatly combed, and his smile was as kind as a neighborly grandfather.

“Thank you to all the media friends for attending the Cloud Song press conference…” His voice was warm and powerful. “A special thanks to our leading actor, our most precious family member at Starshine Media—Zhou Ziyu!”

Amid thunderous applause, Zhou Ziyu stepped out from the side door. He wore a well-fitted deep blue suit, with a familiar sunny smile on his face. But Lin Xiaoyu noticed his steps were unsteady, and his right hand trembled at his side.

“Today, we also have a special guest.” Xu Shichang affectionately draped his arm over Zhou Ziyu’s shoulder. “The female lead of Cloud Song, the rising star—Chu Fei’er!”

A young girl in a white dress shyly walked onto the stage. Lin Xiaoyu gasped—Chu Fei’er couldn’t be more than twenty, with eyes so innocent that they seemed completely out of place in such a hedonistic environment. Xu Shichang’s hand slipped from Zhou Ziyu’s shoulder and instead rested on Chu Fei’er’s waist, his fingers sensually stroking her side.

Zhou Ziyu’s expression froze for a moment, then he forced a smile. He took the microphone. “Fei’er is a very talented actress. I look forward to working with her…” His voice was steady, but Lin Xiaoyu saw him swallow hard, as though he was forcing something bitter down his throat.

The press conference transitioned into a cocktail party. Lin Xiaoyu quietly moved toward the stage, looking for an opportunity to get close to Zhou Ziyu. Suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a nearby fire escape.

“Are you looking for death?” Zhou Ziyu pinned her to the wall, his voice barely above a whisper. Up close, his eyes were bloodshot, and beads of sweat dotted his forehead. “Xu Shichang’s men are already watching you!”

Lin Xiaoyu struggled to break free. “Where’s Xu Ya? What do those photos mean? What’s the goal with the female lead of Cloud Song?”

Zhou Ziyu’s expression twisted for a moment. “Xu Ya was never my cousin. She’s Xu Shichang’s mistress, specifically tasked with monitoring me.” He gasped, “The child she’s carrying… is a test-tube baby, Xu Shichang’s. He wants to use my genes with that girl…”

Footsteps echoed from upstairs. Zhou Ziyu quickly covered Lin Xiaoyu’s mouth and pulled her deeper into the shadows. Two bodyguard-like figures passed by overhead.

“Boss said to find that Lin girl…”

“Don’t worry, she won’t get away. The cameras got it all.”

Once the footsteps faded, Zhou Ziyu let go. “Listen carefully. The USB drive Xu Ya gave you contains evidence of Xu Shichang controlling artists for all these years. He has a ‘collection room,’ full of…” His voice choked. “Cloud Song is just a cover. The real goal is to get Chu Fei’er into that room.”

Lin Xiaoyu’s stomach twisted in pain. “We have to help her…”

“Useless.” Zhou Ziyu smiled bitterly. “The police, the media, even some high-ranking officials… they’ve all taken favors from Xu Shichang. Do you think Xu Ya couldn’t escape for any other reason?” He pulled a room card from his inner pocket. “This is my assistant’s room. It’s temporarily safe. The password is Xu Ya’s birthday. Stay there until tomorrow morning, then go to the airport and never come back.”

Lin Xiaoyu took the room card. “What about you?”

“I’ve had no way out for a long time.” Zhou Ziyu’s gaze suddenly became eerily calm. “Since that party five years ago.” He turned to leave but stopped. “By the way, the medication in the medical records Xu Ya gave you… it’s not for me. It’s what Xu Shichang uses to control those girls.”

Back in the hotel room, Lin Xiaoyu locked the door chain, drew the curtains, and then, trembling, opened the old phone Xu Ya had given her. The contact list had only one number, marked “Reporter Li”—Li Yan, an investigative journalist from Legal Weekly.

She dialed the number and held the phone away from her ear. Sure enough, after just one ring, the call was answered. “Xu Ya?”

“I’m Lin Xiaoyu. Xu Ya… has gone missing.” Her voice trembled. “I have evidence of Xu Shichang’s crimes.”

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end. “Don’t talk about it over the phone. 10 AM tomorrow, third floor of the old library in the east of the city. Bring everything.”

After hanging up, Lin Xiaoyu opened her laptop and plugged in the USB drive. In addition to the photos she had already seen, there was an encrypted folder. She entered Xu Ya’s birthday, and the screen displayed a list—a dozen or so famous actors’ names, each followed by dates, drug names, and… video numbers.

Lin Xiaoyu covered her mouth and gagged. The most recent dates were from last week, and at the bottom of the list was a chilling note: “Lead Actress for Cloud Song: Chu Feier, Pending.”

Suddenly, the screech of a car’s brakes could be heard from outside the window. Lin Xiaoyu pulled back a corner of the curtain and saw three black SUVs parked in front of the hotel. A familiar figure got out from the middle vehicle—Chen Ming, Zhou Ziyu’s manager, speaking into a walkie-talkie.

Her phone vibrated, showing an unknown number: “He knows you’re here. Use the fire escape, now! —Z”

Lin Xiaoyu grabbed the USB drive and phone, opened the door, and just as she did, she heard the elevator “ding.” She darted into the fire escape and heard hurried footsteps coming from above. After running down two floors, she suddenly stopped—there were people coming upstairs from below.

In a moment of indecision, a hand reached out from the shadows of the staircase and pulled her into an equipment room. In the dark, she smelled a faint cologne scent.

“Don’t make a sound,” Zhou Ziyu’s voice whispered in her ear. “There are people on every floor.”

Lin Xiaoyu could feel his chest rising and falling violently, his heartbeat loud enough to be heard. The footsteps outside the equipment room were growing nearer.

“Mr. Zhou?” Chen Ming’s voice came through the door. “Mr. Xu is very concerned about you. Miss Chu is waiting for you to ‘rehearse’ with her.”

Zhou Ziyu’s body tensed instantly. Lin Xiaoyu felt his hand trembling, but not from fear—was it… anger?

“Tell them I’ll be there soon.” His voice was unnervingly calm. “I’ll go back to my room and change first.”

The footsteps grew distant. Zhou Ziyu released Lin Xiaoyu. “They’re using Chu Feier to threaten me. If I don’t go… that girl will end up in Xu Shichang’s bed tonight.”

Lin Xiaoyu grabbed his arm. “You can’t go! We should call the police together—”

“It’s useless.” Zhou Ziyu smiled bitterly. “I reported it to the police five years ago. The next day, that officer was reassigned. A week later, his daughter received a ‘voluntary’ video I made.” He opened the equipment room door. “Remember, 10 AM, old library. Li Yan is the only journalist Xu Ya trusted.”

He turned to leave, but Lin Xiaoyu suddenly remembered something. “Wait! The medical records Xu Ya gave me said those medications were for you…”

Zhou Ziyu froze. “Those medications are what Xu Shichang uses to control the girls. Xu Ya… she secretly swapped some of them, so recently, a few girls escaped.” His voice became low. “Xu Shichang found out.”

Lin Xiaoyu suddenly understood. “So that’s why she…”

“Go quickly.” Zhou Ziyu pushed her gently. “At the end of the fire escape, there’s a staff elevator that goes straight to the underground parking garage. My car is still there. The key is inside the left front wheel.”

“And you?”

Zhou Ziyu was already walking toward the stairs. In the light, his profile was sharp and determined. “I owe those girls. It’s time to pay it back.”

Lin Xiaoyu found the car keys as he said. Just as she started the car, she heard a commotion from the hotel. In the rearview mirror, she saw a few men who looked like bodyguards dragging a figure toward the middle SUV. Even from a distance, Lin Xiaoyu could recognize the struggling figure—the white shirt on Zhou Ziyu stood out sharply against the night.

Tears blurred her vision. She slammed the gas pedal, speeding out of the garage. Her phone suddenly rang. It was Su Man: “Xiaoyu! Where are you? Chen Ming just called the set, said you were needed urgently…”

“Manman, listen to me.” Lin Xiaoyu’s voice was eerily calm. “If I don’t contact you by noon tomorrow, send this number to Li Yan from Legal Weekly. Tell him to investigate ‘Xingyao’s Collection Room.’”

After hanging up, she pulled over and parked by the roadside, logging into the cloud on her new phone to upload all the contents of the USB drive and send them to Li Yan’s encrypted email, set to send automatically in six hours. Then, she turned the car around and headed toward the Junyue Hotel.

Zhou Ziyu was right—some debts had to be repaid. And in her camera, she still held the first photo that could potentially shake the entire entertainment industry—Zhou Ziyu and Xu Ya secretly meeting in the back alley of the set.

This time, she was no longer afraid to press the send button.