novelraw Chapter 64
Chapter 64
Chapter 64: Hidden Motives
The familiar scene, the familiar setting—the studio’s layout was exactly the same as in the previous life.
Although Lin Tai hadn’t directly come in to look around back then, he had caught a glimpse when he rushed in.
Lu Ziyan was very professional, explaining the studio’s equipment, setup, and scenes to Lin Tai in the most concise way possible.
Su Qingyan occasionally chimed in with additional details.
Lin Tai listened with waning interest. He wasn’t into this artsy stuff. He was only here to push the plot forward. But he felt a bit awkward. If the fire really started, what should he do?
As the villainous side character, could he rush in to save the female leads? Of course not—that was the male lead’s role. So what should he do?
With Ye Bai gone, he couldn’t just let the two female leads burn to death, could he?
Damn it! All this headache was because the male and female leads kept messing with the plot.
Lin Tai couldn’t understand—didn’t they, as protagonists, have an obligation to stick to the main storyline? Why were they always trying to change the plot?
This was such an important plot point, and yet the male lead had orchestrated his own exit?
Lin Tai could only say, Well played!
He really wanted to just bail and not care. But if the two female leads died in the fire, the plot would completely collapse. All the subsequent storylines involving them would fall apart, especially Su Qingyan’s.
In Emperor’s Return, a significant chunk of the story revolved around Ye Bai pursuing Su Qingyan, using her to confront his cousin head-on in a classic face-slapping plot.
If Su Qingyan died here, Emperor’s Return would lose a huge portion of its plot, leaving a massive gap. The future would become unpredictable, and it might even affect the ending for him, the villainous side character!
That was unacceptable!
Lin Tai had cultivated a laid-back, idle personality. Exploring a self-directed plot? Completely impossible!
Why bother exploring when he could just coast to victory? Wasn’t that just asking for trouble?
So what should he do?
After much thought, to maintain his villainous persona, Lin Tai decided that once the fire started, he’d bolt. Then, like in the previous life, he’d cover his face and sneak back in to save them while they were disoriented.
Damn it! That was the only option!
Lin Tai was furious. It was all because these people kept derailing the plot, forcing him to add extra scenes.
He could’ve just quietly played his villain role and gone home!
“The ALEXALF camera system consists of the ALEXALF camera, ARRI Signature Prime lenses, an LPL lens mount, and a PL-to-LPL adapter ring. The new system is fully compatible with existing lenses and is currently considered the top-tier camera in the film industry,” Lu Ziyan explained.
As a professional director, she was intimately familiar with the equipment used here.
But at this moment, her mind was elsewhere.
Based on her memories of the previous life, Zhao Gang would soon set the fire outside. Lu Ziyan wasn’t unaware of Zhao Gang’s issue and had considered warning Lin Tai about him.
But the problem was, how could she bring it up?
Tell Lin Tai she was a reincarnator? Tell him that Zhao Gang was actually Ye Bai’s man and was about to set a fire?
Lu Ziyan felt that if she said that, not only would Lin Tai think she was crazy, but it might also make him distance himself from her.
She wanted to speak but didn’t know how to start.
The key issue was Zhao Gang!
Since he was Ye Bai’s man, Lu Ziyan had to find a way to remove him from Lin Tai’s side in advance.
In her previous life, it was because of Zhao Gang that her beloved boy suffered so much, leaving her with decades of guilt, pain, and longing.
After learning the truth, Lu Ziyan had considered taking her own life to apologize to Lin Tai. But she didn’t dare—she was afraid that if she saw him, his look of disgust and alienation would make her feel worse than death.
Lu Ziyan had also thought about killing Zhao Gang outright, but she shared the same concerns as Hecate. If Zhao Gang suddenly died, Lin Tai, being such a kind-hearted boy, would definitely investigate thoroughly.
She didn’t want Lin Tai to see her dark side.
So, she had to gather evidence, and that evidence was this fire.
She hadn’t ruled out investigating Zhao Gang herself and presenting the evidence to Lin Tai to prove he was a problem.
But Zhao Gang was cunning—he’d covered his tracks flawlessly. Lu Ziyan couldn’t find any solid evidence.
To prepare for this fire, Zhao Gang hadn’t contacted Ye Bai for half a month, leaving no trace!
With no other choice, this was her only option.
Since she already knew Zhao Gang would set the fire, as long as she was prepared, it wouldn’t be a big deal. She could just drag Lin Tai and Su Qingyan out with her when the time came.
And in the process, she could justifiably eliminate Zhao Gang, that bastard!
“Ziyan, what’s wrong?” Su Qingyan, walking beside her, noticed Lu Ziyan’s distracted state.
Was it still the same?
Did Ziyan still dislike Lin Tai and only came in reluctantly because of her?
Su Qingyan sighed inwardly, but she also felt a small sense of relief.
Love is selfish—she wanted Lin Tai all to herself.
“It’s nothing,” Lu Ziyan shook her head. The three continued walking, but Lu Ziyan and Su Qingyan deliberately slowed their pace. They didn’t go far into the studio, only taking a cursory look around, as they weren’t particularly interested.
“It’s on fire!” A loud shout suddenly came from outside the studio.
The moment they heard the cry, all three tensed up.
Lin Tai immediately turned to run, ready to execute his plan.
But the next second, he realized he couldn’t move.
Because Su Qingyan and Lu Ziyan, standing on either side of him, had simultaneously grabbed his sleeves.
Lin Tai was about to lose it!
What was wrong with these two female leads? Were they planning to drag him down and get burned to death together?