CEO's Sweetheart is a Super Idol-Chapter 494 - 486: Moving Cautiously

某小区

Lu Hai felt as though he had fallen into a black quagmire.

His nose was filled with the stench of blood.

The smell grew stronger and stronger, turning the world around him into a blood-red haze.

Whoosh!

In his utter terror, he jolted awake from the nightmare.

"I must be too exhausted lately," Lu Hai muttered, fumbling to find his glasses, only to feel something wet and sticky.

"Ah!" Overcome with fear, he leapt out of bed in panic.

There lay his beloved golden retriever, killed and thrown at his feet.

Looking at the horrifying and pitiful state of the dog, Lu Hai broke into a cold sweat, trembling uncontrollably.

He forced himself to suppress the nausea and approached the dead dog for a closer look, but immediately recoiled several steps. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

He knew this was Zhang Yuzhe sending him a warning, and he hadn’t expected the other party to resort to such a cruel method.

Though he had encountered all sorts of people in the industry, they mostly operated within certain unspoken rules.

Most matters were resolved with money or legal processes.

This kind of violent intimidation was something he’d never seen before.

It was clear the message from Zhang Yuzhe was: if he didn’t behave, his fate would be like that of the golden retriever.

He didn’t believe Zhang Yuzhe would actually kill him, but finding someone to take the blame or cripple him was something entirely possible.

"Bastard! Damn it! You think you can scare me? Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because you’re rich and powerful!"

After regaining his composure, Lu Hai was thoroughly enraged.

He picked up his phone, snapped a photo, and sent it to one of his friends.

He quickly received a reply.

"Hai, you need to expose this. Who does Zhang Yuzhe think he is?"

"Director Chen, I’m preparing to report this to the police."

"Good, I’ll coordinate when the time comes."

Galaxy

"Qingjia, look at this news!" Wang Yiran handed over the phone.

"Oh my God!" Yu Qingjia could hardly believe her eyes.

"Is this for real? Could the mastermind really be—"

"No way! We have to wait for the final outcome before jumping to conclusions."

Deep down, Yu Qingjia already believed this was Zhang Yuzhe’s doing after seeing him that night.

But what worried her wasn’t Lu Hai—it was herself.

She feared that if Zhang Yuzhe faced trouble, her variety show would be finished.

Wang Yiran kept a watchful eye on Qingjia, noticing that while her expression appeared calm, her gaze betrayed the turmoil inside.

"That mastermind really has guts! Director Lu is a famous figure."

Wang Yiran sipped her milk tea leisurely, her mood suddenly lifted.

Yu Qingjia couldn’t take her eyes off the phone. She contemplated calling Li Jiaqi to ask about this, but ultimately held back.

The whole Internet was in chaos, and she couldn’t believe that someone dared to go this far.

Ye Yuwei, hurrying to her next appearance, was also shocked upon seeing the news.

She knew Li Jiaqi had a significant role in Director Lu Hai’s movie.

"Sister Yezi, is the industry really this dangerous? Someone actually did this?" Lv Fangxin was no less surprised.

She often followed entertainment news and behind-the-scenes exposes.

Because she was deeply afraid—if she ever stopped being famous, then what?

"Things haven’t been fully clarified yet. Maybe Lu Hai was sleepwalking."

"Sleepwalking?"

Lv Fangxin couldn’t believe her ears, sensing something odd about the captain’s perspective.

"Sister Yezi, I’m kind of scared."

"What’s there to be scared of? Even working in a factory would still require watching out for bad people!"

"I’m just—just—"

"You’re enjoying wealth and fame, basking in the love and admiration of millions, and you’re afraid of losing it all."

Lv Fangxin silently lowered her head, realizing she was no longer the person she used to be.

If she lost her fame, if no one loved her, how unbearable that would be.

"Fangxin, don’t overthink it. Many things are beyond our control."

某别墅

"Haha, that Lu Hai really has guts!" Zhang Yuzhe laughed as he scrolled through the online news.

"Zhang Yuzhe, are you crazy? Why on earth did you throw a dead dog in his place?"

Li Jiaqi hadn’t expected Zhang Yuzhe to employ such a method.

"How do you know it was me?" Zhang Yuzhe shot back.

That question stumped Li Jiaqi. "Well, if not you, then who?"

"Do you really think Lu Hai is some saint? He has plenty of enemies."

"Nonsense! Director Lu is such an upright person; it’s impossible!"

Li Jiaqi’s eyes burned with fury as she glared at Zhang Yuzhe.

But Zhang Yuzhe’s cold, sharp gaze made her shrink back immediately.

Though livid, she still understood that self-preservation was key.

"Zhang Yuzhe, this incident has blown up across the Internet. Let’s see how you handle it!"

"Jiaqi, if you weren’t pregnant, I’d love to crack open your brain to see what’s inside."

"You!"

"If I go down, what do you gain? Who will invest in promoting you?"

Li Jiaqi scoffed and turned her head away without answering.

"Is it that beautiful but self-serving Lan Yening, or your supposedly righteous Lu Hai?"

"Don’t kid yourself. If necessary, they wouldn’t hesitate to sell you out."

"Li Jiaqi, do you think a shallow gigolo has much integrity?"

Zhang Yuzhe’s words made her sneer with disdain; in her eyes, Lan Yening truly loved her.

As they were speaking, the butler approached, announcing two people from a relevant department seeking inquiry.

"Invite them in."

Overcome with anger, Li Jiaqi left the room, knowing she wasn’t suited to stay.

"Captain Sheng, this Zhang Yuzhe sure carries himself with arrogance."

"Heh!"

Sheng Xuan chuckled lightly, offering no further comment.

Shortly, someone came to invite them into the luxurious villa.

Xiao Ma, staring at the palace-like opulence, couldn’t help but feel intimidated.

This guy truly embodied overwhelming wealth and power.

"Gentlemen, please sit. May I know why you’ve sought me out?"

"Mr. Zhang, have you heard about the incident with Lu Hai?"

"I have. I just sent him a message expressing my condolences."

At this, Xiao Ma couldn’t help but twitch his eyelids.

"Has he had any conflicts with anyone in the production crew?"

"I wouldn’t know. I’m just an investor; I’m not involved in the crew’s operations."

"President Zhang, do you know the actress Li Jiaqi from the crew?"

"I don’t. All casting decisions are made by the director and producer. I’m an outsider in this field."

After asking a series of questions, Sheng Xuan got up politely to take his leave.

"Captain Sheng, I feel Zhang Yuzhe is suspicious."

"What suspicion?"

"It must be some woman-related feud. That’s why he threw a dead dog on someone’s bed."

Sheng Xuan couldn’t help but burst out laughing. "Xiao Ma, don’t make baseless claims without evidence."

"Oh! Captain Sheng, should we keep pursuing Zhang Yuzhe?"

"Of course. This case is carrying a lot of pressure."

Just when the industry thought Zhang Yuzhe was about to take a fall...

An even more jaw-dropping revelation emerged.

A man in his forties publicly confessed online, claiming responsibility for Lu Hai’s incident.

He alleged that Lu Hai had abandoned his sister, resulting in her fatal childbirth complications.

This news shocked everyone to their core.

Lu Hai, known for his stellar reputation in the industry, was accused of such behavior—it seemed unbelievable.

However, the man shared old photos of Lu Hai with his sister as proof.

Lu Hai issued a statement denying the allegations, admitting he’d dated the man’s sister but had lost contact after their breakup.

He claimed he had been unaware of her tragic death during childbirth.

Now, the Internet was split in two—some condemning Lu Hai, others defending him.

Lu Hai, caught in this storm, found himself in a dire predicament.

He’d thought exposing the issue and leveraging public opinion would crush Zhang Yuzhe.

But he hadn’t expected such a counterattack.

Clearly, everything had been meticulously planned by Zhang Yuzhe, who didn’t even need to spend on media influencers.

This was Zhang Yuzhe taking care to contain the chaos, ensuring the man came forward to "confess" right away.

Li Jiaqi hadn’t expected Lu Hai to turn out to be such a person either.