Plus Ten Million for Emotional Distress

With that thought, Li Weizhou stopped insisting that Xu Su go outside. Suppressing his anger, he asked, "Xu Su, what exactly do you want?"

Xu Su chewed on some corn kernels, an amused smile appearing on his face. "Simple. Give me back my diamond."

He looked at Zhuang Luo again. "Plus ten million for emotional distress."

Li Weizhou: !!??

Zhuang Luo: ??!!

"What did you say?!"

"What did you say?!"

Their astonished cries rang out in unison through the dining room.

Xu Su calmly took a bite of his steamed bun. "I've known you two for so long, and I never knew you had hearing problems."

He chewed twice. "Remember to book an appointment with a specialist when you have time."

Li Weizhou ignored Xu Su's sarcasm.

As he looked at this Xu Su, who was completely different from before, the anger and loathing in his gaze gradually turned to scrutiny.

He began to wonder whether the conclusion he had reached after thinking it over at length last night had been wrong.

Perhaps Xu Su wasn't trying to get his attention in some unconventional way, but had truly had a change of heart, truly...

Stopped loving him.

Beside him, Zhuang Luo likewise ignored Xu Su's sarcasm, his mind equally awash with thoughts.

But what he was thinking was much more complicated:

Weizhou actually accepted that diamond?!

Why didn't he tell me?!

What exactly does he mean by this?!

What exactly is going on between him and Xu Su?!

Has he fallen for Xu Su? Is that why he accepted the diamond?!

And what does that look he's giving Xu Su now mean?!

Xu Su...

Fuck! That bitch really does have a recording! I seriously underestimated him!

He's a scheming bitch, yet he used to act so innocent and kind. Disgusting!

And he has the nerve to demand ten million. Why doesn't he just die?!

No! I can't let Weizhou find out what's on that recording, much less let it get out!

But what do I do? My family just went bankrupt, and I never saved any money. Where am I supposed to get ten million to give him?!

"Have you two made up your minds?"

Xu Su's rather impatient voice rang out.

Both men immediately stopped their trains of thought.

Li Weizhou spoke first. "Xu Su, can we talk alone?"

His tone held a gentleness that wasn't usually there.

Xu Su froze. "Are you okay?"

Li Weizhou opened his mouth, wanting to explain something, only to be interrupted the next second by two voices speaking at once.

"Weizhou, what do you want to talk to him about alone?"

"I'll say it again. Talk right here."

Xu Su blinked, amused. "Looks like both audience members really want to see your performance. Go ahead and start right here, Best Actor Li."

"..."

Li Weizhou's expression darkened, his brows drawing slightly together, his eyes half-filled with anger and half with unwillingness to yield.

After a moment of silence, he abruptly turned his head, fixing his deep gaze on Zhuang Luo.

"I wanted to ask him alone what this recording he mentioned was."

At the word "recording," Zhuang Luo's heart lurched with panic, and he instinctively clenched his fists.

But he quickly recovered and came up with an excellent response. "Weizhou, are you suspecting me of something?"

"I..."

"What about you? What did Xu Su mean about the diamond?"

He retreated to advance, changing the subject as well, trying to cover up his own "crime" this way while also getting to the bottom of Li Weizhou's "crime."

Then, unexpectedly yet unsurprisingly, the two began arguing just like that.

Xu Su watched them quietly, pressing his tongue against the inside of his cheek, and decided to let the idiots make a scene a little longer. He would finish eating first.

However, the young scion, who enjoyed peace and quiet on occasion, found the noise unbearable. He said irritably, "If you're going to argue, get the hell outside. Don't disturb my meal."

"..."

Two hours later, Xu Su successfully recovered the priceless blue heart-shaped diamond, along with ten million in compensation for emotional distress.

In the villa's living room, in front of the spacious, comfortable sofa.

Li Weizhou's manager, Lucy, and Zhuang Luo's manager, Yao Qing, stared intently at Xu Su, whose grin stretched all the way to the solar system. Their different faces bore equally anxious expressions.

Of course, Li Weizhou and Zhuang Luo beside them were equally anxious, but having just spent over an hour arguing outside, their faces now showed more resentment than urgency.

A short while later, unable to wait any longer, Lucy finally spoke. "Mr. Xu, you've got what you wanted. Isn't it time to give us the phone we want?"

Earlier, when Li Weizhou smashed the phone, he had been so furious that he had almost completely lost his reason, so he had entirely forgotten one detail-

The phone Xu Su had been waving around wasn't his own at all. It belonged to the production team!

In other words, the actual evidence hadn't been destroyed!

Unfortunately, a certain guilty party had been too impulsive at the time. It wasn't until Zhuang Luo reminded him that he belatedly remembered this issue.

So before returning the diamond, he had demanded Xu Su's phone in exchange.

Xu Su had readily agreed.

Just as he did now, Xu Su remained utterly obliging. He briskly took out the phone he had retrieved from the director and handed it to Lucy without the slightest hesitation. "Take it! You're welcome!"

"..."

Without even finding time to roll their eyes, they hurriedly opened the phone to search for the supposed evidence.

They had already secretly discussed it: as soon as they destroyed all the evidence, they could immediately announce to the public that everything Xu Su had said was false!

At the same time, they could sue Xu Su for malicious slander once he no longer had any evidence!

That way, they could salvage their precarious reputations and utterly ruin Xu Su's name!

But while their plan was beautiful, reality was cruel.

They searched over and over for a good while, yet found absolutely nothing.

Xu Su's phone couldn't exactly be called brand-new, but it was certainly emptier than a poor man's pockets.

At last, they realized something was wrong.

"Where's the evidence?!"

Xu Su blinked. "What evidence?"

Zhuang Luo shouted angrily, "The recording and video you mentioned earlier! That evidence!"

Huo Yuchen, who was sitting nearby playing a game, suddenly heard that furious shout. He lifted his eyes irritably toward Zhuang Luo. "Bark one more time, and I'll make sure you can never make another sound for the rest of your life."

Zhuang Luo: !?!?

Everyone else: ?!?!

That sudden expression of displeasure instantly froze the anxious atmosphere.

All four were frightened by the threat, which brimmed with irritation.

They stood rooted to the spot, unable to figure out why Huo Yuchen had suddenly said that.

Had the noise really bothered him?

Or... was he siding with Xu Su?