`Chapter 10

Chapter 10

“Prince is very close to you,” Li Xuan said.

Shi Yin looked at the little Border Collie’s head, where “Prince” and +5 hovered. Although gaining affection points from pets was always random, this was by far the highest she had seen—who could resist such fluffiness? Shi Yin couldn’t help reaching out to touch it. The fur was soft and fluffy under her fingertips—honestly, quite pleasant.

The little Border Collie suddenly stood upright, bouncing as if spring-loaded to Li Xuan, letting out two joyful whines, then excitedly ran back to Shi Yin’s wheelchair, wagging its tail frantically. It moved freely, fast as lightning, showing no trace of being “impaired” at all!

Shi Yin: “……” He really was faking a limp?

She vaguely guessed the reason. The Border Collie’s intelligence was top-tier among dogs. This little “imitator” had probably observed that Li Xuan spent all day with his wheelchair and had learned to mimic a limp. And she, the unlucky one who had also “acquired” a wheelchair, was likely viewed by it as a “kindred spirit” of its owner, earning this transferred affection.

“……Haha, my honor?” Shi Yin wasn’t sure if Li Xuan had thought of this too, so she forced a polite but awkward smile.

Luo Wensheng walked to the corner, quietly took a call, and returned: “Miss Shi, the police have arrived.”

Shi Yin was then pushed to another reception room, where two uniformed officers were waiting.

“Hello, we are officers from Minghu Police Station,” the female officer spoke first, efficiently showing her badge. “We want to understand what you saw tonight in room 2708 of the Lotus Hotel. Don’t worry, just tell the truth.”

Shi Yin understood and cooperated, not trying to portray herself as an innocent “white lotus.” She recounted everything from start to finish: how Zhuang Wanyan sent her assistant away, how she ordered her to help, what she saw upon entering, how she secretly recorded a video, and later how Liu Bin and the others took her phone… every detail, fully disclosed.

She had no intention of covering for anyone; in fact, she held grudges. Since the top girl dared to trap her, Shi Yin immediately exposed her thoroughly.

“Thank you for your cooperation. The information you provided is very important,” after taking the statement, the female officer stood, her gaze sweeping over Shi Yin’s bandaged leg, her voice lowering slightly. “Don’t worry, deleted videos can be technically recovered. Your most important task now is to care for your injury. We will handle the rest.”

Shi Yin nodded obediently, awkwardly maneuvering her wheelchair, preparing to see the officers out.

As the door opened, she saw Prince sitting upright outside like a little black-and-white guard dog.

“Aww, such a cute dog!”

The female officer’s stern expression melted instantly. Smiling, she bent down and quietly reached out: “How old are you?”

Prince skillfully tilted its head, avoiding the hand. It trotted to Shi Yin’s wheelchair, tilting its fluffy head up, wet black eyes gazing at her, tail tip tapping lightly, full of silent anticipation.

Shi Yin: “……”

This little imitator… does it want to come up?

Unsure of the dog’s intentions, Shi Yin tentatively patted her knee, smiling and opening her arms.

Almost simultaneously, Prince leapt with a “faith jump,” landing precisely in her arms. It skillfully turned twice, settled into a comfortable position, curling into a fluffy ball on her lap.

Shi Yin let out a soft “ugh,” her lap suddenly heavy—the weight felt like a semi-trailer plowing into her chest! She quickly hugged the warm bundle, carefully shifting to make room, giving the “Little Prince” a more spacious throne.

Li Xuan remained in the original room. The movie had long ended, yet he still sat motionless, thick eyelashes casting faint shadows on his pale cheeks, lost in thought.

Prince lightly jumped from Shi Yin’s lap and trotted back to his owner’s feet, lying down quietly, tail sweeping slowly over the carpet.

Hearing the wheel turning, Li Xuan lifted his head, eyes falling on Shi Yin for a moment. Then, in a calm, emotionless tone, he said: “Hello, I’m Li Xuan.”

“My name is Shi Yin,” she responded politely.

“I know,” Li Xuan’s voice was calm. “You mentioned it in the car.” After a brief pause, he continued seriously, leaving no room for doubt: “I’d like to ask you for a favor.”

Making a request to someone just met was a bit rude, but Shi Yin remained silent, quietly waiting for him to continue.

“I will be away for some time,” Li Xuan lowered his eyes, running his long fingers over Prince’s head. “I hope that once your leg improves, you can take Prince for runs and basic obedience training. He needs exercise.”

The six-month-old Border Collie was at a critical stage of youth adjustment, with an elongated frame and emerging muscle lines. As a show-grade descendant, Prince’s energy and intelligence far exceeded that of ordinary dogs. Adequate exercise was essential for his joint development and mental health. Li Xuan didn’t explain all this, but the way he looked at Prince made it clear how much he valued the little Border Collie.

“You probably don’t lack people to walk him,” Shi Yin said thoughtfully.

Li Xuan didn’t answer directly. He rubbed Prince’s head again, and the dog immediately rolled onto its back, showing a soft belly, purring with contentment.

“Prince has a strong personality. He doesn’t easily let people touch him, and even professional trainers struggle to earn his full trust. Apart from me, you are the first he has approached on his own.” Li Xuan’s voice remained flat, but his eyes softened slightly. “I don’t need him to become an outstanding show dog. I just want him healthy and happy.”

“You can treat this as a part-time job, spend about two hours a day. The trainer will provide a detailed plan; you only need to supervise and lead Prince. As for the pay…” He paused, seeming unsure how to quote a figure. “Anything is fine, you set it.”

Shi Yin: “……”

She could tell—his casual attitude toward money was genuine indifference.

Damn it, I’m going to compete with you rich people!

“I can agree,” Shi Yin looked Li Xuan directly in the eyes, speaking solemnly, “but in exchange, I also have something I’d like you to help me with.”

If you observe carefully, he did share some resemblance with Li Yun, especially in profile, but Li Xuan was obviously much younger. Shi Yin racked her brains and thought, at Li Yun’s age, he shouldn’t be able to have such a “big son,” so… they must be brothers?

Looking at their names, both “Yun” and “Xuan” carry the meaning of sunlight—bright, radiant, full of hope—which seemed to support her guess.

With some confidence, Shi Yin spoke: “I’m an actress. If tonight’s events become public, regardless of the truth, it could seriously impact my career. I don’t want my name appearing in any news, gossip, or police reports.”

“That’s fine.” Li Xuan nodded slightly.

“And Xu Wei,” Shi Yin pressed, “the young master of Meiji Cinema. He has extensive connections in the industry. I’m worried he might seek revenge.”

Li Xuan was silent for a moment, expression blank, as if searching his memory for the name. After failing, he gave up.

“He was in the room too?”

“Yes. And I’d say he was… the organizer?” Shi Yin carefully chose her words.

“Mm,” Li Xuan replied lightly, not even asking for details. “Wensheng, you handle it.”

Hearing this, Luo Wensheng looked at Shi Yin deeply before replying softly: “Understood.”

“Anything else?” Li Xuan asked.

Shi Yin was momentarily confused before realizing he meant if she had any other requests.

Of course she did! Not mentioning it would be a waste. Shi Yin, emboldened, said: “I also need a lawyer—someone really skilled at contract termination lawsuits. My management company doesn’t allow me to, uh…” She adjusted her phrasing, “take jobs privately.”

Technically, walking a dog could also count as “private work,” right?

Li Xuan: “That’s fine.”

“Thank you,” Shi Yin’s eyes curved with a genuine smile. “Once my leg heals, I’ll start immediately!”

After arranging another driver to take Shi Yin home, Luo Wensheng returned to the room, brow slightly furrowed: “A Xuan, Miss Shi’s background is unknown. If you ask her to help, there could be security risks…”

Li Xuan wearily rubbed his brow, eyes coldly fixed on him: “Unknown background? Then you find out. Security risks? That’s Yunfeng’s concern. As for you, completing my request is your job.”

“Has the Rochester flight route been arranged?”

Li Xuan asked casually, but Luo Wensheng felt an invisible pressure descend, immediately lowering his head: “It’s already arranged. Departure in three days.”

The term “child of heaven” perfectly described the former Li Xuan—once brimming with ambition and radiance, he got whatever he wanted, no task too great.

Since losing his legs, even that “rare exception” had vanished.

Li Xuan always got what he wanted.

~

On the way home, Shi Yin asked the driver to take a detour to buy a new phone, using the cash Liu Bin had given her. She added the contact left by Luo Wensheng on WeChat, and before reaching home, she received a business card pushed by the contact—Lawyer Ge Qian.

Lawyer Ge was faster, already sending a friend request proactively.

Shi Yin checked her social feed and found that she came from a top-tier Shanghai law firm, handling either major corporate disputes or affairs of political and business elites. Hiring such a high-caliber lawyer to help terminate her contract was like “using a cannon to kill a mosquito”—overkill.

Shi Yin logged into her cloud drive on her computer, downloaded tonight’s video, and transferred it to the new phone. Lawyer Ge acted decisively, and after a brief understanding of the situation, scheduled an in-person meeting for the next afternoon.

However, the development was unexpected. The next morning, while scrolling her phone, Shi Yin saw a string of trending topics hit the entertainment headlines.

The cause was a Weibo post by Zhuang Wanyan in the early hours:

“@Feng Yang Aken, can you treat me as a person! The manager can casually push my roles, insult my fans, make all decisions for me? Am I an actress or your puppet?”

Within minutes, marketing accounts and trolls joined in, and related topics quickly spread:

#Zhuang Wanyan Announces Termination with Feng Yang Media# (Breaking)

#Rumors: Feng Yang Top Actress Long-Termly Exploited by Company# (Hot)

#Zhuang Wanyan Studio Officially Established# (Hot)

Shi Yin scrolled through each item, understanding immediately—this was clearly a result of capital operations. Zhuang Wanyan must have already found a new backer, otherwise she would never publicly challenge her former company so boldly.

That afternoon, Shi Yin, leaning on her crutch, entered an elegant tea room. In the private room, a professional woman was already waiting, fingers flying over a laptop, wearing headphones for a video conference, issuing clear and rapid commands.

Shi Yin sat quietly across from her. Lawyer Ge nodded at her, then returned her gaze to the screen, showing none of the arrogance often associated with top lawyers. About ten minutes later, she ended the meeting, closed her laptop, and went straight to the point.

“I’ve reviewed your management contract. Clauses 3.4 and 3.7 are obviously unreasonable: you were underage at signing and lacked notarized guardian consent, and the ten-year long term also seriously violates industry norms,” she said in a calm, clear manner. “In addition, I obtained Feng Yang Media’s recent financial statements through proper channels, and there are multiple questionable points. Overall, I’m confident about this case; you don’t need to worry too much.”

“I want to terminate the contract as soon as possible. The sooner, the better.” Shi Yin pressed her lips together and pushed her phone toward her. “Will this video… be useful? It contains Feng Yang’s artists, and if any of them are involved in illegal activities, exposing it would be a huge scandal for the company, right?”

Zhuang Wanyan had already torn ties with Feng Yang. If the artists under their label were found involved in criminal cases, even if Yang Tianming didn’t blow a fuse, he’d be overwhelmed. Strike while he’s vulnerable. Shi Yin’s request for termination at this moment could even be seen as a threat—but Yang Tianming wouldn’t risk his entire company’s reputation just to deal with her.

“Illegally obtained, right?” Lawyer Ge glanced at the screen. “It can’t be used as evidence, but it works as a bargaining chip. You’re not really going to court, right? You don’t want a lawsuit?”

At this point, she looked up at Shi Yin to confirm, her eyes seeking clear assurance.

Shi Yin shook her head—of course, she didn’t want one.

“Good. I’ll handle the negotiations from now on. You must not take calls from anyone at your former company or disclose any information. To resolve this quickly, the penalty fee might be unavoidable,” Lawyer Ge shifted her tone. “How much can you personally cover at most?”

Shi Yin scratched her face embarrassedly. “If I scrape it together… about 1.5 million?”

She knew this amount was far from enough, but she was short on funds. More would mean selling property.

Lawyer Ge nodded casually. “Okay, let’s round it down. I’ll negotiate as if it’s one million.”

Shi Yin froze. “Ah?”

Round it down… like that?

Lawyer Ge didn’t give her a chance to back out. After confirming a few more details, she got to work.

Shi Yin quickly called out, “Lawyer Ge, about your fees… how do I pay?”

Lawyer Ge waved her hand indifferently. “No need. Our firm charges an annual service fee, and Luo Wensheng has already prepaid.”

After all, the client is wealthy and couldn’t care less about this expense.

Shi Yin blinked and silently thanked Dan Dan again in her heart.

The next few days passed slowly, each day dragging like a year. As the task deadline approached, her anxiety grew. Though there was no further news from Zhuang Wanyan’s side, she unexpectedly came across a local news update:

@Tan City Daily: Taking action against “Laughing Gas”! Provincial Anti-Drug Committee held a special meeting to deploy a six-month special operation against the abuse of “Laughing Gas” across the province.

Attached were several meeting photos. Shi Yin’s sharp eyes spotted a nameplate in the corner: Wang Hongze.

Li Xuan had indeed followed through, already moving against Xu Wei.

With only two days left on the main task countdown, Lawyer Ge finally called: “Negotiations are done. The penalty is one million. The other party agreed to terminate the contract and has signed. I just left Feng Yang. Do you want the termination agreement in person or mailed?”

“In person!” Shi Yin almost jumped in excitement. “Can we use the same tea room as last time? I’ll come over now.”

Half an hour later, Shi Yin received the agreement, still smelling faintly of ink. She read it carefully, line by line, and finally signed her name solemnly at the end.

Her fingers trembled slightly on the pen, but her heart pounded with joy.

—Freedom!

Prince = Prince (Little Prince)