Overprotected By My Tsundere CEO-Chapter 719 - 453: Will Luna Durant Choose to Jump into the Lake? [Second Update]
The afternoon campus air was stifling, but the lakeside was still somewhat comfortable. The trees formed a dense forest, their branches blocking the scorching sunlight, and occasionally a gentle breeze brought a slight chill.
"Summer" was filming nearby, with a crew of over a hundred, causing a commotion even from a distance.
Before it was her turn to shoot, Luna Durant had to memorize her lines. The nanny car couldn’t get in, and the noise was unbearable around her. She carried the script while walking some distance, hoping to calm herself in a pavilion across the lake. But as she reached the bridge, she saw Katherine Collins and Pedro Langley sitting side by side.
The two sat on the stone bench in the pavilion, close together. Katherine Collins supported her chin with one hand, slightly turning her head to look at Pedro Langley, occasionally pointing at the folder on the table and occasionally glancing at Pedro Langley, their interaction relaxed and comfortable.
Pedro Langley occasionally spoke, occasionally listened, shedding his cold and distant demeanor, becoming quite approachable.
It wasn’t like the rumors saying he kept his distance from all women...
At least, he was pretty close to Katherine Collins.
"What’s going on? Is Katherine Collins on the cast list for ’Twelve’?" Luna Durant turned to question her assistant, her eyebrows furrowing.
The assistant quickly lowered her eyes, as if facing a great enemy, and reported, "No. Katherine Collins is not here to act; she’s here as Nora Scott’s assistant."
"Assistant?"
Luna Durant was taken aback.
She asked, "Katherine Collins is an actress too and has better acting skills than Nora Scott. She doesn’t lack scripts if she wants to act. Why would she be Nora Scott’s assistant?"
Upon thinking carefully, there were previous news reports that Nora Scott had been Lily Turner’s assistant... Are all these people addicted to being assistants?
"It is indeed weird," the assistant answered. "I did some digging; Katherine Collins is here to help Nora Scott improve her acting skills."
Luna Durant: "..." Really has nothing better to do.
After a pause, Luna Durant asked again, "Are you sure Katherine Collins and Pedro Langley are just friends?"
"..."
This was really uncertain, but not answering wasn’t an option. The assistant could only muster up courage and say, "A reliable source says Katherine Collins is already married."
The specific husband of Katherine Collins, the assistant hadn’t found out. It’s not actually a secret; if one wants to inquire, one could find out. But the assistant didn’t regard Katherine Collins as important and thought she posed no threat to Luna Durant, so didn’t conduct detailed investigation.
After all, no one would have expected Katherine Collins to appear with Pedro Langley together, and coincidentally enough, right in front of Luna Durant.
Luna Durant snorted softly, "So what if she’s married? Can’t she divorce, cheat?"
"..."
The assistant buried her head lower.
"Let’s go take a look."
Luna Durant gripped the script tightly, lowered her brow, wore a stern face, and walked straight across the bridge, heading towards the two in the pavilion.
"... The initial plan for the second season of ’Skill·Memory’ involves these traditional crafts, but we need quite a lot of funding. So, sugar daddy, considering the first season didn’t lose money, can you allocate a bit more funds?" Katherine Collins clasped her hands together, looking at Pedro Langley eagerly, her bright black eyes blinking, moist and pitiful-looking.
Pedro Langley ground his teeth silently.
Being used by the girlfriend as a tool was one thing, now at just the "casual chat" stage, he was being extorted by "daughter" for funding too; were these two conspiring?
His peripheral vision caught sight of a figure approaching, but Pedro Langley remained calm and nodded slightly, "How much?"
Katherine Collins gestured a number towards Pedro Langley.
Pedro Langley: "..." Bandit.
"Thank you, sugar daddy." Katherine Collins acted on, seemingly just taking his agreement for granted. She opened her handbag and took out a palm-sized exquisite eagle, handing it to Pedro Langley, "I know you’re looking for this, so consider it my tribute to you."
Pedro Langley glanced at her sycophantic appearance, twitched the corner of his mouth, and accepted the mechanical eagle.
"Is it real?"
Pedro Langley’s face revealed a skeptical expression.
"Sure it is." Katherine Collins nodded quickly, pointing at a small ginkgo leaf marking on the mechanical eagle, saying, "Look, doesn’t it have a mark?"
Pedro Langley chuckled lightly, "What can’t be copied?"
Katherine Collins thought her father sounded quite annoying when he turned into a critic. Also, she muttered about why Luna Durant hadn’t arrived yet.
Speak of the devil, and he appears.
"Mr. Langley." Luna Durant pinched her voice a bit, sounding soft, proactively saying, "I have some knowledge about this, want me to help you confirm it?"
"..."
Katherine Collins shivered, goosebumps rising on her arms, and couldn’t help but rub them away.
Women are truly crazy when faced with someone they like. They can pretend to be anything disgusting or pretentious! —Thinking of Luna Durant’s show-off demeanor, Katherine Collins sincerely marveled.
Pedro Langley slightly turned his body, suppressing any distaste as he looked at Luna Durant, leaving only a touch of coldness.
Toying with the mechanical eagle, he scrutinized it and then frowned, asking, "Do you know about this?"
His tone was quite casual, but perhaps it was just her imagination—Luna Durant seemed to hear a hint of interest.
—In the past, Pedro Langley avoided her as much as possible, finding even a glance annoying, dodging her at any venue. Now, he’s actually willing to speak calmly with her!
—This is simply a groundbreaking development!
A bit excited, Luna Durant couldn’t help but smile, nodding, "Yes. Is this a work of Master Sliver? I’ve seen a few, and I should... no, I definitely know something about them."
The assistant’s throat seemed itchy, and she gently coughed.
Luna Durant irritably glared at her, dismissing her little reminder entirely.
Having encountered Master Sliver’s works, what’s there that can’t be said?
Pedro Langley narrowed his eyes slightly, as if hesitating for a moment, but ultimately passed the mechanical eagle over, saying, "Then have a look."
The joy on her face was almost overflowing, and Luna Durant eagerly took the mechanical eagle.
Katherine Collins pursed her lips, fuming on the side, complaining, "You don’t trust me at all, huh?"
As she got angry, Luna Durant’s mood improved even more, and she proactively said, "Master Sliver’s works are particularly rare. What could be found on the market before was mostly genuine. But as things get rarer, they become more precious, and this thing’s price is high now. If someone targets this business opportunity, they can find people to forge it. Although replicating Master Sliver’s works can’t be done, making an identical mark to fool those who don’t understand is still possible. Recently, there have been several ’scams’ in this circle."
"Hmph."
Katherine Collins turned her head away in displeasure.
Luna Durant wasn’t truly knowledgeable about mechanical techniques, having only witnessed the transformation of Master Sliver’s works when a mechanism was triggered. That stunning effect is something each piece can bring, and it can’t be imitated by counterfeit works.
However, without any knowledge, she... couldn’t find the starting point of the mechanism.
After studying for two minutes, Luna Durant only felt the temperature rising around her, sweating profusely, as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead and her lips turned slightly pale—clearly overheating.
—Damn it, she just put on a show pretending to understand, but turned around and couldn’t even find a mechanism; how could she face Pedro Langley’s expectations of her?!
She was studying the eagle in a state of extreme tension.
Beside her, Pedro Langley and Katherine Collins were also worried for her.
Katherine Collins: Doesn’t she know how to play it?
Pedro Langley: Clearly, she doesn’t.
Katherine Collins: What if she can’t open it? Would she jump into a lake out of shame?
Pedro Langley: ...
Katherine Collins: I’m really anxious for her.
Pedro Langley: I am, too.
The assistant was even more anxious than the two of them.
Luna Durant finally had a chance to impress Pedro Langley. If she failed and lost face, she would surely give her a good beating to vent, and she’d suffer for a long time afterward.
"Click."
After a very long silence, with her entire body soaked in sweat, Luna Durant finally managed to trigger a mechanism.
In the next moment, the eagle, which had been standing still, suddenly came to life, slowly spreading its wings, its body tipping slightly forward, assuming the state of an eagle spreading its wings.
Pedro Langley + Katherine Collins + Luna Durant + Assistant: "..." Astonishing.
It took a good four to five seconds for the eagle to fully complete its transformation.
Seeing the eagle spread its wings in her palm, even Luna Durant, who had seen several of Master Sliver’s works, felt amazed and shocked. Only after a long while did her wildly beating heart finally settle down.
"This kind of transformation and craftsmanship..." Luna Durant took a deep breath and confidently said, "It must be from Master Sliver’s hand."
Katherine Collins had long known this thing wasn’t fake, seeing Luna Durant looking like she’d just escaped death, her eyes rolling as she thought about having Luna Durant restore the eagle. Would Luna Durant choose to jump into a lake...?
