By ten minutes to four, Qiu Yu arrived at the interview location.
Lu Zehou had been waiting there for some time.
He looked exactly like in the photos—though only in his early forties, he bore the weariness of someone a decade older. Gaunt face, tired eyes, a thin, stiff frame that stood with a kind of brittle pride.
At a glance, he said coldly, "Brought a tagalong, I see."
Qiu Yu hurried to introduce herself. "Professor Lu, I'm Qiu Yu, and this is my—"
"I know who you both are," Lu Zehou cut her off, clearly impatient. "I read the news."
It was obvious he had strong opinions about her—and none of them good. He wasn't inclined to cooperate.
So Qiu Yu skipped the small talk and got straight to the point.
Perhaps because of her thorough preparation, Lu Zehou's attitude began to ease slightly as time passed. He remained distant, but no longer openly hostile.
When the standard interview concluded, Qiu Yu turned off the recording drone and offered him a polite smile along with her hand.
"Thank you, Professor Lu. That wraps the official portion. We're now moving into personal-life content. If you'd prefer not to be recorded for this part, we can end here."
Lu Zehou didn't shake her hand right away.
Instead, he studied her closely—almost scrutinizing her—for nearly thirty seconds before giving a half-hearted shake.
"You're not like the rest of your company," he said.
Qiu Yu smiled, curious. "How so?"
"You don't know how to wield power." Lu Zehou let out a derisive snort. "If I'm not mistaken, your parents are executives at HighCore."
"Besides their secure vault services, HighCore also runs healthcare and security arms. Even though Biotech's medical technology is more advanced, even Biotech execs still choose HighCore for their treatment."
"It's the only corporation with any real public trust left. You could've easily used that leverage to pressure me into cooperating. But you didn't."
Qiu Yu didn't fully grasp his point. "It's just an interview. Why would I force you?"
Lu Zehou frowned and stared at her for a long moment. Then he muttered:
"No wonder Chen Ce Bai guards you like a dog with a bone. You really are a treasure."
Before Qiu Yu could respond, Chen Ce Bai shot Lu Zehou a warning glare and said flatly, "Professor Lu."
Lu Zehou chuckled. "Alright, Dr. Chen, no need to be so tense. I'm not your enemy. But if I may speak plainly—you're overprotective of your wife."
"How I protect her," Chen Ce Bai said coolly, "is none of your concern."
"I've read her background. She went to the same university as you, one of the top three in the world. Graduates from there are either elites or... core assets," Lu Zehou said, sneering slightly as he uttered elites and core assets.
"Then look at what she's doing—journalism? You might as well have her sweeping streets. That'd be more useful to society."
Qiu Yu finally understood—whatever his reasons, Lu Zehou harbored a deep resentment toward corporate employees.
No wonder the company scheduled him as the first interview. His hostility and provocations were perfect fuel for controversy and buzz.
Too bad this part wasn't recorded.
Qiu Yu opened her mouth to respond but ended up shaking her head and laughing.
Lu Zehou shot her a glance. "What's so funny?"
The look on his face made it clear—he thought she hadn't even caught the insult.
Qiu Yu didn't answer right away.
She took a sip of coffee, then smiled calmly.
"Professor Lu, I think you misunderstand me. It's not that I don't know how to use power—I just don't need to."
"This is a basic interview. Whether or not you agree to participate makes no difference to me. The show includes interviews with seven scientists. If I have to throw around my parents' names every time just to keep things moving, then the show shouldn't exist in the first place."
Lu Zehou gave a sharp hmph.
"Also," Qiu Yu continued, "a lot of people work outside their original field. I prefer language over genetic engineering. That has nothing to do with whether my husband protects me."
"And finally—your view of the world is deeply flawed. You assumed that my refusal to use power comes from ignorance or overprotection. Did it ever occur to you that I simply didn't want to?"
At last, Lu Zehou's sneering smile faded. He looked at her properly for the first time.
Qiu Yu reactivated the drone and smiled.
"So, Professor Lu, are you willing to continue the interview now?"
She had every right to walk away. With her status, no one in the company would dare question her.
But she chose to continue.
Lu Zehou studied her for a moment, then spoke again, his tone noticeably softer.
"Follow me."
Whether Lu Zehou respected her or not didn't matter to Qiu Yu. She just wanted to finish the job.
He wasn't wearing a lab coat today—just casual clothes—and led them into the underground parking lot. With an old-fashioned car key, he started a filthy tan pickup truck.
"This is all I've got. Hope you're okay riding in it."
Clearly, despite softening, Lu Zehou couldn't resist one more jab.
Qiu Yu gave him a bright smile. "Not only can I ride in it—I can drive it too. Need me to take the wheel, Professor?"
Lu Zehou said nothing.
He snorted, climbed into the driver's seat, and drove them to Chiba Street.
Chiba Street was the largest "urban village" in the city—one of many, like rust-colored scabs growing across Yucheng. Sometimes, behind a lush eco-skyscraper, you'd find one of these villages clinging to the base like a parasite.
"Eco-buildings" referred to structures that integrated organic plant systems.
In Yucheng, only eco-buildings were permitted to grow real, thriving greenery.
Lu Zehou navigated the narrow, crowded lanes with ease and parked smoothly.
The rain had stopped, but the air was thick with lingering humidity. Mud covered the streets in a slimy, swamp-like mess.
Qiu Yu hesitated as she looked at the flooded, filthy pavement.
Lu Zehou had already stepped out.
Chen Ce Bai turned to her. "Want me to carry you?"
Qiu Yu laughed and shook her head. "No need. I'm not that delicate. Just... mentally preparing myself. Wet shoes are the worst."
With that, she opened the door and stepped out.
It was her first time in Chiba Street. Everything here felt foreign.
Twisting alleys, glaring neon signs, colorful halos of light that smeared together like oily mist.
The grass was plastic. The trees were repurposed utility poles, riddled with bullet holes and scratch marks.
Not far off, a street vendor was frying locust pancakes. With each flip, he grabbed a fistful of spices and scattered them generously, like they were free.
Qiu Yu looked horrified.
She knew locusts were edible. She'd seen foodie vlogs from Chiba Street and even invested in an insect protein extraction plant.
But she couldn't unsee the vendor blowing his nose with a loud snort—bare-handed—and flinging the mess against the wall behind him instead of using a tissue.
Qiu Yu nearly gagged.
Chen Ce Bai stepped out and immediately noticed her expression.
Today, she wore a light blue suit—on anyone else, the color would be unforgiving. But on her, it was soft and radiant, like a clear sky untouched by pollution. She stood out sharply against the grime and rot around her.
It was only natural she'd react this way.
Chen Ce Bai said nothing.
He watched her, almost masochistically, waiting for her to complain about the place.
The neighborhood he grew up in was even worse.
Qiu Yu had complained to him, but it wasn't about the same thing.
"I can't believe I used to drool over this stuff… watching videos in the middle of the night," she said in pain. "Even wiping his snot on himself would be better than flicking it onto the wall!"
Chen Ce Bai stared at her. His gaze was like a frostblade slicing across her face.
Even with the lens between them, it couldn't hide the storm of emotion in his eyes.
In that moment, his look was positively predatory.
Qiu Yu was puzzled. "…What?"
Chen Ce Bai turned his gaze aside, then placed a flat palm gently atop her head. "Watching videos in the middle of the night? Do you not care about your eyes?"
Qiu Yu glared at him and reached up, trying to grab his glasses. "You wear glasses and still have the nerve to scold me?"
Chen Ce Bai caught her hand, flipped it over, and pressed a kiss into her palm.
His tongue—cool and damp—trailed lightly between the spaces of her fingers.
What Qiu Yu could never wrap her head around was how he could behave this obscenely while looking so cold and composed, like licking her hand was no different than conducting a high-precision experiment.
She yanked her hand back, and within two seconds, the tips of her ears turned bright red.
Lu Ze Hou stood nearby, originally hoping to enjoy the show of a spoiled heiress bumbling around a slum. But instead of a laugh, he got a mouthful of PDA. His expression soured instantly.
"Could you two not? Is this an interview program or a reality show for married couples?"
Qiu Yu quickly apologized.
That much was on her—it was unprofessional.
But even after receiving her apology, Lu Ze Hou's expression didn't improve. In fact, it only darkened further. He gave a sharp snort, turned, and started walking ahead.
The deeper they went, the more chaotic the alleys became.
The road was cracked and uneven, every step like playing landmine roulette. One misstep and you'd get splashed with grimy water.
After stepping on a few loose bricks, Qiu Yu gave up trying to avoid them and just walked straight through without flinching.
Lu Ze Hou led them through a bustling street market into a much quieter underground warehouse.
He turned around. "Still recording?"
Qiu Yu nodded. "Yes."
Lu Ze Hou's face remained indifferent. "I assume you've already heard—I have a particular hobby: helping the homeless."
Qiu Yu nodded again, waiting for him to continue.
When Lu Ze Hou realized she actually was waiting for him to go on, without a trace of irony on her face, he grew irritated again.
He was used to the cold, calculating eyes of corporate people. So when faced with eyes as clear and sincere as hers, it put him on edge. Deeply so.
There was nothing hidden in her gaze when she looked at him.
She was interviewing him simply to interview him—not to extract something more.
Lu Ze Hou knew about Chen Ce Bai's background, and he had long suspected that the man's extraordinary intelligence wasn't natural.
He'd heard colleagues gossiping about their marriage too.
The general consensus was that Qiu Yu had to be after something.
That would make sense.
It would only be unnatural if she wasn't.
But as they walked through this place, Lu Ze Hou had quietly observed how she looked at Chen Ce Bai.
There wasn't the slightest trace of calculation in her gaze.
This marriage… wasn't a transaction.
At least, not to Qiu Yu.
She wasn't using him.
She wasn't using anyone.
And that… that was abnormal.
Too abnormal.
Lu Ze Hou found it incomprehensible—how could she live so lightly, so purely?
This world was a wildfire nearly burned out, with everyone trapped inside, writhing and scrambling to survive.
Even the glossy white-collar workers in the city center were just scavengers in different suits.
And yet Qiu Yu seemed to live in a vacuum.
She smiled without shadows. Her eyes were bright. Her dimples were sweet.
How could she smile like that without a care in the world?
How dare she smile like that?
Could she not see the fire that was still burning? The pain of those barely surviving?
Just two minutes ago, they'd passed a woman—dark-skinned, with a horrible scar across her abdomen.
Lu Ze Hou knew her story. She'd blacked out at a bar one night, and woke up with that scar.
Someone had dragged her unconscious body to a back-alley clinic and harvested her kidney.
The woman had laughed bitterly about it, saying at least they left her one and used anesthesia.
"In the black market," she'd said, "that's what counts as mercy."
Lu Ze Hou couldn't understand.
Could Qiu Yu not see any of this?
To live so vividly, so healthily, in a world this dark and cruel—it was its own kind of pathology.
As he stared at her, a destructive urge crept up his spine.
He wanted to rupture that invisible bubble around her.
He wanted to drag her into the real world.
Then, a chill swept across Lu Ze Hou's back.
He sensed a gaze—icy and deadly.
He turned.
And met Chen Ce Bai's eyes.
Cold enough to be monstrous.
Chen Ce Bai stood above him, one arm loosely wrapped around Qiu Yu, the other hanging naturally at his side.
But then—black liquid metal surged toward his hand, wrapping around his arm like living ink.
At first, Lu Ze Hou thought it was a new kind of nano-weapon. He didn't take it seriously…
Until he realized: the metal was coming from inside Chen Ce Bai's body.
Chen Ce Bai… appeared to be controlling his own cellular structure. Morphing it—at will—into metallic form.
Not only that… he seemed capable of infinite self-replication.
The liquid metal writhed and slithered, stretching outward to form a blade—sleek, curved, and impossibly sharp.
Lu Ze Hou had no doubt—if he so much as reached for Qiu Yu, Chen Ce Bai would slice his head clean off.
No wonder she was so naive.
She'd been protected. Constantly.
Lu Ze Hou gave a cold, bitter smile.
He wanted to ask: Does she even know what you are?
To alter your cells, transform their structure into something else… to replicate endlessly beyond natural limits…
Chen Ce Bai was no longer human.
Lu Ze Hou looked straight at him, smile sharp and cruel. Without speaking aloud, he mouthed the words:
Let's see how long you can keep this up.
You shield her so well, but all you're doing is making it harder for her to accept the truth.
She'll ignore your protection the way she ignored that woman with the missing kidney.
When you show her the darkness inside you, she won't understand.
She'll hate you for ruining the peace she thought she had.
Lu Ze Hou's face said it all:
You're digging your own grave.
Chen Ce Bai held his gaze. His lips parted slightly, cold and impatient.
He mouthed back, simple and clear:
Get. Out.