"Really exciting!" Angelo exclaimed again, "The life of a star is so thrilling. I might as well become a star too. Roy, ask Laila if she can find me a role to play. I think my acting skills are pretty good!"
As he spoke, he struck a few poses commonly used by fitness trainers. These movements would have been quite funny with his original face, but with the face transformed by Xiao Ye, they had a somewhat majestic charm.
Roy wanted to tell him that being a star and excitement weren't directly related. But before he could speak, Leonardo burst into laughter, "Exactly, our job is the most thrilling. I guarantee you'll never have to worry about a lack of excitement. Let me tell you, the most exciting thing for us is usually battling the paparazzi. After that, we battle with reporters, then with the media, then with the haters, then with the managers, and then we can fight with the director, the producer, you can fight however you want, and I guarantee you'll have a blast every day."
"Really?" It sounded so exciting that Angelo was tempted.
"False!" Roy bluntly poured cold water on his expectations. He didn't think Angelo was suited to be an actor. Actors often lacked freedom, and someone like Angelo, who traveled the world after making money, would have the patience to study a role for months or be locked on set?
He couldn't be bothered to explain further. What he was more concerned about right now was the person who had taken their passports was whispering something to Xiao Ye, and Xiao Ye's expression had become quite strange after listening.
"What's wrong? Have those people found us?"
Xiao Ye looked at him and gave him a thumbs up. "You guys are something. The whole of Pretoria is looking for your trail. Several organizations have pooled a reward of $100,000 for information about you. If they can deliver you, they can directly get $500,000."
Whether it was $100,000 or $500,000, to Roy and the others, it was just a trivial amount, but to the majority of South Africans, it was a considerable fortune. The fact that such a large sum was offered showed how angry they were about Roy and the others' disappearance.
Hundreds of people in their own country and city, couldn't find three foreigners. Who wouldn't be angry? Not to mention these three also had something very valuable in their hands.
"Did you really get it?" Xiao Ye was dragged aside by Roy.
Roy glanced at him and didn't answer. Jokingly, he had just told Leonardo about "keeping wealth hidden," so he didn't want to fall into a trap so easily.
Xiao Ye could tell from his gaze that he was being seen as a scheming villain. He took out a satellite phone in the style of an old brick phone. "Come on, why don't I give Laila a call and let her tell you I'm the one she sent to find you?"
Roy was taken aback, and just as Xiao Ye thought he had agreed, he snatched the satellite phone back. "Why didn't you say you had a phone earlier?" He hadn't contacted Laila for so many days!
Xiao Ye rolled his eyes. "You didn't ask for it!" How would he know Roy wanted to borrow a phone?
Roy glared at him. "Didn't you say you were sent by Laila to find me? When you first saw me, didn't you think to tell her immediately?"
Xiao Ye was left speechless by his words. Could he forget about this? He had never needed to report to anyone during his missions before, so it wasn't unforgivable to forget for a moment, right? But seeing his round, glaring eyes, he decided it was better to swallow his rebuttal.
Roy didn't dwell on it. He picked up the phone and fiddled with it, a little embarrassed. "How does this work?"
"...", Xiao Ye dialed the number for him and silently handed it over. He decided that after he went back, he must ask Laila for a raise! To have to work so hard as a subordinate, there weren't many like him. He even had to help with dialing the number.
Roy held the phone, anxiously waiting for it to connect.
Finally, with a click, the call went through.
"I'm Laila," came the familiar voice from the other end.
Roy's eyes welled up. Never had he so eagerly wanted to see her. "Laila, it's me."
"Roy!" Laila's voice immediately rose two pitches, and through the phone, one could hear the joy in her voice.
Roy's chest warmed. There was nothing more fulfilling than having a home and family to return to.
"It's me. I'm with Xiao Ye now, everything's fine, and he's arranged for me to go back."
"That's good. Come back soon." Laila had many questions she wanted to ask him. She wanted to know why he had come to South Africa and why he hadn't contacted her for so long. But she swallowed all the words, as long as he came back safely, nothing else mattered.
Roy's lips curled up slightly. "I will." He glanced at Xiao Ye, who was looking at the floor, counting ants, and lowered his voice, "Who is Xiao Ye?"
Laila thought for a moment and decided to tell him a part of the truth, "You can think of him as a retired spy. He used to work for certain places, but after retiring, I recruited him to the company. You can trust him. He won't do anything harmful to you."
"I know what to do." When he asked her, he was most worried that she would say she didn't know Xiao Ye's identity other than being a makeup artist. If that was the case, then what was his identity, and why did he appear here and rescue them? It was worth pondering.
After ensuring he would return soon, Roy reluctantly hung up the phone.
"How about it? Feeling relieved now?" Xiao Ye took the satellite phone he handed over with a smile.
"..." Roy knew he should say thank you. After all, if it weren't for Xiao Ye's timely arrival, the three of them might have fallen into the hands of those dangerous people. But looking at that sneaky smiling face, he had an impulse to punch him.
"What do we do next?"
Although he didn't directly answer his question, Xiao Ye could see the answer from his expression, "Just wait. Wait until evening, and we'll boldly go out on the street. Who would think you guys are the ones being sought after?"
Roy nodded. Seeing their current appearance, indeed no one would associate them with the three from before. Judging from his tone, he was going to leave with them, further ensuring their safety.