Chapter 44
Zhuohua paused slightly as the copper coin danced between her fingers, her gaze sweeping indifferently across the screen. The explosive data, the frenzied comments, the director's "crying fit" were like pebbles thrown into a deep pool, not even causing a ripple in her eyes.
Hundreds of thousands of years, the rise and fall of the divine realm, and the adoration of the mortal world—to her, they were nothing more than a fleeting breeze. She calmly withdrew her gaze, the copper coin between her fingers spinning smoothly once more, her tone flat and even: "Oh, I see."
The assistant director was speechless. His prepared congratulations and excitement were choked back by those three simple words, leaving him speechless. This reaction... was far too calm! This wasn't just sudden fame; it was more like announcing an extra chicken leg to her lunchbox!
Lu Xiao, who was not far away, also heard the commotion and immediately ran over. His face was flushed with excitement, a hundred times more excited than when "Chen Yan" had become a sensation.
He moved closer to Zhuohua, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her: "Huahua! Did you see that? Everyone is praising you! Praising your action scenes! Praising how beautiful you are!" His tone was filled with pure, proud pride.
Zhuohua looked up and met his eyes, which were filled with stars. That vibrant enthusiasm, that pure joy for her, was like a warm current, quietly melting the frost in the god's eyes. The corners of her lips curved upwards almost imperceptibly, a very faint but real arc, like a small flower quietly blooming on a frozen snowfield.
She didn't speak, but simply reached out and, with utmost naturalness, gently wiped away the fine beads of sweat that had seeped from his forehead from practicing his movements. The gesture was incredibly gentle.
Lu Xiao's face flushed red instantly. The excitement of being happy for her was instantly replaced by sweet shyness. He stared at her blankly, forgetting everything around him.
Just then, Zhuohua's personal cell phone, which was on the small table next to him, started vibrating. The words "Lin Yang" appeared on the screen.
Zhuohua finally stopped spinning the copper coin between her fingers. She picked up her phone and answered the call.
"Hello? Sister Zhuohua!!" Lin Yang's voice, almost distorted with anxiety, came through the phone immediately, accompanied by a noisy background. "Help! Sister Zhuohua! It's an emergency! Something terrible has happened! A paranormal event! It's definitely a paranormal event! It's terrifying! I can't take it anymore!"
Lin Yang, the only son of the chairman of Xingyao Media, is a typical rich second-generation and also Zhuo Hua's number one fan. Lin Yang's adoration for Zhuo Hua has reached its peak; he practically worships her.
Zhuohua frowned almost imperceptibly. Although Lin Yang was usually loud and boisterous, for him to cry for "help" in such a near-collapsed tone, especially after the incident of being borrowed and still carrying the exorcism talisman she had given him, was probably no small matter.
Her voice remained cool and clear, yet it carried a strange, comforting quality: "Tell me slowly, what happened?"
“It’s the new villa on the hillside that my friend’s dad just bought for him! It was just renovated, and last night he was thinking of bringing a few friends over for a housewarming party, so I came over…” Lin Yang’s voice was trembling with sobs and fear, “But…but something strange happened!”
Inside the villa, Lin Yang gripped the phone tightly while clutching the exorcism talisman around his neck. "Everything was fine last night, but around midnight, first the hallway lights started flickering on and off by themselves, then we heard someone walking around in high heels in an empty room upstairs! We were all terrified and huddled together in the living room, and then… then something even more terrifying happened! The refrigerator door in the kitchen opened and closed by itself! Beer cans inside were jumping out on their own with a 'bang bang bang'! And… and that big French window in the living room, even though it was locked and there was no wind outside, the curtains… the curtains were fluttering wildly by themselves! It felt like an invisible person was pulling them! Waaah… Sister Zhuohua, we're all huddled in a corner of the living room now, too scared to move! That thing… that thing seems to still be there! I feel like it's watching us from the shadows! Help! What should we do?"
Lin Yang's description was chaotic and terrified, filled with genuine fear. Zhuo Hua listened quietly, but her divine sense instantly traversed the distance of space, silently sweeping over the hillside villa that Lin Yang was describing.
A cold, viscous, foul odor, filled with intense resentment and unwillingness, permeated a corner of the villa like tangible silt, especially concentrated in... the room that had been converted into a home theater.
"Stay where you are, don't run around, and don't separate." Zhuohua's voice was as calm as issuing a military order. "Turn on all the lights you can in the living room, and if possible, light some candles, just ordinary ones. Keep your phone charged. I'll be there as soon as possible."
"Okay, okay! Sister Zhuohua! I'll wait for you! You have to come quickly!" Lin Yang felt like he had been granted a pardon, his voice filled with dependence.
Zhuohua hung up the phone, her expression largely unchanged. To her, the vengeful spirits and monsters of the mortal realm were nothing more than insignificant troubles compared to the ferocious demons on the battlefield between gods and demons.
"What's wrong?"
Lu Xiao had been anxiously watching over her. Although he hadn't heard the specifics, Lin Yang's terrified scream and Zhuo Hua's last words, "I'll be there as soon as possible," made his heart tighten. He immediately thought of her "demon-slaying" abilities. "Is it... that kind of thing?"
"Hmm." Zhuohua nodded, and said succinctly, "Lin Yang has run into some trouble, I have to go check on him." She then got up.
"I'll go with you!" Lu Xiao blurted out without thinking. His face was still flushed from earlier, but his eyes were unusually firm, even carrying a hint of protectiveness that he himself was unaware of.
He knew Zhuohua was incredibly powerful, unbelievably so, but the thought of her facing those unknown and terrifying things alone made his heart clench. He couldn't let her go on that adventure alone!
Zhuohua paused, looking at him. Lu Xiao's eyes were clear and resolute, filled with utter worry and an unwavering determination to stay by his side.
This clumsy yet heartfelt sentiment, like a warm current, once again struck the softest spot in her heart. In the frozen realm of the gods, the stream of human emotion seemed to have widened even further.
She paused for a few seconds. Take him there? That kind of place was filled with yin energy, harmful to the spirits of ordinary people. But… looking at the unwavering determination in his eyes, the words of refusal that reached her lips turned into: “…We might see some unpleasant things, aren’t you afraid?”
"I'm scared!" Lu Xiao admitted honestly, but then straightened his back and his eyes became even more determined. "But I'm even more afraid that something will happen to you! And..." His voice lowered, with a hint of shyness and a sense of entitlement, "I'm your boyfriend. Wherever you go, I have to follow."
“I’m your boyfriend. I have to follow you wherever you go.”
These words were like a small pebble thrown into Zhuohua's heart, which had just begun to thaw, but the ripples they created were much larger than expected.
She was used to being alone, used to protecting all living beings with absolute power, but she never thought that one day a mortal would declare his "right to follow" in such a straightforward and clumsy way, simply because "I am your boyfriend".
That natural possessiveness and protectiveness, mixed with the clear fear in his eyes and an even stronger determination, formed a peculiar, contradictory charm unique to ordinary people. It was not grand, but exceptionally concrete; not cold, but rather scorching hot.
Zhuohua gazed at him, and in those eyes that had once reflected the collapse of galaxies and the bloodshed of gods and demons, Lu Xiao's current appearance was clearly reflected: his young face was taut with tension and determination, the blush on his ears still lingering from when she wiped his sweat, yet his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness, like tiny flames burning within. This vibrant and unwavering declaration of "following in each other's footsteps" seemed to accelerate the quiet revival of warmth deep within her frozen soul.
She didn't say anything more to dissuade him, but simply nodded slightly, which was tacit approval. This simple gesture made Lu Xiao instantly breathe a sigh of relief, and his tense shoulders relaxed, as if he had received some important permission.
He immediately turned around and quickly instructed his bewildered assistant, Xiao Chen, "Xiao Chen! Ask the director for leave. Zhuohua and I have an urgent matter to attend to and must go out! Try to postpone the next few scenes! Just say... just say there's an emergency at home!" His tone was urgent and left no room for argument.
Xiao Chen was a little bewildered by how quickly his artist switched from a shy boyfriend to a decisive and efficient mode, but he still nodded subconsciously: "Oh...oh! Okay, Brother Xiao! I'll go right away!" After saying that, he ran off to find the director.
Zhuohua watched him make the efficient arrangements, the composure and responsibility inherent in "Moyan" emanating naturally from him. The faint curve of her lips seemed to deepen slightly. She stood up, her indigo Taoist robe brushing against the chair, showing no intention of returning to the rest room to change. To her, this Taoist robe was her battle armor as she walked this path.
"Let's go." Her voice was clear and crisp as she walked out first, her steps silent yet carrying a peculiar rhythm.
Lu Xiao quickly followed, walking closely beside her. The people on set watched the two of them leave hastily, one after the other, exchanging bewildered glances. The assistant director, holding his phone, looked at the still-boiling trending topics about Zhuohua on the screen, then at her departing figure, and murmured, "This… on her very first day of sudden fame, she… she's gone just like that?"
He felt he might have witnessed the most composed rise to fame in the entertainment industry.
Zhuohua didn't drive. She led Lu Xiao to a secluded corner of the film studio. There were some discarded props and set pieces piled up there, and few people came here.
"Close your eyes," Zhuohua said to Lu Xiao, stopping in her tracks.
Although Lu Xiao was puzzled, he had absolute trust in her and immediately closed his eyes obediently. The next moment, he felt his wrist being grasped by a cool and soft hand. Immediately afterwards, a feeling of weightlessness suddenly overwhelmed him!
It felt as if I had fallen into an abyss in an instant. The wind was howling in my ears, but my body did not feel the impact of falling. Instead, it felt as if I was being enveloped by some invisible force and was moving at an incredible speed!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
