Chapter 65
Shuangling had just finished the last crab roe bun and was licking her little paws contentedly when her bright eyes lit up instantly. "Is there anything good to eat? Didn't that Fatty Liang say the food at their station was pretty good?"
Lu Xiao explained with a smile, "There will be snacks and drinks on set, but the main activity is playing games."
"Playing games?" Shuangling tilted its head, thought for a moment, and then a sly light flashed in its blue eyes. "Is it fun? I want to go too! I want to see Hua Hua beat them all down!" It clearly had a blind admiration for Zhuo Hua's strength.
Zhuohua rubbed its little head: "Go if you want, just don't cause trouble."
"Chirp! I'm the best girl!" Shuangling immediately puffed out her little chest to assure him.
On the afternoon of the recording day, Xingyao Media's van took the two people and the bird to the TV station. It was the same familiar studio, but the atmosphere was even more enthusiastic than last time.
The giant "Happy Match" logo shone with colorful light, and the audience seats were already full, with excited whispers blending into a buzzing sound. Staff members busily moved around, making final adjustments.
Upon seeing them, the host, Liang Hui, immediately greeted them warmly with a beaming smile, even more attentive and polite than before: "Teacher Zhuohua! Teacher Lu Xiao! Welcome, welcome! Oh, little Shuangling is here too?"
He had clearly learned of the little guy's "extraordinary" nature from Su Qing, and his attitude was respectful yet somewhat cautious.
Shuangling perched on Zhuohua's shoulder, giving a demure "chirp" in response. Its emerald eyes curiously surveyed the dazzling stage and bustling crowd, its little head turning this way and that.
The other guests arrived one after another, all familiar faces on screen—singers, actors, and variety show personalities. They exchanged pleasantries, creating a harmonious atmosphere. Although Lu Xiao was relatively inexperienced, he wasn't neglected thanks to Zhuo Hua's charisma and his own humble and appropriate demeanor.
Shuangling became the focus backstage.
It was so beautiful and unique, pure white and flawless, its feathers shimmering with a faint icy blue luster under the light, and its emerald eyes like the finest jade.
One of the female guests couldn't resist reaching out to pet it, but the little guy immediately bristled, flew up, and hid behind Zhuohua, peeking out its little head with disgust in its blue eyes: "Chirp! Don't touch me! Your hands smell weird from makeup! And... a cheap perfume mixed with sweat! It smells awful! Stay away from me!"
The female guest's hand froze in mid-air, her smile instantly turning to embarrassment as she blushed deeply. The others around her wanted to laugh but dared not, struggling to suppress their laughter.
Liang Hui quickly smoothed things over: "Haha, Shuang Ling is a little bit of a germaphobe, everyone should understand." He secretly wiped away a bead of sweat; this little devil was indeed living up to her reputation.
Zhuohua merely glanced at the female guest without saying anything. Lu Xiao, on the other hand, smiled apologetically at the female guest.
The recording began quickly. Upbeat music started, and the lights came on. Liang Hui, as expected of a top-notch host, quickly heated up the atmosphere. The games were designed to be simple and fun, testing reaction speed, teamwork, and a little bit of luck.
Zhuohua and Lu Xiao were paired together. Zhuohua maintained her aloof and elegant demeanor, but her teamwork was excellent. In the quick-response quiz, she seemed casual, yet always managed to be one step ahead; in the charades guessing game, which required perfect understanding, she and Lu Xiao could communicate with a single glance. Every time they scored, the audience erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers.
Lu Xiao's performance was also commendable. He was quick-witted, responded naturally to jokes, and his handsome appearance and sincere attitude quickly won the favor of many viewers.
Shuangling perched steadily on the back of Zhuohua's designated rest chair, like a little supervisor. When Zhuohua and Lu Xiao scored easily, it chirped triumphantly, fluttering its little wings. When it saw other groups make mistakes or act funny, it would unceremoniously cover its little mouth with its wings (though it couldn't quite cover it), making mocking "chirp chirp chirp" sounds. Its cute yet fierce吐槽 (tu cao, a kind of sarcastic commentary) was clearly transmitted to the backstage monitoring room through the microphone, making the director and staff unable to help but laugh.
"Haha, that little bird is so clever! It's practically the comedian!"
"Has it become sentient? How does it know everything?"
"Where did Teacher Zhuohua get this treasure? It's so cute!"
The recording went smoothly, with laughter filling the air. However, during one segment where the guests had to search for treasure in a makeshift "horror hospital" setting, Shuangling's previously lazy body suddenly tensed up.
It suddenly raised its head, its sharp blue eyes scanning the dark scene filled with various "dismembered limbs" props, and its little nose twitched rapidly.
"Chirp..." It let out a low chirp, clearly showing disgust, and flew to Zhuohua's ear. It ruffled her hair with its little paws, its voice so low that only Zhuohua could hear it, "Huahua! There's a smell in there! Although it's faint, covered by the smell of fake blood and dust, I can still smell it! It's that... stench of a rat's nest in the sewer! It smells just like the one in that report last time! It's fishy and greasy! It's disgusting! Someone must have buried something dirty in here!"
A cold glint silently flashed in the depths of her brilliant, azure eyes. She casually adjusted her headset, then lightly tapped Lu Xiao's hand with her fingertip, signaling him to calm down.
It was their group's turn to enter the scene.
The lights dimmed, and eerie sound effects filled the air. Although Lu Xiao knew it was fake, he still felt instinctively tense in this environment. Zhuo Hua, however, strolled around as if in a leisurely garden. She didn't even deliberately search for the so-called "treasures." Her gaze casually swept over the realistic "corpse" props, the mottled "walls," and the scattered "medical records."
Her gaze eventually settled on an inconspicuous corner, on a metal box that looked like a discarded medical instrument, half-buried under the "ruins".
The box itself was unremarkable, but in Zhuohua's eyes, it emitted extremely faint, spiderweb-like, sticky, and malicious gray-black energy threads that were silently spreading outwards, trying to contaminate anyone who approached.
"Found it." Zhuohua's tone was calm, as if she had just discovered an ordinary item. She walked straight over, not touching the box directly, but instead extending her slender white finger and pointing it at the air.
Buzz—
A barely perceptible ripple of pale gold, almost blending into the dim light, instantly spread out and precisely enveloped the metal box.
There was no earth-shattering sound, no dazzling light or shadow. The inside of the box was as if it had been thrown into an invisible purifying furnace. The faint, grayish-black energy, carrying the stench of a sewer rat's nest, didn't even have time to struggle before it melted and vanished instantly, like thin frost under the scorching sun!
A tiny black crystal, about the size of a grain of rice and invisible to the naked eye, which was attached to the inner wall of the box, also turned into dust.
The whole process was so fast that even Lu Xiao, who was standing right next to her, was completely unaware. He only saw Zhuo Hua bend down and pick up a small plastic token representing a "treasure" from the "ruins".
"Let's go." Zhuohua handed the token to Lu Xiao, her expression calm.
Although Lu Xiao didn't understand why, he had absolute trust in her, so he accepted the token and breathed a sigh of relief.
In the monitoring room, the director switched the feeds, everything proceeding as usual. Only in an inconspicuous equipment room backstage, on the screen of an instrument disguised as an ordinary signal receiver, the energy dot representing the activated "fear inducer" flickered violently for a moment when Zhuohua pointed at it, then went out completely, leaving only silence.
Inside the equipment room, a man in work clothes and a baseball cap stared at the completely blacked-out screen, his face turning deathly pale, his eyes filled with disbelief and horror. He frantically tried to restart the equipment, but nothing happened.
"How is this possible... The Xuan Yin Sect's 'Yin Sha Seed'... was... wiped out?! Without a sound?!"
He whispered tremblingly, his forehead instantly covered in cold sweat. He dared not linger; he immediately unplugged the equipment, quickly gathered his things, and fled the equipment room like a frightened mouse.
Zhuohua and Lu Xiao walked out of the scene with the symbolic "treasure" with ease, winning enthusiastic applause from the audience.
Frostfeather flew back to Zhuohua's shoulder, patting its little chest with its tiny paws in disgust: "Chirp! Finally out! The smell inside almost made me throw up my breakfast! Huahua, is that dirty thing gone? Is it clean now?"
"Hmm, I stepped on a little bug." Zhuohua's tone was calm, as if she had merely brushed away a speck of dust.
Liang Hui enthusiastically announced that their team had won, and the recording ended successfully amidst laughter and cheers.
After removing their makeup and changing their clothes, Zhuohua and Lu Xiao prepared to leave. Just as they stepped out of the backstage corridor, Liang Hui caught up with them, this time with genuine gratitude and lingering fear on his face: "Teacher Zhuohua! Thank you so much for everything! You're truly our station's lucky star!"
He clearly learned about the little incident in the scene earlier through some channel (most likely a hint from the Lingte Bureau).
Zhuohua simply nodded slightly.
"Don't worry about the payment! Our station will definitely give Lu Xiao's new drama our full support! The best promotional resources!" Liang Hui patted his chest and assured him.
"Chirp! Talk is cheap! We need to take action!"
Shuangling stood on Zhuohua's shoulder, her little wings on her hips (trying to strike a pose), and said to Liang Hui without any politeness, "Next time we come, the snacks have to be upgraded! They have to be imported! Top-grade Wagyu beef snacks! The blueberries have to be air-shipped from Chile! Otherwise, I won't come!"
Liang Hui was both amused and exasperated by the little darling's order of food, and repeatedly agreed, "Okay, okay! Definitely! I'll definitely arrange the best!"
After saying goodbye to Liang Hui, the two people and the bird headed towards the underground parking lot. Zhuo Hua's car was a low-key yet luxurious black SUV. Just as they were about to reach the car, Zhuo Hua paused almost imperceptibly, his peripheral vision catching a glimpse of the shadow cast by a load-bearing pillar not far away.
In the shadows, Chen Feng and Lin Wei, dressed in civilian clothes, stood holding their breath. Chen Feng held a special energy detector in his hand; the readings on the screen were jumping wildly, pointing towards Zhuo Hua, the values alarmingly high. Lin Wei, on the other hand, held a tablet, rapidly recording something, her eyes filled with awe and curiosity.
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