Chapter 73
Zhuohua held a cup of taro bubble tea with double the amount of pearls, sipping it slowly. The sweetness spread from the tip of her tongue to the bottom of her heart, and even the earthen stove that almost caused the "green smoke crisis" seemed more pleasing to the eye.
"Why did you suddenly come?" she asked, her voice slightly muffled and nasal, her mouth full of pearls. "Is filming finished?"
Lu Xiao sat down next to her on another small stool, his long legs bent slightly in a somewhat aggrieved manner, yet his posture remained dashing. He also held a cup of lemon tea in his hand, without even inserting a straw, simply watching her drink. "No. Filming early tomorrow morning."
He raised his hand and very naturally tucked a strand of hair that had been ruffled by the sea breeze behind her ear. "I heard a little bird crying and complaining that if food isn't brought soon, people will have to tear down their houses because they're hungry. There happened to be an event on the way, so I turned around to take a look."
His gaze swept over Zhuohua's clean linen dress, and his eyes flickered slightly: "You changed your clothes? The previous one..." He had obviously also seen the classic "tomato headshot" scene in the live replay.
Zhuohua nodded, pointing to the white shirt still stained with large tomato stains on the clothes rack in the corner of the yard: "It died a heroic death." There was a hint of regret in her tone, "It was a very comfortable shirt."
Lu Xiao's smile deepened. He leaned close to her ear and whispered in a low voice that only the two of them could hear, "It's alright. I'll buy you a whole new cabinet when we get back."
Zhuo Hua's ears burned slightly, and she glared at him reproachfully. Her eyes were full of light and had no harm, which instead made Lu Xiao chuckle.
The two's intimate interaction, oblivious to everyone else, made Chen Yue, Lin Chen, and others who were eavesdropping nearby feel a pang of jealousy.
The production team was not about to let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip by. The chief director rubbed his hands together, his face beaming with a mischievous smile, and came over: "Teacher Lu! You've come at just the right time! You see, our program has a tradition of family members visiting the set, so we have to get involved in some interaction and give the audience a little treat, right?" He stared intently at Lu Xiao, as if he were a walking gold mine for ratings.
Lu Xiao raised an eyebrow and slowly took a sip of his lemon tea: "Oh? How does the director want to interact?"
"Easy! Easy!" The director immediately pulled out a task card, speaking rapidly, "Tomorrow we have a 'treasure hunt on an island' activity! It requires two people to team up! Originally, Teacher Zhuohua was paired with Teacher Chen Yue..." The director chuckled, "But now! Teacher Lu, since you're here, who else but you is the perfect partner! You and Teacher Zhuohua are paired up, let's go treasure hunting! Let's add some 'perfect couple' highlights to our program! What do you think?"
As soon as the director finished speaking, Chen Yue quickly nodded, deciding not to stand too close to the cooking master to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Lu Xiao smiled apologetically at Chen Yue, then turned to look at Zhuo Hua, his deep eyes filled with a questioning smile: "Shall we be a group?"
Zhuohua slurped up the pearls, glanced at the director's expectant (and unyielding) face, then at Lu Xiao's smiling eyes. A sly glint flashed in her eyes, and she slowly nodded: "Okay."
"Alright!" The director slapped his thigh, his face flushed with excitement. "It's settled then! We'll set off first thing tomorrow morning! Don't worry, Mr. Lu, we'll get you the best equipment!"
Having achieved his goal, the director left satisfied, leaving the group in the courtyard with their own thoughts. Lin Chen and Su Yan looked at the awkward atmosphere between Lu Xiao and Zhuo Hua, which no one else could get involved in, with complicated expressions.
Chen Yue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she didn't have to be in a group with Zhuo Hua—who knows what kind of earth-shattering scene this "fairy sister" would create during tomorrow's treasure hunt!
As night deepened, a cool sea breeze blew. The guests gradually returned to their rooms to rest. As a "temporary family member," Lu Xiao was naturally "thoughtfully" arranged by the production team to sit on the living room sofa of Zhuo Hua's seaside cottage.
The small house was simple and simply furnished. After Zhuohua finished washing up, she came out wearing a soft nightgown and saw Lu Xiao leaning against the sofa, which was obviously a bit too small for him, with his long legs casually crossed. He was flipping through a travel magazine with a gaudy cover that he had found somewhere, and the warm yellow floor lamp cast a gentle shadow on his profile.
"I'm sorry to have wronged Actor Lu." Zhuohua walked over, wiping her wet hair, her tone teasing.
Lu Xiao put down the magazine, reached out and naturally took the towel from her hand, gently wiping the moisture from her hair. "Don't feel wronged."
His voice was low and deep. "It's better than someone blowing up the kitchen." He paused, then, as if remembering something, took out a beautifully packaged little box from his backpack and handed it to her. "Here, this is compensation for your 'heroic sacrifice'."
Zhuohua took the handkerchief and opened it. Inside was a light apricot-colored silk handkerchief, cool and smooth to the touch, with an inconspicuous yet subtly protective divine pattern embroidered on one corner. She smiled and casually tied the handkerchief around her slender wrist; the apricot color made her skin appear even whiter.
"Thanks." She was about to say something when her gaze suddenly sharpened, landing on the back of Lu Xiao's left hand, which was casually resting on the sofa armrest. Near the base of his thumb, several small, abnormal red rashes had appeared, somewhat noticeable under the light.
"What's wrong with your hand?" Zhuohua frowned and reached out to touch it.
Lu Xiao instinctively tried to pull his hand back, but she grabbed his wrist even faster. Zhuohua's fingertips brushed over the few red rashes, and a trace of extremely faint probing divine power instantly entered. Her eyes suddenly turned cold.
"Seafood allergy?" Her voice turned somber, tinged with displeasure. "Did you touch that fish?" She was referring to the grouper that Shuangling had "sent" into the basket with her divine power and that Shuangling had tormented until it was emitting green smoke.
Lu Xiao smiled helplessly: "When I signed for the insulated box, the fish jumped on the ice pack and splashed some water on the back of my hand. It's nothing." He tried to pull his hand back. "It's a minor issue. It'll be fine tomorrow."
Zhuohua didn't let go. She lowered her eyes to look at the few unsightly red rashes, and a faint golden light, carrying pure healing power, almost imperceptibly swirled around her fingertips as she gently stroked the skin. The rashes subsided and healed rapidly before her very eyes, returning to normal in the blink of an eye, as if they had never appeared.
Lu Xiao felt a warm, cool sensation brush against the back of his hand, instantly relieving the itching. He looked down at his smooth hand, then looked up at Zhuo Hua, his gaze deep and tender.
Zhuohua released his hand, raised her eyelids, and her clear eyes held a hint of reproach and an undeniable domineering tone: "You are not allowed to touch it next time. No live, dead, or half-dead seafood is allowed."
She paused, then added matter-of-factly, "You're more important than the fish."
Lu Xiao paused for a moment, then chuckled softly, his chest heaving, the laughter particularly alluring in the quiet night. He reached out and gently pinched Zhuo Hua's cheeks, which were slightly flushed from her recent bath, his eyes filled with an intense, unyielding affection: "Yes, madam."
Then I sent a message to my assistant, asking them to ask the production crew for a day off.
The living room was warm and inviting, with a lovely atmosphere. However, just as Zhuohua turned to pour water, Shuangling, who had been disguised as a doll and curled up in the corner of the sofa, suddenly opened her small, beady eyes, revealing a sharp, icy blue glint!
Its small head was turned towards the closed window, its fluffy feathers slightly ruffled, conveying an extremely vigilant signal. Its keen divine beast senses detected a very subtle... unusual fluctuation coming quietly from outside the window, from the direction of the dark sea in the distance!
The fluctuation carried an indescribable chill, dampness, and ancient aura, like a colossal creature that had slumbered in the deep sea for millennia, turning over and stirring up the undercurrents.
Frostfeather's beady green eyes were fixed on the darkness outside the window, its small body tense, no longer showing its previous languor. It urgently sent a silent warning to Blazing Flower with its divine sense:
"Chirp chirp chirp—!" (Master! There's something in the sea! Something's not right!)
Zhuohua's hand, which was pouring water, froze instantly. She turned her head sharply, her clear eyes instantly becoming sharp as lightning, piercing through the glass window and piercing the inky black sea swallowed by the deep night and rolling waves. The warm atmosphere in the living room vanished, and the air seemed to freeze.
Lu Xiao immediately sensed something amiss. Though he possessed no divine power, a top actor's sensitivity to environment and atmosphere far surpassed that of ordinary people. He quickly sat up straight, following Shuang Ling and Zhuo Hua's gaze to look out the window, his handsome brows furrowing with seriousness: "Hua Hua?"
Zhuohua remained silent. With a slight twitch of her fingertips, a wisp of golden divine thought, thinner than a hair and invisible to the naked eye, shot out silently like a probe, instantly merging into the boundless night and the ocean waves. The scene reflected back from the divine thought made Zhuohua's eyes suddenly turn icy cold!
Deep in the dark sea, several miles from the coastline, a massive, viscous energy, exuding a strong aura of decay and resentment, is gathering wildly!
The energy was like a filthy whirlpool, greedily devouring the ocean's vitality and stirring up the currents within a radius of several miles. Even more repulsive was that, at the core of the whirlpool, a twisted and bizarre talisman, outlined by the pitch-black seawater, was suspended in the air!
The patterns on the talisman resembled countless wriggling maggots, emanating an evil aura that made one's soul feel sticky and cold!
Mysterious Yin Gathering Evil Talisman!
A golden glint flashed in Zhuohua's eyes, and his killing intent, like tangible ice shards, instantly spread out! It's those rats from the gutter again! How dare they use the creatures of the sea as sacrifices in this mortal land to set up such a vicious evil array!
Once this formation is complete, it will not only attract the vengeful spirits of the sunken corpses on the seabed, but also pollute this sea area and cause large-scale maritime disasters!
"Xuan Yin Sect." Zhuo Hua's voice was icy cold, as if it had been tempered by ten thousand years of ice. Those three simple words caused the temperature in the living room to plummet.
"Chirp chirp chirp chirp!" (It's them! That disgusting stench of the sewer! There's no mistake!)
Frostfeather bristled even more, its beady blue eyes practically overflowing with light. "They're draining the 'life force' of this sea! Trying to breed the filth of the ocean floor! Master, take them down!"
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