Chapter 66
Shuangling immediately turned her head, her jade eyes precisely locking onto the two people in the shadows.
"Chirp! It's you two again!" Shuangling's sweet little voice rang out in the empty parking lot, filled with disdain. "Tagalong! Peeping Tom! Sneaking around behind the pillar! Were you trying to take pictures under Huahua's skirt? Perverts! Lu Xiao, beat them up!"
Chen Feng and Lin Wei: "..." The two froze instantly, so embarrassed they wanted to disappear into the ground. Taking pictures up a skirt? This guy's thought process and sharp tongue were simply off the charts!
Zhuohua didn't even bother to glance at them, as if they were just two insignificant ants. She went straight to the car door and got into the driver's seat.
Lu Xiao also saw the two people in the shadows. He shook his head helplessly, nodded slightly in the direction of Chen Feng and Lin Wei (as if to apologize for his "outspoken" bird?), and then got into the passenger seat.
Shuangling flew into the back seat, not forgetting to stick her tongue out at the pillar while clinging to the window (trying her best to stick out her tongue): "Hehehe! Idiot! You lost me! Go home and eat your own food!"
The car started smoothly and drove away from the parking lot.
Behind the load-bearing column, Chen Feng and Lin Wei awkwardly emerged. Chen Feng looked at the still ridiculously high reading on the detector in his hand, which was now slowly decreasing, and said to Lin Wei with a wry smile, "...Did you record it?"
Lin Wei looked at the data on the tablet, her voice filled with shock: "...The energy fluctuation pattern of the annihilation process was clearly recorded...Although there was only an extremely brief peak...the pattern...is completely consistent with the fluctuations when the Yin Sha Qi in our team members' bodies was suppressed! Only the intensity...is countless times greater!"
She looked up in the direction the car had disappeared, her eyes filled with complex emotions. "Team leader...did she really just 'step on a tiny bug'? That level of energy annihilation..."
Chen Feng took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and said in an extremely solemn tone: "...The 'Yin Sha Seed,' which is a catastrophic disaster for us, is probably just an insect that she can crush with a flick of her wrist in her eyes. Continue recording all related data. Also, find out who tried to tamper with the recording site earlier; it was the 'Xuan Yin Sect's' claws reaching out. Following this line, we might be able to catch the rat's tail."
He paused, then added, his voice tinged with helplessness: "...Observe from the furthest distance. Her warning...we can't afford a second one."
Recalling Shuangling's words about "secretly filming under skirts" and "pervert," Chen Feng felt that his career had never been so "colorful."
The car entered the city traffic. In the back seat, Shuangling was already nestled in the comfortable leather seat, holding a small box of premium blueberries that Zhuohua had prepared for it, eating with great relish, completely forgetting the "little incident" from earlier.
Lu Xiao glanced at the contented little one in the rearview mirror, then at Zhuo Hua beside him, who was focused on driving. The lines of her profile appeared exceptionally soft and serene in the flowing light and shadow outside the car window. He couldn't help but reach out and gently cover the back of her hand, which was resting on the gear shift.
"Are you tired?" he asked softly.
Zhuohua took his hand in hers, her fingertips gently tickling his palm, sending a tingling, itchy sensation through her. She turned her head and smiled at him, a smile that instantly dispelled all divine aloofness, leaving only earthly sweetness and warmth.
“With you and Shuangling here,” her voice was like melting honey, “how could I be tired?”
Shuangling gave a muffled "chirp" in the back seat, indicating her agreement. A warm tranquility filled the car, shutting out the outside world's disturbances and prying eyes from the speeding car windows.
Lu Xiao had just finished a late-night interview, and his bones ached from being overworked. The van glided smoothly along the glittering city river, the windows shutting out the outside noise, leaving only a weary silence inside.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes, and felt his temples throbbing, as if a small hammer was tirelessly pounding inside.
Zhuohua sat quietly beside him, her fingertips entwined with a few wisps of extremely faint, almost imperceptible, pale golden light, which silently brushed across his forehead and tense shoulders and neck.
Wherever that cool yet warm, strange touch touched, the heaviness receded like a tide, and even the drowsy mind became clear again.
Lu Xiao couldn't help but sigh, subconsciously tilting his head towards Zhuo Hua, like a young animal seeking refuge. Zhuo Hua's lips curved slightly, and the flowing light at her fingertips softened even more.
Just then, Lu Xiao's phone buzzed in his pocket, breaking the silence in the car. He fumbled for his phone, the screen illuminating the lingering weariness in his eyes, and saw that the caller ID showed it was Director Chen, the director of "Dark Night Lantern".
"Director Chen?" Lu Xiao cleared his slightly hoarse voice and answered the phone.
Director Chen's voice on the other end of the phone was so loud it almost pierced the receiver, filled with barely suppressed excitement. In the background, there seemed to be the faint sounds of clinking glasses and laughter: "Lu Xiao! Oh my god, great news! Huge good news! Our 'Dark Night Lantern' has passed censorship! All green lights all the way! It's been incredibly smooth! The platform has also given us a huge break, the schedule is set, it'll be airing at the beginning of next month! Prime time!"
Lu Xiao was slightly taken aback and subconsciously looked at Zhuo Hua beside him. This speed... was somewhat unsettling. Who in the industry doesn't know how cumbersome the process is? Especially for dramas involving special settings, it's common for them to be stuck for a year or two.
Zhuohua received his gaze, but lazily raised her eyelids. Her excessively beautiful eyes were filled with a nonchalant smile that said, "What's the big deal?" and even carried a hint of teasing, "See? It's nothing."
Director Chen was still talking non-stop on the other end of the line, his voice almost overflowing with excitement: "Lu Xiao, this time it's really... really thanks to you and Zhuohua! The people on the platform were so polite, and the review department was incredibly efficient! Our film has really met some benefactors! You and Zhuohua are truly... truly the crew's lucky stars!" The implication in his words couldn't be clearer.
"Director Chen, you're too kind," Lu Xiao replied calmly, but his gaze never left Zhuo Hua's smiling face. "It's because the drama itself is of excellent quality, and everyone's hard work."
"Hahaha, yes, yes, they're all top-notch! They're all top-notch!"
Director Chen laughed heartily, "I just heard from the 'Under the Blue Sky' crew that the process is going incredibly fast! You two, just wait and see, this momentum is unstoppable! Xingyao has really struck gold this time!"
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Lu Xiao hung up the phone. The car fell silent again, save for the soft whirring of tires on the pavement. He held his phone, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the cold screen a couple of times, then turned to Zhuo Hua, his voice low and inquisitive: "The Special Operations Bureau?"
Zhuohua chuckled softly, her expression like that of a cat that had been stroked and was lazily basking in the sun, with a hint of nonchalant smugness. "An advisor, huh?" she drawled, as if talking about something trivial, "just a title, occasionally clearing roadblocks. It's nothing."
"When did you become an advisor? Didn't you say you didn't want to deal with them? Those two don't even dare to show their faces in the vicinity now," Lu Xiao asked, puzzled.
"It's all because I helped them last time. Those seriously injured people were all saved, and the higher-ups over there came over in person."
Zhuohua casually swiped through her phone, pointed to a WeChat profile picture, and said, "This one. He's very nice, and I agreed since I had nothing else to do. He's just a nominal consultant; he can't reach me for trivial matters."
As she spoke, she reached out and very naturally tidied Lu Xiao's slightly messy hair that had been brushed against his forehead while he was on the phone. The lingering coolness of her fingertips brushed against his skin, bringing a comfortable coolness. "I can't just let all your hard work get stuck in those boring processes and go moldy, can I?"
Looking at her matter-of-fact manner, Lu Xiao felt a surge of warmth instantly dispel the subtle feelings he had felt due to the rumors of her "powerful background." He took her slightly cool fingers in his hand and held them tightly in his palm, chuckling softly, "Yes, I understand. Our 'advisor' is incredibly powerful."
Zhuohua let him hold her hand, gently patted the back of his hand with her other hand, leaned back in her seat with a relaxed posture, and looked at the sea of neon lights flashing past the car window.
The light and shadow outside the window flickered in her calm eyes, reflecting a distant past, which was quickly overshadowed by the hustle and bustle of the present world. The smoke of the war between gods and demons had long since dissipated, and now this small privilege of being an "advisor" only gave her a little more composure when protecting the person before her.
Director Chen's prediction seemed to have been granted some kind of accelerated magic, its accuracy astonishing. "Lantern in the Dark" ignited the entire internet with overwhelming force upon its release.
The suspenseful and bizarre plot, the excellent production, and the outstanding performances of all the actors, especially the subtle yet intense interactions between Lu Xiao's profound character, the Lantern Bearer, and Zhuo Hua's Taoist successor, captivated the audience.
The trending topics list has practically become the show's backyard, with related topics appearing in various forms every day, maintaining a high level of discussion.
What followed was a deluge of announcements, interviews, appearances, and script offers flooding in like a burst dam... Xingyao Media's management team was swamped, their phones were ringing off the hook, and their inboxes were overflowing. Lu Xiao felt like he had been swept into a massive, never-ending vortex.
Having just finished filming a variety show in one city, I landed at the airport in another. The deafening screams of fans outside the terminal almost lifted the roof off. The flashes from the cameras turned the entire airport into daylight, stinging my eyes.
The bodyguards struggled to part the crowd. Lu Xiao, wearing a hat and mask, kept his head down and was almost being pushed forward by the throng. Zhuo Hua followed closely beside him, her demeanor still composed, though her slightly furrowed brows betrayed her discomfort with the excessive noise.
She could clearly feel the fervent emotions permeating the air, like waves of restless heat assaulting her accustomed senses of tranquility.
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