Chapter 13: One Girl, One Fish—Both Here for Her…

The feud between Lu Hui and this damn fish could seriously fill three days and nights of storytelling.

Back in the cultivation world, she’d dreamed of stewing this fish in a pot.

This massive fish was her ex-fiancé’s beloved pet. After discovering that her childhood fiancé had not only fallen for someone else but wanted to sacrifice her life to save his new lover, Lu Hui didn’t think twice. She packed up and ran.

But Kunpeng’s nose was sharper than a dog’s. No matter how she escaped—sky or sea—he would always sniff her out and drag her back to Yan Zhao by the tail.

Like some kind of watchdog, constantly keeping an eye on her.

Lu Hui took a deep breath, trying to stay calm on the outside. She shut the hotel room door—she didn’t want anyone passing by to see this monstrous fish and get spooked.

She clenched her fists and shut her eyes tightly, her long lashes trembling. After a few seconds, she opened them again.

Nope. Still absurd.

“You, off the bed,” Lu Hui said coldly to Kunpeng, not even sure if he could understand.

Kunpeng flicked his tail. No intention of moving.

Lu Hui had no magic right now, so she couldn’t do anything about him. She asked, “Where’s your dad?”

Kunpeng’s only response was more tail flicking.

Fine, she got the message. Maybe father and son got separated, and this fish, who had made a habit of hunting her down, had just found her again.

She searched the hotel room and found a wooden stick that kind of resembled her old Ice Sword.

She had always used that sword to battle Kunpeng. Sure enough, the moment the fish saw it, his blue eyes widened, and he leapt off the bed in a single bound. He also shrank from his enormous form back to his original size—roughly the size of a house cat.

He stared at Lu Hui.

Lu Hui stared back.

They stared in silence for nearly ten minutes before Lu Hui, now with a headache, summoned her system.

The system was annoyed at being called again: “Babe, I’m a government worker with full benefits and weekends off. Don’t just call me like this, okay?”

Lu Hui laughed in disbelief. “Please open your tiny little eyes and tell me what you see in front of you.”

The system stared at the creature on the floor and glitched out. “………”

Then it gave up even pretending to be composed. “Sorry, I have no idea what that thing is. Never seen it before.”

After a moment of deathly silence, the system screamed, “AHHHHH WHAT THE HELL IS THAT FISH DOING HERE?!”

Lu Hui changed out the soiled bedsheets. “I’d like to know that too.”

System: “Maybe—possibly—the time-space continuum got messed up? The male lead’s resentment energy is, um, quite strong, after all.”

Lu Hui had already guessed that would be the reason. Her expression didn’t change. “Then take this fish back where it came from.”

“Dear, you don’t have permission.” The system said one last sentence before pretending to be dead. “Logging off now, wish you a pleasant life.”

Ask all you want—there’s no way around it.

Ask all you want—the male lead is paranoid and holds a grudge.

So don’t ask. Asking will only make you suffer.

Lu Hui: Damn it!

Lu Hui stared at the tightly shut doors and windows, really wanting to know where exactly he had snuck in from.

She sighed. As much as she hated this stinky fish, she had no choice but to keep him in the tank.

“I’m not letting you go back to find your dad. Give up that fishy dream.”

Kunpeng gave a flick of his tail and cracked the fish tank.

He didn’t need to live in water at all.

Lu Hui had the sudden urge to drag him down with her—her eyelids twitched furiously. She held herself back and let him flop around on the ground, ignoring him.

Her gut told her that both the man and the fish had come for her. But what exactly did Yan Zhao want?

Back then, she and Yan Zhao were the most well-matched senior brother and sister in the sect. Their parents had arranged their engagement at birth—childhood sweethearts, everyone said.

Until they were sixteen, their relationship had been perfectly fine. In another two years, they were supposed to hold their wedding and officially become husband and wife.

But her fiancé turned his back on her just like that. Yan Zhao fell head over heels for the novel’s female lead after knowing her for only a few months—so in love that he couldn’t live without her.

Female leads are usually delicate flowers: ill-fated, fragile in health.

Yan Zhao didn’t hesitate for even a second when he decided to dig out her heart to save the female lead. “You’ll do,” he said. “Don’t even think of escaping.”

Cornered to the edge of a cliff, with no way out, Lu Hui had a moment of brain fog and left her last words: “Bro, you really are someone destined for greatness.”

He killed his fiancée without a second thought. Yan Zhao’s sword was dazzlingly bright; white light flashed across her eyes before the blade slowly split open her chest—slice after slice.

Even now, the memory made Lu Hui’s scalp prickle with pain. Were all these male leads nuts? They got their careers, got their dream girls, and still couldn’t let go of the past?

She couldn’t figure it out. Really couldn’t.

But then again, these male leads all had screws loose. It’d be a miracle if she could understand how their brains worked.

Lu Hui lay in the middle of the large bed, staring blankly at the ceiling with her pitch-black eyes, her mind empty. She’d already decided—she had to imprison this stinky fish first. She couldn’t let him bring Yan Zhao here.

Before going to sleep, she glared at Kunpeng and warned, “You’d better behave. Otherwise, I’ll cook you red-braised style and eat you.”

Kunpeng scoffed and refused to acknowledge her.

Lu Hui huffed, turned her back to him, and switched off the lights.

—

Sheng Zhaoming made a rare appearance today. He was used to being fawned over and didn’t take anyone in this production crew seriously. Faced with their flattery, he remained expressionless and cold.

His gaze swept the room, paused for a few seconds, then retracted.

The actresses followed his eyes like moths to a flame, eager to cozy up to the heir of the Sheng family.

The man was devastatingly handsome, had a commanding presence, long legs and broad shoulders, and came from a legendary family. Who wouldn’t be tempted? Especially those looking for a shortcut.

Catering to him was clearly more cost-effective than sucking up to some greasy old director in his fifties or sixties.

They were all on similar footing and secretly rejoiced that Lu Hui had left early, playing the aloof card—otherwise, with her looks, she’d be a serious threat.

Sheng Zhaoming looked uninterested and cut straight to the chase: “Where’s Lu Hui?”

The director replied, “She’s already gone back.”

“Didn’t she have a scene this afternoon?”

Sheng Zhaoming had only come after checking the shooting schedule. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered showing up.

The director hadn’t expected him to even read the call sheet—was he that interested in Lu Hui?

“She nailed her scene in one take, so we wrapped early and she went back to the hotel to rest.”

“One take?” Sheng Zhaoming was slightly intrigued. “You’re saying she’s actually good at acting?”

The director nodded honestly. “She’s quite good, especially for a newcomer.”

She really had some talent. He hadn’t picked her during auditions with his eyes closed—if she couldn’t act, he wouldn’t have hired her.

Sheng Zhaoming was skeptical. He’d watched every episode of that cringe-worthy idol drama she’d acted in before—it had been torture for his eyes.

“She didn’t just bail on filming because she knew I was coming, did she?”

That comment raised eyebrows. People began to wonder: just what was their relationship?

The director wasn’t sure what to make of it either. Then a sudden flash of memory hit him—there had been rumors that Lu Hui was Sheng Zhaoming’s mistress, and the scandal had blown up pretty big at the time.

“No, I don’t think so.” The director felt that Lu Hui really didn’t care at all whether Sheng Zhaoming showed up or not—it wasn’t about avoiding him.

Sheng Zhaoming didn’t want it to seem like he’d shown up just to visit Lu Hui. That’d be a joke. He lit a cigarette, the flame flaring to life.

A crew member instinctively stepped forward to stop him.

Sheng Zhaoming’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing through. “What?”

The words in the staff member’s mouth got swallowed.

Sheng Zhaoming took a few puffs, then said, “I’ve reserved a private room at the hotel. Everyone’s worked hard—I’ll treat you all to dinner.”

“Mr. Sheng, you’re too kind.”

“Let’s go.”

At the dinner table, there were plenty of women casting flirtatious glances his way. Sheng Zhaoming’s face grew colder and colder. His mood hit rock bottom. After chain-smoking a few cigarettes, he stood up with a stony expression and said, “You all eat—I have things to do. I’m leaving. Put the bill on my tab.”

As soon as he left, the atmosphere in the private room chilled.

The prince of the Sheng family never hid his feelings. Whether he was happy or not was written all over his face—and from the set to the hotel today, not once did he look pleased.

Anyone with a brain could guess why. Wasn’t it just because Lu Hui didn’t show up?

The director found the whole dinner hard to swallow. “Didn’t Mr. Sheng firmly deny his relationship with Lu Hui twice to the media before?”

The assistant director nodded. “Yeah, that’s right!”

“What’s with that dramatic face-change of his today?”

“Men—ugh, they’re all the same. Even a golden boy born with a silver spoon can’t resist being a masochist.”

“You mean Mr. Sheng and Lu Hui…?”

“I didn’t say anything. Just wild guessing.”

The director thought it over. “Kind of makes sense though. I don’t get young people’s relationships these days.”

The assistant director puffed on his cigarette, smoke swirling. “Young folks are all about the thrill. You love me when I don’t love you, and by the time I realize how great you are, you’ve already moved on.”

The director clicked his tongue. “Like something out of a drama.”

Sheng Zhaoming was staying at the same hotel as the cast, so his visit to the set was impossible to keep under wraps. Someone snapped a photo of him checking in, and a clueless young actor took another during dinner and posted it on Weibo.

His appearance reignited the controversy that Lu Hui had just barely escaped. It was like waving a flag to remind the internet of her “man-stealing” scandal.

Even Sheng Zhaoming’s ex, a minor internet celebrity, liked a shady Weibo post that threw shade at Lu Hui, stirring the pot all over again.

Sheng Zhaoming wasn’t having it. “We broke up ages ago. Get lost.”

Someone from the production team anonymously tipped off a gossip blog: “It’s real—Mr. Sheng is here for Lu Hui.”

Then the post was updated: “But Lu Hui ignored him and left early after wrap.”

At first glance, the leak seemed made up—sloppy and rushed. But gradually, multiple people confirmed it was true. The gossip started reading like fanfiction:

“Sheng Zhaoming seemed in a bad mood that day. First thing he did was ask where Lu Hui was, even knew her schedule, and brought her favorite drink.”

“There are a bunch of actor stills in the lounge, and I swear Sheng Zhaoming stared at Lu Hui’s for ten whole minutes.”

The first part was likely true. That last sentence? Total fabrication. Still, just a few lines of text and suddenly fans were swooning.

“Classic cold-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside CEO vibes.”

“Why does this feel kind of sweet?”

“There’s no CP I can’t ship. Sheng Zhaoming is frosty but burning inside, Lu Hui loves him but can’t have him—consider me emotionally invested.”

Sheng Zhaoming loved slapping rumors in the face, but this time he said nothing. His silence only made it seem more legit.

Lu Hui had more downtime near the end of filming and started scrolling online, only to stumble across this circus. She almost threw up her dinner.

What the hell kind of crap is this?!

Lu Hui was so furious it felt like the tears were falling from her mouth instead of her eyes.

She immediately shot back on Weibo:
“Sheng Zhaoming, stop pushing your fake ‘lovelorn CEO’ image. We don’t know each other, and there’s no tragic unrequited love here.”

The way she publicly called out the drama’s investor made everyone else watch from the sidelines, hoping the fire would spread. But even after two days, Sheng Zhaoming still hadn’t responded. People felt a little cheated.

“After she beat the hell out of that sasaeng, I knew Lu Hui wasn’t someone to mess with.”

“She’s honestly a decent person. I can’t remember her ever being problematic.”

“My brother likes her, so I like her.”

“Every celeb should fight back this hard when they’re being slandered.”

“She’s right. Sheng Zhaoming humiliated her publicly twice before and said there was nothing between them. Now he wants to pretend he’s some doting boyfriend?”

Overnight, Lu Hui gained 30,000 followers. Her ranking on the celebrity potential list shot from the 200s to the top 80. A win, truly.

Two days later, she officially wrapped filming for Demon Seeking Immortal.

The production team gave her flowers and cake. After the group photo, Yu Li suddenly gave her a quick hug. It was so brief it felt unreal.

“Happy wrap day,” he said.

“Thanks.”

“Hope we get to work together again someday.”

“Sure,” Lu Hui replied politely. This industry wasn’t that big or that small—you never knew who you’d run into again.

Lu Hui wasn’t the sentimental type. She went around thanking the crew, then left with her bouquet for the hotel.

That same day, the show’s official Weibo posted some unedited behind-the-scenes footage of her.

The young woman with the bouquet, her calm expression, the way she lowered her head to take in the scent, her finely sculpted profile, the faint fatigue in her eyes, and the unconscious glances over her shoulder—she seemed fragile, like she could fall apart at any moment. Her stunning beauty carried an emotional weight that pierced straight through the heart.

It felt like one more look, and you’d be completely enchanted—unable to forget her.

In the comment section beneath the post, some were fans, some were random passersby:

“She’s so beautiful. I hope more people in the world love her.”

“She’s had such a rough few months. Please, let the universe treat her a little better. She really seems like a good person.”

“Whoever was sculpted by Nüwa that day must’ve been her. Why do I look like this while we’re both humans?”

“Yu Li never hugged a single actress in his last project, but he hugged Lu Hui. And when she got in the car, he just kept staring at her back—his eyes even looked a little teary.”

“I saw that too. Yu Li, you’re so in love with her! (Just kidding, don’t come for me. If you do, you’re totally right. I’ll delete this.)”

“Don’t ship them too hard—he’s probably just grateful to her for helping him deal with that sasaeng.”

Yu Li came online, followed Lu Hui, and reposted the behind-the-scenes video:
“@YuLi: Safe travels. Until next time.”

Lu Hui followed him back.

She thought she could go back to chilling in retirement mode. But her workaholic manager Lin Tong had already accepted a spot for her on a popular talent-show variety competition—filming in two weeks.

Her biggest headache after wrapping? That fish.

Kunpeng was acting rebellious again. Most of the time, it stayed in her room in its largest form possible.

Lu Hui threatened him with a stick, but he simply raised his head and let out a loud cry in return, threatening her back.

The Kunpeng’s cry was elegant and beautiful, but this was how he passed messages to Yan Zhao.

Afraid that he’d attract Yan Zhao over, Lu Hui coaxed him with sweet words, “Turn small, and I’ll take you to find your father.”

The Kunpeng believed her and shrank down to the size of her palm. Lu Hui tucked him into her pocket and successfully brought him home.

Once inside her bedroom, the Kunpeng rolled around a few times, sniffed every corner, and familiarized himself with the space. Then, when Lu Hui wasn’t paying attention, he snuck out.

When she came out of the shower and saw the empty fish tank, she finally realized—

She’d let her guard down. She’d been tricked.

That stinky fish had clearly memorized her address and now was off to snitch to his master!

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