Chapter 27 No, I can’t tolerate this!

The air swallowed by Xie Ran’s throat seemed bitter, sour, and astringent—like tiny blades slicing through the thin membrane of his throat, with an endless stabbing pain in his heart.

He took a deep breath but suddenly lacked the courage to step forward.

Xie Ran hadn’t seen her smile so openly in a long time, glowing with pure, bright radiance, her eyes clear and luminous, lively as if full of countless charms. The man beside her was handsome and well-built, looking none worse for wear, appearing like an old friend she had known for a long time. Even their intimate gestures looked natural, as if they were used to each other.

He clenched his fists, and the thin paper in his hand crumpled and changed shape.

In the past, Lu Hui loved him very much—constantly pursuing him, loving him so much that she couldn’t give him up. Even later, when he made a harsh and somewhat coercive demand for her to donate her kidney, she only cried and said she didn’t want to. She never once expressed hatred for him before she died.

The unspoken resentment gave Xie Ran a bit of hope, thinking there was still a chance for them to repent and start over.

Xie Ran numbly raised his hand and knocked on the door.

The people in the break room all turned their eyes toward the door at the same time.

Yu Li raised an eyebrow and whispered in Lu Hui’s ear, “Is he here to chase after you?”

Lu Hui wondered why he was here again.

She shook her head, “I don’t know.”

Xie Ran walked in with a calm demeanor, not even bothering to look at Lu Hui. Dressed in a suit, he looked formal and asked, “Did I interrupt?”

His voice was cold, hinting at anger. Upon closer inspection, his expression was extremely cold, his face hard as stone—no one knew who had provoked him.

Not many people in this room had interacted with Xie Ran, but they knew his family background was strong, and it was unwise to offend him.

So, no one dared respond to him. Who would dare to reply to his cold, sarcastic tone? Wasn’t that just asking for trouble?

The noisy break room suddenly felt as if the mute button had been pressed.

Lu Hui didn’t understand why Xie Ran had come here to intimidate them.

She hadn’t planned to respond, but knowing Xie Ran’s character, he wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted.

Lu Hui looked at him, neither avoiding nor retreating. She scoffed, “Since you know you’re interrupting, why ask?”

Her retort made the onlookers break into a cold sweat. This was what? Arrogance borne of favor! Using love as leverage to step on others’ faces.

Others couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Lu Hui. No matter how much you liked someone, no one wanted to be slapped in front of everyone. A man’s pride was not something to be offended lightly.

Xie Ran lowered his gaze, “I came to find you.”

His eyes lowered, his voice quiet and without any rise in tone. There was no anger, only a sense of humility.

Lu Hui couldn’t bring herself to appreciate his pitiful appearance; he faked it well, but she had long since become desensitized to the act.

Xie Ran lowered himself, but Lu Hui still didn’t show any grace. She said seriously, “But you’ve interrupted me.”

Xie Ran swallowed and muttered a few words before raising his eyes again, “Because there’s something important I need to tell you.”

The other people in the break room sensed the mood and made various excuses to leave. Even the director and producer didn’t want to stay—they could tell this was no longer a show they could watch.

Only Yu Li seemed oblivious to the mood, smiling faintly. His agent urged him, “Bro, let’s go.”

Yu Li leaned against the makeup table, sipping some water slowly, “Why the hurry? I want to hear what’s so important that Xie Ran has to say.”

Xie Ran shot him a cold glance, sizing him up meaningfully. His tone turned icy, “This is between me and her. You’re not qualified to eavesdrop.”

Yu Li’s patience snapped. He dropped the lazy expression, stood up straight, and before he could act, Lu Hui spoke up, “You can go now.”

Yu Li nodded reluctantly, “Alright, I’ll wait for you at the door. Call me if you need anything.”

“Thank you.”

Lu Hui turned her attention back to Xie Ran. “You can speak now.”

Xie Ran clenched the volunteer donation form tightly in his hand. Facing her gaze, he suddenly felt that everything he had done was meaningless—he couldn’t move himself, nor could he move her. It was both shameful and laughable.

He silently crumpled the paper in his hand, quietly slipping it into his pocket without a change in expression.

The words he had been preparing to say vanished halfway, “Forget it.”

“???” Lu Hui almost wanted to curse at him for being crazy, but she held back and asked, “Did you come here just to mess with me?”

Xie Ran shook his head, “No.” Then he chuckled bitterly, “I just thought you wouldn’t want to listen.”

That was the truth. Lu Hui replied, “Yeah, I really don’t want to hear what you have to say.”

Xie Ran blocked her path, standing firm like a pillar. She impatiently asked, “Do you still have something to say? I have things to do.”

He stepped aside and followed her, asking, “Where are you going? I’ll take you.”

Lu Hui, walking in high heels, wasn’t walking fast at all. “No need.”

Xie Ran reminded her, “There’s no car outside.”

Lu Hui quickened her pace, “Someone’s picking me up.”

Xie Ran’s face changed, turning pale and stern. “Is it the man from earlier?”

Lu Hui didn’t answer. Xie Ran’s voice, laced with fury, felt like an interrogation. “What’s your relationship with him?”

“Does he like you?”

“Or do you like him?”

The angered man seemed to corner her, throwing one accusatory question after another.

Lu Hui stopped walking, took a deep breath, and said, “He doesn’t like me.”

Xie Ran’s icy demeanor softened slightly, but before his anger could subside, she added, “I like him.”

The sharp words pierced through his heart, leaving him pale. He bit his lips so hard that they turned a faint color.

Xie Ran grabbed her slender arm with force, his face showing a sickly, fragile beauty. The heavy blow tore apart the calm exterior. He muttered, “You…”

Breathing in and out, each word felt like a knife slicing through his throat.

Lu Hui shook off his hand and looked into his beautiful, desperate eyes. She said, “I already told you I don’t like you. You just wouldn’t believe me.”

She advised, “Sigh, Mr. Xie, let the past go.”

She had seriously considered whether she should continue pretending to love him unconditionally like a fool. But, in reality, it was all part of a scripted task.

Though it was part of a task, it was an immersive experience, far more real than any AR game.

But as soon as she thought about it, the system reminded her, “We’ve signed a confidentiality agreement with the Quick-Cross Bureau.”

Lu Hui would rather pay the breach of contract fee and part with these burdensome figures.

The system, pleading with her, said, “Think carefully. These male leads are all extreme personalities, and if they find out you’re on a mission, I can’t guarantee what they’ll do.”

The system’s words persuaded Lu Hui.

She didn’t know where Xie Ran got the confidence that they might one day reconcile.

Lu Hui still remembered that before her surgery, she had to go through a full-body checkup and was arranged to stay in the hospital in advance. Four tall bodyguards stood guard outside her room, afraid she would run away.

During the surgery, she was anesthetized in her lower back, but her mind was still conscious.

She would never forget how anxious and upset Xie Ran looked when he was trying to save his white moonlight. In his heart, there was no one but the female lead. He had deep feelings, but they didn’t belong to her.

Lu Hui quietly looked at him, her mind much calmer now. “You only think I’m important because you thought I died, and now you want to make up for it. But now that I’m doing well, your reluctance will soon disappear. Xie Ran, listen to me, go back and live well with the woman you love, don’t make me lose respect for you.”

The male lead belongs to the female lead.

The cannon fodder female supporting role is free!

Xie Ran couldn’t deny her words, no matter what he said now, it would be worthless.

He extended his finger to touch her head, but her movement to dodge forced his hand to remain awkwardly in the air. After a while, he said, “There really isn’t a car outside. I’ll have my assistant take you home, I’ll take a taxi.”

Xie Ran’s eyes were sore and red, and as he looked down, moisture gathered in his eyes, forming droplets that slid down his lower eyelashes and onto his cheek.

Lu Hui still didn’t appreciate it. She called Lin Tong to pick her up from the hotel where the celebration banquet was being held.

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After the variety show ended, Lu Hui was supposed to go for an audition, the one for the script where the female supporting character had been in prison. However, things went wrong midway— the male lead had gotten into trouble and was exposed. The director’s team had to replace the male lead, and the filming schedule was delayed indefinitely. So, she didn’t need to go to the audition for now.

The finale data of Star 1V1 was out the next day. The live broadcast had the highest market share, breaking the viewership record of all variety shows over the last three years. The number of people participating in voting via text messages surpassed ten million, and just the operating income was astronomical.

The director gained fame through this show, and the second season became highly anticipated.

The director contacted Lu Hui frequently after this, repeating a few lines every day:

“Please, come back on the show.”

“Come, come, come, let’s create more glory together!”

Lu Hui’s replies were also quite skilled—”I really want to, but I can’t.”

The director couldn’t tempt her with a high salary, and he gave up in the end. However, after this episode, the director’s impression of Lu Hui couldn’t have been better.

“Let’s keep in touch, Teacher Lu.”

“Sure, Director Chen.”

During the second season’s preparation, the guest list was already being guessed all over. All the members of the first season were returning, except for the most popular, Lu Hui. There were all sorts of rumors online, the most widely spread one being that Lu Hui had a personal grudge with the show’s team.

Lu Hui had become a regular on gossip forums, with threads using her name easily garnering hundreds of replies.

At critical moments, analysis posts sprung up like towering buildings.

[In-Depth Investigation: Three Big Reasons Lu Hui Was Excluded from Season Two, The Life of the Hated ‘Huihui’]

This post was also reposted on Weibo, spreading beyond the circle, and the summary was quite simple: Lu Hui had poor relationships with the guests, had fought with them on hot search; had a bad relationship with the director, who had subtly hinted at her; and had a bad relationship with the mentor, even getting into a war of words with Cen Yueze on stage.

In short, everything was bad.

She was bad, everything about her was bad.

Rumors spread so much that they seemed true, but no one came forward to refute them.

Lu Hui wanted to say something, but Lin Tong, fearing she would say something outrageous, took her phone away temporarily.

“Please, can we stay quiet?” Lin Tong folded his hands in a gesture of pleading, “Huihui, we can endure.”

Lu Hui thought it over seriously, “No, I can’t stand it.”

Lin Tong: “…”

He said, “Your role as the third female lead in the xianxia drama is airing tonight. Let’s first build a quiet, little fairy persona, okay?”

This was the first drama she’d aired after becoming popular.

The previous few dramas where she played supporting roles had all failed miserably, and whether she could shed her “King of Flopping” title depended on tonight.