Chapter 42: Teasing

Lu Hui didn’t know if the entertainment industry was doomed, but she was definitely about to be.

The day after Xu Qin learned that Lu Hui had finished recording the show and returned home, she couldn’t wait to bring up the marriage agreement with Yu Mandong.

“I’ve met Yu Mandong twice. He’s older, but he truly likes you and is sincere about marrying you,” Xu Qin said. She wanted to rise through the ranks and get into a prestigious family, not stay as an insignificant secondary wife on the sidelines. Yu Mandong was influential in both the underworld and the upper echelons. His name alone made people show respect, and there were many who wanted to marry him.

Although Xu Qin didn’t know what Yu Mandong saw in her daughter, she didn’t care. What mattered was his background, power, and status.

Xu Qin didn’t think Lu Hui had any reason to refuse. This marriage was more than enough for her, and it wasn’t unfair.

She sighed, “Your life is better than mine. Not everyone can marry Yu Mandong. So many people are desperate to marry him.”

Lu Hui calmly listened and didn’t retaliate. After her mother finished speaking, she narrowed her eyes and smiled, replying in a half-hearted way, “Since you’re so satisfied with Yu Mandong, why don’t you divorce Dad and marry him?”

Xu Qin’s face turned red with anger, her nostrils flaring. She poked Lu Hui’s forehead, “What are you saying!”

Lu Hui raised a sincere smile, “Mom, I’m not joking. I’m just suggesting this because I see how much you like him.”

Xu Qin’s hand trembled, her finger pointing at Lu Hui for a long time. She glared at her, almost choking on her anger, but couldn’t even curse.

This child was becoming more and more unruly!

It wasn’t just the two of them in the living room; Sheng Zhaoming and Sheng Lian were there as well.

Sheng Lian didn’t care much about anything, holding her phone like a boyfriend, indifferent to the world around her. A typical pampered homebody.

Sheng Zhaoming couldn’t help but laugh. For some unknown reason, he added fuel to the fire and said slyly, “Xu Aunty, I think Lu Hui’s idea isn’t bad. It’s a good suggestion.”

Xu Qin’s mouth twisted into a cold smile. Usually, she tolerated her stepson, never holding grudges, but today she was really angry, “I didn’t know that you two were so close now.”

Sheng Zhaoming stretched his long legs casually, exuding an air of a wealthy young master. He squinted with a smile that didn’t reveal his true feelings, “There are many things in this family that you don’t know. There are also many things you have no control over. No need to make a big deal out of it.”

His words left Xu Qin with no face at all.

Xu Qin’s expression was particularly lively as she opened her mouth to speak, but Sheng Zhaoming interrupted again, “Xu Aunty, it’s been over a hundred years since the Qing Dynasty fell. Feudal thinking really isn’t good.”

Xu Qin took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but her face was still ugly. She stood up, her steps unsteady, “I’ll discuss this matter with your father.”

Lu Hui feigned deafness.

Xu Qin believed she wasn’t wrong in this matter; she was just trying to do what was best for Lu Hui. Her daughter was still young and yearned for free love, but she didn’t understand that love didn’t exist in the real world.

Xu Qin had been a famous school beauty back in the day, with countless pursuers. She eventually married Lu Hui’s father, a poor teacher, and suffered through life’s hardships.

What was love? No one would die without it, but no money meant you couldn’t live.

Lu Hui didn’t understand now, but she would be grateful in the future.

After Xu Qin stormed off, Sheng Zhaoming kicked Lu Hui’s calf lightly, as if it were only natural, “Peel an orange for me.”

Lu Hui was irritated by the light kick and snapped, “Why don’t you use your own hands?”

Sheng Zhaoming kicked her again, “Lu, use some conscience. Who helped you just now?” He closed his eyes, sitting with a posture even grander than a master, “Hurry up.”

Lu Hui picked a sweet-looking orange from the fruit tray, peeled it, and then ate it, breaking off the segments one by one.

“Give me half.”

“Peel it yourself.”

“Be a bit more polite to your brother, you’re such an ungrateful person who burns bridges after crossing them,” Sheng Zhaoming said as he sat up from the sofa, snatched the remaining half of the orange from her hand, and stuffed it into his mouth. “Don’t blame me for not reminding you, be careful, when your mom forces you into marriage, I won’t stoop so low to help you.”

Lu Hui: “I wasn’t counting on you, Mr. Sheng, and besides, you can’t help me anyway.”

“Who do you think you’re looking down on?”

Lu Hui gave him a “do I even need to ask” look. The two of them couldn’t stop bickering and were about to start another argument.

After finishing the last piece of the orange, Sheng Zhaoming sneered, “I was just being nosy. I see you’re not really opposed to marrying that old man who’s a bit handicapped. You really like rich, older men, huh? Looks like I’ve ruined your chances.”

Lu Hui had no idea what was wrong with him; his words were harsh and unpleasant.

Sheng Zhaoming was incredibly arrogant, and while it was fine to retort back, completely ignoring him would make him abandon his composure and dignity, throwing out a lot of unpleasant words.

“Playing hard to get is nothing new for you. But being a high-society lady isn’t so easy. Using your looks to please people won’t last long, you get it?”

Lu Hui found him annoying, and really, she couldn’t stand staying in the living room any longer. She tossed a line back, “Are you Xiang Lin’s wife? Always blabbering.”

Sheng Zhaoming sneered, “Just trying to give you some advice.”

Lu Hui didn’t appreciate it, “Oh.”

Sheng Lian took off her headphones and noticed they were arguing. Most of the time, she didn’t really care about what they were fighting about. So, she continued to play on her phone. A few seconds later, she suddenly remembered something important and tugged on her brother’s finger. “Bro, it’s almost 7:30, tonight’s ‘Feng Mo Seeking Immortality’ is about to air.”

Sheng Zhaoming’s face immediately turned red, and he jumped up like his eyebrows were on fire. “What does that have to do with me?”

Sheng Lian was blunt, “You watch it every night, but you won’t let me stream my idol’s concert.”

“Shut your mouth.”

Although Sheng Zhaoming covered Sheng Lian’s mouth, Lu Hui still heard everything.

She smiled and leaned forward, squinting her eyes at Sheng Zhaoming. “So you’re watching my drama lately.”

“Don’t spread rumors, understand?” Sheng Zhaoming stubbornly denied it.

Lu Hui smiled cheekily, “I understand now. You’re anxious about me getting married because you’re my fan.”

It seemed like she had hit a nerve. Sheng Zhaoming’s face darkened. “I’m not watching you. I’m watching Yu Li, okay?”

In the whole drama, the only actors Sheng Zhaoming knew were Yu Li and her, and now he had to bring up Yu Li’s name.

Lu Hui said, “Yu Li’s a guy.”

Sheng Zhaoming arrogantly replied, “So what? I like men.”

Lu Hui couldn’t help but clap for him. “Of course, go ahead. Remember to send me an invite when the good news comes.”

Damn.

She had really nailed it.

Sheng Zhaoming’s face turned cold. “Are you leaving or should I?”

When it came to verbal sparring, Lu Hui was unbeatable. She stood up. “I’m going upstairs to rest. Remember to enjoy the drama, bro.”

Sheng Zhaoming threw the remote on the floor. A few minutes later, after Lu Hui disappeared around the corner, he couldn’t resist and picked the remote up again, put the batteries in, and changed the channel.

Tonight’s episode was about to reach the scene where the male lead forces the female supporting character to death, and the ratings shot up a bit.

“Feng Mo Seeking Immortality” had already reached the fourth-highest viewership rating in the history of the network, and with over twenty episodes still to air, it was sure to break records.

The character Lu Hui played, Qing Ji, had surpassed the female lead in popularity and become the most beloved character of the moment.

Every rising star had to go through a storm of criticism.

Lately, all the black rumors about Lu Hui were being dug up. Her fans did what they could to clear things up, and when it was time to take the blame, they accepted it without a fight—after all, arguing just made it worse.

Drama fans were more concerned about the plot, and the critiques never stopped.

“Promise me, they can’t cut out Qing Ji’s scenes, please, ah!”

“The male lead is really a bit ungrateful.”

“Please, show some behind-the-scenes of our little Hui Xiang, ball ball you.”

“Little Hui Xiang is the best. Did you see that? These last few episodes, her acting really slapped the critics in the face.”

It was no longer fashionable to have the weak, naive female lead. Qing Ji’s passionate love, her despair when left to die, and her deep emotional gaze with the male lead made viewers cry, fall in love, and feel everything in between.

The staff at the TV station watched the skyrocketing ratings with wide grins, practically floating. They knew Lu Hui’s popularity was soaring, and they planned to invite her back for an interview again—this time, nothing like last time would happen.

They also released some behind-the-scenes footage of her and Yu Li joking around on set.

Fans of the CP (couple pairing) were living off these sweet moments, watching them day and night, getting more addicted to the sweetness.

Of course, some of Yu Li’s female fans were displeased with the production team’s actions, but their voices were too weak and were soon drowned out.

Lu Hui’s future resources were visibly improving, and the gossip posts about her on forums were now at the hot level.

→ [Everyone knows the male lead would never hype up a CP, so the Shen-Lu CP must have been created by Lu Hui’s team. She’s starting to suck blood now.]

→ [The drama is just about to blow up, is she in such a hurry? Let me dig up her previous black rumors.]

→ [She’s disgusting, trying to go for the elegant, direct woman persona. Do we all forget the nasty things she did in the past? What a disgrace.]

→ [Prediction: welcome to leave a comment. This drama’s popularity will drop due to her antics. It will explode in our dreams.]

This is the aftermath of being both hated and loved. Four out of the top ten threads on the forum were all related to Lu Hui.

Recently, Lu Hui could no longer slack off. The production team and the TV station were preparing a celebration banquet, and even the mischievous kid’s team was organizing a dinner for the main creators to help everyone get more familiar with each other.

Lu Hui didn’t understand why Cen Yueze, as the guardian, felt the need to join in. At first, there weren’t many people in the private room, and the director asked them to order food before leaning in with curiosity to ask, “So what happened with you and Yu Mandong the other day?”

“He left.”

“A few days ago, Mr. Yu said he would sponsor our program.”

Lu Hui paused for a second, the word “annoyed” clearly written across her face.

The director looked at her intently, “Could he be doing it for you?”

Lu Hui refused to admit it, “No, he’s doing it as charity, trying to atone for his sins.”

The director found that hard to believe. He practically considered Lu Hui a good buddy, “I’m not wrong to invite you, the god of wealth!”

Lu Hui fell silent, not wanting to discuss Yu Mandong, that unpredictable old man. She lowered her head and focused on the menu.

Lu Hui ordered several of her favorite Sichuan dishes. Sitting across from her, Cen Yueze couldn’t be bothered to pick up the chopsticks, only willing to speak, “Order me some oysters.”

With a tail lifted to the sky.

Lu Hui thought to herself, did she owe him something?!

She held it in, closing the menu and placing it beside her, nodding while saying, “I understand, man’s fuel station.”

“…” Cen Yueze squinted his eyes, not backing down, “The cheap one is you.”

Teasing, right?

Lu Hui took a few seconds to realize she had been pranked. Although she was internally flustered, her face remained neutral as she said, “I’m not that bad.”

The director: “…”

Ning Jiao: “…”