Chapter 12: My Sweetheart

Bonuses and wages… Assistant Xiao Luo knew how important they were, but everything they earned came from Tong Yue.

The more Tong Yue earned, the more they could make.

But did she really need to keep eating this roast chicken? Xiao Luo frowned, “I can eat it all!”

Xiao Luo was willing to sacrifice her stomach and figure to deal with all that roast chicken. If she gained weight, so be it. Brother Wu didn’t care if the assistant gained weight, as long as it didn’t interfere with taking care of Tong Yue.

“No way!” Tong Yue said playfully, “If you get fat and start panting after a few steps, who’s going to carry my things?”

“…” Xiao Luo bit into the chicken leg fiercely. She had to eat it. After this, she’d just work out more. There was no way she’d let herself become a ball of fat. She was determined to stay Tong Yue’s number one assistant!

The trembling fox spirit, still holding onto its tail, licked its lips. The roast chicken smelled so good.

But she had to hold back. She wasn’t just any ordinary fox—she was a fox spirit!

Tong Yue ignored the fox entirely, deliberately savoring her roast chicken in front of her.

Not only did she eat it, she decided to get some takeaway, ensuring the fox would have to keep smelling that delicious aroma.

The fox was bitter inside. Who on earth was this Tong Yue? Why was she teasing her like this?

Tong Yue had only recently become a god and didn’t know about the Bureau of Monster Management, nor how to handle this fox spirit. So, she decided to let the fox go free.

And that’s how the fox ended up at the zoo.

The fox had thought Tong Yue would send her to the Monster Bureau, but to her shock, she was dropped off at a zoo instead.

Tong Yue didn’t even go in person—she just left the fox at the zoo. Since the fox was a spirit, invisible to humans, it didn’t raise any concerns about a new fox suddenly appearing.

The fox didn’t want to stay in the zoo, but she was trapped and couldn’t escape.

Meanwhile, Lin Qian kept calling for the fox after parting ways with Tong Yue. When the fox didn’t appear, Lin Qian thought it was just being moody.

Back home, Lin Qian started trying to coax the fox out of thin air.

“I’ll buy you some roast chicken later.”

“Come on, let’s take out the phone. We’re going to earn so much faith energy!”

“Don’t be difficult, we’re a team.”

…

Lin Qian kept talking, but grew impatient as time passed. Even so, she didn’t dare show any attitude towards the fox.

“Didn’t we agree? We’ll post some vague photos to boost exposure and attract fans.”

“Fox, I’m doing this for you too. Your wounds haven’t healed yet.”

“Are you tired from being out all day? You should rest and recover.”

…

Eventually, Lin Qian stopped talking altogether, deciding to wait. Maybe the fox would reappear by tomorrow.

In reality, the fox hadn’t heard any of Lin Qian’s words. The fox was filled with regret, realizing she shouldn’t have listened to Lin Qian.

All that talk about how living in the human world meant following human rules, and how scandals were inevitable in the entertainment industry.

Fine, scandals were part of it. But why did she have to mess with someone so powerful?

The fox floated quietly inside the zoo, confined to the area where normal foxes were kept. She couldn’t go any farther.

She had no intention of using her phone to contact Lin Qian either. Lin Qian had gotten her into this mess!

The fox decided to give Lin Qian the cold shoulder for now and figure things out later.

Meanwhile, Tong Yue happily went home. She was eager to see her contract husband and show off their love in front of the Meng family.

Her husband was particularly filial, and Tong Yue figured if the big boss was generous, she’d gladly maintain this contract marriage.

As for Lin Qian, Tong Yue thought about the plot from the book. How could the big boss ever fall for someone as conniving as her?

It was a mystery to Tong Yue. Surely, the big boss had better taste. Had they even met yet? Tong Yue felt like she was preemptively protecting the big boss’s “sweetheart.”

When Meng Yuqi returned home after a long day, he was looking forward to seeing the smile of the person he loved.

And he did see it—but for some reason, it didn’t make him happy.

Tong Yue: Big Boss, your future sweetheart tried to scam me today, and I caught her fox tail!

Meng Yuqi looked at the pride on Tong Yue’s face, thinking if she had a tail, it would probably be wagging sky-high right now.

Future sweetheart?

Meng Yuqi was confused. His sweetheart was right in front of him—Tong Yue was the only one.

“My dear, there’s a banquet tomorrow. Please go with me,” Meng Yuqi whispered into Tong Yue’s ear. “Let’s show everyone who my real sweetheart is.”

Tong Yue thought: No, your sweetheart isn’t me. Men’s words—nothing but lies.

Tong Yue found this contract marriage increasingly challenging. Just look at Meng Yuqi, always so ambiguous.

If she didn’t know this was purely a contractual arrangement, she might have already fallen for him.

Blushing and feeling her face heat up—that was just a natural reaction, hard to control.

Tong Yue reminded herself that the most important thing was to keep her heart in check: deities couldn’t fall in love so easily.

“Alright,” Tong Yue nodded. “No problem, but you’re paying for the dress and jewelry!”

She reassured herself, This is great. I get free gifts—what a win.

Those dresses and jewelry were worth a lot, and the big boss usually just gave them to her rather than asking for them back.

The boss was so wealthy, there was no way he’d ask her to return them. Plus, it wouldn’t be proper to give something she wore to his actual sweetheart. If his future sweetheart found out, she’d surely be furious.

Oh, that poor future sweetheart of his, Lin Qian, must be having a tough time.

Lin Qian? Meng Yuqi overheard Tong Yue’s thoughts and caught the name. What’s this about a future sweetheart named Lin Qian?

That minor celebrity who used Tong Yue as a stepping stone? The one who just landed the lead role in Director Qin’s film Moonlight?

Meng Yuqi remembered the name well. She had wronged his beloved Tong Yue, and he still hadn’t gotten his revenge on her.

“Same as always,” Meng Yuqi said, thinking that Lin Qian was nothing but trouble. There was no way he’d ever treat her kindly. He couldn’t understand why Tong Yue thought that.

Had Lin Qian said something to Tong Yue?

Meng Yuqi frowned. From childhood to now, the only woman he had ever had feelings for was Tong Yue. There was no way he’d fall for anyone else.

“Thanks,” Tong Yue hugged Meng Yuqi’s arm, batting her eyes playfully with a smile on her face. “I love how generous you are.”

Meng Yuqi, thinking of his beloved, believed she deserved to be pampered and shown off more often. He didn’t want people thinking they were distant or had secretly divorced.

Divorce? No way. He wanted to maintain this contract marriage. After all, even though it was contractual, they had a legal marriage certificate. He wasn’t stupid enough to sign a divorce agreement beforehand. No chance he would give in that easily.

But Tong Yue had no idea what Meng Yuqi was thinking. She wasn’t a character from a novel.

She was born and raised in this world. If she hadn’t become a deity, she wouldn’t even know her life was part of a story.

To others, it might be just a novel, but to her, it was a real, living world.

When Mrs. Meng spotted her son and daughter-in-law being so affectionate from afar, she thought it was a good sign. The sooner they were happy together, the sooner she could hold a grandchild.

At the zoo, the fox’s spirit form had finally been noticed by the zoo’s supernatural staff. But they couldn’t move the fox, so they had no choice but to contact the Bureau of Monster Management.

The Bureau’s staff arrived quickly, highly skilled in their abilities.

However, they still couldn’t move the fox or get it out of the zoo.

“I didn’t break the law!” the fox insisted. “I was just injured, so I can only maintain my spirit form temporarily.”

Damn it, she thought. She knew this would happen. She had been spotted by other supernatural beings, and now the Bureau staff was involved.

Even though she was in spirit form, the Bureau staff still had to ask questions and take down her details.

“Hu Jiu,” the fox reported her name. She wasn’t named Hu Jiu because she was ninth in line but because she dreamed of having nine tails and becoming a nine-tailed fox.

In truth, she was just a wild fox who had cultivated to become a spirit. She wasn’t from the noble nine-tailed fox clan. If she were, she wouldn’t be in this situation, struggling for resources.

If she were a nine-tailed fox, maybe she could even take on Tong Yue.

Driven by the belief that if she couldn’t have a good life, no one else should either, Hu Jiu brought up Tong Yue. She was curious about what kind of powerful being Tong Yue was, who could grab her tail yet didn’t send her to the Bureau, but instead tossed her into the zoo.

Hu Jiu didn’t see being sent to the zoo as an insult. Being sent to the Bureau would be far worse. Even if she hadn’t committed a crime, she was definitely walking the line of breaking their laws.

“Tong Yue?” The Bureau staff recognized the name—Tong Yue, the young actress who had won the Best Actress award. “The actress?”

“Yes, that’s her!” Hu Jiu said firmly. “You have to do something. I didn’t break the law! At worst, I was just playing paparazzi. She can’t treat me like this.”

Hu Jiu was determined to get out of the zoo. She still had to find Lin Qian. Once she’d made her choice, she couldn’t switch to someone else. Besides, Lin Qian had been reborn and could predict the future, making everything much easier.

Thanks to Hu Jiu’s complaint, the Bureau staff took meticulous notes. They needed to find Tong Yue.

Their system had no information on Tong Yue, which meant she hadn’t registered with the Bureau. Any supernatural being operating in the country had to register. Regardless of her status as an actress, they had to find her.

Meanwhile, Tong Yue was laughing and chatting with Meng Yuqi. “People are so boring. Just because we weren’t holding hands, they think we’re getting divorced?”

Tong Yue (thinking): Well, we are planning to divorce. Holding hands won’t change that.

“Shall we practice?” Meng Yuqi raised an eyebrow. They were already back home, and if they hadn’t been, Tong Yue wouldn’t have shared how affectionate they needed to appear at tomorrow’s banquet.

Why worry about affection limits? In front of a crowd, it’s not like he could do anything more than hold her hand or kiss her. Those were very minimal gestures—no way she’d get pregnant from that! How much more reserved could it be?