Join a Dating Reality Show with the Aloof, Fishing-Style Richest Man - Chapter 27.1

What does this mean?

Lu Zhao’s brain was nearly fried by Xu Miaomiao’s single sentence. She looked at Ji Zhaoxi, went silent for a second, and asked: “Do you know Xu Miaomiao?”

The light in Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes flickered behind her lenses. She then replied in a very flat voice: “I know her. Her family used to live next door to mine.”

Lu Zhao: “…”

Suddenly, there was a strange sense of fate…

Lu Zhao rubbed her forehead to sort out her thoughts and then asked: “Xu Miaomiao said you sent her foster sister on a business trip. Do you know who her foster sister is?”

Lu Zhao recalled that she hadn’t noticed anyone named Xu in Ji Zhaoxi’s office. Could it be someone from another department and not Ji Zhaoxi’s office?

“I know,” Ji Zhaoxi said honestly.

“Who is it!” Lu Zhao’s voice rose. She had always wanted to ask Xu Miaomiao who her foster sister was, but she had held back, thinking she wouldn’t recognize the person anyway.

But now that this person was in Ji Zhaoxi’s company, her curiosity was piqued again!

“Don’t you know her?” Ji Zhaoxi adjusted her glasses. “It’s Zhou Jiayan.”

Lu Zhao’s eyes widened. “Zhou Jiayan?!”

“Doesn’t her surname start with Zhou?”

Ji Zhaoxi: “She was only raised in the Xu family; she didn’t enter their household register or change her name.”

Lu Zhao: “…”

She had fallen into a common-sense trap, subconsciously assuming that since she was Xu Miaomiao’s foster sister, she would share the Xu family name…

“Then can I ask, why did you send her on a business trip?” Lu Zhao asked sincerely.

The air went quiet for about two seconds. Ji Zhaoxi adjusted her glasses again and said in a low voice: “Business needs required her to travel. There are so many sudden situations at work; how could I control that?”

“Is that so?” Lu Zhao scratched her head. Although she vaguely felt something was a bit off, she had never truly experienced a corporate workplace. Even though she felt something wasn’t quite right, she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, so she didn’t dwell on it.

Lu Zhao sent a message to Xu Miaomiao telling her to take good care of her leg. Once it healed, she wouldn’t just be able to chase after Zhou Jiayan, but could also go home and continue working on her parents’ mindset.

Putting down her phone to continue her work, Ji Zhaoxi—standing behind her—secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If Zhou Jiayan hadn’t gone on this trip, Ji Zhaoxi would have had to go herself.

By comparison, it was better to let Zhou Jiayan go. After all, wasn’t she trying to avoid Xu Miaomiao right now? Ji Zhaoxi felt she was clearly helping her!

Ji Zhaoxi convinced herself of this, feeling completely guilt-free.

Meanwhile, after Xu Miaomiao put down her phone and looked at her leg in a sling, she got angrier the more she thought about it. She wished there were a punching bag in front of her!

“My dear girl, please stop making a fuss. You have no idea what they’re saying about you online right now,” Sister Zhao said, feeling exhausted. Meanwhile, she was peeling an apple, which looked pitted and uneven—a clear sign of poor skill.

“Let them say whatever they want; it doesn’t affect me anyway,” Xu Miaomiao snorted. Having seen so many storms over the years, how could she be scared by a few comments online?

Sister Zhao sighed melancholically. “Do you know what they’re calling you online? They say you and Lu Zhao are the ‘Licking Dog Duo.’ They say the two of you secretly cheer each other on and shout slogans about how you can definitely succeed!”

Mentioning this made Sister Zhao feel a bit embarrassed. A Best Actress winner who had just received such a prestigious award now seemed a bit slow-witted and foolish in the eyes of netizens.

“Hmm…” Xu Miaomiao pondered, her delicate, innocent face looking even more guileless. “The two of us do exchange experiences in private, but there are absolutely no slogans! And even if there were, they wouldn’t be such trashy slogans!”

At this thought, she became excited. “I’ll talk to Lu Zhao later and see what kind of slogan we should pick. It has to be a very cool one!”

Sister Zhao opened her mouth but ultimately found nothing to say, letting out a long sigh instead.

Because of Xu Miaomiao, Sister Zhao felt she couldn’t hold her head up in the circle of talent managers. Fortunately, she had Lu Zhao’s manager, Sister Li, for company.

“By the way, isn’t my new movie still missing a second female lead? I think Lu Zhao’s image fits perfectly. Let her go!” Xu Miaomiao said.

Sister Zhao nodded. “That works. I’ve seen her acting; her skills are decent. Plus, she’s now under Ji’s Entertainment, so it’s fine to help her along.”

Xu Miaomiao said no more. Sister Zhao would handle the follow-up. She picked up her phone to discuss slogans with Lu Zhao.

Sister Zhao watched her and shook her head helplessly but didn’t say much. Xu Miaomiao was much younger than her, and with her likeable personality, Sister Zhao had always treated her like a sister. As long as she didn’t do anything too excessive, she wouldn’t say too much.

After dinner was ready, and a special meal had been made for the cat, Tangyuan, the two sat across from each other at the dining table. Ji Zhaoxi looked up at Lu Zhao, the corners of her lips curling up slightly.

Compared to before, Lu Zhao was becoming more and more relaxed in her presence. This was a good sign.

“By the way, I’m joining the film crew in two days. Are you going to have someone else look after Tangyuan, or will you do it yourself?” Lu Zhao looked up at her.

Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes immediately shifted away, and her whole body tensed for a moment. She said: “My work schedule is manageable for now, so I’ll take care of him myself.”

Lu Zhao nodded, then said pitifully: “Then you have to video call me every night. I want to see Tangyuan!”

Ji Zhaoxi: “…Just for that?”

“I’ll miss him a lot, okay!” Lu Zhao said indignantly. But seeing Ji Zhaoxi’s somewhat cold expression, she hesitated. Thinking about it, video calling every night did seem a bit… ambiguous.

“Well, if not calls, then just send me videos of Tangyuan every now and then.”

Ji Zhaoxi said expressionlessly: “…I’ll call you.”

Lu Zhao immediately beamed.

With the agreement settled, Lu Zhao felt much more at ease. After finishing her meal, she went online and saw a name she hadn’t expected.

Qiao Yang’s name was actually trending.

Lu Zhao immediately had a bad feeling. When she clicked on the hashtag, she nearly blacked out.

Ji Zhaoxi noticed the change in her expression and asked what was wrong.

“Go online and see for yourself,” Lu Zhao said in a very dry voice, almost squeezing the words through her teeth.

Ji Zhaoxi frowned and went online as suggested. She saw the word “Explosive” next to Qiao Yang’s name.

Normally, unless Qiao Yang committed a crime, it was unlikely he would trend. But there he was, and the keyword associated with him was Lu Zhao’s name…

The moment she saw Qiao Yang’s name, Ji Zhaoxi’s gaze darkened. Looking closer, she realized why Qiao Yang was at the center of the storm.

He had officially announced that he would be joining the dating show More Than Lovers, and his purpose for participating was Lu Zhao.

Lu Zhao was furious when she saw the news. Hadn’t she made herself clear enough last time? Why was he still haunting her like a ghost!

She had a headache. If they ended up on the same show, it would be an absolute nightmare! Moreover, with his announcement, his identity had been exposed: a young master of a wealthy family. Such a title was enough to draw a massive crowd of onlookers. If she didn’t show him enough respect on the show, she would likely be attacked by the public.

“Does he have any ex-girlfriends?” Ji Zhaoxi suddenly asked.

“Huh?” Lu Zhao looked at her blankly, not understanding why she would ask something seemingly irrelevant.

“If he has ex-girlfriends, then invite them all to join the show as well. Invite as many as there are,” Ji Zhaoxi said with a serious face.

Lu Zhao’s eyes widened slowly. She looked at her as if seeing her for the first time and silently gave her a thumbs-up. As expected of a shrewd capitalist; she actually came up with such a method.

“I admit your method is excellent, but unfortunately, he doesn’t have any ex-girlfriends,” Lu Zhao said regretfully. If Qiao Yang really had ex-girlfriends, what a magnificent “crematorium” scene it would be!

Ji Zhaoxi was a bit disappointed, but then she frowned as she realized something: “So, you are his first love?”

Ji Zhaoxi sounded a bit stifled when she said this. It made sense now why Qiao Yang was relentlessly pursuing Lu Zhao; it was a “first love” complex.

Lu Zhao nodded solemnly. “But I must state for the record, this is one-sided. I have never responded to him!”

Men would only slow down the speed at which she made money.

Ji Zhaoxi hummed in response and continued looking at the news. Then, her expression became complicated.

“Qiao Yang’s older sister also officially announced she’s joining the show.”

“Huh?” Lu Zhao hurried to check the news, her expression matching Ji Zhaoxi’s. “Are they… going on the show for a family reunion?”

Ji Zhaoxi: “…”

She said no more, but the atmosphere around her was a bit heavy.

Meanwhile, the production team was grinning from ear to ear at the online buzz. With such high topics of conversation before filming even started, they didn’t have to worry about the show not being a hit.

Seeing the popularity, the production team called an emergency meeting to discuss the show’s format, wanting to make it even more eye-catching.

Sister Li had obviously seen the news as well. She sent Lu Zhao a row of candle emojis, her schadenfreude being far too obvious!

Perhaps because the way Lu Zhao became famous was by “licking” (pursuing) others, compared to other celebrities, the typical “dating scandal” house-collapsing event wouldn’t happen to her. She already lived in the ruins.

Since there was no concern about her not being allowed to date, the company and Sister Li didn’t care at all about her involvements with men or women online…

The company didn’t care, and the small number of fans who might have objections couldn’t make much of a wave. After all, most of Lu Zhao’s subsequent fans came for the “licking dog” topic.

Lu Zhao sighed faintly and murmured: “Sometimes, being too excellent is a burden.”

Hearing this, Ji Zhaoxi: “…”

She couldn’t understand how Lu Zhao could still be so narcissistic at a time like this.

Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes flickered, and she sent a message to Xu Miaomiao.

Xu Miaomiao replied quickly.

Xu Miaomiao: I have someone I like, so why would I go on a dating show?

She was indeed extremely puzzled by this. Wouldn’t it be better to use that time to chase Zhou Jiayan?

Ji Zhaoxi: If you participate, I will make Jiayan participate as well. Wouldn’t it be great to pursue her openly on the show then?

Xu Miaomiao: ! Xu Miaomiao: Are you serious?! Xu Miaomiao: Since when were you such a good person!

Ji Zhaoxi’s face darkened for a moment when she saw the last sentence.

Ji Zhaoxi: Just tell me if you want to participate or not.

Xu Miaomiao: Yes! I’ll have Sister Zhao contact the production team immediately! Xu Miaomiao: I’m telling you, you better keep your word! Otherwise, I’ll go hang myself at your front door!

Ji Zhaoxi: “…”

Without replying to the idiot, Ji Zhaoxi felt much more at ease about the upcoming show. Since she wasn’t going to have a good time, then naturally, no one should.

The production team, upon learning that the newly crowned Best Actress Xu Miaomiao was joining, was nearly moved to tears of joy! It would be against the laws of nature if this show didn’t become a hit! Ever since the official announcement of Lu Zhao and Ji Zhaoxi joining together, people proactively reaching out to join the program had been coming in waves!

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