Join a Dating Reality Show with the Aloof, Fishing-Style Richest Man - Chapter 3

“But President Ji, as long as I bring you enough profit or emotional value, you’re okay with participating?”

“Won’t those directors give you a hard time?”

Lu Zhao felt a bit uneasy. If this action truly brought any negative repercussions for Ji Zhaoxi, she’d rather not participate. After all, despite her cold exterior, Ji Zhaoxi was actually a decent person.

Ji Zhaoxi fell silent. Then, in an utterly confused tone, she asked, “In your eyes, do I have no actual power?”

Choked by her words, Lu Zhao looked at her perplexed expression and said weakly, “You’ve only just taken over the group, after all. You probably still have to listen to the opinions of the group’s veterans on many matters.”

Ji Zhaoxi: “…Logically speaking, that makes sense.”

Lu Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. She knew it—could her worries have actually been misplaced?

Ji Zhaoxi: “However, I currently hold absolute authority within the group.”

“Do you know what absolute authority means?” Ji Zhaoxi looked at Lu Zhao, offering a rare, slight curl of her lips. But this smile didn’t feel warm; instead, it felt increasingly cold and sinister.

“It means that as long as I don’t do anything to significantly damage the group’s major interests, what I say goes.”

“As for those veterans you mentioned—if I give them face, they are prominent figures in the group. If I don’t, well…”

A chill ran through Lu Zhao. She had never seen this side of Ji Zhaoxi before. Suddenly witnessing it now made her feel cold to her bones.

Lu Zhao instinctively felt afraid.

“Hmm?” Ji Zhaoxi narrowed her eyes at her, her tone ambiguous. “Are you scared now?”

Lu Zhao’s face stiffened. Meeting Ji Zhaoxi’s gaze, she slowly shook her head.

That gaze was clearly very calm—so calm that Lu Zhao felt it was a pool of hopeless, stagnant water. Yet, at the same time, it made her feel as though a venomous snake was lurking within that water, ready to pounce and bite her throat the moment she let her guard down.

Lu Zhao was bold, but she also cherished her life. She very tactfully dropped the subject and mentally crushed Ji Zhaoxi’s words, swallowing them whole; she wouldn’t breathe a single syllable of them to anyone.

“Try this fish. I prepared it specially; see if it’s still fishy?” Lu Zhao acted as if nothing had happened, placing a piece of fish into Ji Zhaoxi’s bowl with her chopsticks.

Ji Zhaoxi had a sensitive sense of smell and couldn’t stand even a hint of fishiness. Lu Zhao had gone out to eat with her once and ordered a snakehead fish soup; at the time, Ji Zhaoxi’s face had immediately darkened.

It was from that incident that Lu Zhao knew Ji Zhaoxi disliked anything fishy.

Ji Zhaoxi picked up the fish. “I tasted the piece you gave me earlier. It’s not fishy; it’s delicious.”

Lu Zhao beamed, a hint of smugness on her glamorous face. If she had a tail, it would be wagging at the sky.

“Of course! I learned my cooking from my mother, and she’s much better at it than I am.”

Seeing Lu Zhao smile so happily, Ji Zhaoxi lowered her eyes and asked plainly, “Is that so? I wonder if I’ll have the honor of eating a meal cooked by your mother?”

“Uh…”

Lu Zhao suddenly froze. Looking at Ji Zhaoxi’s calm expression, it seemed like a casual remark—one she’d probably forget herself before long.

“Let’s… let’s forget it. I’m afraid my mom will catch me being a ‘simp’.” Lu Zhao instinctively straightened her posture.

Ji Zhaoxi glanced at her. “Isn’t the fact that you’re a simp already trending? Does she even need to ‘catch’ you?”

Lu Zhao: “…”

Sometimes, there was no need to be so blunt in speech or action. Keeping a little back makes life happier for everyone.

“My mom is older; she doesn’t know how to use a smartphone well, so she doesn’t go online. She won’t see it,” Lu Zhao said earnestly.

“Oh.” Ji Zhaoxi withdrew her gaze and continued eating.

Lu Zhao wasn’t sure if she was hallucinating, but she thought she heard a soft scoff just now. But looking at Ji Zhaoxi’s face again, it didn’t seem like that was the case.

Was it really a hallucination?

Full of doubt, Lu Zhao sat back in her seat. While eating, she couldn’t help but cast suspicious glances at Ji Zhaoxi, but the other woman’s expression remained calm from start to finish, without a hint of abnormality.

Lu Zhao: “…”

Fine, maybe it was just her imagination.

After the meal, Lu Zhao tidied everything up, tied the trash bag, and set it aside to take out later.

“Aren’t you leaving yet?” Ji Zhaoxi glanced at her nonchalantly.

A brilliant smile lit up Lu Zhao’s face. She approached Ji Zhaoxi with a flattering air, pulled up a bill on her phone, and held it out with both hands.

“Isn’t today the first of the month? These are the expenses incurred last month while being your simp—ah, no, your pursuer. Please look it over. If there are no issues, I’ll have to trouble you to reimburse me.”

Ji Zhaoxi, who had expected her to say something else: “…”

Forget it, those count as words too.

Taking the phone from her, Ji Zhaoxi’s brow twitched at the sight of the cracked screen. Unable to bear it, she said, “Your phone is in this state and you still won’t replace it?”

The screen had several cracks—it was unclear how it had been dropped. It affected the view slightly, but not much. However, Ji Zhaoxi had a slight touch of OCD and found it hard to look at.

“There’s no need. It doesn’t affect how it works, so there’s no point spending the money,” Lu Zhao said indifferently.

Replacing the phone was out of the question, and even replacing the screen would cost several hundred. This phone had been around for years; it wasn’t worth spending that much to fix.

Ji Zhaoxi: “…”

Taking a deep breath and suppressing the urge to try and fix the screen herself, she began reviewing Lu Zhao’s records.

As expected, Lu Zhao did not disappoint. She had detailed every single stalk of green onion and slice of ginger used in the meals she cooked, followed by the time spent preparing the food, calculated according to the market rate for hourly workers.

Ji Zhaoxi couldn’t be bothered to look at the rest. She scrolled straight to the bottom, saw the total, and immediately transferred the money to Lu Zhao—along with the monthly 50,000 yuan “pursuer hiring fee.”

As soon as the money was sent, a notification chime for incoming funds rang from Lu Zhao’s phone. Lu Zhao’s eyes crinkled into a smile; she thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world.

Taking her phone back, Lu Zhao’s smile grew even more radiant. She said fawningly, “President Ji, would you like me to cook dinner for you tonight as well?”

Ji Zhaoxi: “…No need. Go and have a good rest.”

Visible disappointment flickered across Lu Zhao’s face, but she quickly rallied and said, “President Ji is telling me to rest—I knew it! You do care about me, otherwise you wouldn’t be so concerned!”

Ji Zhaoxi: “…”

“You’re not saying anything, but I know you’re just naturally shy and embarrassed to admit it. It’s okay, though; I understand your heart,” Lu Zhao said with a “look-of-understanding.”

Ji Zhaoxi’s expression began to turn rather indescribable.

“I think I finally understand why a perfectly fine ‘pursuer’ is called a ‘simp’ by netizens.”

“Huh? Why?” Lu Zhao blinked, asking with total sincerity.

Ji Zhaoxi: “…Get out.”

“You got it! I know you’ve been busy all morning and need your rest, President Ji. I won’t stay and disturb you any longer. I’ll come see you again tomorrow~”

Lu Zhao nimbly snatched up the things she had packed earlier, grabbed the trash, and headed out the door.

Only after the sound of the door closing did Ji Zhaoxi’s composure start to crack. She couldn’t help but lean her head on her hand and sigh, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation.

On the other side, after leaving the office, Lu Zhao tossed the trash into a bin and headed back to her rented apartment carrying her thermal containers. Since there was still quite a while before the variety show started filming, there was no need for her to stay glued to Ji Zhaoxi’s side begging her right now.

The most important thing currently was the audition in two days—she had to land that role!

She had never had the chance to play a second or third female lead before; she had to seize this opportunity.

After washing the dishes and chopsticks, Lu Zhao went back to diligently studying the script. Once she finished reading, she added more notes to her character biography and began practicing her acting in front of the mirror.

However, while she was immersed in her performance, she had no idea that the online buzz regarding her “simp” status hadn’t faded at all. Her earlier action of delivering a meal to Ji Zhaoxi had been photographed! It was like pouring a bucket of hot oil onto the fire of her “simping” reputation, causing the heat to soar even higher.

— Hahaha, this sister is truly impressive. She really lives up to the title of a simp. What is a simp? A simp is someone who fears no wind or rain; no matter what the outside world says, the simping continues as usual.

— If I’d had this sister’s spirit back then, I wouldn’t have failed to win over my goddess!

— Bro above me, this sister hasn’t actually won over President Ji either? How can you be so sure you would have succeeded?

— Don’t be so aggressive. The past is the past; he’s just talking big because he missed his chance.

— I… how am I being aggressive? I was just asking a rhetorical question. Forget it, maybe my tone was misunderstood. Sorry, sorry.

— Stop getting off-topic. Don’t you all think this sister’s perseverance is extraordinary? She’s been simping for so long without giving up.

— I think something’s wrong with me. She’s simping so hard, yet I suddenly find her so beautiful. What do I do? Have I become the simp of a simp?

As the topic escalated, Lu Zhao’s Weibo follower count climbed steadily. Her comment section used to be filled with malicious comments like “You’re so good at playing a mistress, you must be one in real life,” but with the influx of new people, those hateful comments vanished without a trace.

The space was now overflowing with various “Simp Quotes,” turning the section into something of a “Barking Convention.”

And Lu Zhao was the “Alpha Bark” of this convention.

What happened next pushed the matter to a fever pitch.

The Best Actress winner who had just claimed her crown and was currently at the height of her fame, Xu Miaomiao, followed Lu Zhao’s Weibo. At the same time, she left a comment:

“Sister, I’m following your lead from now on! The person I like is ignoring me. Check your DMs and give me some tips!”

Support