Join a Dating Reality Show with the Aloof, Fishing-Style Richest Man - Chapter 30.1

When Lu Zhao made this suggestion, she was genuinely serious. She was even mentally reviewing her own moves for pursuing people, filtering which methods would work best on the person Ji Zhaoxi liked.

Ji Zhaoxi: “…”

Her expression was indifferent. “You certainly have a lot of side businesses.”

Lu Zhao chuckled twice and was about to praise herself when she suddenly realized—didn’t Ji Zhaoxi’s words sound a bit sarcastic?

Could it be that she didn’t want Lu Zhao to know who she liked, and didn’t want her help in strategizing?

“If you don’t need it, you don’t need it,” Lu Zhao cleared her throat. “Even if you don’t need me as a wingman, I’ve been pursuing you for all these years—haven’t you learned a single trick?!”

Lu Zhao felt that Ji Zhaoxi might be too rigid. She clearly had someone she liked, yet she wouldn’t learn from the walking textbook right in front of her! She deserved to be single!

“But wait, that’s not right!” Lu Zhao scratched her head. “If you already have someone you like, why are you still hiring me to pursue you?”

If the person she liked found out, wouldn’t there be a massive misunderstanding?

Ji Zhaoxi: “…I’ve never pursued anyone. To understand the methods of pursuit, one naturally has to be pursued first to understand it better.”

“I get it!” Lu Zhao said with a look of realization. “It’s like being a ‘top’ or a ‘bottom’; often the ones with the best technique are the ones who have been the ‘bottom’ more often! Because they understand exactly which spots are the most stimulating!”

After saying this, Lu Zhao shook her head with a sigh. It was a pity Ji Zhaoxi was so wooden; three years and she still hadn’t learned how to woo someone. Though, looking at her, she didn’t seem to be in a rush.

Ji Zhaoxi’s hand tightened slightly on Tangyuan (the cat). Tangyuan immediately broke free, jumped down from her arms, and meowed at her!

It looked like an accusation.

Ji Zhaoxi snapped out of it, looking down to hide the bashfulness in her eyes. She picked Tangyuan up again and whispered an apology.

Lu Zhao didn’t notice anything unusual and asked curiously, “Since you don’t seem worried, are you giving up the chase? Are you just going to put them on a pedestal as your ‘White Moonlight’?”

Ji Zhaoxi gritted her teeth slightly. “…It’s useless even if I try. She’s busy chasing someone else right now!”

Her chest heaved a bit more heavily; she felt the air in the room was getting stifling.

Lu Zhao was dumbfounded. “Is she blind?!”

She found it unbelievable. With Ji Zhaoxi liking her, she actually couldn’t see Ji Zhaoxi’s worth? Does this person need an eye exam?

Ji Zhaoxi only gave a cold laugh.

“Then… would you consider marrying someone other than that person?” Lu Zhao tested the waters cautiously.

“No!” Ji Zhaoxi refused flatly. Her eyes were fixed on the screen, her voice soft, yet the strength behind it was striking.

“It can only be her. It will only be her!”

Lu Zhao stared blankly at Ji Zhaoxi, unable to fathom her psychology. She was clearly devoted to this person, yet she showed no action.

Whatever. Why should a small employee worry about the boss’s affairs? Keeping her current job was the most important thing.

According to Ji Zhaoxi, the rumors about her and “Second Young Master Xu” were likely just that—rumors. Or rather, not necessarily rumors, since Sister Li mentioned the Chairman went to the group specifically to discuss it.

This meant Ji Zhaoxi’s father and the Xu family likely intended to form a marriage alliance, but Ji Zhaoxi was refusing?

Lu Zhao rubbed her chin in thought. She wondered if she should do something—something that could help Ji Zhaoxi solve this trouble while ensuring her own job continued.

After all, as Sister Li said, if Ji Zhaoxi really got married, Lu Zhao couldn’t keep acting like her “simp” anymore. The public didn’t know about their financial arrangement; she would just be cursed at for being a homewrecker.

If the marriage partner were the person Ji Zhaoxi actually liked, losing the job would be a pity but acceptable. Since it wasn’t, and she didn’t want to marry, then no one was allowed to ruin Lu Zhao’s job!

Lu Zhao screamed internally—she had to do something!

“What are you thinking about?” Ji Zhaoxi frowned slightly. The girl’s eyes had suddenly gone vacant; one might think she was possessed.

Lu Zhao snapped back. “Oh, just wondering how I’ll sleep tonight without Tangyuan.”

Her true thoughts naturally couldn’t be told to Ji Zhaoxi. Such things were better kept secret.

Ji Zhaoxi glanced at her straight back, closed her eyes slightly, and said nothing more.

For the rest of the time, Lu Zhao mostly interacted with Tangyuan. Clearly, Tangyuan missed her too, repeatedly reaching out its paws toward the screen, confused as to why it couldn’t touch her.

Watching this, Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes narrowed slightly, and her lips curled up. Her mood brightened considerably.

By the time they hung up, it was nearly 11 PM. Ji Zhaoxi took Tangyuan to wash up, then placed the cat on her bed. As she prepared to lie down, she saw a few cat hairs on the sheets. Her expression flickered with internal conflict. Finally, she leaned over, picked them up one by one, tossed them in the trash, and then quickly closed her eyes and climbed into bed, lying down next to Tangyuan.

“Meow~”

Tangyuan called out, stepping unsteadily across the bed to get closer to Ji Zhaoxi, eventually resting its head on her chest before settling down.

Ji Zhaoxi’s body went stiff the moment the cat leaned on her. Eventually, thinking of her future plans, she forced herself to adapt, slowly relaxing her body and trying to fall asleep.

Meanwhile, Lu Zhao went over her script one more time after the call ended before finally going to sleep.

“Cut!”

“Excellent! That’s a wrap!”

The director looked at the scene with satisfaction and signaled to Lu Zhao as she walked over. “Not bad, you’ve improved. Have you been refining your ‘simp’ skills at home these past few days?”

Lu Zhao: “…”

That was unnecessary.

However, she was happy to be praised for her acting.

Today’s scenes mostly focused on the leads. Lu Zhao had fewer scenes, so she was done for the day after this final take. She didn’t leave immediately, though, staying behind to observe the others.

The female lead, Fan Yaxuan, was decent—her acting was standard with the occasional brilliant moment. But by comparison, the male lead was a disaster. He hadn’t even finished memorizing his lines! Not to mention his stiff acting.

Seeing this, Lu Zhao propped her chin in her hands and sighed. Having a handsome face really was a blessing; no matter how terrible the acting, one could still be a top star with thousands of fans calling him “oppa.”

At that moment, Sister Li leaned in and whispered, “Is what you said about Fan Yaxuan wanting to leave her agency true?”

“True as can be! I didn’t mean to, but I overheard her arguing with her manager on the phone. They sounded like they’d completely fallen out and she wasn’t planning to renew.”

“Haven’t you noticed the rumors about her appearing online lately? And how many of her resources are being swapped out?”

Sister Li nodded, noting she had seen it too, but then her brow furrowed in thought. “If she really breaks away, I wonder which company she wants to go to.”

She spoke softly, but Lu Zhao could hear the interest in her voice. After all, Sister Li currently only had Lu Zhao as an artist; it would be good to sign a few more.

“If you’re interested, why care which company she wants to go to? Why not just try to win her over yourself?” Lu Zhao offered an innocent-looking smile, but her tone was persuasive. “You’re in the same production right now. Why not take advantage of the proximity?”

“Besides, I think she’s quite nice. I don’t mind sharing you with her~”

Sister Li rolled her eyes at Lu Zhao’s last comment, but she clearly took the advice to heart.

Just as she was pondering how to approach Fan Yaxuan, Lu Zhao nudged her with an elbow.

“…What?”

Lu Zhao’s face was covered in a fawning smile. A stunningly beautiful face was being used to make such a sycophantic expression—anyone seeing it would say she was wasting her looks!

“Sister Li, do you have a way to set up a meeting with Second Young Master Xu?”

“Xu Er?” Hearing the name, Sister Li immediately became alert, taking a step back to distance herself from Lu Zhao. “What are you planning?”

“I’m not planning anything!” Lu Zhao looked at her movement with an aggrieved expression. Was that step away really necessary?

“I just want to see what kind of person is worthy of a marriage alliance with President Ji. Otherwise, I won’t be able to accept it!”

Lu Zhao put on a pained look, as if she were a truly heartbroken person who couldn’t understand where she fell short and desperately needed to see her rival.

Sister Li: “…”

Her heart softened a bit. She had known Lu Zhao for a long time, and this was the first time she had seen her so devoted to someone.

“I don’t have a lead, but Sister Zhang should.” Zhang Yutong was the ace manager Ji Zhaoxi had assigned to help Sister Li manage Lu Zhao. Her network was undoubtedly vast.

Lu Zhao’s eyes lit up. “Then could you ask Sister Zhang to help pull some strings and arrange a meeting with Xu Er?”

Sister Li looked at her silently.

“Sister Li~” Lu Zhao began her ultimate move (acting cute).

Sister Li let out a long sigh. “What’s the point of meeting? It’s unnecessary. A person like that could crush you with one hand.”

“If I don’t see him once, I won’t be satisfied!” Lu Zhao’s face was tense.

“You… sigh…”

Sister Li finally gave in, though she didn’t make any promises. After all, who knew if Sister Zhang would agree to the favor?

Sister Li went off to work, while Lu Zhao stayed on set to observe. Fortunately, there were many veteran actors in the cast, and she learned a lot from them.

As night fell, everyone was exhausted from a day of filming. Back at the hotel, Lu Zhao immediately took a shower. While drying her hair, she saw her phone screen light up. It was a message from Ji Zhaoxi.

It was brief, simply asking for her room number, without any explanation as to why.

Lu Zhao replied with a question mark but quickly sent the room number anyway.

She received no further reply. Lu Zhao went back to drying her hair, and just as it was almost dry, she heard the doorbell.

“?”

Who would be looking for her at this hour?

Full of confusion, she went to the door. Looking through the peephole, she saw a person who shouldn’t have been there…

Lu Zhao opened the door and looked at the beautiful woman holding a cat. Surprised, she asked, “What are you doing here?”

And why was she wearing a backpack?

Ji Zhaoxi looked up, her gaze first falling on Lu Zhao’s collarbone, exposed because her pajamas weren’t properly done up. It was delicate and beautiful, sparking a sudden desire to lean in and kiss it.

Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes darkened. She stepped into the room and kicked the door shut with her heel, cutting off the possibility of anyone else seeing Lu Zhao like this.

“Tangyuan missed you. It’s been acting up because it didn’t see you.”

“It seems to have gotten used to sleeping with you. It was fussing until the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep.”

Ji Zhaoxi removed her glasses tiredly, allowing Lu Zhao to clearly see the dark circles under her eyes—proof of the sleepless night caused by Tangyuan’s behavior.

“Huh?” Lu Zhao’s eyes widened in shock, followed by a look of delight. “So Tangyuan really can’t be without me~”

Her voice trailed off with a hint of smugness.

Ji Zhaoxi glanced at her, letting her have her moment of pride without denial.

“So, you brought Tangyuan here… do you want to leave it in my care?” Lu Zhao took Tangyuan from Ji Zhaoxi’s arms, unable to resist rubbing her face against the cat’s.

“In a way,” Ji Zhaoxi said shortly. “Do you have extra toiletries here?”

“Huh?” Lu Zhao suddenly had a bad feeling.

“I don’t feel comfortable leaving Tangyuan here alone, so I’m staying tonight as well. I’ll take it back tomorrow morning.”

Lu Zhao: “…?”

“Are… are you serious?” Lu Zhao’s voice was a bit dry.

Ji Zhaoxi frowned at her, her eyes filled with confusion as if she didn’t understand why Lu Zhao would even ask.

Lu Zhao was silent for a second before asking, “When you say ‘stay,’ do you mean booking another room, or staying here?”

She didn’t even believe the first option herself. If she were getting another room, why would she ask about toiletries?

But she still harbored a bit of hope!

“Staying here, of course. I need to sleep with Tangyuan; I can’t be away from it,” Ji Zhaoxi said seriously.

Lu Zhao: “…”

I didn’t see you unable to be away from it before!

“President Ji, there’s only one bed here.” Lu Zhao pointed to the only bed in the room.

Ji Zhaoxi looked at it, even walking over to gauge the size. “The bed is large enough. It fits two people comfortably without touching each other.”

Lu Zhao: “…”

At this moment, Lu Zhao wanted to ask: What about your germophobia? How can you stand sharing a bed with someone else? Is the power of this cat really that strong?!

But she didn’t dare scream her thoughts aloud. This was her boss, after all!

Ji Zhaoxi glanced at her. “Is this an ‘extra service’ again?”

“Uh…”

Lu Zhao was speechless. Why did that sound so strange? But if she didn’t agree, would she really just let her sleep there?

Ji Zhaoxi didn’t say more. She tapped on her phone for a moment and said, “The price for one night.”

Hearing the sound of money entering her account, combined with Ji Zhaoxi’s words, the weird feeling grew even stronger.

Why… why did it feel like she was an escort?!

Damn!

Lu Zhao watched Ji Zhaoxi’s back as she headed to the bathroom. She felt like pulling her hair out behind her back but didn’t dare make a sound.

With her back to Lu Zhao, the corners of Ji Zhaoxi’s lips curled up, a look of “mission accomplished” flashing in her eyes.

She checked the bathroom for extra toiletries and then stepped back out.

The moment she turned around, Lu Zhao retracted all her frantic gestures and offered a reserved smile.

A hint of amusement appeared in Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes, but she quickly hid it perfectly.

She opened her backpack, which contained not only cat food, snacks, and toys for Tangyuan but also a full set of her own change of clothes.

Lu Zhao saw this and thought: “…”

This person came prepared! She hadn’t given Lu Zhao any room to refuse!

Ji Zhaoxi took out her clothes, ignored Lu Zhao, and entered the bathroom, closing the door. Soon, the sound of splashing water could be heard.

Lu Zhao: “…”

She looked down, staring eye-to-eye with Tangyuan. Tangyuan affectionately rested its head on her shoulder.

Lu Zhao’s heart melted instantly. Ji Zhaoxi didn’t matter; what mattered was that she could sleep with Tangyuan!

To be honest, she hadn’t been used to sleeping alone last night either, wishing Tangyuan was by her side. Who would have thought it would come true the next day?

“Little kitty, did you miss me~” Lu Zhao lay on the bed holding Tangyuan, pushing thoughts of the person in the bathroom out of her mind.

“Meow~”

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