Join a Dating Reality Show with the Aloof, Fishing-Style Richest Man - Chapter 36.1

It was quiet, and no one disturbed them. When Lu Zhao came back to her senses, she didn’t know how long she had been staring at Ji Zhaoxi like this.

Lu Zhao quickly restrained all her thoughts and began to draw seriously.

It had been too long since she held a paintbrush, and she was quite rusty. After wasting a few drafts, she gradually became more and more proficient.

She sketched stroke by stroke, translating her understanding of beauty onto the paper. As the vividness faded from her expression, that rigorous look added another layer of more dazzling charm to her.

—I couldn’t get her looks before, but I suddenly got it just now! My god, she’s truly beautiful.

—Wuhu, she’s really great. I’m so relieved that she’s finally being noticed by everyone.

—Yes, she’s exceptionally kind. Once I was on a business trip in the city where she was filming and went to visit the set. She had a smile on her face the whole time and a great temper! She even chatted with us to comfort us!

Gradually, a small group of people began to speak up. These words, submerged in the majority’s playful banter, were posted by Lu Zhao’s few long-time fans.

Lu Zhao had been drifting around film sets since she was a child. Although she had never become famous, there were still some viewers who came to know her through a certain role and then stayed to learn more about her as a person.

Ji Zhaoxi kept her eyes up, quietly watching Lu Zhao, performing her role as a model dutifully.

—Don’t you think President Ji’s gaze at Lu Zhao is very deep and affectionate?

—Who’s shipping them? I am!

—If there’s nothing between these two, I’ll write my name backwards!

Lu Zhao drew for a long time before she finally produced something she was satisfied with. She glanced at Ji Zhaoxi, closed the sketchbook, and then stood up to walk toward her.

“It’s done. Are you tired?”

Lu Zhao put down the sketchbook and leaned down to carefully massage Ji Zhaoxi’s finger joints.

Hearing that it was finished, Ji Zhaoxi’s originally tense body gradually relaxed. She allowed Lu Zhao to massage her, but her eyes turned toward Lu Zhao’s sketchbook.

“Can I see it?” Ji Zhaoxi asked.

Seeing that she really seemed to want to look, Lu Zhao thought it wasn’t unreasonable to let her have a peek since she had been the model.

Lu Zhao didn’t let Ji Zhaoxi flip through it herself; instead, she took the sketchbook over, flipped to a specific page, and said, “It’s this one.”

She handed the book over. Ji Zhaoxi took a look, and her face darkened for a moment.

In the drawing, there was a fruit plate and a single hand. That hand was drawn beautifully, with slender yet powerful joints, and the light and shadow effects were handled perfectly. But no matter how well it was drawn, it couldn’t change one fact.

Lu Zhao hadn’t drawn her!

Ji Zhaoxi stared straight at the drawing, her gaze wishing it could pierce through the paper.

So, the fact that she hadn’t dared to move earlier was completely useless?!

She only needed to keep her hand still?

Ji Zhaoxi looked up at Lu Zhao, hesitated to speak, and finally swallowed the words she wanted to say, nodding: “It’s drawn very well.”

Deep down, she felt a bit disappointed.

If she had previously said she wanted to see Lu Zhao’s feelings for her through the brush, then the result was now very clear.

She wasn’t even in the drawing.

It would be a lie to say Ji Zhaoxi wasn’t sad, but she couldn’t show it in front of Lu Zhao, so she could only make herself appear as if she didn’t care too much.

Although she didn’t say it, Lu Zhao was very sensitive and noticed it.

“Are you unhappy?”

Ji Zhaoxi met her gaze, her face unchanging as she said, “No, I’m just a little tired and want to go back to the room to rest for a bit.”

Lu Zhao was stunned for a moment, then realized and nodded: “Okay, then you go up and rest first. I’ll call you at dinner time.”

She had modeled for her for so long; it was natural for her to be tired.

“Mm,” Ji Zhaoxi replied faintly. Without looking at anyone else, she went straight back to the room.

After Ji Zhaoxi went upstairs, Lu Zhao put away the sketchbook, looked at the director, and asked, “Can I have this sketchbook?”

“No problem, it was brought here for you anyway,” the director said quickly.

Lu Zhao nodded and smiled, placing the sketchbook preciously into her bag. Turning around, she met Qiao Yang’s resentful gaze.

Lu Zhao: “…”

She shouldn’t have provoked him, right?

“Zhaozhao, when will you draw one for me too?” Qiao Yang said pitifully.

Lu Zhao: “…”

She turned to look at Lu Xunyou and asked, “Do you know how to draw?”

Lu Xunyou was taken aback by the question, then nodded: “I’ve learned a little.”

“Great. Your husband wants a drawing. I think it’s better if you draw it for him yourself.”

Lu Xunyou’s eyes lit up instantly. He turned to Qiao Yang with surprise and promised: “Husband, don’t worry! Although my basic skills might not be as good as Miss Lu’s, I will definitely produce a work that satisfies you!”

Qiao Yang’s face turned green.

“But Zhaozhao, you know my heart. I only want the one you draw!” Qiao Yang expressed his loyalty to Lu Zhao urgently.

Lu Zhao immediately looked serious and made a “stop” gesture: “Sister, don’t be like this. It’s easy to cause misunderstandings.”

Qiao Yang: “???”

His eyes widened, looking at Lu Zhao in disbelief, his voice cracking.

“Sister?!”

Others also looked at Lu Zhao with surprise, not quite understanding why she would call Qiao Yang “sister.”

Lu Zhao stepped forward and patted his shoulder reassuringly, saying with certainty: “As long as our sexual orientations don’t collide, you are my sister!”

Qiao Yang looked confused, not quite understanding what she was saying.

However, Lu Zhao didn’t explain and took the opportunity to slip away immediately.

Qiao Yang turned to Lu Xunyou and asked, “Do you know what Zhaozhao meant just now?”

Lu Xunyou nodded and said seriously, “Miss Lu means that she likes women, and you happen to not like women, so your sexual orientations don’t clash, and you won’t become rivals in love.”

“To put it simply, you can be her gay bestie.”

“…”

Qiao Yang and Lu Xunyou stared at each other, then he said, “So, she thinks I like men now?”

Lu Xunyou blushed and nodded.

“Lu Xunyou! I’ll f*** your ancestors for eight generations!”

Qiao Yang’s unbearable roar echoed through the house!

The director’s crew hadn’t anticipated this, and because the profanity was blurted out, they received a warning from the live-streaming platform.

When the subsequent recorded version was released, Qiao Yang’s sentence was bleeped out. However, by now, many people had already heard his roar, especially after Lu Xunyou added a sentence, making everyone laugh uncontrollably.

Lu Xunyou: “Husband, that’s not allowed. You can’t f*** dead people, and besides, none of them are as good-looking as me. My body is also softer.”

—Pfft, Hahahaha, I’m dying of laughter. This amateur is really doing everything possible to chase his husband.

—Hahaha, “dead people can’t be f***ed,” that’s very rigorous of him!

—So funny. I think these two are quite a match. Just pick up the script for bickering lovers, okay!

Lu Zhao, who had left the small courtyard, didn’t know what happened inside afterward. At this time, while the sun wasn’t too intense, she went to the rice fields.

Currently, some people were already harvesting rice in the fields. Wearing straw hats and bending over, they swung their sickles skillfully, and a bunch of rice was cut down and piled to the side.

The work Sister Zhang had arranged for her wasn’t limited to television. It was confirmed that she would be the second female lead in Xu Miaomiao’s movie, but Sister Zhang was also currently fighting for a role in a famous director’s retirement film. The movie aimed to tell the story of farmers who work with their backs to the sun.

If you want to play a role well, relying solely on imagination isn’t enough; it requires more observation and experience.

Lu Zhao loved acting. Naturally, she wanted to strive for a role in such a great director’s film. So, taking advantage of being in the countryside, she could experience it firsthand.

Lu Zhao went up to communicate with the farmers. When they saw the person carrying a camera behind her, they knew who she was.

After all, the village was small, and any news spread quickly. Many people knew that a celebrity had come to the village to film a variety show.

They hadn’t expected Lu Zhao to come and ask for work. After all, the celebrities they saw on TV were always glamorous. Who would proactively come down to the fields to work?

However, although they were puzzled, Lu Zhao was beautiful and spoke nicely, so they were happy to let her stay and experience it.

A dark and thin middle-aged woman gave Lu Zhao a sickle and gloves. Finally, looking at her bare head, she even wanted to take off her own straw hat to give to Lu Zhao.

“Auntie, no, no, you just keep it on,” Lu Zhao refused quickly. It was nice enough that they let her stay; how could she take someone’s hat and let them be scorched by the sun?

“Wear it!” The auntie insisted on putting the hat on Lu Zhao’s head and even helped her adjust the string to a comfortable tightness.

“You city girls have delicate skin. If you don’t wear it, you’ll get sunburned. We’re used to it; a little sun is nothing,” the auntie smiled at Lu Zhao.

Hearing her words, Lu Zhao’s nose suddenly felt a bit sore. She lowered her head, not wanting people to see her current expression, and her voice choked slightly: “Auntie, thank you.”

Suddenly, Lu Zhao really missed her mother, but she hadn’t visited her in a long time.

The auntie sensed her abnormality. Being someone who wasn’t very good with words, she felt even more at a loss.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. You look about the same age as my daughter. My daughter is just like you; sometimes she just starts crying while we’re talking.”

Lu Zhao broke into a smile through her tears. “Auntie, I’m not crying. I… I just miss my mom a little…”

Lu Zhao’s voice lowered toward the end. Then she quickly adjusted her mindset and smiled at the auntie: “Auntie, can you teach me how to harvest?”

Seeing that she stopped crying, the auntie also smiled and began to teach Lu Zhao hand-in-hand how to harvest, what angle to use to make it faster and more labor-saving.

Lu Zhao chatted with the auntie while harvesting. She learned that her daughter had just graduated from college and found a decent job in the city. She called them every week, telling them to rest more and not work too hard.

Through such chatting, Lu Zhao gradually mastered the knack of harvesting rice, and her speed increased significantly.

However, after bending over for a long time, Lu Zhao felt like she had died and come back to life whenever she straightened her back. That soreness was truly something.

Sweat dripped from her cheeks one by one. Lu Zhao’s clothes were soaked with sweat and clinging to her body. Even with the straw hat blocking the sun, her cheeks were now flushed red.

She no longer looked like a glamorous and clean little fox, but rather like a brat who had gone out and rolled in the mud.

During the harvest, Lu Zhao gradually lost track of time. It wasn’t until the sun was setting that the photographer reminded her, and she realized how much time had passed.

She stood up, her waist making a cracking sound of soreness. Her facial expression couldn’t help but change along with it; her brow furrowed and relaxed, relaxed and furrowed.

When she first started harvesting rice, some people in the live-stream said she was just putting on a show. But after she actually harvested seriously for several hours, no one dared to say those things anymore.

After all, even those who had never harvested knew very well how exhausting it was. Even if she was putting on a show, she had actually harvested for that long, which was better than those sitting there doing nothing.

She took off the hat and gave it back to the auntie. After making an appointment to come back tomorrow, Lu Zhao led the photographer back toward the small courtyard.

Along the way, she massaged her waist with both hands. Even though she exercised regularly and had better physical fitness than many people, she had never done this kind of work before. Now, after doing it for a while, she felt like her waist was about to give out.

When she returned, the production team was just putting the food on the dining table. Xu Miaomiao was shocked to see Lu Zhao in this state.

“Sister, what did you go do? Did you go have a ‘field battle’ with President Ji?”

Lu Zhao glanced at her and said with a fake smile, “So you’ve defaulted to the idea that I’m the submissive one?”

Zhou Jiayan couldn’t help but sigh and hold her forehead when she heard Xu Miaomiao’s unfiltered words. She hadn’t expected that even after being in the entertainment industry for so many years, Xu Miaomiao still didn’t have a filter on her speech.

Xu Miaomiao looked a bit innocent. “Look at you, drenched in sweat and holding your waist. If you’re not the submissive, who is?”

Lu Zhao: “…”

Others: “…”

Lu Zhao gave up and said painfully, “Sister! Can we keep our thoughts a bit simpler!”

—Hahaha, dying of laughter. So this is the real Xu Miaomiao!

—Curse it, this woman fooled me so badly before! I really thought she was a pure little white flower!

—With these driving skills (dirty jokes), how is she even close to being pure?

—She simply knows too much… “Pure,” my foot…

Ever since she left a comment on Lu Zhao’s Weibo, Xu Miaomiao had completely let herself go, not even wanting to pretend anymore.

Xu Miaomiao curled her lip and played with Zhou Jiayan’s pinky finger, saying, “I don’t believe you don’t crave President Ji’s body.”

How can a ‘licker’ (devoted follower) not crave the master’s body? If they don’t crave it, they aren’t a qualified follower!

Zhou Jiayan silently glanced at Xu Miaomiao and pulled her pinky finger back.

Xu Miaomiao looked up at her with a wronged expression, as if accusing her of being heartless.

Zhou Jiayan: “…”

Zhou Jiayan’s guilt rose again. After all, this was the girl she had held in the palm of her hand for so many years; how could she truly be heartless enough to hurt her?

She sighed softly, extended her pinky finger again, but her thoughts were very complicated.

Xu Miaomiao was happy.

Lu Zhao was stunned.

She really wanted to say she didn’t crave it. As a qualified employee, how could she think of climbing into the boss’s bed? But with so many cameras pointed at her, she really couldn’t say those words out loud.

She swallowed her words. Paradoxically, she didn’t really want to refute it herself, perhaps because she didn’t want to continue arguing with Xu Miaomiao over such a meaningless topic.

She went upstairs to call Ji Zhaoxi down for dinner. Now she didn’t even need to knock on Ji Zhaoxi’s door; she went straight to her own door and pushed it open carefully. She saw Ji Zhaoxi working very seriously.

Lu Zhao went in and closed the door. Tangyuan (the cat/pet), who was lying on the bed, also ran over to greet her. Lu Zhao looked down at her current state; covered in sweat, she probably didn’t smell as good as Tangyuan, so she didn’t pick it up.

Ji Zhaoxi looked up from the computer screen at her, frowning slightly. “What happened to you?”

As she spoke, she stood up and went to the bathroom, wetting a towel to wipe Lu Zhao’s face.

Lu Zhao naturally took the towel from her, wiped her face, and then her neck. She felt much refreshed and sighed, “I went to learn how to harvest rice.”

“Why did you suddenly want to learn that?” Ji Zhaoxi watched her wipe herself. Her slightly red face looked even more tender and supple after being washed, making one want to poke it.

“I want to strive for a role in Director Li’s movie.” Lu Zhao spoke very seriously. Moreover, Director Li’s film was likely to be entered into competitions. As an actress, it was only natural to want to win a prestigious award.

Hearing this, Ji Zhaoxi didn’t say much else, only asking, “Do you want to take a shower first?”

Lu Zhao thought about it but shook her head. “No, I’ll wash after dinner. Otherwise, I’ll just smell like food after eating.”

Ji Zhaoxi thought that made sense and asked, “Is it time for dinner?”

“Yes, I came up specifically to call you.”

Ji Zhaoxi took the towel from her hand, rinsed it in the bathroom, then came out, saved and closed the things on her computer, and followed Lu Zhao out and downstairs.

When the two arrived in the hall, the other guests had also arrived. Six people, divided into three groups; each group seemed to have a wall between them and the others, making the atmosphere exceptionally strange.

When Lu Zhao sat down, she still felt her waist was very sore. Ji Zhaoxi noticed this, looked down, took out her phone, and sent a message to the director.

After the director saw the message, he looked up at the two of them and immediately ordered someone to take care of it.

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