Join a Dating Reality Show with the Aloof, Fishing-Style Richest Man - Chapter 39.1

When Lu Zhao saw the character of the Fox Demon, she felt completely unwell.

This character is a fox demon in a period drama who relies on absorbing human essence to increase her cultivation. She is a supporting character with little screen time, but every time she appears, she is either seducing someone or on her way to seduce someone. In the end, because she tried to seduce the female lead, she was directly slit across the throat by the lead, who practiced the “Way of Heartlessness.”

Hmm…

Looking at it this way, isn’t this equivalent to her and Ji Zhaoxi cross-playing each other’s roles?

After all, Ji Zhaoxi has a face that looks exactly like someone who practices the Way of Heartlessness!

Lu Zhao looked at Ji Zhaoxi with a complicated expression and asked, “Bao, do you need to change characters? I don’t think this role suits you.”

It wasn’t that it didn’t suit her—after all, the way she looked in her nightgown last night while “seducing” people was quite “vixen-like”…

Not necessarily slutty, but seductive to the bone…

Hearing this, Ji Zhaoxi pursed her lips and looked at Lu Zhao, her brow furrowing as if she felt a bit stifled by being looked down upon. “Where do you think it doesn’t suit me?”

Lu Zhao: “…”

It’s fine if you act it out with me in private, but it’s not suitable to perform it in front of the public!

Lu Zhao looked melancholy. Setting aside whether playing a character so different from her image would ruin her persona in everyone’s hearts, just that seductive, flirtatious look… she couldn’t let others see it!

However, Ji Zhaoxi wouldn’t listen. Since the program crew had spun the wheel to this character, she decided she would play it.

Acting is not something that happens overnight, especially since Ji Zhaoxi and Zhou Jiayan had never touched acting before; they needed time to mesh with their scene partners.

Therefore, a short scene was given a three-day practice period.

Ji Zhaoxi’s role was the seductive fox demon, while the one Zhou Jiayan drew was the soft and cute female lead from a youth movie Xu Miao once starred in. It was about the innocent emotions of campus life—the accidental touches with a crush, the shy kiss in the dormitory after lights out, and the ignorant hands groping by instinct… these formed the most moving memories of that green era.

Even years later, after the two female leads were no longer together, whenever they recalled this innocent campus romance, they never regretted falling for each other—even if the relationship became a “rotting sore” in their hearts that caused agonizing pain whenever remembered.

The moment Zhou Jiayan saw the character, she didn’t even need Xu Miao to introduce it to know which movie it came from. Zhou Jiayan immediately shot a cold glare at Ji Zhaoxi.

If this wasn’t intentional, she, Zhou Jiayan, would work for Ji Zhaoxi for free for the rest of her life!

Ji Zhaoxi maintained a calm facade, acting as if this truly had nothing to do with her and that she was just an ordinary person who had just learned about the task.

Helplessly, Zhou Jiayan couldn’t question Ji Zhaoxi in public: Why did you arrange such a role for her?

Looking at Xu Miao’s sparkling eyes, Zhou Jiayan sighed and eventually admitted defeat.

With the roles decided, the director bluntly let them leave. The two groups returned to their respective rooms, as they both wanted to help their acting “newbies” understand their characters better.

Back in the room, Lu Zhao stared straight at Ji Zhaoxi, sizing her up with a conflicted expression.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Zhaoxi asked.

Lu Zhao sighed, looking at Ji Zhaoxi’s god-like face, and shook her head. “It’s just a show; you’re not in the entertainment industry. Is it necessary to make such a big sacrifice?”

If Ji Zhaoxi were playing a “lofty flower” type character, she wouldn’t have said anything. Why did it have to be a fox demon?!

Ji Zhaoxi’s expression remained unchanged. She balanced down to pick up Tangyuan (the cat), rubbing its head. “It’s not bad to try a different style.”

“And…” Ji Zhaoxi glanced sideways at Lu Zhao, letting out a soft hum from her nose.

“Last night was basically a warm-up for today.”

Lu Zhao: “…”

She sighed deeply. As expected of someone on the billionaire list, her ability to adapt was excellent.

“Then let me show you the clips of my character,” Lu Zhao said, resigned.

However, although she said she was resigned, Lu Zhao was actually somewhat reluctant and felt uncomfortable in her heart.

Why should those people get to see this side of Ji Zhaoxi?

Lucky them!

She brought the laptop over, found the drama her character was in, and started dragging the progress bar according to her memory to find her first appearance.

Ji Zhaoxi sat there holding Tangyuan, watching Lu Zhao work. She used both hands to grab Tangyuan’s paws and squeeze them—they were soft and bouncy, feeling wonderful to the touch.

Tangyuan was good-tempered and let her squeeze, its eyes also fixed on Lu Zhao.

Strangely, she felt this person and this cat were quite similar.

“Actually, you don’t have to find just the clips. We can watch the whole drama together to better understand the narrative arc.”

Lu Zhao glanced back at her, insisting on dragging the progress bar. “I’m not a main character; there’s no need to understand the whole story that clearly. I’ll just give you a rough summary later.”

Ji Zhaoxi pursed her lips and slightly closed her eyes, her gaze appearing a bit drifted.

She had wanted to sit down and watch a drama with Lu Zhao.

Tangyuan looked up and gave a small “meow,” seemingly not understanding what they were doing.

Ji Zhaoxi lowered her head to rub her forehead against the cat’s head, then looked back up at Lu Zhao’s figure.

“It will take me some time to find all the parts. You should go take a shower first,” Lu Zhao told Ji Zhaoxi, her eyes never leaving the computer screen.

Ji Zhaoxi felt herself; although her sweat had dried, she indeed felt uncomfortable. She put Tangyuan down and took her change of clothes to the bathroom. However, when picking out a nightgown, she hesitated for a moment while looking at the one she wore last night, then grabbed it and took it into the bathroom anyway.

After Ji Zhaoxi entered the bathroom, Tangyuan jumped onto Lu Zhao’s lap, wanting to be held.

Lu Zhao looked down at the cat and immediately broke into a smile, kissing its head several times. She said in a high-pitched “baby” voice: “Our little Tangyuan still loves Auntie the most, right?”

“Meow~”

Tangyuan licked her hand.

Lu Zhao’s heart softened. She no longer had the heart to look for her scenes episode by episode. She held Tangyuan, praising it for being good and great, asking for another kiss.

She looked just like a “weird auntie”…

Lu Zhao played with Tangyuan outside, using a cat teaser to lead it into running and jumping, appropriately increasing its exercise.

When Ji Zhaoxi came out, she saw her teasing the cat happily. The computer screen was now locked, obviously untouched for quite a while.

She asked, “Finished finding them?”

“Not yet, let’s just watch from the beginning!” Lu Zhao said casually, moving the cat teaser in another direction as Tangyuan immediately jumped toward it.

Suddenly, as if realizing something, Lu Zhao slowly turned her head toward Ji Zhaoxi.

She was still wearing that nightgown from last night, but the feeling it gave off during the day was completely different. Last night, perhaps due to the shadows, some things weren’t very clear, but now, with the sunlight pouring in through the window—even landing near her feet—everything seemed to have nowhere to hide, appearing clearly in Lu Zhao’s eyes.

Lu Zhao suddenly felt her throat itch. She coughed lightly and shifted her gaze slightly, her ears turning red. “It’s daytime, why are you still wearing this?”

If things were unclear last night, now she felt her face getting hotter and hotter.

The chest area was covered in lace—a hazy obstruction that instead added a sense of “more is more.”

She… she even vaguely saw those two bright “flowers”…

Lu Zhao instantly snapped her eyes shut, but the image she had just seen kept appearing in her mind, swirling around and refusing to leave.

Her fingertips curled inward. Lu Zhao’s hands started to itch again; she wanted to draw the scene she had just witnessed.

Her heart also felt itchy. She felt that if she didn’t draw it, she would keep thinking about it.

Lu Zhao cursed herself for being a pervert. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen anyone else’s before—why was her reaction so strong today?

Ji Zhaoxi seemed not to notice her abnormality and sat down directly beside her, her voice calm. “The weather is hot. It’s cooler to wear this.”

Lu Zhao: “…”

Her expression was hard to describe. In the end, she said nothing, handed the cat teaser to Ji Zhaoxi, stood up somewhat flustered, grabbed her own change of clothes, and bolted into the bathroom.

She had sweated no less than Ji Zhaoxi earlier and naturally needed to wash up.

Once Lu Zhao was inside, Ji Zhaoxi lazily waved the cat teaser, the corners of her lips turning up into a smile, her eyes filled with mirth.

As long as Lu Zhao had an abnormal reaction to her body, it proved that her thoughts weren’t so “innocent.”

Right?

Thinking this, Ji Zhaoxi felt the road ahead wasn’t so difficult to walk.

She would, bit by bit, tear off Lu Zhao’s “fake serious” facade and make her embrace her willingly.

Preferably naked, sincerely holding her tight, wanting to press against her with all her strength.

Just the thought of this possibility sent a wave of inexplicable thumping through Ji Zhaoxi’s heart, radiating from her chest—an increasingly urgent craving.

Ji Zhaoxi closed her eyes to suppress the restlessness. She couldn’t rush. She had to let Lu Zhao walk into her trap bit by bit and stay there willingly.

Once she stayed, she would never run away.

She would be hers, forever.

The more Ji Zhaoxi thought about it, the more she couldn’t suppress it. She glanced at the bathroom, stood up to open her suitcase, took a bottle from a hidden compartment, and shook out a small white pill. She poured a glass of water and swallowed the pill.

Perhaps the more hope she saw, the harder it was to suppress her emotions, making her appear restless.

Tangyuan meowed softly at her feet.

Ji Zhaoxi’s expression softened. She crouched down, placing Tangyuan’s paws on her knees. Looking into its blue eyes, she laughed softly.

“How about Mama finds you a Mommy?”

“Hmm… let’s turn Auntie into Mommy.”

Ji Zhaoxi rambled on, and Tangyuan meowed in response.

The smile on Ji Zhaoxi’s face deepened. She rubbed its head and sighed, “What a good child. Then Mama will take that as a ‘yes’.”

“In the future, your Mommy can only be her. Don’t mistake anyone else for her.”

“Meow~”

Ji Zhaoxi laughed, her eyes spacing out as she recalled the past. Someone once told her she really liked cats but couldn’t keep one at home and didn’t have time to care for one.

At that time, that girl’s face, full of collagen, was filled with disappointment. It made one want to fulfill her wish immediately.

But back then, she didn’t have the power.

Now that she did, it wasn’t too late.

Lu Zhao walked out of the bathroom feeling refreshed. She looked up and saw Ji Zhaoxi’s thin, slender back. Her shoulder blades protruded elegantly, looking like butterflies about to take flight.

Lu Zhao was stunned again. This woman was more of a fox demon than any fox demon; no matter where you looked at her, you were always drawn in.

Coughing once, Lu Zhao stepped forward and clicked on the laptop again. Holding the computer, she said to Ji Zhaoxi, “Shall we watch on the bed?”

At least lying on the bed would be more comfortable.

Ji Zhaoxi nodded.

Lu Zhao sat on the bed leaning against the headboard with the laptop. Ji Zhaoxi followed closely. Because of her bending motion, the hem of her gown lifted slightly, revealing more of her tender thighs. Lu Zhao quickly looked away, not daring to stare.

Ji Zhaoxi sat down beside Lu Zhao, leaning against her. Their shoulders touched. As she sat, the hem of her gown lightly brushed against Lu Zhao’s bare legs.

Lu Zhao’s pajamas were simple: a pair of ultra-short shorts and a black tank top, perfectly outlining her figure. Fortunately, the cameras in the room weren’t on, otherwise, who knows how the people online would be “licking the screen” right now.

But at this moment, Lu Zhao only regretted wearing shorts.

The shorts were too short, which meant more of her legs were exposed. With Ji Zhaoxi sitting next to her and the hem of the gown brushing against her from time to time, that subtle itch was magnified a thousand times, almost overwhelming all her senses once it reached her brain.

Lu Zhao quietly moved a bit to the right, moving her legs out of range of the gown, and breathed a secret sigh of relief.

“It’s too far; I can’t see the screen,” Ji Zhaoxi frowned.

Lu Zhao shifted the screen toward her. Ji Zhaoxi opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing.

However, she became a bit sullen after that and didn’t speak much.

Lu Zhao clicked on the first episode. It was a very cliché xianxia romance: the female lead was the top talent of the younger generation practicing the Way of Heartlessness, but she fell in love with her Master.

One who practices the Way of Heartlessness yet has feelings—the result was predictable. The female lead could never achieve enlightenment, and this relationship gradually became an obsession. Her heart-demons grew, her cultivation was destroyed, and she eventually fell into the demonic path.

Her Master also practiced the Way of Heartlessness, but he was more enlightened. He understood that one could have feelings but must sacrifice them for the “Tao,” eventually achieving Great Enlightenment.

The ending was not “happy” in the traditional sense, but it fit the plot settings perfectly.

Two people practicing the Way of Heartlessness in a forbidden Master-Disciple relationship—how could there be many beautiful, happy endings?

And the Fox Demon played by Lu Zhao was merely a stepping stone on the lead’s path of cultivation, serving to highlight that even though the female lead had feelings, her heart only held her Master.

Lu Zhao watched with Ji Zhaoxi, feeling rather bored. After all, the production quality of this drama was average, the actors weren’t great, and the acting couldn’t withstand close scrutiny.

However, Ji Zhaoxi watched with great interest and even remarked, “You said I have a face for the Way of Heartlessness, but the lead in the drama clearly has feelings.”

Lu Zhao: “…”

Why is this person bringing up old scores? It was just one comment!

“Don’t you know yourself that you’d ‘kill your wife to prove your Tao’?” Lu Zhao curled her lip. “If there’s no love, where’s the wife to kill?”

Ji Zhaoxi shut up and continued watching.

Tangyuan rested its head on Lu Zhao’s calf and fell asleep, letting out small snores.

Ji Zhaoxi turned the volume down significantly. Seeing that Lu Zhao really looked bored, she switched to double-speed playback.

Lu Zhao sat there on the bed accompanying her, but between being tired from the morning and the drama not catching her attention, her eyelids began to droop.

Having finished lunch and it being nap time, Lu Zhao grew sleepier. She unconsciously leaned toward Ji Zhaoxi. A voice in her heart should have resisted, but she lacked the energy to do so. Finally, her eyelids closed completely, and her head rested on Ji Zhaoxi’s shoulder as she drifted off.

The moment her head touched her, Ji Zhaoxi’s body stiffened for a second. Seeing Lu Zhao’s slight frown as if she were uncomfortable, Ji Zhaoxi forced herself to relax so Lu Zhao could lean more comfortably.

Ji Zhaoxi muted the TV and stared blankly at the computer screen. All her attention was on her shoulder. With the sound of shallow breathing in her ear, Ji Zhaoxi’s gaze softened.

She really wanted to reach out and embrace her, then pull her down to sleep together.

Following her memory, Ji Zhaoxi clicked through the clips of Lu Zhao’s appearances and finished them quickly. She closed the laptop, set it aside, and carefully helped Lu Zhao lie down.

As for Lu Zhao’s film and television works, she had already watched them countless times. She remembered every single moment of her appearances clearly.

“Mmm—”

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