Join a Dating Reality Show with the Aloof, Fishing-Style Richest Man - Chapter 40.1

The sound of cicadas outside the window drifted in at just the right moment, as if echoing her words. This timing added a sense of unearned naturalness to the situation.

Lu Zhao said, “Bao, I’ve noticed the way you speak is getting more and more daring these days.”

Ji Zhaoxi knitted her brows. “Compared to you, does this even count as daring?”

“…I haven’t done anything to seduce you, have I?”

Ji Zhaoxi gave her a flat, sideways glance, then stood up without saying a word.

No seduction?

Every single move she makes is a seduction!

Luckily, Lu Zhao had no idea what Ji Zhaoxi was thinking. If she did, she would definitely be shocked beyond belief!

What’s the difference between this and those overconfident men who think every female colleague walking past them is secretly in love with them!

Ji Zhaoxi went into the bathroom to change her clothes. When the two of them headed downstairs, the main hall was completely empty. It was so quiet that Lu Zhao began to feel a bit dazed.

Was she actually filming a variety show? Why did it feel more like she was here on vacation?

Ji Zhaoxi went into the kitchen, grabbed two bottles of water, and said to Lu Zhao, “Do you still need to go check on the fields?”

Lu Zhao took the water handed to her, took a sip, and shook her head. “No, but we could go check out the nearby mountains!”

Hearing this, Ji Zhaoxi turned to look at her. “Are there hunting scenes in that movie?”

Lu Zhao walked out slowly, saying as she went, “No, but surely farmers go into the mountains sometimes? What if there’s something good in there?” Lu Zhao turned back and gave her a wide, toothy grin.

“It could sell for a good price.”

“…”

Ji Zhaoxi remained expressionless. Fine, typical Lu Zhao—everything leads back to money.

Thinking of this, Ji Zhaoxi’s brow furrowed subtly again. With her current income, couldn’t she support her?

Why did she still have to work so hard…

Ji Zhaoxi looked at her back; her chestnut-colored long curls swayed behind her, and her spine looked thin and fragile, yet she carried a burden that many people wouldn’t be able to bear.

She wanted to ask, but she feared this matter was Lu Zhao’s bottom line. If she recklessly crossed that line, would Lu Zhao still be able to stay by her side like this?

A knot of frustration tightened in her chest. Ji Zhaoxi took two deep breaths and caught up with Lu Zhao’s pace. Now wasn’t the right time. It wouldn’t be too late to confess once those people came up with a solid plan.

“By the way, Sister Li messaged me earlier. She booked a shampoo commercial for me. I have to go for the shoot in a couple of days. If you’re bored, do you want to come along?” Lu Zhao glanced at her.

“Mhm.” Hearing this, Ji Zhaoxi gave a reserved nod.

To get to the mountains, they had to pass through the rice-growing area. In the distance, Lu Zhao saw two harvesters working in the fields.

Lu Zhao paused. Where did those harvesters come from?

As they approached, an older woman pulled Lu Zhao aside, looking grateful. “Jinhua, thank you! With these two harvesters, the village will have a much easier time during harvest season from now on!”

She spoke with excitement, her eyes slightly moist. For a farmer, having a harvester isn’t just about convenience; it means significantly reducing the risk of loss.

After all, rice should be harvested as soon as it’s ripe. A single storm could ruin everything.

However, Lu Zhao was stunned by her words. Why is she thanking me for the harvesters? I didn’t send them!

Just as Lu Zhao was about to speak, Ji Zhaoxi grabbed her hand. She gave Lu Zhao a look and said to the woman, “Auntie, this is just a small token of Zhao-zhao’s heart. She wants to see the grain safely gathered into the granaries as soon as possible to feel at ease.”

The woman nodded repeatedly and wanted to say more, but Ji Zhaoxi spoke first. “Auntie, you should get back to work. We want to go look at the mountains, so we won’t bother you further.”

Seeing Ji Zhaoxi put it that way, the woman didn’t insist. Someone happened to be calling her from the other side, so she had to leave to handle things.

Once she was gone, Lu Zhao turned to look at Ji Zhaoxi.

“What’s going on? I didn’t—”

Before Lu Zhao could finish, Ji Zhaoxi gestured toward the cameras and pulled out her phone to send Lu Zhao a message.

“I saw that the village mostly uses manual labor for harvesting, so I had someone donate two harvesters to the village in your name. From now on, they can register at the village committee to borrow them for harvest.”

Lu Zhao’s expression turned complex as she read the message. Even though she had participated in two harvests, it had never occurred to her to donate harvesters to the village.

Yet Ji Zhaoxi had thought of it—and more than that, she had done it in Lu Zhao’s name.

The intent was obvious: she was building a good reputation for Lu Zhao.

Lu Zhao felt a strange sensation in her heart. Ji Zhaoxi was truly too good to people; she was even helping her with her public image.

“Are you unhappy?” Ji Zhaoxi asked, noticing her expression and feeling a bit hesitant.

Lu Zhao put her phone away and shook her head, though her face wasn’t quite as bright as before.

“It’s not that I’m unhappy, but I’m not exactly happy either.”

Being thanked for something she didn’t actually do made Lu Zhao feel like she was stealing credit.

Seeing her like this, Ji Zhaoxi was uncharacteristically at a loss for words. Had she done something wrong this time?

Lu Zhao leaned close to Ji Zhaoxi’s ear and asked in a very low voice, “How much did those two machines cost? I’ll transfer the money to you.”

That way, at least, it could be considered her own purchase, right?

Ji Zhaoxi’s body stiffened at her proximity. Hearing her words, she pursed her lips, initially wanting to say it wasn’t necessary. But seeing the persistence in Lu Zhao’s eyes, she finally compromised.

This is the person I love. She can exhaust herself trying to make money, and she’ll live in a dilapidated old apartment complex just to save a hundred bucks, yet she has her own principles in matters like this.

Thinking for a moment, she was about to speak…

“Tell the truth! It’s not like I can’t check online!” Lu Zhao’s eyes narrowed, her tone slightly ominous.

Ji Zhaoxi, who had been about to report a lower price, was choked by those words. She looked at Lu Zhao’s deep, smile-less eyes and finally whispered, “118,000 per unit.”

Lu Zhao: “…”

She turned her back to Ji Zhaoxi, pulled out her phone, and began fiddling with it.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Zhaoxi asked uncertainly.

“Checking my bank balance,” Lu Zhao said in a muffled voice.

“…”

Ji Zhaoxi felt a bit of awkwardness too. Together, the two units cost 236,000. Had she known, she would have bought cheaper ones.

After checking her balance, Lu Zhao turned around, her face slightly flushed with what seemed to be shame.

“I’ll transfer 50,000 to you first. I’ll pay you the rest bit by bit later.”

Even though she was famous now, she hadn’t been famous for very long. A lot of money hadn’t been settled and deposited into her account yet—for example, her appearance fee for this dating show hadn’t been paid out yet.

“Mhm, no rush.”

Ji Zhaoxi almost wished she would stay in her debt forever; at least then she wouldn’t run away easily, right?

Hearing this, Lu Zhao breathed a small sigh of relief.

As they walked toward the mountains, Lu Zhao explained how she should act her role, and Ji Zhaoxi listened very intently. Whenever there was something she didn’t understand, she would ask Lu Zhao to explain it again seriously.

Watching such a serious and rigorous Ji Zhaoxi, Lu Zhao almost thought she was actually planning to enter the entertainment industry.

Lu Zhao caught a glimpse of Ji Zhaoxi from the corner of her eye. She had indeed noticed that since Ji Zhaoxi took full control of the group, her own resources had improved significantly. The reason Sister Li was so busy now was that there were many business deals to negotiate.

Strictly speaking, Lu Zhao had become popular partly by riding on Ji Zhaoxi’s coattails.

After all, the reason she was caught being a “simp” in the first place was because someone was trying to photograph Ji Zhaoxi.

The two reached the foot of the mountain. Perhaps because many people walked here, there were several clear paths winding upward. They headed into the mountains with the production crew following behind to film. The people joining the livestream later didn’t know why they were going up the mountain.

— Why are they going up the mountain in this heat? — Are they going to play something “wild”? — If Xu Miaomiao saw this, would she think they were looking for excitement? — Excitement? Was it Lu Zhao’s idea? I told you Lu Zhao is the top (gong)! — Keep dreaming, upstairs! My President Ji is the ultimate top!

Soon, no one cared why they were on the mountain anymore. One by one, they started arguing about who was the “top” and who was the “bottom,” and the bullet comments flew by.

Unaware of the chaos in the livestream, Lu Zhao and Ji Zhaoxi walked along the bumpy ground. The further they went, the taller and more lush the trees became, providing some welcome shade from the harsh sunlight.

They stopped and started along the way. Whenever Lu Zhao saw something, she would curiously lean in to investigate. Having lived in the city most of her life, she rarely had the chance to be this close to nature.

Suddenly, Lu Zhao felt someone touching her head.

She wasn’t scared; she just asked, “What are you doing?”

When the person approached, she had already smelled that faint orange scent.

Ji Zhaoxi carefully tucked a purple morning glory flower behind Lu Zhao’s ear, then took a serious moment to admire it and nodded in satisfaction.

“I gave you a flower.”

“…”

Lu Zhao turned her head to look at her silently. Why did this behavior feel a bit… childish?

“Then take a picture of me, I want to see,” Lu Zhao said.

Ji Zhaoxi naturally took out her phone and began finding the right angle to photograph her.

— Ugh, even someone like President Ji knows how to find angles for photos, but some people just don’t get it. — Who’s jealous? I’m jealous (biting handkerchief.jpg) — Are these two on an outing? They can even make this fun! — I never expected it, President Ji would actually pick a flower and put it in someone’s hair. Is this still my cold-faced wife? — Upstairs, even if she’s putting a flower in someone’s hair, her face is still cold. — But her movements are so gentle! I want a President Ji like this too.

When Lu Zhao saw the photo on Ji Zhaoxi’s phone—the combination of light, shadow, and angle—she was stunned. With just simple makeup and a single flower, she had made it look like a high-fashion photoshoot!

Lu Zhao was dazed. Looking at the photo, she said, “Are you a photographer for some fashion magazine?!”

How could she make her look so good with just a phone? Under the play of light and shadow, half her face was bright and the other half was hidden in darkness, making her features stand out even more. Combined with the purple morning glory in her hair, it added a touch of wild springtime vibe.

Lu Zhao didn’t know she could be this beautiful.

She couldn’t help but feel smug.

“Since you can take such a beautiful photo of me, does that mean I’m this pretty in your heart?”

Ji Zhaoxi didn’t say anything, just continued walking forward.

Seeing her silent admission, the smile on Lu Zhao’s face grew even brighter, carrying a hint of proud satisfaction. She chased after her and said, “Take more when you have the chance! I’ll post them on Weibo as fan benefits!”

Ji Zhaoxi paused slightly and gave Lu Zhao a sideways glance. Her initial instinct was to refuse—wasn’t it better to keep the photos in her own album? Why show them to others?

But on second thought, if she took the photos and Lu Zhao posted them, and the public knew she was the photographer, it would be a subtle way of marking her territory.

For the sake of that subtle claim, Ji Zhaoxi finally agreed.

— Aahhh, I want to see it now! Just how good is it! — Bao, my Bao! Let me see, I want to see~ — Hmph, I don’t even need to look to know it’s stunning. I’m going to sign up for photography classes! I’ll take beautiful photos of my wife in the future! I’ll be her number one fansite and defeat President Ji! — Aahhh, everyone else is shipping them, but those of you trying to replace them—your fan status is deviating! I won’t allow my ship to be wrecked!!!

Lu Zhao happily looked at the photo Ji Zhaoxi took. The more she looked, the better it seemed, and she couldn’t resist wanting to show it off online.

Logging onto Weibo, Lu Zhao’s phone lagged for a moment. Once it smoothed out, she saw notifications—likes and comments on her old posts, plus many @ mentions. She clicked on them and her expression turned complicated.

She rarely logged onto Weibo, so she only now saw many people @-ing her under posts discussing who was the “top” and “bottom” between her and Ji Zhaoxi, telling her to “show some backbone” and “pin the ice beauty down!”

Lu Zhao: “…”

She stole a glance at Ji Zhaoxi’s back, then immediately looked away, suddenly feeling her ears grow hot.

It must be said that netizens really knew their tropes—they knew exactly what was stimulating. Imagining Ji Zhaoxi pinned under her… Lu Zhao hissed.

She had to admit, just thinking about it was incredibly exciting.

But the problem was, did this count as… a lewd fantasy?

Lu Zhao felt it was ridiculous—since when did she imagine such things? And such extreme ones!

“What’s wrong?” Ji Zhaoxi turned back and looked at Lu Zhao with confusion.

“Nothing, nothing at all!” Lu Zhao instinctively straightened her chest and shook her head.

Ji Zhaoxi gave her a meaningful look.

Lu Zhao quickly avoided her gaze, lowered her head to fiddle with her phone, ignored the mentions, and quickly posted the photo Ji Zhaoxi took before shutting her phone off.

Lu Zhao caught up to Ji Zhaoxi in a few steps, her eyes darting around. Suddenly, she tugged on Ji Zhaoxi’s sleeve.

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