Join a Dating Reality Show with the Aloof, Fishing-Style Richest Man - Chapter 9

Lu Zhao looked at Ji Zhaoxi eagerly, hoping she might agree today in a moment of good spirits.

Ji Zhaoxi: “…”

Looking at Lu Zhao’s longing expression, she felt a wave of complex emotions.

“Is my going on a dating show worth only this much?” Ji Zhaoxi frowned.

“Uh…”

Lu Zhao was momentarily stunned by the question but quickly recovered. “How is that possible! I’m just being persistent, aren’t I? Every time I prove my value, I have to ask you again. Otherwise, how would I know when you’ve finally decided to say yes?”

The more she spoke, the more righteous she sounded, as if that were truly the case.

Ji Zhaoxi: “…”

She gave Lu Zhao a sidelong glance, her expression unreadable as to whether she believed her.

The food was served quickly. The lady boss greeted them warmly, urging them to eat, before heading back to the kitchen to keep busy.

Lu Zhao helped Ji Zhaoxi rinse her bowl and chopsticks with tea, poured her a fresh cup, and made a subservient “after you” gesture.

“Try it and see if it’s to your taste.”

Ji Zhaoxi accepted Lu Zhao’s service naturally. She took a bite of the stir-fried mushrooms; her eyebrows arched slightly, and her aura softened significantly.

Seeing this, Lu Zhao knew she was satisfied even without a word. She couldn’t help but boast, “I only put things I find delicious in front of you. Besides, mushrooms are my absolute favorite. Don’t you think they taste incredibly fresh when prepared well?”

Ji Zhaoxi nodded in agreement and took another bite.

Lu Zhao accompanied her through the meal, chatting occasionally. Gradually, the conversation shifted to the roles Lu Zhao was auditioning for.

Lu Zhao looked distressed. “The third female lead and the ‘White Moonlight’ character are fine. One is a desperate ‘simp’—I’m a pro at that business—and the other is just the male lead’s unrequited love, so there aren’t really any emotional scenes.”

“But the difficult one is the villainous second female lead. Her love-hate entanglement with the male lead is so intense it gives me a headache just looking at it.”

“Hmm? Why a headache? I think your acting is quite good,” Ji Zhaoxi said in a calm voice. She had seen Lu Zhao’s work; no matter how small the role, she put her heart into it, and her skills were clearly improving.

“Emotional scenes! They’re a nightmare!” Lu Zhao clutched her head in agony. “The audition is tomorrow, but I still haven’t captured that flavor of intense, concentrated emotion.”

It was frustrating! She had watched movies by veteran actresses and thought she understood, but when she tried to perform, it came out sounding forced and stiff.

Watching her frantic state, Ji Zhaoxi remained silent for a moment before finally saying, “Shall I help you run your lines?”

She didn’t understand acting, but this was the one thing she could do.

“!”

Lu Zhao snapped her head up. The light in her eyes was so brilliant that Ji Zhaoxi felt strangely “burned” by it; she averted her gaze, unable to maintain eye contact.

“President Ji, you really are a wonderful person! You’re beautiful, rich, and so kind-hearted!” Lu Zhao stood up, leaning her upper body across the table. She grabbed Ji Zhaoxi’s hand, looking as if she were on the verge of tears of gratitude.

Ji Zhaoxi: “…” For some reason, hearing that made her feel uncomfortable.

It felt like the old days when Lu Zhao treated her like a “sucker” to be played.

“Sit back down,” Ji Zhaoxi glanced at her.

“Oh, right!” Lu Zhao quickly let go of her hand, sat back, and began busily serving food onto Ji Zhaoxi’s plate.

“Eat your own food, don’t worry about me,” Ji Zhaoxi frowned, watching Lu Zhao barely eat a bite while desperately piling food onto her own plate.

“It’s fine! You’re the priority. It doesn’t matter if I wait a bit!” Lu Zhao continued serving her without a second thought.

“Lu Zhao.”

Ji Zhaoxi put down her chopsticks. She looked at Lu Zhao, her voice turning deep and serious. “No matter what, you must at least put yourself in the top position. You can only expect others to treat you well if you treat yourself well first.”

If a person doesn’t cherish themselves, how can they expect others to cherish them?

Lu Zhao’s hand paused mid-air. She met Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes and slowly fell silent.

“I… I haven’t learned how to be good to myself yet,” Lu Zhao’s voice was slightly strained.

She had always wanted those around her to be happy and wanted to work harder, but she often neglected herself in the process.

“Then start now. You have to learn to be good to yourself.” Ji Zhaoxi placed some food in Lu Zhao’s bowl, her voice softening. “Even if you can’t do it perfectly all at once, you should consciously try to be a bit kinder to yourself while you’re being kind to others. Think about yourself.”

“For example, if you serve me food, you must remember to serve yourself as well.”

Lu Zhao stared blankly at the food Ji Zhaoxi had placed in her bowl. Listening to her words, she realized no one had ever said these things to her before.

“Cough… talk normally, okay? That kind of talk is super cheesy.” Lu Zhao snapped out of it, putting on a look of disbelief as she squinted at Ji Zhaoxi.

Just as Ji Zhaoxi was about to speak, Lu Zhao interrupted her.

“Fine, fine, let’s just eat. Everyone for themselves, no one worries about anyone else.”

After saying that, Lu Zhao lowered her head and busied herself with her rice. For the rest of the meal, she rarely looked up.

Watching her, Ji Zhaoxi sighed inwardly. She understood that some things couldn’t be rushed, so she pretended not to notice the tears falling into Lu Zhao’s rice.

Once the meal was over, Lu Zhao got up to settle the bill. When she returned, she was back to her usual smiling self.

“Didn’t you say you’d help me practice? Let’s go!”

Ji Zhaoxi asked coolly, “To your place?”

“No!” Lu Zhao refused righteously. “If you followed me back to my place, it wouldn’t fit your ‘unattainable flower’ vibe, nor would it fit my identity as your simp!”

“So, we’re going to your house!”

Ji Zhaoxi: “…”

“You don’t have to pigeonhole yourself as a ‘simp’,” Ji Zhaoxi said, her patience thinning.

Lu Zhao’s eyes widened as she looked at Ji Zhaoxi in disbelief.

“President Ji, how can you discriminate against simps? What’s wrong with being a simp! Don’t simps have human rights too?!”

Ji Zhaoxi: “…” Had she even said that?

Seeing that Lu Zhao didn’t seem to find the term offensive at all—and even seemed to embrace it—she chose not to say anything more.

The bodyguards drove them back to Ji Zhaoxi’s villa. Since Ji Zhaoxi had a printer, Lu Zhao printed out the script backup from her phone. She pointed to the lines for the second female lead and lamented, “It’s this character. Why does she have so many emotional scenes?!”

Usually, the villainous second lead in these stories doesn’t have this much emotional baggage with the male lead!

Ji Zhaoxi took the script and skimmed through it. Her brow immediately furrowed.

“This role has a kiss scene?”

“Yeah, there’s one. The second female lead forcibly kisses the male lead out of desperation,” Lu Zhao explained.

Ji Zhaoxi studied the script closely. “Is there any reason why this must be a kiss? The male lead is humiliating her; the most logical reaction would be to slap him. Why would she force a kiss only to be pushed away and slapped in return?”

“Yeah, this plot is nonsensical and illogical. And this male lead has no class,” Ji Zhaoxi finally critiqued.

Lu Zhao stared at her, dumbfounded. After a pause, she asked hesitantly, “President Ji… have you been possessed? Why are you talking so much today?”

First accompanying her for a check-up, then giving her a pep talk, and now analyzing the plot… compared to her usual self, today’s Ji Zhaoxi was incredibly approachable!

Ji Zhaoxi gritted her teeth slightly. “Do you want to run the lines or not?”

“I do, I do!” Lu Zhao shouted quickly, deciding not to overthink it as she began discussing the scene.

“If this kiss scene can’t be cut, use a camera angle to fake it,” Ji Zhaoxi said.

Lu Zhao looked troubled. “But I’m just a ‘nobody.’ Will the director agree to let me fake it?”

She certainly didn’t want to actually kiss if she could avoid it. After all, she didn’t want to give her first kiss away to a stranger, right?

Ji Zhaoxi glanced at her and looked away. “The director will agree.”

Lu Zhao blinked. She had some suspicions about why, but her brow furrowed slightly.

If it really was what she was thinking… why was she being so good to her?

She stole a glance at Ji Zhaoxi’s cold expression and eventually shook the thought out of her head. Perhaps, since she was playing the role of her “pursuer,” Ji Zhaoxi just couldn’t stand to see her lose out.

“Now, I am the male lead and you are the second female lead. Let’s begin.”

Ji Zhaoxi set the script aside. The look in her eyes as she turned to Lu Zhao was colder than ever before.

Lu Zhao’s heart shivered, feeling a sharp, needle-like prick of pain for a fleeting second.

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