The Real Heiress Just Wants to Be a Lazy Fish - Chapter 64

Chapter 64: The Rescue

“Rumble…”

The mountain adjacent to them trembled slightly as fragments of rock continuously slid down. The flames roared higher and higher; pressed down beneath the altar, Xiao Ran could barely catch a glimpse of Jiang Zitan’s figure anymore.

In such a situation, there was no way she could stay still. But this fire was not something an ordinary person could touch; having approached just a tiny bit, Xiao Ran was repelled several steps back by a heart-wrenching pain.

That pain wasn’t exactly the sting of a burn, but rather a sensation of something inside her body being torn to shreds.

If simply getting close did this to her, what about the person in the middle of that sea of fire?! She dared not imagine the agony Jiang Zitan was enduring there.

“Don’t worry about her. In a moment, when our Ancestor emerges, you and those people will be fresh food for him. You’ll be reunited with your friend very soon.” Seeing Xiao Ran’s futile struggle, the priest closest to her laughed.

“A super flashy red supercar just drove past!”

“I wonder which big star is driving it. The windows have very dark tint; you can’t see who’s sitting inside.”

“I really want to go take a look!”

To the side of the film studio gate, a low-chassis red sports car pulled over to the curb. Its body was glossy with a streamlined design; from front to back, it was as scorching to the eyes as its color. It caused passersby to turn their heads involuntarily.

Tao Yitong clutched her phone, sneaking over to the car door like a thief. Huddled beside the vehicle, she tapped gently on the glass. The person inside seemed to have been watching her for a while before rolling down the window.

Jiang Zitan, her face partially turned toward her while wearing oversized black sunglasses, remarked: “Are you here to steal the car?”

“…” This was clearly a script.

“…”

Tao Yitong swallowed: “This… was this bitten by her?”

Jiang Zitan folded her sunglasses and tossed them casually onto the sofa: “Who else would have bitten it? Me?”

“…”

Tao Yitong: “…”

It seemed “One Yuan” had truly committed a misdeed.

“Um… about that… I am so sorry.” Tao Yitong tried her best to pick up the scraps of paper and piece them together, using her hands to flatten the creases as much as possible. She wanted to hand the script back to Jiang Zitan, but seeing how wretched it looked, she felt too embarrassed to offer it.

“It’s nothing, just a script someone brought for me to discuss,” Jiang Zitan pointed at the item in her hand from a distance, emphasizing: “A ghost story.”

“Ah…”

Tao Yitong couldn’t help but look down at the fragmented script. She instinctively read a few lines and felt a sudden thumping in her heart.

“Though it’s incomplete, it’s well-written,” Jiang Zitan smiled. “You can take a look.”

“…”

Tao Yitong’s sinful eyes slid across a few more lines.

“…” Hearing this, Jiang Zitan’s expression didn’t change, but her fingers tapped lightly on the arm she had crossed over her chest.

“Oh? What is your home like? Why is it impossible to keep her?” Jiang Zitan was sharp; she sensed that this “impossible to keep” wasn’t an excuse, but a genuine lack of suitability.

“I…” Tao Yitong hesitated for a moment. “There are people at my home.”

Jiang Zitan’s brow furrowed, and she leaned forward slightly: “So, who exactly is at your home?”

Tao Yitong bit her lip.

Jiang Zitan asked: “Is it inconvenient to say?”

Tao Yitong shook her head: “It’s my mother. She’s bedridden, and my aunt and uncle are taking care of her. The house isn’t suitable for small animals.”

Finally, Jiang Zitan’s tense back relaxed. She leaned back against the sofa and said slowly: “Since you can’t take her away, you must come every day to fulfill your duty of looking after her.”

“Otherwise, I can’t get her to take her medicine, and it won’t be good for her health.”

Tao Yitong held the kitten and looked at Jiang Zitan: “I have to be on set every day now…”

Being on set every day didn’t guarantee a stable wrap-up time; this was a well-known fact within the industry.

Jiang Zitan waved her hand: “I know. Come whenever you finish work.”

“I happen to be quite free lately. I can pick you up if there’s time.”

“If you don’t come, she goes hungry. It’s that simple.”

Despite Jiang Zitan’s heartless words, Tao Yitong firmly believed she wasn’t as tough as she appeared. Otherwise, with a wall full of cat trees and toys piled high and low, she wouldn’t have replaced her sofa unless she truly loved kittens.

She thought about it and nodded: “Okay.”

Then she began to worry. Although this high-end residential area where Jiang Zitan lived was not far from a subway station, the transportation from the station to her house wasn’t convenient, requiring a bus transfer. If she finished too late, there might be no buses home.

Jiang Zitan seemed to see through her, saying nonchalantly: “If it’s too late, you can stay at my place. There are empty guest rooms.”

The clock on the wall jumped; it was already past the time she could take public transport home. Outside the window, it was pitch black. There were no stars tonight—likely due to the heavy morning glow earlier, tomorrow was destined not to be a fair day.

Inside, the warm light dispelled the deep cold of the night. A faint fragrance from Jiang Zitan’s body floated intermittently through the air as she brushed her hair.

“Alright, you take good care of the cat. I’m going to shower first.”

The relationship between them was already ambiguous, especially after that wild night. Finished, I’m a little scared. She wanted to return the script to Jiang Zitan. But before she could speak, she felt something warm brushing against her pant leg.

“Ah, One Yuan…”

She carefully rolled up the script and picked up the little fellow, finding she had gained quite a bit of weight. Holding the now much larger kitten, Tao Yitong’s almond eyes curved with a smile. She met One Yuan’s round, large eyes—her own gaze clear and pure: “You’ve grown so much in a week. It seems you still recognize me?”

The kitten nuzzled familiarly in Tao Yitong’s arms, shifting into a comfortable position and letting out a happy “Meow.” Tao Yitong smoothed its fur, her face full of smiles. Anyone could see she truly loved this kitten.

“No! No,” Tao Yitong leaned against the car door. “I’m afraid of being seen. It’s a bit… eye-catching.”

When I say she leaned against the car door, she was truly huddled against it. Though her slender frame was tall, she was delicate; she crouched outside the door in a small ball, hands gripping the edge of the lowered window. Half her face was buried below the door frame, leaving only a pair of round almond eyes peering timidly at Jiang Zitan inside the car.

Just like a kitten.

They say those with a guilty conscience act like thieves. Just because she was associated with something expensive, she felt guilty; it was actually quite cute.

“It’s normal income from labor. What is there to fear?”

“Her?” Jiang Zitan sat back on the new sofa, her long legs crossed, and took off her sunglasses: “Nothing much. She probably just didn’t like that white sofa.”

Tao Yitong was silent for two seconds, looking down at the scraps of paper on the floor. Calling them scraps was an understatement; they were torn-up pages, the tears jagged and even bearing bite marks. She silently knelt down to gather the papers, seeing annotations marked with different colored pens.

Jiang Zitan looked at her, arching a long eyebrow. “You really are her ‘mother’.”

“Alright, now you are going to solve a century-old problem.”

Hearing this, Tao Yitong felt as if she were facing a formidable enemy. She looked up, a trace of panic in her clear eyes: “What?”

“Give her the medicine.”

Five minutes later, Tao Yitong scratched One Yuan’s chin, talking to the kitten as if coaxing a child: “Good girl, so brave. You ate it in one bite.”

“How about eating this one too?”

Jiang Zitan tilted her head slightly toward Tao Yitong. “Get in.”

Tao Yitong let out an “Oh” and began fumbling for the door handle. It took a long while before she leaned back over the window edge, peeking half her face out to ask weakly: “Where… where do I open the door?”

In winter, it gets dark early. The greyish horizon was now shrouded in a dim cobalt blue. The streetlights were on, and a warm yellow light happened to fall on those fluffy, smooth strands of hair. Tao Yitong looked as if she were gilded in light. Her long eyelashes and high bridge of her nose were highlighted; her red lips looked soft, and her cheeks were hidden in light shadow, making her entire person seem soft and warm.

The corner of Jiang Zitan’s mouth twitched into an almost imperceptible curve. She reached out and pressed a button, and the car door “whooshed” upward—opening in an unusual way, revealing the passenger cabin. Had Tao Yitong truly been a kitten hanging on the door, her feet would have been lifted off the ground.

After rescuing those ordinary people, Tao Yitong vigilantly observed the movements in this space. It wasn’t just the earth that was cracking—the mountain beside her was as well. Countless boulders peeled off the mountain body, and the remaining “mountain” actually began to move slowly. The fire at the altar lit up again, and this time the flames extended from the altar all the way to this “mountain”!

Peng Shuang looked back, and this glance left her face filled with shock. That so-called mountain had actually turned into a giant “Buddha.” The “Buddha” sat cross-legged with a string of prayer beads around its neck, looking very solemn, yet its face was hideous. Looking closely, those prayer beads were clearly made of skulls, emitting a chilling ghostly aura.

Is this even a Buddha? It’s clearly a demon…

Peng Shuang didn’t even realize she had spoken her thoughts aloud.

“Buddha? If this thing is a Buddha, then I can seriously go tell the Leshan Giant Buddha to move over so I can sit there instead,” Tao Yitong sneered. This thing was the incarnation of the Ogre they had been yearning for.

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