As a female celebrity who came from a rural background and reached the absolute peak of the “little flower” generation, there was no way she had got there purely on looks and acting skills alone.
Zhao Xiaodao’s vision and shrewdness were both first-class.
Although the scene she had just witnessed nearly shattered her entire worldview, she had still managed to read an enormous amount from the conversation between the two.
First, they clearly knew each other. They had definitely been putting on an act just now, or at least the situation was nowhere near as serious as their words suggested. Otherwise, they would never have stopped the moment she appeared, and their banter showed perfect rapport. They were obviously friends, possibly even something closer.
Second, they were not fresh transmigrators. Even if they had crossed over, it had not been recent, because they recognised her. Only people who had lived in the modern world for a considerable time would behave like that. No transmigrator’s first priority after arriving in a new world would be to catch up on celebrities from another realm. Even perverts have a sense of priority.
Third, the woman’s immediate reaction upon seeing her had been to ask “what do we do?”. Clearly their powers were meant to stay hidden from ordinary people. Exposure would cause problems. Although Zhao Xiaodao did not know exactly what kind, she could guess a fair bit from her own current state of mind.
So the question was: what happens to an ordinary person who witnesses something they absolutely should not have seen?
Zhao Xiaodao’s first thought was silencing them permanently.
Don’t argue. When martial experts who can leap onto roofs, walk on walls, and hurl sword qi appear, do you really think they are going to pull out a non-disclosure agreement?
Of course, from their conversation and behaviour, they did not seem like the type to kill at the drop of a hat, and she herself was not some rootless nobody. The other side probably had other options.
But Zhao Xiaodao did not want to gamble on the unknown.
Under what circumstances, then, could she make them abandon any thought of silencing her?
Obviously, only by establishing a closer relationship between them.
The possible close relationships were limited: friends, partners, husband and wife, master and servant, and of course one other, master and disciple.
After mentally ruling out all the other possibilities, Zhao Xiaodao took a decisive step back, dropped to her knees in the room, and said,
“Please, heroine, accept me as your disciple!”
Part of it was pure self-preservation, but part of it was genuine longing. After all, who wouldn’t want to become superhuman?
So Zhao Xiaodao was utterly sincere.
The moment the words left her mouth, her little assistant stood there dumbfounded, and Lin Wan was completely thrown for a loop.
Lu Zheng couldn’t help giving her a thumbs-up. For Zhao Xiaodao to have climbed to her current position single-handedly, she really was no ordinary person.
“Taking a celebrity as a disciple sounds kind of fun. Shall we?” Lu Zheng teased with a smile.
“Stop messing about. I’ve only just started cultivating myself. What kind of master would I be? If anyone is taking a disciple, it’s you.”
“No thanks. Too much hassle. Not my thing.”
Zhao Xiaodao: (?˙o˙)?
Lin Wan rolled her eyes at Lu Zheng, thinking he was being far too blunt in front of the person herself.
“What do we do?” Lin Wan asked again.
“Don’t worry,” Lu Zheng nodded. “Like truth, like illusion, a dream of yellow millet. I have a way. Since fate brought us together tonight, how about an autograph?”
Lin Wan: “…”
At this point, her curiosity got the better of her. With a light leap, she flew straight in through the open window.
The little assistant was so frightened she stumbled back two steps and huddled in the corner, shaking.
Lu Zheng followed her in, gave the assistant a slight smile, and the girl instantly felt her mind go blank. Her eyes glazed over, and she sank into a daze.
Turning back, Lu Zheng finally asked, “What are you doing here?”
“After filming finished, I forgot my phone here…”
Zhao Xiaodao had barely said two sentences when she saw Lin Wan gently raise a hand and lift her cleanly off the ground.
Zhao Xiaodao: w(°o°)w
Now she had not the slightest doubt left. She quickly explained her schedule for the evening.
Lu Zheng was speechless. “Well, talk about timing.”
He looked at Zhao Xiaodao, his expression turning serious before breaking into an evil grin. “Heh heh, since you’ve seen things you shouldn’t have, don’t blame us for being ruthless!”
Although she was fairly sure he was joking, Zhao Xiaodao’s heart still skipped a beat. She hurriedly edged closer to Lin Wan and looked up pitifully. “Heroine, save me~”
That look, that tone…
“Stop scaring her,” Lin Wan said, swatting Lu Zheng.
“Heh heh, look at that acting. Way better than ours.”
Lin Wan rolled her eyes at him again. “I thought your acting was pretty good too. Extremely annoying!”
Lu Zheng: (???)
Seeing how the two of them behaved, Zhao Xiaodao knew she was safe. She glanced back at her silent assistant and immediately noticed something was wrong.
“Heroine… her?”
Lu Zheng answered, “When she wakes up tomorrow, she won’t remember anything about tonight.”
Zhao Xiaodao’s expression changed. “Soul-shifting technique?”
Lin Wan couldn’t help laughing. Lu Zheng just nodded. “Something like that.”
“C-could you… not use it on me? I swear I won’t tell a soul!” Zhao Xiaodao pleaded hurriedly.
To forget an experience this incredible would be far too much of a waste.
“I swear!” Zhao Xiaodao raised her hand, three fingers extended, looking for all the world like a proper oath.
Lin Wan turned to look at Lu Zheng. He shrugged and gave her a “up to you” expression.
She did carry a bit of celebrity aura, her reputation had always been good, she wasn’t known for loose lips, and besides, Lin Wan felt a tiny bit of vanity herself. After thinking for a moment, she warned, “You absolutely must not breathe a word to anyone. No one at all.”
Zhao Xiaodao nodded furiously, practically bouncing with excitement.
“Heroine, may I really become your disciple?” she asked cautiously.
Lin Wan shook her head.
“Am I too old?”
“You have no time to train, and even if you did succeed, what then? Planning to show off qinggong in front of the entire nation?”
Zhao Xiaodao: “…”
“Alright, it’s late. Take your assistant and head back. You still have filming tomorrow.”
“Oh, right, um…” Zhao Xiaodao hesitated. “Could we add each other as friends?”
“No…”
“Yes, of course,” Lu Zheng cut across Lin Wan’s refusal with a laugh. “No problem. We didn’t bring our phones, so give us your number and we’ll add you when we get back.”
Of course they had their phones; they were just stored inside the gourd.
Martial arts could still about be explained away. Immortal cultivation and storage spaces were a bit too much.
“Great, great!”
Zhao Xiaodao quickly recited her phone number, then tore a sticky note from her assistant’s bag, wrote it down, and handed it to Lu Zheng.
“Off you go. Your assistant will follow you the whole way. Once you’re back at the hotel she’ll wash up and go to sleep by herself. Tomorrow when she wakes up, she’ll only remember coming with you to collect the phone. Everything afterwards will be completely forgotten. She won’t remember us, so make sure you don’t let anything slip,” Lu Zheng instructed.
Zhao Xiaodao nodded repeatedly.
“We’ll see you to the studio gate,” Lin Wan said.
“Yes, yes, thank you.”
“Don’t shout.”
“Huh?”
Lin Wan stepped forward, took gentle hold of Zhao Xiaodao’s arms, and in the next instant Zhao Xiaodao felt her body become weightless as they soared into the night.
