Chapter 41: Riding the Wave of Popularity

Song Zhineng took out her phone and handed Jiang Yu a blurry screenshot.
"This is it. Look, this was taken yesterday when you got out of the car at the club entrance. The man beside you—his face is blurred, but judging from his height and the style of his suit, many suspect he's President Fu."
Jiang Yu stared at the photo on the phone screen, her lips twitching hard.
"They can guess from this? Are these fans..."
While an intense battle raged within the Star Realm, the secluded mountain behind my retreat remained tranquil, the massive stone gate hanging in silence.
"Don't mention it. If Xu Xiao hadn't caught on, I would have succeeded already!" Lian Hongcheng stomped his foot angrily.
There was no doubt that during their recent confrontation, he had the upper hand throughout. Yet, with both sides possessing similar strength, when Gu Chen truly decided to fight with his life, all the advantages Xu Xiao had were instantly wiped away.
It took Charles quite a while to react. The smile on his face vanished, replaced by a deep gloom.
In the face of absolute strength, Xu Xiao was far superior to Di Huadao. Not to mention Di Huadao now lay on the ground, unable to resist.
"What on earth is Ghost Claw Mo Dao Qiong?" Bai Lu recalled hearing it all day, but having spent years in North Chu, he knew nothing about these people.
Gu Xijin, having suppressed her dangerous aura, now possessed a natural affinity that made the snake beast feel at ease. It nodded its serpent head in a daze, agreeing to Gu Xijin's request, essentially pledging itself to her.
Seeing several men in black outside the door, Ye Luo frowned deeply, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.
The reason was simple: the regiment hadn’t provided much valuable intelligence on this mysterious unit. Their numbers, weaponry, and the personality of their commander—all were unknowns to him as brigade commander.
Elder Shui Xuanqi saw the bone-chilling murderous intent in Tu Chen's eyes and involuntarily stepped back. Among the Five Mystics, there were clear divisions. Tu Xuanxing and Mu Xuanxing were the only two truly allied and indistinguishable from each other.
Old Lady Cai, with her disheveled hair, rushed madly at Cai Fugui, her ferocity nearly overwhelming Cai Yuan'en.

Though age had diminished their prowess, their hands were still quick. Even when both took action, they couldn't snatch the tickets—Wen Ye Shi Huoshi confirmed it.
Cai Yuanjiao took the candy with a smile and beckoned Cai Yuan'en to lead the group toward Nanshan Village.
As the sixteenth plank fell, Chu Xuanji screamed in agony, his cry echoing through Cheng'en Hall like a blood-soaked wail.
Ao Yunxin was also curious, so after returning, she instructed her contacts in Chaoge to keep a close eye on an old fortune-teller named Jiang Ziya.
She finally understood who Xia Yu resembled—just look at old Xia happily eating beside him, and the answer was clear.
"Reporting to the king, due to the heavy rains, I couldn't observe clearly from afar and beg forgiveness."
Cai Yuanjiao vaguely thought she heard Jiang Yi’s voice, quickly climbed off the kang, shuffled in her cotton slippers to the main house door, and saw Cai Fugui leading Jiang Yi inside.
"Jiang Yu, your injury... is it better?" He had wanted to visit for a long time, but couldn't find her, and was then distracted by family matters, delaying his arrival.
A pale face bore a deep scar, eyes sharp as a hawk’s, emitting a chilling gleam, a holy aura on his body suppressing all ages.
"After you give birth... satisfy me." He drawled out his words, then added his sharp, cruel condition: satisfy him, use her body to fulfill his desire. The meaning was obvious.
"We've already spoken to the person in charge. As long as we keep squeezing their funds, they'll eventually agree to sell the factory." Though the weapons factory was secretly run by Young Wang, he was so short of money now that if a buyer appeared, he'd sell it immediately.
"...You went to the set this early?" Ding Ju was speechless. Chu Luoxi had said yesterday she wasn’t in a hurry since the director’s deadline was today, yet suddenly she was so proactive.
"Hahahaha!" Hu Zhiyong had never been so happy. Chang Lin played his hand beautifully, making the Americans tremble in an instant.
"Director Ni, hello, I'm Chu Luoxi!" Courtesy demanded she introduce herself, even if she knew he recognized her.
Then Maple gave me a trench coat—the very one I wore today. "It's chilly, wear it for now; you can take it off when you arrive," he said considerately.

Ran Wei thought, why wait for another day? Since she was in the county now, she might as well visit the carpenter's house—see his workmanship, and have him look at her shop, so they could discuss renovations.
On Saturday morning, the cool breeze carried the chirping of sparrows and the scent of spring through the window into the bedroom.
She had long since read the whole script, and held a storyboard in her hand. The part she was about to perform required careful study.
Hui Niang’s words were a wake-up call. Ran Wei and Qiao Qingrong were both startled—one regretting not sneaking a bite, the other pondering whether the body’s former owner had ever eaten in the morning.
What was happening? Lin Lin was puzzled—when had she become so popular?
The fortune-teller looked over the matchmaker’s pile of birth charts and decided Lan Jia’er, Tian Guangyao's childhood friend, was the best for bearing children. Upon hearing this, Zhaoyue’s heart turned cold.
The rice had been exchanged for spirit rice at the yamen a few days ago. At the time, He Zai hid the ordinary rice to avoid suspicion, and today it was finally put to use.
Yi Yichen, seeing her pitifully poor, smiled and picked up her twenty yuan, placed it on the counter, and took eighteen yuan from his own pocket.
"It’s nothing, I just slept late last night and don’t feel well," Xuefei said, tightly clenching her hand so Situhui wouldn’t see the scars.
Yet Nangong Hong didn’t know that the Qianyou Heart-guard Mirror had already been shattered by Ling Tianshao, losing its spiritual power.
Lin Yi glanced at Bai Yunshu, whose beauty was hidden beneath a veil, but her eyes revealed she understood Lin Yi’s true thoughts.
Suddenly, a disturbance appeared in the sky. Shen Du looked up to see clouds rapidly gathering, dark and purple lightning flickering within.