Jiang Xuxu felt a flicker of surprise. While Li Qingyuan's destiny wasn't as pure and upright as Li Qingzi's, it was still a fate of wealth and longevity. Under normal circumstances, she shouldn't be facing an early death.
Unless there was some kind of unforeseen variable.
Jiang Xuxu took a closer look and spotted that "variable"the very "Rotten Peach Blossom" that Li Qingzi had specifically summoned for her sister.
It was Xue Yining, who was currently striding out from the lounge.
He was a handsome, gentle-looking man. He walked over to Li Qingyuan with a smile, showing no intention of keeping his distance from a girl despite his status as an "idol."
It was precisely this lack of distance that made Li Qingyuan feel "special" in his heart. She stood a bit taller, her posture filled with newfound confidence.
With a wave of her hand, a support RV drove onto the lot. It was adorned with custom posters of Xue Yining, making its purpose unmistakable.
Li Qingyuan smiled sweetly at the surrounding staff. "Since today is our first day of recording, our Yining has prepared a food and drink truck for everyone. Please, help yourselves. We hope you'll look after our Yining during the shoot."
Li Qingyuan's ability to make her father favor her alone in the Li Family was no accident; she had real talent. When she wanted to please someone, her voice was sweet, and she knew exactly how to navigate social situations. The staff immediately began looking at Xue Yining with much friendlier eyes.
Given Xue Yining's current popularity, his participation in this variety show was essentially a stroke of luck. In this industry, people generally spoke according to their rank, and the staff present usually wouldn't spare much attention for an eighteenth-tier "nobody" like him.
However, Li Qingyuan's grand display of support forced them to wonder if Xue Yining had a powerful benefactor backing him. Naturally, their attitudes turned warmer.
Xue Yining was always sensitive to the gaze of others. He could feel the staff's shifting perception of him after seeing Li Qingyuan's support.
A flash of mockery, invisible to the naked eye, flickered in the depths of his eyes, though his face remained a mask of gentleness.
"It's enough that you came to see me," he said, his voice soft. "Why waste money on this kind of support? Your status is different from those fans. You don't need to do any of this for me."
Listening to his tender tone, Li Qingyuan's heart melted. She maintained a bit of her spoiled, willful demeanor as she replied, "I wanted to do it. I'm going to provide support for every single episode you record. Whatever others have, you will have too."
Xue Yining seemed to adore her spoiled yet devoted attitude. His eyes curved with warmth. "Alright."
Looking at him, Li Qingyuan felt her heart pounding. This wasn't her first relationship, but it was her first time dating a man of this type. Compared to her past flings, this one made her feel more hopelessly ensnared than ever.
But with so many people watching, she couldn't actually do anything. She had to consider Xue Yining's status as an idol; she couldn't let herself ruin his career.
She suppressed the urge to throw herself into his arms and whispered, "Yining, you're so handsome."
Li Qingyuan spoke with shy affection, failing to see the flash of sinister, cold malice that erupted in Xue Yining's eyes when he heard her words. It vanished in an instant.
But Jiang Xuxu noticed.
Even from a distance, she could see the wisps of black aura trailing behind this man named Xue Yining.
Those were the souls of people who had died with deep resentment.
One, two, three, four... five.
There were actually five of them.
Jiang Xuxu's gaze toward Xue Yining turned as cold as an ice blade.
Who could have imagined that an idol who started as a traineesomeone with such a gentle and harmless exterioractually hid the heart of a demon who enjoyed murder?
Though the five vengeful spirits instinctively followed the murderer who had killed them, they were fresh souls. Their spirit forms were barely held together, leaving them completely unable to do anything to the man.
Jiang Xuxu looked back at the increasingly vibrant, bloody aura of calamity on Li Qingyuan's face.
The girl probably had no idea that the man smiling so tenderly at her was actually plotting how to kill her.
Normally, Jiang Xuxu wouldn't interfere in the death of an ordinary person. Everyone's fate was predetermined.
But in Li Qingyuan's caseunpleasant as it was to admitthe shift in her fate toward death was caused by the Bad Peach Blossom Attracting Talisman Jiang Xuxu had sold to Li Qingzi.
Since it was her own talisman that had summoned this fatal "peach blossom," Jiang Xuxu naturally couldn't stand by and do nothing.
She let out a long, silent sigh. Selling that thing for only five thousand yuan had been a total loss.
As she was thinking, three more cars arrived at the filming site.
It was exactly time for the live stream to begin. Since most of the guests had gathered, the camera crew immediately switched to live broadcast mode.
Netizens who had been waiting online surged into the program's room the moment the stream went live.
The number of online viewers climbed from an initial three thousand to ten thousand, then thirty thousand, and finally stabilized at fifty thousand after one minute.
It wasn't an amazing start, but Director Chen and Zhou Hehe weren't worried because Gu Jingmo hadn't appeared yet.
Sure enough, as the camera focused on the three newly arrived business vans, three people stepped out in sequence.
First was the metaphysics streamer, Ling Zhenzhen.
Ling Zhenzhen looked like a simple, honest middle-aged uncle. He had become famous online for solving metaphysical incidents. Unlike other bloggers who focused on science or special effects, he claimed to be a Chumaxian practitioner who served the Five Immortals.
In Northern folklore, the Five Immortalscommonly known as the Fox, Weasel, Hedgehog, Snake, and Ratare recognized by Northern metaphysical sects. Some practitioners serve these "possessing immortals," who help their hosts solve problems through possession.
Ling Zhenzhen claimed to serve the Fox Immortal.
Jiang Xuxu's gaze swept over him. Seeing the aura on his body was so faint it was nearly invisible, she remained noncommittal.
The second person to step out was Zhou Chacha. She had recently risen to fame as the second female lead in a hit drama. Her image was sweet, though not without a touch of "scheming girl" charm, earning her the internet nickname Zhou Tea-Tea.
The last to exit was the Senior Brother from Qingfeng Temple. Although he was invited as a Taoist priest, the program crew didn't actually intend for him to appear in traditional robes.
Consequently, this Senior Brother wore a simple T-shirt and trousers. His long hair was tied back casually, giving him the look of a refined, handsome, and artistic young man.
Including Jiang Xuxu and Xue Yining, five out of the six guests had arrived.
The moment the camera swept past them, the live chat erupted.
[Ahhh! Chacha, you little cutie! I finally see you!]
[Senior Brother is so handsome! His modern look is killing me!]
[Why hasn't Jingjing arrived yet?]
[They said this was the start time, but the guests aren't all here. Is the crew deliberately baiting us?]
[I knew my Oppa wouldn't participate in such a weird variety show.]
[We want to see Oppa!]
The five guests in front of the camera couldn't see the comments. They followed the procedure, walking over to meet Jiang Xuxu and Xue Yining.
This was supposed to be the "first meeting and introduction" segmenta calm, routine part of the show.
Unexpectedly, as the three approached, Shang Lu's brow furrowed the moment his eyes landed on Xue Yining. He then uttered a sentence that left everyone stunned.
"I refuse to record with this person."
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