Compared with the others, Shen Linchuan looked to be in extremely poor condition. He clutched the cat doll in his hand, his entire face so pale that there was not the slightest trace of color.
“Shen Linchuan?” Yu Qian saw how dazed he looked and became a little worried. “Are you okay?”
Shen Linchuan came back to his senses. After a long while, he shook his head, his eyes fixed intently on Liuyun on Xi Yu’s arm.
Xi Yu seemed to sense something and turned his head to look at him.
“Bro!” Luo Cheng’an trotted over to Xi Yu’s side and hooked his arm around his. His eyes were still red around the edges. “I was just in such a strange place. I saw everyone abandoning me. I was so scared.”
Lu Zhixing’s eyes turned slightly cold, and an almost imperceptible trace of mockery appeared at the corners of his lips.
Xi Yu patted Luo Cheng’an’s hand to comfort him. “Don’t be scared yet. It’s almost time. Let’s get out first.”
【As expected, the younger brother can’t beat the husband!】
【Luo Cheng’an: Hey, what happened to me?】
【Beauty Yu is running around like crazy, hahahahahahaha】
【If anyone says ‘Follow Your Heart, Follow Your Jade’ is fake, I don’t believe them. Baby Yu’s level of attention toward Brother Lu is extraordinary.】
【Shen Linchuan looks like he’s in such bad shape. What’s going on?】
【I was just about to say that. He was trembling the whole time just now, clutching his A-Beibei tightly.】
【Luo Cheng’an also said he was scared. I’m curious what they saw.】
【That cat doll Shen Linchuan has seems to be especially important to him.】
【The livestream is about to end, right? I’m waiting outside the gate. Chairman Luo is at the entrance, hahaha.】
【You’re there too? There are so many luxury cars. I heard they’re all family members.】
The illusion ended, and the entrance to the Mist Forest was not far away.
Xi Yu led them for less than twenty minutes before they arrived.
At the towering stone gate, Xi Yu pressed his hand against it. Liuyun slid along his arm and fitted itself into the depression in the stone gate.
The next second, the stone gate slowly opened, and a mechanical voice sounded along with it.
“Congratulations to the five of you for successfully clearing the trial. All cameras are now being shut down. The Mist Forest will now be permanently sealed. Everyone—farewell forever.”
As those words fell, all the hidden cameras shut down.
Xi Yu turned his head and looked into the Mist Forest. Layer upon layer of mist once again enveloped the forest, and a huge black shadow burrowed deep inside.
Without Liuyun, the monsters here could no longer be suppressed.
Permanently sealed…
It seemed that the owner of the Mist Forest had no intention of harming anyone.
That saved him another trip.
Xi Yu had originally been thinking that there were so many monsters after all these years, and without Liuyun, it was inevitable that some of them would escape and hurt people. He had planned to set up a barrier and then leave.
Since it had been sealed, there was no need.
Xi Yu only noticed the words “permanently sealed,” but Yu Qian sensed that something was wrong. She wanted to ask what “hidden cameras” meant, but the gate had opened, so she still left the Mist Forest first.
This place really was strange, especially the illusion she had just seen. The people inside—
Yu Qian swallowed nervously, still shaken, but the moment she stepped out of the Mist Forest, she saw the person inside the illusion who had caused her both pain and happiness.
A man dressed in a casual suit smiled.
“Little Fish, come here.”
“Brother…”
“Bro! Hurry up and come out!”
Yu Qian’s soft murmur of “Brother” was drowned out by Luo Cheng’an’s shout.
Xi Yu withdrew his gaze and was the last one to walk out of the Mist Forest.
As Xi Yu stepped out of the Mist Forest, the stone gate behind him slowly closed. As the key that had opened the stone gate, Liuyun was locked inside.
But the next second, it passed straight through the stone gate and once again wrapped itself around Xi Yu’s arm.
His magical artifact had returned. This trip had finally come to an end.
The corners of Xi Yu’s lips curled into a smile, but halfway through the smile, he could no longer smile.
Where had all these people come from?
Several cameras frantically photographed the five people’s faces. Luo Yuan and Shen Qing stood there properly dressed, smiling as they looked at Xi Yu.
Luo Cheng’an had already grabbed the dazed Xi Yu and rushed over.
“Dad, Mom! Did you watch the variety show? Wasn’t I amazing? That snake was so huge, and the moment I pulled out my talismans, they got scared and backed off.”
Luo Yuan laughed.
“Wasn’t your brother the amazing one?”
“That’s true, but I’m amazing too, right? I’m at least a little bit amazing, right?” Luo Cheng’an acted spoiled, looking like a three-year-old child who had finished his homework and was waiting to be praised.
Shen Qing smiled, but as she smiled, her eyes turned red. She turned her head and secretly wiped away her tears.
Xi Yu knew why Shen Qing was sad.
Because of what Luo Shujing had said.
People like Shen Qing and Luo Yuan, with their personalities, would certainly feel that they had caused harm to Luo Cheng’an.
Xi Yu looked at Luo Cheng’an. He was still talking, using exaggerated gestures to make Shen Qing laugh.
Shen Qing also felt that this was not good. She turned away to compose herself.
Luo Yuan blocked the camera so it could not film them, then said to Xi Yu and Luo Cheng’an,
“My two sons are both amazing!”
【The look in Mrs. Shen’s eyes when she looks at Luo Cheng’an is filled with nothing but heartache. Sob sob sob, I’m about to cry.】
【Luo Cheng’an’s eyes are red too, and he’s still fooling around trying to make Shen Qing laugh.】
【Don’t kill me with the family affection knife, please.】
【Luo Cheng’an has it the worst. If it weren’t for Luo Shan, his parents wouldn’t have had to die at all. Actually, I think Shen Qing is blaming herself. If Luo Shan hadn’t been jealous of their family, Luo Cheng’an could have had both parents.】
【Don’t say anymore. Every single person in this family has suffered so much. Luckily Baby Yu came back, otherwise I feel like in a few years we’d be hearing news of Luo Cheng’an’s death.】
【Probably not, right? Luo Cheng’an would have participated in this variety show anyway, and I would have learned about Luo Shujing’s scheme. He wouldn’t die, right?】
【Didn’t you hear Luo Shujing say that day that he only made his move because Xi Yu came back? If Xi Yu hadn’t returned and exposed the Fate-Swap Lock, Luo Shujing wouldn’t have panicked and made a move on the variety show. We wouldn’t have known any of this at all. Maybe if he had died, Luo Shujing’s fans would even have cheered, saying that evil people get what they deserve.】
【Being a fan of Luo Shujing now is basically like having a criminal record. My friend hasn’t gone out for several days, busy deleting her Moments posts and deactivating her Weibo, and leaving all kinds of fan groups.】
【I hope the whole Luo family can finally have better days after all their suffering. May everything go smoothly from now on.】
【Quick, look at Brother Lu. Everyone else’s parents came to pick them up, but no one came for him, hahahahaha.】
【Shen Linchuan, I’m dying laughing. Everyone else had their parents come to pick them up, while he had his parents-in-law come to pick him up.】
【Wrong. My Brother Lu has no one picking him up.】
Lu Zhixing stood outside the stone gate. This was a private area, so fans could not enter. Only the production crew could come in.
The show was already wrapping up. He stepped aside, watching as Xi Yu was examined and questioned again and again by the Luo family’s parents, while Luo Cheng’an stood beside him. The two of them lowered their heads and talked, standing very close together.
………………….
Lu Zhixing looked away, forcing himself not to watch.
Huai Xi, that sweet-talking, two-faced person, had merely taken advantage of having a good identity. That was why he could stay this close to his Master.
Lu Zhixing warned himself that the most important thing right now was to find a way to activate the Slaughter Formation, not to be jealous.
There had been him in his Master’s illusion. His Master regretted how badly he had treated him in the end, which meant there must certainly be a place for him in his heart.
As long as he stripped away his demonic meridians, he could be with his Master just as they had been before.
Huai Xi absolutely could not steal his Master away.
But what if…
Lu Zhixing clenched both hands into fists. He did not even dare look at Luo Cheng’an and Xi Yu together.
Anything could happen.
In the past, he had clung to his Master in exactly this way, making his Master treat him differently from everyone else.
Could it be that…
Could he be replaced by someone else?
Lu Zhixing’s heart ached bitterly, as though an invisible little knife were cutting him, once, then again, and again.
Just as the pain spread through him, the back of his hand was lightly brushed.
Immediately afterward, a clear, cool voice came from beside his ear, like a lifesaving antidote.
“Do you want to come down the mountain with me?”
Xi Yu had only asked casually. He was rather puzzled that no one had come to pick up Lu Zhixing.
Even if his family members did not come, his manager should have come, right?
There was a stretch of road after coming down the mountain where it was difficult to get a car. And with Lu Zhixing being a celebrity of his level, it would be troublesome if he were recognized along the way. It would be better for him to go down with them.
Xi Yu had no idea what they would face after going down the mountain. He simply thought that no one was waiting for Lu Zhixing down there.
Xi Yu looked at Lu Zhixing, waiting for his answer.
There were already many people at the entrance to the Mist Forest, including the production crew and the guests’ family members.
Yu Qian was holding her brother’s hand, her expression somewhat cold and stubborn.
Shen Linchuan was talking with his parents-in-law.
Luo Cheng’an, even more so, was chattering nonstop and could not sit still.
Against such a scene, Lu Zhixing standing there all alone looked especially pitiful.
【Someone was just cursing, asking where Brother Lu’s manager had disappeared to.】
【Where’s Brother Lu’s manager? Why didn’t he come? Hahahahaha.】
【Brother Lu’s manager has complained before that unless he’s notified, he’s not allowed to show up whenever he wants.】
【Manager: Please, Heaven! Distinguish the loyal from the treacherous!】
【Oh my god, Xi Yu really knows how to love someone.】
【Everyone is with their families, and Baby Yu saw my Brother Lu all alone and went over to ask if he wanted to go down the mountain with him. Sob sob sob, my eyes are peeing.】
【Brother Lu’s parents are overseas, and he doesn’t let his manager come either. That’s really pitiful.】
【Brother Lu looks pitiful, but actually he still has a wife who dotes on him.】
【Wife? Isn’t Xi Yu the seme? Your Brother Lu looks pretty delicate.】
【Enough. Xing fans, don’t look. That’s a malicious comment.】
With Lu Zhixing’s popularity and Xi Yu’s current popularity boosting it, “Follow the Stars, Follow the Jade” had already become the hottest CP in the domestic entertainment industry, with extremely high discussion levels.
The amount of attention they received had reached the point where simply appearing in the same frame would result in fanfiction being written about them.
Xi Yu knew nothing about this. Otherwise, he definitely would not have walked over while the cameras were still filming. However, he controlled his distance very well and did not stand that close. His hand had merely brushed against Lu Zhixing’s by accident.
Luo Cheng’an rested his head against Shen Qing’s shoulder as he watched Xi Yu and Lu Zhixing, the smile on his face failing to reach his eyes.
Lu Zhixing lowered his gaze. Xi Yu was wearing a light-colored satin shirt, which made his entire appearance look fresh and bright.
Lu Zhixing smiled with his lips pressed together, his brows and eyes bright.
He nodded and said,
“Okay, we…”
“Xingxing!”
Lu Zhixing’s words were interrupted by an excited woman’s voice.