"Thank you." He nodded gently to him, paused, as if he had rarely remembered that he had a disciple, and asked on a whim, "How has your cultivation been lately? Is there anything you don't understand?"
Jiuli was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then quickly glanced at Fan Wu, the corners of his mouth curving upwards almost imperceptibly, but he quickly suppressed it.
"Reporting to Master, I have cultivated the Brahma Sound Heart Method to the sixth level."
"Oh?" Fan Wu slightly surprised. He hadn't expected the boy's comprehension and talent to be so high. He had only brought the boy back out of pity. The boy was naturally carefree and unrestrained. In addition, he had been in seclusion for many years and didn't care about the affairs of the sect. After bringing him back, he was left in the sect to fend for himself. He was only given the title of the sect leader's personal disciple, so Fan Wu knew very little about him.
"When I was your age, I had only reached the fifth level of cultivation."
Jiuli frowned almost imperceptibly and said in a deep voice, "Master, you flatter me. I am far inferior to you."
Fan Wu smiled slightly and leaned casually against the stone wall. The slight movement caused ripples on the water, and the sound of the water clearly reached Jiu Li's ears. Jiuli's eyelashes trembled.
"Don't underestimate yourself," he said. "If you keep this up, you're sure to achieve great things in the future."
Jiuli: "Thank you for the compliment, Master."
"Alright." Fan Wu seemed somewhat weary, slowly closing his eyes and saying in a calm voice, "Leave the medicine here, you may leave."
Jiuli lowered his eyelashes and replied, "Yes."
Then he lowered his head and slowly backed away, his expression respectful. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly looked up and glanced at the water in the stone pool.
Fan Wu leaned lazily against his arm, one hand supporting his chin, his head slightly tilted and his eyes closed. His slender back revealed beautiful and alluring shoulder blades, and his exposed skin was snow-white and delicate, making it impossible to look away.
"Aren't you leaving yet?"
Suddenly, Fan Wu's red lips parted slightly, and she asked in a low voice, presumably having sensed that the surrounding aura still existed.
Jiuli seemed to be suddenly awakened. After regaining his senses, he quickly apologized in a low voice and then turned and left quickly.
Fan Wu slowly opened his eyes, squinted at Jiuli's gradually disappearing figure, and frowned thoughtfully.
His comprehension and talent are indeed quite good, but his willpower is not firm enough. If I don't keep a close eye on him, he might be misled by evil spirits. It seems I won't be able to be his master anymore; I'll have to pay more attention to his situation.
"Cut!"
It was already 2 a. m. when they finished work. Xu Chun was so tired that she parted ways with Xie Jianyuan after returning to the hotel, intending to go back to her room and get a good night's sleep.
Goodnight, Brother Chun.
Seeing that Xu Chun was really sleepy, Xie Jianyuan stopped bothering him and they each returned to their own rooms.
As soon as her head hit the pillow, Xu Chun fell asleep immediately, only to be woken up by her phone ringing at eight o'clock the next morning. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and answered the phone.
The person on the other end of the phone was Su Li, and she sounded somewhat flustered.
Something's happened.
After hearing this, Xu Chun's previously drowsy mind immediately cleared up. She sat up straight, frowned, and said, "What is it? Tell me slowly."
"The skincare product you endorsed before has caused a large-scale allergic reaction and skin damage incident. There are even comments online from fans saying they bought the skincare product because of your endorsement."
Xu Chun's heart sank slowly as he asked, "Where has the situation progressed to now?"
When celebrities accept endorsements, it's all handled by their company teams, which involves too many entanglements of interests, leaving the actors themselves with virtually no say.
Moreover, Xu Chun herself used the brand's skincare products during the time she was endorsing them, and there were no problems. It's just that because she usually endorses so many products and changes her skincare routine frequently, she was half-hearted, or rather, she didn't pay much attention to it at all. She just used whatever the brand gave her.
"This has blown up quite a bit. Many people are now seeking online exposure to protect their rights. Normally, the biggest responsibility for this kind of thing lies with the business, but now some people are intentionally directing the criticism at you, and many marketing accounts have been paid to work together to smear you."
Xu Chun, as if struck by a sudden thought, gave a cold laugh, "It seems the person behind this came prepared."
Su Li said, "The company has done emergency public relations for you, removing the trending topic and replacing it with other trending events to divert netizens' attention. However, this is only temporary. Next, we need to investigate whether there is anything fishy about those rights defenders. I don't believe it's such a coincidence that they all suddenly had allergic reactions at the same time. We didn't hear a thing beforehand."
Xu Chun pursed her lips. "Do you need me to step in?"
Su Li said, "No need. Your involvement will only escalate the situation. Those people are eager to smear you. If you go out, you'll just be playing into their hands."
Xu Chun fell silent, seemingly lost in thought, before suddenly asking, "How has Shen Zhu been lately?"
Su Li frowned slightly in displeasure when he mentioned the name: "Him? I heard he's taken on a reality show and is currently filming it."
"I see."
Meanwhile, on the other side, Shen Zhu was being interviewed by a variety show crew. He had an extremely friendly smile on his face and was listening attentively to the crew's questions.
When asked who he admired most in the entertainment industry, he smiled and replied, "Xu Chun."
The production team asked, "Why?"
Shen Zhu glanced at the camera. "Because he's a perfect actor." She paused, then smiled meaningfully and added, "In every sense of the word."
This statement is highly ambiguous. Not to mention that any subtle expression or unintentional action of a celebrity will be magnified and analyzed by netizens, his statement, combined with Xu Chun's recent reputation being damaged, can lead people to wonder whether "Xu Chun's personality in private is as good as it is on camera."
As Shen Zhu walked out of the interview room, she greeted the staff with a smile, then went down the elevator, exited the TV station, and got into her van.