This is... (Seeking follow-up reads, the book is going cold)

This was the second time Tang Yuehua had heard this.

In the mind of this fellow Lu Mingchuan, she was actually such a filthy person; how could she possibly have feelings for Hao?

Despicable!!

Even with all her cultivation and grace, she could not maintain her composure.

Hold it in, I must hold it in.

Below them, Bibi Dong was doubled over with laughter, drawing strange looks from the other tea drinkers.

She had been curious about Tang Yuehua's romantic entanglements for a while.

Now, hearing the story of "Clown Huazi," she could no longer keep up her cold, aloof facade.

Unrequited love and wanting to engage in something taboo... pfft...

"Mingchuan, let's head back. You have lessons tomorrow."

Tang Yuehua stood up, favoring her injured leg as she limped toward the stairs.

She had originally intended to reason with him and appeal to his emotions so she could teach him properly, but now...

You will be this lady's student for the rest of your life...

As for the money you paid, I'll just consider it startup capital for the Yue Pavilion Chamber of Commerce.

Although the curiosities Lu Mingchuan spoke of were rare, she didn't believe she wouldn't encounter them in her lifetime as long as she expanded her business to the common folk.

Not many people were paying attention to the commoner market, after all.

[Oh ho, I finally tried to show some gentlemanly grace, but who knew you, Huazi, were such a tough nut to crack, trying to limp your way home like that.]

[Still, Huazi is a bit heavy, so I won't bother seeing her off.]

That is called being curvaceous!!

Hearing Lu Mingchuan's words from behind, Tang Yuehua stopped her good leg and stepped backward, just as she had done before.

Does this sister look like someone you can just leave idle?

Her graceful figure and fair legs came into Lu Mingchuan's view.

"Sister's leg hurts, I can't walk anymore."

???

Lu Mingchuan carried Tang Yuehua back to the Yue Pavilion.

After stepping out, he shook his hands.

[Little brat, trying to play games with me? A bridal carry was enough to break your defenses. Stop acting like some insightful noblewoman.]

[Come back and try to break my defenses in twenty years.]

Lu Mingchuan had only been joking about Tang Yuehua being heavy.

Any guy who had carried a girl knew that as long as she stayed still in his arms, she would be as light as a cloud.

If she were jumping around in his arms, even Taro wouldn't be able to hold onto her.

Upon returning to his own estate, Lu Mingchuan immediately spotted the Old Butler at the entrance.

The Old Butler's loyalty to him was truly beyond reproach.

Except for the occasional urge to lecture him on the Wolf Warrior Sutra, he was a perfectly talented man.

"Young Master, you've returned. Have you met the Saintess yet? If not, I have a few candidates here who are sure to satisfy you."

The moment the Old Butler saw him, he got straight to the point.

Damn it, Lu Mingchuan realized he had been wrong.

This butler only knew the Sky Dog Sutra.

Lu Mingchuan kept a straight face: "Butler, don't mention that heartless woman to me. From now on, I am the true second-generation heir of this Spirit City."

He had to establish his persona first so that his reputation would sound better when the new plotline began.

"I, the Old Butler, am loyal!!"

Lu Mingchuan looked with satisfaction at the energetic Old Butler.

"Then, Young Master, which young lady do you wish to pursue?" The Old Butler wrinkled his aged face and leaned in obsequiously.

Presumptuous.

Ignoring the Old Butler, whose head was filled with the Wolf Warrior Sutra, Lu Mingchuan went straight to his quarters.

[Exhausting. They say I'm a villainous second-generation heir, but where are the beauties and the decadent plotlines that a villainous heir should have?]

[All I have by my side is a loyal old butler.]

[Forget it. Come to think of it, if that beauty had Dongzi's brain, wouldn't I be in for a world of suffering?]

Lu Mingchuan activated the ultra-modern furniture inside his room.

"System, you're the best. At least you provided these things for me to enjoy."

The self-charging automatic massage bed behind him began its daily work.

"That kid Yu Xiaogang should be fine, right?"

Lu Mingchuan rubbed his chin in thought. As a dedicated actor, he wasn't concerned about his opponent, but rather the scenes he had left to film.

If the character died, there were scenes for that.

If he didn't die, then naturally, he would just switch to a different script.

As the current male lead, Yu Xiaogang's performance was truly worrying.

Even with the protagonist's halo, he still managed to stir up such strange trouble. If it affected his own upcoming scenes and forced a restart, what would he do?

[But that tigress Bibi Dong, does she really have no other moves? Is she just going to use the same trick for everything?]

[Eye-gouging, double-ear claps, monkey... no, that won't work. With Yu Xiaogang's health bar, if she actually got serious and landed a few dozen hits, he'd be bottomed out instantly.]

Meanwhile, Bibi Dong, who had been called out once again, stared at the rafters in the room with an expression that said, "What are you going to do about it?"

She had long since returned to Spirit Hall. Thinking back to how she saw Lu Mingchuan holding Tang Yuehua and acting all lovey-dovey at the teahouse made her blood boil.

Since that bastard treated his interactions with her as nothing more than acting, why couldn't she, the female lead of this play, improvise a little?

"Hmph... just tell me, are the male and female leads both present or not?"

Doesn't filming require a male and female lead?

Isn't it enough to just have them both on set to start shooting?

Since both conditions were met, what right did you, Lu Mingchuan, have to call me a tigress?

[And another important point: I actually treated Tang Yuehua as a mere spectator. I should have just said to Huazi: 'The guy down there knows your brother.']

[If I had said that, Huazi would have scurried over immediately, ignoring the injury on her leg.]

[Still not rigorous enough. Must improve next time, Best Actor Lu.]

Inside the Yue Pavilion, Tang Yuehua hid under her covers, clutching her face.

She suddenly lifted her head, gritting her teeth as she slapped the quilt.

"Mingchuan, and here I was thinking so fondly of you..."

There was no way she would ever be the kind of woman Lu Mingchuan described, running over like that.

She could never be that kind of woman who falls for her own kin; it was absolutely impossible.

"Since you think of me that way, Mingchuan... then this sister will have to show you her resolve."

Yu Xiaogang, was it?

She didn't care if he knew her second brother or not. It was all because of him that she had become such a wicked woman in Lu Mingchuan's eyes.

She felt a pang of regret.

Tang Yuehua only felt frustrated that she hadn't gone down there to kick him a few times herself.

Now, she had no way to vent her pent-up anger.

No... she had to stay calm. Getting angry at night would cause wrinkles.

Having reviewed everything, Lu Mingchuan felt he was incredibly cool.

In all the world, who else was as dedicated to their craft as he was?

"System, there shouldn't be anything left for me to do, right?"

Lu Mingchuan had already envisioned his days of living in seclusion in the mountains with these gadgets.

An electric dog to plow the fields, an electronic chicken to sow the seeds.

And all the other modern, non-electric things—he didn't even dare to imagine how comfortable his future life would be.

[Are you sure? Weren't you quite clear about the plot when you were creating those 'shura fields' before?]

[Carrying the crippled protagonist through wind and rain, carrying their urns to finish the script...]

[And there's more...]

"Alright, alright, am I not even allowed the right to daydream?" Lu Mingchuan protested with dissatisfaction.

As long as the actors are on set, isn't that enough? He hadn't done anything to the protagonist this time.

Even the punch he wanted to throw had been interrupted by Bibi Dong.

He was such an honest person, yet in the System's eyes, he was so wicked.

Time to sleep.

He pulled the quilt over himself.

"Wake me up with a clock-in reminder tomorrow morning, System."