Chapter 10

Joy That I Return Has a Time Limit（10）

Chapter Ten

The long night passed, and Wanwan didn’t even close its eyes, keeping watch over Mu He. When she woke up, it immediately wagged its tail, jumped onto the bed, and licked the back of her hand: “Meow!”

Last night, after you fell asleep, that man came in!

Mu He lightly tapped its nose: “Wanwan, good morning.”

Wanwan grew anxious, pacing around a small area beside the bed repeatedly: “Meow meow!”

Look, these wrinkles are from where he slept!

Mu He thought it was just unfamiliar with the new environment. She leaned slightly forward, black hair cascading over the bed, scratched its chin, gently soothing it: “Good kitty.”

Realizing it couldn’t make her fully understand, Wanwan paced anxiously. Then, seeming to have an idea, it jumped off the rug, walked straight to the wall opposite the bed, raised a paw, and tapped: “Meow meow meow!”

He’s in there!

I saw it with my own eyes, the wall opened a crack, big enough like a door, and there’s a room inside. He went in!

Wanwan meowed twice more with no response. It looked back at Mu He, who was still dazed, licked its mouth corner, drooped its tail, and returned to the cat bed to resume napping.

Sigh, as a cat, it truly endured a lot alone.

Mu He still lay on the bed in a daze. From where Wanwan had just stood, she caught a faint scent of pine, cold and crisp, very similar to Xi Heng’s aura. Yet, on closer sniffing, it seemed to vanish.

Shaking her head and smiling, she thought she might still be half-asleep, her thoughts muddled—how could his scent possibly be on her bed?

Her right eyelid twitched without warning.

Left twitches mean wealth, right twitches mean misfortune.

Mu He recalled discussing this with Xi Heng before. She thought a left eyelid twitch meant good luck, right meant bad luck; he thought a left twitch meant losing luck (wealth), right meant avoiding disaster. Neither convinced the other.

Thinking this, Mu He grabbed her phone, turned off airplane mode, and sent him a message: “Right eyelid twitches a lot, I still think it’s…”

The input method suggested a homophone. Just then, Tan Mian called. Quick-fingered, she selected a word, sent the message, then answered the call.

A strong voice came from the other end: “Teacher Mu, Coco’s fans have sent you trending again!”

Mu He’s right eyelid twitched again.

At the same time, in the walk-in closet, Huo Siheng was shirtless, wearing loose black trousers. His shoulder-to-waist lines were sharp and defined, especially the V-shaped mermaid line descending into the black fabric. Along his left waistline was a black tattoo, only partially visible, giving a mysterious and alluring impression.

He noticed the movement outside, raising an eyebrow. She had woken earlier than he expected. His phone on the table pinged; he glanced casually, recognizing her name on the screen.

He continued picking shirts from the shelf—all black but differing in collar patterns and cufflinks. He quickly chose one, put it on, buttoned it meticulously, tucked it into his trousers, then grabbed a belt. Once prepared, he picked up his phone to check her new message—

Mu Yangyang: “Right eyelid twitches a lot, I still think it’s a bra.”

Huo Siheng frowned slightly, then relaxed, a playful smile flashing in his deep eyes.

No need to question the odd content—she clearly picked the wrong word.

He leaned back in a casual posture, rereading the two characters, slightly at a loss, unsure how to reply.

In the bedroom just a wall apart, Mu He sat at the bed’s end, morning light gently wrapping her, her porcelain skin translucent and beautiful. She tucked a few stray strands behind her ear and listened quietly as Tan Mian continued excitedly:

“The marketing accounts somehow posted that Zhao Yike would play Xi Yin. Coco’s fans immediately weren’t happy. How could our goddess play second female lead?!”

“They went crazy, fiercely criticizing every marketing account. Dissed that playing Xi Yin is an insult to Zhao Yike, then ran to her Weibo, pleading, crying, shouting—telling her not to make the wrong choice, not to ruin her future, and showing loyalty, not to wrong herself, that we’ll always be her strongest support!”

“Then, the main event came—” Tan Mian raised her voice for emphasis, “the official Xianxia Romance account posted directly, ‘Welcome Dragon Girl Xi Yin @Mu He back.’

It was like slapping Coco’s fans across the face!”

It arrived just in time. Smack in the face—felt so satisfying.

Coco’s fans were caught off guard by the post, and upon realizing, spun into a new thought: “Damn, our Coco’s role was taken?”

Their reaction was instant. Just a moment ago, someone didn’t even like the role, but now that what belonged to our goddess was stolen? Unacceptable!

Several fan leaders emerged, rallying: “Sisters, unite! Anyone violating Coco’s rights, we’ll tear them to pieces! Defend the goddess to the end, charge!”

After sending Mu He trending, some Coco fans got arrogant, even sarcastically commenting under the official Xianxia Romance account:

“Good, thank you for sparing us!”

“Hehe, I knew Coco would never look at such an inferior role. Playing female lead already feels like she’s being wronged.”

“Trash production shamelessly leeching our Coco’s popularity.”

“xswl, can we donate our eyes to someone in need? They didn’t want to ride your heat, that’s why they clarified so quickly.”

“Even if Coco’s fans play little crayfish, there’s nothing I can do. Your idol went for the audition herself and did interviews, with video proof. Open your eyes and check Daddy’s pinned Weibo, don’t make the entertainment industry as messy as your doghouse.”

“Also, tell your idol not to act both ways, don’t treat people like fools.”

“Hahaha, they didn’t even mention Zhao Yike, but I sense disdain and pride in these calm ten words.”

“After eating melons all night, my mouth hurts from smiling! Coco fans looked down on her role, but she didn’t even consider their idol. Instead, she slapped back—doesn’t that hurt?”

“Isn’t the one who gets hurt the most @Zhao Yike?”

…

Netizens mocked Zhao Yike and her fans, then expressed anticipation for Mu He’s portrayal of Xi Yin and followed her. Overnight, Mu He gained another 200,000 followers.

“I declare it! Solid proof! Coco fans really boost Mu He!”

“@All Coco fans, friends, check the facts? Don’t bark and bite everywhere after your idol, pick a tree (‘Mu’) to rest on.”

Tan Mian reported the online situation, laughed, and ended the call.

Mu He didn’t log into Weibo but put down her phone to wash up.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yike was furious at her fans! Ah, all blind, deaf, low-IQ, troublemaking trash!

At first, she was fine with the marketing account news—she was confident about the audition. She knew fans might resist; controversy brings attention and heat. When the time was right, she planned a heartfelt essay to pacify fans. But halfway through, the official Xianxia Romance account clarified, confirming Xi Yin was set for Mu He!

For Zhao Yike, it was a bolt from the blue—unbelievable, infuriating, humiliating. As netizens said, even without her commenting, the slaps were aimed at her face.

Impossible!

She actually lost to Mu He, a mere extra?

Why does Mu He get this role?

Just because of that odd black dress and laughable acting?

Just because of that face?

Or because of her backer, Mr. Wang of Huayang?

A small nobody dared to run wild over her head!

Unexpectedly, her fans were angrier than she was, even pushing Mu He onto trending again, giving her free publicity.

She bit her teeth in hatred, and when slightly calmer, considered a possibility: the role of Xi Yin was supposed to be set—could it be fan resistance annoyed the production, especially Director Xie, causing a mid-course replacement?

Zhao Yike didn’t dare ask personally, only asking Luo Li to inquire. Luo Li, troubled by all this, contacted the production staff. They replied politely: “No mid-course replacement. From the start, it was set for Mu He.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yike’s hands and feet went cold. She bit her pale lips: “Impossible! Absolutely impossible… Mu He must have used underhanded methods to steal it!”

No, she had to find a way to stop her.

What she couldn’t get, Mu He couldn’t either!

At such a critical moment, tarnishing Mu He’s reputation…

Zhao Yike wanted to attack Mu He without getting her hands dirty. She remembered hearing that Mu He offended Mr. Zheng of Dongxing Enterprises by rejecting his patronage, later plagued by negative news and completely blacklisted.

Yes, she could try asking Mr. Zheng.

His influence was far greater than Mr. Wang of Huayang’s. With a common enemy, she was confident he would be more than willing to cooperate.

However, when Zhao Yike went through intermediaries to connect with Mr. Zheng, she learned that he was at the lowest point of his life—not only had his company gone bankrupt, his wife had left him, his child gone, and he had even been stabbed by a creditor. He was currently recuperating in the hospital.

Not just Zhao Yike, even Mr. Zheng himself felt dazed—how had he, in just one week, gone from a life winner to having nothing, after his company being investigated for tax evasion, stock plummeting, and cash flow issues?

Later, after much effort, Mr. Zheng discovered the cause: he had offended the Huo family from Fuchun City.

Knowing the truth only left him more confused. He had never had any dealings with the Huo family, so how could he have offended them?

He couldn’t make sense of it.

After recovering, he was transferred from the central city hospital to a suburban psychiatric hospital.

Since she couldn’t rely on Mr. Zheng, Zhao Yike had no choice but to rely on herself. With Mr. Zheng’s experience with black ops as a reference, combined with her own abilities, it wouldn’t be hard for her to suppress Mu He and never let her recover.

Mu He didn’t know Zhao Yike misunderstood the casting situation, grew angry and schemed against her behind the scenes, nor did she know that a wave of online hate was about to hit her. Coming out of the bathroom, she picked up her phone, wondering why Huo Siheng hadn’t replied yet—was he still asleep?

She opened the message page and almost dropped her phone in shock.

“Right eyelid twitches a lot, I still think it’s a bra.”

A bra?

!

Bra?

!

!

Boom—a rush of heat and embarrassment surged to her forehead. Mu He pressed her forehead against the wall, her cheeks and ears burning, feeling as if she were about to spontaneously combust. She bit her lips hard enough to leave a deep red mark, completely unable to imagine—how Huo Siheng would react to seeing these two words.

Too awkward.

Too embarrassing.

Too mortifying.

Shame level off the charts…

If only there were a way to erase the message from his phone entirely.

Maybe she could just send him dozens more messages to flood the screen and push this one out of sight?

Maybe… it could work.

No.

With his personality, he would definitely read each one carefully. If he realized she was trying to cover it up, he might laugh even harder.

Heavens, why give her such a dilemma?

After an internal struggle, Mu He decided to face it honestly. It was just an accidental slip—sending “bra” instead of “omen.”

Everyone’s an adult; surely he wouldn’t fixate on such a tiny mistake, right?

So, after some edits, Mu He finally sent the message:

“Can you… pretend you didn’t see it?”

Alright, she admitted it—when it came to ambiguous matters, especially when the other party was Huo Siheng, she was just plain timid.

After sending, Mu He faintly heard a “ding.” She looked down at her phone—no new messages. She glanced around; she was alone in the room. She stared at the wall in front of her. That sound… did it come from behind the wall?

Inside the walk-in closet, Huo Siheng leaned casually against the table. His long hands held the phone, eyebrows lowered, corners of his lips slightly upturned, idly typing into the message box.

Mu He hesitated, wondering if she should knock on the wall to check if it was hollow, when Huo Siheng’s reply came.

She opened it:

“No.”

Mu He: “……”