Chapter 51

“ I wonder why Mr. Ding is so concerned about my fiancée?”

The words hit like thunder from a clear sky. Ding Wu couldn’t process it immediately—Huo Siheng had a fiancée?

As the Huo family heir, his marriage was of utmost importance, almost directly tied to the entire family’s interests. Such a matter would have been arranged long ago; there was no reason he hadn’t heard a whisper.

His thoughts spun wildly. Ding Wu belatedly realized he had misunderstood the key point. When it hit him, his pupils shrank: “You mean… Yangyang?!”

Ding Wu could hardly believe it—Yangyang was Huo Siheng’s fiancée?!

His innocent daughter, how could she have drawn the attention of the cold, ruthless, and deeply scheming Fourth Young Master of the Huo family?

He had once suspected Huo Siwen: arranging her to move into the high-end Jin Yue Bay residential area, coming specifically to support her at a banquet, and the 200 million investment in There Is a Beauty in North City—all signs suggested Huo Siwen had ill intentions toward his daughter.

But in reality, there was no intersection in their lives at all.

Ding Wu could never have imagined that the person always lurking around his daughter was none other than the extremely dangerous and formidable Huo Siheng.

This explained many obstacles he had faced while searching for his daughter. If Huo Siheng had been interfering, it made sense: he had both the capability and motive. Just when Ding Wu saw a glimmer of hope for father-daughter reunion, Huo Siheng intervened in the guise of his daughter’s fiancé—clearly not here with good intentions. The situation had become extraordinarily complicated.

Ding Wu’s heart sank slightly: “Fourth Young Master, what exactly are you trying to do?”

Huo Siheng let out a light chuckle, his eyes calm and unreadable, without any hint of amusement: “What do you think, Mr. Ding?”

Ding Wu’s gaze fell on the black ring on Huo Siheng’s left ring finger. If he remembered correctly, Huo Siheng had worn that same ring during his previous visit. At the time, it hadn’t seemed significant. Now, it suggested he had been with his daughter for some time.

Though called a fiancée, she clearly had not taken the official path within the Huo family. What did being “not public” mean?

Ding Wu knew very well that people immersed in power and influence like them could not have much sincerity in emotions.

It was likely just a lust for beauty. As a father, he would never allow his daughter to be recklessly toyed with by Huo Siheng.

Anger flared to his eyebrows. He ground his teeth, words sharp as thorns: “Fourth Young Master, please do not challenge my bottom line.”

“Seems like,” Huo Siheng said casually, curling his lips, “you haven’t made clear the stance from which you say that.”

Ding Wu, hit in a sore spot, lost his usual composure, gritting his teeth: “Huo Siheng, Yangyang is my daughter! What right do you have to prevent us from being reunited? Just because you are her fiancé? Hah, well said—but if you have the guts, go ahead and marry her into the Huo family with glory!”

He had even resorted to provocation.

Huo Siheng nodded: “I will remember to send you the wedding invitation in the future.”

The question remained: in what capacity would he attend?

As a regular guest—or as the bride’s father?

“What do you… mean by that?”

“Mr. Ding,” Huo Siheng no longer wasted time and revealed his final card, “I don’t care if she has a father who is the richest man in the city. What I care about,” his voice lowered, “is whether she’s happy.”

After saying this, he turned and walked away.

Ding Wu stood rooted, lost in deep silence. After a moment, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed. He clasped his hands and sighed deeply: “I see. I understand now.”

The assistant, who had observed the entire exchange, was completely baffled. Understand what?

Ding Wu looked at the venue below. Fans had gradually dispersed, leaving only a few staff cleaning up. He let out another ambiguous sigh: “Since we can’t get the advertising spots in City A, let’s buy them in South City instead.”

“Yes, Director Ding.”

At this moment, Mu He was on her way back to the set. She had gotten up before dawn and was utterly exhausted. As soon as she sat in the car, she leaned her head and fell asleep. This stolen nap worked wonders—by the time she returned to North City, she had largely recovered.

The afternoon’s scene was relatively light, only requiring her to lie on the bed as a frail patient. Of course, “light” didn’t mean easy; they shot over a dozen takes before Director Tang finally called it.

Around three o’clock, Ding Wu came to check on the set, bringing a lavish afternoon tea.

Tan Mian handed a cup of coffee to Mu He while she took milk tea with pudding and cake: “Thank you, Director Ding.”

Ding Wu: “You’re welcome.”

He asked casually: “Did the morning press conference go smoothly?”

“Smooth, smooth.”

Tan Mian nodded and smiled repeatedly. So even someone as busy as Director Ding paid attention to these things?

Ding Wu looked at his daughter seated in the chair: “After just attending the event, you came straight back to film, hardly any rest, right?”

She didn’t have to work so hard.

“I’m fine; I slept in the car.”

Ding Wu pondered but said nothing further.

Tan Mian was caught between leaving and staying, finally speaking after much thought: “Director Ding, may I ask if you have any other matters?”

Ding Wu returned to reality: “No.”

“Then I’ll leave first.”

Tan Mian went to the corner, handed the coffee to Mu He, and took a big sip of her milk tea: “Yangyang, Director Ding is really approachable.”

She remembered that she had once said a tiny bit of bad things about him behind his back. Cough cough, childish and thoughtless—she fully retracted them.

“Mianmian,” Mu He smiled, “you’re indeed easily won over.”

As long as there’s food.

Tan Mian refused to admit it: “Not at all!”

“Wow, Yangyang, the cake is delicious. Do you want a bite?”

Mu He tapped her on the forehead: “Friendship ends in three minutes.”

Tan Mian tilted her head and chuckled.

Seeing this, Ding Wu’s eyes dimmed slightly, throat bitter. If he could, he wanted to ask her: Do you only stay with Huo Siheng because you like him?

Am I good to you?

But, as Huo Siheng had said, he had no standing in the matter. He could only swallow his words, one by one.

With Huo Siheng’s uncertainty, Ding Wu felt uneasy. It seemed that everything would need careful planning and couldn’t be rushed.

After spending half a month on set, Mu He finally had a half-day off. That evening, Immortal Heroic Fate officially premiered. She had already eaten dinner early with Huo Siheng, then led him into the home theater to watch.

Huo Siheng saw her clasping her hands together, whispering prayers, and smiling, gently ruffling her hair.

This was the first drama she filmed after signing with Xingyu, so of course she hoped the ratings would skyrocket.

Mu He had just finished praying when Tan Mian called: “Yangyang, go look! There’s a drone show in Xizi River! It’s trending!”

Mu He drew the curtains just in time to see hundreds of drones in midair forming the words “Mu He Xiyin.” She couldn’t help exclaiming: “So cool!”

This was the legendary fan support?

The drones then rearranged: “Immortal Heroic Fate,” and a few seconds later changed to “Record-Breaking Ratings”…

Mu He’s eyes curved with joy: “Huo Siheng, did you see it? This is a surprise from my fans.”

A faint curve appeared at the corner of Huo Siheng’s lips. He quietly murmured: “Do you like it?”

“I love it!”

The drone show hadn’t even ended when Tan Mian’s call came through. The moment Mu He answered, she was bombarded by Tan Mian’s rapid-fire excitement: “Oh my god, I’m about to pass out! What kind of divine fans are these Paper Cranes?! City A Xizi River drone show, Twin Towers light show, subway wall support all arranged, South City Sun-Moon Tower has a light show too, mall screens, subway stations—you’ve completely taken over tonight…”

The hashtag #MuHeRichFansSupport# surpassed #Immortal Heroic FatePremiere# and shot to the top of trending searches.

“Front row witnessing a large-scale money-burning scene!”

“I also want one day to tell the whole world in this way that this woman is the one I spoil!”

“Which celebrity wouldn’t want fans like these [lemon emoji]”

“Poverty not only limits my imagination, it also clamps down on my throat so I can’t breathe [dog head emoji]”

Paper Crane: “Some of us have a gold mine at home, not just one, please let me cling to your thigh”

…

At exactly eight o’clock, the long-awaited Immortal Heroic Fate officially premiered on Pineapple TV’s prime-time exclusive drama slot and simultaneously streamed on Youku Video.

“Drama fans reporting in! I’ve watched the trailer 800 times already.”

“+1008611”

“I give full marks for costumes and sets.”

“This special effect is at least worth five yuan!”

Less than three minutes after the premiere, fans watching on their phones realized the streaming site had crashed. Suspecting a network issue, they switched to mobile data—same result, nothing loaded. “What a crappy website!” Angrily, they turned to favor Pineapple TV.

Youku Video was criticized on trending, and the official account immediately came out defensively: “Too many visits, Xiaoku can’t handle it!”

A handsome server engineer said: “After working overtime and taking the subway home, I suddenly get a notice that the server collapsed and I need to go back to fix it. What did I do wrong?”

Fans expressed concern while urging him to hurry back and fix the server—they were still waiting to watch the drama!

Thirty minutes later, the platform recovered, and the comment barrage exploded:

“Shh, take it easy, Xiaoku can’t handle it”

“No evidence of wrongdoing”

Mu He laughed so hard she collapsed into the man beside her. Judging from the reactions, everyone seemed quite satisfied with the drama.

She could relax then.

Huo Siheng lightly rested his hand on her shoulder, eyes deep and intense.

Mu He sat up straight, seeing a comment spoiler: “Attention, attention, nuclear-level alert ahead!”

“Trust me, you’ll all be kneeling soon!”

Strange—she remembered the first episode’s ending had no high-energy scenes.

Could it be…

On screen, Xiyin transformed from a dragon into human form, arriving in the mortal world for the first time.

“My mom asked why I’m drooling at my phone.”

“So beautiful, so spiritual, so immortal!”

“Any random screenshot could be wallpaper material.”

“Now I finally understand why Zhao Yike lost—both in looks and aura, completely crushed.”

“What amazes me most is that even though she’s wearing a black dress, her actions, expressions, and eyes radiate purity. This is true alchemy acting!”

“Too late, no space left to kneel.”

After two episodes, the drama garnered countless positive reviews, achieving a strong opening.

Mu He posted on Weibo: “Thank you for the love from Paper Cranes, thank you all for the support, I am very, very, very moved [heart]”

She eagerly held her phone, scrolling through comments from the home theater to the bedroom. Any content related to Immortal Heroic Fate was clicked and read—until that familiar crisp aura approached. She immediately dropped the phone and turned to hug him.

Summer pajamas were thin, so Mu He could easily feel him…

The air was charged with certain molecules, as if a single spark could ignite a fire.

Blushing furiously, she forced herself to whisper: “You’re not going to the bathroom…?”

This time, Huo Siheng had no intention of letting her off, taking her hand and leading her down.