Because of Qin Yuerong's connection, Tian Yue wouldn't interfere with Chong Yan's choice of roles in dramas or variety shows. Zhu Zhu had already confirmed that Chong Yan had officially arrived in this world three years ago, and the main system somehow found out, hence its continuous efforts to suppress him.
Their goal was likely to prevent him from becoming famous.
She immediately said to 007, "Find a way to contact the main system and tell it I want to speak with it."
007 quickly replied, [Understood, Host. Do you suspect it's the one who made Qin Yuerong do those things?]
"It's not a suspicion."
007 instantly understood.
"What kind of martial artist? Are there other suitable roles? Can I have a cameo?"
Yao Chong glared at her, completely unwilling to entertain her requests.
Especially recalling how she had abandoned her duties before and whisked someone away from a talent show, only to now claim she wanted a cameo. She was so full of ideas and difficult to please.
This was his daughter; if she were someone else's child, even a father would find her unbearable.
"No!"
"I left halfway through, but didn't I recommend a more suitable person for you? I don't think that role suits me. If you want him to play a martial artist, let me play a martial heroine, and we can form an on-screen couple."
Yao Chong: "..."
He finally understood. The cameo wasn't the main point; the real issue was her desire for an on-screen pairing.
Yao Chong was so angry he wanted to jump up and hit her.
"Please, please, I promise I'll film it properly this time. Didn't you see my performance in 'Son of Heaven'? I think I can handle action scenes. If you don't believe me, I can show you right now."
As she spoke, she flipped chopsticks in her hand, so fast they blurred into an illusion. After a few flourishes, she flicked the chopsticks away.
The two chopsticks embedded themselves firmly into a painting depicting the importance of saving food, which was hung on the kitchen wall.
All three were somewhat stunned.
After the shock wore off, Yao Chong looked at his painting and roared, "What are you doing!"
He almost jumped up, but Yao's mother quickly held him back, "We're eating. When will you learn to change your temper? Can't you be calmer?"
"My painting, 'Lament of the Peasants,' look what she's done!"
"She was just performing for you. If you had agreed earlier, this wouldn't have happened. You asked for it."
Yao Chong felt utterly wronged.
His own possessions had been damaged, yet somehow it was all his fault?
Yao's mother didn't pay much attention to his reaction; the painting wasn't a genuine work by a famous artist. She looked at her daughter with surprise and pride in her eyes, "When did Ah Zhu learn this? That's amazing!"
"I learned it in my spare time. I know many other things too. Dad, didn't you want Ah Yan to have a cameo as a martial artist? Arrange one for me too. I promise not to cause trouble this time."
After all, she was his daughter. Yao's mother also tried to persuade him. More importantly, Yao Chong genuinely wanted Chong Yan to have a cameo, so he had no choice but to agree.
"I'll go back tomorrow and ponder the script again. Once it's finalized, I'll notify you. But I'm being upfront: if you cause any more trouble this time, you won't even be an extra in any of my future dramas or films. Do you hear me?"
"Got it, I promise not to cause trouble."
Yao Chong harbored some doubt about this.
But this was his daughter, not some actor he had hired with a large sum of money. If she angered him, he would truly scold and punish her.
Hmph!
He had his limits too.
After finishing dinner at the Yao residence, they chatted with the couple for a while longer. Upon learning that Yao Chong was returning to the film set the next day and Yao's mother would be flying out the following evening, they decided not to return to the villa just yet. They would wait until they had seen the two off before going back.
At this point, the idea of them sharing a room for the night was rather unrealistic.
Primarily, Yao Chong disagreed, and had a servant prepare a guest room.
It was Chong Yan's first time as a guest, and he certainly wouldn't defy the wishes of his hosts, especially since they were his future parents-in-law. To ask to share a room with Zhu Zhu here would be akin to open hooliganism.
He wouldn't dare.
When the rooms were being arranged, Zhu Zhu also obediently agreed.
Yao Chong and Yao's mother's room was on the second floor. When assigning the guest room, Zhu Zhu instructed the servant to clean the guest room on the third floor. Her own room was also on the third floor.
Yao Chong wouldn't have imagined that Chong Yan would have the audacity to sneak into Zhu Zhu's room in the middle of the night, but he underestimated his daughter.
As Chong Yan was lying down and about to fall asleep, his door was opened.
Zhu Zhu walked in, closed the door, and crept silently to the bedside. She listened to his uneven breathing and chuckled softly, "Pretending to be asleep."
"I was truly asleep, and you woke me up again." Chong Yan turned on the nearby lamp and shielded his eyes with his hand, looking at her. "Why did you come over?"
"I can't sleep alone." Zhu Zhu naturally lay down beside him. "I can't sleep, but you ungrateful wretch were about to fall asleep."
"Didn't you used to sleep alone before?"
Zhu Zhu gently pressed herself against him. "You said 'before.' Haven't you heard? Love is like opium. Before you try it, you scoff at it; once you've tried it, you can't quit."
Chong Yan's expression was somewhat peculiar. "That's not a very fitting metaphor."
"Of course." She leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth. "I can quit drugs, but I can't quit you."
She felt she could give up anything except him.
Including a part of her own body.
Because she had done it before.
But when it came to Chong Yan, she had lost almost all memories of him, her emotions severed by Rong Jin, and she had lived in a drunken stupor for tens of thousands of years.
Yet, upon seeing him again, she couldn't help but be moved.
She had once doubted if she had a heart, only to later learn that it wasn't she who had dug out her heart to save Rong Jin, and that her heart had always been there.
As for her emotional threads, like the part of her body that had been stripped away, they would slowly grow back.
Her body, her soul, stood beyond all things. From the perspective of an observer, she was certain: this god named Zhu Zhu loved this person named Chong Yan deeply.
And now he was also a god.
Chong Yan also smiled. He was somewhat drowsy, his eyes shimmering with a watery sheen, as if with a hint of confusion. "Why do you… like me?"
"I don't know." Perhaps it was because they had been together for too long, experienced too much, that she had become accustomed to his presence.
Such a presence was more important than any part of her body.
Losing those parts, she could still be the Divine Venerable of the God Realm as usual. Losing Chong Yan, she had fallen into being a Demon God.
"I don't know either," Chong Yan said, his voice slightly dazed. "I just feel like… I really like you, inexplicably like you so much…"
His voice was muffled, and the room fell silent for a while.
The kiss was not passionate; it was clean, pure, and ended quickly.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, his consciousness drifting.
He heard Zhu Zhu whisper softly in his ear, "I know."