Chapter 148: Going Public with Their Relationship

Xiao Xie took out his phone and posted a photo on his Weibo account: he and Baby, arms around each other, their hands forming a heart gesture. Beneath the photo, he wrote, “May I find one true heart, and grow old together without parting.” Instantly, Weibo exploded. Within moments, tens of thousands of comments appeared, and the number kept rising, quickly surpassing a million.

“Whoa! Is God Xiao announcing his relationship? I don't think I can ever love again!”

“Give me back God Xiao!”

“Let go of God Xiao, let me have him!”

“Who’s that woman in Xiao Xie’s arms?”

“The beauty in Xiao Xie’s arms is Baby, the actress who played Lin Yue Ru in ‘Legend of Sword and Fairy’!”

“Lin Yue Ru? What about our Ling’er?”

“Xue Jian, Jing Tian has been stolen!”

“Little Bone, Bai Zi Hua has run off with someone else!”

…

Soon, Xiao Xie’s phone rang—it was Baby calling. Xiao Xie answered, and Baby’s coquettish voice came through: “Xiao Xie, do you realize how many fans you’re going to lose because of this?”

Since the broadcast of ‘Legend of Sword and Fairy I & III’ and ‘The Journey of Flower’, Baby and her peers had amassed a huge following. Thanks to Xiao Xie’s company’s relentless publicity, all the dozen female stars signed to his agency had instantly reached second-tier celebrity status, with advertisements pouring in. Rising stars like Baby, Liu Yifei, and Zhao Liying, whose potential was enormous, were charging toward top-tier stardom. In this world, who could outdo Arno when it came to hype? With a single command from Xiao Xie, ninety percent of the world’s computers would pop up whatever message he wanted to share.

While shooting an ad, Baby habitually checked Xiao Xie’s Weibo, never expecting him to do something so sudden. Seeing the photo and the message, she immediately called him. Though exasperated, she couldn’t help but feel secretly delighted.

She wasn’t really afraid of losing fans. Though the news of her relationship with Xiao Xie would cost her some followers, she would gain even more because of her status as Xiao Xie’s girlfriend. With their relationship public, she was now officially his partner, and should anyone else try to pursue Xiao Xie, she could rightfully step in.

Her real concern was for Xiao Xie. By announcing their relationship, he risked losing a large and incalculable number of fans.

Sensing Baby’s anxiety, Xiao Xie laughed, “It’s fine. I don’t care about that. If my fans leave me just because I have a girlfriend, then they’re not worth keeping! All I ask is that they bless us. And remember, now that you’re my woman, trust my decisions. Next time you worry like this, beware—I’ll make sure you won’t get out of bed for a whole day!”

“Ugh, you’re so improper!” Baby retorted, but as she thought of Xiao Xie’s strong body, her limbs grew weak. Every time, she was the one begging for mercy before Xiao Xie let her off. Not being able to get out of bed for a day seemed entirely possible.

“What am I thinking?” Baby touched her burning cheeks, flustered, and said, “I’ve got to shoot an ad now. Bye!”

Listening to her awkward excuse and the sound of the call ending, Xiao Xie chuckled, “She’s so easily teased—and so adorable.”

Not long after Xiao Xie finished his call with Baby, Yifei and Zhanbo returned. Hu Yifei was bustling about, howling ‘Above the Moon’ at the top of her lungs—her voice was wild and hysterical.

“Yifei, can we not sing?” Xiao Xie cried, covering his ears.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?” Hu Yifei brandished a kitchen knife, giving Xiao Xie a sidelong glance.

Xiao Xie shook his head, “No, it’s just that my poor ears can’t take it!”

“Hm?”

Luckily, Chen Meijia opened the door just in time, saving Xiao Xie. She grabbed Hu Yifei’s hand and asked sweetly, “Yifei, do you still have any of that Indian divine oil—wait! I mean, Indian incense?”

Hu Yifei stopped paying attention to Xiao Xie and struck up a conversation with Meijia. As Yifei explained that just a few drops could make a wild boar fall in love, Zhanbo let out a strange snort, his nerves seemingly misaligned.

“Zhanbo, are you okay?” Xiao Xie asked curiously, though he realized that Zhanbo might really be going through an amorous phase—why else would he be pursuing Wanyu?

“I’m fine,” Zhanbo hurriedly replied, shaking his head.

“Yifei, you’re amazing, you can buy anything,” Chen Meijia said, after finally getting the incense from Yifei, buttering her up before dashing off.

“Anything? I doubt it. Some things can’t be bought,” Zhanbo said.

Hu Yifei walked over, asking, “Like what?”

“Limited edition Transformers!” Zhanbo boasted.

“Your silly toys?” Yifei scoffed.

Zhanbo bristled at that, “They’re not toys, they’re works of art—a marvel in the history of industrial design!”

“Toys are toys, don’t kid yourself,” Yifei said disdainfully.

“You women never understand—except Wanyu,” Zhanbo muttered, dissatisfied.

“What’s Wanyu got to do with it?” Yifei asked, puzzled.

Zhanbo then proudly recounted how he had gifted his precious collectibles to Wanyu, telling Yifei and Xiao Xie all about it.

Xiao Xie slapped his forehead, speechless—what a mess!

“Giving a girl Transformers? Are you out of your mind?” Hu Yifei said, exasperated.

“What’s wrong with that? These are limited editions from America, twenty years old! The whole world doesn’t sell them anymore! They’re really valuable!” Zhanbo insisted.

Hu Yifei didn’t believe him about the global rarity, so she decided to search online and show Zhanbo.

“Look, here’s one for two hundred fifty yuan and forty cents—the number’s good. Two-fifty is you. If Wanyu finds out your gift is worth only this, she’ll think you’re a fool,” Yifei said, pointing at the computer and laughing.

“Yifei, don’t worry. In Wanyu’s eyes, Zhanbo is worth five hundred—twice the fool!” Xiao Xie mocked from the side.

“That’s impossible! This seller must be crazy! He’s ruining the market! I need to push the price up!” Zhanbo, ever principled, instead of snatching up his beloved item at a bargain, thought only of raising the price, determined not to let an ignorant seller suffer.

In an age of moral decline, when a bowl of spicy soup could be consumed thirteen times, and a hundred yuan was never given, Zhanbo still held firmly to his principles, refusing all petty gains!

So, under Xiao Xie and Yifei’s incredulous gaze, Zhanbo raised the price to three thousand.

Every time he saw Zhanbo’s bizarre logic, Xiao Xie found it impossible to comprehend.

The next morning, Zhanbo bounded into the living room, excitedly announcing to Xiao Xie and Hu Yifei, who had just finished breakfast, “I told you my Optimus Prime is the most valuable—overnight, its price online has skyrocketed!”

“Oh? How much?” Hu Yifei asked distractedly, eyeing the breakfast.

“Fourteen thousand two hundred and fifty!” Zhanbo declared, thrilled.

“Brilliant! You’re going to die, fool!” Xiao Xie almost choked on his soy milk, and seeing Zhanbo’s excitement, gave him a thumbs up—giving away his own Optimus Prime, not recognizing it, truly a talent.

Zhanbo beamed, “This proves that the gift I gave Wanyu is priceless! She’ll be deeply touched!”

“Not bad, Zhanbo. Your bragging is getting more and more refined,” Hu Yifei teased, biting into her fried dough stick.

“Wanyu, you’re just in time—bring out the Optimus Prime I gave you, so they can see. My sister doesn’t believe me!”

Just then, Wanyu returned, and Zhanbo rushed over, asking her to show everyone the Optimus Prime, to prove his story.

But Wanyu had already given the Optimus Prime to Zeng Xiaoxian to sell, so she couldn’t produce it. Thinking for a moment, she said, “I left Optimus Prime under the moonlight to absorb its essence, and then it flew away—probably back to Cybertron.”