"Blossoming Us" was completed and the official Weibo account had already released the ultimate trailer. The investors had further spent the remainder of the budget to pay for the most trended placement. A show like this one that greatly exceeded the average quality of the web shows had immediately gained a lot of traction. Many medias chimed in and commented positively on it. Even some current affair accounts reposted news about it, expressing how much they looked forward to the premiere of this good period show.
Even so, these kinds of overwhelming advertisement still weren't able to put a stop to Xu WanZhi's black fans.
Her black fans continued to bash her and spread untrue rumors about her. They said that the script focused too much on the values back in that era and that Xu WanZhi was pretty but has no acting skills. The products of these two factors would be an awful product that would fall flat on its face.
Luckily Xu WanZhi's marketing team was pretty solid as well. They were on top of the comments the entire time and always working on keeping the damages to the minimum. From the report from her marketing team, the constitution of these black fans were very peculiar: part of them were Jiang YueXian's brain dead girlfriend fans* and the others were fans of Chen Yi, the film empress whose rumor was leaked about her request of promotional shoot being rejected by a certain fashion magazine.
Ever since the incident when Chen Jin 's fans accused Xu WanZhi of being the Queen of Publicity who bribed an international magazine in publishing article about her and was severely faceslapped by both Xu WanZhi and the magazine, they had a thing out for Xu WanZhi. Anywhere Xu WanZhi went, they'd follow and bash her.
Nevertheless, Xu WanZhi did not let that bother her. She saw it as more an form of entertainment during her off hours.
Now that the filming of "Blossoming Us" was over, Fang Lin had found more new scripts for her to choose from. Even though there were a lot of high-budge projects and movie scripts, but Xu WanZhi couldn't find one that she really liked so she wasn't able to make up her mind on what to do next.
Now that her time had freed up, she focused her energy on management of her "AiAi Fox" account where she used to post pictures of her fox self.
The AiAi Fox Weibo account had only posted one message so far and that was the animated gifs from before. Xu WanZhi had been busy with the filming and interacting with the Mu's family members since then and never had the time to manage this account. Even so, with just those few animated gifts and the passion offered up by Jiang YueXian's fans, her number of followers had easily exceeded 6 million. It had grown at a speed that was much faster than her personal account.
Xu WanZhi looked over the commentary section briefly and noticed that the ones ogling the little fox everyday were more or less the same bunch who bashed her everyday under the official Weibo account of "Blossoming Us".
She smiled but didn't say anything: We shall wait and see.
She had Xiao Yuan send over the photographer to her place again to take pictures of the little fox. Her plan was to stock up on some pictures and animated gifts so she could release them over time.
This time the photographer arrived particularly early. Probably because he had learned the lesson when he was bitten last time, this time he brought a large can of fox food to appease her along with the boxes of equipment and lens that his assistant had lugged in.
As a little fox who had cultivated for 500 years, Xu WanZhi had long since grown used to living like a human, eating human food, and had no interest in fox food.
Nevertheless, when she was in her fox form, her nature was much stronger than when she was in her human form. The moment the photographer opened up the can, the smell coming out of the can had taken hold of her soul. She lost her self-control immediately and wanted nothing more than leaping over to the can while she was drooling.
The photographer was very happy at this result. He quickly placed his camera on top of the tripod and set up the lights. Then he added some water in the to fox food and fed them to the little fox on its lid.
The little fox was very happy. She hugged the lid with her paws and only wished she could bury her entire head inside of it.
As she was eating from the lid, she could still smell what was inside of the can. The food inside the can was not diluted by water and smelled even better. It was difficult to make a choice.
By now, the photographer and his two assistants had already forgotten all about their purpose. They all stood around the fox and watched her ate.
The little assistant's girly heart was filling up like a balloon. "This fox is sooo cute. Where did Miss Xu get it from? I went and look on Taobao but none of them are as cute as this one."
The other assistant said to her, "Maybe we can take some pictures privately for ourselves. What do you say?"
"You two still have any professionalism and bottom line?" The photographer grumbled in a mean voice. Then, using his right hand that he had just washed, he dipped a little bit of fox food in powder from and stuck his hand in front of her. "Let me tell you. She bit me last time I was here. It didn't break my skin and I didn't need to have any shots, but it sure hurt a lot. This fox might look small and cute but its actually very mean. They all say that foxes are wilder than cats and dogs. I wonder if they can be domesticated if you feed them all the time."
Having said that, he reached his fingers under the fox's nose.
The fox took a look at his large hand with disgust and went back to eating the mixture on the lid.
But then, the smell of the fox food was too strong. She finally gave in, looked up, and licked the powder.
Mmmm, so tasty!
When the two assistants saw that she had eaten the powder. They both went to wash their hands and placed some of the nutritional powder in their hands to feed to the fox.
And that was the scene that Mu ZhenYu saw when he came home – a burly photographer bending over, his face pink, feeding the fox with his two female assistants.
And that little fox was just eating away with her eyes closed. She didn't seem to care what it was that was feeding her.
Killer's intent exuded from Mu ZhenYu right away. She was so vicious last time she had her pictures taken and would bite whoever who dared to touch her. And now? She seemed to have forgotten all about him, her owner, in light of some food.
Mu ZhenYu's look was sharp like knives and he walked straight toward the three of them. "What are you doing in my house?"
The photographer looked up at Mu ZhenYu and quickly retrieved his hand and stood up. "Mr. Mu, Miss Xu asked us to come and take some photos of her fox for her cute pet account."
"I know you are here because Xu WanZhi asked you to." Mu ZhenYu stared at all of them before he carried on. "But she asked you to come and take pictures, right? Did she ask you to feed her? What if you get the fox sick with your food?"
The photographer felt unjust and mumbled softly, "This is high-end fox food. The most nutritious type… I've looked it up before I came. You mix it with water and it won't give her an upset stomach."
"Are you trying to get fired?" Mu ZhenYu, suppressing his anger, took the can of fox food from him.
It was fine before he picked the can up. As soon as he picked it up, he saw the large print: For Lactation Period. And there were fine prints below that said: Goes into estrus early, always pregnant, large litters.
Enraged, he shoved the fox food into the photographer's arms and shouted, "Pick up your stuff and get the h*ll out of here!"
Xiao Yuan had told the cameraman that Mr. Mu had a bad temper and to avoid talking to him if at all possible. Now that he had seen Mu ZhenYu losing his temper, the cameraman finally realized how terrifying he could be. With his calves shaking, he gave up taking pictures, packed up and ran off.
Mu ZhenYu took a look at the fox, sighed and sat down next to the table. "Look at you. Such a little thing. How are you eating food for lactation period? Any way I look at you, you should be in your adolescence. I've did some research, there is a pretty big difference between the different proportion of nutrients in those two types of food."
Having said that, he reached out and wiped the fox's mouth before he smelled his fingers in disgust and grumbled. "Disgusting."
The little fox seemed to be able to understand humans. All of a sudden, she looked like an eggplant beaten up by hail. Sitting properly in the middle of the table, her head lowered, she looked as though she knew she had done something wrong. Only the tip of her tail behind her was still waving up and down.
Looking at her like that, Mu ZhenYu's heart softened. He pulled out the chicken that he had made earlier, cut them up into small pieces, placed them in his own plate, and placed it in front of her.
The little fox dared not eat again. Gulping, she only stared at the food.
"Now you don't want to eat? You were eating heartily just a moment ago. What's up with that, hmm?" As much as he was grumbling, he picked up a small piece of chicken and held it in front of her mouth. "Here, have some."
The little fox finally reached out its tongue and took the piece of chicken into her mouth.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Yup! Human food was way better. Much tastier!
Mu ZhenYu fed her a few more pieces then, as though something had just occurred to him, walked inside of the kitchen. He then opened up a coconut, poured some juice out, and brought it over in a bowl.
"Can you drink this?" He rubbed her on her head. "I heard that you can't have milk. It will give you runs. But coconut juice should be fine?"
Chicken with coconut juice. Her favorite combination! The little fox chirped a few time before burying her head into the bowl.
Mu ZhenYu's look became more tender. Reaching out his large hand, he brought the fox, the plate of chicken, and the bowl of coconut juice closer to himself. Then, he wrapped his hand around its tail and started stroking it.
Immediately, the fox felt so good her ears flopped down and her eyes squinted into a slit – this man knew her so well!
"Xu WanZhi's fox eats just like her." Mu ZhenYu continued to feed the chicken to her as he stroked her tail. "You. Can you have some bottom line, hmm? Don't just eat food from just any one. You used to know who your master is. I only haven't seen you for a little while. How come you are so lax now? You are still a baby fox. You can't just randomly eat anything."
The little fox was busy eating and didn't pay him too much attention. It chirped a few more times in acknowledgement.
"So patronizing. That was food for lactating foxes. You didn't even look before you started gulping down on them. Do you know how dirty their hands are? Can you tell at all?" As though he was trying to punish her, he pressed his hand onto her head. Then his thumb ran down the bottom of her ear. "When you get older, are you just going to follow any male fox who comes along with a piece of meat, hmm?"
Mu ZhenYu's questions were getting more and more pointed and the fox dared not eat anymore. It lifted its head and looked at him pitifully with his round fox eyes.
"Don't even try that." Mu ZhenYu refused to look her in her eyes but just focused on stroking her ear. "Remember, no eating food from others. Alright?"
He had just finished talking when the little fox got up, took a couple of steps forward, and nuzzled him on his lower arm to show that it understood him.
Mu ZhenYu's lips curved upward and he said, "Good girl."
The fox, after it was done nuzzling him, rolled over on the table and exposed its white tummy to him in its entirety.
Mu ZhenYu had done some research before. The stomach was an animal's most vulnerable spot and would never let someone else touch it. The fact that it would let there and let him rub her tummy showed her complete trust in him.
He felt his heart melting. He reached out his hand and rubbed the soft fur on her belly back and forth a couple of times and said, "Don't leave with someone else."
After he had said that out loud, he stunned even himself.
Those words just slipped out of him. It sounded like he was talking to the fox, but it sounded more like he was saying them to Xu WanZhi.
Mu ZhenYu rubbed the little fox's tummy for a long time and the little fox, her eyes closed, was about to fall asleep.
He stood up and looked at her from above. She was lying on her side with her paws curled up. Even when she was sleeping, she looked like she was smiling and her ears would twitch from time to time. She couldn't be any cuter.
He pulled up his phone, took a bunch of pictures of the fox from all sorts of angles and sent them all to Xu WanZhi's Wechat account.
He had chased away her photographers so she wouldn't have anything to post on her cute pet account. He didn't want her distressed.
His photography skills… should be alright, right?
The little fox was sound asleep by now and even started snoring slightly. He lifted it up gently, put her onto Xu WanZhi's bed in her bedroom before he went back to his study to take care of his own business.
He waited for over two hours but Xu WanZhi still hasn't come home yet. He wanted to go back to his office but he also worried about leaving the fox home by itself. He sent a couple more Wechat messages to Xu WanZhi and have her come home soon before he must head out.
Xu WanZhi had been up way before then. Hearing no more noises coming from outside, she finally changed back into her human form.
This villain truly made others want to love and hate him at the same time!
She took a look at the photos that he has taken for her in her Wechat account. They weren't half bad. A few of them were taken from very tricky angles and she could make emoji's out of them. She hesitated for a little bit and replied back to him. "I'm home and thanks for the pictures! They are so cute!" Then she sent him a "love you" emoji along with it
Speaking of, if only she had cultivated to a higher level. That way she'd be able to achieve bilocation. If she could be both her human and fox self at the same time, she'd be able to take pictures of herself. She'd eventually have to announce that the fox was hers. It'd become an issue when she could never be in the same picture as herself in her fox form.
Xu WanZhi sighed and opened up her photo-editing app where she converted all of her pictures into emojis.
By the time Mu ZhenYu saw her Wechat, it was already 5 o'clock in the afternoon. He was sitting in Bai FeiChen's conference room, listening in on a project where he was the hidden investor.
His face was stone cold during the meeting. The person presenting the report could see the look on Mu ZhenYu and became progressively more anxious. His voice was light like noises made by a mosquito toward the end.
All of a sudden, Mu ZhenYu's cellphone lit up.
He glanced over at it. His face lightened up and he picked the phone up in front of everybody.
The person presenting the report felt a small relief and, took the opportunity when Mu ZhenYu was distracted, sped up his speed by 150%. As though he was frying jumping beans, he read as fast as he could while he kept on looking over in Mu ZhenYu's direction, planning on returning to his normal speed as soon as he put his phone down.
All of a sudden, Mu ZhenYu, his cellphone in hand, his lips curved upward and he smiled.