"I'll tell you when the next chapter's male lead makes a grand appearance... Jingchen~" Just as Xu Linlang took two steps closer, the eggplant that was letting the little girl check its teeth suddenly turned its head around. Its dark, vertical pupils stared at Xu Linlang, causing her to freeze in place and hold out her empty hands to show she meant no harm. The eggplant stared at her for a while before turning back around, its thick body sliding around Little Jingchen's as it moved from in front of her to behind her, its chin pressed against the top of Little Jingchen's head as it quietly glared at Xu Linlang.

  Xiao Jingchen looked at Xu Linyuan with a puzzled expression, "What's wrong?"

  Xu Lin silently met the gaze of Qie Zi, three seconds later she lowered her eyes and looked at Xiao Jingchen, saying softly, "I know you've been reunited with Qie Zi after a long time, you must have a lot to talk about, I shouldn't disturb your precious time. But we need to finish filming all your scenes before the start of school, and at our current pace, it's likely to be delayed..."

  "Bai Xi Jing suddenly interrupted, 'Just say it directly, she can't understand if you're too subtle.'"

  "Keep an eye on the eggplant and don't let it cause trouble."

  Bai Xijing's "reminder" was too timely, Xu Linlang's brain hadn't reacted yet, and she had already blurted out her true thoughts. After finishing speaking, she suddenly realized it and silently covered her face, tears streaming down, wailing ~ I'm doomed! ~

  Xu Linlang didn't dare to look at Qiezi's reaction, she turned around decisively and ran to the camera in the midst of the enthusiastic gaze from all directions, sat down and seriously studied the script, showing her professional attitude and standards.

  Xiao Jing's eyes blinked blankly, and she decisively pulled down the snake head that was pressed on her own head. She looked into Qiezi's eyes and said seriously, "Qiezi, you rest with Daddy for a while, I'll take you out to play after filming!"

  Eggplant: "......" going out to play = being alone what is it that it doesn't expect at all ～！

  Let go of Xiaojing dust. The eggplant slowly slid to the bottom of Bai Xijing's feet, obediently curled up, and stared at Xiaojing dust silently.

  Crowd: "......" Why would they have an illusion of seeing a husband-looking stone? ~!

  The eggplant was comforted, and the shooting went smoothly. With Xiaojingchen's help, the filming of the snake demon's true form also became smoother. The giant python could even make some simple humanized movements, making the entire scene more realistic and full of feeling. The only problem is that after dinner every day, Xiaojingchen had an additional task of letting out the snakes.

  Fortunately, they are still on the mountain now. The python can just slither into the nearby woods and make a circle. There are isolation belts near the filming location, tourists cannot enter, and there is no need to worry about the giant python causing panic among the horses.

  Half a month later, the forest play was finished, and the crew went down the mountain one after another. The shooting location was moved from the mountains to the town.

  The town's share of the play is not much, mainly some plot transitions. Xiao Jingchen is not the main character and only needs to show his face, with only a few lines of dialogue, and then it's indoor scenes - in the Muqing Cave Mansion, the Secret Realm Palace, the Xianshanmen Sect, etc.

  The summer vacation is about to end, and Xiaojingchen's play has been filmed almost, mainly because the post-production eggplant is very cooperative, saving a lot of time.

  The shooting task is not so heavy. Xiao Jingyan has more free time, and every day he sticks with Qiezi, Bai Xijin occasionally makes trouble, the days are not too leisurely, after more than a month of getting along, the crew members are no longer afraid of Qiezi.

  Then, when Xiaojingchen's play was about to end, came an important festival in August - Qixi!

  Jù yǐng is a large-scale film and television city imitating ancient times. The streets and houses are all in an antique style, surrounded by the Jiangnan scenery of "small bridges, flowing water, and households". On Qīxì, this important traditional Valentine's Day, there will naturally be some unique programs, such as... flower lanterns!

  As the lanterns were first lit, all sorts of flower-shaped lanterns replaced the original lighting fixtures. Under the eaves, on the water's surface, and beside small bridges, everywhere one looked was filled with dancing flames. The entire base was shrouded in a hazy, dreamy atmosphere created by the soft glow of the lanterns. However, the film crew didn't take a break; not only did they not take a break, but they even worked later than usual - with the whole city filled with ancient-style lanterns, how could they not make good use of this scenery to match the classical fantasy background of the story?

  Xu Linlang is also a person who uses things to their fullest!

  Xiao Jingchen was already sitting in the chair dozing off, and Qiezi was listlessly curled up at her feet. Bai Xijing glanced over at his daughter's even breathing, found a blanket to cover her with, and when he lifted his head, he spotted a small squirrel perched on the railing of the corridor...

  Since the eggplant appeared, the little squirrel automatically retreated, no matter how much it liked the smell on Xiaojing's body, it was far less important than its own life.

  Bai Xijing silently hooked the corner of his mouth, originally intending to close his eyes and rest for a while. Unexpectedly, the phone in his pocket rang. Looking at the caller ID on the screen, Bai Xijing hesitated for a moment before getting up to answer it on the other side of the corridor.

  The sweet dreamer, Xiao Jingchen, suddenly opened her eyes. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up straight, but her little ears were still twitching unconsciously. As she was rubbing her eyes, her movements suddenly stopped, and she blinked her clear black and white eyes, looking somewhat bewildered.

  Xiao Jingchen looked down at the eggplant, which had already lifted its head, and then looked up to scan the surroundings. She saw Bai Xijing making a phone call on the other side of the corridor, her eyes lit up, and she jumped off the chair, ready to go find her dad. However, her little ears involuntarily trembled again, and Xiao Jingchen firmly grabbed a nearby staff member, "Wait for my dad to finish his phone call, please help me inform him that I'm taking the eggplant with me, I won't get lost."

  Tool Assistant Little Horse never thought he would have such a close moment with the goddess, that small hand grasping his wrist was soft, thin, tender and slightly cool to the touch, warming his most sensitive inner wrist, Little Horse's face immediately turned red, dazedly nodding "Okay!"

  Xiao Jingchen immediately rushed out of the courtyard, "Qiezi, let's go."

  In the dead of night, the hustle and bustle had dissipated, except for a few large courtyards where film crews were shooting nighttime scenes, occasionally echoing with human voices. Almost no tourists could be seen, only the bright flower lanterns silently illuminating the way forward. Xiao Jing still recognized one direction and ran wildly towards it, her speed was very fast, her long skirt blown by the wind flying up, entwining with her black hair, like a ghostly figure in the darkness of night.

  The eggplant followed at her feet, winding and wandering, not only keeping up with her speed, but also seemingly having the upper hand.

  Passing through the still somewhat lively photography gathering spot, the road becomes increasingly desolate until it reaches the edge of the town, which is the only way to enter the forest area. However, at this time, people from the city won't go up the mountain and those on the mountain won't come down either. As a result, this place seems somewhat deserted and quiet. Because of its desolation, even the slightest sound will be infinitely amplified.

  "Help!"

  "Help! Somebody save me!"

  The boy's crying voice was irresistible, and as he ran closer, he found that a young boy, no more than twelve or thirteen years old, was sitting by the riverbank, clutching a child's tourist shoe in his hand. He stared at the water, crying out non-stop. Bubbles kept rising to the surface of the river - someone had fallen into the water!

  Xiao Jingchen didn't think twice and directly jumped into the water, but after entering the water, she found that things weren't so simple - she sank straight to the bottom!

  It's like throwing a lead ball into the water, Xiao Jingchen eliminates all hidden undercurrents and sinks straight to the bottom. When both feet are stuck in the mud, Meizi's big eyes widen with realization, "Ah-ha! I've got weight, power, and hooks on me!"

  She puffed out her cheeks, a few small bubbles emerging from the corners of her mouth. She made a great effort to pull her feet out of the mud and trudged through the water grass, taking one step at a time towards the shore, observing the situation underwater as she walked.

  This river flows down from the mountain, and is the source of all running water in the town. The river surface is very wide and the riverbed is very deep, but the water is not very polluted. However, since it's nighttime, the light is not good, and a normal person's vision will be greatly affected. There are many aquatic plants at the bottom of the river, and there are also many hidden currents. If you swim in the water, even if you're not entangled by the aquatic plants and drowned, you may still choke on the hidden currents.

  Xiao Jingchen stamped her foot fiercely, tearing off a strand of aquatic grass that had wrapped itself around her ankle, and continued walking.

  The drowning child was nearby, with his limbs spread out and powerless, in a state of coma, with bubbles coming out of the corner of his mouth faster than dust can be blown away.

  Xiao Jingchen suddenly changed direction, walking on the muddy and grassy ground towards the drowning child. The child was slowly sinking down, and when Xiao Jingchen reached below him, he fell right in front of her. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and walked towards the shore, much faster than before.

  The boy by the riverbank cried his heart out, when suddenly a black shadow appeared on the water's surface in front of him. The shadow grew larger and turned into long hair floating on the water. Finally, a wet head emerged - a pale face, dark red lips, and deep, abyss-like black pupils...

  "Ahhhhh~~~~~~" The young man let out a blood-curdling scream, his legs trembling as he crawled backward, "Ghost!!!" And it was a vengeful water ghost to boot!!!

  Xiao Jingchen was slightly stunned, slowly walked up from the water's edge, and casually threw the child he was holding onto the shore as well. "Where is the ghost?"

  "The companion who 'died' was thrown beside him, the young man was so scared that he almost fainted. He hugged his companion's 'corpse', trembling all over, crying and shouting, "Beauty, injustices have a head and debts have a master, go find the one who wronged you to demand justice, we're just here on summer vacation, we had no grudges with you in the past or present, please spare us, waaahhh..."

  Xiao Jingchen: "......" The dull and foolish girl finally realized that she was the ghost herself!

  The little monk's mouth was twisted in a scowl, his cheeks puffed out as he glared at the young man, pointing at the unconscious child and saying, "If you don't get the water out of his belly soon, he'll really become a water ghost!"

  Young man: "...... Uh ...... " Tears welled up in his eyes, his heart racing and trembling with anxiety ～！ (Thank you for your support, it's my greatest motivation.) RV