Became the Terminally Ill Supporting Male Lead's Rabbit Spirit

Chapter 44

Meanwhile, at the Lu family residence.

Lu Zhe came downstairs, and Wen Ya was already waiting for him in the living room.

"You're awake? Did you sleep well last night?" Wen Ya asked her son.

She had barely slept the entire night, feeling as if she were in a dream, afraid that if she closed her eyes, her son would disappear when she woke up. During the night, she got up several times to walk to her son's door, wanting to wait for him to wake up so she could see him first thing.

If Lu Chen hadn't pulled Wen Ya back to their room, she would have waited outside her son's door all night.

Later, after just two hours of sleep, she got up early to make breakfast for Lu Zhe.

As a wealthy young lady, Wen Ya had barely ever set foot in a kitchen. She learned to make steamed buns by watching the family chef. She even burned her hand while cooking porridge, but she didn't mind at all.

Now she wanted nothing more than to offer her son the very best, trying to make up for the eighteen years of maternal love he had missed.

"Very well," Lu Zhe nodded.

The room where Lu Zhe slept was one that Wen Ya had always kept for her son. Its decor had evolved from childish to boyish to teenage styles, with furnishings changing according to Lu Zhe's different age stages.

Wen Ya had been waiting for her son's return every single day.

Despite barely sleeping, Wen Ya's beautiful face remained bright as she smiled, "That's good. If you don't like the room's setup, just tell Mom, and I'll have it changed right away."

"No need to trouble yourself. Everything is fine," Lu Zhe had never been particular about living conditions.

In the orphanage, he had lived in a twelve-person room with wooden bunk beds. After being adopted by the Zhao family, he lived in a storage room with a small bed. In his previous rental apartment, he had even slept on a folding bed for a while.

Wen Ya felt a pang in her heart - her son was too understanding.

"Mom prepared breakfast for you. Come eat something. Your father has already contacted the best specialists in treating ALS. They'll arrive this afternoon, and I'll accompany you for the examination," Wen Ya's nose stung and her eyes reddened at the thought of her son's terminal illness.

"I've already been examined," Lu Zhe told Wen Ya about the specialists the Su family had arranged for him a few days ago, saying the results would be the same anyway.

"The Su family?" Wen Ya was surprised.

The Lu family and Su family were at most adversaries, though not exactly enemies. It was purely because her husband and Su Shengguo had disliked each other since childhood. Whenever they met, they would exchange sarcastic remarks, leading others to believe the two families were at odds.

Lu Zhe: "Yes, I saved Uncle and Aunt Su."

Wen Ya knew that these two members of the Su family had been caught in a fire and were rescued. She hadn't realized her son was their savior.

"Baby, were you hurt?" Wen Ya became anxious, even using Lu Zhe's childhood nickname.

Lu Zhe looked slightly uncomfortable and shook his head, "No."

Wen Ya let out a relieved breath and said worriedly, "If you don't want to get examined again, that's fine. We can just give the doctors your test results. Mom will have them figure something out."

After learning about her son's ALS, she had spent her sleepless night researching the condition, and the more she read, the more her heart ached.

No matter what, she had to find a way to treat her son.

At this moment, Grandpa Lu walked in from outside. The elderly man had a habit of exercising early every morning.

"Little Zhe is awake," Having found his grandson, he felt both happy and heartbroken.

His grandson had been found, but was terminally ill. Grandpa Lu had also barely slept all night while processing this news.

Lu Zhe: "Good morning, Grandfather."

Regardless, Grandpa Lu was very fond of his handsome, composed grandson. "In a while, I'd like to hold a banquet to celebrate your return. What do you think?"

Wen Ya had the same idea - her son's return should be celebrated grandly.

However, Lu Zhe immediately declined.

He looked seriously at Grandpa Lu and Wen Ya, "There's no need for a special banquet. I don't have much time left."

If possible, he would prefer to quietly return to the Lu family and, when the time came, quietly pass away.

"Baby!" Wen Ya felt heartbroken.

She understood her son's meaning. If the Lu family held a banquet to announce his return, everyone would learn about his terminal illness. The newly found Lu family grandson soon to die - many would mock the Lu family.

"What kind of talk is that? The Lu family will spare no effort to find treatment for you."

The elderly grandfather couldn't bear to hear his grandson speak this way. "If you don't like large crowds, we can just have a family dinner and invite only close relatives and friends. You've finally come back; we can't keep it hidden from everyone."

Lu Zhe knew this was his family's goodwill, so he nodded in agreement.

......

Su Ci knew Lu Zhe would be busy with many things after returning to the Lu family. On this hot day, she was bored watching cartoons with Little Su Ning and Little Tiancai.

At this time, she received a call from her agent, Xu Duo.

If he hadn't suddenly called, Su Ci felt she would have forgotten about this person entirely.

"Su Ci, remember that variety show I arranged for you to record? You're scheduled to be a guest host the day after tomorrow, so please prepare well." Over the past month, Xu Duo had been very busy, with friends either getting into car accidents or falling down stairs.

While helping his friends, Xu Duo was even more grateful that he hadn't gone out drinking because of Su Ci, thus saving half his life.

Now, after receiving notification about Su Ci's recording schedule, he quickly called her.

His position in the company was currently awkward, and he desperately needed to find a powerful trump card.

Hearing Xu Duo's words, Su Ci blinked and honestly replied, "I forgot."

Recently, her heart had been completely focused on Lu Zhe, and she had indeed forgotten. Besides, now that she was with the Su family, she didn't need to earn money.

Xu Duo was surprised, "Miss Su, how could you forget such an important matter? I used my connections with the director to get you this recording opportunity. Have you taken other work?"

"No."

Xu Duo breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he hadn't been outmaneuvered by others.

"That's good. Do you need me to arrange transportation for you in advance?" Xu Duo was full of sincerity, remembering that Su Ci seemed to be short on money.

"Wait a moment, I'll call you back," saying this, Su Ci hung up.

Su Ci put on her shoes and walked to the dining room, where she found Su's Mother arranging flowers. "Mom, someone wants me to record a variety show. What do you think?"

Although she often lied without blinking, she was still someone who kept her word. When she was short on money before, she had indeed agreed to Xu Duo's request to record the variety show, and she had no reason to suddenly stand him up - that would be too unprofessional.

However, she needed to ask her family's opinion.

"Ci Ci, do you want to enter the entertainment industry?" Su's Mother was a bit surprised.

"When I was poor and needed money before, that person found me to shoot advertisements, and later I agreed to help record the show." Su Ci asked Su's Mother, "Mom, do you dislike me entering the entertainment industry?"

"No, whatever you like to do, Mom will support you." Su's Mother put down the flower stems and stroked her daughter's smooth long hair, smiling, "Besides, Ci Ci is so beautiful, you'll definitely look good on camera."

Su's Mother didn't have strong opinions about her daughter entering the entertainment industry. Although the entertainment industry was chaotic, the Su family's influence was substantial enough to protect their daughter.

"Our family also owns a media company. If you want to try the entertainment industry, tell your brother and let him arrange staff for you. You'll need everything - manager, assistant, bodyguards, nothing can be missing," Su's Mother said.

"Our family has a film company too?" Su Ci was curious, "Which one?"

"I think it's called Creation God Company." Su's Mother didn't pay much attention to the group's affairs.

Su Ci blinked - wasn't Creation God Company the one Xu Duo had mentioned to her before? So it belonged to her family?

"There's no need to trouble Big Brother with arranging staff for now. I'm just going to record a small variety show." She hadn't decided yet whether to enter the entertainment industry.

Su Ci had no particular ambition to make it big in the entertainment industry. What satisfied her before was that the industry paid well, and she received daily praise and flattery from her fans.

Someone with her stunning beauty deserved to be praised every day.

After learning that Su's Mother had no objections, Su Ci returned many phone calls, inquiring about times and locations.

That night, Su Ci told Lu Zhe that she was going to record a variety show. "It's an online live streaming show. Will you watch it?"

Xu Duo had told her it was a live cooking show. Compared to competitive or task-based shows, Su Ci thought a cooking show would be incredibly easy and relaxing.

After asking, she immediately added, "You must watch it. If you miss the live broadcast, watch the replay."

Lu Zhe's lips curved into a smile. "Mm."

Su Ci lay on the bed, watching through the video call as Lu Zhe wore a deep blue silk pajama top. Two buttons were undone at the collar, revealing his pale neck and prominent Adam's apple.

She couldn't help but love everything she saw.

With a playful glance, Su Ci's eyes held mischief. "Lu Zhe, why don't you undo a few more buttons?"

Lu Zhe looked at her, puzzled.

The girl had transformed into a little rascal - if she still had her rabbit ears, she'd definitely be a naughty bunny.

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Lu Zhe. "Let me see your abs."

Lu Zhe gave Su Ci a meaningful look. It seemed she had already forgotten about having her rabbit ears pinched yesterday - typical of someone who forgets the pain once the wound heals. "Go to sleep."

Su Ci was clever. She knew Lu Zhe wouldn't show her, but she brought it up to prepare him mentally. After mentioning it a few more times and testing his boundaries step by step, his defenses would lower.

He would show her eventually.

The calculating girl was like a cunning little fox, always trying to tempt Lu Zhe into mischief.

......

On the day of recording, Su Ci put on a beautiful dress and took a car to the recording location.

This cooking show had already aired three episodes, with mediocre results and general reception. The five guests were either third-tier celebrities or internet celebrities, none with significant following.

Recently, the show secured a major sponsor, so the director temporarily hired a currently popular rising actress. When a previous internet celebrity guest threw a tantrum and quit, Su Ci took that spot.

Xu Duo was free today and had been waiting for Su Ci at the recording site. After not seeing her for some time, Xu Duo noticed that Su Ci's fair face had become even more delicate and beautiful, almost translucent. Even if she just sat there during the show, she would be impossible to ignore.

Xu Duo was wearing green today as usual, but different from before - this green outfit had more layers to it. He wore a mint-colored suit jacket, light green trousers, and even his socks were luminescent green, with only his shoes being white.

Su Ci thought he must dress in all green to compensate for his ordinary looks, using bold colors to draw attention away from his unremarkable appearance.

"Your face doesn't even need makeup. Who else can go on camera with a bare face like you?" Xu Duo had managed many female artists and knew well how different they looked before and after makeup.

Su Ci smiled at the compliment. "No, I still need to put on some lipstick at least."

"Alright, alright." Xu Duo took her to meet the director.

Although Xu Duo had repeatedly assured that the artist he recommended was stunning, the director hadn't expected her to be this extraordinary.

He was more than satisfied. Originally, he had planned to give the popular rising actress the final entrance shot, but he felt this Su Ci could definitely be the show's finale.

Su Ci was led to the break room where several guests had already arrived.

When Su Ci entered, everyone turned to look at her.

The other guests had recorded three episodes together and were already acquainted. When such a beautiful newcomer suddenly appeared, their eyes showed amazement.

The first to speak was a male artist who had recently debuted with a group. He had fair and delicate features, and though not very famous, he had over a million fans. "You must be the new female guest today."

Su Ci replied, "Yes, I'm Su Ci."

"I'm Nan Yi." The male artist was quite outgoing and introduced himself.

The other two were female guests. The one with a mature and elegant appearance was called Guan Jing, an internet celebrity.

Next to her sat another guest with short hair, whose features were delicate yet androgynous, named Xie Yumin, currently a third-tier actress.

Su Ci exchanged introductions and greetings with them, her gaze falling on their wrists. She knew this trip wasn't wasted - rather than waiting for golden cotton candy to appear, she might as well actively seek it out.

This was one of the reasons she agreed to record the show.

Nan Yi's life value showed only three yellow squares, meaning he had about thirty years of life left. Guan Jing had over fifty years, while the short-haired Xie Yumin's life value was a red line, indicating only three days remaining.

Su Ci narrowed her eyes and called out to Fugui, "How does Xie Yumin die?"

Fugui, who hadn't eaten golden cotton candy for so long, was excited to see its owner willing to save someone. Its small voice trembled with excitement, [Master, she dies from an overdose of sleeping pills due to cyberbullying. You must try hard to save her!]

Su Ci gave Xie Yumin another look. The other woman appeared cool and unapproachable, not at all like someone with a fragile spirit. What could possibly lead to her being cyberbullied?

Just as Su Ci was about to search online for information about her, staff members came in to announce the start of recording, and the popular rising actress had arrived.

The show had set up a spacious cooking live stream room with a long white table in the middle, and each guest's seat had a small hot pot.

It seemed this episode would be about hot pot.

Su Ci sat down next to Xie Yumin, with Guan Jing and Nan Yi sitting across from her.

The show's host was the director himself, who sat at the head of the long table. "We're all in for a treat this episode."

Nan Yi smiled, "I love hot pot the most."

"Then you should eat more later. Our show provides plenty," the director laughed.

At this moment, the popular rising actress walked in. "Sorry, Director, I'm late."

Su Ci heard the familiar voice and looked up to see Qin Shiyan walking in - she was the popular rising actress.

"It's fine, Xiaoyan, you must be very busy lately. Just treat this recording as a chance to relax," the director was very polite to this new rising star, as she was the most famous among the five guests and had the largest fan base.

Qin Shiyan smiled as she took her seat, but was shocked to discover Su Ci sitting next to her!

"Ci Ci!" Qin Shiyan swallowed her urge to scream, calling out to Su Ci with both restraint and agitation, "Ci Ci, why are you here?"

The director was a bit surprised, "You two know each other?" Isn't this Su Ci a newcomer? How does Qin Shiyan know her?

"We know each other." Before understanding the situation clearly, Qin Shiyan didn't want to reveal too much. She wondered if the Su family knew about Su Ci suddenly coming to record a show.

"Ci Ci, how did you end up here?" Qin Shiyan asked again in a lowered voice.

"Someone invited me, so I came." Su Ci noticed the anxiety in Qin Shiyan's eyes and asked directly, "What's wrong, am I not allowed to record shows?"

"No, that's not it." Qin Shiyan quickly denied, "It's just that you used to look down on entertainment industry artists, I didn't expect you..."

When she first entered the entertainment industry, Su Ci had mocked her. What did it mean that Su Ci was now here to record a show herself? Was she slapping her own face?

Qin Shiyan felt displeased, but more than that, she felt a strong sense of crisis.

Su Ci was too beautiful. If she wanted to enter the entertainment industry, with the Su family backing her, who wouldn't become famous if not her?

Qin Shiyan felt very uncomfortable. Why could Su Ci easily obtain what she had struggled so hard to achieve, and even looked down on it?

Su Ci glanced at her, "I lost my memory, so whatever I said before doesn't count."

Qin Shiyan: ......

Just as Qin Shiyan wanted to say more, the director announced the start of the livestream.

The director introduced each guest to the online viewers, with the camera focusing on each guest's face as they were introduced.

When introducing the male guest Nan Yi, comments kept flooding the screen.

"Next up is our sincerely invited new guest, Qin Shiyan. Welcome, little Yan."

As a rising starlet, whether the company valued Qin Shiyan's looks and talent or her backing from the Su family, they gave her excellent resources. In just over six months since her debut, she had already amassed more than five million fans.

When the camera turned to Qin Shiyan, the screen was flooded with even more comments.

"She's here, she's here! Qin Shiyan is so beautiful."

"Smiling Face checking in, little Yan is so gorgeous."

"Came specially to watch little Yan's mukbang, she's too thin, needs to eat more."

"Does the livestream camera have a beauty filter? Why is Shiyan so beautiful? She's stunning."

"Only came to watch this food livestream because of little Yan, don't know the others."

"Truly worthy of being the entertainment industry's most beautiful flower, unrivaled. Shiyan looks so good, the title of once-in-a-century beauty isn't given for nothing. Hope she eats more later, work has been tough, she's lost weight."

"When will the production team serve the food? Want to see how Shiyan eats, must be super cute."

...

The director continued introducing: "Next up is another new guest called Su Ci, let's welcome her with applause."

The camera that was originally focused on Qin Shiyan moved directly to her side, pointing at Su Ci.

Su Ci in the frame was breathtakingly beautiful, with no issues of looking bigger on camera at all.

"Is she a newcomer? Haven't seen her before, she's so beautiful."

"Wow, why does it look like there's a beauty filter when the camera's on this female guest? Did she pay for special effects?"

"Heavens, what stunning beauty is this? That face must be surgically enhanced, right?"

"To the fans who were just praising Qin Shiyan as the most beautiful in entertainment with no rivals, come out and face reality."

"I thought Qin Shiyan was quite pretty earlier, but after seeing this guest, I now know what true beauty is."

"Don't compare some unknown plastic surgery product with our natural little Yan, okay?"

"Little Yan comes from an extraordinary background, her family has connections, her aura is much better than this Su Ci."

...

While netizens were discussing, staff members brought in prepared dishes.

They placed them in front of each guest.

The director announced: "Today we're having rabbit hot pot."

Su Ci froze.

Then, she saw what the staff brought: spicy rabbit head, braised rabbit meat, rabbit meat and radish stew, diced rabbit, stir-fried rabbit, and some uncooked sliced rabbit meat, along with other side dishes.

Su Ci pressed her lips together, looking at the director in disbelief. She seriously suspected whether the director had some deep-seated grudge against rabbits, to the point of serving an all-rabbit feast!

"No wonder the director said we're in for a treat today, rabbit meat is indeed delicious." Nan Yi's laugh was hearty, though his pale complexion gave him a somewhat sickly appearance. "Well then, I won't stand on ceremony."

The director was also a foodie, one of the reasons he made this show was because he loved eating. "Hurry and try it, today's chef is excellent at cooking rabbit."

"It looks delicious." Guan Jing smiled gracefully and started eating.

Despite her refined appearance, in the previous three episodes, except for Nan Yi, she ate the most and got more camera time than other guests.

Xie Yumin didn't say much but also started eating.

For a food show, viewers most enjoy watching celebrities eat heartily, as it stimulates their own appetite. No one wants to watch stars being pretentious, taking tiny bites, or eating very little.

Qin Shiyan understood this principle well, so she also began eating.

"Ahh, little Yan, eat more!"

"I shouldn't have watched this show while eating."

"My instant noodles suddenly don't taste as good anymore."

"Qin Shiyan isn't pretentious at all, she's eating so well, the way she gnaws on the spicy rabbit head is just like me."

"Nan Yi is eating so fast, child don't rush, don't rush, the production team said there's plenty today."

"Guan Jing is eating so heartily, I saw her put lots of rabbit meat into the pot."

"Am I the only one who noticed that Su Ci is just sitting there not moving? Everyone else is eating so well, but she's just sitting there?"

"Su Ci must be maintaining her figure, not everyone can eat without gaining weight like little Yan."

Su Ci was unaware of the netizens' constant criticism. Although she had once threatened Lu Zhe that she would eat a spicy rabbit head every time he hugged a rabbit, she was just joking.

As a half-rabbit, how could she possibly eat rabbit meat?

Su Ci didn't pick up any rabbit meat, instead choosing other side dishes and eating small bites.

Beside her, Qin Shiyan naturally noticed that Su Ci hadn't eaten any rabbit meat. After swallowing her food, she actively picked up a spicy rabbit head and placed it in Su Ci's bowl, "Ci Ci, this tastes good, you should try it."

Su Ci glanced at the red rabbit head in her bowl, suppressing her discomfort, she said: "I don't eat rabbit meat."

She put the bowl aside and took a new one.

Qin Shiyan was slightly stunned, as if just realizing, and played along, apologizing: "I'm sorry, I didn't know you don't like rabbit meat."

Fans who saw Qin Shiyan kindly offering food to Su Ci, only to be ungraciously rejected, immediately became angry.

"This Su Ci's pretentiousness makes me want to vomit. Little Yan is too kind, just eat more yourself, don't mind others."

"Coming to a food show just to establish some 'kind to animals' image?"

"Am I the only one who noticed the camera looks like it has a beauty filter when it's on Su Ci's face? Is her skin really that good?"

"Everyone else is eating so well, this female guest barely eats anything, just make her leave."

...

Lu Zhe had just gone with Boss Fang to look at venues. When Lu Chen learned his son wanted to open a company but hadn't found a location yet, he immediately had someone take his son to choose suitable office space from among their properties.

Properties that they wouldn't have dared consider before, in prime locations where every inch was worth gold, were now easily obtained. Boss Fang felt like he was dreaming, finding it hard to believe.

Previously he had worried about that madman from the He family constantly blocking them, but now with the Lu family's backing, Boss Fang felt his backbone straighten.

"Little Zhe, if you have other matters to attend to, you can head back first," Boss Fang noticed the young man seemed somewhat distracted.

Lu Zhe nodded, "Then I'll take my leave."

As he walked, he opened his phone, and when he logged in, Lu Zhe saw Su Ci expressionlessly eating vegetables while the bullet comments were all demanding she leave the show.