Chapter 187

Everything happened suddenly; in the shared view of Ling Yue and Jin Jin, the towering dome emitted a muffled thud, and in an instant Ling Yue felt as if a huge water balloon had been stuffed into her head, swaying nonstop.

At that moment she felt she was about to ascend to heaven.

Ascend to heaven, what nonsense!

If she were beside Jin Jin, she could have furiously grabbed its tiny fish fin, but even so, Ling Yue still felt a suicidal impact.

Inside the Dragon Palace, rippling water waves spread a dazzling glow, and Jin Jin's voice slipped into her ears: "Yueyue, look!"

A small bump protruded from its head; in the light it was laughable, yet realizing she now shared Jin Jin's perspective, in an instant Ling Yue couldn't laugh at all.

What sin!

Ling Yue tried not to let personal feelings interfere, asking it: "What are you looking at?"

Jin Jin felt nothing, pointing upward at the dome and saying: "There is… a… a large translucent bubble…"

Then what?

If she were beside it, Ling Yue felt she could immediately give it a dead‑fish stare; given how excited it had just been, it must be because it had found a big bubble.

Wait, where did this bubble come from?

Ling Yue immediately realized the crux; at that moment Jin Jin suddenly surged forward, charging upward once more without hesitation.

"Pop…"

Ling Yue's head swam, her eyes rolling, and her fish fin pressed against the soft, jelly‑like inner wall of the colorful bubble; looking down, she saw herself being swallowed by the bubble!

Jin Jin obviously also encountered this for the first time, began thrashing its tail, slapping the bubble and making popping sounds: "We're done for, the bubble's going to eat us!"

Ling Yue: -_-||

She now saw Jin Jin as a four‑ or five‑year‑old child; perhaps having kept it at home lately had driven it mad, otherwise why would its first outing in days turn it into this hyperactive frenzy?

The little fish's chirping sounds drilled into her mind, and Ling Yue truly experienced what it means to have demonic noise poured into the brain.

That wobbling colorful big bubble seemed to have had enough, swaying slowly downward, until Jin Jin suddenly snapped to attention; it had only bumped a few times, yet it was dropping like this, losing loads of fish!

Relying on its sturdy body, it thudded upward repeatedly; thereafter Ling Yue could no longer control anything, the little fish seemed to have jumped into an oil pan, bustling about and beginning to strike.

It even looked somewhat cruel.

Because Ling Yue soon saw Jin Jin's scales burst open, a sweet‑bloody smell filling the air, yet it seemed utterly unaware, continuing to ram the dome.

"Jin Jin? Jin Jin?" Ling Yue grew flustered, trying to stop it, but in just those few seconds Jin Jin seemed to have turned into another fish: "I feel…"

It kept murmuring that line over and over.

On the river surface that Ling Yue couldn't see, suddenly piles of snow rolled up, waves surging like tides in an endless, mighty scene that made the fishermen on the bank retreat in haste.

"What's going on? The wind's picking up on the river?"

"No, it looks more like a flood is coming; this isn't the time for upstream sluice gates to be opened."

"What sluice gates? Old Zhang, you're dizzy from fishing; I think this stretch of river is just like this—you might as well say something is about to emerge from the depths."

The fisherman's remark instantly made everyone laugh; what treasure emerging? Clearly it's just the river flooding.

But they didn't realize that their offhand comment would actually come true.

At the deepest part of the river, that Dragon Palace could no longer be called a palace; strictly speaking, it was a ruin.

At the moment Jin Jin's body was covered in bursting bloody scales, the empty dome shattered explosively, and the turbulent waves on the water surface appeared simultaneously, their mighty momentum making it almost impossible to behold.

Jin Jin blinked its eyes: "Dragon… Dragon Gate?"

Ling Yue startled; since she and Jin Jin shared the same perspective, whatever Jin Jin could see, she naturally could see as well—

Amid the surging waters, she saw a beautiful and exquisite ancient stone gate; from afar it looked like a mirage, only Jin Jin stubbornly saying: "Dragon Gate! It's the Dragon Gate of the leaping‑over‑the‑dragon‑gate legend!"

Ling Yue had no time to stop it; the belief lodged in her blood turned Jin Jin into a headstrong fool, charging straight toward the so‑called Dragon Gate, and in the next instant the illusion shattered explosively.

A golden stream of light shot out with a soft pat, striking its head.

The possessing Ling Yue immediately sensed something wrong, shook her head—it felt heavy.

She tried to wake Jin Jin, but every sound seemed to sink into the sea.

At the same moment on the riverbank, Ling Yue opened her eyes; the surging river water dampened part of the shore, her gaze wandering along the water's edge as a wounded water‑spirit fish gradually floated to the surface.

"Jin Jin?"

Ling Yue worried sick, she examined the whole group of water‑spirit fish Jin Jin; a golden mass appeared on the fish's head, and under her gaze it flickered briefly before turning into a golden mark.

It looks like only some external injuries—why has it suddenly gone silent?

In her thoughts, Ling Yue suddenly heard Jin Jin muttering: "I'm so sleepy, I want to sleep… sleep…"

Having said that, it comfortably turned over in the water, opened its mouth, and blew out a string of tiny bubbles.

Anxious Ling Yue: "……"

So all her earlier worry was for nothing—this guy was just sleepy! There was no real danger at all!

Ling Yue was both laughing and angry, thinking she'd punish it properly once it woke up in a few days—but she never imagined that from that day on, Jin Jin would fall into a deep sleep.

All the way until New Year, she never heard its voice again; instead, its appearance had changed dramatically compared to before.

Occasionally, some misunderstandings arose.

For example, when Song Xi came over with gifts for New Year's greetings, a glance at the water‑spirit fish Jin Jin in the aquarium left him stunned; after a moment he reacted: "Ling Yue sis, is this the water‑spirit fish you previously borrowed?"

He said this while moving closer, seeming about to flop onto the aquarium to scrutinize the Jin Jin inside from top to bottom, utterly amazed.

Ling Yue: "How could it not be?"

Song Xi: "This change is way too big!"

In the nearly two‑meter‑wide super‑large aquarium lay a brilliantly colored, dazzlingly unbeatable water‑spirit fish; most puzzling of all, its four corners had bulged into four little pouches, its tail splayed open like a delicate, ethereal flower.

If not for its appearance still vaguely recognizable, Song Xi wouldn't dare to say a word.

Suddenly his mind took a sharp turn: "Is this a mutation or an evolution? Sis, tell me secretly—I promise not to tell anyone!"

Ling Yue glanced at him: "Do you think I'd believe that?"

Song Xi scratched his head: "Hehehe."

Actually, he accidentally guessed correctly.

Ling Yue also only later discovered that Jin Jin wasn't dozing off, but was preparing to evolve; the golden mark on its forehead, after joint identification by Jun Jun and the Feng Shui Turtle Master, finally reached a unanimous conclusion: it should be a dragon pearl.

Although it's unknown which senior of the dragon clan left it behind, for the current Jin Jin it is extremely useful.

Its current slumber is actually to better evolve.

The Feng Shui Turtle Master once said slowly: "Jin Jin is a foolish fish with foolish blessings; maybe if it wakes up, it could evolve into a jiao dragon."

The 'Shu Yi Ji' records: a viper becomes a jiao after five hundred years, a jiao becomes a dragon after a thousand years; a dragon becomes a horned dragon after five hundred years, and an responding dragon after a thousand years.

Although Jin Jin bears the title of Dragon Fish King, in reality it still has a long way to go before becoming a dragon; the unexpectedly obtained dragon pearl lets it suddenly save several hundred years of struggle, which is absolutely a huge boon.

Song Xi didn't understand, but after his father's painstaking teachings, this kid is quite clever; besides paying New Year's respects, he also brought another piece of news.

Ling Yue skimmed the clauses at a glance; on the printed paper, the specific provisions were written in black and white.

But the content above surprised Ling Yue somewhat.

She raised her eyebrows slightly: "You really mean to do this? You're not joking, are you?"

Song Xi: "QAQ"

It's absolutely true! Truer than pearls!

Ling Yue almost laughed out loud, while Song Xi unusually became impatient; although he still appears a simple-minded fool in front of Ling Yue, in fact he has already taken over half of the Song family's business for the past six months, and in the entertainment circle many people still call him "Little Song President".

Song Xi can pat his chest and say: he is no longer the foolish son of the former landlord family!

So——

"Give me a chance, Sister Ling Yue!"

Ling Yue instinctively tilted her head; if that pitiful gesture were made by a small animal, she would have already smothered it with kisses and hugs and lifted it high, but for Song Xi……emmm

Getting back to the point, Ling Yue actually is also somewhat interested; she never imagined that a casual remark would actually be fulfilled by him today—just——

Ling Yue: "Are you sure? You want to pull out an eight-figure sum to have me film a show?"

Song Xi nodded vigorously: "Of course!"

"I've been preparing this show for half a month; Sister Yueyue, you are the soul of our program—if you agree today, I'll start preparations right away, and after the New Year we'll go live!"

What Song Xi meant was that he had already been thinking about it earlier, but because Ling Yue was always busy, he had to keep postponing it; only today did he finally get the chance for the variety show—'My Little Days with It'.

Among the many dating variety shows and such, it focuses on raising pets and conducting cute pet trips, truly a breath of fresh air in the circle.

Of course, some people also sneer behind their backs, wondering if the planner of this show is crazy or just scatterbrained, inviting celebrities to travel with their pets?

With this time, everyone is going to make entertainment shows.

Song Xi, however, didn't mind; besides the Song clan, there's also Miss Ren Yaqi and the Ye Group joining, the invitation list includes Movie Emperor Qin Mingwei, Little Flower Song Youli, Movie Empress Ru Tan, top-tier Xu He, and of course the most important and indispensable Ling Yue.

Although Ling Yue doesn't mix in the entertainment circle, her fame has already surpassed some first‑line stars, and in the cute‑pet circle she is renowned as a master‑level figure.

This is her first time participating in a variety show, and also the nation's first pet‑travel variety show; Song Xi analyzed it and is very optimistic about its prospects.

To him, an eight‑figure sum is hardly a sky‑high price.

Hearing his extravagant praise, Ling Yue almost felt dizzy and lost her bearings.

She pondered for a moment and asked: "Where is the production team preparing to film?"

Speaking of this, Song Xi said fervently: "The south!"

"By then it won't be just early spring with cold weather; I plan to set the show's location in the south, heading southward all the way, where the temperature and climate are also pleasant."

Unexpectedly, Ling Yue heard a familiar place name.

Southern Border.

She lowered her gaze slightly; Song Xi still wanted to press on and say something, but Ling Yue waved her hand and signed the contract: "All right, I'll participate then."

Song Xi: "Sister Yueyue, our show still has——"

His voice cut off abruptly, as if he couldn't believe it; he suddenly lifted his head to look at Ling Yue: "You really agreed?!"

Song Xi, excitedly waving his arms and legs, the Feng Shui Turtle Grandfather who had gone downstairs to get water glanced over and jumped in fright: "What's wrong with the young man?"

Xunbao Shu Duo Duo lay in its little nest, lazily flicking its bow‑tied little tail: "Excited… crazy?"

Finally, Song Xi wrapped his head in his coat and ran home in a dejected manner.

But after he left, Ling Yue discussed with the household's little animals who she would bring to participate in the show.

She always plans her affairs; even if there is still some time, it doesn't hinder her from making arrangements beforehand, and as for the final animal selection, even she herself hadn't expected it.

On the floor, the Feng Shui Turtle Master shrank its head and asked righteously: "Could it be that I'm not capable?"

Ling Yue shook her head; the Feng Shui Turtle Master snorted: "That's about right."

It went "gudā gudā" two steps, then said slowly: "I don't know who said to take us all over the country; in half a year we only made it to the Yangtze River—we, we can only rely on ourselves."。：，，.