Chapter 9: Jinli the Carp

When Jin Li was sought out, she had no idea what was waiting for her.

She had just taken some vegetables out of the refrigerator and was planning to wash them one by one when the doorbell rang. She walked over to open the door.

Seeing Sui Lingfang on the video doorbell, Jin Li opened the door immediately and called out crisply, "Sister Fang, I was just about to make dinner. Why don't you stay and eat with me?"

Her voice was sweet, like the pure, natural, additive-free sugar cakes she used to eat as a child. Even Sui Lingfang felt a bit lightheaded upon hearing it and replied, "Alright then."

It wasn't until she walked into the living room that she remembered the purpose of her visit.

Sui Lingfang said, "Jin Li, wait a moment, I need to ask you something."

Jin Li walked out from the kitchen, "What is it?"

She had already put on her apron, which featured a cute pink cat paw in the center.

Sui Lingfang immediately changed her tune, "It's nothing. Let's go to the kitchen together; I'll help you, and we can chat while we're at it."

As Jin Li cooked, she listened to Sui Lingfang talk about the company's recent general developments.

Although she didn't know why she had suddenly started talking about the company, Jin Li happened to be quite curious about it, so she listened with great interest.

Once the meal was ready, Sui Lingfang immediately took over, carrying the plates to the dining table one by one.

Jin Li tidied up and sat down. Just as she was about to eat, Sui Lingfang spoke up: "Jin Li, did you go to a Taoist temple to burn incense recently?"

Jin Li’s hand, holding her chopsticks, paused.

The pause was quite obvious. Sui Lingfang was a sharp person; she immediately saw the guilty conscience hidden beneath Jin Li's calm exterior.

*Hah*, this was the exact same expression she had when she wanted to grab potato chips and cola!

Sui Lingfang immediately said, "It's nothing, I was just asking. I didn't say you couldn't go to a temple. I think temples are quite good. I want to go pay my respects on the first and fifteenth of every month from now on. It would be even better if you could recommend a few to me."

Jin Li relaxed, chatting as she ate: "Sister Fang, the temple is a minor detail; praying to the right deity is what matters. Are you looking to pray for your career, your wealth, or your health? Each deity has different duties, so you have to pray to the right god for things to go smoothly."

Sui Lingfang said with a smile, "How about the God of Wealth? What do you think of that 'quasi-God of Wealth' at the Dashan Temple in Nancheng? Is he quite effective?"

Jin Li nodded in agreement; she had personally verified his efficacy.

Sui Lingfang continued with a chuckle, "I heard there's a lottery station next to Dashan Temple. The lotteries there are never rigged, and lucky people who win hundreds of thousands often pop up, right?"

Jin Li nodded again. She had won there just a few days ago.

The quality of the scratch-offs there was indeed good; she didn't know if it was the deity's blessing.

Having laid the groundwork, Sui Lingfang finally closed the loop: "I heard that a few days ago, a young lady in black took a lottery ticket to the side of the main hall of the temple to scratch it, and she actually won 200,000?"

Jin Li stopped moving.

Sui Lingfang: "I also heard that the lucky 'Koi' who won that 200,000 was you?"

Jin Li immediately shook her head, blinking her eyes with a hint of innocence.

Sui Lingfang was speechless: "Don't play dumb. You've already been dug up by netizens. Do you know what they're calling you now? 'Jin Li the Real Koi'!"

Jin Li put down her chopsticks, stopped pretending, and frowned: "I was wrapped up so tightly, how could I have been recognized?"

Sui Lingfang was concise: "The black hoodie, hat, and mask you wore during your livestream were exactly the same as your outfit that day. And—"

She paused, saying with a tone of exasperation, "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are? Your aura is completely different from an ordinary person's. Nowadays, fans have all trained their eyes to be made of titanium alloy. With a single radar scan, they can recognize their idol just from a back view!"

Especially Jin Li's fans.

They were the kind of people who could identify Jin Li from a blurry, low-resolution photo of a passerby!

Jin Li asked cautiously, "Sister Fang, is there any negative impact after being dug up?"

Sui Lingfang shook her head, looking at her with kindness and warmth: "No."

Jin Li breathed a sigh of relief.

"But you've been hit by a 'pie from the sky'—you've gone viral."

Jin Li’s breath caught in her throat; she was truly stunned now.

...

She didn't want to eat anymore, but Sui Lingfang insisted she finish for the sake of her health.

After a hurried meal, Sui Lingfang finally brought up the ins and outs of her sudden resurgence in popularity.

Ultimately, it was that video of the "lady in black who won 200,000 after burning incense" that hit the traffic jackpot, turning the incident into a social phenomenon that was all the rage for a time.

And since she happened to have been livestreaming at the time, fans and netizens alike participated in witnessing the "large-scale identification of the lady in black."

After listening, Jin Li finally understood why Sui Lingfang had told her so much about the company; it was clearly an attempt to play the emotional card in advance.

If she had known the news earlier, it wouldn't have had this effect.

Yet, Jin Li really hadn't known.

Jin Li didn't beat around the bush and asked directly: "Sister Fang, what does the company want me to do?"

Sui Lingfang had originally wanted to chat a bit more, but seeing how direct she was, she replied just as crisply: "Come to the company tomorrow. The boss will take you to Jingda Hospital to see an old doctor. We'll decide your upcoming schedule based on your health."

Jin Li was a bit surprised: "I thought the company would immediately arrange gigs for me to capitalize on this wave of popularity."

Sui Lingfang’s expression was serious: "This goes to show that our Chenxi Company is a company with a conscience and a heart."

Jin Li chuckled, her little dimples showing on both sides.

Sui Lingfang laughed too: "I'm serious. The company has never encountered this kind of 'traffic from the sky' before. Although we're very tempted, we decided that everything must be based on your health. Otherwise, if something were to happen while you were out working, it wouldn't be a stroke of good luck anymore."

It could turn into a stroke of bad luck in a heartbeat.

Jin Li’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, "Sister Fang, I understand."

Both Sui Lingfang and Jin Li felt very satisfied with this conversation.

Sui Lingfang felt that Jin Li was truly different; she no longer had that lifeless air from before. As the fans said, there were stars in her eyes.

As for Jin Li, she felt that Sui Lingfang was professional.

When traffic falls from the sky, a third-tier celebrity could use it to become second-tier.

And for someone like Jin Li, who already had the foundation of a first-tier star, she could use this to gradually restore her former popularity and return to her first-tier status.

Faced with sudden good or bad luck, people's minds tend to be restless. Sui Lingfang coming over immediately was meant to soothe her emotions.

After Sister Fang left, Jin Li wanted to scroll through short videos to see how she had been captured.

But the moment she thought about having to go to Jingda Hospital tomorrow, she stared at her phone for several seconds, sighed faintly, and put it down.

She walked to the living room, took out her tablet, and continued her online classes.

Given her current situation, it would probably be difficult to go to the temple to burn incense. She had only just become popular again; there might already be paparazzi lurking outside her apartment.

She had at least that much self-awareness.

It would be better to focus on studying; only then could her health improve.