Pure? Or Black-bellied?

In the distant camera crew area, seeing the danmaku response so enthusiastic, Xu Xiaoyou was very satisfied. Someone joked:

"President Xu, this Little Blue Bird of yours has probably earned you a lot of money, hasn't she?"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard that many luxury brands have offered large sums to hire her as a brand spokesperson, but you turned them all down?"

"I'm so jealous. I wish I had a cash cow like that under me."

Xu Xiaoyou responded to them one by one until someone casually remarked,

"I heard you even brought her to the family gala. It's not good to keep her in a birdcage forever; she needs to see the world. Any interest in scouting for a young man from the family for her?"

Those who had been teasing each other suddenly stopped. The cheerful atmosphere was shattered, and the camera crew fell into an eerie silence.

The person noticed the blonde girl looking at him with a cold gaze, his expression froze on his face. An inexplicable panic welled up in his heart, and his breathing grew slightly ragged.

After a moment, Xu Xiaoyou broke the silence:

"I have no such thoughts, nor will I ever. I hope you won't make those kinds of jokes again."

"It wasn't easy to bring her to the height she is at today. Perhaps in the future, she will stand even higher than I do, but I hope her light will only shine on me alone."

Rather than a friendly reminder, this sounded more like a warning, like a lone wolf asserting its ownership.

"I am a person who cherishes my wealth very much. In this regard, I value her more than anything else."

The atmosphere softened slightly, and the crowd hurriedly nodded in agreement:

"Exactly, exactly. Director Peng just says whatever comes to his mind."

Only the man from before remained, standing up and saying uneasily that he needed to go to the restroom.

Meanwhile, Xu Xiaoyou simply looked calmly into the distance, her gaze resting on the blue-haired girl. Her fingertips tapped lightly on the armrest, sound after sound, like a rhythmic beat.

In the team, Kim Jung-han remembered his role as the captain and quickly adjusted his expression:

"Since Miss Blue Iris has arrived, let's talk about things related to the Siren Miracle."

"Before talking about the miracle, I hope you all will patiently listen to the story of the Siren King first."

Tang Xin cleared her throat and began:

"Legend has it that when the mermaids violated the vow made with the wizard, the Stars cast a curse. They became hideous and were driven out of human society."

"A portion of the merfolk lived cautiously within human society, while more followed their kin to uninhabited islands above the ocean to settle down, living a life of isolation. Due to long-term survival in human society, their gill organs degenerated, and they lost their ability to survive in the ocean. The once vast tribe faced a catastrophe, reaching the brink of life and death."

"The Mermaid Princess, who originally made the contract with the wizard, lost her beauty after bearing the price of the curse. A hundred years of wind and frost passed quickly across her face. Her tight skin became slack and covered in wrinkles, her gem-like bright eyes grew increasingly cloudy, and her pearl-soft face was covered in festering pus."

"The princess, who had brought prosperity and stability to her kin, was regarded as the source of the curse. The angry mermaids viewed her as a witch and roasted her over a great fire for three days and nights, desperate to earn the forgiveness of the Stars. The princess's mournful cries moved the creatures of the land to sorrow and the creatures of the sea to grief."

"Ultimately, even the heavens could not bear it anymore and sent down a timely rain to extinguish the fire. The vegetation on the island flourished, providing food for the mermaids to survive, and the soul of the Mermaid Princess was allowed to rest in peace, no longer suffering persecution."

"However, the Mermaid Princess, who had been treated unfairly, cast the most vicious curse on the island before her death. When this island prospers and the mermaids live in peace, her mangled body will descend as the Siren King, awakening the wrathful ocean."

"At that time, violent storms will destroy everything on the island, the tides will submerge all, and every living thing on the island will be buried at the bottom of the sea."

After hearing this story, everyone present fell into deep thought.

Amy raised her hand to speak: "Since the Mermaid Princess was so powerful, why didn't she just take those fish-men down with her while she was alive?"

Looking at the smug Amy, a few anger-vein marks popped up on Tang Xin's forehead. How should she know? This was the script the production team gave her. After a quick turn of thought, Tang Xin came up with a reasonable answer:

"This is the Starry Kingdom. Curses and oaths possess magic here. Perhaps it was the Mermaid Princess's final resentment resonating with the starry sky that gave birth to the miracle."

"So, the Mermaid Princess is that Siren King. Then, what specifically is the miracle?"

"Prosperity," Tang Xin said, looking up at the sky outside the hotel. The sky, which had been clear an hour ago, was now surging with dark clouds, with faint light flickering between the layers. The air was filled with humid moisture, as if a heavy rain was about to fall.

"Prosperity... could it be related to the number of mermaid residents on the island?" John deduced.

"Population is often linked to the level of prosperity in an area. When the number of mermaids is high enough, does that represent the merfolk living in peace?"

"When the mermaid population reaches a certain point, the miracle will activate, and the Siren King will return, bringing storms and tides."

Amy's expression changed for a moment before she quickly calmed down, saying nothing.

Beside her, Tang Xin noticed Amy's abnormality and silently noted it in her heart.

Tang Xin thought for a moment and continued: "Hundreds of years ago, the Withered Flower family placed a seal that could suppress the power of the miracle."

"If the seal is in place, the Siren King's miracle cannot be activated. But the current problem is that the seal's anchor point was taken by someone unknown. The Withered Flower family is the watcher of this island, and my power is too small to re-establish the seal."

"I absolutely cannot stand by and watch the home my family has protected for generations sink into the depths of the sea."

"Out of desperation, I sought help from your Paranormal Explorers, hoping you could find the anchor point and reinforce the seal."

Amy's mouth fell open: "So you were the one who left the note in the old well of the Yinshan Stockade!"

Beside her, the corners of John's and Kim Jung-han's mouths twitched. You're acting like you were a participant in that episode too.

Amy also wanted to complain. What kind of wicked humor did the production team have? Tang Xin was clearly from the Winter family; wouldn't the people from the Withered Flower family really have an issue with this?

But on second thought, the Withered Flower family would probably love for this popular figure to be one of theirs. Besides, she didn't think those high-ranking family members would have the leisure to watch these soap opera-style variety shows.

"In any case, specific matters regarding the miracle and the seal require us to go to Mermaid Town later for a field investigation."

"Let's split into two groups to act after dinner."

Kim Jung-han followed up:

"I'll set the team assignments first. One male and one female per group, so we can look out for each other if a crisis occurs."

"Amy, you're with John. Sevia..."

"Sorry, I can't do that," Tang Xin waved her hand.

Everyone was stunned, and the danmaku exploded into a frenzy, with some harsh words being particularly prominent.

[Fan: Getting a little famous and now she's acting like a diva?]

[Fan: Why act so aloof? Plenty of people would die to be with my Oppa Kim Jung-han.]

[Fan: Exactly, this Tang Xin girl had negative rumors before this too.]

"Ah, this." Kim Jung-han hadn't expected to be rejected so decisively. He was quite confident in his looks. The talk of looking out for each other was just something he said casually; he was simply interested in this beautiful girl and wanted to try approaching her to see if they could create some buzz.

Just as countless people were waiting to see how Tang Xin would handle the situation, she wore a sweet smile and spoke in a mysterious tone: "I heard it. It is the will of the sea. The sea told me to refuse."

Tang Xin blinked, saying innocently: "You wouldn't want to go against the will of the sea, would you?"