Chapter 108

The moment Lucy White stepped through her front door, her phone began vibrating incessantly. Tossing her bag onto the sofa, she tapped the screen and instantly uploaded a photo of a crimson-drawn good luck talisman to Weibo.

@LucyWhiteV: Repost this fortune charm for wishes granted within seven days. Limited to first 5,000 reposts. Requirements: 1. Genuine effort 2. No illegal activities 3. Excludes lottery/gambling (wink.jpg)

Within three seconds, reposts surpassed a thousand.

[Ahhh I got it! Lucy's charms always work!]

[Was writing my thesis when the notification popped up—bless the algorithm!]

[Last repost got me that job offer—now I'm using this for my crush!]

The comments section flooded with adoration. One fan posted photos of cookies Lucy had personally handed out during yesterday's airport greeting, triggering waves of envy.

[An angel idol! She even drew little hearts on the wrappers!]

[Why didn't I go to the airport?? sobs]

[Wifey notice me!] — This comment promptly got buried under a tsunami of "GTFO" replies from female fans.

Three minutes later, the system announced all charms were claimed. Those who missed out wailed collectively:

[I was in the bathroom for two minutes!]

[Give advance notice next time—I'll queue with five phones!]

[@LucyWhiteV Please repost? I'll trade my BFF's decade of singledom!]

Watching her DMs explode, Lucy replied "Activated" to a few familiar fans. Her fan club group chat immediately erupted with 99+ screenshot spams.

At dawn the next day, the doorbell rang. The Powell family had delivered medicinal ingredients in sandalwood boxes, accompanied by a jade mortar set. Tying on an apron, Lucy began brewing herbs, filling the apartment with crisp medicinal fragrance.

Just as her vitality elixirs finished, the Johnson family car arrived downstairs. Vincent Powell's hands trembled holding the crystal vial—he'd finally slept through the night for the first time in months.

"Mom, we found something." Vincent stared at detective-sent photos. "Grandma visited that blood mage again last week."

Irene Powell sneered: "Ghost marriage scheming again." Grabbing her coat, she stormed out. "Time to educate that hag."

In the show's rehearsal room, Lucy adjusted a trainee's sheet music. When Ethan Smith entered, the room froze for three full seconds.

"Flight delay." He naturally settled beside Lucy at the piano. "Need harmonies?"

Jason Wright's pen clattered to the floor. This was Grammy-winning Ethan Smith—now tuning their pitch?

Screams suddenly erupted from Lily Green's closed rehearsal space. A passing crew member whispered theatrically: "Heard the new guest is..."

"Who?" Ears perked up.

The crew mimed zipping lips. "Director's orders—live reveal only."

At wrap time, Ethan intercepted Lucy at the elevator. "Need a ride?"

"Sure." She waved her phone. "Mrs. Powell booked an exorcism tonight."

Their departing silhouettes made trainees bite their sleeves in envy.

"Was Ethan smiling just now? Definitely smiling!"

"Lemons grow on trees, but we're the ones sour."

"Stop whining—that's the real-deal Talismancer Lucy..."

Parking lot lights stretched their shadows long. Ethan suddenly spoke: "About that ghost marriage contract..."

"Hmm?" Lucy turned.

"Call me," he opened the passenger door, eyes glinting, "if you need backup."

(To Be Continued)

*Key localization notes:

"LEMONs" retained as fandom name for brand consistency

"Talismancer" coined as cultural equivalent for 天师

"Blood mage" used for 神婆 to emphasize dark magic connotation

Westernized reactions (e.g. "GTFO" for 滚)

"Hex" consistently replaces 蛊/降头 for readability

Grammy reference establishes Ethan's prestige equivalent to 格莱美*