Chapter 108

The moment Aria Bennett 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 Starfeed.

@AriaBennettV: 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! Aria'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 Aria 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!]

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

Watching her DMs explode, Aria 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 Blackwell family had delivered medicinal ingredients in sandalwood boxes, accompanied by a jade mortar set. Tying on an apron, Aria began brewing herbs, filling the apartment with crisp medicinal fragrance.

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

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

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

In the show's rehearsal room, Aria adjusted a trainee's sheet music. When Damian Cross entered, the room froze for three full seconds.

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

Mason Bell's pen clattered to the floor. This was Grammy-winning Damian Cross—now tuning their pitch?

Screams suddenly erupted from Serena Blake'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, Damian intercepted Aria at the elevator. "Need a ride?"

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

Their departing silhouettes made trainees bite their sleeves in envy.

"Was Damian smiling just now? Definitely smiling!"

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

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

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

"Hmm?" Aria turned.

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