Chapter 40
Li Xiwu was very worried. After all, she had the face of someone who had just been on an in-law variety show. She just hoped that she wouldn’t get herself into too much trouble after the show aired.
When the fourth male guest went on stage, Li Xiwu noticed that Pei Jingzhou was no longer in the audience. Not only was Pei Jingzhou not here, but even Han Qianye was not in the audience.
They’re gone? That’s great! It didn’t matter if Han Qianye was around, but she would feel very uncomfortable with Pei Jingzhou around. Now that he was gone, she could be at ease for the rest of the recording.
There were a total of five male blind date guests tonight. In the end, only two were lucky enough to hold hands.
The moment the recording ended, Li Xiwu heaved a sigh of relief. She only had time to look at her phone when she reached the backstage. She opened several WeChat messages from Qiao Qiao—
Qiao Qiao: [Did the recording go well?]
Qiao Qiao: [I just saw the chat in the group chat. Babe, you’re really something. You charmed the first male guest.]
Qiao Qiao: [The group also said that you took your mother to hold the fort? Which mother?]
Li Xiwu couldn’t be bothered to type a reply. She called Qiao Qiao directly.
Qiao Qiao picked it up. The first thing she asked was the last sentence on WeChat. “Where did you get a mother to go to the scene?”
Li Xiwu couldn’t help but laugh. “Where do you think I can get a mother?”
On the other end of the line, Qiao Qiao was silent for a few seconds. “It’s not that old kerosene barrel, is it?”
Li Xiwu said, “Remove the word ‘not’.”
Qiao Qiao was quiet.
The small details of what had happened at the recording site were too long and cumbersome to explain. Li Xiwu spoke frankly and only picked the key points that Qiao Qiao wanted to know.
After listening, Qiao Qiao was stunned. “So, not only did the old kerosene barrel go to the blind date show, but her daughter and son also went to the blind date show!”
Li Xiwu remained calm. “Yes.”
Qiao Qiao was not calm. “Damn! Doesn’t that mean your husband, your mother-in-law, and your sister-in-law were there to watch you go on a blind date?”
Li Xiwu pursed her lips. “I won’t help you like this again.”
“No, no, no!” Qiao Qiao tried to suppress a smile. “Human joys and sorrows are not interlinked. I was wrong.”
Li Xiwu snorted. “No sorrow, only joy.”
“Not necessarily.” Qiao Qiao pouted again. “Can you get out of bed tomorrow? Oh no, with Pei Jingzhou’s ability, can you get out of bed for the next three days?”
Li Xiwu: “…”
Although Qiao Qiao did have a loose tongue, all her reminders seemed to be on point. It’s over. Li Xiwu’s legs were starting to go weak before she even got home, but she still said stubbornly, “I did it for you. I can just explain the situation. It’s not as scary as you think.”
Qiao Qiao said, “Amitabha. I hope so.”
Li Xiwu hung up the phone. She walked forward on her high heels, ready to hail a taxi back to Lake Lu. As she walked, someone suddenly stopped her. “Miss Qiao.”
Li Xiwu looked up and recognized him, but he was not surprised. “Mr. Lu, you haven’t returned home yet?”
“Not yet. I was waiting for you.”
It was Lu Cheng. He was holding an unopened cup of milk tea. It went without saying who the milk tea was for.
Not long ago, on the stage, Lu Cheng was unwilling to marry into the family and had no fate with the ninth female guest. In the end, he left regretfully.
After leaving the stage, he felt indignant after thinking about it. After knowing that there had been male guests waiting for female guests backstage in the past and asking for their contact details in private, Lu Cheng shamelessly went to buy a cup of milk tea and came over to wait for a few hours.
Finally, the recording ended. He saw the number nine female guest who had moved him come out.
Lu Cheng said in a gentlemanly tone, “Miss Qiao, I’m sorry to disturb you.”
Li Xiwu said, “It is a little presumptuous.”
Lu Cheng was speechless for two seconds. He sobered. “I know what I’m doing might put you off, but my liking for you is genuine. Even if I don’t get the chance to stop seeing you, I want to be your friend.”
Anyway, most relationships between men and women started from friends. They would become friends first, and then he would tease her. With his charm and sultry methods, it wouldn’t be long before he took down Miss Qiao.
Lu Cheng was very confident about this.
Li Xiwu saw the other party’s determined expression and suppressed the corners of her lips. “Isn’t this not too good?”
Lu Cheng took out his phone and opened the WeChat business card QR code. He said sincerely, “I’m just adding you on WeChat. I want to treat you to a meal when I have time.”
Li Xiwu stopped beating around the bush and rejected him decisively. “Thank you, Mr. Lu. However, my family is stricter. Mom doesn’t allow me to add friends outside.”
Lu Cheng smiled. “Is Miss Qiao’s reason for rejecting me so refreshing?”
“Yes,” Li Xiwu replied smoothly. “I’m a mama’s girl.”
Lu Cheng: “… …”
At this moment, someone walked over from the side and asked in surprise, “Mr. Lu?”
Lu Cheng looked at the woman walking towards him. “You are?”
The woman looked disappointed. “I’m the female guest who confessed to you tonight. My name is Li Luo.”
There were five female guests who confessed, but Lu Cheng’s heart was filled with the number nine female guest, Qiao Qiao. He had no impression of Li Luo at all. He asked distantly, “Do you need something?”
“Of course.” Li Luo glanced at Li Xiwu, her eyes full of provocation.
Ever since Lu Cheng rejected her and insisted on confessing to Li Xiwu, she had disliked Li Xiwu very much. When she came out and saw that male guest number one had not left, she was overjoyed. When she got closer and heard their conversation, she realized that he was waiting for the ambitious female guest number nine. Li Luo was furious and immediately walked over.
Male guest number one was really infatuated. He had not left even after the show ended. Taking advantage of this moment, Li Luo reminded Lu Cheng in a strange tone, “Mr. Lu, actually, number nine didn’t look like this before.”
Lu Cheng was surprised. “What do you mean?”
Li Xiwu saw Li Luo throw her a provocative smile. She ignored her and walked away. Unexpectedly, when she turned around, she saw a familiar black car parked at the bottom of the steps, as if it was waiting for her.
“Hey, Miss Qiao…”
...
Lu Cheng wanted to go forward, but Li Luo stopped him. “Mr. Lu, she’s feeling guilty. She just had plastic surgery. Now that I’ve exposed her, she’s ashamed.”
Lu Cheng pried Li Luo’s hand away. “How is that possible? Miss Qiao didn’t undergo plastic surgery.”
“I’m serious!” Li Luo said firmly, “Mr. Lu, if you don’t believe me, I’ll show you our group chat. It’s all about the hospital where she had plastic surgery. She even shared it herself.”
Lu Cheng did not believe it at first, until Li Luo showed Lu Cheng the chat history of Qiao Qiao’s plastic surgery hospital.