IJLHTW - 64

Xu Di had a gentle nature, rarely raising her voice even when speaking. But now, her sudden cold demeanor startled Hai Lian.

Anxious and flustered, she quickly explained, “Auntie, you’ve misunderstood me. They say there’s no smoke without fire; it’s been all over the internet. I’m just worried about Brother Zechen.”

Xu Di looked at her anxious expression, her face softening slightly, and gently said, “Hai Lian, you’re a sensible and good child. How can you be like those people who don’t understand anything and just point fingers at other people’s lives?”

These words weren’t a scolding, but they made Hai Lian blush even more than a harsh reprimand would have.

Xu Di was essentially telling her, how can you be as meddlesome as those people online?

In front of Xu Di, Hai Lian had always presented herself as dignified and generous. Now, Xu Di’s words were essentially telling her that she was like those keyboard warriors online, believing rumors without question and recklessly criticizing others.

It was bound to embarrass Hai Lian.

Of course, Xu Di hadn’t originally intended to speak to her like that. After all, she was a guest and had specifically come to visit her at home. Previously, Xu Di had been overly enthusiastic towards Hai Lian, meddling in Yi Zechen’s affairs and giving her hope. Now that Yi Zechen’s relationship was exposed, it was understandable for her to feel disappointed.

Of course, if it was just disappointment, Xu Di wouldn’t have acted this way.

After all, she was also at fault in this matter.

But Hai Lian’s words were clearly meant to make Xu Di have a bad impression of Huo Ci. If Xu Di couldn’t see through such blatant provocation, she wouldn’t deserve to be Yi Huaize’s wife.

So, her sudden cold demeanor wasn’t truly because she was angry with Hai Lian.

Instead, she hoped to use this attitude to tell Hai Lian that she was very satisfied with Huo Ci and that she completely approved of her son’s choice.

After all, a girl who could produce such works must have a very gentle and kind heart.

Finally, when Hai Lian left, Xu Di personally saw her off. After returning, she called Yi Zechen.

It took a while for him to answer, and his first words were apologetic: “Sorry, I was in a meeting.”

“Did Mama disturb you?” Xu Di asked him.

He chuckled softly, “No, do you need something?”

“My son has become an internet celebrity, do I need to make an appointment to call you now?” Xu Di joked.

Unexpectedly, after she finished speaking, there was a one or two-second silence on the other end before Yi Zechen’s calm voice said, “You used to need an appointment to call me before too.”

Xu Di: “...” Is this still my Zechen? He can even joke now.

“Oh, right, Mama called you to tell you that Hai Lian just came to the house,” Xu Di never kept secrets from Yi Zechen. Hai Lian came primarily for him, so of course, she would tell him about it.

Yi Zechen frowned slightly and asked her, “Something wrong?”

“It’s just about your proposal,” thinking of this, Xu Di almost wanted to applaud him. He was simply too cool! The proposal was so romantic, it was simply on par with Yi Huaize back in the day. When she saw the video, she thought her son was truly too handsome.

So Xu Di recounted what had just happened, and then, as if asking for praise, said, “Mama did well, didn’t she?”

That proud tone, with the subtext of, “Son, hurry up and praise me for doing a good job.”

Yi Zechen couldn’t help but smile, and said softly, “Well done.”

Just as Xu Di was about to speak, Yi Zechen chuckled softly and said, “I won’t tell Grandpa about you secretly giving Xu Siyang a credit card.”

Xu Di was shocked: “How did you know?”

Yi Zechen couldn’t help but rub his forehead. He knew exactly what Xu Siyang was like. He had originally intended to persuade the old man to restore all the credit cards under his name, but then he discovered that Xu Siyang actually had money to modify his sports car again.

He hadn’t given him any money, and the old man was still waiting for Xu Siyang to back down, so of course he wouldn’t give him money either.

The only possibility was Xu Di.

Seeing Xu Di’s expression at the moment, as if such a big secret had been discovered, Yi Zechen truly didn’t know what to say. He held the phone in one hand, lightly coughed, and said calmly, “Before you gave him the money, you should have warned Xu Siyang not to act like a nouveau riche.”

Meanwhile, Xu Siyang, who had just become a nouveau riche, drove his sports car, which had been parked in the garage for a long time. Previously, because the old man had cut off his finances, he was almost out of money even for gas, let alone maintenance. So, he hadn’t driven out for several months.

The reason he was driving out today was because he heard that Mo Xingchen was actually going on a blind date behind his back.

The thought of this made him unbearable.

He had indeed lied to Mo Xingchen, and he was willing to let her hit him, let her curse him. But he didn’t want her to have anything to do with other men.

So, Xu Siyang, who was still in his rebellious phase, dressed himself in eye-catching attire. On his wrist was a Patek Philippe, a watch worth over two million yuan, given to him by his eldest sister for his birthday last year.

His clothes were the latest Dior Homme menswear.

As for the car he drove out, he specifically chose a Lamborghini, because Mo Xingchen had always said she liked “Daniu” (the nickname for Lamborghini Aventador).

Thinking of Mo Xingchen again, Xu Siyang’s legs went weak. She wouldn’t even talk to him now.

As he was leaving, Yi Zechen happened to call him, reminding him not to forget to go to Hong Kong this week. The old man had lived in Hong Kong for so long and wanted to come back. Xu Di was afraid others wouldn’t take good care of him, so she insisted on Xu Siyang going with her to pick him up.

Yi Zechen called specifically to remind him, fearing he would run off again.

Xu Siyang pressed the button. Yi Zechen paused, then asked softly, “Are you going out?”

Unexpectedly, Xu Siyang on the other end was also stunned and asked, “How did you know?” His question also stumped Yi Zechen. After a moment of silence, he pinched the bridge of his nose, “The sound of you opening the car door was very loud.”

Suddenly, Yi Zechen truly understood: his mother and Xu Siyang were indeed siblings.

“Hahahaha, you’re right,” Xu Siyang burst out laughing.

Yi Zechen said blandly, “Don’t cause trouble.”

As it turned out, he did cause trouble.

When Mo Xingchen left home, her mother specifically called to instruct her to seize the opportunity. After all, the man being introduced this time was said to be handsome, over 1.8 meters tall, graduated from Tsinghua University, studied for a PhD in the United States, and just returned to China this year to work in investment banking.

According to her mother, he was a high-quality blind date candidate, the kind you couldn’t find even with a lantern.

Listening to her mother’s tone, if this didn’t succeed, her mother would probably make her sacrifice herself.

Mo Xingchen reluctantly put on her makeup and drove her newly repaired car out. She had expected Beijing’s traffic to be at least an hour’s delay, but unexpectedly, she had a smooth drive.

What she didn’t expect was that behind her car, there was a yellow Lamborghini following.

Perhaps afraid of following too closely and being discovered, Xu Siyang kept a good distance.

She parked her car in front of a cafe. The area was very quiet, and the cafe’s floor-to-ceiling windows were large panes of glass, making it easy to see what was happening inside from the outside. Xu Siyang sat in his car, watching her follow the waiter to a table by the window.

A man was already waiting there. When she approached, the man stood up.

Seeing the man actually reach out to shake her hand, Xu Siyang sneered, “He’s putting on airs.”

So he stayed in the car, quietly watching.

As night fell, the cafe was lit with warm lights. The man and woman sitting by the window laughed and chatted.

Xu Siyang looked at Mo Xingchen, who was smiling politely with her head down, and felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.

He had lied to her; it was understandable that she was angry.

But he didn’t want her to laugh like that with other people. He thought that no matter how angry she was, she would eventually forgive him. He would still be Siyang, living in her cozy home, waiting for her to get off work, and they would laugh while discussing the terrible movie they had just watched.

Although they had only spent a few days together, he truly liked Mo Xingchen.

Now, sitting in the car, all the careful grooming and self-importance from the afternoon seemed so disheartening.

Meanwhile, Mo Xingchen in the cafe was forcing a smile, looking at the man across from her. He was indeed refined and handsome, with elegant and polite conversation, without being overly obtrusive. Although they weren’t alumni, their two universities were considered twin stars standing side by side.

When mentioning their university days, the other party’s university would inevitably be mentioned.

At this moment, he was talking about a friendly match with B University. Although he wasn’t boastful, his words implied that if it weren’t for him, that game would have been lost.

Mo Xingchen suddenly regretted why she was here.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated. She looked down and saw a WeChat message from a friend, asking if she was free tonight and wanted to go for a drink.

She put it down disappointedly.

The man opposite noticed her expression and asked with a smile, “Waiting for a call?”

“No,” Mo Xingchen shook her head and immediately put down her phone.

Just then, a girl suddenly rushed in, looked around the cafe, saw their table, and actually charged straight over. Without a word, she suddenly pulled the tablecloth off.

The coffee in front of Mo Xingchen spilled. If she hadn’t dodged quickly, her clothes would have been ruined. Even so, a lot of coffee still splashed onto her.

The woman pointed at the man and cursed, “Jerk!”

Then she turned to Mo Xingchen and said, “Miss, I think you’ve definitely been cheated. This jerk has a girlfriend, but from today onwards, she’s his ex-girlfriend.”

The woman paused, then sneered again.

Everyone in the cafe looked over. The cafe’s staff were coming over, but someone was even faster than them.

Xu Siyang, who was in the car, rushed in as soon as he saw someone causing trouble inside.

He pulled Mo Xingchen up and immediately said to the woman, “This is her first day meeting this man. If you have something to say, talk to him. Don’t curse at her.”

Alright, here comes another one protecting the woman. This drama is truly exciting.

Indeed, the woman sneered, sized him up, and sarcastically said, “You’re quite generous, aren’t you? Your girlfriend goes on a blind date, and you’re not even angry.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Xu Siyang immediately said. The bystanders watching the show were disappointed, but right after saying that, he firmly added, “She’s the person I like, she just doesn’t like me yet, and I’m trying hard to pursue her.”

At this point, let alone the bystanders, even the troublemaking woman was stunned.

The troublemaking woman scrutinized Xu Siyang, then looked back at her ex-boyfriend, and chuckled, saying to Mo Xingchen, “Miss, are your eyes alright? You don’t want a handsome guy like this, and you come on a blind date with a scumbag like him?”

As she said this, a few unrestrained chuckles could be heard from the side.

Of course, her sarcasm also successfully angered the scumbag. The man, who had been gentle and refined just a moment ago, suddenly changed his expression, grabbed her wrist, and tried to drag her outside.

The troublemaking woman struggled desperately, but she couldn’t break free.

The cafe staff had already called the police, but now that the waiter saw the man dragging the woman out, they didn’t stop him.

Mo Xingchen was about to step forward, but Xu Siyang had already moved past her. He grabbed both their hands and coldly said to the man, “Let go. The young lady doesn’t want to go with you.”

But the man didn’t let go, and Xu Siyang didn’t want to be polite with him anymore. He had been annoyed by this man ever since he was sitting in the car.

When he threw a punch, everyone gasped. The scumbag was hit and stumbled back several steps.

The man released the troublemaker’s hand. He touched his cheek and rushed forward. As his fist aimed for Xu Siyang’s face, it was struck by a thrown cup. The cup shattered into pieces upon impact, cutting his hand and making it bloody.

Mo Xingchen looked displeased. After throwing the object, she looked at him angrily and said, “He’s someone you can fucking hit?”

This protectiveness was exactly like Huo Ci’s.

Yi Zechen and Huo Ci both received calls from the police station around the same time. Even their lawyers arrived almost simultaneously.

When Huo Ci went in, Yi Zechen had just entered. Xu Siyang had an expression that said, “I really didn’t cause any trouble.”

“You came to the police station for a blind date? That’s quite something,” Huo Ci looked at Mo Xingchen, not letting her off either.

Fortunately, after the matter was cleared up, Yi Zechen and Huo Ci didn’t say anything more. However, Yi Zechen kept an eye on Huo Ci, because her expression when looking at the blind date guy opposite her was terrifyingly cold.

After the four of them came out, Yi Zechen still held Huo Ci’s hand tightly.

Mo Xingchen was also expressionless, not saying a word.

Xu Siyang, however, cautiously glanced at her and softly said, “We haven’t eaten much yet. How about we go for dinner first, and then I’ll take you home?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Mo Xingchen turned to look at him, still expressionless, “Why were you here today?”

Xu Siyang’s heart sank. He had forgotten about that.

Mo Xingchen narrowed her eyes: “You were stalking me?”

“No,” he denied it immediately, but then remembered he couldn’t lie to her, and stammered for a long time before saying, “I was afraid you’d get hurt.”

“So you were still stalking me,” Mo Xingchen chuckled.

Xu Siyang obediently nodded, not daring to lie anymore.

Mo Xingchen glanced at him and asked, “You still like me?”

Xu Siyang looked up in surprise, not understanding the meaning of her question, but seeing her face show impatience, he quickly nodded and said, “Yes, I like you.”

“Hmm, I agree,” Mo Xingchen said expressionlessly.

Xu Siyang looked at her happily, simply unable to believe it, and even asked very seriously, “You agree to be my girlfriend?”

“Of course not,” she then denied again, “Didn’t you say you’re trying to pursue me? I’m agreeing to let you pursue me.”

So, Xu Siyang, who hadn’t even had time to show disappointment, happily laughed.

Huo Ci and Yi Zechen watched, dumbfounded, these two people whose combined emotional intelligence didn’t exceed sixty.

Alright, you two are a perfect match.