Xia Qing

That evening, Li Xun was slicing some shredded pork. There were still some small oilseed rape greens in the refrigerator, and he planned to make a bowl of shredded pork noodles for a quick meal.

Before he finished slicing the pork, the phone rang. It was his mother, Wang Huiqing.

"Mom, what's up?"

"Son, have you eaten?"

"I'm making something now, a bowl of noodles. Have you and Dad eaten?"

"We just finished. We had stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots. Um... there's something Mom wants to discuss with you."

"Go ahead, Mom."

"Your father and I were thinking, you should discuss it with Xia Qing and get the marriage certificate before the end of the year. She's getting more and more popular. If you keep dragging this out, your father and I won't feel at ease."

Li Xun was silent for a moment, then said, "Mom, she and I have already broken up."

"What? Broken up!"

Wang Huiqing asked loudly, "Was it her idea?"

The original host had vaguely known for half a year that things between him and Xia Qing wouldn't work out, but he had never revealed it to his parents. Whenever his parents asked about their relationship, he would always brush it off by saying it was going well. That's why Li Xun's sudden announcement of their breakup today caught Wang Huiqing so off guard.

"You could say that!" Li Xun replied.

"She breaks up with you just like that? How dare she!" Wang Huiqing continued, "Doesn't she remember how she knelt on the ground begging us when she was fourteen? There's a written contract with fingerprints, and the old village head was a witness. Now she says she doesn't want to talk about it anymore? We didn't force her back then, did we?"

"We supported her studies from junior high all the way through college graduation. We spent at least 200,000 yuan on her, one way or another. During the time after graduation before she became famous, didn't you spend all your money on her? Fine, now she's famous, she's making big money, she's gotten arrogant, and now she looks down on us?"

"She breaks up with you, and that's that? Is there such a thing? Our two families aren't related by blood or marriage, so why did we support her studies? Wasn't it because she knelt and begged us, insisting on becoming a daughter-in-law of our Li family? No! I'm going to her house right now. This matter can't be dropped just like that!"

Li Xun said, "I'll handle this properly. However, marrying her is impossible. The law emphasizes freedom of marriage."

Wang Huiqing shouted, "Law? With the law, do we abandon morality? Do we abandon our faces? If she wants to abandon her face, we'll expose the contract signed by both families back then, and the fingerprints she pressed while crying. She's a celebrity; celebrities make a living with their looks. I'll see if she has the face to continue in this industry!"

Li Xun said, "How about we ask her to return the money? We can calculate how much we've spent on her over the years and have her pay it back. Mom, what do you think?"

Wang Huiqing said, "That won't do. If we had used that money to buy a house, it would be worth six or seven hundred thousand yuan now. If we had used it to marry a wife, I would have already been holding my grandson. No, this matter cannot be dropped just like that."

Li Xun said, "Alright, alright, it won't be dropped. Don't worry, I'll handle it. Oh, and Mom, don't you dare find a reporter to expose this."

Wang Huiqing angrily said, "You're too much of a pushover! You're still protecting her even now! Don't worry, expose her right away? Mom isn't that stupid! If we expose it, we'll have no leverage left. What did the news say? The greatest power of an atomic bomb is always when it's on the launchpad."

Wang Huiqing was a top figure in the village, and she wouldn't let this matter just pass. First of all, she wouldn't let it go!

Li Xun said, "A forced melon isn't sweet. Besides, I don't like her anymore."

Never mind that she looked down on Li Xun; even if she did like him and wanted to marry him, he might not necessarily want her. The original host's feelings didn't represent his own, so Li Xun felt that the only way to resolve this in the end was to get the money back.

It wasn't that he cared about the money itself, but rather that if it ended so vaguely, his parents would be gossiped about in the village.

Xia Qing would probably be willing. She wasn't short of money now. However, Wang Huiqing, who never fell behind in anything, would...

Wang Huiqing said, "Mom doesn't care if it's sweet or not. Anyway, this melon was bought with our Li family's money. If it's not sweet, we'd rather feed it to the pigs than let someone else have it for free."

Li Xun yelled, "Mom, what are you saying? Why do I feel like you're calling me a pig?"

Wang Huiqing sighed, "You are a pig. How many times have I reminded you? You two still haven't... what? What can Mom say about you? Why are you so foolish?! Even the Cowherd knew to hide the Weaver Girl's clothes. Cook the rice and make it into cooked rice, have two children, and then talk about it. You!"

Li Xun said, "This shows that your son's moral standards have surpassed those of the widely known mythical figures. You should be happy for your son!"

Wang Huiqing sighed, "Son, remember, 'Put down the butcher knife and become a Buddha immediately' means that if you want to become a Buddha, you must first have the knife in your hand! You can ultimately let her go, but you can't let her think you are incapable of making her pay a price. Handle this yourself first. If you really can't bear to, then Mom will throw away this old face. Our Li family, my son, cannot be bullied like this without even a whimper!"

After hanging up the phone with his mother, Wang Huiqing, Li Xun thought about it and felt that this matter ultimately needed to be resolved, but there was no need to rush.

It was certain that he would make her pay money, and not just the amount the Li family spent on her. The Li family's contributions to her far exceeded that amount. To be honest, even if she paid back 2 million yuan, Li Xun would still feel it wasn't worth it for the original host. But as he said, there was no need to rush.

He had already started working at Penguin Video, and his first script was almost complete. He believed he would soon make a name for himself in the entertainment industry. He just hoped to discuss this matter with her as an equal.

Li Xun continued making his shredded pork noodles as he thought, and after eating his fill, he went back to writing the script for the first unit of Young Bao Qingtian.