Although Xiao Yu already had quite a few fans, a hundred thousand or so amounted to only one in ten thousand in a population of over a billion.
In most people's eyes, Xiao Yu was still synonymous with a scammer.
Among the vast online masses, Xiao Yu might have been popular, but he was notorious. His detractors far outnumbered his supporters.
He had been about to turn around, greet Tang Xiaoxiao, and say, "I'm Xiao Yu." But after hearing the unfamiliar man blurt out his accusations, he decided to keep quiet.
An argument would sour both sides' moods. Why bother?
He had come today simply to fulfill every ordinary person's dream-to experience life as a high roller.
What surprised him, however, was Tang Xiaoxiao's reaction.
Her voice was thick with anger. Glancing sideways, he saw that her pale cheek had flushed bright red with rage. She seemed terribly worked up.
"Who are you calling a scammer? Mr. Zhao, if that's what you think, I don't think we have anything left to discuss. I don't even want this meal anymore!"
"Miss Tang, is there really any need to get so angry? I merely stated a fact that most normal people agree on."
"What do you mean, a fact everyone agrees on? You've obviously never watched Master Xiao's livestreams!"
"No, I haven't, but I've seen plenty of videos about him. They're so fake. No normal person with eyes and a brain would believe such nonsense. Fortune-telling? It's all scripted performances. Why would I watch a scammer like that stream? The fact that so many people have fallen for it just proves he's good at scamming. I have no intention of becoming his next victim!"
"Hmph. We clearly have nothing in common. Insulting my idol right in front of me says plenty about your character. Let's leave it at that. Enjoy your meal. I'm leaving."
"Miss Tang, isn't that going a little too far? All this over some distant internet celebrity you idolize! Whether I'm right or wrong, what does he have to do with you? You're so angry that you're even attacking my character. Don't you think you're the one with a problem?"
"Distant?" Tang Xiaoxiao sneered. Suddenly, she stood up, picked up her teacup, and flung its contents hard into the face of the suited man across from her!
"Let me tell you something, Zhao. Master Xiao saved my life and found me my current job. Without him, who knows how miserable I'd be right now? There might not even be any ashes left of me! You can insult me, but I will never let you insult Master Xiao!"
The man surnamed Zhao was furious too. He slammed the table and roared, "If you care so much about that damned scammer, that lousy internet celebrity, why don't you marry him? Why come on a blind date with me?"
Tang Xiaoxiao said coldly, "You think I wanted to go on a blind date with you? Compared to Master Xiao, you're not even fit to carry his shoes! I know Master Xiao has high standards, and I'm not good enough for him. But if he were willing to give me a chance, I'd be so happy being his secret lover for the rest of my life that I'd laugh in my sleep!"
"You're impossible!"
"Hmph, goodbye! No, good riddance!"
After snapping those words, Tang Xiaoxiao turned to leave in a huff.
The moment she turned around, her eyes met Xiao Yu's.
She blinked her big eyes twice, hesitated for a long moment, and frowned in confusion before turning away to leave.
"Miss Tang, what are you doing? You've been secretly calling me your husband through a screen for so long, and now you don't recognize me face-to-face?"
At Xiao Yu's teasing, the anger on Tang Xiaoxiao's face abruptly gave way to bashfulness. She even seemed at a loss for what to do.
She approached Xiao Yu's table excitedly, clasping her hands together in nervous restraint.
"Master Xiao? I thought you just looked like him. I never imagined it really was you!"
"Yes, of course it's me. I wasn't going to call out to you, but hearing you defend me so fiercely, even giving up a blind date at such a fancy restaurant, really touched me. Come, sit down. If he won't treat you to dinner, I will."
"O-okay! Thank you!"
Tang Xiaoxiao glanced at Su Yunyi and Yuan Yu across from Xiao Yu, looking a little sheepish and shy, then carefully sat down on his left.
"Master Xiao, your livestream was banned, so I thought you'd be busy getting the ban lifted. I didn't think you'd have time to come out for dinner. And with these two beauties, young and younger, hanging on either arm, I thought you were some other rich young man."
Xiao Yu laughed. "I'm embarrassed to admit it, but one of them is my landlady, and the other is an assistant I hired. There's no romance going on. They were just afraid I'd embarrass myself, so they deliberately linked arms with me to help me keep up appearances."
"Heeheehee..."
Tang Xiaoxiao covered her mouth and giggled, showing no trace of the woman who had been glaring and slamming the table just moments earlier.
But someone was unhappy.
"Hmph. So this is your so-called Master Xiao? The scammer himself? Dressed in bargain-bin clothes, too. I'd say living off women is his real profession, not scamming people with fortune-telling. And he's hooked two rich, beautiful women at once. Heh, quite the talent."
His tone dripped with jealousy, and his face was still covered in the tea she had thrown at him.
The speaker was none other than Tang Xiaoxiao's blind date.
Only now, he looked rather disheveled.
Xiao Yu glanced at him, shook his head, and couldn't be bothered to respond.
Su Yunyi watched Xiao Yu with a bright smile, looking ready to enjoy the show.
Yuan Yu angrily clenched her little fists beneath the table, but timid and shy by nature, she didn't dare stand up and berate a man who practically had "elite" and "successful professional" stamped all over him.
Tang Xiaoxiao snapped again, "Whether he's a scammer or not, what business is it of yours? What, you think coming over to someone else's table and spouting malicious gossip makes you look classy? All I smell is sour grapes! If you're jealous of Master Xiao, just say so!"
As she spoke, she deliberately leaned against Xiao Yu's shoulder and stared at the man mockingly.
"Hmph. A scammer and an idiot woman he's brainwashed. Just another mindless fangirl. Oh, right, I should take a picture and help this master scammer get even more famous. I've already got the headline: 'Fortune-telling master kept by two rich beauties at once!' Haha!"
Click! He actually took the picture.
Tang Xiaoxiao hurried to her feet, trying to snatch his phone as she shouted angrily, "What are you doing? No pictures! You're outright slandering him!"
The man shoved Tang Xiaoxiao aside and sneered. "Slander? Where exactly do you see any slander? I didn't edit the picture. I just photographed what I saw. Come to think of it, why are you so anxious? Could it be that you know people online aren't idiots either?"
"You..."
Tang Xiaoxiao was furious. She tried to grab the phone again, but Xiao Yu held her back.
Su Yunyi raised a delicate eyebrow slightly, understanding dawning on her.
Someone's in for it now!
Before you continue