Come on a Date with Me

Things had quieted down on Lin Fengmian's end, but Xia Qinghe was so fed up with his own mother that he wanted to shut himself away.

"Mom, can you give me a break? I've told you I'm not interested in her that way, and she probably isn't interested in me either." Xia Qinghe had moved out precisely because he was sick of all the blind dates Qian Yulan arranged, both openly and on the sly.

Every day after work, he came home to what should have been a haven where he could catch his breath, only to find it had become a breeding ground, with him as the stud dog waiting to fetch the right price.

He had thought moving out would give him some peace, but nothing had changed.

His mother was desperate to marry him off before he turned thirty, as though he would drop dead if he reached thirty without a wife.

"You've only met once. How can you say you aren't interested? Feelings only develop as people spend time together. Take some initiative and ask her out more often. You'll see what's good about Jing." Qian Yulan patiently tried to reason with her son, who refused to listen to anything.

She truly thought Fan Jing suited Xia Qinghe. One was hot-tempered and utterly shameless; the other was educated, well-mannered, quiet, and refined.

As the saying went, softness overcame hardness. Once Xia Qinghe spent enough time with Fan Jing, even a lump of steel like him would surely turn soft enough to wind around her finger.

Looking at his mother and her wishful thinking, Xia Qinghe wearily closed his eyes for a moment. "I'll ask her out right now. Happy?"

Qian Yulan smiled gently. "Good."

Xia Qinghe scrolled through his contacts, then suddenly remembered that he didn't seem to have Fan Jing's contact information. "Mom, what's her number?"

Qian Yulan recited a string of numbers. She had barely finished before Xia Qinghe dialed. After the second ring, the other person picked up. "Hello, this is Fan Jing. Who's calling?"

Hearing that unhurried voice, admiration rose in Qian Yulan's eyes. Just listen to her. What a perfect mistress of the Xia Family she would make-neither arrogant nor impatient, poised and composed.

"It's Xia Qinghe."

"Qinghe, did you need something?"

"My mom told me to ask you out for a meal."

Qian Yulan glared at Xia Qinghe. Is that any way to talk? Can't you say you want to ask her out? Don't you have any social sense? No wonder you're still single at twenty-nine. Keep talking like that and you won't find a wife in a hundred years.

Xia Qinghe glared back. Just wait. She'll definitely refuse. After all, he had made noises like a pig rooting for food. Who could stand going out to eat with someone like that? Hadn't she been embarrassed enough?

He had been so fucking smart back then, planning three moves ahead.

"Sure. When and where shall we meet?"

The smug look on Xia Qinghe's face vanished instantly, and he fell silent.

Like a victorious general, Qian Yulan nudged Xia Qinghe aside. "Jing, it's Auntie Lan. Now that spring is here, the grass at Grassland is green and the flowers are blooming. Why don't you and Qinghe go camping there?"

"Sure, Auntie Lan. Sorry for the trouble."

"It's no trouble at all."

Qian Yulan hung up, beaming.

With a dark expression, Xia Qinghe looked at his delighted mother, then went upstairs without looking back.

Qian Yulan thought nothing of it. He had been quick-tempered since childhood. Getting angry could count as improving his circulation and clearing his meridians.

Xia Qinghe had met women before who were willing to swallow their pride just to become the mistress of the Xia Family, but Fan Jing felt different to him. She probably wasn't the sort to sell out her own marriage for money.

Had he misjudged her?

Surely not?

He lay on his bed, growing angrier and more frustrated the more he thought about it. Unable to stay lying down, he got up, went downstairs, and drove away.

Hearing the engine, Qian Yulan looked out the window, only to catch the rear of his car disappearing through the gates. In any case, Xia Qinghe had already promised her. To avoid upsetting her and affecting her health, he wouldn't stand anyone up.

So she left him alone.

"Miss Yu, Lin Fengmian declined to be your guest vocalist. You should find someone else."

Lin Sui hadn't expected Yu Huan to come looking for him even after he emailed her manager to say Lin Fengmian wouldn't be her guest vocalist.

Wearing a low-cut floral maxi dress, sunglasses, her hair loose in big waves, and ten-centimeter heels, she blocked Lin Sui's path.

It wasn't that she didn't want to intercept Lin Fengmian. She simply couldn't catch him.

She had no way of getting into that residential complex with guards stationed at the entrance. Even posting someone outside required extreme caution for fear they would be arrested as a spy. They only dared watch from a distance.

After staking the place out for a week, they hadn't caught so much as a glimpse of him.

Catching his manager, Lin Sui, was much easier. "If you don't want to be photographed, let's talk somewhere private."

Yu Huan was the young actress making the biggest splash lately. A television drama she had filmed was currently a huge hit, catapulting her from an obscure nobody to a second-tier actress.

Work offers were pouring in, and plenty of people wanted to ride her popularity onto shows.

There was absolutely no need for her to stake out some nobody who had rejected her and made her lose face.

Yet here she was. The unusual move instantly put Lin Sui on his guard.

Still, Yu Huan was right. Now that she was famous, the paparazzi would be watching her like hawks. To avoid being photographed, Lin Sui had no choice but to get into her van.

The van was very new, probably a new vehicle the company had assigned her, and fully equipped.

But who was Lin Sui? He was a manager at Song Su's studio. Song Su had the most top-of-the-line celebrity van in the Empire, and thanks to Lin Fengmian, he had ridden in it a few times.

Compared with Song Su's top-of-the-line vehicle, Yu Huan's van was strictly junior league.

Once the door closed, Yu Huan took off the baseball cap that had flattened her hair, tidied her hair, and removed her sunglasses, revealing a pair of alluring, affectionate eyes.

She didn't rush to speak. Taking a pack of cigarettes from the center console, she asked, "Smoke?"

Lin Sui shook his head. "I don't smoke."

Yu Huan paused with a cigarette between her lips. She took it out and held it between her fingers. "Yi Qiang said you turned down my invitation?"

Yi Qiang was the new manager the company had assigned Yu Huan after she became famous.

Lin Sui shook his head again. "I didn't turn you down. My artist did."

Yu Huan gave a soft laugh. "An artist can actually say no to his own manager?"

Lin Sui stared at her through his glasses. Now that he was seeing her up close, he was certain Lin Fengmian had been absolutely right. This woman was quite fake. She clearly knew who Lin Fengmian was, yet she was pretending not to.

"You already knew that, didn't you? Drop the act."

With a click, Yu Huan lit her cigarette. A faint smell of smoke mixed with peach spread through the van. After a long while, she said, "Twenty million. If that won't do, forget it."

"I'm not short of money." Lin Fengmian lay on his side on the Noble Consort Couch, eating grapes with a fork. "Xia Qinghe just transferred ten million to me a few days ago. That's enough to spend."

In truth, he stayed home every day and had little to spend money on. As long as he wasn't buying things for Xia Qinghe, he basically spent nothing.

Lin Sui had known this would be the outcome. The only reason he hadn't refused on the spot was that Lin Fengmian still had to make the decision himself.

He always kept in mind that he belonged to a collateral branch of the Lin Family and worked for them, while Lin Fengmian was a young master of the main branch.

He had kept to his place all these years and had done quite well for himself.

Aside from Lin Fengmian, he actually managed a few minor artists, so he didn't have to rely solely on Lin Fengmian to make money for him.

Song Su also provided opportunities for the company's artists. Although the artists under Lin Sui hadn't reached the first or second tier, they could still land some acting jobs and show appearances.

Lin Sui knew his abilities only went so far. Even a lifetime of hard work wouldn't make him a top-tier manager. He was very satisfied with where he was now.

"Then I'll turn her down for you."

"Mm." Lin Fengmian hadn't been lying there long when he received a text from Xia Qinghe.

[Come on a date with me.]

Lin Fengmian: "?!"

What the hell?

He needed company even for a date?

Was Xia three years old?