[Exactly, exactly!]
In fact, Cui Xuemei had the original owner's love-starved nature figured out, which was why she kept using the title of "Mom" to soften him up. The original owner had lacked maternal love since childhood, so perhaps it was... understandable that he went soft on Cui Xuemei?
Chu Ci did not really understand, either.
The first time he had felt kindness from an older woman had been in the interstellar palace, from Wu Zhou's mother.
It had been Chu Ci's first time seeing such a magnificent palace, and everything about him betrayed his unease and discomfort. That was when Wu Zhou's mother had appeared-or, to be precise, the princess consort.
After all, she had not been pregnant yet back then.
There had been a gentle air about her serene features. Seeing the timid Chu Ci, she softened her voice. "You're that famous little God of War?"
"I..."
Chu Ci instinctively wanted to shake his head, but remembering that this was indeed what other people called him, he hesitantly nodded instead.
"They're all just making things up..."
Little Chu Ci looked at the gentle-faced woman before him and earnestly explained, "I'm not that amazing."
"But you look very impressive to me."
That had been the first time Chu Ci had received unhesitating praise from an older woman. Little Chu Ci was somewhat at a loss, but he still politely replied, "Th-thank you..."
The kind princess consort had helped Chu Ci a great deal.
That was why, when Chu Ci saw Wu Zhou being treated unfairly, he had asked to take him to the interstellar battlefield.
"I wonder how he's doing."
At the thought of Wu Zhou, Chu Ci's heart gradually softened. He sighed. "His Little Highness is so obsessive. If he hears that I died on the battlefield, he mustn't do anything foolish..."
[That's hard to say.]
Lele muttered quietly.
It had spent some time with Wu Zhou, so naturally, it knew just how much he liked its master. If he learned that its master had died on the battlefield... Lele thought Wu Zhou might very well go mad.
While they were talking, they had already reached their destination.
Chu Ci temporarily put the interstellar matters out of his mind. He looked up at the chaotic place before him, his head starting to ache for no particular reason. "Are you sure... Cui Xuemei is here?"
[Mm-hmm.]
Only after receiving Lele's confirmation did Chu Ci sigh helplessly and slowly head into the mahjong parlor.
The mahjong parlor seemed very popular. It had private rooms, but the tables outside were also packed with people. The clatter of mahjong tiles mingled with excited shouts as it reached Chu Ci's ears, and his head began to ache again.
"How high are the stakes you're looking for? Over here..."
Perhaps because Chu Ci had such a distinguished air and looked wealthy, the owner stopped him the moment he stepped through the door. Seeing that the owner was about to launch into a lengthy introduction, Chu Ci quickly raised a hand to stop him. "You've misunderstood. I'm here to find someone..."
"Find someone?"
The owner looked Chu Ci up and down. "Who are you looking for?"
"Cui Xuemei."
Hearing the name Cui Xuemei, the owner nodded in realization. "You're her celebrity son? I often hear her mention you while she's playing mahjong. Seeing you today, you certainly live up to your reputation..."
"Thank you."
Chu Ci thanked him politely. He glanced around but saw no sign of Cui Xuemei, so he guessed she might be in one of the private rooms. "Could I trouble you to tell me which room Cui Xuemei is in?"
Although the owner found it a little strange that Chu Ci called Cui Xuemei by her full name, he figured that Chu Ci, now a big star, surely had a say at home, so he let it slide. He nodded and gave him Cui Xuemei's room number.
"Second floor, 203."
"Thank you."
Chu Ci thanked him politely.
He was about to leave when something seemed to occur to him. He stopped again and looked toward the owner. "Would you mind if I asked you a question?"
"Go ahead."
That was what the owner said, but inwardly, he was marveling at how polite a big star was, even knowing to add "would you mind" before asking a question.
"If... if someone accidentally damaged your mahjong tiles, how much compensation would they have to pay?"
"Hm?"
Not expecting this question from Chu Ci, the owner froze for a couple of seconds before explaining, "That depends on how badly they're damaged, and whether it's the tiles or the mahjong table that's damaged. The automatic table is more expensive, so compensation would be a few thousand yuan. The tiles are cheaper. Those would only cost a few hundred yuan."
"Thank you."
Chu Ci thanked him again.
Having received the answer he wanted, he headed straight upstairs.
"Strange..."
The owner scratched his head in puzzlement. "Why ask that out of nowhere? Is he going to play mahjong too?"
But even if he wanted to play mahjong, there was no need to ask about compensation. Unless someone deliberately damaged them, mahjong tiles rarely had any problems.
Or... were big stars just more meticulous about things? Even if the chances of damaging the tiles were slim, did he still need to ask everything clearly so he could better handle an unexpected situation?
"Forget it, forget it..."
Seeing more customers come in, the owner quickly shook his head and put the matter out of his mind.
Second floor.
203.
Cui Xuemei looked at her increasingly terrible hand, her temper fraying. "My luck really is awful today..."
The player before her in turn order smiled and consoled her. "So what if your luck is bad? You've raised such a good, filial son. My daughter just secretly sent me a message saying the internet is full of trending searches about your Chu Ci. She even asked me to get his contact information..."
"What does 'trending searches' mean?"
The question came from the player after Cui Xuemei.
She was a little like Cui Xuemei, spending all her free time at the mahjong parlor and knowing very little about the internet. This was her first time hearing the term "trending searches."
The player before Cui Xuemei had done her homework beforehand. She took out her phone and read aloud, word for word, the information she had found on Baidu. "'Trending searches' is an internet term referring to the hottest, most closely followed topics or keywords on search engines, social media, and other platforms during a given period..."
"Stop, stop, stop."
The player after Cui Xuemei felt her head was about to explode from listening. "Can you explain it in plain language? What's a search engine? Why can't I understand a single word?"
"Simply put..."
Cui Xuemei leisurely picked up the conversation. "Only big stars can make the trending searches. Our Cici is so famous now, so it's hardly surprising that he's trending, is it?"
After hearing Cui Xuemei's explanation, the player after her finally understood. She was unstinting with her praise. "Your Chu Ci really is amazing."