"I'm ready. Just say what you want to say." Chen Xiuxiu said coolly.
Wang Lubo nodded. "Alright then, listen to this recording first."
As he spoke, he hit play and held the phone up to Chen Xiuxiu's ear.
"Who is it that brings, the call from ancient tis.
Who is it that leaves, a thousand years of longing.
Could it be, that there's still…"
Hearing "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau" suddenly blaring in her ear, a trace of irritation flashed between Chen Xiuxiu's brows.
Because judging by the voice, it was obviously this guy in front of her singing.
If he sang well, fine, but the way he was butchering the tune, it sounded like the pitch had already fled beyond the Five Rings.
"Don't you find this boring?" Chen Xiuxiu asked icily, lifting her arm to push Wang Lubo's hand with the phone away from her ear.
"Boring?" Wang Lubo's eyes went wide. "How is this boring?"
After speaking, he glanced down at the phone, then imdiately gaped. "Crap, sorry, wrong recording. Hang on, let find it…"
"Hey!
Don't leave!"
He quickly found the right recording, then hurried a few steps to catch up to Chen Xiuxiu, grabbing her wrist. "Listen to this recording first, then you can go. I promise I won't stop you."
With that, without caring whether Chen Xiuxiu agreed or not, he hit play and held the phone up to her ear.
A few seconds later, Chen Xiuxiu's brows furrowed tightly, as if she'd already recognized Jiang Hongkuo's voice.
A few seconds after that, her whole body trembled, disbelief flashing in her eyes.
According to Wang Lubo's analysis, that should be the mont she heard the words "fat pig."
When the recording finished, Chen Xiuxiu took two steps back and asked, "You done?"
"Uh…" Wang Lubo froze for a mont, then said blankly, "Xiuxiu, you didn't recognize whose voice that was?"
"Sounded a bit like Jiang Hongkuo."
"Not 'a bit like'—that was that bastard himself talking."
Chen Xiuxiu sneered. "Even if it was, what's that got to do with you?"
"I—" Wang Lubo was so anxious he was scratching his ears and cheeks. "He's a straight-up scamr, okay? He's getting close to you with an ulterior motive. You still can't hear that?"
"I like it."
"…" Wang Lubo
There was really no way to keep this conversation going.
Then he heard Chen Xiuxiu say again, "That band that suddenly showed up just now, that was your doing, right?"
"Yeah, I only did it for you…"
"Do a favor and stop paying attention to my business from now on. Thanks."
Leaving that line behind, Chen Xiuxiu turned and left. While her chest felt heavy, there was also the faintest trace of being moved.
Just as Wang Lubo was about to run after her, his phone rang.
When he picked up, a man's voice ca through. "Boss Wang, the other side's already started dismantling the stage and packing up. What do we do next?"
"You still need to ask that?" Already pissed off, Wang Lubo roared, "Go tell them, my money is not getting wasted.
Keep the music going, keep the dancing going!"
…
Guomao Square, inside a nicely decorated fast-food joint.
Watching Xiao Feng eat like a starving wolf across from him, Wang Lubo pulled a bitter face. "Feng, what am I supposed to do now?"
Xiao Feng swallowed his food, pulled out a napkin to wipe his mouth, then let out a loud burp before saying, "Not surprising. I saw this coming a long ti ago.
It's not that Chen Xiuxiu wasn't moved; she just hasn't broken out of her old habits yet."
"Old habits?"
"Yeah, habits." Xiao Feng explained, "Like when you're used to nitpicking soone and seeing them as an eyesore. If you suddenly have to treat them warmly one day,
forget about whether they can accept it—just getting your own mindset to flip like that is damn hard."
Enlightennt dawned on Wang Lubo. "Feng, so what you an is, I still have a shot?"
"Whether you've got a shot or not depends on what you do from here on out."
"Co on, man, my dear brother, stop stringing along, okay?" Wang Lubo said anxiously. "Just tell what I should do."
Xiao Feng leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping lightly on the table as he thought aloud, "What kind of impression do the elders in the Chen Family have of you?"
"Probably… not great." Wang Lubo grimaced. "Before I ca to Jiangcheng, I didn't exactly do anything outrageous, but I also didn't do many serious, proper things.
It's only after I t you, Feng, that I've slowly, slowly started to get my act together."
Xiao Feng chuckled. "Perfect. Take this chance to change how the Chen Family sees you.
Call Xiuxiu's parents right now and tell them everything about Jiang Hongkuo from start to finish. Every suspicion we found, don't leave out a single word.
After all, this concerns the Chen Family too. We can't keep running around for them for nothing. Worst case, at least let them know who they should be thanking.
And when you're talking, don't make it sound like you're fishing for credit. Just say it like it's nothing special, sothing anyone would do."
The more he listened, the brighter Wang Lubo's eyes shone. By the end he was so excited he jumped to his feet, looking at Xiao Feng with pure admiration in his gaze!
It took him a good while to calm down. He nodded. "I'll do it right now!"
"Wait." Xiao Feng stopped him. "Don't ntion when you talk to them. If they ask, you say you figured all of this out yourself."
"Feng, you…" Wang Lubo's eyes got misty. "Even blood brothers aren't as good as you. In this life, I, Wang Lubo—"
"Alright, alright, just make the damn call." Xiao Feng said impatiently.
If things were dug to the bottom and proved all his guesses right, then both logically and emotionally, the Chen Family should prepare a thank-you gift and show their appreciation.
Xiao Feng was indeed interested in whatever thank-you gift the Chen Family might give, but he was worried that once he took it, he'd also be taking on a whole pile of trouble.
So after weighing the pros and cons several tis and deciding the cons far outweighed the pros, he could only grit his teeth and give it up, playing the anonymous good guy for once.
Ten minutes later, Wang Lubo swaggered back to his seat, brows dancing with delight. "We finally turned the tables this ti!
After I finished explaining things, Xiuxiu's dad was thanking over and over on the phone. He almost dropped to his knees and… ahem, okay, that's a bit exaggerated.
Anyway, the good impression has definitely been delivered."
Xiao Feng nodded. "Good."
"Let's go, we're drinking tonight and celebrating properly!" Wang Lubo invited enthusiastically.
"Another day." Xiao Feng declined. "Got a lot on my plate these days."
Wang Lubo thought for a second, then nodded. "Alright, we brothers can grab a drink anyti anyway."
They paid the bill and left. At the entrance of the fast-food place, Xiao Feng and Wang Lubo went their separate ways.
After several calls, once he got hold of the little girl, the two of them headed back to Jinyue Garden together.
On the way, the little girl kept twisting her head away, refusing to let Xiao Feng see her face, looking very much like she was sulking.
And then… after polishing off two bowls of egg fried rice and receiving a pair of earrings plus a hair tie, the little girl's cloudy expression finally shifted to sunny.
"Brother Xiao Feng, do you think Fat Bo and Sister Xiuxiu still have a chance?" the little girl asked seriously.
Xiao Feng pondered for a mont, then replied, "As long as Bozai doesn't screw up again and reins in all those flashy stunts he used to pull, I don't see a big problem."
"I think so too." The little girl nodded. "Sister Xiuxiu may act like she doesn't care about Fat Bo, but I can feel that she actually still cares about him."
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