Chapter 243: None of Them Are Pushovers

It was August, and the weather was still very hot; pedestrians on the street at night were still hurrying along, full of energy.

It's BJ—lots of people is normal.

The three walked along the road, chatting a bit every now and then. Liu Xiaoli didn't have any intimate gestures with the other two, behaving very properly, not even holding hands.

"This place? Duck blood vermicelli." Liu Tianxian pointed at a small shop by the street, asking the other two for their opinion.

At this moment she had straight hair draped over her shoulders, wore a black sun hat on her head, a plaid shirt, and a bag slung across her body, looking very plain.

She also wore a mask on her face; Fang Hong wore a mask too—Liu Tianxian had plenty of gear on her.

Neither of the other two had any objections. Entering this small restaurant, a blast of cold air hit them—two different temperatures from outside; the air conditioning was on in here.

They found a seat toward the back and sat down.

There weren't many people dining in the shop; it wasn't really a meal hour to begin with.

Liu Tianxian sat on the side, menu in hand, pulling her mask down: "First give each of us an order of duck blood vermicelli."

"Add spice or not?"

The staff member asked casually, holding a clipboard.

Then she looked up and saw the real person, her pupils involuntarily widening, covering her mouth in great excitement, wanting to say something but not knowing what.

"We just want to eat a meal, we don't want to be disturbed." Liu Tianxian said gently.

The waitress nodded repeatedly, hearts in her eyes, somewhat unable to contain herself.

She glanced at the other two; the one who looked like a noblewoman should be her mother.

As for the man, his face couldn't be made out—she wasn't familiar with him.

"Two spicy, one not spicy, and another order of fresh meat soup dumplings."

Liu Tianxian finished ordering as if nothing were amiss, and said to her mother and Fang Hong: "Let's start with these; if it's not enough we can order more."

"I can't eat that much." Liu Xiaoli said.

Fang Hong naturally had no objections; he was just freeloading, following Liu Tianxian around mooching food and drinks, and had never once pulled out his wallet.

Liu Tianxian handed the menu to the waitress: "That's all, thank you!"

"Okay, coming right up!"

The waitress wanted to ask for an autograph but gave up, afraid of being caught by the boss.

After the waitress left, Liu Tianxian said: "The duck blood vermicelli here is really good."

"You must have planned this all along, wanting to eat this stuff, so you deliberately walked this way." Fang Hong sat across from her.

"Hehehe!"

Liu Tianxian laughed when her little scheme was exposed, looking rather charming.

She was still young and tender, looking youthful.

"Little Fang, you don't eat spicy?" Liu Xiaoli noticed her daughter had just ordered a non-spicy one.

"I rarely eat spicy, Auntie."

Fang Hong, as always, behaved politely, not as casual as he was with Liu Tianxian.

After all, she was his mother-in-law! "He eats everything except spicy food." Liu Tianxian said from the side.

"Oh, then you two can still eat together." Liu Xiaoli looked at her daughter—she was speaking to her daughter.

"Why couldn't we? Fang Hong just doesn't love spicy food, it's not that he can't eat it. I love spicy food, but it's not like I have to eat it. I eat lighter, he eats heavier, and we eat together just fine."

Liu Tianxian's reasoning actually sounded quite plausible, then she added: "And we both love sweets too, right?"

When she said those last two words, she tilted her chin up at Fang Hong.

"Yes!" Fang Hong nodded.

Liu Xiaoli looked at the two of them—whatever you say goes.

The three chatted idly; soon three orders of duck blood vermicelli arrived, along with an order of soup dumplings placed in the middle of the table.

Liu Tianxian stood up, picked up the mild duck blood with both hands, carefully placed it in front of Fang Hong: "This one's not spicy."

Then she picked up the vinegar bottle: "Want some vinegar?"

"A bit." Fang Hong said.

Liu Tianxian poured some into his bowl, stirred it with chopsticks, then picked up a soup dumpling and placed it in his bowl: "Eat more."

The care was so thorough—Fang Hong couldn't help but look at her.

Liu Tianxian gave him a slight smile.

"You've never been this nice to your own mother."

Liu Xiaoli watched from the side as her daughter busily served one person, feeling sour about it.

When would her daughter ever treat her like that?

"This one's for you, happy now!" Liu Tianxian picked up a soup dumpling and put it in Liu Xiaoli's bowl.

"Where's the vinegar." Liu Xiaoli wanted the same treatment.

Don't be fooled by Liu Xiaoli's usually serious demeanor—she actually had a childlike side too.

The seriousness was for outsiders; mother and daughter were very loving when together.

"Let me pour it for you." Liu Tianxian picked up the vinegar bottle and poured vigorously into her mother's bowl.

"Enough, enough, you girl, if you pour too much how am I supposed to eat it." Liu Tianxian raised her hand.

"I poured whatever for Fang Hong and he ate it, but you're so picky." Liu Tianxian put down the vinegar bottle. "It's not like you don't know I don't like sour things." Liu Xiaoli turned her head.

"You don't like it, yet you still want me to pour it." Liu Tianxian looked at her mother.

Mother and daughter started bickering; Fang Hong pretended not to see, silently eating his noodles.

In this kind of situation, siding with either one would offend the other—and both were people he couldn't afford to offend—so playing ostrich was the wisest choice.

Luckily, after just a couple of exchanges, the mother and daughter burst into giggles; Liu Tianxian even leaned her head on her mother's shoulder, and they were loving again.

"Go away." Liu Xiaoli pushed her daughter aside with a look of disgust.

"But I want to."

Liu Tianxian nuzzled against her mother in a clingy way, none of the composure and guard she'd shown earlier when dealing with those big shots.

Not bothering about outsiders being present—Fang Hong wasn't an outsider to her, and Liu Xiaoli didn't avoid anything either.

The three of them ate duck-blood noodles, never mentioning the matter with Fang Long, Huayi, and Emperor Entertainment the whole time, as if they hadn't taken it to heart.

Seeing Fang Hong had finished, Liu Tianxian asked, "Are you full? Want me to order a bit more for you?"

"I'm full, no need." Fang Hong waved his hand.

"Pack another serving of duck-blood noodles to go." Liu Tianxian called over the waiter.

Liu Xiaoli was puzzled: "Who is that for?"

"Fang Hong's mom." Liu Tianxian leaned in and whispered.

Liu Xiaoli understood, tapped her daughter's forehead—she'd never been this nice even to herself.

Fang Hong hadn't heard what the mother and daughter were saying; he was looking at his phone, scrolling through the latest updates to see if the other side had made a move against Liu Tianxian.

If they had, he'd be ready to react.

In this kind of matter he could only respond passively, not strike first, because there were too many targets—you simply didn't know who to hit.

After the meal, the three of them walked out of the shop, and a wave of heat rushed at them.

They didn't linger outside at this hour—one, it was too late; two, their status wasn't suited for it. They got into a business car and headed home.

When the car reached Fang Hong's door, Fang Hong hopped out.

"Take this and give it to your mom to eat." Liu Tianxian called Fang Hong back, handing him the packed duck-blood noodles.

Fang Hong took it, noticing Liu Tianxian had been unusually attentive to him today, but he didn't think much of it—over the past few months Liu Tianxian had already been very good to him.

"Be careful on the road, Auntie. Goodbye."

"Goodbye!"

Liu Xiaoli waved, saying nothing about her daughter's behavior.

The car started and drove off. The mother and daughter were silent for a while, then Liu Tianxian said with a solemn expression, "You shouldn't have called Fang Hong here."

There was a hint of reproach in her tone—she meant the matter with him and Fang Long, Huayi, and Emperor Entertainment; Fang Hong shouldn't have been dragged into it.

"If I didn't call him, you couldn't handle it alone." Liu Xiaoli understood her daughter's thoughts.

It was nothing more than blaming her for tearing open those unsavory parts of her past in front of that man.

"My own affairs, I can bear them myself. When you brought him here, facing him I couldn't help feeling I'd been cut down a notch." Liu Tianxian spoke with a note of grievance.

This was also why she'd acted so off today.

Those years were a scar on her heart. Men probably don't like a girl like that, and Fang Hong was a very conservative person—he wouldn't even let her film a kissing scene.

There had even been a row over it! Mainly because Fang Hong's past had always been clean, while hers, in other people's eyes, was not so clean.

"Xixi, if that boy cares about these things, he won't go far with you anyway. It's something that already happened—you should tell him. Besides, you didn't lose anything." Liu Xiaoli said.

"Easier said than done. Those things always make me feel tainted."

Liu Tianxian's heart sank as she spoke, then added, "I did intend to gradually tell him about my past, but you ripped it all open at once and put me in a very awkward position. I wasn't mentally prepared."

Those things from her past made her feel she wasn't worthy of Fang Hong.

Liu Xiaoli put a comforting arm around her daughter's shoulder: "Alright, maybe that boy doesn't care at all. Once it's out in the open, it'll be fine."

Liu Tianxian leaned into her mother's embrace, not blaming her too much—just that it had happened so suddenly she wasn't quite used to it.

"None of those people are easy to deal with. You know his own pressure is huge too."

Fang Hong had told her that Jade Rabbit looked glamorous on the surface but had never actually made money, always running at a loss.

When he went to France at the beginning of the year, he'd even jokingly borrowed money from her—except back then she hadn't lent it, telling the man to work hard on his own.

This time he'd made too many enemies again, and she felt very bad about it.

"Sigh, you just think too much about others, carry everything yourself. How can you carry it all? As your boyfriend, he ought to carry it with you!" Liu Xiaoli sighed.

She hadn't thought that much—she just wanted her daughter to have it easier, to find someone to shield her from some things. Since such a person existed, she used him.

It's just that her daughter was too kind-hearted, too considerate of others! This might be part of why Liu Tianxian had never found someone she liked later on—being tangled up with the Hong Kong circle, those scholarly families would certainly care.

What the Hong Kong circle was like, anyone who made even a little inquiry would know clearly.

The entertainment circle is naturally dirty, and the Hong Kong circle even more so, so Liu Tianxian naturally got branded with that label.

The "godfather" thing, on the other hand, wasn't her dark spot—anyone with eyes could see it was a normal relationship; the media just didn't mention it for fear of offending those people.

In the real upper circles, what people look at is these people's dirt.

This is also why Liu Tianxian found it so hard to find someone who understood her—those at a lower level couldn't reach her, those higher up looked down on her. That's the reason.

(End of chapter)