Chapter 289: Mom Helps You Touch Him

As Chen Nuo walked toward Liu Qi Yifei, Liu Liu Xiaoli had just finished a phone call and also wanted to go find Liu Qi Yifei to chat.

When she came out of the house, she happened to see Chen Nuo's back as he walked up to Liu Qi Yifei's side.

At this moment, Liu Liu Xiaoli was actually still thinking about that phone call from just a moment ago.

However, after that completely unreserved slap from Chen Nuo, Liu Liu Xiaoli was stunned, her mind went blank, and she cast Chen Chen Jinfei's call to the back of her mind.

Liu Qi Yifei let out a startled cry, instantly waking from her dream, and as she turned her head in alarm,

Liu Liu Xiaoli also used the swift, agile pace peculiar to a dancer to flash back into the house in an instant.

She pressed her body tightly against the wall, as if she had seen something incredible and was terrified of being discovered.

Her eyes stared straight ahead, and her mind could be said to be replaying that scene frame by frame.

Even though she was at most ten steps away, her eyes had captured everything perfectly.

Yet, Liu Liu Xiaoli still dared not believe it was real.

Question after question sparked in her mind like embers jumping from a bonfire, swirling and vanishing, leaving her heart in a tangled mess.

Did Chen Nuo actually slap Xixi's bottom?

How could Xixi be slapped by him, and by what right did he slap Xixi's bottom?

Why was he so casual when he walked over, and so natural when he struck, not even looking like it was the first time he had done so?

A more terrifying conjecture suddenly popped into Liu Liu Xiaoli's mind:

What exactly is the relationship between Chen Nuo and Liu Qi Yifei?

In Cannes, and during these nights in Palm Beach, she would occasionally go out of her room at night to pour a glass of water, and occasionally she would hear some faint, strange sounds.

At the time, she didn't think much of it, assuming it was the wind, but now, thinking about it carefully,

What exactly were those sounds?????

This thought was truly too terrifying.

Liu Liu Xiaoli leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths for perhaps two minutes, before her mood calmed down just a tiny bit from the volcanic eruption.

However, it was only a tiny bit.

As long as she recalled that slap, landing mercilessly on her own daughter's bottom.

She estimated that in a little while, there would be a red five-fingered print on those fair, tender buttocks that she herself had never been willing to strike.

Liu Liu Xiaoli still felt a sense of gnashing her teeth.

At the same time, she also wanted to know,

When did all of this start?

Had these two really developed to this point right under her nose?

Where was the source?

Suddenly, Liu Liu Xiaoli caught a glimmer of insight.

Where else could it be?

Before going to Hubei, Liu Liu Xiaoli was certain that the relationship between the two was definitely just friends.

But after returning from Hubei, things were a bit off. Xixi's entire lifestyle had changed.

Not only did she play computer games all day, but she also started acting all mystical and getting into tarot cards.

She had been careless, truly careless.

How could she have been so blinded by pig fat at the time?

She had clearly been through that age of dry wood and raging fire herself.

Now, with just a little imagination, she knew that a pair of young, single man and woman in their early 20s, under the same roof, with no media to disturb them and no outsiders to interfere, living together day and night for a month,

How could it be possible for nothing to happen?

Unless one of them had extremely strong self-control and a sense of propriety.

But, they were both men and women in their early 20s; who could manage that?

Whenever Liu Liu Xiaoli thought about what Liu Qi Yifei and Chen Nuo had done together during that month,

Her mood was both painful and sour, and there was also a sense of resentment at having been deceived and hoodwinked.

That she had been "eaten clean" was certain, but had they taken safety precautions?

Had they caused any "life-and-death" scandals without her knowing?

Xixi, why didn't you tell Mom?

Would Mom ever harm you?

In matters like this, Mom, as someone who has been through it, would definitely stand on your side and help you.

Thinking of this, Liu Liu Xiaoli finally calmed down completely.

She had watched the film *Mother*, and it left a deep impression.

In it, Kim Hye-ja went as far as to commit murder and arson to help her son escape conviction.

And she, Liu Liu Xiaoli, would definitely be able to do no less for Xixi than Kim Hye-ja did.

At this moment, the conversation between the boy and girl outside the house finally turned from noise into recognizable Chinese sentences that reached her ears.

"... You really make me so mad!"

"My foot slipped, and I accidentally put my hand in the wrong place. Can you not be so petty?"

"You 'accidentally'... Chen Nuo, you get over here!"

"Hey, hey, hey, say what you want, but don't get physical."

Listening to these words, Liu Liu Xiaoli became even more certain of her thoughts.

If there really was nothing going on, based on her understanding of Liu Qi Yifei, she wouldn't have this reaction to being slapped on the bottom by a man.

This wasn't anger at all; this was flirting!

There could be no mistake.

Her Liu Liu Xiaoli's apple of her eye since childhood,

The actress who played Wang Wang Yuyan, Zhao Linger, Little Dragon Maiden, and Japanese Shancai,

The dream lover of countless men in both China and Japan,

A 22-year-old girl named Liu Qi Yifei, nicknamed Xixi, had likely become someone's nameless, unofficial underground girlfriend.

Did they really think Xixi was the motherless scapegoat from the end of the movie?

Sorry, you aren't the only one with a mother; she has one too.

Liu Liu Xiaoli's thoughts raced.

She felt that the most urgent task now was to figure out the man's true nature, to determine whether Chen Nuo's feelings were genuine or fake, and whether he just wanted to play around or was serious.

If it were someone else, she certainly wouldn't think this way.

Liu Liu Xiaoli could even say that as long as it wasn't this man in front of her, she couldn't possibly think this way.

But it just happened to be him.

Liu Liu Xiaoli quickly poked half her head out to peek at the poolside.

She saw Liu Qi Yifei chasing Chen Nuo around the pool.

The boy was wearing a loose white T-shirt, running against the wind in front, the thin fabric clinging to his front, revealing the faintly visible contours of his muscles.

Below his waist, his black shorts revealed a pair of well-proportioned, powerful long legs, making it so that no matter how that silly girl chased, she couldn't catch him.

Moreover, while running, his mouth wasn't idle either, as he said with a smile, "Almost caught me, eh, just a little bit, tell me, are you mad?"

Liu Liu Xiaoli quickly pulled her head back and sighed.

If he were just handsome, had a good body, and knew how to make girls happy, it would be simple.

But there was more to it!

Just as Chen Chen Jinfei said on the phone earlier, in these past five or six days, there were only two pieces of news in the country.

The first one, "Exploded."

The second one, "Taken."

"Exploded" without warning, and "Taken" just like that.

These were the two hottest topics being hyped up in the country recently.

One could even say the heat of the second one was higher than the first!

It wasn't that the second one was a bigger deal than the first, but rather that whenever people talked too much about the first one, the newly posted messages would suddenly disappear.

The second one wouldn't encounter such a hellish thing.

Even though some people had already placed Chen Nuo in the position of the number one male actor in Asia today, and shouted for him, "I just ask, who else is there?"

This post was still standing firmly at the top of the Cat-Pounce hot post list. It had been nearly four days, and the number of replies had reached over 30,000, with no sign of disappearing.

Besides that, including forums like NetEase Entertainment, Sina Entertainment, Tencent Entertainment, Xici, and Tianya, it had almost become a one-man show for those crazy "Sticky Rice" fans.

Whenever any passerby couldn't stand their arrogant faces and said a couple of things like "a child prodigy may not grow up to be great," those brats, brainless fans, and hooligans who popped up from nowhere would attack anyone they caught.

"Find me another one, just one, I beg you. Don't just talk big, find me another one exactly like him across the mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan."

"Do you want me to help you calculate which year Uncle Ge won at Cannes?"

"What, you're unhappy that us Sticky Rice fans are talking big? If you have the guts, post your real address, let's meet face-to-face; whoever doesn't show up is a coward."

Even being this arrogant and vulgar, it was always there, never disappearing.

Even on some campus forums, such as the more extreme remarks on the internal BBS of the Beijing Film Academy, they were all safe.

Someone took screenshots of various hot posts and posted them on a Sina blog, presumably to stir up discord between the country's two top art academies.

"Everyone knows Chen Nuo went to Cannes to film *Mother*, and everyone knows Zhang Zhang Ziyi went to Hollywood to date. As a result, the first one said he'd take it and he took it, the second one said she'd strip and she stripped. Thus, the debate over which school is higher between ours and the Central Academy of Drama can be put to rest."

"When Chen Nuo said the name of the Beijing Film Academy on the awards stage once again, even though I knew every word he said was an advertisement, even though I understood that for those few words, Dean Zhang gave his best face to Brother Nuo alone. But I was still moved. People from the Central Academy of Drama probably won't understand this feeling. Because the batch of people who would understand are almost 40, hahahahahaha."

"The graduation play for the 2005 acting class is currently in rehearsal, and I snuck into the rehearsal room to take a look. To be honest, it's plain and unremarkable, with nothing worth watching. How can such trashy original work compare to the Central Academy of Drama's graduation play, 'Love's Labour's Lost'? Only Brother Nuo, when he holds the Best Actor trophies from Berlin and Cannes, would dare to say, 'I'll handle this.'"

In short, these interesting anecdotes that went viral from inside the school to outside were posted everywhere, and no one came out to criticize them.

Actually, if this person were only young, handsome, had a good physique, knew how to make girls happy, and had an increasingly prosperous acting career, Liu Liu Xiaoli would feel it was fine.

But he is more than just that.

Chen Chen Jinfei had just spent a long time on the phone rambling about the current news regarding Chen Nuo in the country,

and only at the end did he state his main purpose, saying that he had come to the United States to survey the market with a friend in the same industry, and it just so happened that his friend had a son who graduated from Yale and was doing very well in investment, blah, blah, blah.

The implication was: Sister Liu, didn't you say before that you still wanted Xixi to find a good family? Now the opportunity is good; the person has seen Xixi's TV dramas and is very interested in her.

Liu Liu Xiaoli refused on the spot.

She didn't curse him out only because of their past relationship. What? Haven't been in touch for a long time, and the first time you reach out, you're playing matchmaker? Aren't you in real estate? Are you about to go bankrupt from the economic crisis and switching careers to become a marriage broker?

Seeing that my Xixi has just become a little popular, you come with a fire hose to put out the flames?

Liu Liu Xiaoli once had the thought that when Liu Qi Yifei got a little older, she would let her marry into a wealthy family.

However, ever since Liu Qi Yifei exchanged 20 million for a 2% stake in the Huanxin Company, she had never thought that way again.

Although 2% doesn't look like much, this isn't just any 2%; this is 2% of Chen Nuo's total annual income, and 2% of Fan Fan Bingbing's annual income, which is thirty or forty percent of her total.

A wealthy family?

In the future, it's hard to say who will be the wealthy family.

Liu Liu Xiaoli didn't know what was going on; she had actually respected Chen Chen Jinfei a lot before.

After all, as someone who had been on the Forbes rich list, he was undoubtedly a golden thigh for both her and Xixi.

When they opened a company together in the past, she had always been obedient to him.

If Liu Qi Yifei hadn't found out about his confession to her back then and reacted with such intense opposition, even threatening to run away from home, she might have even agreed.

But ever since Liu Qi Yifei joined the Huanxin Company,

let alone Liu Qi Yifei, she slowly stopped caring much about this old friend.

Just like this time, what Chen Nuo and Fan Fan Bingbing were considering was letting Xixi go to the Venice Film Festival to win the Best Actress award at one of the three major European film festivals, which every actress dreams of.

And he was thinking about letting Xixi find a rich man to marry?

If there were no comparison, Liu Liu Xiaoli might not have felt anything.

But now, whether comparing vision, perspective, or the benefit to Xixi's life, it was simply the difference between heaven and earth!

If she, Liu Liu Xiaoli, were a woman who clung to men, she wouldn't have risked everything back then to give Liu Qi Yifei a brighter future. If she wasn't willing to walk that path herself, how could she possibly let her own daughter walk it unless necessary?

At that time on the phone, Chen Chen Jinfei was still being persistent, "Sister Liu, this young man is truly excellent. Their family business is very large; not just in China, they have quite a few properties in the United States..."

Hearing this, Liu Liu Xiaoli couldn't help it anymore and asked directly: "Then does his family have a house next to Mar-a-Lago?"

Chen Chen Jinfei paused on the phone, "Sister Liu, where did you say? The Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach?"

Liu Liu Xiaoli said: "Yes."

Chen Chen Jinfei suddenly laughed: "Sister Liu, you're joking. How could that be possible? The houses there are all held by those old-money families in the United States. Foreigners like us can't buy them even if we have money."

Liu Liu Xiaoli said: "I remember it being that way too."

People all said that Chen Nuo had broken through Hollywood's racial wall, and Liu Liu Xiaoli had been half-skeptical before.

But today, she only doubted one thing: was it really just Hollywood?

At the very least, this mansion that Chen Nuo said he won in a bet could never be just at the level of ordinary Hollywood.

While Hollywood's Beverly Hills is certainly luxurious, compared to the central location of Palm Beach, it's not about the amount of money, but the status and class.

Even if a star were lucky enough to buy a house next to Mar-a-Lago, they would probably have to be at the level of Schwarzenegger or Stallone!

Chen Chen Jinfei's words undoubtedly confirmed what she had heard in the past.

"Sister Liu, so what do you mean? I don't understand. Hehe, could you be a bit clearer?" After hearing Liu Liu Xiaoli's words, Chen Chen Jinfei said with a chuckle.

Liu Liu Xiaoli said: "In Chinese it's called Mar-a-Lago, but what is the English name? I didn't know before. I only learned yesterday that it doesn't have an English name; it's called Mar-a-Lago. Mar-a-Lago, this is Spanish, meaning from the lake to the sea."

Chen Chen Jinfei said: "Sister Liu, what are you talking about?"

Liu Liu Xiaoli said: "Chen Zong, the young man you mentioned is indeed quite excellent, but he probably wouldn't be able to get Xixi a gold membership card for the Mar-a-Lago Club, right? What I just said is what the customer service manager of the Mar-a-Lago Club told Xixi when introducing it to her."

When Liu Liu Xiaoli said this, she actually didn't think much of it.

She just felt that Chen Chen Jinfei's vague sense of condescending superiority and male chauvinism made her uncomfortable, so she wanted to use this to push back.

In fact, she succeeded; when Chen Chen Jinfei hung up the phone, Liu Liu Xiaoli would bet that his expression must have been very ugly.

However, thinking about it now, although the $100,000 membership fee isn't high, the key is that it allows one to squeeze into that American upper-class circle limited to 300 people.

This gesture really doesn't seem like that of an ordinary friend, or a superior to a subordinate.

Could it be a boss to a lover, or a man to a woman he owes a lot to? That feels more like it.

After Liu Liu Xiaoli finished the call, she had originally only come to chat with Liu Qi Yifei about it.

But now, she changed her mind.

She took a deep breath, and her eyes became firm.

For her daughter, there were some tactics she had to start using.

Xixi, you don't understand men, so Mom will help you test his bottom line.

Chen Nuo was eventually caught by Liu Qi Yifei. She pushed him into the water, soaking his clothes, pants, and underwear.

Of course, it was on purpose.

Otherwise?

Even if he had trained on the African grasslands, it would be impossible for her to catch up to him.

One has to let the girl vent her anger.

What's jumping into a pool?

Slapping Liu Qi Yifei's semi-nude butt—as long as it's not jumping into a vat of boiling oil, even if it were jumping into a cesspit, there would probably be many men who would want to trade places with him.

While Chen Nuo was soaking in the pool, pretending to complain helplessly, he couldn't help but recall the sensation from just a moment ago.

Not to mention, the butt was not small, very elastic, and felt excellent.

It made him want to negotiate with Liu Qi Yifei: how about I jump into the pool ten more times, and you let me hit you ten more times?

Although he said that, seeing that Liu Qi Yifei wasn't truly angry, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, he was glad that scene wasn't seen by Liu Liu Xiaoli, otherwise, he really wouldn't be able to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives; as soon as he thought of Liu Liu Xiaoli, Liu Liu Xiaoli came out of the house.

Seeing him in the pool with his clothes on and Liu Qi Yifei standing on the shore laughing, Auntie Liu seemed to be stunned for a moment and asked: "What are you two doing?"

Liu Qi Yifei panicked and quickly said with a smile: "Chen Nuo said he was a bit hot, so I'm helping him cool down."

Liu Liu Xiaoli thought to herself, Xixi has really improved; this acting is really good. She kept a straight face and said: "Don't mess around, it must be you being naughty again."

Liu Qi Yifei said with a look of defiance: "How is that possible? If you don't believe me, ask him. Chen Nuo, aren't you too hot, and you went in voluntarily?"

Chen Nuo looked up from the pool; his position was right below Liu Qi Yifei, and in front of him were the girl's white, lotus-root-like legs and a white bikini.

I don't know if it was because of the larger hip size, but the swimming trunks, which weren't originally sexy, looked a bit small. In short, the triangle area was pulled a bit tight, and the peach-like contour was vaguely visible.

Damn.

He quickly turned his head and said to Liu Liu Xiaoli: "One hundred percent voluntary. By the way, Auntie, I have something to do at school, so I'm going to ask Qi Da to buy the earliest flight tickets back to China. You should hurry up and pack your things later."

Liu Liu Xiaoli didn't care at all about where they were going; she just wanted to know if Chen Nuo had pulled out... no, that's not it, if he had turned his back on them.

She smiled and said: "Okay."

Then she wanted to follow the previous plan and say that Chen Chen Jinfei wanted to introduce a boyfriend to Liu Qi Yifei, to test Chen Nuo's reaction.

But Chen Nuo continued: "As for you being Liu Qi Yifei's manager later, are you going to tell her yourself, or should I?"

Liu Liu Xiaoli was stunned for a moment. Before she could speak, she heard Liu Qi Yifei shout in surprise: "What did you say? You want my mom to be my manager? No way, I won't do it!"

So they say, maternal love is truly the greatest emotion in the world.

Liu Qi Yifei, this ungrateful wretch, was unexpectedly strongly opposed to Liu Liu Xiaoli serving as her manager. Even after Chen Nuo did a lot of work, almost falling out with her, the woman only reluctantly agreed to say: "Try it for a month."

At the time, Liu Liu Xiaoli was so angry she almost said she wouldn't do it.

However, that might have been possible before.

But now, that is absolutely impossible.

As soon as Liu Liu Xiaoli thought that if she quit, someone else would likely take over, she decided to swallow her pride.

Therefore, even if she felt stifled, Sister Liu Xiaoli had to show a smile to Chen Nuo in the seat next to her on the plane and say: "Chen Zong, someone recently said they wanted to introduce a partner to Xixi, and I'm planning to let Xixi go meet him. What do you think?"

Chen Nuo was a bit surprised and said: "Liu Qi Yifei's career has just started, and you're talking about a partner? Sister Liu Xiaoli, you aren't joking with me, are you?"

Liu Liu Xiaoli smiled: "I know it's inappropriate, but when someone mentioned it on the phone, that young man is really quite excellent. I think Xixi isn't young anymore, so meeting him and making a friend shouldn't be a problem. But I am a person of the company now, so I still have to respect the company's opinion, your opinion."

Look at this person, listen to these words.

Sister Liu Xiaoli is Sister Liu Xiaoli; whoever hears this must say it is appropriate and well-put.

And then think about her unreasonable daughter?

Chen Nuo couldn't help but sigh for Sister Liu Xiaoli.

Yesterday, time was tight and tickets were hard to buy, so they finally only managed to get five business-class tickets for the next evening.

As a result, Liu Qi Yifei was still sulking and grabbed the single seat.

This forced Chen Nuo to sit next to Liu Liu Xiaoli.

Since Sister Liu Xiaoli knew how to conduct herself, Chen Nuo naturally wouldn't put on any bossy airs and asked seriously: "How excellent is he? Is he very suitable for Liu Qi Yifei?"

Seeing his expression, Liu Liu Xiaoli really couldn't figure out his angle.

Is he asking so seriously because he's pretending, but actually can't bear to let her go?

Or is he trying to see if he can use this to get rid of her?

She was conflicted inside, but said: "He is the son of a friend of my friend. My friend is in real estate, and that young man's family is too. His father is in a real estate company in Guangdong called Evergrande..."

"Pass."

Liu Liu Xiaoli's words had only just begun when she was interrupted; feeling a bit secretly pleased, she feigned astonishment and asked, "Pass? Chen Zong, you don't think it will work?"

Chen Nuo looked at her with a serious expression and said, "Yes, it won't work."

(End of chapter)