Qi Shaobai subconsciously frowned: "I didn't plan on meeting with her."
If Liu Zhenzhen hadn't insisted on adding him on WeChat to send photos, he wouldn't have wanted to add her at all.
Qi Shaobai's quick response gave Sheng Mumu a vague sense that he meant to draw a clear line with Liu Zhenzhen.
Sheng Mumu's gaze became approving.
Not bad, Qi Shaobai was still quite virtuous before meeting the future female lead.
He was educable.
Qi Shaobai had imagined Sheng Mumu's reaction after seeing the photos.
If she had strongly denied it or wanted to silence him, he would definitely have told his dad.
But now, she was so nonchalant about it.
It made him confused instead.
Qi Shaobai hadn't noticed, but the dark cloud gathering over his brow had dispersed somewhat.
It seemed he felt relieved in his heart.
Subconsciously felt there was a misunderstanding about this.
He didn't actually dislike Sheng Mumu as a stepmother, on the contrary, after the parent-teacher conference incident, the impression Sheng Mumu left him with wasn't bad.
She was an adult who was reasonable and didn't judge people with prejudice.
After thinking for a while, Sheng Mumu said, "Then I'll go meet with her alone, can you help arrange it?"
Qi Shaobai frowned in puzzlement: "?"
What was she trying to do?
Pay hush money? Or spend a high price to buy the photos from Liu Zhenzhen?
He had already seen the photos himself, what was the point of her doing this?
Qi Shaobai: "I'll go with you."
Sheng Mumu understood what Qi Shaobai was thinking. She smiled and said:
"Don't worry, I didn't cheat on your dad."
"Recently I wanted to open a flower shop. The man in the photos was introduced by Vice President Dong to help with flower sales channels. We simply went to the hotel because the afternoon tea there is delicious."
She didn't have the time or reason to cheat.
Right now she just wanted to focus on business. Money was more lovable than men.
What feelings?
It would interfere with her making money.
Having his assumptions laid bare, Qi Shaobai curled the fingers hanging by his side. He didn't look Sheng Mumu in the eye, and his jaw tightened somewhat.
"I don't listen to one side of the story, which is why I came to ask you. I didn't intend to catch you having an affair."
Hearing this, Sheng Mumu nodded approvingly with a faint smile.
Good, knowing to ask directly when there's an issue was a good habit.
So many misunderstandings in novels were because the male and female leads didn't communicate.
Luckily this future male lead Qi Shaobai had a voice.
Not bad, not bad.
As expected, her own taste in choosing novels wasn't bad. She mentally gave herself a thumbs up.
Qi Shaobai was silent, not knowing what to say.
Indeed.
Thinking carefully, except for being young, that man couldn't compare to his dad anywhere.
Unless you were blind, you wouldn't choose the latter over his dad.
Qi Shaobai suddenly felt somewhat remorseful.
He shouldn't have assumed malicious things about Sheng Mumu's relationship with that man.
His face flushed slightly.
Not wanting Sheng Mumu to see his embarrassed appearance, he unnaturally rubbed the back of his neck.
Seeing through Qi Shaobai's mind, Sheng Mumu spoke reassuringly:
"You speaking up directly like this is a very good habit. You didn't bring me any distress. So don't feel bad or like you were meddling."
"Communicating directly with adults is great. Keep it up, young man."
Qi Shaobai slowly looked towards Sheng Mumu, momentarily speechless.
He was surprised Sheng Mumu would actually bring him snacks.
Even more surprised that Sheng Mumu had noticed his usual flavor preferences.
From young till now, even his dad hadn't paid attention to these little details.
In an instant, his remorse grew stronger.
When Liu Zhenzhen received Qi Shaobai's message, she was at evening self-study.
"Ah!"
Seeing the four words "time" and "location" on the screen, she couldn't help crying out in excitement.
She didn't care about her classmates' gazes, openly replying to the message.
The smile on her face was so wide it seemed about to spill out.
She and Qi Shaobai agreed to meet at a cafe on the commercial street outside school on Sunday night.
A senior sister had said the cafe had a very nice decorated atmosphere, and many couples liked going there on dates.
Evening self-study wasn't over yet, but she faked illness and went home early.
Hoping to have ample time to coordinate her outfit and accessories, so she could appear before Qi Shaobai in optimal condition this weekend.
The photos were a stepping stone.
She could finally use this stepping stone to get closer to the boy of her dreams.
*
The day Sheng Mumu and Qi Shaobai went out happened to be Sunday. Neither expected Qi Mo to actually be home.
Sheng Mumu stood in the doorway of Qi Shaobai's room, yelling in without knocking:
"Are you ready? I've already changed, why are you so slow."
Qi Shaobai's voice rang clear from the room: "Coming."
Sheng Mumu urged: "Hurry up, hurry up."
Teenagers were so troublesome. Slowly getting ready, too obsessed with their idol image.
Not long after, the room door opened.
Qi Shaobai didn't look directly at Sheng Mumu, speaking casually: "Let's go."
In the living room, hearing their entire conversation, Qi Mo's hand tightened on his coffee cup.
His gaze towards them became profound.
He had never seen Qi Shaobai listen to someone other than him before.
Nor had he imagined that after just one month, Sheng Mumu and Qi Shaobai's relationship would be so harmonious.
Even...
Talking with Sheng Mumu, Qi Shaobai seemed more relaxed and casual than with him.
Passing through the living room, Sheng Mumu only then noticed Qi Mo sitting there, somewhat surprised.
"Oh, you're not going to work today?"
Qi Mo nodded: "Mm, but I'm about to head out for a meeting."
Sheng Mumu immediately had a "I knew it" expression.
In her impression, if he wasn't working, then he was on the way to work.
"You're going out?"
Qi Mo looked at Qi Shaobai, then back to Sheng Mumu, and asked.
Before Sheng Mumu could reply, Qi Shaobai quickly said:
"Mm...I made plans with Wei Chaonan to play ball. She happened to be going out and is giving me a ride."
Sheng Mumu slowly turned her neck and silently looked at Qi Shaobai.
Kid, do you know how obvious your lying looks?
Oblivious, Qi Shaobai added:
"I'm going to be late, let's go. Bye, Dad."
Of course Sheng Mumu could tell he was lying. Qi Mo naturally could too.
But he didn't expose it, giving a faint laugh instead.
"Mm, go on."
...
Sheng Mumu and Qi Shaobai got in the car.
Seeing Qi Shaobai's relief, she couldn't help laughing and said while starting the car:
"Kid, not bad at lying, don't do it again next time."
Qi Shaobai turned to look at her, a questioning expression in his eyes.
Sheng Mumu's lips pressed in a line as she shook her head: "Obvious at a glance."
Qi Shaobai: "That obvious?"
He only told a little lie because he didn't want to escalate things to his dad before getting to the bottom of the photo matter.
"Hmm...how to put it," Sheng Mumu organized her words, "Even elementary schoolers lying to teachers about forgetting homework have better acting skills than you."
This analogy was insulting yet funny.
Qi Shaobai couldn't help a small eye roll and laugh. "You can exaggerate more."
Sheng Mumu gave him a "believe it or not" look. She stepped on the gas.
The white Lamborghini drove off.
The ride was more relaxed than Qi Shaobai imagined.
He had thought it would be awkward going out with Sheng Mumu his stepmother for the first time.
But it wasn't awkward at all.
The two didn't talk much. Occasionally Sheng Mumu would ask him about good restaurants in the city, and he recommended one or two based on his preferences.
The atmosphere was harmonious, as if they weren't going to meet Liu Zhenzhen at all but were simply giving him a ride.
It was just, strange.
