Chapter 61

It took Xu Er a full second to understand what Song Ruichi meant by "my mother and my aunt."

Then he spent half a minute recalling his chat history with these two women just moments ago.

Oh, good grief...

Xu Er swiftly slurped down the last drop of his coffee, zipped up his jacket, smoothed down his hair, tucked away his phone, brushed the dust off his pants, and strode toward General Manager Luo and General Manager Lin.

Along the way, certain details finally clicked in Xu Er's mind.

In Song Ruichi's WeChat contacts, his mother's full name was listed as "Luo Yin."

Song Ruichi had also mentioned that his aunt shared their grandmother's surname.

"The way General Manager Luo looks at you is so terribly affectionate."

Xu Er finally understood what little Xiao He had meant by those words.

The two women were currently leaning against an unrenovated pillar, posing as if for a fashion magazine spread. Seeing Xu Er approach, they reined in their expressions slightly.

"Little Xu," Manager Luo's smile instantly blossomed across her face as she put away her phone, "What's wrong?"

Little Xu smiled with utmost politeness: "Hello, Auntie."

And turning to the aunt as well: "Hello, Auntie."

The aunt and the aunt exchanged a glance.

"How did you know it was me?" Song Ruichi's mother asked.

Xu Er replied, "Song Ruichi told me."

Song Ruichi's mother let out a sigh: "I knew it was that brat."

Seeming to want to say more, her phone suddenly rang. She smiled and turned the screen toward Xu Er.

Three characters flashed across it: "Smelly Son."

"Hello," Song Ruichi's mother said in a very cheerful tone, "What is it, son?"

Whatever was said on the other end made Song Ruichi's mother smile even deeper: "I'm not doing anything. I just came over to take a look with your aunt."

"I know he's working, I'm not disturbing him." Song Ruichi's mother arched an eyebrow at Xu Er and continued into the phone, "Don't you worry."

Song Ruichi's mother: "Alright, bye-bye."

Xu Er waited obediently, a smile blooming on his face as he heard the farewell.

"Your husband is calling to lecture me," Song Ruichi's mother complained.

Xu Er was utterly shocked.

Though technically correct about the husband part.

But really, Auntie, why are you calling him that too?

Paralyzed by embarrassment yet too polite to walk away, Xu Er forced himself to defend Song Ruichi first: "I'm sure he wouldn't do that."

Song Ruichi's mother chuckled: "He wouldn't. Where would he get the nerve?"

Xu Er continued to smile.

Smiling could never be wrong; smiling was always the right answer.

Someone in the distance called out to Xu Er.

"Alright then, you don't need to keep us company. Go on and attend to your work," Song Ruichi's mother said.

Xu Er nodded: "Then I'll get back to it."

Song Ruichi's mother: "Go ahead, your aunt and I will wander around by ourselves."

Xu Er: "Alright, let me know if you need anything."

As if suddenly reminded by Xu Er's words: "Let's add each other on WeChat."

Xu Er pulled out his phone: "Certainly."

Just as he finished scanning the QR code, another phone was extended from the side: "Add the aunt too."

Xu Er: "You got it."

After finishing the WeChat exchanges, Xu Er feigned a calm and collected departure.

Along the way, he ran into Xiao He, who asked, "What did they want with you this time?"

Xu Er thought about it, finding it somewhat complicated: "Nothing much."

Xiao He remarked, "I saw you guys adding each other on WeChat. They aren't trying to rope you into any freelance gigs, are they?"

Xu Er smiled: "Hard to say."

Xiao He's eyes lit up: "Take me with you, take me with you!"

With work calling, the two dropped the idle chatter and got down to business.

Before long, Song Ruichi's mother and aunt sent Xu Er a quick greeting on WeChat and quietly took their leave.

As this small phase wrapped up, Xu Er received a call from Song Ruichi.

"They've left," Xu Er announced the moment he answered.

Song Ruichi laughed: "I know."

Xu Er: "You know?"

Song Ruichi: "My mother told me."

Xu Er pondered for a moment: "Did she say anything else?"

Song Ruichi suddenly chuckled.

Xu Er: "What are you laughing at?"

Song Ruichi: "What do you think she said?"

Xu Er scratched his chin: "At first I didn't know who they were, and Xiao He kept saying all sorts of things..."

Song Ruichi asked: "What did Xiao He say?"

Xu Er: "Xiao He said they had taken a fancy to me and wanted to marry their daughter off to me. It scared me to death."

Song Ruichi let out a very distinct laugh on the other end: "Well, he wasn't entirely wrong."

Xu Er hurriedly asked: "So what did your mother say?"

Song Ruichi: "She said you were exceptionally guarded against her at first, rejecting everything she offered, and that her heart was utterly broken."

"Ah..." Xu Er recalled: "It does seem that way. She offered to treat me to mille-feuille and milkshakes, but how could I possibly dare accept..." Xu Er felt a twinge of worry: "What should I do now?"

Song Ruichi's amusement deepened: "Little Xu, why are you so adorable?"

Xu Er automatically filtered out the remark: "Did you explain it to her?"

Song Ruichi: "I told her my little clumsy clod must have been hiding from you simply because he didn't recognize you. There's nothing wrong with that."

Xu Er drew a sharp breath: "You called me your little clumsy clod in front of her?"

Song Ruichi laughed, with a hint of provocation in his tone: "Yeah, so what?"

Xu Er: "Song Ruichi, you need to show a bit more restraint in front of elders."

As soon as he said this, the phrase "your husband" spoken by Song Ruichi's mother flashed through Xu Er's mind.

It seemed this trait ran in the family.

"I've already shown plenty of restraint," Song Ruichi replied. "I didn't call you baby."

Xu Er felt the world go dark before his eyes: "Just kill me now."

Song Ruichi laid on the cheesy talk thick to the end: "How could I ever bear to do that, darling?"

Xu Er: "Ah!"

Song Ruichi laughed heartily.

Song Ruichi: "What are you up to?"

Xu Er tapped the laptop in front of him: "Sitting idly, waiting for some files to be transferred over."

Song Ruichi: "Today is Christmas Eve."

Xu Er glanced at the date in the bottom right corner: "Oh right, the 24th."

"What about you?" Xu Er asked Song Ruichi: "Isn't your event about to start?"

Song Ruichi: "It starts at three-thirty."

Xu Er checked the time again; it was currently 3:16 PM.

Xu Er: "We can chat for a little longer."

Before Song Ruichi could reply, Xu Er gasped: "Ah, never mind, we can't. My files just came through."

Song Ruichi chuckled helplessly: "Go ahead and work."

Xu Er: "You got it."

Song Ruichi: "If I finish early, I'll come pick you up."

Xu Er: "Sounds good."

Song Ruichi: "Wait for me."

Xu Er smiled: "Will do."

Song Ruichi had some sort of event that afternoon which Xu Er didn't entirely understand, though he was reportedly one of the guests.

So once Xu Er finished handling the task at hand, he opened Weibo.

Yes, he had followed that blogger from the previous livestream.

And that very blogger had posted a livestream announcement this morning for three o'clock in the afternoon, claiming he was attending an event today where he was guaranteed to run into Song Ruichi, telling everyone to look forward to it.

Just like last time, when Xu Er clicked in, the blogger was chatting with the audience.

The livestream background was a slightly dim hallway.

After watching for two minutes and listening to the blogger talk about stories between himself and his mother, Xu Er minimized the livestream to the background and put on his headphones.

New files came through on his computer, and simultaneously, a message from Xu Chen popped up.

Xu Chen: 「Bro! Are you stalking Song Ruichi's stream?」
Xu Chen: 【Link】

The link was precisely the blogger's livestream.

Xu Er: 「Already in it」
Xu Chen: 「Oh ho」
Xu Chen: 「Me too. I've been listening to him ramble about everything from classical poetry to the philosophy of life for a good while now」
Xu Er: 「Hahaha, now he's moved on to everyday gossip」
Xu Chen: 「Yep」
Xu Chen: 「He's not the only one streaming today」
Xu Chen: 「Since he recorded Song Ruichi last time and got the best-performing seconds of his livestream, of course he had to show up today」
Xu Chen: 「And he's not the only one either. There are two or three other bloggers right next to him also streaming, all with titles saying they're waiting for Song Ruichi」
Xu Chen: 「These guys really know how to milk the traffic」

Xu Er: 「Is Song Ruichi really that popular?」
Xu Chen: 「And you're only just realizing how well you've married into this?」
Xu Chen: 「He's got tons of both male and female fans」
Xu Chen: 「Wait, wait, here they come, here they come」

Xu Er heard it too; the background noise in the blogger's stream suddenly turned chaotic.

Xu Er quickly switched back to the app.

Sure enough, the number of people in the hallway had surged, and the blogger along with a few others had been cordially pushed to the side by the staff.

"The guests are coming out."

With that, the blogger raised his phone high, pointing it toward the door in the distance.

Soon, shadows appeared beyond the doorway.

At that instant, Xu Er suddenly understood the phrase: Even if you turn him to ashes, I'd still recognize him.

Just by catching sight of a single head, he knew the first person to emerge was Song Ruichi.

"Wow, wow, wow, it's Teacher Song, it's Teacher Song," the blogger called out upon seeing him.

Many people nearby were also shouting, "Teacher Song, Teacher Song."

Teacher Song is looking awfully handsome.
He got his hair styled, too.

Xu Er hurriedly took a screenshot.

The comment section below scrolled by at lightning speed, filled with endless streams of shrieks.

"Teacher Song, say something to everyone!"

I don't know who spoke up, shouting those words.

Following that, the blogger and everyone else joined in: "Teacher Song, say hi."
"Teacher Song, tomorrow is Christmas."
"Teacher Song, Merry Christmas."
...

All these voices blended together; Xu Er couldn't imagine how deafening the scene must have been.

In the camera frame, Song Ruichi smiled toward their direction and waved a greeting.

Just as Xu Er thought that was all, Song Ruichi suddenly changed direction and walked straight toward them.

The clamor grew even more boisterous as people thrust microphones and earphones forward.

Song Ruichi kept his eyes fixed on a single camera lens.

Yes, it was none other than the blogger Xu Er was watching at that moment.

Song Ruichi walked up, flashed a very elegant, faint smile, and then lowered his head to speak directly into the earphone microphone: "Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas."

After finishing, he lifted his gaze, his voice softening a fraction: "Merry Christmas, Xu Er."

"Haha."

Sitting all alone in the construction site office, Xu Er covered his mouth and laughed out loud.

The comment section went completely wild. Amidst the frantic screaming, people kept spamming:
"Who is Xue?"
"Who is sure?"
"Who is Teacher Song talking about!"
"Ahhhh who is it who is it!"
"What what what what? What did Teacher Song just say?!!"
...

Xu Chen's messages popped up as well.

Xu Chen: 「Ahhhhhh」
Xu Chen: 「I give up, I totally give up!」
Xu Chen: 「What on earth is Song Ruichi doing?!」
Xu Chen: 「How can he be this smooth?!」
Xu Chen: 「Save me, bro!」
Xu Chen: 「He's so sweet!」
Xu Chen: 「You guys are so sweet ahhhhh!」

After his brother finished ranting, he finally typed: 「Bro, you might want to change your Weibo handle, or people are going to dig up your profile in no time」

Xu Er thought that made sense.

So he navigated to his Weibo profile to edit his nickname.

But after tapping the edit button, he tilted his head and backed out again.

Xu Er: 「Let them dig if they want to」