Chapter 55. Are you in a relationship? ...
Chen Zhoudu did not return to his apartment that night. After the rain subsided, he took Xia Chan back to Taoyuan Lane and carefully settled her in before returning to Tianze Store.
Because Xia Chan had taken leave, Du Na became the employee in charge of the Chenzhoudu suite. After helping Du Na move her luggage, Chenzhoudu still casually asked, "By the way, you mentioned earlier that a guest came looking for Manager Xia today...who was it?"
"It's Ms. Xie Mei," Du Na answered truthfully.
"Aunt Xie Mei?" Shen Zhoudu was taken aback.
"Yes, Ms. Xie arrived in the afternoon. It wasn't Manager Xia's shift at the time, and Ms. Xie waited for Manager Xia in the reception room for more than an hour before he arrived. Later, Manager Xia and Ms. Xie went to a coffee shop outside. When Manager Xia came back, he said he needed to ask for leave to switch shifts, but he didn't say anything else."
Chen Zhoudu was even more surprised. Xie Mei was Guan Bohan's stepmother. She got together with Guan Bohan's father, Guan Yuntian, when he and Guan Bohan were fourteen years old, and had been in the Guan family for more than ten years.
In Shen Zhoudu's memory, she had always been a very gentle and beautiful woman who treated Guan Bohan as her own son.
When Guan Bohan first got together with Guan's father, he was going through a rebellious phase and strongly opposed it.
Xie Mei and Guan Yuntian never registered their marriage, and Xie Mei always tolerated Guan Bohan's rudeness towards her without any resentment.
Later, Guan Bohan got into trouble once, and not daring to call his father over, he could only bite the bullet and call Xie Mei instead.
Xie Mei nearly got injured protecting him that time, which finally made Guan Bohan lower his guard against her. Gradually, their relationship thawed and grew closer. In recent years, their bond has become so strong that it's almost like that of a mother and son.
Xie Mei came to talk to Xia Chan? What did she say this time?
These two people, who seemed to have no connection whatsoever, puzzled Shen Zhoudu greatly.
His immediate thought was whether Guan Bohan had said something to Xie Mei, which led Xie Mei to come and talk to Xia Chan, causing Xia Chan's emotional breakdown today.
Back in the suite, Chen Zhoudu received a video call from Guan Bohan.
"Sigh, bro, what am I going to do... My mom's got some kind of crazy idea, she brought up the topic of me finding a girlfriend again today. In my panic, I told her about Xia Chan and me, and now she's acting up again, strongly objecting..."
"What?" Shen Zhoudu was so shocked he almost couldn't sit up. "You told Aunt Xie Mei?"
“Ugh…” Guan Bohan touched his nose, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
Tonight, after finishing filming, Guan Bohan received a video call from Xie Mei and Guan Yuntian. During their conversation, the topic of finding a girlfriend came up again.
The two elders were playing matchmaker, insisting that Guan Bohan and Jing Zixi spend more time together. Guan Bohan was speechless and shouted that he and Jing Zixi were just buddies. What difference was there between them being buddies together and letting Shen Jinghai and Guan Yuntian be together?
Enraged, Guan Yuntian launched into a tirade, and Guan Bohan, left with no other option, finally admitted that he already had a girl he liked.
He admitted that he liked Xia Chan, and Xie Mei's face immediately turned pale.
Guan Yuntian, on the other hand, seemed to have a good impression of the girl who saved Grandma Jing that day. He said, "That girl seems nice. She's pretty, steady, articulate, and has guts and courage. If we can finalize things, we can invite her over for a meal soon."
"No!" Xie Mei blurted out before Guan Bohan could even open his mouth.
Her attitude surprised both father and son for a moment. Xie Mei paused before lowering her eyes somewhat awkwardly and saying, "That girl... she does seem nice, but when you're looking for a girlfriend, you should at least find someone from a similar family background, right? That girl... she looks like she comes from an ordinary family, it's too much of a difference..."
"No, why not? So what if we're from ordinary families? If you go back three generations, who wasn't a poor peasant family?"
Guan Bohan immediately objected and tried to argue with her. Guan Yuntian also smiled and advised that family background and such were secondary; the most important things were character and morality.
"No means no!" Xie Mei was adamant, even issuing an ultimatum: "Saving someone is saving someone, how can that be mixed with marriage and starting a family? I don't agree to this girl! Anyone but her is fine, just not her! If you let her come to this house, I'm leaving! I don't agree!"
...
"..." Chen Zhoudu suddenly had a slight headache.
He rubbed his forehead and then realized he had underestimated him. If Xie Mei hadn't objected today and he hadn't made that call, the betrothal gifts would probably have been sent directly to Xia Chan's house tomorrow.
"You..." He stared at Guan Bohan's face on the other end of the video for a long time, still hesitant to speak, wanting to curse but not knowing where to begin.
Guan Bohan was still worried, "Sigh, what should I do? Now I call my mom but she doesn't answer, and she doesn't reply to my WeChat messages. What's wrong with her? Why is she so opposed? Xia Chan is doing so well..."
Chen Zhoudu could only subtly suggest that he should avoid confronting Aunt Xie directly and refrain from contacting Xia Chan for the time being, and instead focus on stabilizing the situation first.
After hanging up the phone, Chen Zhoudu took several deep breaths to calm himself down.
He reviewed the situation for a while before realizing a few issues. Therefore, Xie Mei was the one who came to Ya Hai to find Xia Chan first today;
Perhaps Xie Mei had said something to Xia Chan, which caused Xia Chan to become disheartened and emotionally broken down;
That evening, Guan Bohan confessed to Xie Mei and Guan Yuntian that he liked Xia Chan, which was met with strong opposition from Xie Mei.
So, what exactly did Xie Mei and Xia Chan say to make Xia Chan so upset and Xie Mei so vehemently opposed to her?
She has never been an annoying person. Even when she keeps her distance, it is with a polite distance. Moreover, she has a strong and resilient mind. What could possibly break her down?
Xie Mei... Xie...
He felt that an answer was about to be revealed, yet it was also hard to believe. After hesitating for a moment, he made a phone call.
"Hello, Uncle Sun." After a brief exchange with the person on the other end of the phone, Chen Zhoudu said, "I'd like to trouble you to help me investigate someone."
-
A few days later, that afternoon, Asen told Shen Zhoudu that the podcast interview, originally scheduled for the evening of three days later, would be moved to this afternoon due to the host's personal schedule, which would take up Shen Zhoudu's rest time that afternoon.
"Can't it be postponed?"
Chen Zhoudu had originally planned to go sea trekking with Xia Chan this afternoon, but he was somewhat hesitant upon hearing this.
"A podcast by a famous CCTV anchor... bro." Asen was even more perplexed.
This host's podcast interviews are notoriously difficult to book and cater to in the industry, but he is undeniably talented, with each episode becoming increasingly popular. Many celebrities in the industry consider being on his talk show a symbol of status.
His podcasts don't just focus on celebrities in the entertainment industry, but on prominent figures and influential people from all walks of life.
It's said that last time, even Lu Sheng had to wait almost a month to schedule him.
Shen Zhoudu's agent, Jiang Cheng, spent almost two months trying to get him on the waiting list.
At this point, the only way to refuse is probably to cancel and re-arrange.
If it's canceled, there's probably no chance for him to appear on his show again in the future.
Chen Zhoudu sighed, feeling rather helpless. After thinking for a moment, he took out his phone and sent a message to Xia Chan, typing very slowly.
"I have a podcast interview scheduled for this afternoon, so I'm afraid I can't take you to the beach. I'll make it up to you later."
Xia Chan only replied with one word: "OK".
He stared at the two simple letters, feeling a pang of shame and unease. After a moment of silence, he typed, "I'm sorry."
"It's nothing, a minor issue."
He sighed heavily, locked the screen, and leaned back on the sofa, feeling somewhat heavy-hearted.
Sometimes, he actually hoped that Xia Chan would cause some trouble.
She is always clear-headed and independent, and indifferent to everything.
Others might think this is maturity and understanding, but her tears that day made him realize that she was just suppressing her true emotions under a facade of aloofness.
He liked to see her laugh and make a fuss, and if he could, he would also like to take over her crying and freaking out.
He hoped to gain her complete trust, to become her support and reliance, and to lift her up with all his might.
Asen carefully observed his expression and cautiously asked, "Brother, you haven't... started dating recently, have you?"
Chen Zhoudu paused, opened one eye to glance at him, and curled his lips in a half-serious, half-teasing manner, "Is it that obvious?"
"Huh?! They really talked?" Ah Sen's alarm bells went off instantly, and he was shocked. "Who is it? Bro? Don't mess with me! An Yiran? Is that the little star who chatted with you at the party last time? Have you forgotten what Brother Jiang Cheng told you before? Don't be silly..."
"Just kidding, we haven't even talked about it yet," Chen Zhoudu chuckled. "Don't be nervous."
The fact that they haven't talked yet means that it's impossible to know when they will start talking.
Arsen can't relax at all; he's under immense pressure.
"Brother, you're kidding me... So who is it? Does this person really exist or are you just joking? Please stop messing around! If something really happens to you, Brother Jiang might not be able to help you, but he'll definitely yell at me, brother..."
Chen Zhoudu is not actually an idol singer, but because of his good image, he had a group of female fans when he first debuted.
Jiang Cheng was also thinking about his popularity, so the positioning he set for him when he debuted was quite ambiguous. Chen Zhoudu was quite dissatisfied with this and even argued with Jiang Cheng, but neither of them could convince the other, so it went on in this ambiguous way.
Ah Sen had actually noticed something was off about the sunken boat crossing from the beginning, probably... after the filming of "The International Date Line" started.
He frequently checks his phone, occasionally takes leave, and disappears without reason after filming, with the frequency of his disappearances increasing.
Several times, Ah Sen was afraid that after he disappeared the night before, he would turn around and see him on the trending topics.
I was so anxious that I couldn't sleep well for several nights.
Fortunately, Chen Zhoudu was relatively rational and discreet, and never made it to the trending topics. Asen, knowing his own nature, simply turned a blind eye and didn't know anything.
But now...
"I'm not an idol star," Shen Zhoudu said calmly.
Arsen looked distressed.
As he was heading to the event, Shen Zhoudu received a WeChat message from Uncle Sun, whom he had previously asked for help.
This is Xie Mei's information.
The sunken boat paused slightly, then clicked.
As soon as the document was opened, Xie Mei's ID photo appeared at the very top, and the first line clearly stated:
Xie Mei
Former name: Xie Jun
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
