Chapter 191: Chapter 49 Mom: Ding Muchen also said you don’t have a boyfriend?
Seeing her daughter pretending to be clueless, the mother laughed.
"Silly girl, your father and I just saw everything, and you’re still playing dumb with us."
"Ah? Really?" Ding Muchen was dumbfounded.
But the door was closed. Does Mom have the ability to see the future? Did she stand at the peephole and watch ahead of time?
Seeing that her daughter was still in a daze, her mother tapped her on the forehead and chuckled, "And you told me you didn’t have a boyfriend?"
"Just now, outside the Sichuan restaurant downstairs, your dad and I saw you two."
She pulled her daughter inside, closed the door, and asked with a look of concern, "Why didn’t you invite him in for a cup of tea?"
Hearing her mother’s suggestive tone, Ding Muchen knew she had misunderstood. She hurriedly explained, "Mom, we’re just ordinary friends. We ran into each other today and had a meal together. It’s not what you think."
"Alright, alright, it’s not what I’m thinking. Now, you tell me, how old is that young man? Where’s he from? What does he do for a living?"
One second she was saying it wasn’t what she thought, and the next she was asking for his entire life story.
Ding Muchen touched her forehead and was left speechless.
"Mom, I can’t explain it to you. I’m not talking about it anymore."
Annoyed, she went back to her room.
Just then, her father came out of the study.
"So, how did the interrogation go?"
The soundproofing in the study was good, so he hadn’t heard the conversation in the living room.
"Hah! The girl’s too shy. She wouldn’t say a thing," her mother said. "At first, she tried to deny it, claiming they were just ordinary friends."
Her father mused, "Is it possible we were mistaken? Maybe they really are just ordinary friends."
"Bah! No way. The way our daughter was looking at him in the restaurant... they can’t be just friends," the mother insisted, her face animated. "That look was exactly the same as the one I had when I was chasing you."
"Maybe our little girl is the one chasing him! She takes after me, bold enough to go after a boy she likes. What’s wrong with that?"
Her father slapped his thigh. "Oh, the karmic irony!"
It was like a bullet fired thirty years ago had traveled through the river of time just to hit him today.
He had a bit of a double standard, though. Thirty years ago, when he was the one being pursued, it was fine. Thirty years later, when the one being pursued was his daughter’s potential boyfriend, it was not!
***
After dinner, Sun Dasheng returned to the company, just in time to pick up the three girls and take them home.
Li Sili, in the passenger seat, was bouncing with excitement again.
"Wow! Uncle, you got a new car again?"
"I just picked it up today, it’s brand new," Sun Dasheng said. "I was going to get you from school right after, but who knew you’d all gone back to the company."
"Hehe! Uncle gets something new and immediately wants to share it with us. It looks like we’re the most important people in his heart!"
"Of course, you are," Sun Dasheng said with a smile.
"Si Han, Yu Qing, what do you think of this car?" he asked.
"It’s great! It’s so spacious and comfortable to sit in," said Yun Yuqing.
"Yeah, it’s really spacious. You could do a lot of things in here," Fang Sihan added meaningfully.
Yun Yuqing, sitting beside her, blushed and smacked her on the behind. "You’re impossible!" she whispered. "Why do you say things like that? Don’t you see Sili is in the car?"
Oh, right! Fang Sihan realized. There were some things she could say when it was just her, Yu Qing, and Uncle, but with Li Sili around, it was best to avoid suggestive jokes.
"Did you use the card Uncle gave you?" Fang Sihan asked quietly.
The car’s interior was large, an extended version even. If they spoke softly in the back, they wouldn’t be heard in the front.
Yun Yuqing was surprised by the sudden question. She nodded. "I bought some daily necessities."
"Why do you ask? You have one too, don’t you?" Yun Yuqing was perceptive. She knew that if Uncle had given her a card, Fang Sihan would undoubtedly have an identical one.
"I was just thinking," Fang Sihan started, "we both have one, but Sili doesn’t. Should we buy her things sometimes, as a kind of..." She trailed off, unable to find the right word.
Yun Yuqing supplied it for her. "As a kind of compensation?"
"Exactly!" Fang Sihan nodded. "We have her to thank for getting to know Uncle, after all."
Yun Yuqing glanced toward the front of the car, then leaned in and whispered in Fang Sihan’s ear, "Actually, you don’t need to. Uncle gives her more money than he gives us."
"How is that possible?" Fang Sihan retorted. "If Uncle offered her a card, she wouldn’t take it. I know what she’s like."
Yun Yuqing didn’t deny this. "I know that, of course. That’s not what I mean."
"Then what do you mean?" Fang Sihan asked.
Yun Yuqing tapped her on the forehead. "See? You’re so impatient. You never change. What I mean is, the money Uncle gives her is included in her salary."
"Her salary?" That was a point Fang Sihan hadn’t considered.
"Mhm. For our short films, we’re paid based on the work we do, all at standard market rates. But as for Sili, her income as an influencer is inflated. She doesn’t actually earn that much for the company, but the salary she receives is very high."
"How high?" It had been less than a month since the New Year, so Li Sili hadn’t actually received her first paycheck yet.
However, Yun Yuqing had her sources. She held up one finger. "About the same as the limit on our cards—one hundred thousand a month."
"Oh!" Fang Sihan understood now.
She glanced at Uncle, who was driving, and couldn’t help but think to herself. He really is a master of keeping things balanced. He’s managed to make everything perfectly fair!
「After returning home.」
While Li Sili was in the shower, Fang Sihan pounced.
Sun Dasheng, who was sitting on the sofa, caught her in his arms, held her close, and looked down. "What’s up?"
"Nothing. I just missed you," she said, rubbing her head against his chest like a lovable golden retriever.