Yong Zhixu was utterly bewildered, his amber eyes fixed blankly on Chen Zui as if to say: I asked you to save me, not dig me a deeper hole!
His thin lips parted, ready to clarify immediately.
But Chen Zui beat him to it, continuing his elaborate fabrication with animated expressions and earnest conviction. “Of course he does! Just started dating her—fair-skinned, beautiful, with long legs. Absolutely stunning, right, Third Brother?”
Afraid Yong Zhixu wouldn’t play along, Chen Zui tilted his head and winked at him from an angle hidden from Lin Suiying.
He knew Third Brother was a man of strict principles who disliked lying, but to dodge a blind date, sometimes you had to resort to extreme measures, didn’t you?
Yong Zhixu also recognized this would solve his immediate problem, yet lying was fundamentally wrong.
One lie would require countless more to cover it up, complicating everything further.
So, while he appreciated the good intentions, he couldn’t accept it.
After a moment’s hesitation, Yong Zhixu met Lin Suiying’s skeptical gaze calmly and spoke up. “Minister Lin, actually, I—”
“Actually, you’re lying to me, aren’t you?” Lin Suiying wore an expression that said, “I saw through it from the start.”
If her son really had a girlfriend, pigs might as well fly.
Just how opposed was he to marriage?
Two years ago, to resist the family marriage arrangement imposed by his grandfather, he drafted his own resignation letter, moved into Tanzhe Temple, and threatened to become a monk.
The grandfather and grandson were locked in a stalemate for over two months until the elder finally relented and called off the engagement.
Over the past two years, as the old man’s health declined, his desire to see his grandson settle down grew stronger, leading to these arranged dates.
At first, Yong Zhixu went through the motions half-heartedly; later, he stopped showing up altogether.
Usually the picture of composure and propriety, he became downright rebellious in this matter—to an infuriating degree.
Yet, she had no idea why.
She had questioned all his childhood friends, but none of them knew either.
Lin Suiying felt a pang of guilt toward her only child.
Between family and country, she had chosen country, missing out on much of his upbringing…
This eagle of a woman felt her eyes sting. She turned her head, her gaze settling on Chen Zui, hoping he could persuade her son.
To her surprise, Chen Zui misinterpreted her look as an accusation and thought, I’m done for!
He decided to strike first. “Alright, I admit I lied. Third Brother doesn’t have a girlfriend…”
Leaning close to Lin Suiying’s ear, he whispered so only she could hear, “But he does have a crush on a girl. See? She lives right across the street.”
Lin Suiying turned to look in the direction he indicated.
In the tidy, elegant courtyard of the opposite villa stood a girl in white, her eyes covered with a red silk cloth, holding a gleaming Tang Hengdao sword.
Before her stood several tall foreign women, each with a small basket of apples at their feet.
Through the intricate copper-art fence, Lin Suiying couldn’t clearly make out the girl’s features, but she saw her move.
The girl took half a step back with her right leg, knees slightly bent, assuming a ready stance.
Then, the foreign women began tossing apples toward her.
With a flick of her wrist, the girl’s sharp Tang Hengdao swept into action.
Swift as a shooting star, it carved frost-like arcs through the air.
“Swish, swish, swish—” The apples hurled into the sky were sliced apart at an invisible speed, raining down upon the ground like falling leaves.The foreign women threw quickly, but the girl in white sliced even faster.
In the blink of an eye, several small baskets of apples were emptied.
And on the ground, all the apples had been cut in half—not a single one remained intact.
Her knife skills were precise, her demeanor heroic and spirited, like a swordswoman or assassin from a wuxia drama.
Chen Zui gave a thumbs-up and praised, “Impressive knife skills!”
Lin Suiying: “…”
The knife skills were indeed superb, but that wasn’t the point, was it?
In a voice only the two of them could hear, she asked Chen Zui, “Is what you said true? What’s her name, and how old is she?”
This was something Chen Zui could answer.
He pulled Lin Suiying several meters away and, in an even softer voice, enthusiastically told her Tangxi Li’s name, her relationship with Zhou Zhou, what Yong Zhixu had said when he first met her, and how he had stood up for her when they met again.
Finally, he glanced meaningfully at Yong Zhixu and added, “I knew there had to be a reason he suddenly decided to live here. So that’s why.”
Yong Zhixu: “?”
(So what is why?)
He was too far away to hear what Chen Zui had muttered, but he clearly heard that last sentence.
And the next moment, he met his mother’s half-convinced, half-doubting, and deeply meaningful gaze.
It wasn’t hard to figure out—Chen Zui had dug a pit for him, and it involved Tangxi Li.
That bastard!
Yong Zhixu thought for a moment and tried to explain with a universal excuse, “Things aren’t what he said…”
Chen Zui cut him off, winking suggestively at Lin Suiying, “We get it. It’s not what I said, right, Aunt Lin?”
His tone was thick with the implication of covering up the truth.
Lin Suiying nodded with a complicated expression. As for this matter… it was hard to comment.
There was no doubt the young lady was exceptional—highly skilled and owning a 3,000-square-meter detached villa in the Third Ring Road. Her family background must be impressive.
But… as her husband, would he… probably… not have a rebellious phase in the future?
She walked up to Yong Zhixu and patted his shoulder with a grave expression. “No need to go on any more blind dates. I’ll explain things to your grandfather. But…”
Lin Suiying hesitated, leaving her words unfinished.
Her son had always been a man with his own mind…
Seeing that she had already misunderstood something, Yong Zhixu felt it necessary to clarify immediately. “Mom, don’t listen to his nonsense.”
“He didn’t say anything,” Lin Suiying covered for Chen Zui. After a brief silence, she sighed. “Zhixu, you…”
She recalled the image of Tangxi Li swiftly and skillfully slicing the fruit, her eyes filled with sympathy. “You… if you have time, you should sign up for a martial arts class.”
Afraid that saying more might discourage her son, who had finally taken an interest in a girl, Lin Suiying decided to leave it at that and got into the car with the special police officers.
As the car passed by Yong Zhixu, she rolled down the window and earnestly urged him, “I’m not joking—you really, really should sign up for a class!”
Beside them, Chen Zui grinned widely, laughing heartily. “Sign up for a class, hahaha… I’m dying… Minister Lin has quite the comedic talent…”
Watching the car drive away, Yong Zhixu immediately turned his gaze to Chen Zui, who was laughing uncontrollably. His phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, exuding authority even without anger. “What rumors did you spread?”
Chen Zui’s laughter choked off. He stood at attention like a schoolboy, saluted, and said, “Third Brother, I swear I really didn’t say anything!”
Yong Zhixu opened his mouth, ready to interrogate him further.Chen Zui didn’t give him a chance, pushing him into the car without further explanation. “Hey, Third Brother, it’s rare that you have no schedule today, and Yunchuan will be out of surgery soon. How about we get together again?”