Chapter 96

After finishing her performance, Qiao Li came to the booth. Sheng Mumu briefly introduced them, then made an excuse to leave early.

The rest was up to fate.

She got into the car but didn't leave right away. Instead, she took out her phone and sent a message to Qi Mo, who was still at the company, to share what had happened today.

"Li Li met with Cheng Zhuo today. I lied to them that you wanted to take me out for a midnight snack so I left early to give them some alone time. Aren't I clever?"

She smiled and gently tapped "Send."

Just as the message was sent out, her eyes suddenly tightened and her fingers hovered over the screen.

Strange.

Since when did she get used to telling him about everything that happened?

The vibration of the phone in her palm brought her thoughts back.

Qi Mo: "Clever, 100 points matchmaker."

"Pfft~" Sheng Mumu laughed out loud.

Just as she was about to send back some emoji stickers, her phone vibrated again with the words "Hubby" flashing on the screen.

The call connected.

The man's low, magnetic voice came through the receiver:

"Where are you? I'll come pick you up."

Sheng Mumu was puzzled and blinked: "Huh?"

Qi Mo seemed to chuckle lightly, his tone faintly cheerful:

"You already told them, so we have to go for that midnight snack."

Sheng Mumu: "......"

Uh...look here, there's an honest one who can't tell the difference between truth and excuses!

*

Three days later.

Sheng Mumu received a call from Qiao Li.

Qiao Li told Sheng Mumu on the phone that she and Cheng Zhuo had a wonderful chat.

The two agreed to pretend to be a couple to get through that hurdle with Auntie Feng.

Feng Yaoqin soon learned of Qiao Li's "new relationship" and was overjoyed.

After seeing the "cheek-to-cheek intimate selfie" that Qiao Li had posed for a long time, she became even more elated. She was completely convinced of Qiao Li's new romance and insisted on having her bring Cheng Zhuo home for dinner, no matter what.

She also solemnly called Qi Mo and Sheng Mumu to remind them to arrange their work schedules to avoid any conflicting dates.

"Sure, Mom. I'll coordinate the schedules." Sheng Mumu readily agreed.

As the matchmaker, she felt quite proud whether Qiao Li and Cheng Zhuo were fake or just acting. She also vaguely felt they could become real.

After hanging up, Sheng Mumu casually opened the WeChat group.

She saw they were discussing a new movie that would be released soon.

- [The tickets for the premiere of "Fiery Delusions" are so hard to get. I couldn't buy them even with connections.]

- [The premiere is when the cast and crew will meet with fans. Tickets were snapped up by fans long ago.]

- [Sigh, famous directors are famous directors. Even our group couldn't get tickets, how rare.]

- [Let's just watch it at home after the theatrical release. Home theaters are better than movie theaters.]

- [That's all we can do now, what a pity. I was really looking forward to this movie.]

- [Right, it's Director Qiu's movie that took 3 years to make, and it's his specialty genre too. The hype online is already off the charts.]

- [So envious of those who get to go to the premiere.]

Sheng Mumu skimmed it a few times then exited WeChat without paying much attention.

It wasn't until the day Cheng Zhuo came for dinner that she heard the name of the movie again.

"Little Cheng, you and Li Li just started dating, you should go out more to grow your relationship." Feng Yaoqin smiled at Cheng Zhuo, obviously very satisfied with her niece's boyfriend whom she just met.

As she spoke, she took out two movie tickets from her pocket and handed them over, "Auntie has two movie tickets here, for that trendy new movie, what was it called..."

Qi Shaobai's eyes lit up as he reminded: "Fiery Delusions?"

"That's right, that's the name." Feng Yaoqin stuffed the tickets into Qiao Li's hand, "Li Li, go watch it with Little Cheng. Old Ye's daughter pulled some connections to get these tickets, I heard they're not easy to come by."

When she finished speaking, Cheng Zhuo and Qiao Li looked at each other.

They quickly reached a tacit understanding and said in unison:

"Thank you, Auntie."

The atmosphere at the dinner table was harmonious.

Only Sheng Mumu noticed Qi Mo's expression freeze for a moment when he heard Feng Yaoqin's words.

She guessed he was probably wondering who "Old Ye" was.

So she leaned over and tugged at his shirt under the table.

The man with deep, handsome features turned his head, his gaze lowering as he looked over.

The lines of his side profile were elegant and noble, his long lashes casting a small shadow beneath his eyes.

His voice was gentle and mellow, drifting to her ear, "Hmm? What's wrong?"

She lowered her voice and explained for Qi Mo:

"Old Ye is a friend of Mom's who does square dancing with her."

Her tone was a little proud.

After all, she was the only one at the table who knew these things.

Qi Mo was stunned for a moment, then the darkness in his eyes began to gleam with laughter, growing thicker and thicker.

"What are you two whispering about over there?"

Feng Yaoqin suddenly called out to them, interrupting their "whispering." Not knowing where she got them from, she took out two more movie tickets and handed them over.

"Got these ready for you too."

Qiao Li maintained her gentle and well-behaved image, smiling happily, "Auntie, you're so resourceful. These premiere tickets are impossible to find outside. Money can't buy them." Cheng Zhuo chimed in to agree with Qiao Li, remembering his "niece's boyfriend" role.

As they spoke, Sheng Mumu glanced at the ticket information.

She started thinking about who to ask to go see the movie together.

That afternoon, she overheard Qi Mo on the phone in his study saying he would be going on a business trip to a nearby city for a few days that weekend.

The premiere was on the weekend so he couldn't make it.

Just as she was thinking about it, the ticket in her hand was gently taken away by a pair of slender, well-shaped hands.

"Sunday, 8:30 pm," Qi Mo murmured, confirming the time as he lowered his eyes.

After looking it over, he returned the ticket to her hand.

Sheng Mumu: "Do you have time to go watch it that day?"

Qi Mo's brow quirked slightly as he unhesitatingly said: "Of course."

Suddenly, a plaintive voice broke the warm atmosphere at the dinner table.

"Grandma, what about me???"

Looking in the direction of the voice, Qi Shaobai had a face full of gloom.

Qi Shaobai had been waiting and waiting for Grandma to hand out tickets one by one.

He didn't expect her to stop when she got to him.

He saw Feng Yaoqin rummaging through her pockets in puzzlement:

"Oh... ran out... Old Ye only gave me four tickets."

Seeing Feng Yaoqin teasing her grandson in amusement, everyone at the table except for the person in question, Qi Shaobai, couldn't help but laugh.

In Qi Shaobai's eyes, their laughter doubled his pain.

He really wanted to see this movie too.

Director Qiu was one of the top directors in China. His previous mystery/thriller films had intricate logic and profound meaning, which Qi Shaobai particularly liked.

Just as he was feeling dejected, his shoulder was suddenly patted.

He turned his head to see it was Sheng Mumu patting him.

A glimmer of hope suddenly sparked in his eyes.

Was she going to give him her ticket?

That must be it.

The little flame grew brighter and brighter.

Under his hopeful gaze, Sheng Mumu slowly opened her mouth:

"The premiere is on Sunday, the movie and premiere event don't end until midnight. You have your monthly exam on Monday, remember?"

Qi Shaobai: "............"

The flame in his eyes was doused.

What else could he say?

One word: Ouch

He could forever trust Sheng Mumu's memory.

She actually remembered his exam schedule more clearly than him!!!

Ahhhhhhh! (silent scream)