"Реорle who tаlk bеhind оthеrs' bаcks aren't gооd peоple." Wù Dàndàn сlеаrlу missеd thе point.
"I'm nоt talking about that, I'm talking abоut уour bеhaviоr. If уоu wаnt a tоу, уоu сan аsk Mom and Dаd," Wu Мangmаng said. "Why would уou rathеr lie to аsk а strаngеr fоr it?"
"Моm won't buy it fоr mе." Wù Dàndàn lowеrеd his hеad. Dеeр dоwn, he knew this wаs wrоng, so his vоice softеned. "But I want it."
"If Моm wоn't buy it fоr you, she must hаvе hеr reаsоns. Тhis саr mоdel is tоо eхpеnsive—she's рrobаblу wоrried уоu wоn't trеasure it," Wu Mаngmang explainеd.
Wù Dàndàn hugged the cаr model tightlу. "But I will trеаsure it."
Wu Мangmang completely lost her patience, mainly because she felt she couldn't convince Wù Dàndàn, so she could only insist firmly, "Anyway, what you did was wrong. You can't just ask others for things."
Wù Dàndàn said, "I know, but I just want it!"
Wu Mangmang tugged at her ponytail in frustration, thinking she would definitely choose to be child-free in the future.
Wu Mangmang decided to approach the issue from a different angle. "How did you know that Uncle Lu would buy it for you?"
"Because he already had one in his hand," Wù Dàndàn replied.
It took Wu Mangmang a while to understand that Wù Dàndàn meant Lu Sui was wealthy—if he could afford the first one, he could afford the second.
Besides, having grown up with Ms. Liu, Wù Dàndàn had long learned to judge people by their appearance.
"But even if he's rich, he might not buy it for you. He's not related to you," Wu Mangmang said.
"I was just trying my luck," Wù Dàndàn explained. "Miǎo Miǎo got her car model this way. An uncle who wanted to pursue her mom gave her this kind of car model. Miǎo Miǎo also told me it's only sold here. It's a limited edition—it'll definitely be gone in a few days."
"Actually, I gathered a lot of courage today," Wù Dàndàn added helplessly.
His tone almost made Wu Mangmang burst out laughing.
"That uncle isn't trying to pursue me," Wu Mangmang tapped Wù Dàndàn's forehead.
"I saw neither of them wearing wedding rings, so anything is possible," Wù Dàndàn said.
Wu Mangmang was utterly convinced by Wù Dàndàn. She hugged him and said, "Dàndàn, no matter what, it's wrong to ask others for things. If you take Uncle Lu's car model today, Mom and Dad will have to buy something even more expensive to repay the favor tomorrow, do you understand? And for a car model, are you really going to sell out your sister—me?"
Wù Dàndàn lowered his head and mumbled, "I know I was wrong."
Wu Mangmang patted Wù Dàndàn's head, knowing she shouldn't say more. Children often understand deep down. Sometimes, if you don't scold them, they feel more guilty and reflect better. If you keep lecturing them, it might just provoke defiance.
Wu Mangmang decided to end the topic and let Ms. Liu deal with the headache.
After spending a weekend with Wù Dàndàn, Wu Mangmang felt she must have lost over five pounds.
As soon as Ms. Liu returned, Wu Mangmang eagerly handed over the hot potato, though she also needed to discuss Wù Dàndàn's upbringing with Ms. Liu."Ms. Liu, don't you think Wù Dàndàn is way too precocious when it comes to matters between men and women? He actually knows things like men like looking at women's chests," Wu Mangmang complained. "And the parents of the kids in his class are so irresponsible—reading that kind of pornographic magazine without even avoiding the children, and the kids even brought it to class."
"Making a fuss over nothing," Ms. Liu said calmly. "Children are very curious about the opposite sex. If he asks you about it in the future, just tell him normally. Don't lie to him; this is also part of learning."
"Really? So if he asks about men and women having sex, I should just tell him normally too?" Wu Mangmang said sharply.
"That's not necessary," Ms. Liu said, crossing her legs. "Your dad and I have already explained it to him in academic terms."
Academic terms?
Wu Mangmang was curious.
It turned out that the real situation was that once, Ms. Liu and Boss Wu were rolling around in bed and forgot to close the door, and little Wù Dàndàn happened to see them.
So the parents simply gave little Wù Dàndàn a physiology lesson. "That way, he won't be left with psychological trauma."
Wu Mangmang felt she had learned something. "So, should I tell Wù Dàndàn something like this: The reason men like looking at women's chests is that larger breasts in females indicate they can produce more milk to nourish their offspring. When males are looking for mating partners, they tend to prefer such females, as it helps ensure the successful transmission of their genes and increases the survival rate of their offspring."
Ms. Liu immediately expressed high praise. "Excellent, excellent. Just say that. Let me write it down. Reading more books really is good. If Dàndàn has similar questions in the future, I'll come consult you."
Wu Mangmang shuddered exaggeratedly all over.
After Wu Mangmang finished complaining, it was Ms. Liu's turn to ask questions. "Didn't Lu Sui once sue you for infringing on his reputation? Why would he give Dàndàn such an expensive car model?"
Ms. Liu really hit the nail on the head.
Wu Mangmang hadn't thought too much about it. "Later, I met him a few more times, and I even went to apologize."
Ms. Liu glanced at Wu Mangmang a few times, surprised that Wu Mangmang would take the initiative to apologize. She had never mentioned it before.
"Are you two on good terms now?" After all, Wu Mangmang was a great beauty. Ms. Liu felt that her daughter was worthy of any man in the world, so it was normal for Lu Sui to take a liking to Wu Mangmang.
"Uh, you've misunderstood. He doesn't seem very interested in women," Wu Mangmang said.
Liǔ Lèwéi nodded; she had heard about that too.
"Then why did he give Dàndàn a gift?" Liǔ Lèwéi asked again.
"Oh, that amount of money means nothing to him. It's like buying an ice cream for Wù Dàndàn. You have no idea how ridiculous Wù Dàndàn was at the time. He just ran over and called him 'Daddy,' straight up saying, 'Daddy, I want a car model too.' With Lu Sui being such a prominent figure, how could he refuse?" Wu Mangmang found it both infuriating and amusing just thinking about it.
"That makes sense," Liǔ Lèwéi nodded. "But we can't not return the favor."
Wu Mangmang hummed in agreement.
"What do you think would be appropriate to give Lu Sui?" Liǔ Lèwéi sought Wu Mangmang's opinion.
Giving a gift to someone like Lu Sui was truly a headache.He lacked for nothing and was interested in almost nothing. If he liked women, that would be fine—Ms. Liu would even be willing to play matchmaker.
If he liked men, that would also be easy to handle.
Wu Mangmang thought for a moment. "He seems to enjoy collecting antiques, especially Chinese calligraphy, paintings, and porcelain."
But such antiques often cost millions, and even items priced in the millions weren’t necessarily considered high-quality. Wu Mangmang had seen Lu Sui’s collection firsthand.
The Wu family couldn’t possibly afford such extravagance. Besides, for a child’s car model, there was no need to give a gift worth millions in return.
"I’ll have your father inquire about something suitable," Liǔ Lèwéi said.
Wu Mangmang widened her eyes. "Ms. Liu, you can’t be serious? Isn’t this too exaggerated? He only gave Wù Dàndàn a car model."
Liǔ Lèwéi shot Wu Mangmang a disapproving look. "What do you know? It’s rare to find an opportunity to give Lu Sui something—it’s practically a gift in itself. Stay out of this."
"With the economy struggling these past two years, you should save your money. Countless people are trying to flatter him, and if you give him a small antique, he might not even care for it," Wu Mangmang said honestly. "I think it’s better to give something ordinary people can’t easily buy."
Liǔ Lèwéi glanced at Wu Mangmang. "Do you have any good ideas, then?"
"I know a master craftsman who makes contemporary tea sets. He only produces one or two sets a year, and they’re no worse than antiques. The only downside is that he’s still alive," Wu Mangmang said with a cheeky grin.
Liǔ Lèwéi glared at her, and Wu Mangmang quickly straightened up. "A set costs around a few hundred thousand. What’s rare isn’t the price but the long waiting list. You might wait years and still not get a set made by the master. I know him, but we’re not close. My uncle is much more familiar with him."
"Then it’s settled," Liǔ Lèwéi decided, looking at Wu Mangmang with the proud gaze of a mother watching her daughter grow up. "I’ll talk to your uncle about this. When the time comes, find an opportunity to give it to Lu Sui."
Wu Mangmang immediately protested. "What does this have to do with me? I’m not going. Go yourself if you want to. Haven’t I embarrassed myself enough this time?"
Liǔ Lèwéi was practically exasperated. "Isn’t it because you’re more familiar with him? How often do ordinary people get to see Lu Sui?"
Wu Mangmang replied, "I’m not that close to him either. Yesterday was just a coincidence—he was buying a birthday gift for his nephew."
Speaking of this nephew, wasn’t he Lu Lin’s son?
Wu Mangmang’s heart immediately sank. In fact, she had thought yesterday that Lu Sui was being overly generous, but she hadn’t figured out his motive. Could it really be that he was interested in her?
When she returned from his island last time, she had thought so, but Lu Sui’s attitude afterward suggested otherwise.
So she hadn’t let her imagination run wild yesterday. But now, it suddenly dawned on her—could Lu Sui be helping his sister, Lu Lin, pursue her?
That would really be something.
With this thought, Wu Mangmang was even more unwilling to get involved in this mess. Otherwise, she might end up being sold to Lu Lin and still help count the money.
She wondered if, if the object of interest were Lu Lin, Boss Wu and Ms. Liu would no longer mind her changing her sexual orientation. Wu Mangmang thought to herself with self-mockery.However, although Ms. Liu managed to jump the queue and obtain the tea set crafted by Master Gong just over a month later, she had been struggling to find an opportunity to present it.
It wasn’t until Ning Zheng and Shěn Yuànzǐ’s engagement that Ms. Liu finally had a chance to see Lu Sui.
This was only possible because, through the connections of Shen Ting’s aunt and Xiāo Gùgōng’s girlfriend Shen Yuanli, Ms. Liu secured an invitation to Ning Zheng’s engagement banquet.
Speaking of which, the reason Ms. Liu had been so resourceful in arranging the blind date between Wu Mangmang and Shen Ting last time was also thanks to Shen Ting’s aunt, who was Ms. Liu’s mahjong partner.
If Ms. Liu wanted to stir things up, she absolutely could. She had a very close relationship with Shen Ting’s aunt, Shěn Jìngméi, and this time, with Shen Yuanli’s influence, Ms. Liu had essentially climbed into the Shen family’s circle, semi-officially entering their social sphere.
In truth, Ning Zheng and Shěn Yuànzǐ’s engagement banquet was somewhat hastily arranged. Wu Mangmang only learned about the gossip from Lu Qingqing.
Ning Zheng had been unwilling to agree to the engagement, but this time, Shěn Yuànzǐ was determined to go all out. If Ning Zheng refused to get engaged, she would immediately become engaged to Gù Hóngdào, citing the reason that women face greater risks when having children at an older age.
“What risks? The real issue is just that it’s harder to get your figure back,” Lu Qingqing remarked.
Meanwhile, Wu Mangmang felt that the name Gù Hóngdào sounded somewhat familiar. After thinking for a while, she remembered—wasn’t Mr. Gu the elite businessman who had invited her as his companion to a business dinner?
But Wu Mangmang still played dumb and asked, “Who is Gù Hóngdào?”
“Oh, he’s not from this city, but he’s recently been trying to get a piece of the retirement real estate market here. He’s Ning Zheng’s classmate,” Lu Qingqing explained.
A playboy getting cheated on by his own classmate—this was truly satisfying. Wu Mangmang couldn’t help but laugh. “What a shame. If Shěn Yuànzǐ had actually chosen Gù Hóngdào in the end, that would’ve been ruthless.”
Lu Qingqing curled her lip. “Gù Hóngdào isn’t exactly a saint either. He originally had a fiancée, but as soon as Shěn Yuànzǐ batted her eyelashes at him, he eagerly rushed over and dumped his previous fiancée. Now it looks like he tried to steal a chicken only to lose his rice.”
Wu Mangmang couldn’t help but sigh. “Your circle is truly chaotic.”
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