Нitting Wù Dàndàn wаs nаturаlly impоssiblе. Whаt wаs еven more infuriаting wаs that aftеr Boss Wu's ехсlusivе ringtоnе was eхposed, Ms. Liu sensed sоmеthing was wrоng and fоrсiblу snаtchеd Wu Маngmаng's рhonе away.
Мs. Liu's оwn ringtonе was naturallу exрosed аs wеll, mаking hеr sо аngrу she gritted hеr tеeth. Shе dirесtly рostроned Wu Mаngmаng's allоwance indеfinitely.
Aftеr giving birth tо Wù Dàndàn, Мs. Liu eхperienсеd а pоwеrful sесоnd sрring of уоuth, detеrmined tо becоme а fаshiоnablе, high-сlаss, аnd sophisticаted beauty. Bеing a matchmаker was fаr toо tаckу; although she did it every week, she absolutely forbade Wu Mangmang from mentioning it.
Moreover, Ms. Liu had a fatal regret. No matter how much medicine she applied—from the "Overlord" shampoo of the past to all kinds of hair growth serums available now—Ms. Liu's hair remained rather sparse, even with the danger of a receding hairline.
Thus, Ms. Liu's idol was Tang Yan, a female star whose greatest highlight was her smooth forehead, famously known for its receding hairline. It was said such a forehead symbolized broad-mindedness and generosity.
The part of Wu Mangmang's ringtone that stepped on Ms. Liu's sore spot was precisely the phrase 'If You Are the One'. What was the host of that show famous for? Naturally, his bald head that could be used as a mirror.
Ms. Liu firmly believed Wu Mangmang was mocking her sparse hair this time.
They say long hair, short insight. Didn't Ms. Liu's sparse hair precisely prove how much insight she had? But no matter how Wu Mangmang tried to argue, her allowance was definitely not coming back.
Wù Dàndàn watched from the side as Ms. Liu chased Wu Mangmang, laughing so hard he rolled around giggling.
They say a daughter is a father's little lover from a past life, so siblings must be love rivals from a past life. Wu Mangmang felt Wù Dàndàn was her own love-hate CP.
In short, the entire family's emotions could be vented on Wu Mangmang, while she herself had nowhere to turn. Unable to sleep at night, she used the Lego bricks she brought back to build a large-sized Zhu Bajie.
Before breakfast was served, Wu Mangmang very domineeringly placed the "Extended Edition Zhu Bajie" on the dining table. "Here, Dàndàn, this is for you."
This time, not to mention Ms. Liu, even Boss Wu got angry. "Wu Mangmang, what are you doing?"
Wu Mangmang pointed at Zhu Bajie's extended part with a grin. "Don't you all just like that he has an extra thing? I made it longer so it's more noticeable."
"You..." Ms. Liu grabbed a dinner knife, thought better of it, quickly put it down, and picked up a spoon instead to whack Wu Mangmang.
Wu Mangmang had already run to the door by then; she had been prepared. Turning back, she didn't forget to tell Ms. Liu, "Dàndàn's sex education needs to keep up. Start early. Remember to take him to the hospital to get circumcised. It hurts less when done young; he'll have to get it done sooner or later anyway."
"This is simply outrageous!" Boss Wu slammed his bowl down with a clatter.
Wu Mangmang shot out the door like a rabbit.
With a vicious biological mother chasing her inside, Wu Mangmang fled in panic, rushing out through the ornate wrought-iron gate.
Only the ear-piercing, soul-shaking "screech————" of emergency brakes was heard. If not for the Bumblebee's excellent performance, Wu Mangmang would probably have met her end here today.
Wu Mangmang herself was also scared pale.
Before Ning Zheng could even get angry, he heard frantic knocking like a death knell, and Wu Mangmang's head appeared outside the window.
He had just pressed the central lock button when Wu Mangmang nimbly scrambled inside. "Drive."Ms. Liu walked in with a pale face and sank onto the sofa. Seeing this, Boss Wu quickly comforted her, "If you can't catch up, just let it go. Mangmang is just childish; she doesn't mean any harm. Don't take it to heart."
Ms. Liu was still catching her breath. The scene just now had been too perilous, and even thinking about it now filled her with dread.
If anything had happened to Mangmang...
Ms. Liu quickly shook her head. "I'm not taking it to heart. That wretched girl, she never lets anyone rest easy."
After thinking for a long while, Ms. Liu still couldn't calm her heart. Finally, she took out her phone and transferred five thousand yuan to Wu Mangmang via Alipay. Only then did she feel somewhat comforted.
When Wu Mangmang heard the notification sound and opened the app, she saw a full five thousand yuan—enough to cover half a month of her property fees, but it was still useless.
It was just a pity about Alipay's transfer limits. Otherwise, with Ms. Liu's generosity, five thousand yuan would hardly be worth offering—it wouldn't even cover a haircut.
"What happened back there, rushing out like you didn't care about your life?" Ning Zheng asked Wu Mangmang, his hands on the steering wheel without turning his head. "Was that your stepmother chasing you?"
"Biological mother!" Wu Mangmang replied. "Don't we look alike? I was born with all the best traits from my family."
"If she's your biological mother, why are you so afraid of her?" Ning Zheng asked curiously.
"Only your biological mother would have the nerve to try and marry you off to a forty-year-old widower," Wu Mangmang declared matter-of-factly.
"Short on money?" That was Ning Zheng's first thought. Young girls these days were shrewd; they never said outright if they needed money, always putting on an act of "selling themselves to bury their father." It made you rush to give them money while they claimed the moral high ground of sympathy.
Wu Mangmang immediately sensed the malice in Ning Zheng's tone. Most of these wealthy young men were willing to pay for convenience—simple to start, clean to end.
Ning Zheng waited for Wu Mangmang's response, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a faint, ambiguous smile on her face. Her attitude was truly worth pondering—neither proactive nor rejecting.
Ning Zheng thought to himself, young girls these days were truly something else. So young, yet already so adept.
The two fell silent, each waiting for the other to make the first move.
Only when the car descended the mountain did Wu Mangmang speak up, "Just drop me off at Dongshan Middle Road."
Dongshan Middle Road was the city's most upscale commercial district, surrounded by the financial center, with towering skyscrapers everywhere. The most iconic landmark—the Twin Stars—was located in this area.
"Alright," Ning Zheng nodded.
When the car reached Dongshan Middle Road, Ning Zheng got out and opened the door for Wu Mangmang. Leaning against the car door, he asked, "You've used me as a chauffeur to the fullest, and now you're just going to leave it at that?"
Wu Mangmang smiled and asked, "What's your phone number?"
Ning Zheng recited a number.
"Is your WeChat the same number? Accept my request," Wu Mangmang said unceremoniously.
The verification was quickly approved, followed by a transfer notification sound.
"Four hundred and fourteen?" Ning Zheng frowned. "Why are you giving me money?"
"Mr. Chauffeur, I don't have that much cash on me, and you don't have a POS machine, so I had to transfer it electronically," Wu Mangmang said, stepping back a couple of steps and waving her phone at Ning Zheng. "Mr. Chauffeur, next time drive a bit steadier. With skills like yours, you'll lose your job."
Ning Zheng drove away. It wasn't until five minutes later that he realized why it was four hundred and fourteen yuan—wasn't that "give it a try" in Chinese wordplay?
Young girls these days were truly something else.Ning Zheng turned the car around and chased back, searching several floors up and down the shopping center, but there was no sign of anyone.
Only then did he smile self-deprecatingly and head downstairs.
Picking up his phone, he sent a WeChat message to Wu Mangmang, "Going out on the boat today, want to come?"
A voice reply came quickly, with a sickeningly sweet tone, "No thanks, uncle, we’re not meeting."
Ning Zheng tossed his phone aside—what a little tease.
As for Wu Mangmang, she had naturally already made plans.
How could Ms. Liu let her beautiful weekend go without arranging a blind date?
The tea gathering Wu Mangmang attended today was famous in the city for its afternoon tea, and without a reservation, it was impossible to get a seat.
But in the morning, there weren’t many people.
The tea gathering was built on a platform extending from the 24th floor of the building, hidden among artificial trees and shrubs.
Wu Mangmang had arrived too early today, mainly because Ms. Liu had kicked her out before she even had breakfast.
Bored while waiting, she played around with selfies in the woods for a while and uploaded them to Weibo.
Recently, she hadn’t bought any new bags or worn any new summer outfits, and even her followers were growing unusually slowly, still a few thousand away from a million.
Wu Mangmang sighed, put away her phone amidst a flood of comments like "Goddess, you’re stunning," and glanced to the side, only to see the person she was waiting for already standing beside her.
Wu Mangmang stood up in slight surprise.
She recognized this person—the other card player from the "Nine Ten-Thousand" table.
"Mr. Shen?" Wu Mangmang tentatively asked.
"Miss Wu." Shen Ting nodded slightly, his handsome face still devoid of any expression.
"Please, have a seat," Wu Mangmang quickly said.
So the "young, accomplished, wealthy, handsome enough to be a star, thirty-four-year-old uncle" Ms. Liu had described was Shen Ting.
Wu Mangmang really wanted to act out a line: "My apologies, my apologies."
And indeed, she couldn’t help but say it.
Shen Ting replied appropriately, "I’ve long heard of your name."
Shen Ting spoke very little.
It was hard to tell how much experience he had with blind dates.
As for Wu Mangmang, because she hadn’t been in a good mood lately, she had no intention of initiating conversation either.
Besides, after Ms. Liu’s stern warnings last night, insisting that Wu Mangmang swear she wouldn’t skip today, she knew nothing good was coming.
Although Wu Mangmang didn’t know exactly who the "God of Wealth" was, seeing Lu Qingqing’s attitude—as if she wanted to kneel and shout "long live"—she knew it was best to avoid getting involved with people from that circle.
Especially someone like Shen Ting, who looked so serious and humorless.
As for Ning Zheng, that kind of playboy could be ignored—even if you didn’t provoke him, he’d come provoke you.
Ms. Liu couldn’t see the situation clearly, foolishly hoping Wu Mangmang’s modest looks could marry into a wealthy family. Wu Mangmang felt it would be more realistic to give the other party a pair of twins and walk away with a billionaire mansion gifted by the father-in-law.
Wu Mangmang didn’t speak but couldn’t sit still either. Fortunately, Shen Ting’s phone rang at that moment, and he got up to answer it nearby, while Wu Mangmang quickly took out her phone to continue scrolling through Weibo.
Shen Ting was wearing casual clothes today, his back appearing very relaxed, and his posture while answering the phone was particularly elegant.
Wu Mangmang couldn’t resist taking a photo of Shen Ting’s back and uploading it to her close friends’ WeChat group.
"Today’s blind date, handsome or not?"Long Xiujuan was the first woman to identify the origins of Shen Ting's entire outfit; she spent all her time studying the brands people wore.
Meanwhile, Lu Qingqing remarked that with broad shoulders and a slender waist, he was definitely worth a try—though it was hard to tell if his middle finger was long.
From there, the conversation took a turn, veering into late-night territory early in the morning, leaving Wu Mangmang blushing.
But she adamantly refused to admit she was still a virgin and eagerly joined the discussion, saying, "Actually, length doesn’t matter; what’s important is endurance."
A doctor’s Q&A segment sponsored by a men’s health clinic on the radio had said anything under thirty minutes was considered abnormal.
However, a special feature in a men’s magazine once discussed how even in the country with the highest average endurance, the average was only around ten-something minutes.
The group chat immediately exploded, with everyone sharing their own experiences.
As the one with the most boyfriends, Wu Mangmang was pressured into offering a scientific conclusion: men around twenty years old tended to last longer.
So, dating younger men was the way to go.
The topic was so explosive that even after Shen Ting finished his phone call and returned, Wu Mangmang remained buried in her phone.
This was probably the least conversational blind date the two had ever had since they started seeing each other.
By noon, the friends in the group chat all announced they were heading out for brunch, and Wu Mangmang finally looked up at Shen Ting.
He seemed to have been on the phone nonstop, likely work-related calls.
A genuine workaholic.
With no common topics to discuss, the two naturally shook hands and went their separate ways.
But to Wu Mangmang’s surprise, Shen Ting actually invited her to go out on a boat trip.
"Mr. Shen, I thought..." Wu Mangmang trailed off.
Shen Ting said, "You don’t talk much. I think we could give it a try."
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