Chapter 37
“What happened last night?”
At the breakfast table the next morning, Xie Zhengde asked.
Xie Lian said nothing, just lowered his head to eat while shooting Xie Mi a resentful glare.
Xie Mi also stayed quiet—her approach was simple: if he doesn’t ask, I won’t say; if he asks, I’ll act surprised.
In the end, it was butler Old Bai who stepped forward to answer, “Madam went to the courtyard last night to take care of some matters.”
“Which courtyard?”
“The hospital.”
“…”
Old Bai really knew how to phrase things. If she was injured and went to the hospital, he could’ve just said that—but no, he had to say she went to “take care of matters in the courtyard.”
After breakfast, Xie Zhengde left for the company. Before he left, he instructed Old Bai to take Xie Mi shopping at the city mall.
Naturally, moving back home meant there were many things to buy.
“So, why are you coming along too?”
In the car, Xie Mi looked at Xie Lian sitting beside her and asked.
Xie Lian’s face screamed reluctance. “Dad said a female celebrity going out needs bodyguards. He told me to go, so we don’t have to waste money hiring one.”
“Ha—”
Just as Xie Mi was about to laugh, Old Bai, sitting in the driver’s seat, burst into hearty laughter first.
Xie Mi immediately switched tone, sighing: “It’s been so long since I’ve seen the butler laugh this happily.”
Xie Lian: “…”
As the only introvert in the car, he had already become the plaything of the two extroverts.
The car stopped at the most luxurious mall in Hai City. Everyone passing through here were elites and urban socialites.
Xie Mi put on her mask and hat. Once she was fully disguised, she got out of the car.
No helping it—she was a celebrity now, after all.
“Master said today’s shopping bill will all go on the young master’s card,” Old Bai mentioned casually while they were on the escalator.
Xie Lian’s face darkened immediately, protesting on the spot: “Why?!”
Old Bai gave a gratified smile. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen the young master so lively.”
“I’m angry, not lively!”
Xie Lian cursed under his breath and chased after him to argue. “Don’t dodge with jokes every time you don’t want to answer properly! Tell me—why?!”
Xie Mi: “Honestly, Old Bai and little brother both… (facepalm, helpless smile).”
She didn’t follow them. Instead, her attention was caught by a poster.
It was an advertisement for diamond rings, featuring Xiao Jingxi and Xu Shuangrong. Right now, a staff member was taking the poster down.
The clerk muttered angrily, “Never shipping this CP again. Xiao–Rong, you’ve hurt me too deeply…”
Xie Mi raised her brows slightly.
Come to think of it, this was the part of the plot that had changed the most.
Xiao Jingxi had suddenly stopped faking a CP with Xu Shuangrong. In this book, the male and female lead’s romance line had been completely severed. She was very curious—how was the story supposed to progress now?
“Are you… Xie Mi?”
A questioning voice sounded beside her.
Xie Mi turned her head and met a pair of heavily mascaraed eyes blinking like crazy.
“It really is you!”
The girl squealed, her pitch rising several notches. “It’s me, Jiang Huaiting! Remember? Back when we were competing for the same female lead role, I was the one who got picked in the end!”
It sounded like reminiscing, but was really just humble-bragging.
Xie Mi remembered. Yes, this character existed in the original story.
Jiang Huaiting—the original host’s nemesis. Always undermining her in acting gigs, stealing her roles at auditions, and marketing herself as “outshining” her whenever they shared a stage.
In truth, Jiang Huaiting had only managed to rise to second-tier actress status by using the original host as a foil.
Of course, a forced foil.
“Oh, it’s you! Even though I didn’t remember who, it’s you!” Xie Mi looked genuinely thrilled.
Jiang Huaiting’s smile twitched. “What are you doing here? This floor is all luxury brands. I thought you didn’t earn much?”
Then, as if suddenly recalling something, she added: “Ah right, I almost forgot. Teacher Xie is super popular these days—appearing on Director Niu’s dating show and hitting the hot search from time to time.”
“But weren’t all your hot searches just for acting crazy? Hahahahaha—”
She laughed while secretly watching Xie Mi’s reaction, hoping to see her crack.
But Xie Mi replied with complete sincerity, “Not too bad. No money means I can only rely on myself. You’re so much better, Teacher Jiang—you can pay for your hot searches.”
Since Jiang Huaiting had no choice but to buy her way onto hot searches, she immediately cracked.
Sincerity—the ultimate killing move.
Determined to win this round back, Jiang Huaiting hooked her arm through Xie Mi’s, “Meeting is fate. Since we’re both here shopping, why don’t we go together?”
She was certain Xie Mi couldn’t afford anything here. Today she would tag along just to watch her lose face.
Xie Mi’s inner alarm bells went off, “You’re not planning to make me pay for you, are you?!”
Jiang Huaiting rolled her eyes. “Of course not!”
But then, in order to flaunt her wealth, Jiang Huaiting bought something at every shop they passed. Worse, whatever Xie Mi touched, Jiang Huaiting had to buy it too.
Xie Mi quickly spotted the trick. She slid her hand dramatically across a whole rack of clothes, sweeping her palm from one end to the other—then turned back to Jiang Huaiting with an expectant look.
Jiang Huaiting’s mouth twitched violently, but her pride wouldn’t let her back down. She gritted her teeth, “I’ll take all of them!”
Xie Mi’s smile grew increasingly wicked.
Twenty minutes later, Jiang Huaiting’s credit card maxed out.
When the sales clerk quietly informed her, Jiang Huaiting panicked. She immediately clamped a hand over the clerk’s mouth, terrified Xie Mi would overhear.
But seeing Xie Mi strolling along relaxedly, her anger spiked again.
“Xie Mi, why aren’t you buying anything? Don’t tell me you can’t afford it? Doesn’t your dating show pay you? You’re so popular recently, didn’t you get jobs? Or did you spend everything paying off breach-of-contract penalties?”
She stepped right up to Xie Mi, deliberately provoking her, “Then why even come to this floor? Just browsing without buying? Don’t you know that’s really troublesome for the staff? If everyone just looked and never bought, how would they do business?”
Xie Mi’s eyes widened.
Jiang Huaiting felt a rush of triumph. Yes, yes, break down already!
“You knew?! This feeling—ah, it’s incredible! The thrill of being exposed, the mix of surprise, excitement, and anger! Years of pain in my heart, so easily spoken aloud by you! My emotions at your mercy—it feels amazing, sis, say more!”
Jiang Huaiting: “???”
Xie Mi smirked faintly.
If madness could solve a problem, then madness it was. Spending tens of thousands on a dress just because of a little provocation? That would be stupid.
Finally, Jiang Huaiting lost it, raising her voice, “Xie Mi—you’re so vain! If you can’t afford it, just admit it. I wouldn’t even laugh at you! On variety shows, don’t you claim to be all about ‘authenticity’? Was that just a persona?!”
Her shrill voice drew the attention of all the store clerks.
They began whispering.
“Xie Mi? That name sounds familiar…”
“Could she be the one from that dating show?”
“Now that you mention it, she really does look like her!”
“Is she pretending she can afford it? No way… is Xie Mi really that vain?”
A gleam of satisfaction flashed in Jiang Huaiting’s eyes. Let’s see how she escapes this.
But then—suddenly—a dark shadow slid dramatically into view, kneeling hard at Xie Mi’s feet.
“Miss Xie! I failed to recognize your honored presence—please forgive me!”
Jiang Huaiting: “???”
Xie Mi: “???”
Old Bai: “This entire mall belongs to the Xie family!!”
