Chapter 36: Meet The Parent
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Lu Xici remained calm and even chuckled a little after reading.
Jun Youyue glanced at her with a furrowed brow.
"No, ahem, don't you find it funny?" Lu Xici genuinely thought so.
However, under Jun Youyue's continuous gaze, she felt a bit unsure.
"It's not funny. They're framing you," Jun Youyue took a deep breath to suppress her inner irritation.
Lu Xici, the person involved, didn't say much. Even if she wanted to track down those spreading rumors through the internet and give them a beating, she couldn't let her emotions affect Lu Xici.
"That's true. I find this exposé quite fake. Whoever believes such nonsense is stupid,” Lu Xici leaned towards Jun Youyue.
She said it herself; she hadn't done anything that touched the bottom line of the law. Where would there be groundbreaking evidence of such shocking facts?
"Many people are stupid. Even more online," Jun Youyue randomly opened a comment section, its content even more disgraceful than marketing account articles.
Lu Xici naturally saw it.
"It was probably done by the opposing side," she yawned, not particularly bothered.
"I'll call my mom back. Does she need to be so anxious about this?" Lu Xici sat up to make the call, while Jun Youyue continued scrolling through the hot searches, her brows so tightly knit they could catch a fly.
Even though she had been lurking in Lu Xici's chaohua for so long, she still didn't understand what the opposing side was or why Lu Xici and the die-hard fans in the chaohua claimed they were causing trouble.
She just felt bad.
The frustration was building up inside her, and despite the rising intensity of her emotional turmoil, she couldn't release a sigh.
How can these people who don't know the facts start cursing Lu Xici based on just a few ambiguous pictures?
Can't they see Lu Xici's usual kindness? Are they only able to see the rumors spread by the marketing accounts?
Jun Youyue thought of Lu Xici as the world's number one, expecting everyone to see her the way she did.
But she forgot, apart from money, there's nothing that can win everyone's favor.
Before dialing the phone, Lu Xici covered Jun Youyue's phone.
"Don't look at it. There are a lot of bad comments posted by trolls. Just treat them like robots."
Jun Youyue obediently turned off her phone and hugged Lu Xici, feeling low.
She felt that Lu Xici was just comforting her. How can robots have likes or dislikes, and say something so contrary to the truth?
"Mom, it's nothing. Is it worth all the trouble for you to give me a call over this little thing?"
Lu Tingyi on the other end of the phone rolled her eyes. Thinking that Lu Xici couldn't see her, she snorted again.
"It's really not a big deal, is it? Doesn't this kind of information come out every once in a while?" Lu Xici was criticized again and felt a little guilty.
She thought it was simple, assuming this revelation was similar to the previous times when competitors bought hot searches and internet trolls.
Just let it cool down and it will be fine. The truth will speak for itself.
"You didn't see it clearly. First, the marketing account that exposed you has a massive following, comparable to a second-tier celebrity. It's one of the major accounts in the entertainment industry known for stirring up controversies, capable of fabricating stories that blur the line between truth and fiction. Not only passersby but many of your fans believe what they say. If you don't handle this promptly, losing followers will be the least of your concerns – your public image will take a serious hit."
"Secondly, He Lan didn't tell me that someone was going to expose you, which means that the other party didn't want to discuss, but just wanted to press you down. I checked behind the scenes, and it's not your opponent. We can only find a bunch of puppies, there’s something fishy about this.”
"Thirdly... with so many ambiguous relationships, have you picked a good one? You'll bring them home so I can have a look, won't you?"
"..." Lu Xici figured out the emphasis her mom put on the last sentence.
"Mommy~" she playfully responded in a high voice.
"How's the fish you got during the Spring Festival? How's the relationship? Bring it back for me to see~"
Lu Tingyi was almost sent away by Lu Xici's voice, which sounded like a three-month-old kitten.
She hung up the phone decisively.
Lu Xici laughed so hard in Jun Youyue's arms.
Jun Youyue rested her head on Lu Xici's shoulder, swaying up and down with her movements. Unwilling to move away, she insisted on rubbing her face against Lu Xici's.
"Auntie is right," Jun Youyue poked Lu Xici's waist, successfully freezing her in place. Then, she quieted down, not daring to move recklessly.
"We need to handle this matter properly."
"What did you call her?" Lu Xici ignored the last sentence, only catching the term "Auntie."
“...What, Auntie?”
Lu Xici reached behind and pinched Jun Youyue's cheek.
She finally got to pinch the cheek of someone she liked, joy overflowing. At that moment, she didn't even want to correct the address.
"Shouldn't you call her Mom?" Lu Xici blinked at Jun Youyue.
Others date, meet the parents, get engaged, get married, and then adjust the way they address each other.
As for Lu Xici and Jun Youyue, well, they've been married for so many years; it's time to tease her to change her tune.
Even though Lu Xici herself had never called Jun Youyue ‘wife,’ she thought Jun Youyue could start by calling her mother, ‘Mom’.
Jun Youyue blushed as expected, then buried her head in Lu Xici's shoulder, refusing to speak.
“Remember to call her 'Mom' when the time comes," Lu Xici was quite satisfied with her reaction, she turned sideways and hugged Jun Youyue.
Jun Youyue nestled in Lu Xici's embrace, catching a whiff of the fragrant shower gel on her.
The refreshing scent of roses penetrated Jun Youyue's still unsettled mind, miraculously soothing her.
"Mm." After a while, Jun Youyue finally moved, reaching out to hug Lu Xici's waist and exhaling a sigh of relief.
Calling her mother like that can make Lu Xici happy, and since they were already married, changing a form of address was a small matter.
Her voice was so soft it could be compared to a dropped screw, easily drowned out by the sound of breathing.
Yet, Lu Xici still keenly caught her muffled response.
"Ah, I was just kidding. Ahem, ahem..." It seems she accidentally went too far with the teasing.
Lu Xici withdrew her hand from Jun Youyue's body, instinctively wanting to scratch her itchy nose.
Not to mention whether Jun Youyue can bring herself to say it, Lu Xici can't bear that address either, and Lu Tingyi will definitely not get used to it.
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After clearing her throat with a couple of coughs, Lu Xici suddenly felt a tickle in her throat. She coughed once more, barely suppressing the increasing discomfort.
Jun Youyue then lifted her head.
Her expression remained calm, yet Lu Xici somehow sensed a hint of distress in those amber eyes. "So, should I not call her that?"
"There's no rush. It's my fault, I shouldn't have teased you." Lu Xici apologized promptly.
She should have considered that Jun Youyue might not discern the joke, take it seriously, and then pressure herself to do something she originally didn't like.
"No, it's my fault for not understanding," Jun Youyue's expression relaxed a bit.
"And, in the future... sooner or later, you'll have to change it."
This time Lu Xici hummed in a low voice.
She didn't have the trouble of changing the way she addressed someone, but it wasn't something to be celebrated.
She would prefer to have that concern.
If the two outstanding women from the Jun family were still here... Lu Xici couldn't help but reminisce about the two she had met during her childhood.
Back then, they were so spirited, their eyes filled with anticipation and certainty about the future, standing there as if they could create their own landscape.
Unfortunately, though the heavens don't envy talents, people do.
After being ignored for a few minutes, Lu Tingyi couldn't sit still any longer.
She called Lu Xici.
"What are you doing? Don't you know how to return a call?" Lu Tingyi first strongly criticized Lu Xici's behavior.
Then she thought of a possibility. "Hey, is your current girlfriend with you?"
"...Yes." Her “ex" wife is her current girlfriend. Lu Xici silently added in her mind.
"You have nothing to do today, right? Hurry home and tell her not to prepare too formally. No need for gifts; Auntie just wants to treat her to a meal."
In just two sentences, Lu Tingyi arranged the hard-won alone time of her daughter and her partner.
"Since you're back too, let's discuss how to handle those rumors."
"Make sure to act quickly. If you don't handle that trending topic in time, you know the consequences, right?" Lu Tingyi threatened.
Her goal was achieved so she hung up the phone.
Lu Xici turned her head and looked at Jun Youyue.
"Do you want to go? You can also refuse. I'll just tell my mother that you are not free." Lu Xici was afraid that Jun Youyue would be burdened.
After all, the matter of reconciliation hadn't been communicated to Lu Tingyi yet, considering the previous divorce between the two.
"Let's go," Jun Youyue didn't think too much about it. They were family now, and she felt the need to make a good impression in front of Lu Tingyi to build a positive relationship.
"Alright, let's go," Lu Xici informed the driver.
In less than half an hour, the two appeared at the Lu residence.
Jun Youyue maintained her assistant look, wearing a mask, a coat draped over her shoulders, and her hair down, making sure her sister wouldn't recognize her. It was a precaution to avoid being spotted by paparazzi.
Although there were bodyguards patrolling near the Lu residence at all times, it was essential to be cautious and prevent any unexpected incidents.
It’s not like Lu Xici has never been photographed entering and exiting the Lu residence.
The evidence supposedly proving she was meeting her benefactor included a picture of her entering the Lu residence.
Lu Tingyi felt that the lessons she gave to those paparazzi back then were not enough. She made them promise to delete the photos and not publish them, but after a few years, they had forgotten the pain and dared to release the pictures again.
Lu Xici had publicly claimed that her family background was quite good.
In the elite circles of the capital, there are families with the surnames Lu (陆) and Ma (马), but the surname Lu (鹿) is not present.
*The first Lu and Lu Xici's surname use different characters Lu (陆) which means ‘land’ is one of the most famous surnames in China while Lu Xici's Lu (鹿) means ‘deer’. If you can remember in Chapter 2 She introduced herself as ‘Lu’ and Cheng Xu got scared, but according to Lu Xici, he was probably thinking a different ’Lu’
Lu Xici never attended public places with people from Lu Tingyi's company, or even Lu Tingyi herself.
This has caused her background to always be somewhat mysterious.
Those who believe are cautious in their perception of her, while those who don't believe think she's just seeking a benefactor.
Some of today’s revelations are aimed at the latter.
If one originally didn't believe that Lu Xici came from an affluent family, just one glance at the pictures of her entering and leaving luxury residences would further solidify the belief that Lu Xici's resources were not obtained through legitimate means.
After all, if there's no background, who would land a lead role right after debut, and over the next five years, the resources keep getting better each year, yet there's hardly any scandal to be found?
It must be obtained through sleeping around.
Some people would rather believe that female celebrities are willing to exchange their bodies for resources, and at the very least, they think these celebrities have family assistance. They are unwilling to believe in their capabilities.
Lu Xici has nothing good to say to this group of people.
From the bottom of her heart, she feels that such people are not worthy of being fans of anyone.
They are sarcastic and critical, especially towards women. How can they genuinely like a person or her work?
It’s a pity that there seem to be quite a few such people.
On the way here, Lu Xici also scrolled through the Weibo comments.
The popularity of hot search is still rising, and there are obvious signs of people pushing it up.
It's just that most of the onlookers couldn't see it. They would only click in to take a look at "Shocking Big Melon", understand what kind of person Lu Xici is from the marketing account's mouth, and then curse her as a slut.
Only her fans persistently defend her against the criticism.
However, in the face of a large number of passersby, the impact is minimal.
Lu Xici sent a message to her friends to assure them of her safety.
Afterward, with Jun Youyue, she knocked on the door of the Lu family residence.
Lu Tingyi personally came to open the door.
She told her daughter's companion not to be too formal, but she herself dressed up quite nicely.
She was wearing all the jewelry, even makeup, and styled hair.
Seeing her own mother like this, Lu Xici felt a bit speechless.
It seemed like she didn't deserve such a grand treatment from Lu Tingyi.
"You guys are fast, I'm Xici's mom. Come in. And this is..."
Lu Tingyi looked at Jun Youyue's appearance and matched her with the new assistant recruited by Lu Xici mentioned in the hot search.
Lu Tingyi was slightly disappointed; she had hoped the visitor might be the talented senior actress mentioned in the hot search or the Ph.D. returnee that Lu Xici recently added to her team.
It's not that having an assistant is bad; it's fine as long as Lu Xici likes her.
Jun Youyue didn't notice that her mother-in-law was slightly disappointed, so she naturally took off her mask. "Auntie." Lu Tingyi stayed for three seconds, and the air became silent.
Of course, she recognized that face.
The person in front of her is not a new love, she is clearly Lu Xici's old love.
This disobedient daughter! Lu Tingyi decisively went back inside and slammed the door.
Author's Note:
Junjun’s first formal meeting with the parents turns into a disaster.
Jun: What should I do if my mother-in-law doesn’t like me? Waiting online. Urgent!
There is a second update, at seven o'clock in the evening.