Chapter 127: Why Do You Keep Adding Drama to Yourself?

Liu Xiaowan looked at Chu Lin, falling into silence for a moment. Suddenly, she realized she had no idea where to find a boyfriend just to appease her mother. If she didn't manage to get through this, her mother might just torment her endlessly. Given her mother's personality, she might even pester her mother-in-law to achieve her goal. And her mother-in-law had just been discharged from the hospital.

So, the scoundrel before her seemed to have become her inevitable choice.

“Wait for me to pick me up after work tonight,” Liu Xiaowan finally said with a hint of concession. “This time, pretend to be my boyfriend just to get my mom off my back. Let's call it even for what happened last time.”

Chu Lin understood what she meant but instinctively asked, “Xiaowan, what if next time I have to pretend to be your boyfriend again? How do we settle the score then?”

“Sleep with me again and call it even?” he thought slyly.

Liu Xiaowan seemed to catch his drift and looked at him with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance. “There won’t be a next time.”

Chu Lin smiled but didn’t reply. There are no absolutes in life. As long as this alluring, mature woman gave him more chances to be around, his experience with women was far from lacking. Opportunities would always arise.

Since Liu Xiaowan had to return to the bank, and Chu Lin had already received his black gold card, he prepared to head back to the farm.

But just as he started driving, he received a message from Li Qian: “I’ve moved to a new neighborhood. How about spending my first night here with me? I bought a really sexy outfit—a nurse’s uniform!” The message was accompanied by an extremely provocative photo.

It was a real nurse's outfit, just very scantily clad, barely covering anything even without underwear.

Instantly, the hospital scenarios from certain films came vividly to mind.

Chu Lin felt a stirring urge, but thinking of having to play boyfriend to this dazzling woman tonight, he could only reply, “I’ll be a bit busy tonight.”

Li Qian immediately responded with a pouty emoji.

Chu Lin chuckled, didn’t reply further, and drove straight back to the farm.

By evening, he received Liu Xiaowan’s message asking him to pick her up after work. Only then did he leave the farm again, heading to the bank’s branch in the Lougu District to find her.

When he arrived, she was already waiting by the bank entrance, still dressed in that seductive bodycon dress.

After she got into the car, she began giving directions.

Half an hour later, the Kuli Nan drove into the underground garage of the Xingkong Neighborhood.

Xingkong Neighborhood was a common type of residential area in Min City—popular among middle-class families.

Chu Lin and Liu Xiaowan stepped out of the car, and he pulled two bags from the back seat.

If they were going to play a role, they might as well go all out. First visits always required some gifts.

He could tell that Liu Xiaowan’s parents were anxious to arrange a match for their daughter. If he behaved well, maybe the beautiful widow’s parents would even lend their support.

Liu Xiaowan looked at the bags in surprise, clearly not expecting this scoundrel to be so thoughtful.

At least he had good intentions, which made her feel a little bit of warmth she hadn’t anticipated.

She hadn’t even considered this.

As they entered the elevator, Chu Lin saw Liu Xiaowan standing far away from him and immediately said, “Xiaowan, this isn’t right!”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, puzzled.

Chu Lin retorted, “Boyfriends don’t stand this far apart. If we don’t want to be found out, either you hold me or I hold you. Pick one!”

“...” Liu Xiaowan froze.

Pick one? She didn’t want to pick either.

But what he said made sense.

Seeing her hesitate, Chu Lin smiled. At times like this, he had to take the initiative and help her decide.

Without hesitation, he stepped up and wrapped an arm around her waist, feeling how soft and supple she was.

Pretending to be a boyfriend had plenty of room for improvisation—it was all about how well you played the part.

Liu Xiaowan hadn’t expected him to take such liberties so quickly, but as the elevator reached their floor, she sighed and comforted herself: it was only this once.

The elevator doors opened.

After accepting Chu Lin’s intimate gesture, she walked to her parents’ door and unlocked it with her fingerprint.

The moment the door opened, she saw her parents and a middle-aged woman along with a handsome young man.

The four inside all looked at them, their expressions varied. Especially the middle-aged woman and the young man, whose faces darkened noticeably.

“Dad, Mom, this is my boyfriend, Chu Lin,” Liu Xiaowan said quickly, ushering him inside.

Liu Feng and Xu Na looked awkward. They had thought her claim to have a boyfriend was just a whim, so they had set up a blind date.

But seeing how close the two were, it didn’t seem fake. More importantly, the guy was handsome and well matched with their daughter.

“Uncle, Auntie,” Chu Lin followed Liu Xiaowan’s lead and greeted them.

“Ah… well, Xiao Chu, please sit,” Liu Feng finally reacted and invited him in.

Xu Na looked embarrassed and turned to her close friend Lin Xuan. “Xuanxuan, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know Xiaowan already had a boyfriend, that’s why I tried to set her up with Qin Feng.”

At this moment, the one most frustrated was actually Qin Feng. He was a successful young man, 32 years old, with an annual salary of 400,000 yuan, owning a house and a car. He had known Liu Xiaowan for some time and was aware she had been married before.

But since her husband had passed away and she had no children, that was beside the point.

Truly, when you meet a mature beauty like Liu Xiaowan, with such looks and figure, none of that matters. Even the Prime Minister Cao would send troops to compete for her.

So when his mother told him about this match, he was excited. But now, seeing this, he felt played and embarrassed.

Lin Xuan was also displeased. Her son had never suffered such humiliation.

Since the Liu family was close to her, she couldn’t blame them, but she cast a hostile glance at Chu Lin. “Xiao Chu, you’re Xiaowan’s boyfriend? When do you plan to get married? Have you prepared the bride price? Although Xiaowan is remarried, she’s so outstanding, the bride price can’t be low. My son has prepared 400,000 yuan for the wedding!”

She deliberately said this to provoke.

After all, she had just said her son prepared 400,000 yuan as a bride price. Would he dare to offer less? If so, Liu Feng and Xu Na would be upset too.

Originally, they could have gotten 400,000 yuan bride price—depending on their daughter’s choice of boyfriend.

“???” Chu Lin laughed at the barrage of questions, especially seeing the young man’s amused gaze.

He knew this was a setup to give him a stage to perform.

So he immediately put the bags on the table, revealing two bottles of Maotai.

He looked at Liu Feng and said, “Uncle, I heard from Xiaowan that you like drinking, so I bought you two bottles of 2001 Feitian Maotai.”

This, of course, was not from Liu Xiaowan but something he had seen on her social media—she had gifted her father wine before.

Liu Feng was taken aback and immediately stood up. “Ah, Xiao Chu, you’re here, no need to spend money on such good liquor!”

He loved drinking and knew that each bottle was worth 60,000 yuan, so two bottles were 120,000 yuan.

Liu Xiaowan was amazed too.

She never told him about this. Did he also browse her social media? Why would he buy such expensive wine for her father?

Did he really think he was already their son-in-law?

“Uncle, you’re Xiaowan’s father. How can it be a waste to give you a gift?” Chu Lin began his act, pulling out two more boxes from the bag.

He handed one box to Xu Na. “Auntie, this is for you.”

Xu Na took the box, opened it curiously, and was stunned to see two wild pearls inside. When she saw the national inspection certificate and the price tag from Tasci inside, her astonishment turned to shock. “Such large wild pearls! Ten thousand yuan each, twenty thousand yuan for the pair! Xiao Chu, how could you buy such expensive gifts?”

Lin Xuan’s expression darkened upon hearing the twenty-thousand-yuan pearls.

Who brought such lavish gifts on their first visit?

Chu Lin continued his performance: “Auntie, Xiaowan told me you like pearls. Last year, you even bought yourself a pearl necklace for your birthday. So I used my connections to get these two wild pearls for you.”

Liu Xiaowan was completely stunned. She hadn’t mentioned any of this.

This guy kept adding layers to the story. She had posted that on her social media, but that was last year. Did he really dig through her social media that thoroughly?

The thought made her inexplicably uneasy.

If it weren’t for Yan Yan telling her he already had a girlfriend, she might have started to feel something.

While she was still stunned, Chu Lin handed her the last box. “Xiaowan, didn’t you say you liked the Moonlight Beauty watch? I bought it for you. Try it on.”

Liu Xiaowan stared at him.

She had refused the watch during the day when she knew it was for her, but now he took the opportunity to bring it out again.

In this situation, she could only helplessly accept it and put it on, telling herself to return it after this was over. As for the wine and pearl necklace for her parents, she was going to have to pay a heavy price.

“This watch is really beautiful. Xiao Chu, it’s not cheap, right?” Xu Na couldn’t help but ask.

Chu Lin smiled and explained, “Auntie, this watch costs 250,000 yuan. Not expensive at all!”

Xu Na was now absolutely sure that this Xiao Chu was her daughter’s boyfriend. Otherwise, how could he afford such expensive gifts?

Lin Xuan’s face turned completely awkward. She had just mentioned her son had prepared 400,000 yuan in bride price, yet this guy had already given more than half a million worth of gifts on the first visit.

Liu Feng also felt concerned about the expensive gifts. “Xiao Chu, why did you buy such costly presents? We can’t accept them.”

Chu Lin smiled and said, “Uncle, these things don’t mean much to me. You can ask Xiaowan. I met her when I was handling business at the bank.”

Liu Xiaowan rolled her eyes. Didn’t he know how they really met?

But she couldn’t argue now, so she cooperated. “Yes, Chu Lin is a black gold card client of our bank. My uncle personally invited him to get the card.”

“Black gold card? Xiao Chu is so impressive?” Liu Feng was amazed. Since his daughter worked at the bank, he knew about the black gold card.

“What kind of card is a black gold card?” Lin Xuan asked her son Qin Feng.

“Mom, I have things to do. Let’s go,” Qin Feng said awkwardly, pulling his mother away. He knew what a black gold card was—it required at least 10 million yuan in deposits. With his 400,000 yuan annual salary, even saving for 20 years wouldn’t reach that. And he still had car loans, mortgages, and expenses. It was an economic mismatch he couldn’t compete with.

He just didn’t want his mother to be embarrassed.

Xu Na hurried to see them out, apologizing repeatedly.

Liu Feng, hearing about the black gold card, worried less about the gifts and grew more curious. “Xiao Chu, how did you and Xiaowan get together?”

Chu Lin quickly fabricated, “Uncle, the first time I saw Xiaowan, I was smitten. Then I found out she was close friends with my sister, so I asked her to set us up, and we got together.”

“Your sister is Chu Yan?” Xu Na asked in surprise.

She knew Chu Yan—her daughter had only a few close friends, and Chu Yan was the only one with that surname.

She immediately turned to her daughter. “Xiaowan, call Xiao Chu’s sister to join us for dinner. This way you’re truly family now—Chu Yan will be your sister-in-law.”

Liu Xiaowan was speechless and didn’t know what to say. She called Chu Yan.

Chu Yan was working overtime drafting a contract for Neptune Group’s grouper fish when she received the call from her best friend. She was puzzled. “Xiaowan, why does Auntie suddenly want me to come for dinner?”

“Your brother is at my place,” Liu Xiaowan replied honestly.

“Your brother is at your place?” Chu Yan was shocked. How did her best friend get involved with her brother? Was her brother playing her friend? How could he even dare go meet her parents? Had he reached a new low? Was trouble coming?

She suddenly felt a pang of sadness, bracing herself to lose a good friend.

At the Liu residence, knowing Chu Lin was her daughter’s best friend’s brother, Xu Na was even happier.

“Xiao Chu, sit for a while. I’ll cook in the kitchen. When the soup is ready, we’ll eat.”

If her daughter and this guy quarreled, she could call her daughter’s friend to mediate and reduce conflict.

Liu Feng nodded approvingly at Chu Lin. “Xiao Chu, for our first meeting, we’ll have a few drinks!”

“Dad, Chu Lin has to drive,” Liu Xiaowan quickly said, recalling the restaurant scene. She didn’t want to be responsible for him or be taken advantage of.

Liu Feng said immediately, “What car? Stay overnight. Your room is still ready. Isn’t there enough space for you two?”

“Ah??” Liu Xiaowan was stunned.

“What’s ‘ah’?” Liu Feng grumbled. “Your grandmother’s been gone for so long, but you treat her place like home. I’m in a good mood today—you’ll have to drink more with me.”

Liu Xiaowan was at a loss. The situation was spinning out of control.

Chu Lin couldn’t help but laugh. The assist had arrived.

Liu Feng walked into the kitchen, whispering to Xu Na, “Wife, brew some of that medicinal wine tonight for Xiao Chu and Xiaowan too.”

At their age, maintaining their marital life was a struggle, so they needed some help.

This medicinal wine was potent and nourishing but wouldn’t harm the body.

Since Xiao Chu brought such expensive gifts, they might as well help him recover and encourage his relationship with their daughter.

Xu Na worried, “That’s a dosage for people our age. Isn’t it too strong for young people?”

Liu Feng said, “It should be fine. Young people have better stamina than us.”

(End of chapter)