As an upright, kindhearted model citizen, Mai Ding naturally did not forget Li Ming, who had taken him in for several days. Li Ming was far too hopeless. If Mai Ding did not give him a push, by the time he finally worked up the courage to confess, his sister’s future child would probably already be fully grown and watching adult movies. An Zi Yan definitely would not lend a helping hand, but there was no way Mai Ding could get his sister to come out under his own name. He would have to use underhanded tactics.
Late that night, after making sure An Zi Yan was asleep, Mai Ding quietly took the phone from beside An Zi Yan’s pillow. In the dim light, he stared at the screen, repeatedly writing and deleting the message as he tried to imitate An Zi Yan’s tone perfectly. It took him half an hour before he finally sent it. The message read: [Su. Dinner downstairs from your place tomorrow at eight.] Barely a dozen characters, yet somehow it required thirty minutes.
“What are you doing?” The voice breaking the silence frightened Mai Ding so badly that the phone dropped onto the pillow. He hurriedly returned it to its original spot, rolled over, and turned his back to An Zi Yan. “N-nothing. On TV, women secretly check their husbands’ phones in the middle of the night to see if they’re cheating. I wanted to try it too.” Mai Ding got kicked once beneath the blanket. He did not dare make a sound and simply pretended to be asleep. Later, he really did fall asleep.
After spending the next day nervous and restless, Mai Ding rushed to Li Ming’s place the moment work ended and pounded wildly on the door. Li Ming opened it looking completely disheveled and complained, “What is it? Did you fight with An Zi Yan again?”
“Peh, don’t jinx me. Forget that for now. What kind of state are you in? Forget my sister not liking you. Even a desperately thirsty middle-aged woman wouldn’t like you. Hurry, there’s no time. Go shower first.” Mai Ding shoved a bewildered Li Ming into the bathroom and kept urging him on from outside. The moment Li Ming finished showering, Mai Ding began choosing clothes for him. Of course, with Mai Ding’s taste, he could only dress Li Ming like some great statesman. At least Mai Ding had enough self-awareness to call for reinforcements: Fan Shao Jun. Phones were becoming more and more convenient. Mai Ding used a video call to show Li Ming’s wardrobe to Fan Shao Jun, who nearly screamed. “Are those clothes or rags for wiping your feet?”
“I believe in your ability. It’s too late to buy anything new now. My friend’s success or failure depends entirely on you.”
“I’ll do my best.” Li Ming, still utterly confused, stood in the room Mai Ding had invaded wearing only boxer shorts and asked, “What exactly is going on?” Mai Ding ignored him and kept dragging clothes out of the wardrobe. “What else could it be? I arranged to meet my sister for you.”
“N-no, no, no, seriously? What am I supposed to do?”
“Aren’t I here?” Mai Ding tried to encourage his friend, but his friend ignored him, nervously picked up his phone, and muttered, “I should ask An Zi Yan for advice.” An outraged Mai Ding snatched the phone from his hand and threw it onto the sofa. “What does he know? I’m the only one you can rely on. Come on, hurry up.” Fortunately, Li Ming had spoken quietly enough that Fan Shao Jun did not hear him. For the next forty minutes, Li Ming was forced to obey Mai Ding, while Mai Ding obeyed Fan Shao Jun. At last, they managed to rescue Li Ming’s appearance. Mai Ding folded his arms and inspected him. Turning him into a handsome man overnight was impossible, but at least he looked presentable now. Mai Ding checked the time. “Half an hour left. Next, I’m going to teach you some conversation techniques.” Li Ming showed obvious resistance. “Please don’t. If you teach me how to talk, I’ll get eliminated in the first round.”
“Do you want to leave a good impression on my sister or not? Stop complaining. Just look at how I managed to win over someone as difficult as An Zi Yan.”
“You just got insanely lucky.”
“Shut up and listen. When you’re pursuing a girl…”
“Do you even have experience pursuing girls?” Mai Ding stopped caring whether Li Ming wanted to hear it and forcibly poured a mountain of useless advice into his head. Then the two of them went downstairs. There was only one restaurant near Li Ming’s building, so they found a quiet corner and sat down. Li Ming kept craning his neck toward the entrance and repeatedly asked Mai Ding, “Is this really okay? If I tell her, what if she stops talking to me afterward?”
“Why do you have so little faith in me?”
“Having faith in you is definitely the wrong choice.”
Mai Ding was just about to retort when An Su arrived. Her gaze did not linger even for a second on the carefully dressed Li Ming, nor on Mai Ding. “Where’s Yan?” Mai Ding lied. “He’ll be here a little later.” An Su pursed her lips and sat down. “What is this? Making me sit here with two idiots. What’s going on? Mai Ding, do you know?”
“N-no idea.” The moment he saw An Su, forget helping Li Ming, even Mai Ding himself lost his nerve. An Su continued, “He usually calls when he has something to say. He rarely texts. To be honest, I thought you stole his phone and sent me the message.”
“H-how could that be?” A woman’s intuition was terrifying!
“So I called him to confirm.” Her words made Mai Ding swallow with difficulty. His stammer became even worse. “Y-you c-called him? W-what did he say?”
“He only said he’d come over after work.” Li Ming, whose existence had been completely ignored, simply stared at An Su without blinking. Not long afterward, An Zi Yan arrived. He swept his gaze over Mai Ding and sat down. An Su skipped the pleasantries. “What exactly is going on?”
“Let Mai Ding explain.” An Zi Yan answered coldly. Mai Ding shot him a grateful look. What a good person. He had not exposed him.
“Sis, it’s like this.”
“Don’t call me Sis! Get to the point. And I’m warning you in advance, don’t give me a pile of bullshit or I’ll beat you.” An Su’s threat scared the piss out of Mai Ding. He rushed out the entire explanation in one breath. “Li Ming has liked you for a long time but never had the courage to confess. Could you maybe consider him?” Li Ming’s face changed instantly. With absolutely no gradual lead-in, he stood up as though he wanted to flee, but Mai Ding grabbed him. An Su remained extremely calm. In a deeply arrogant tone, she said, “Him? He wants to be with me? Are you sure you haven’t made a mistake?” An Su was not stupid. Li Ming’s feelings toward her were obvious. But Li Ming and Fu Shu were completely different types of men. She had liked Fu Shu for so long that she had already convinced herself her type was mature, steady, intelligent men. Li Ming did not fit that at all.
“Li Ming is really great. He…” Mai Ding had just started praising him when Li Ming stopped him. Li Ming shook his head at Mai Ding, then looked at An Su with an awkward, honest smile. “You’re right. I also think someone like me isn’t good enough for you.”
“Good that you know. Give up. Don’t think that just because I ate with you a few times before it means I like you. How could the two of us ever be together?”
“Mm. I know.” Li Ming was not angry at all. He only lowered his head. The atmosphere became unbearably awkward. Mai Ding knew his sister had always been arrogant, a spoiled young lady, but even this was too harsh. He was angry but did not dare say anything. An Zi Yan, bored out of his mind, played with his phone and said coldly, “You should be grateful anyone wants you at all, old virgin.” Mai Ding sucked in a breath. An Su’s almond-shaped eyes widened furiously. “None of your business!”
“Am I interfering? I’m only making fun of you.”
“Am I your sister or your enemy?!”
“There aren’t many spineless losers like Li Ming who can put up with you.”