Son, “Mom” Will Back You

Unbothered by his blind date being taken away by her friend, Qiao Xi, also known as Josh, got up and walked around the gauze curtain to the table next to the window.

The lights from the concrete forest outside of the window reflected on the thin and cold lens of the spectacles.

The man with the golden rimmed spectacles looked up from his chair when he heard the footsteps. His dark brown eyes flickered slightly behind the lens like some sort of spectacular gems.

Next to the wavering thin gold chain, a light smile seemingly appeared on his face.

"It's over?" asked the man casually.

Qiao Xi pulled out the chair. "The music stopped during the second half. I trust you heard the entire conversation."

"Just the last few sentences."

"Is that not enough?" said Qiao Xi. "I have never been resented so much by a girl before. She even made up a stupid excuse like being pregnant for two years. Tsk."

Luo Xiu smiled but said nothing.

Gesturing at the empty spot next to Luo Xiu, Qiao Xi asked, "Where's An Yi?"

"He got a call from the temple so he went to answer his call."

"Taoist priests use cellphones nowadays?"

"Why can't Taoist priests use cellphones?" Someone responded to his comment from behind.

Qiao Xi turned around.

The man walking over was in tops and pants that were so loose that their styles were unrecognizable. There was what looked like a casually done up Taoist priest's bun on the top of his head.

Sitting down, An Yi asked, "Your arranged date was over?"

"It was a flop."

"You deserved that. Just meeting up with Luo Xiu and I after you have returned to the country wasn't enough. You have to arrange for a blind date on the same day."

"It was my grandmother's idea. Could I have said no?" Qiao Xi gave them both a look of resentment. "I am not like the two of you — one of you being raised in a Taoist temple and the other ready to join it any given minute…"

Qiao Xi glanced over at Luo Xiu casually when he said that.

There was unmasked joy over Luo Xiu's misfortune in his look. "Young Master Luo's plan to join the temple had been delayed, huh? Words had it that your bet with Luo Zhan was almost over when a wrench had been thrown in it?"

"……"

Luo Xiu did not respond. He merely turned around and gave him a smile that wasn't a smile.

Qiao Xi felt a chill down his spine from that look and he heard An Yi making fun of him. "See? Don't you have better things to do than to pick on him?"

Qiao Xi rubbed his upper arm. "Okay, so that wasn't the best decision on my part… but, seriously, what happened? My news wasn't very up to date when I was overseas. All I heard of Luo Zhan had set him up."

"Remember his bet with Luo Zhan about who could better stay in the dark?" An Yi chuckled as well. "Our Young Master Luo remained low-key for an entire year and, with just two more months to go, Luo Zhan had blind sided him – he shoved Luo Xiu into an offsite production cast of a show."

Qiao Xi, "Oh, chit."

As much as Luo Xiu was maintaining that gentlemanly smile on him, Qiao Xi could tell that his dark brown eyes behind the lens had darkened.

That confirmed what An Yi had shared.

Qiao Xi leaned over and asked in a low voice. "And he succeeded."

Luo Xiu's voice was light and moderately paced. He was calmed like he was talking about someone else's business. "By the time I found out, my information had already been sent over to the team."

Qiao Xi, "So there's nothing else you can do about it?"

Luo Xiu, "There is something that I can do."

Qiao Xi, "Oh?"

Luo Xiu, "I can have the entire production team taken care of."

Qiao Xi, "……"

Looking at his childhood friend who had turned from white to black to black to black… to more and more black, Qiao Xi couldn't tell right away whether he was serious or he was just kidding.

An Yi chuckled next to them. "Have you been overseas for too long? There are laws here, okay? What were you thinking?"

Qiao Xi recollected himself gloomily and said, "I trust the evilness of this man sitting next to you is all. Others might not be able to pull it off, but he just might have the means to make that happen."

An Yi chuckled. "That's true too."

"That being said. Offsite production team?" Qiao Xi turned toward him. "So you are taking off right after I got back?"

"Mmm."

"Which production team?"

"City Z. Demons."