Lovers for a Day

Everyone thought Yan Dongxu was her boyfriend.

After all, the livestream fiasco with his "sister-in-law" was still fresh.

Her colleagues had always thought the two were together.

She felt something was off with the atmosphere since she got to work this morning.

After the video of Yan Dongxu and Xu Yiyi came out, the atmosphere got even weirder.

"Sis, you've seen it all?"

Yan Dongxu was a little embarrassed.

"You think I wanted to see your crap?"

"It's all over the internet, hard not to look!"

Zhao Qingqing said impatiently, for some reason, seeing the news made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Jealous? Not to that extent.

Concerned? Perhaps...

For her who had been single all her life, Yan Dongxu was quite special.

Heavily influenced by traditional values, she was very conservative, so she subconsciously put Yan Dongxu in a special place in her heart.

"What did you want from me? Showing off?" Zhao Qingqing asked.

"Officer Zhao doesn't seem to be in a good mood. I actually do have something I need your help with."

"That video with Xu Yiyi and the driver forcing himself on her is all over the internet. Xu Yiyi is very troubled by this, I was thinking you guys in the police should clarify this."

"Xu Yiyi is a public figure after all. Having to suffer from rumors all the time can’t be what you want either."

Yan Dongxu suggested.

"Acting like you're teaching us how to do our job now? We're already working on what you mentioned."

"Just mind your own business for a day. I'm busy, gotta go."

Zhao Qingqing hung up grumpily after lecturing him, instantly feeling better.

"Getting shot by a gun now? Why the nasty temper?"

Yan Dongxu muttered, not understanding why Zhao Qingqing reacted so intensely.

But knowing the police were handling this matter, he was certain Xu Yiyi would be very happy to hear it.

A few hours later, Xu Yiyi finally wrapped for the day.

This girl didn’t seem tired at all working.

She chatted and laughed with the photographer.

"Huh? You're still here?"

Xu Yiyi was surprised to see Yan Dongxu.

"No conscience, you should've left already!"

Yan Dongxu rolled his eyes.

"Haha, I'm kidding! Thank you guys. This really is a very special birthday present."

"Birthday? It's your birthday?"

Yan Dongxu was taken aback, no wonder Xu Yiyi had been acting strange.

Who would be happy bowing and apologizing to others on their birthday?

"Just an ordinary day, I haven't celebrated in a long time. But let me take you somewhere too."

Xu Yiyi said mysteriously.

The two left the studio and hailed a cab straight to the suburbs.

"What are we doing here?"

"Taking you out for a meal!"

Xu Yiyi pointed to a run-down malatang restaurant and walked right in.

"Uncle Liu, two bowls of malatang, a little spicy. Two fried chicken strips, two pork strips, four veggie rolls. And two sodas."

"Coming right up! Yiyi, you haven't been here in so long. Heard you're a big star now? I knew you were destined for greatness since you were little. Hehe."

A Mediterranean-looking uncle smiled kindly.

Yan Dongxu was shocked. This place was low-end even for a fly restaurant.

Yet Xu Yiyi had brought him here to eat, clearly very familiar with the owner.

The malatang here didn't let you pick ingredients, each bowl came with fixed items, take it or leave it.

"Surprised? People think I'm an heiress but I'm just a girl who grew up in the suburban alleys."

"My parents divorced when I was in middle school. Dad took my brother to work out of town, Mom found a new husband and moved out too."

"I grew up with my sick grandma, going to school during the day and taking care of her at night."

"With grandma bedridden, soiling herself all day, the room always reeked of urine no matter how much I cleaned."

"My classmates made fun of me everyday, kept their distance because of the smell, calling me a slut."

Tears streamed down Xu Yiyi's face as she recalled the painful memories.

Yan Dongxu could hardly imagine what Xu Yiyi had to go through to get to where she was today.

"After grandma died, I got into college."

"A friend recommended me to an audition show that paid 1k a day."

"Somehow I debuted from that."

"After I started making money, the first thing I did was move out of here."

"I rented a nice big house, and learned karate and jiujitsu to protect myself."

"Because my school days left deep scars."

"Just didn't expect the very skills I learned would save me that one time. You know the rest."

Xu Yiyi raised her soda with tears in her smile.

Yan Dongxu clinked glasses and chugged the brightly-colored soda.

"Your turn. Tell me about yourself." Xu Yiyi wiped her tears and put on a gossipy face.

"Me...? Not much to say. It's not my birthday today."

Yan Dongxu declined.

"When you first appeared at your place, you told the cops your parents were dead. You must've had it rough too."

Xu Yiyi looked at him sympathetically.

"Whether it was hard or not, it's over now. Aren't we doing great right now?"

"Hehe, true. Eat up, Uncle Liu's malatang is delicious."

Seeing Xu Yiyi boast about it, Yan Dongxu had zero faith.

How good could malatang from one place be?

But one mouthful in, he couldn't stop, even drinking up all the soup.

"One word, amazing! Uncle Liu, with these skills, why not go franchise? Let me invest!"

"Haha, what more hassle at my age? Gotta put my son through college, work a couple more years, then retire after his wedding. Take the wife traveling."

Uncle Liu lived carefreely, the most authentic commoner life.

Not seeking wealth or status, just stability and family happiness.

"Sure, if I really open a shop one day, Uncle Liu you gotta teach me your secrets. We just met but you gotta give Yiyi face. Don't worry, I'll pay a premium that'll satisfy you."

"Deal!"

After the meal, the two strolled aimlessly around the suburban streets.

Xu Yiyi took the initiative to hold Yan Dongxu's hand and asked softly, "What does this make us? One day couple?"

Yan Dongxu smiled slyly. "If you're still not satisfied, we could be one night couple too."

"Gross! You wish!"