Chapter 137: A Daughter's Heart

Xiao Xie gently placed Liu Yifei onto the sofa, then turned to rummage through the cabinet, though in reality he stealthily retrieved a box of healing ointment from his storage space. On the Douqi Continent, this ointment wasn’t even considered a first-grade pill, but it was more than enough to treat a sprain. Within half an hour, Liu Yifei’s injury would be healed.

Though Xiao Xie could have used other medicinal pills to cure Liu Yifei’s sprain instantly, that would have been far too astonishing and caused unnecessary trouble. Therefore, he settled for the ointment to treat her.

He sat beside Liu Yifei, lifted her injured right leg, placing it gently across his own thigh. Removing her shoes and socks, he opened the box, took out some ointment, and began to massage it into her swollen ankle.

Liu Xiaoli watched the scene unfold and, after some thought, chose not to say anything. At that moment, Xiao Xie appeared just like a professional doctor, showing no hint of taking advantage of Liu Yifei. If it had been another time, or a different man treating Liu Yifei in such a manner, she would have intervened without hesitation.

It is said that men are at their most handsome when they work earnestly. Now, as Liu Yifei observed Xiao Xie’s serious expression while applying medicine and massaging her ankle, she felt exactly that. Her jade-like foot was cradled in his hands, and the heat from his palms seeped into her skin. She felt as though a deer was bounding wildly in her chest, and a delicate blush spread across her face.

Baby, who had accompanied them, saw this scene and was suddenly struck by an absurd thought: how wonderful it would be if she were the one injured. Startled by her own idea, she hastily averted her gaze from Xiao Xie.

Ten minutes later, Xiao Xie finished massaging and gently placed Liu Yifei’s leg back onto the sofa. He turned to Liu Xiaoli and said, “Auntie, I’ve applied a special ointment to Qianqian’s injury and massaged it to help the medicine take effect. With half an hour’s rest, she’ll recover. I’ll leave her in your care; we’ll head off now.”

With that, Xiao Xie left together with Baby—they still had scenes to shoot and couldn’t stay with Liu Yifei any longer.

Watching Xiao Xie’s departing figure, Liu Yifei felt an emptiness inside her. She silently vowed, “Sorry, Baby, but I won’t simply hand Xiao Xie over to you.”

Liu Xiaoli read her daughter’s expression and shook her head inwardly. As someone experienced, she could see clearly Liu Yifei’s fondness for Xiao Xie, but in her heart, Xiao Xie was not a suitable match for Liu Yifei. It wasn’t that he lacked anything; on the contrary, Xiao Xie was young, wealthy, and exceptionally talented. Even if he was disciplined, there would always be plenty of admirers around him.

Xiao Xie was like a piece of irresistible monk’s meat, attracting countless female “demons.” How could Liu Yifei possibly contend with so many rivals?

...

In the blink of an eye, another month had passed. The three major production crews had begun scouting locations. Once the crews separated, it was no longer Xiao Xie himself who went to film, but his three shadow clones. Of course, nobody knew this, as Xiao Xie deliberately staggered the schedules, ensuring that the clones never appeared at the same time. People simply believed Xiao Xie was shuttling between the three crews by plane—after all, for a celebrity, taking seven or eight flights in a day was not unusual.

With the filming handed over to his shadow clones, Xiao Xie was left with some leisure time. Downstairs at the Love Apartment’s bar, Xiao Xie and his friends were chatting idly. Wan Yu noticed Zeng Xiaoxian’s barely concealed delight and curiously asked, “Mr. Zeng, you look quite cheerful today.”

“Of course! Today marks the six hundredth episode of my radio show,” Zeng Xiaoxian replied proudly with a grin.

Guangu congratulated him sincerely, “Really? That’s wonderful, congratulations, Mr. Zeng!”

Hu Yifei, seeing Zeng Xiaoxian’s smug expression, couldn’t help but tease, “So are you planning to retire early?”

“Retire? Not a chance—I’ll fight to the end!” Zeng Xiaoxian ignored Hu Yifei’s mockery; he was used to her daily jabs. He announced to everyone, “And Lisa even said a very important guest will be joining my show today.”

Zeng Xiaoxian continued to boast, “Six hundred episodes is a long journey, so I’ll be thanking all my friends who’ve helped and supported me. You must tune in!”

Watching Zeng Xiaoxian show off, Xiao Xie secretly chuckled, “Keep bragging! When you discover your special guest is your ex-girlfriend, you’ll be in tears.”

“Will my name be mentioned on the broadcast?” Guangu asked excitedly.

Zeng Xiaoxian just smiled, saying nothing. Guangu, thinking it was a yes, grinned, “Fantastic! I want the whole world to know that Guangu Shinqi, the manga artist, is still alive!”

“Guangu, you can’t just mention names on this kind of program, and Mr. Zeng’s listenership...” Xiao Xie took a sip of his drink and shook his head.

“Xiao Xie, what are you talking about? Since you appeared on my show, and with me recounting chapters from Ghost Blows Out the Lamp every day, my audience has grown tremendously,” Zeng Xiaoxian boasted, then reassured Guangu, “I’ll say I want to thank a special friend—you’ll know it’s you!”

“Got it,” Guangu nodded.

“I also want to thank a few friends: Xiao Xie, Wan Yu, Meijia, Guangu, Zhan Bo, and Zi Qiao,” Zeng Xiaoxian said, scanning the group with a smile.

Hu Yifei, having waited in vain for her name, protested, “Don’t I deserve any encouragement?”

“Oh, I almost forgot. Of course, you’ve encouraged me. Whenever I face difficulties, I look at your photo on my phone,” Zeng Xiaoxian feigned surprise, holding his phone and gazing at the smiling Hu Yifei. He continued, “I tell myself not to be afraid, not to lose heart—is there anything more terrifying than her?”

Everyone burst out laughing; even Xiao Xie, who was mentally prepared, found this scene full of comedic charm.

Hu Yifei was furious. “You pervert! How dare you keep my photo on your phone!”

Guangu and Zi Qiao hurriedly restrained Hu Yifei, lest she actually strangle Zeng Xiaoxian. Just then, Lisa called, and Zeng Xiaoxian eagerly went to answer.

Lu Zi Qiao declared, “To celebrate Mr. Zeng’s six hundredth episode, let’s have a feast together!”

He turned to Hu Yifei, trying to please her, “Yifei, invite Xiao Bo to join us.”

“Forget it—I knew you’d try that. I have one bad news and...” Hu Yifei paused.

“...And good news!” Zi Qiao chimed in hopefully.

“...And even worse news,” Hu Yifei replied with a mischievous smile. “Xiao Bo doesn’t like to go out at night, and your phone is out of battery.”

“It really is dead! No wonder I haven’t gotten any replies from the girls,” Lu Zi Qiao exclaimed, checking his phone with frustration.

Hearing this, Xiao Xie recalled the storyline of this episode. After all, real life was far more complex than the TV series—the events that occurred in reality went far beyond the plot of the drama, and sometimes Xiao Xie would forget how the story progressed. An episode was only a few minutes, but in real life, months could have passed.

If Xiao Xie remembered correctly, Lu Zi Qiao would find someone random at the bar to pose as a wealthy, handsome man and introduce him to Hu Yifei. This person would become one of the main characters in the second season of Love Apartment: Zhang Wei.

Love Apartment had its own “mosts”: the fiercest was Hu Yifei, the most shameless was Zeng Xiaoxian, the most flirtatious was Lu Zi Qiao, the easiest to deceive was Guangu Shinqi, the most fujoshi was Chen Meijia, the most innocent was Lin Wan Yu, the lowest emotional intelligence was Lu Zhan Bo, the most dramatic was Tang Youyou, and the unluckiest was Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei was the only character in Love Apartment who could be unlucky from start to finish. First, he was introduced to Hu Yifei by Lu Zi Qiao, then scared off by a single phone call from her.