The next day, when Xiao Luo was browsing through the major news websites with his phone, he was surprised to find a public opinion poll published that was swaying in favor of Su Li. There were more and more voices supporting her, and they were drowning out the negative comments.
“Good of Goddess Su, unlike certain celebrities who are already married but will never admit it. Goddess Su is different, she’s honest to fans like us. She really treats us like we’re her friend, and not like we’re a bunch of monkeys she can manipulate like puppets. I support you, my goddess.”
“That’s right. Goddess Su is still our ‘Goddess’ even if she’s married because she treats us sincerely.”
“Hey, Celebrities are also people, and they have to get married too. Goddess Su is at that age where marriage is a natural next step. She was brave enough to admit it honestly, and this is praiseworthy.”
“No matter what, I wish Goddess Su all the best!”
“Please be happy, dear goddess, we’re waiting for your little baby to be born, hehe…”
The main page of Weibo was flooded with positive comments, and her number of fans surged to 80 million overnight, which was a million more than the number of fans Su Li had at her peak.
Xiao Luo was stunned—this was unbelievable! He had initially thought that this would be Su Li’s fall from grace, one that was impossible to recover from, but instead, this issue had turned out to be a blessing and not a cursed. She was even more popular now than ever.
Xiao Luo decided to head over to Su Li’s apartment that very moment. Chai Zhiying and Luo Pingxiang were already there, and they were excited beyond measure because of how the opinion poll had swayed. But Su Li was aloof as always as if she could not care less. There was not a shred of emotion on her face.
Xiao Luo could not help himself. “When you publicly confirmed your marriage in front of the crowd yesterday, you didn’t know that something like this would happen, did you?” he asked.
Su Li took a bite of the breakfast that Aunt Lee had prepared. “I wasn’t 100% certain,” she replied.
Huh?
Indeed, this woman had thought things through!
Xiao Luo was startled. Suddenly, the impression he had of Su Li had morphed into one that was compelling beyond what words could describe. Both he and Chai Zhiying had thought that the act of denying these rumors would reap the best outcome, but Su Li had insisted on doing just the opposite. And, now that the truth was out, her method had been proven right.
“I thought about denying it, but there are too many precedents that have proven that denying has no lasting effect. Sooner or later, someone will manage to discover proof of my marriage, so I might as well just confirm it.”
Su Li’s red lips parted slightly as she explained, “It’s precisely because too many people have denied their marriages that my candor was like a breath of fresh air that took people by surprise, and subsequently gained their favor. I wasn’t 100% sure it would work because of the same reason you guys brought up—marriage was definitely something that would cost female celebrities their popularity.”
“So, you were taking a gamble?” Xiao Luo asked.
Su Li nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
Xiao Luo smiled and inquired, “Weren’t you scared of losing this gamble?”
“I’d prepared myself for the worst-case scenario. At worst, I’ll just focus on managing Sumir in the future,” she replied.
Xiao Luo could not help but laugh when he heard this. He mulled over it for a while, and then said, “When I was in Jiangcheng, I heard that Luo Workshop, based there, would be moving into Xiahai City this year. Luo Workshop and your Sumir are both in the same bakery business, so both houses will definitely be in competition. Have you ever thought about—”
“You’re worried about whether Sumir will be defeated by Luo Workshop?” Su Li interjected.
Xiao Luo coughed drily. “More or less,” he said.
“Huh, if Luo Workshop dares barge into Xiahai City, I guarantee they’ll suffer a crushing defeat!”
It wasn’t Su Li who spoke; it was Chai Zhiying. The latter had her hands balled up tightly into fists, brimming with confidence as if victory was already in her grasp.
Su Li glanced at Xiao Luo, then added, “I’ll admit that Luo Workshop is the biggest bakery in Jiangcheng, but they won’t have a market in Xiahai City.
“And why is that?” Xiao Luo asked, probing out of curiosity.
Su Li sipped her glass of warm milk, then set the cup down and picked up the napkin to elegantly dab at her lips. “The people of Xiahai are loyal customers. They’re used to spending their money on Sumir and have accepted my brand. In the past, there had been a company like Luo Workshop who tried to stick a finger into the pie. However, two months after their entry, they packed up on their own accord, closing down all their stores and leaving. I didn’t even lift a linger.”
“So what you’re saying is that even if Luo Workshop dares to enter, they’ll definitely fail?” Xiao Luo asked.
“If the pastry they produce is novel enough and the taste unique enough, then I think they’ll last longer than the previous company had.” There was a trace of cold indifference to Su Li’s expression.
Xiao Luo could not decide if he should laugh or cry; he thought this woman was a little too confident. “Oh, I see. Hmm, let’s finish up our breakfast.”
As he spoke, he picked up his chopsticks and snagged a sunny-side-up to munch on.
“Why are you suddenly asking me all these questions?” Su Li asked, somewhat puzzled.
“No reason in particular. I’m just curious.”
Xiao Luo changed the topic. “I’m just wondering why you got me to work at Shen Qingyan’s company when you have Sumir under your name.”
Su Li’s face morphed into an expression of displeasure when she heard what he said. “Do you want people to think of you as a sugar baby?”
She was livid. So, this man was still hung up over her company—what an unambitious and useless man he was! Why could he not start up a booming business of his own and stand on his own two feet as a decent man should?
“Enough of all that, let’s eat!” Xiao Luo chuckled awkwardly as he continued eating.
“Mommy, but Daddy and I both love sugar. Being a sugar baby is nice, and much better than being a bitter baby,” Su Xiaobei pitched in, blinking innocently at the two of them.
Xiao Luo almost spat out his mouthful of food. He stroked her little head as he corrected, “Darling, next time you can say that Daddy is a sweet baby if you want, not a ‘sugar baby.’ Do you understand?”
“Daddy, isn’t a sugar baby the same thing as a sweet baby?” The child could not comprehend.
“Eh…no, no it isn’t,” Xiao Luo replied, giving her a mock look of anxiety as he waved his hands about in disavowal.
Su Xiaobei scratched her head and had confusion written all over her little face.
“A sugar baby is a sugar baby, and a sweet baby is a sweet baby. The first one has a bad meaning that degrades the person you’re talking about, and the other refers to babies like you,” Xiao Luo explained.
“Pft~.”
Su Li could not help but giggle as she watched him seriously explain the difference to Su Xiaobei. When Xiao Luo looked over, she quickly stopped laughing and regained her usual cold edge.
…
…
Xiao Luo headed out in the evening, but only because Guan Tong invited him for a gathering.
The two of them used to be classmates and were now colleagues, in name, at least, so there was no reason for Xiao Luo not to allocate some time for him. Besides, he had wanted to head out for some fresh air anyway.
He quickly drove to the pin location that Guan Tong had sent him. Immediately, Xiao Luo caught sight of Guan Tong standing outside the bar. The man was dressed rather fashionably this time. Though he had a thick waist and was quite plump, dressing up a little made him look rather dashing.
“Xiao Luo, you b*stard, you’re late!” Guan Tong ranted as he immediately headed over to greet Xiao Luo when he spotted him.
Xiao Luo knew this was just how he spoke, and the man was not really cursing at him at all. He looked up and saw the bar in front of them. “You didn’t call me down here to go bar hopping with you, did you?”
“You b*stard, why else would I be standing here if not to bar-hop?”
Guan Tong smacked Xiao Luo’s chest, then said, “You’re all chummy with Old Zhang and he’s quite the experienced man himself, so both of you must have gone round picking up girls at bars regularly. Stop playing dumb with me.”
“…”
Xiao Luo was speechless. In all honesty, he did have a good relationship with Zhang Dashan, but he did not indulge himself with the other man’s sordid interests.
