Chapter 609 - 608: Something Fishy (2)

As usual, Su Li left work right on time to go pick up Tang Mo from his class.

Su Li had always kept a low profile at the TV station. She was discreet when necessary, but she wouldn’t inconvenience herself just for the sake of it.

Sometimes she rode her bike to work, but other times she drove her car. She never made a point of showing off her vehicle.

But the news got out regardless.

Her colleagues at the station naturally had mixed feelings about it, but they slowly came to accept it.

After all, while Su Li was low-key and didn’t flaunt her wealth, her belongings were clearly not ordinary. One look was enough to tell she wasn’t short on money.

Gradually, everyone just accepted the fact that Su Li was very well-off.

Thinking about her plans for a spring outing, Su Li left work with a spring in her step, got into her car, and drove off.

Li Anna, who also left work around the same time, watched Su Li get into her car looking smug, and she nearly ground her teeth to dust.

Her... her family was certainly well-off, far better than the average person, but she still didn’t have her own car.

Her family had a car, of course, but she didn’t have one that was hers.

She huffed in frustration and waited a moment before the car sent to pick her up finally arrived.

She had specifically requested this arrangement after finding out that Su Li drove to work.

If Su Li was driving to work, how could she possibly ride a bike? Even though her home wasn’t far from the station, she refused to do it.

Once in the car, she took a couple of deep, calming breaths. A smile finally appeared on her face as she thought about what she had to do today.

She took a small mirror from her bag, fixed her hair, touched up her makeup, and straightened her clothes before putting the mirror away in satisfaction.

Today, she was going to "help" host an event.

That’s right, just "helping out."

Yes, going to a rather special place to help a rather special person.

Li Anna sat primly, her face slowly turning red at some unknown thought.

A few minutes later, she arrived at her destination.

The car stopped in front of the imposing gates of a military base. If Su Li had been there, she would have found it very strange.

Because this was none other than the military base where Wu Sheng was stationed—a place she was already quite familiar with.

Li Anna got out of the car and scanned her surroundings. The next second, her eyes lit up, and she immediately waved.

"Anna, you’re here! Wonderful." A moment later, Ye Xilan appeared before her.

She had clearly taken care with her appearance today and looked quite dignified and elegant. She took Li Anna’s hand, looking her over with great satisfaction.

"Madam," Li Anna said with a shy smile.

"Call me Auntie. ’Madam’ is too formal. I’m so happy you could come and help," Ye Xilan said warmly, patting Li Anna’s hand with a smile.

"Auntie," Li Anna said shyly.

"Yes, yes, let’s go. It’s almost time."

Ye Xilan led Li Anna over to the soldier on duty. "This is Li Anna, whom I’ve invited to help host the event. You recognize her, don’t you?"

The soldier, who apparently watched the news, was indeed familiar with Li Anna. His face turned bright red as he nodded.

"Alright, please sign her in..."

Ye Xilan led Li Anna onto the base, heading straight for their destination.

"I was worried you wouldn’t make it on time. I’m so glad you’re here..."

Ye Xilan whispered, "In a little while, keep an eye on the front row, just left of center. The one who really stands out... that’s him..."

Li Anna blushed and lowered her head, murmuring a soft reply, but her eyes were shining brightly.

This Madam, Ye Xilan, was very fond of her. A while back, she had mentioned wanting to play matchmaker for her, and when Li Anna heard about the man’s qualifications, her heart nearly leaped out of her chest.

His prospects were simply too good. If she could really marry a man like that, why would she waste her time being angry at someone like Su Li? A car? She couldn’t care less about a car. She was going to be a madam just like Ye Xilan, respected by countless people.

The two of them whispered back and forth, unable to hide their excitement.

After a short while, they reached their destination.

A sea of green filled her vision. The vast auditorium was packed with several thousand soldiers, all sitting in perfect formation, their postures as straight as ramrods.

On stage, the final preparations were being made.

This was one of the annual recreational and cultural activities held on the base. Today’s event was a cultural competition featuring poetry recitations and the like, with prizes for first, second, and third place.

The first-place prize was a fountain pen, second place was an enamel mug, and third place was a towel. Everyone was very enthusiastic about participating.

Life on the base was arduous and monotonous; apart from training, there was more training. As such, everyone really enjoyed activities like this.

Normally, it was an internal event every year, with family members at most sneaking in to watch. But this year, Ye Xilan announced that she had invited the famous host Li Anna to emcee.

Li Anna had made a name for herself by now, and she was beautiful. Naturally, her offer to come and host for free was very well-received.

Li Anna was quite a skilled host. She really knew how to work up a crowd, and from that night on, she was destined to become the dream girl of many soldiers in the audience.

But Li Anna paid no mind to any of them. Her attention was focused solely on the person in the seat Ye Xilan had pointed out to her.

Of course, even if Ye Xilan hadn’t said a word, Li Anna would have immediately noticed the most brilliant and eye-catching person there.

She observed him discreetly while energizing the crowd, and later, she even managed to find a way to get him on stage for a brief interaction.

Everything went perfectly, except that the man was so cold toward her... ’But what does that matter?’ she reasoned. ’We just aren’t familiar with each other yet. Once we are, everything will be fine.’

Immersed in her excitement, Li Anna completely failed to notice a pair of ice-cold eyes watching her from the audience.

The owner of that icy gaze was Wu Sheng.

Li Anna didn’t know Wu Sheng, but he knew her. And because of Su Li, he loathed her completely.

Wu Sheng didn’t know what scheme Li Anna and Ye Xilan were plotting, but the way Li Anna looked at him was nauseating. He had only cooperated reluctantly because they were in front of everyone.

Once the competition ended and Li Anna was surrounded by admirers, Wu Sheng shot her a cold glance and left.

By the time everything was over and he got home, it was already ten o’clock.

Wu Sheng immediately called Su Li. Her voice came through the receiver, sounding bright and energetic.

"All finished? Did you go up and recite a poem? If you did, you would have definitely won."

Su Li knew about the event at his base, so she was teasing him.

Wu Sheng chuckled. "Wouldn’t that be an unfair advantage? What are you up to?"

"I’m drawing with Tang Mo and helping him practice his speaking," Su Li said with a laugh.

Wu Sheng scratched his brow. "Ah, you’re speaking all that gibberish I don’t understand again."

He really couldn’t understand a word of it. Su Li was teaching Tang Mo foreign languages, and they often spent their evenings practicing his conversational skills. Their dialogues were all in other languages, and they would switch between them at random. You never knew which one they’d be speaking at any given moment.

Every time, Wu Sheng could only watch in amazement. It was a good thing Tang Mo had the brain of a genius; anyone else would have gone mad.

"’Gibberish’ is a ridiculous way to describe it," Su Li said with a laugh. "Tang Mo and I were just talking about a spring outing. Now that spring is here, we wanted to go out and enjoy the weather. Will you have time to join us?"

"A spring outing, huh?" Wu Sheng rubbed his chin, clearly tempted. "Let me check my schedule. I’ll give you an answer tomorrow."

"Alright." Su Li was about to say that was fine and end the call, but then Wu Sheng told her about Li Anna hosting the event.

Su Li: "..."

’Something about this doesn’t feel right,’ she thought. ’So many people have been trying to hire Li Anna as a host, many offering high fees, but she’s turned them all down. Why would she suddenly agree to host an event like this for free... There’s definitely something fishy going on.’