After I Gave Up/Let Things Slide, I Became Famous Across The Entire Internet - Chapter 31

The phone number was from the original owner, Tang Shuxia didn’t want to receive the chaotic and messy calls from people related to the original owner every day, so she simply cleared all the contacts in the address book. She was also too lazy to change to a new number. The only person left in the address book was there because on the day she flew to C City, Xu Yujing suddenly suggested they exchange contact information when he saw her off at the car. She remembered Xu Yujing saying, “When you come back, call me if you ever want to have a meal with me, and I’ll answer.”

Tang Shuxia didn’t think much of it at the time.

Now, looking at this sole entry in her address book, a rare trace of annoyance appeared on her face.

She thought about how she had lived two lives, never treating feelings as a trivial matter, but now she was asked to violate her principles and say such words… However, someone as intelligent as Xu Yujing should understand why she said this, right? Moreover, Xu Yujing didn’t like women.

“Tang Tang?”

“I love you.”

As soon as Tang Shuxia spoke, the three words smoothly slipped out as if they were a casual remark. As a result, there was a sound of clattering and chaos on the other end of the phone, indicating that Xu Yujing had accidentally knocked something over again. Her brows slightly furrowed. Everyone else also drew a conclusion from this reaction: the person on the other end seemed to be startled by the confession.

Ha, the show was about to begin.

Tang Shuxia was about to hang up.

Xu Yujing’s low, hoarse voice carried a tremble and a slight panic, “Sorry, I just accidentally knocked over my milk. It spilled onto the computer, and the proposal next to it got wet. By the way, what did you just say? I didn’t hear clearly. Could I trouble you to repeat it, Tang Tang?”

The others excitedly clapped their hands, their faces full of excitement. If they could make a sound, they would have started cheering long ago.

Only Su Fan gnawed on his fingernails. He always felt something was off. As a fan himself, if he heard his idol confess to him, he would probably be stuttering and incoherent with excitement. Also, did the person on the other end really not hear it? The noises only started after Tang Shuxia’s confession. He rubbed his face, thinking perhaps he was overthinking.

Maybe he genuinely didn’t hear it.

However, boo-hoo, what kind of lucky fan was this person named XYJ to be in his idol’s address book, and the only one at that?

And now, he was receiving a confession from his idol.

He was envious and jealous.

Tang Shuxia: “!!!”

Xu Yujing’s voice still held a slight gasp and a hint of urgency, “Tang Tang, are you still there?”

Tang Shuxia’s expression tightened. She noticed everyone else watching her with a “waiting for the show” look, silently urging her. Impatiently, she tapped her curled fingers rapidly on the table and had no choice but to dryly repeat, “Listen carefully, I’ll only say it once: I love you.” In the end, she asked, “Did you hear clearly this time?”

On the other end of the phone, Xu Yujing’s gentle and utterly encompassing light chuckle came through, “I heard it.”

The others: “???”

Ah, this reaction… wasn’t it a bit too calm?

Zhai Xuefeng couldn’t help but shake his head, spreading his hands. They didn’t get to see the show they wanted.

Tang Shuxia was about to hang up when Xu Yujing asked again, “Tang Tang, did you call me specifically to say that?”

Tang Shuxia hummed in response. Xu Yujing sounded very happy, his voice light and cheerful, “Then please say hello to your staff around you for me. They’ve worked hard, thank you.”

The others: “…………”

Tang Shuxia’s lips slightly curved, “Okay.”

As soon as the call ended, Zhai Xuefeng and the others gave her a thumbs up, “Our Teacher Tang’s friend is really amazing. They actually predicted our director’s prediction.”

The nominated director gave a tired looking cigarette lighting pose. JPG.

He scratched his almost bald head. People nowadays were getting harder and harder to fool. He needed to think of something more exciting for next time.

With Tang Shuxia as an ‘anti-example,’ everyone was eager to try, also hoping a new friend could successfully call someone’s bluff. The empty wine bottle spun round and round, causing many jokes in the process. Some called their mothers, some called their friends… When it came to the final spin, the empty wine bottle pointed to Su Fan, who had been anxiously biting his nails all night. Seeing the bottle point at him, he almost cried, “Can’t we change the game? Truth or Dare is fine too.”

Zhai Xuefeng directly knocked his head, “Call them quickly. If you’re stalling, do you have some secret in your phone that we shouldn’t see?”

Su Fan pouted, “Then I’ll say this first: if I call, you are not allowed to laugh at me.”

Luo Tong raised an eyebrow, “Is the first contact in your phone really some delivery guy’s number?”

Su Fan glared at him indignantly, then threw caution to the wind and put his phone down in the center. He covered it to prevent others from seeing and made one last struggle, “Can we really not change?”

The cameraman had already adjusted the lens focus, clearly aiming for a close-up of the phone.

Ji Xingyu urged, “Are you a real man? Hurry up.”

Ye Kaicheng rarely spoke, but when he did, he was astonishing, “Ah, how can a real man use the word ‘hurry’? At most, it’s ‘can do.’ So, little Fan Fan, can you do it or not?”

One of the female guests was already blushing.

Ye Kaicheng was kicked once. Only then did he realize, and he immediately turned to beg the director, “When we air this, please be merciful, Director, and cut out my nonsense. Good person, Director, may you have a peaceful life.”

Su Fan probably realized the topic was getting more and more off track, even a bit inappropriate. He quickly pulled the conversation back to himself, like a proud little rooster, “Of course I can. There’s no reason I can’t. It’s just a phone call. I’ll make it.”

He let go of his hand, opened the address book, and saw the very first contact noted as [A Little Yellow Chicken].

You Yixuan already started laughing, “What a strange contact name.”

Because the delivery guy always wore a little yellow vest, and on the back of the vest was an angry bird.

Su Fan’s hands were trembling with nervousness. He shushed her. The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered. Until it hung up, no one answered. Su Fan was excited and somewhat smug, “See? It’s not that I didn’t call; it’s that no one answered. It’s not my fault.”

The others stared at him silently. Ji Xingyu was dissatisfied, “If no one answers the first time, you dial a second time. Fan Fan, don’t even think about backing out.”

Su Fan looked like he was about to cry, “All of you just want to see me make a fool of myself.”

Zhai Xuefeng affectionately stroked his head, “A bet is a bet. Hurry up, everyone is waiting.”

Su Fan, with a look of resentment, dialed the number again. The phone beeped and rang again. Just when he thought this call was also going to fail, the call was connected on the other end.

A loud voice from the other side, “Who is it?”

Su Fan, with a look of intense anguish, said the most affectionate words, “Brother, I love you.”

He felt so disgusted with himself after saying it.

The person on the other side yelled with full force, “Are you crazy?”

The environment on the other side seemed very noisy, with the sound of wind faintly audible. He cursed loudly in a long string of words, paused to catch his breath, and then hung up the phone.

Su Fan was left speechless after being scolded.

After hearing it, everyone burst into laughter. Even Tang Shuxia’s lips curved into a smile. The female guests were clutching their stomachs laughing, and Ji Xingyu was pounding the table with laughter. Even Luo Tong, who had been maintaining a poker face, let out a chuckle. Su Fan looked mournfully at the group of people laughing, feeling very wronged, “There’s no love left, seriously, no love left. See if I’ll make breakfast for you all tomorrow, hmph.”

He said that and ran upstairs with his phone.

As time approached, everyone dispersed. However, due to limited facilities, they had to queue for the shower. Tang Shuxia was the last one to go, taking her time. By the time she finished showering, You Yixuan in the bed next to her was already sound asleep.

The next morning, just as the first rooster crowed in the village, Tang Shuxia changed into workout clothes and went downstairs. As she walked out, she ran into Su Fan and Zhai Xuefeng squatting in the kitchen, looking troubled over the scarce ingredients they had. Tang Shuxia nodded to both of them and then ran out the door.

The staff member was about to grab the camera, but in the blink of an eye, Tang Shuxia had disappeared.

At this hour, the sky was still dimly lit. Young people might be just settling into bed after staying up late, while the older generation in the countryside had already woken up to prepare breakfast, perhaps some boiled rice or plain porridge, paired with some homemade preserved vegetables, and two eggs boiled from the chicken coop. That was a typical breakfast.

Tang Shuxia found an open space and started her daily practice.

As the morning light gradually rose, a few elderly people appeared in this open space. One very energetic middle-aged woman arrived with a speaker. Tang Shuxia didn’t pay attention at first until the speaker blared, “You are the most beautiful cloud by my side, let me use my heart to keep you (keep you)…”

An elderly woman twisting her waist next to her banged a gong and shouted, “Time to dance! Everyone, come out quickly! We need to practice too! We can’t lose to the people in the village next door.”

Tang Shuxia: “…………”

In no time, many fashionably dressed aunties came from all directions. They wore uniform clothing and a red sash around their waists, looking quite neat. Tang Shuxia gradually moved from the center to a corner, giving up most of the space. She continued her martial arts practice with full concentration.

However, as she practiced, she was suddenly surrounded by people.

“Oh, look everyone, this little girl is so pretty, doesn’t she look like that actress Gu something? Not to mention, her moves have a real… flair to them.”

“Aiya, look at that waist, that butt, absolutely wonderful.”

“Little girl, are you married? Do you have a boyfriend? How old are you this year?”

The cameraman searched around and finally found Tang Shuxia, who was almost drowned in the crowd. He couldn’t help but laugh and cry, “Teacher Tang, why did you run to this place?”

Tang Shuxia’s face was dark. Just now, one of the aunties, for some unknown reason, tried to touch her butt after saying a few words. Fortunately, she dodged quickly and prevented her from succeeding. Seeing the group of aunties mumbling again, Tang Shuxia quietly said to the cameraman beside her, “Hurry up and leave.”

Soon, the whole village knew a beautiful female celebrity was filming a show there, so a crowd seized the opportunity to come and peek at the large house behind the village. Eventually, the director had to send staff to negotiate, and the villagers reluctantly scattered and went back to their chores.

During breakfast, everyone woke up one after another and learned about Tang Shuxia being surrounded by the square dancing aunties.

Cheng Ziqiong saw Tang Shuxia was even more silent than when she arrived yesterday and comforted her, “These aunties are just a bit too enthusiastic, they don’t mean any harm. They probably think you’re pretty and want to play matchmaker. If this causes you trouble, you can tell them directly that you have a partner. This is the method I used when I was single, and it works particularly well.”

Tang Shuxia took note.

She could still understand that Tang Mingcheng’s arranged marriage for her was a parental decree for the company’s sake, but for outsiders to interfere in this matter, in her opinion, was purely meddling.

You Yixuan, seeing that she really seemed surprised, couldn’t help but share her own experience, “What’s so surprising about this? Haven’t you ever been urged to marry by relatives during the New Year? Anyway, these aunties are similar to my mother, constantly urging me to find a boyfriend, or trying to arrange blind dates for me. It’s terrifying just thinking about it. I’m only twenty-five.”

As soon as the topic of being urged to marry and blind dates came up, the single female guests immediately found a common topic, especially women aged twenty-five and above, who were either on a blind date or preparing for one. Cheng Ziqiong, who was already married and had children, listened attentively on the side. The male guests couldn’t interject at all and had to be serious listeners.

Pang Tingrong had the most bizarre blind date stories. While eating a sweet potato, she said, “My friend told me that last time her mother arranged a blind date for her, the man immediately asked her to quit her well-paying job, saying the work was too tiring, and it would be better to rest at home and take care of her body to have a baby… Are men nowadays all this self-absorbed? Who does he think he is?”

Su Fan choked on his water.

Yu Xuebo couldn’t help but defend men for a moment, “Maybe he was genuinely considering the woman’s well-being.” He quickly changed his tune, realizing all the female guests at the table were staring at him, “But that man is too chauvinistic. What era is this? It’s perfectly normal for women to work outside. Maybe the woman’s salary is even higher than his.”

You Yixuan, “Exactly! So these men just see women as tools for having children. If they truly cared about women’s well-being, shouldn’t they first respect the women’s choices? Coming right out and telling someone to quit their job… he really thinks he’s an emperor holding a beauty contest.”

Yu Xuebo shrank his neck, not daring to speak so freely again, and continued eating his breakfast sweet potato.

Pang Tingrong was fired up, “And there’s more! Last time, my friend met another bizarre guy on a blind date. This man’s conditions were decent car, house, local residency but he was a bit old. He initially said he wanted to spend some time getting to know my friend, and my friend agreed. Unexpectedly, not long after they started getting to know each other, he vanished. He was gone for ten days to half a month, claiming a relative had passed away. He wouldn’t reply to texts or answer calls. I think he was completely treating my friend as a backup, only calling her out when he felt like it.”

Cheng Ziqiong noticed Tang Shuxia was clearly distracted, “Ah, don’t worry about this, Xiao Tang. You’ll get used to it later.”

Tang Shuxia: “…”

She didn’t want to get used to it. “Mm, I have a partner.”

The others first paused, then burst into laughter, especially Cheng Ziqiong, who was bent over laughing, “You silly girl, how did you pick that up and use it?”

At this moment, Tang Shuxia was incredibly grateful that she had made a deal with Xu Yujing in advance. Otherwise, she would have to waste so much breath dealing with the bizarre situations she encountered today and in the future. She didn’t want to say a second word when one sentence could solve the problem. However, after listening to their casual chat, she found that women in this era were much freer than in the past.

They could choose their favorite job and the person they liked.

This world was actually quite good.

The sun was out today. Tang Shuxia took a book and went outside. Qin Lei looked at her, not like she was going to find ingredients. She curiously asked You Yixuan, “Xuan Xuan, what is Teacher Tang planning to do? Is she going to be a tutor at a child’s house, like Fan Fan, helping with summer homework?”

Su Fan had racked his brains over everyone’s breakfast. The price he paid for a basket of sweet potatoes was to temporarily mortgage himself as a home tutor to a certain child.