I had already called Uncle Lei Luo, and while waiting for him to arrive, the fried snacks that Lü Le ordered were served. Since they might make us thirsty, I also took the liberty of ordering two glasses of cola.

Fried snacks and cola—the perfect guilty pleasure combo. Truly, a Best Match.

About ten minutes later, Uncle Lei Luo who was dressed like the Punisher appeared at the entrance of the bar, looking out of breath.

What surprised me even more was the stunning woman accompanying him. Wearing a stylish beret, she had long, wavy, flame-red hair cascading over her shoulders and was clad in a black deep-V dress, the kind that only a woman confident in her figure would dare to wear.

The bar was nearly at full capacity, but thankfully, the four-seater booth here still had two open seats—something I had ensured by fending off multiple guests who had asked to share the table.

"Uncle! Over here!" I waved him over, and he nodded before striding toward me with his elegant companion.

"The relationship between them isn’t great I suppose? It smells like gunpowder," Tian Xi observed, picking up on something off.

Indeed, the red-haired beauty hadn't spared Uncle Lei Luo a single glance since stepping inside. She kept her head turned away, exuding an air of disdain, while he, on the other hand, seemed equally irritated. His grip on her arm was firm—far from gentlemanly.

Noticing the situation, Tian Xi and I scooted over, each making room for one person. Without hesitation, Uncle Lei Luo took the seat beside me, leaving the red-haired beauty to sit next to Tian Xi.

"This is Tian Xi. The singer performing tonight is… a close friend of hers. As for Uncle Lei Luo, he's a… police officer."

The moment he sat down, I could feel Tian Xi's mood souring.

After all, Lei Luo had been investigating their group for a week now. While the thugs might be bast*rds, they weren’t stupid. By now, they had undoubtedly identified his face. She must not have recognized him at first due to the distance, but up close, she certainly did.

They had been lying low recently, doing everything they could to avoid the police—only to now discover that this cop was actually their boss’s old man. For a group of delinquents who generally had strained family relationships, parents weren’t exactly a topic that evoked fondness.

After all, if their families had been reliable, who would willingly end up as a good-for-nothing thug, looked down upon by society?
Noticing Tian Xi’s resentful glare, Lei Luo frowned in confusion. His gaze flicked between me and the drinks on the table before he suddenly smacked his forehead.

"Ah, did I just interrupt your date?"

"No, you're overthinking it. Sis Xi and I aren’t like that… More importantly, who's this lady?"

"Oh, let me introduce you. This is my ex-wife, Xie Yuanyue. I was surprised to run into her on the way here. I didn't expect her to show up in a place like this."

"Hello, my name is Chang… Lingmeng."

I couldn't help but be surprised by the introduction.

I had considered the possibility before, but still, Yuanyue barely looked older than twenty. She didn’t seem like someone who could have a son who was nearly twenty… "Lei Mu¹" (Mother Lei) sounded strange, almost like the name of a blue-haired maid wielding a meteor hammer.

Calling her "Sis Yuanyue" felt more fitting.

Even if she were thirty now, that would mean she had Lei Laohu when she was… My gaze instinctively shifted toward Lei Luo, now filled with judgment. Just how much of a beast was this guy?!

Meanwhile, Tian Xi’s expression had turned downright foul.

Having her boss’s parents sitting beside her like this was bad enough, but the fact that they weren’t exactly on good terms made it worse.

"Shut up, Old Lei. Let me handle this myself." Sis Yuanyue silenced him with an exasperated glance before reaching into her purse. She pulled out a sleek metallic case, retrieved two business cards, and handed them to me and Tian Xi.

"I'm the chairwoman of Yuanyue Group. Our subsidiary, Yuanyue Entertainment, is still in its early stages, but I was honored to receive an invitation from Mr. Yuwen today. I'm here to scout the new talent he has his eye on."

A confident introduction. Well, given that she ran a company large enough to be called a "group," her confidence was warranted.

Since Yuanyue Entertainment was a newly established subsidiary, she was clearly expanding into the entertainment industry.

"…And then you got lost in the underground shopping district?" Lei Luo asked, arms crossed.

"It’s not my fault! Digital maps don’t include underground areas, and the mall’s directory is a mess. The planning here is fundamentally flawed!"

She actually had a point. I nodded in agreement.

"You're just too reliant on plans and rules. The moment things go off-script, you can’t handle it."

"That just means my plans weren’t thorough enough!"

"Yeah? Then don’t come crying to me when your son runs away from home! Go ask your precious plans for help!"

The two of them completely ignored me and Tian Xi, descending into a bickering match that felt straight out of a romcom.

"Are you children?" Tian Xi cut in, her voice icy. That shut them both up real fast.

"Aren’t you worried about Lei Laohu… I mean, Lei Kelie’s situation?" I asked, taking a more diplomatic approach than Tian Xi. "According to Uncle Lei, custody was awarded to you after the divorce, right?"

Sis Yuanyue looked momentarily surprised by my directness but quickly regained her poise.

"Why do you think I’m here tonight? I came to take her home."

She rested her chin on one hand, exuding the confidence of someone who already knew all the answers.

Tian Xi and I exchanged glances, reading the same shock in each other’s eyes.

"At least for now, everything is still within my grasp." She then leaned over to whisper something into Tian Xi’s ear. Whatever she said made Tian Xi's face go red, just like a ripe peach.

"You… You already know everything?!"

The shock was so great that Tian Xi, who had been acting all tough just moments ago, suddenly switched to using honorifics.

"Wait, hold on a second." Lei Luo, still entirely out of the loop, frowned. "Are you saying you already know where that brat is?"

Of course, no one bothered explaining it to him.

Whether it was Haitang or Sis Yuanyue, the fact remained: rich people get things done faster than the police.

"I apologize for what that brat did to you and your friend," Sis Yuanyue continued, her voice sincere. "I’ll make sure she apologizes to you both personally."

Huh. That sounded a lot like what Lei Luo had said earlier. Like father, like mother.

"By the way, have you ever considered debuting as an idol?" she asked, shifting gears. "With a face like yours, I can guarantee that even if you're completely tone-deaf, you'll still make it big."

I hadn’t even opened my mouth to refuse when Lei Luo laughed.

"Ah, don’t let that pretty face fool you. This one’s actually a guy."

Crap.

I did, in fact, tell Lei Luo that I was a man when I first met him. But if Tian Xi found out now, their whole "curse of fate" theory would crumble!

I swiftly slapped the fake ID Haitang gave me onto the table.

"Sorry, Uncle, but I lied back then. I’m actually a girl~"

He studied the ID for a long moment before nodding.

"Ah, that makes sense. I knew something was off. No way a guy could look this pretty."

Guess I’m stuck playing the role of a girl again… Everything that happened tonight was definitely getting filed away in my Black Histories—never to be remembered.

"So, Sis Yuanyue, when exactly did you find out… about them?"

Back when Lei Laohu first went missing, she had called Lei Luo in a panic. That meant she must have only learned the truth after that.
Tian Xi seemed to have a theory.

"Wait… Did the owner Mr. Yuwen tell you?"

Yuanyue-jie smirked.

"That, for now, is a secret. You’ll both find out soon enough. But if you two lovely ‘girls’ ever consider entering the idol industry, Yuanyue Entertainment is always open to you."

The way she emphasized "girls" made me shudder. Although it was directed at Tian Xi, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable hearing it myself.

"Wait a second, something's been bugging me! Why am I just 'Uncle,' but she gets to be 'Sis Yuanyue'? She's already 42! Calling her 'Aunt' or even 'Madam' wouldn’t be out of line!"

42?! No way. If she told me she was 24, I'd believe it.

...But blurting out a woman's age is practically a death sentence. No wonder this guy got divorced.

Yuanyue's face darkened, just as she was about to explode. Luckily, at that exact moment, the bar's lights dimmed, leaving only a single spotlight illuminating the stage. This sudden shift in atmosphere might have just saved Uncle Lei Luo’s life.

I glanced at my phone—16:55. Looked like Lei Laohu's solo concert was about to begin.

"Aren’t you going to join your bros?" I asked Tian Xi.

"They’re over in the temporary seating near the dance floor. It’s way too crowded there, so I’ll just stay here and keep an eye on you."

I completely understood—this wasn’t even about gender. No one wants to be crammed in with a bunch of sweaty, smelly guys.

The energetic elderly gentleman, leaning on his cane, stepped onto the stage and delivered his opening speech with a strong, steady voice.

"You'd never guess he's 78—he hardly looks his age."

Spoken by none other than Sis Yuanyue, who herself hardly looks anywhere near 42. Now, isn't that a bit ironic?

"Ladies and gentlemen, some of you are industry professionals who accepted my invitation. Some of you saw the event poster and got curious. And some of you just happened to be here enjoying a drink. No matter how you got here, I’m truly grateful that you’re all present at this very moment, ready to witness the first step of a rising star on her journey as a new idol."

"Now, some of you may be wondering—why, after all these years, have I decided to step back into the industry for an unknown girl? Well, let’s just say I see something rare in her—something essential for an idol. What is that quality, you ask? Well, I’ll leave that a mystery for now. By the end of tonight, I hope you’ll understand."

Knowing long speeches aren’t exactly crowd-pleasers, the old gentleman kept his remarks brief.

The spotlight shifted to the host—a woman with dark red, straight, shoulder-length hair.

Wait… wasn’t she the receptionist from earlier?

"Thank you, Mr. Yuwen, for your opening words! Now, let’s get straight to the main event! Everyone, please give a warm welcome to tonight’s star—Lei Meow Meow-chan, performing her first song, Mahou no Kotoba!"

"PFFFT!!"

I sprayed a mouthful of cola all over Tian Xi’s face.