Trembling At A High Altitude

"This... Impossible, I don't like being high-profile; I never let her post my pictures. Moreover, between me and her..." Liu Yin trailed off.

"Heh." Li Teng scoffed coldly.

Generally speaking, at this critical moment when the true identity is about to be revealed, a fraudster will buckle.

"But you can send her a private message, take a picture of me right now and send it to her, ask her if I am truly her sister, but don't you dare say it was my idea." Liu Yin actually came up with a solution.

"Alright."

Li Teng took out his phone and snapped a picture of Liu Yin across from him.

He then logged onto his seldom-used Weibo account and sent Liu Hui a private message.

The title was: Met a scammer claiming to be your sister, is she really? Should I call the police to arrest her?

He waited a few minutes, but there was no response.

"I'm so sorry, but I have some urgent matters to attend to, and I have to leave in a few minutes," Liu Yin said, checking the time on her phone and mentioning it to Li Teng.

"If you have urgent matters, you can leave now," Li Teng said with a smile and not a word more.

Your identity is about to be exposed, better run for it.

"Then, I'll be taking off now, goodbye," Liu Yin stood up.

"Good... bye." Li Teng chuckled. He had been tempted to say 'never see you again'.

That's just how it was; if she wasn't Liu Qian's daughter, if she was a fraudster, he certainly wouldn't meet her again.

If she truly was Liu Qian's daughter...

Then, after what had resembled a car crash of a blind date, there was even less reason to meet again.

So regardless of the outcome, the two of them were done, 'never to see each other again.'

After a while, Liu Yin came back.

She brought over a large plate of food, this time with five burgers, plus chicken legs, chicken nuggets, and so on, setting them down on the table in front of Li Teng.

"What are you doing?" Li Teng was a bit stunned.

"I saw you hadn't eaten enough." Liu Yin said and quickly walked away.

"This..." Li Teng looked at the pile of food in front of him, and then at the retreating figure of Liu Yin.

"Do I really eat that much?"

Once he was sure Liu Yin had left KFC, Li Teng finally diverted his attention; by now, he was truly full.

The remaining food would have to be taken home for Anna.

After packing up, ready to head home, Li Teng's phone buzzed with a notification.

It was a reply to the private message in the Weibo app.

From Liu Hui.

"She's my sister, who are you?"

Seeing Liu Hui's reply, Li Teng was a bit dumbfounded.

Really?

Is she truly the daughter of the wealthy Liu Qian?

Damn!

What to say?

No idea what to say.

Ha, these rich people really know how to play.

Actually sending the daughter to a regular primary school for social practice?

A colleague suggests a blind date for his son, and she actually turns up?

Li Teng had no words to express his ridicule.

Since that's the case, there's no need to worry about that bumbling Mother Li being scammed out of money anymore.

But he couldn't understand why Liu Yin would agree to the blind date.

Thinking it over, there seemed to be only one possibility.

Liu Yin probably cared a lot about face; embarrassed to refuse, she agreed to give Mother Li face just to go through the motions.

That was the only explanation.

No matter what, he had fulfilled the task entrusted by his mother.

If the two of them weren't to be, it wasn't his fault.

It was...

The chasm between the classes of the older generation!

No matter what, it wasn't my problem.

Having cleared all this up, Li Teng left KFC in high spirits, happily carrying his packed leftovers, and took the bus home.

"Back so soon?"

On seeing Li Teng arrive home, Mother Li wore an expression of extreme disappointment.

In Mother Li's imagination, under normal circumstances, if the blind date went well, they should be going to the movies hand in hand after dinner, right?

If not, it meant nothing came of it.

"Here's your two thousand yuan back." Li Teng took out his phone.

"Forget it, you keep it," Mother Li said, without another word, and turned to go back to the kitchen to continue washing dishes.

Watching her despondent figure, Li Teng felt inexplicably sad.

He knew Mother Li had placed great hopes on tonight's blind date, hoping for that lottery-like stroke of luck to fall upon them.

But really...

One should have self-awareness!

With such a vast gap in social status, it's futile to wish for more.

Cinderella stories only exist in fairy tales.

"Anna, do you want a burger?" Li Teng brought the packed food to his sister's room.

"I need to maintain my figure, I can't be eating this junk food," Anna waved dismissively.

"A little bit won't hurt," Li Teng persuaded.

"Thanks, but really, I won't eat it," Anna still refused.

"Dad, do you want a burger?" Li Teng then went to his father's room.

"I've just had a meal, I'm full," the father also waved him off.

"Mom, will you eat it?"

"I won't eat it," Mother Li said, not even turning her head; she seemed to be in a bad mood.

Having no other choice, Li Teng could only stash the bag in the fridge for now, to be heated and eaten tomorrow.

Rich people really waste so much, why buy all this?

Li Teng couldn't bear to throw it away, so he had brought it home.

Causing quite the trouble, huh!

...

In the following days, Li Teng happily resumed his life as a gaming homebody.

In the still of the night, lying in bed, Li Teng sneaked a look at the photo of Liu Yin he had taken at KFC.

This girl certainly had a pleasant face!

And it was seen with his own eyes, not through any beauty camera.

Her figure wasn't bad either.

She was charmingly naive, with a pleasant voice.

And she was so, so... wealthy.

Keeping her pinned down, clapping hands with her would surely be delightful.

But such matters could only stay in the realm of fantasy.

Li Teng looked at his right hand, then at his left.

"Follow my left hand, right hand with a slow motion...

"Right hand, left hand repeat the slow motion..."

"Doing this brings me joy..."

...

"Why does this song sound so familiar? Have I sung it before?"

...

Three days later.

"She went to our school again today and bought me a little gift."

Mother Li leaned against the doorframe, refusing to give up as she spoke to Li Teng.

"Oh."

"I asked her what she thought of you.

"She said, 'Pretty good.'

"Then I asked if she had any intentions of continuing to see you, you know?

"She just smiled and didn't say a word.

"I think, her silence means she didn't reject you, which means there's still a chance. Son, you cannot just give up like that, even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, we must give one hundred percent effort! This is your opportunity to transform from a pheasant to a phoenix, for a carp to leap through the Dragon Gate!"

Mother Li passionately persuaded Li Teng.

"Heh," Li Teng didn't want to talk.

She didn't refuse, just to save your face, okay? Mom, how thick is your skin? Don't you have any self-awareness at all?

"Do you have her WeChat ID? I asked, and it's her phone number. Add her on WeChat, chat with her, try to ask her out again. If she agrees, that means there's still a chance between you two; if she refuses, then I'll give up," Mother Li negotiated with Li Teng.

"Isn't it obvious how this kind of thing will turn out?" Li Teng rolled his eyes.

"You add her on WeChat now and ask her out. Whether it's successful or not, as long as you do it, I'll waive a month's rent and board," Mother Li offered Li Teng a deal.

"Three months."

"A month and a half."

"Two months."

"Deal!"

The money saved on rent and board could be deposited at Anna's to pay for her prosthetic limb.

In the past few days, Li Teng had been researching online and found that the billionaire Liu Qian apparently owned a company that made prosthetic limbs. Rumors claimed he'd fitted himself with an alloy limb, but it was unclear if this was true or false.

Next time, he'll have to ask Liu Yin about it.

And will there be a next time to meet?

In front of his mother, Li Teng took out his phone, searched for Liu Yin's WeChat ID through her phone number, and then added her.

"Li Teng, son of Zhang Liangying." He left a message with the friend request.

It was quickly accepted, and then, from her side, a smiling emoticon was sent.

"She took the initiative to send you an emoticon! That's a good sign, a very good sign!" Mother Li was excited.

"What now?" Li Teng was indifferent to it all. He was just doing it for the two months' rent and board. Whatever Mom wanted to do with it was fine; he was going to let her handle everything.

"How can you be so clueless? Ask her out again! See how she responds," Mother Li scolded Li Teng as if she were frustrated with his incapacity.

"Beautiful lady, are you free? Let's go out and watch a movie together?" Li Teng used voice input, which the input method converted into text, ready to send, but Mother Li stopped him.

"Her personality is quite shy, and she has that young girl's character. Don't call her 'beautiful lady' or anything like that. It sounds too formal and frivolous. She won't like it!" Mother Li disapproved of Li Teng's choice of words.

"So, what should I call her?" Li Teng handed the phone to Mother Li... You're the boss, you call the shots.

"Change 'beautiful lady' to 'Yin Yin,' it sounds more intimate." Mother Li, after some deep thought, did not take the phone but instead suggested to Li Teng.

"You decide," said Li Teng after making the change and then he sent the message.

Mother Li watched the phone screen with nervous anticipation, even more anxious than when she was at a school meeting waiting to hear if she had qualified for an excellence award.

Of course, she was not selected, and up to now, had never been selected.

A primary school music teacher was an easily dispensable presence.

She felt her life had been a failure and now pinned all her hopes on her son, Li Teng.

And now, it was a crucial turning point in her son's life.

It all depended on whether the 'Noble' on the other side of WeChat would offer this chance or not.

"Okay."

Half a minute later, she replied, along with a smiley face.

"Ah... Ah... Ah... She... she... she agreed! She agreed! I told you there was still a chance! There's hope! You child, how could you give up just like that? If I hadn't asked her myself today, I'd have thought there was really no hope left!" Mother Li danced around excitedly, as if she had won five million yuan... no, even more excited than winning five million yuan.

To become in-laws with the city's wealthiest family, wouldn't that mean getting whatever they wanted? Would the ugly duckling turn into a phoenix overnight?

Li Teng was somewhat stunned.

After that crash-scene of a blind date, she actually agreed to meet him?

Li Teng quickly came to terms with it.

It wasn't surprising at all.

Her agreeing to meet with him was probably because of Mother Li.

She had a good relationship with Mother Li, and Mother Li was so eagerly hoping that the two of them would be together. It wouldn't be nice to reject her to her face, so she could only find an opportunity to speak to him in person to clear things up, to prevent Mother Li from continuing to harbor unrealistic fantasies.

But Li Teng didn't agree with Liu Yin's approach.

It was like giving Mother Li hope once more, yet the reality was bound to disappoint her again.

After the failure of the last blind date, Mother Li had been depressed for three days, looking like she had aged a decade.

Could she withstand another blow?

"Quickly arrange with her which cinema to meet at... um, why not go to her family's Qianhui Cinema? She's most likely got free tickets, which could save quite a bit of money... but don't think about saving money now. You have to spend what needs to be spent. In the future, you're definitely going to double your earnings..." Mother Li babbled on as she continued instructing Li Teng.

"Where shall we meet up?" Li Teng asked Liu Yin under his mother's guidance through WeChat.

"I'm driving right now. Send me your location, and I'll come to pick you up. I'll call you when I'm about to arrive," Liu Yin replied quickly, also with a smiley face attached.

"Okay."

After Li Teng replied, he glanced at Mother Li.

"She seems... interested in getting to know you better! She agreed to go to a movie with you, and she's even driving over to pick you up. Son, you must seize this opportunity!"

"Hmm, let me teach you. During the movie, find a chance to hold her hand, hug her, kiss her, or even... Anyway, try to solidify the relationship between you two as quickly as possible! That's how your father won me over!" Mother Li did her best to offer Li Teng advice.

"And then if I go missing, remember to bail me out at the police station, Mom!" Li Teng reminded Mother Li.

"Don't worry, what's the worst that can happen? Getting jailed? What if it works out? You'll have your whole next life sorted! How can you lack even this little spirit of adventure? Rest assured, if you get locked up, I will definitely bring you food," Mother Li continued to coax Li Teng.

"I..." Li Teng was at a loss for words.

"Don't worry! I know her well! Even if she's unhappy inside, she won't call the police out of concern for her reputation! Girls like guys who are strong and take the initiative," Mother Li kept on persuading.

"..."

Li Teng was completely speechless.

This family, with two disabled members, and his mother dragging both along but still not satisfied—she wanted to throw him in jail too, was she gearing up for a threesome?

...

Not like the sports car beauty he had imagined.

The car Liu Yin parked by the side of the road was a regular domestic car, priced around ten to twenty thousand yuan.

As Li Teng approached, Liu Yin proactively opened the passenger door for him.

Li Teng got in the car, sitting in the passenger seat, fumbling for a while before he managed to fasten his seat belt.

"Where to watch the movie?" Liu Yin asked.

"Let's go to the nearby Qianhui Cinema," Li Teng replied, adhering to his mother's frugality.

"Qianhui Cinema?" Liu Yin hesitated.

"Isn't that the one your sister invested in?" Li Teng guessed from the name.

"Yes," Liu Yin nodded.

"Then let's support her business!"

"Okay," Liu Yin didn't say anything more and stepped on the gas, moving forward.

The two of them fell into silence again in the car.

Li Teng figured that during this meeting, Liu Yin should start explaining things to him, say directly to him what was not convenient to say to Mother Li, to make him give up hope.

But she didn't speak, just focused on driving.

Planning to talk after arriving at the cinema?