Chapter 273 - The Nation’s Goddess
Chapter 273: The Nation’s Goddess
Xiao Luo had earlier accused Zhang Dashan of a lewd act, only to find out that he was wrong. To make up for irking Zhang Dashan, Xiao Luo was now on his way to get him breakfast. It was the least he could do.
He headed for the usual place where he always had his morning meals, and the shop served typical Chinese breakfast offerings of wontons, steamed buns, fritters, soy milk, and such.
When he returned to his rented apartment, three visitors were waiting for him. One was the female policewoman that he had met the previous evening, another, a woman in her thirties, and one other that made Xiao Luo’s heart skip a beat.
It was none other than the nation’s goddess – Su Li!
Su Li was wearing a white pleated dress, sitting delicately perched on the sofa, and looked exceptionally beautiful. Her silky black hair was pulled back into a sleek classic chignon, accentuating her high forehead and fair complexion, and giving her a chic, yet dignified appearance.
“Daddy!”
The cute little girl sitting beside Su Li jumped off the sofa. She ran, spreading her arms out and threw herself into Xiao Luo. She hugged on to him tightly and gave him a big happy smile.
As Zhang Dashan took the pack of breakfast off Xiao Luo’s hands, he was so thrilled that he couldn’t speak coherently, but somehow he managed to blurt, “Holy sh*t, jackpot! Bei Bei’s mom is Su Li!”
“Huh?”
Despite making the connection the moment he saw Su Li, Xiao Luo was still a little startled. Who would have guessed that the nation’s goddess, Su Li, had a daughter who was three years old?
Surprised by how the little girl had addressed Xiao Luo and by her show of affection, Su Li hurriedly walked over toward them. It was rather embarrassing that her child would call a total stranger her “daddy.”
Xiao Luo caught a whiff of her fragrance as she lowered her head to the little girl, she feigned a stern face and said, “Su Xiaobei, how can you simply call anyone your daddy?”
Su Xiaobei raised her head, looking quite adamant and replied, “He is Beibei’s father.”
“No, he isn’t,” Su Li said, feeling a little awkward now.
“Yes, he is.”
“I said he isn’t!”
Su Li was exasperated and spoke sternly to Bei Bei. She was still bent forward slightly, eyeing the little girl, and she appeared a little tense. Her chest heaved as she struggled to remain calm.
Su Xiaobei was hurt and kept quiet, biting her lips. Tears formed in her eyes, but she kept herself from crying out. She had never been scolded this harshly before, especially not by her mother.
Xiao Luo felt a little sorry for her and rubbed her head to console her. He said, “Be a good girl Bei Bei, don’t cry, okay. You must be hungry now? Here, we’ve got a bun for you.”
He reached out and grabbed a steaming xiaolongbao from Zhang Dashan, and brought it toward Bei Bei’s mouth.
“Excuse me! You shouldn’t give that kind of food to Bei Bei.”
The woman that looked in her thirties spoke in an unkindly tone as she hurried over.
She wasn’t what you would call a beauty, but she was fairly attractive with an appealing, oval-shaped face. Her glossy black hair was swept back into a tight bun at the back of her head, and she was dressed in black business attire.
Xiao Luo immediately recognized her from her photos online. She was Su Li’s manager.
She immediately pulled Su Xiaobei behind her back and spoke harshly to Xiao Luo. “Do these buns even meet the quality standard for health? The environment here is quite unhygienic, and I saw piles of garbage strewn all over,” she said, unnecessarily condescending in her tone, “How could you even feed that to Bei Bei? What if she ends up with food poisoning, are you going to be responsible for it?”
“We eat the buns here every day, and we’ve never gotten even a stomach ache,” Zhang Dashan said.
“Maybe for you both. But don’t you know that kids have lower immunity?” she said, intent on making her point.
Zhang Dashan just waved his hand and did not bother to reply to her. She came across as the kind of person who thought she had all the answers, and he wasn’t going to waste his time arguing.
Xiao Luo didn’t say a word. He just stuffed the xiaolongbao into his mouth and ate it.
Seeing that the situation was not going well, the female policewoman quickly intervened and introduced the little girl’s rescuers. “Err, Miss Su, this gentleman here is Xiao Luo. It was him and his friend over there who saved your daughter from the traffickers last night,” she said.
Su Li merely glanced at Xiao Luo, gave him a quick once-over, and said, “Thank you.”
She bowed slightly, she had an air about her, almost aloof one could say. But she was graceful in expressing her appreciation.
To Zhang Dashan, any expression of gratitude from the nation’s goddess was literally a dream. He smiled bashfully, scratching the back of his head and said, “You’re welcome, you’re welcome, we were only trying to do the right thing, weren’t we, Old Xiao?”
He put his arms around Xiao Luo, patting his shoulders.
Xiao Luo glanced at him, then turned to Su Li and smile, he said, “Your daughter is really adorable. We had a great time looking after her.”
Su Li didn’t seem too keen on responding to what Xiao Luo said, and replied, “Well, we have to go. I’m going to take her away now.”
“Sure, please go ahead!” Xiao Luo said, as he politely forced a smile.
“Since you saved her, allow me to give you a reward as a gesture of my gratitude.”
“Oh, no. Your daughter and I get along very well, so that won’t be necessary.”
Xiao Luo courteously rejected her offer. He had never wanted anything in return and had grown very fond of that cute little girl. Despite knowing each other for only a day, they really bonded.
“Are you sure?”
Su Li glanced around the shabby rented apartment, and what she saw convinced her that the people who lived here were really in need of money. The last thing she expected was that they would reject her offer of a reward.
“Miss Su Li, getting to see you in person is already a great blessing. We don’t need any money as a reward. But if you really want to thank us, I’d appreciate it if you could sign me a few autographs, hehe,” Zhang Dashan said, unable to contain his excitement.
The manager frowned and unconsciously clicked her tongue, a look of disdain written all over her face.
“That’s all, just a simple autograph?” Su Li said, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
Zhang Dashan said jokingly, “This isn’t simple at all, Miss Su Li. If I were to sell your autograph, I could definitely make myself a lot of money, haha.”
“Huh, greedy. The poor are all the same!”
The manager mocked Zhang Dashan, “And I thought you guys didn’t want anything in return.”
“Miss, can’t you tell that I’m just joking? If I have Goddess Su Li’s autograph, I will keep it close to me forever. My mum is also a big fan, and I will bring it back to her as a Lunar New Year gift,” Zhang Dashan said, feeling slightly peeved with her arrogant attitude.
“Really? Hah!”
The manager sneered, she had already made up her mind on the kind of people they were and did not believe a word he said.
“Hah, your mom!”
The words almost burst out from Zhang Dashan’s lips, but in the presence of the nation’s goddess Su Li, he held his tongue.
“Miss Chai, please, they are Xiaobei’s benefactors!” Su Li chided her manager.
The manager stiffened visibly and refrained from making any more remarks.
Su Li looked proud and tall, a lifted chin gave her an air of slight arrogance. She gazed kindly at Zhang Dashan and said, “Do you have a pen?”
Zhang Dashan was startled for a moment. Then, he nodded excitedly, “Yes, yes, of course!”
He hurriedly ran back into the house, and when he returned, he had a black marker in his hands, along with a bundle of other things: new shoes, new clothes, new pants, and even a new basketball.
“Goddess Su Li, please autograph all these items. I’ll be very grateful,” Zhang Dashan with a silly smile on his face.
Standing face-to-face with the country’s biggest star and an international celebrity, it was hard for him to remain calm.
Su Li didn’t say a word. She took the marker and began signing on each of the items.
The policewoman looked on excitedly. She couldn’t contain her own desire to get an autograph from someone that she absolutely adored, and that the whole country worshipped. “Miss Su, could you please give me your autograph too?” she asked. Without waiting for an answer, she immediately took out a notepad from her uniform.
She had purchased the notepad in a hurry after learning that the little girl rescued by Xiao Luo was Su Li’s child. This was an opportune moment to get an autograph from Su Li, and she couldn’t wait to brag to her friends after she got off from work. Many of them were also big fans of the celebrity.