It was no longer meaningful for Xu Muqing to stay, as she wouldn't be able to see Tongtong's performance.
Besides, Yaoyao had kindergarten tomorrow. If they didn't go back today, they would have to wake up extremely early tomorrow, and the child wouldn't be able to get up.
Xu Muqing wasn't hungry, but she was worried about Yaoyao getting hungry on the way, so she agreed to Liu Yifeng's suggestion.
Immediately, the group headed to the cafeteria. After finishing dinner, Liu Yifeng and his son saw Xu Muqing to the entrance of the television station.
"Alright, don't see me off. It's cold outside.
Tongtong, Aunt Xu won't be able to see your subsequent matches. You have to work hard and strive to win the championship. Aunt Xu will host a celebratory banquet for you then!" Xu Muqing bent down and looked at Tongtong gently.
Yaoyao also clenched her fists: "Brother Tongtong, I believe in you, keep it up!"
"Aunt Xu, sister Yaoyao, I will perform well. Please be careful on your way back. Remember to call my dad to report your safe arrival when you get home!" Tongtong nodded.
Xu Muqing couldn't help but touch his little face: "You're such a thoughtful child. Alright, Aunt Xu knows. I'll call your dad when I get home."
After speaking, she straightened up and looked at Liu Yifeng: "Then we're leaving. Remember what I said, if anyone gives you trouble, you must call me.
Although I'm not here, I still have friends here!"
"Don't worry, if that man really comes looking for trouble, I can handle it myself. Don't worry about it." Liu Yifeng didn't take the man seriously.
"Don't pretend to be strong. After all, the child is with you. Calling me isn't something to be ashamed of. We're friends!" Xu Muqing thought Liu Yifeng was too embarrassed to admit he needed help and might lose face, so she quickly added.
Liu Yifeng nodded: "I know. If I really can't handle it, I'll definitely call you. Hurry back. It's six o'clock now. You'll get back around nine, which is just in time for Yaoyao's bedtime!" Liu Yifeng glanced at the expensive watch on his wrist.
Actually, Xu Muqing had noticed this watch when she first arrived but had never asked about it.
Now that she was leaving, she couldn't resist her curiosity and asked: "Yifeng, I remember you didn't wear a watch when you came. Did you buy this watch here? It's quite nice!"
Liu Yifeng wasn't a devious person and didn't try to hide it: "No, I went back for something last time. This watch was a gift from Wanru. Do you think it's nice too?"
Upon hearing that it was from Su Wanru, her eyes dimmed slightly: "So it's from President Su. She has good taste.
But this watch isn't cheap. If she gave you such an expensive gift, are you two dating?" she asked, feigning amusement.
"No, she's just a good friend to me, like you are. She gave me the watch because I invested in buying property before. When she found out, she bought a few properties too. Not long after, there was a demolition project, and she made some money. So she bought me a watch to thank me!" Liu Yifeng explained.
"I see. I didn't realize you had such good investment insight. This watch is very nice. Take good care of it and don't lose it!" Xu Muqing's tone was clearly unhappy when she said this.
To her surprise, Liu Yifeng, being a typical straightforward man, didn't pick up on it: "Of course, I'll take good care of it. I'd rather lose myself than lose this watch."
He didn't say this because the watch was a gift from Xu Muqing and had a different meaning, but simply because the watch was too expensive, and he couldn't bear to lose it.
However, Xu Muqing found his words grating. She gave a soft "hmm" and took Yaoyao's hand, getting into the car.
"Uncle Liu, goodbye Brother Tongtong!" In the car, Yaoyao waved goodbye to Liu Yifeng and Tongtong.
Before Liu Yifeng could say goodbye, Xu Muqing's car sped away, leaving a bewildered Liu Yifeng behind. He couldn't understand what he had done to upset Xu Muqing. They had been fine just moments ago, so why was she suddenly angry?
Seeing his confused father, Tongtong explained: "Dad, you shouldn't have shown how much you cared about this watch in front of Aunt Xu!"
"Why? This watch is so expensive, isn't it natural to care about it?" Liu Yifeng was puzzled.
Tongtong looked at his emotionally clueless father helplessly: "Dad, you know nothing about women. When you showed so much care for the watch Aunt Su gave you in front of Aunt Xu, she interpreted it as you caring about Aunt Su. She's jealous."
"I didn't mean it that way. I just thought the watch was expensive, and it should be cherished. It would be a shame to lose it?"
"That's just your thinking. Aunt Xu doesn't see it that way. Otherwise, why would I say you know nothing about women?" Tongtong said.
Liu Yifeng looked at his son, who spoke so eloquently, with curiosity: "Tongtong, how do you understand women so well at such a young age?"
"It's not that I understand women, it's that Dad is too dumb. You can't see something so obvious.
Alas, I'm worried your girlfriend will be driven to death by you when you start dating." Tongtong sighed heavily, like an adult.
Liu Yifeng felt a bit embarrassed: "Don't talk about Dad like that. The fact that Dad doesn't understand women means Dad isn't a womanizer. Whoever becomes my girlfriend will be blessed by her past lives."
He didn't see understanding women as something to be proud of.
In his opinion, only by dating many women would one truly understand them.
Someone like him, a novice in relationships, was as rare as an endangered species and should be cherished.
Speaking of which, Tongtong had a question: "Dad, you have quite a few women around you now. Aunt Xia, Aunt Xu, and Aunt Su. Who do you really like?"
This question stumped Liu Yifeng. All three women were excellent, and it would be a lie to say he had no feelings for them.
However, he hadn't decided on a person to spend his life with.
He just felt that remaining good friends with them for life would be quite good.
Otherwise, choosing any one of them might cause hurt to the other two.
With that in mind, he replied: "I won't choose any of them. We'll just be good friends for life!"
Even the best marital relationship could be worn down by arguments, and one day, it might lead to the graveyard of marriage.
Only friendships could last.
Tongtong smiled without saying anything at his father's answer, as if he already knew who his father's other half would be.
Seeing that Xu Muqing had left, Liu Yifeng took Tongtong back to the lounge. Xia Qianqian was on the phone with her executive agent.
On the phone, the executive agent couldn't believe that Xia Qianqian had received an advertisement with a fee of one million.
After Xia Qianqian confirmed it multiple times, she excitedly stated that she would bring the contract to the backstage for Liu Yifeng to sign.
As her agent, the artist's income was directly linked to her own. A higher income for the artist meant a higher income for her, and vice versa.
After hanging up the phone, Xia Qianqian saw the father and son walking in and asked with a smile: "Has Sister Xu left?"
Liu Yifeng nodded: "Yes, we just saw her off!"
"I just called my agent. He said he'll come to the backstage to sign the contract!" Xia Qianqian saw that Xu Muqing was gone and didn't say anything further, immediately changing the topic.
"Okay, let's finalize the contract as soon as possible. After the program recording is finished, we can all go back to Haicheng together to shoot the advertisement." Liu Yifeng didn't like to procrastinate.
The three of them rested in the lounge for about an hour before heading to the recording studio. Many audience members were already in the stands.
The large screen was still showing Tian Tian's video, and everyone was watching with great interest. Some even took out paper and pens to take notes.
When they were ready to go back, they would use the content from their notes to educate their children and see if they could also cultivate a genius.
The semi-finals that evening were very tense, with everyone giving their all.
Even Song Yicheng, who had never used his special guest privilege, was unable to answer several questions, possibly due to nervousness. He ended up using his special guest privilege twice in a row.
Yun Duor knew the specialty of the help group members, so the contestants who chose to have them help answer questions did not make any mistakes.
They all helped Song Yicheng answer correctly, and he eventually qualified.
Where there were qualifiers, there were also those who lost.
Two of the eliminated contestants were foreign.
The two delivered their farewell speeches and left with regret.
As soon as the program recording for the day ended, Liu Yifeng's phone rang. It was Xu Muqing calling. She said she had arrived home and that he shouldn't worry.
Seeing that she had arrived home, Liu Yifeng finally felt relieved. After all, it was worrying for a woman to drive for three hours late at night.
After finishing the call with Xu Muqing, Liu Yifeng drove Tongtong and Xia Qianqian towards the hotel.
Unbeknownst to them, as soon as his car started, a black sedan began to follow them.
Liu Yifeng didn't pay much attention. After all, the city often had traffic jams at night, and it was normal for cars to follow behind.
He was chatting and laughing with Xia Qianqian about other topics, lest the journey be too boring.
"Qianqian, how much younger are you than your cousin? He looks quite a bit older than you, and his child is already in junior high."
Xia Qianqian smiled and said: "My cousin is thirteen years older than me. I'm twenty-five this year, and he's thirty-eight."
"Twenty-five is not too young. In my village, girls who don't go to college get married and have children at twenty.
Some even earlier. You should hurry too!
While a career is important, family is equally important."
"You're still lecturing me? You're single and taking care of a child yourself. Wait until you're no longer single before lecturing me!" Xia Qianqian said with a smile.
"Hahaha, then let's see who stays single longer." Liu Yifeng dared not lecture anymore after hearing that.
At this moment, he noticed Tongtong's expression was solemn, and he had been looking behind them.
He put away his smile and his expression became serious: "Tongtong, what's wrong? Is there a situation?"
"Dad, I think we're being followed!" Tongtong said in a deep voice.
Xia Qianqian tensed up upon hearing this: "Ah, who's following us?"
She also turned around and looked at the cars behind them. Several cars were driving side-by-side, and she couldn't tell which one was following them.
Liu Yifeng also saw several cars behind him through the rearview mirror, but he wasn't sure which one was following him, so he asked: "Tongtong, which car is following us?"
"The black car right behind Dad's!" Tongtong reminded him.
Liu Yifeng looked at the black car in the rearview mirror. The driver was a man, whom he didn't recognize.
However, he could guess that the person following him could only be the man he had a conflict with at the amusement park yesterday.
He didn't expect this man to be so quick to retaliate.
But this also showed that the man's identity was not ordinary, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to find out his itinerary so quickly.
This car following him must have been planned for a long time. He just didn't know what tricks they intended to play.
However, Liu Yifeng was not afraid. He had already dealt with a van full of people last time. How many people could a sedan fit?
The man probably didn't know about his skills, otherwise, he wouldn't have arranged for just one sedan to follow him.