The Master’s Mask Unveiled Again
Chapter 872 - 871: Director Qi, is this speed appropriate?

Chapter 872: Chapter 871: Director Qi, is this speed appropriate?

Yijing Residence.

Lu Mian and Xiao Qimo were staying home today. With nothing to do, they decided to play a game together.

The game was a collaboration between Sufeng Company and Lu Xi’s company. The two of them were beta testers.

Xiao Qimo had specially set up a gaming room at home, complete with top-of-the-line computers, monitors, headphones, and keyboards, all from the industry-leading brand Weilan.

Such a gaming room was undoubtedly built at a huge cost, but Xiao Qimo didn’t think much of it. As long as Lu Mian was happy, it was worth it.

And indeed, Lu Mian was quite happy.

But not because of the fancy setup. Ever since learning Xiao Qimo was W God, playing games with him felt like gaming with an idol. It put her in a consistently good mood.

They created accounts on the new game and leveled up from the beginner’s village, taking down monsters. In just over an hour, they had dominated the entire server.

Mo Nie stood at the door watching them for a long while, hesitating to bring in the stack of documents in his hands. He couldn’t help but begin worrying about the Xiao Family’s various businesses and their future.

Mo Si walked over with a tray of freshly prepared fruits. Seeing Mo Nie’s troubled expression, she asked curiously, "Nie Ge, why aren’t you going in?"

Mo Nie was too embarrassed to admit he didn’t dare to.

"Mo Si, could you call Master Xiao out? I’ve got a few things to report to him."

Mo Si pursed her lips. "Master Xiao’s busy, isn’t he?"

"Playing games counts as being busy?" Mo Nie shook his head. "Look, you’re getting paid so well, maybe you should talk some sense into Master Xiao. He’s not like Miss Lu. Miss Lu is on summer break and has free time to play games all day. But Master Xiao..."

"That’s not right." Mo Si shook her head.

"See? You also think it’s not right. Then you go and tell Master Xiao."

"I mean, Nie Ge, you’re wrong. How is Miss Lu not busy? She’s very busy!"

The new MM Ji Restaurant owned by Miss Lu hadn’t even opened yet, and reservations had already filled up for the next two months.

Sometimes, he would see Miss Lu sitting in front of her computer, busy with operations. Other times, she’d be tapping away on her phone, responding to messages. Occasionally, she’d even take out her very expensive sound system for voiceover work.

The piano placed in the villa would occasionally find favor with Miss Lu as well.

In fact, once he saw her playing the piano with one hand while sketching something on sheet music with the other.

He had sneaked a look at the sheet music, which was adorned with pencil sketches of traditional-style floral and bird patterns.

How could anyone say she wasn’t busy? She was just very efficient, that’s all.

Mo Nie: ...speechless.

After exchanging a few more words, as Mo Nie was about to leave in frustration, he happened to run into Xiao Jianli arriving at Yijing Residence.

Xiao Jianli had been brought over by the butler, carrying several food containers in hand.

The two of them quickly greeted him respectfully.

When Mo Si went to take the items, the old man begrudged handing them over.

"These were made by Qimo’s mother. She specifically told me to personally hand them to Mianmian."

As the elderly man spoke, he glanced at Mo Nie’s face. "What’s the matter? Something happened?"

Clutching his documents, Mo Nie felt at a loss for words.

"Nie Ge’s been under a lot of pressure lately. Master Xiao has delegated many of the responsibilities to him," Mo Si explained on Mo Nie’s behalf.

Mo Nie cast a pleading look at the old man, hoping he’d uphold justice and have a word with Master Xiao.

"Oh," Xiao Jianli mused, then asked, "Where’s Xiao Qimo?"

"In the room playing games," Mo Si replied, thinking the old man was about to start reprimanding him, then quickly added, "It’s because Miss Lu wanted to play, so Master Xiao just played with her for a bit."

Xiao Jianli gave a light hum and carried the food containers to the gaming room.

Mo Si thought there might be hope this time and immediately followed with the documents. However, before taking a few steps, the old man turned back to advise him.

"Honestly, spending time with your wife is the most important thing. Mo Nie, the fact that he’s handed the work to you shows that he trusts you. Just go ahead and handle it. You’ve got this!"

Mo Nie: ...

Before Mo Nie could feel sad, he saw the old man taking quick, small steps toward the door, enthusiastically shouting, "Mianmian, Grandpa’s here to see you! Grandpa brought you some delicious food..."

Mo Nie: ...Why did he feel like the old man was even crazier than Master Xiao?

——

This time, Xiao Jianli wasn’t just here to deliver food.

Lu Mian and Xiao Qimo stopped gaming to chat with the old man.

"This is a nice place you two have here. Do you need any housekeepers? I can transfer a few over," Xiao Jianli said as he examined Yijing Residence with approval.

Xiao Qimo, not wanting to be disturbed, replied, "No need."

Lu Mian wasn’t listening to them; her gaze had been fixed on the food containers on the table. While the two were talking, she quietly lifted the corner of one container and swiftly popped a piece of pea cake into her mouth.

A moment of pure happiness.

Occasionally being pampered by Xiao Qimo’s mother felt so good.

Being cared for by family, too, felt so warming.

"Mianmian, if you have time, Grandpa can take you to the Art and Calligraphy Institute. I told some of my old friends there that your calligraphy work is amazing, but they didn’t believe me."

Clearly, the old man was itching to brag about his granddaughter-in-law.

And he wanted to bring her in person to show her off.

Lu Mian chuckled. Her level of skill in calligraphy and painting was far from enough to be flaunted in front of renowned masters.

While casually grabbing another piece of green bean cake from the container, she muttered, "Sure, but I’d like to stop by the Go Institute first."

"The Go Institute? That’s right next door to the Art and Calligraphy Institute!" Xiao Jianli’s eyes lit up. "Mianmian, are you interested in Go?"

"It’s not that," Xiao Qimo interjected, shaking his head.

She wasn’t just interested—she was an expert.

As it happened, Xiao Jianli had connections at the Go Institute as well. In Jinjing, there wasn’t a place where he didn’t have friends to show off to.

"Alright then, we’ll visit the Go Institute first!"

The old man happily left Xiao Qimo out of the plan.

Someone, left out: ...

Yet, Xiao Qimo shamelessly tagged along with Xiao Jianli and Lu Mian, making sure no one could stop him.

Before leaving, he quietly packed a few pieces of the small desserts into a little box for Lu Mian. He’d noticed her sneaking bites earlier—she must really like them.

Mo Si was driving, and Xiao Jianli, out of habit, sat in the back seat.

But since Xiao Qimo and Lu Mian always shared the back seat, things became awkward. After all, three people couldn’t squeeze into the back.

"Mianmian, you sit here," Xiao Jianli said, patting the seat beside him, clearly signaling Xiao Qimo to sit in the front.

Xiao Qimo: ...

Reluctantly, he moved to the passenger seat.

But Lu Mian spoke a few words to Xiao Jianli before walking over to the driver’s side. "Mo Si, move to the back. I haven’t driven in a while, and I feel like practicing."

In reality, she had driven just a few days ago.

Mo Si panicked and refused to give up the driver’s seat. "Miss Lu, the old man has a heart condition... um..."

"Oh," Lu Mian nonchalantly pulled the dithering Mo Si out of the seat. "Don’t worry, I drive very steadily."

Mo Si: ...I don’t believe you!

Her words, word for word, reached Xiao Qimo’s ears. The phrasing was so familiar...

That was exactly what he had once said, down to the last syllable.

Xiao Qimo elegantly adjusted his glasses, a refined and gentle smile rising from his throat.

You little rascal!

Teasing him in front of Grandpa, no less!

Feeling small and helpless, Mo Si moved to the back seat and quickly buckled the old man’s seatbelt, clutching a bottle of Fast-acting Heart-saving Pills as a precaution.

Through the rearview mirror, Lu Mian cast a sidelong glance at him, thinking Mo Si was overreacting. She hadn’t taken the wheel to race, after all.

The girl started the car with practiced ease.

"I’ll set up the GPS for you," Xiao Qimo offered, pulling out his phone and briefly displaying the screen in front of her.

Lu Mian glanced at it.

The phone screen didn’t show any navigation app—just a single line of text.

[Do you just want to sit next to me?]

Lu Mian rested her hands casually on the steering wheel, her brows slightly arched. Glancing at the two people in the backseat, she smiled faintly without responding.

Her smile was languid yet mischievous as she asked, "Director Qimo, do you think this speed is alright?"

Xiao Qimo looked at the dashboard.

52.0 km/h.