Chapter 165: What Other Move?

"Huh? I need to post this on my Moments too?"

Xiang Kui had never been in the habit of snapping photos before meals, so when she first heard Ruan Mianmian's words, she didn't react right away.

Ruan Mianmian clicked her tongue in disdain. "Why are you so clueless? You don't even know how to copy someone else's homework?"

"What does this have to do with copying homework?"

Xiang Kui furrowed her brows instantly.

Their conversation quickly caught Ah Kuan's attention.

Ah Kuan slipped away from the crowd, ambled over to the two of them, and asked, "What are you two plotting?"

Ruan Mianmian rolled her eyes and replied, "Xiang Kui is too slow and has no future—she doesn't even know how to copy homework."

"Huh?"

Ah Kuan was left completely baffled.

Ruan Mianmian's eyes rolled as an idea struck her. She looked at Ah Kuan and asked with a smile, "By the way, do you have Chen Ci's WeChat?"

"Brother Ci? Of course I do. We used to keep in touch all the time." Ah Kuan nodded.

Ruan Mianmian then looped her arm around Ah Kuan's shoulder and lowered her voice. "Did you see the Moments post I just put up?"

"Saw it. What about it?"

"Copy it."

"Copy it?"

Ah Kuan frowned, taking a moment to process the request.

"Oh, oh, oh! Got it, got it!"

Understanding dawned on him as Ah Kuan pulled out his phone, saved the photo Ruan Mianmian had posted, and prepared to draft a Moments post of his own.

"Wait!"

Ruan Mianmian snatched the phone right out of Ah Kuan's hand, tapped away furiously for a moment, and handed it back.

"Use this caption," she said.

Ah Kuan glanced at it, unable to keep his lips from twitching. He looked back and forth between Xiang Kui and Ruan Mianmian, then forced a grin.

"Is this really a good idea?"

"What's wrong with it? We're doing a good deed."

The smile on Ah Kuan's face grew even stiffer. He lowered his head to read the caption once more.

*Is this really doing a good deed?* he thought. *If Brother Ci sees this, he's probably going to come charging over here with a knife.*

However, compared to whatever crises might loom in the future, the immediate impact of the person right in front of him was far more terrifying.

Under Ruan Mianmian's watchful eye, Ah Kuan had no choice but to obediently post the exact same update to his Moments.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before Ah Kuan started receiving a barrage of question marks from Chen Ci.

[Kid! Unbelievable. Right in front of my face, you dare help me find a husband for my woman on your Moments? You must have a death wish!]

[Whose idea was this? Ruan Mianmian?]

[Just you wait!]

Ah Kuan watched Chen Ci's endless stream of angry messages with a twitching mouth, then silently looked over at Ruan Mianmian.

"Big Sis Mian, this..."

Catching Ah Kuan's desperate look, Ruan Mianmian hastily waved a hand. "Don't mind him. Keep your shirt on!"

Xiang Kui remained entirely in the dark, asking with a bewildered expression, "What on earth are you guys up to?"

Ruan Mianmian threw an arm around Xiang Kui's shoulder. "I bet you Chen Ci's call will be here any second now."

"What?"

The moment the words left her lips, Xiang Kui's phone rang out melodiously. The name "Chen Ci" glowing on the screen seemed to radiate such intense heat that it almost made Xiang Kui drop the device.

"Crap! Are you psychic?"

Xiang Kui stared blankly at the screen for a long moment, completely forgetting to answer the very call she had been agonizing over all evening.

"Don't answer it! Don't answer it!"

Just as Xiang Kui came to her senses and eagerly reached to pick up, Ruan Mianmian snatched the phone away and promptly rejected the call.

Xiang Kui: "Bestie???"

Ruan Mianmian curled her lips into a smile. "Answer it later. Let his emotions build up a bit more."

"..."

"Will this really work?" Xiang Kui asked, looking at Ruan Mianmian with lingering doubt.

Ruan Mianmian nodded and kept her eyes fixed on the screen. Less than two seconds later, the screen lit up again, accompanied by the same ringtone.

Ruan Mianmian hung up once more; Chen Ci called right back.

One was relentless; the other was persistent.

Finally, after declining four or five calls from Chen Ci, Xiang Kui's phone finally fell silent.

"It stopped?"

Xiang Kui bit her lip, staring at the phone. "No way... Does Chen Ci really have this little patience? Am I actually going to get dumped?"

As soon as she finished speaking, another phone ringtone chimed in—not Xiang Kui's, but Ruan Mianmian's.

Ruan Mianmian fished out her phone and saw an unfamiliar number flashing on the screen.

Xiang Kui blinked. "That's Chen Ci's..."

"Got it."

Ruan Mianmian's smile turned radiant. Just when everyone thought she would hang up again, she raised her hand and elegantly brought the phone to her ear.

Then, putting on an act, she asked in a feigned tone of confusion, "Hello? Who is this?"

"Sigh—Unbelievable. You're actually hanging up on me?"

An exasperated huff came from the other end.

"Ruan Mianmian!"

The name was ground out syllable by syllable, dripping with fury squeezed straight from the back teeth.

The moment Ruan Mianmian heard it, she knew it was Chen Ci, but she refused to acknowledge him right away, pressing on instead: "Who are you?"

"Can't you even tell?"

Chen Ci was hopping mad on the other end. He quickly snapped, "Put my wife on the phone."

"Your wife? Who's your wife?"

As she spoke, Ruan Mianmian glanced sidelong at Xiang Kui.

Right now, Xiang Kui's face was once again covered in a pitiful, aggrieved expression, her eyes glued to Ruan Mianmian's phone as if Chen Ci were trapped inside it.

"Put Xiang Kui on the phone!"

Chen Ci continued to fume, his voice tinged with rising anger.

Only then did Ruan Mianmian pretend to realize belatedly. "Oh? So it's you, Chen Ci? My bad, didn't recognize your voice."

"..."

A heavy silence fell over the other end of the line.

Chen Ci wasn't an idiot. With Ruan Mianmian playing dumb like this, it was obvious she already knew everything that had happened between them.

Ruan Mianmian pressed on, "What do you want with Xiang Kui anyway? Why isn't she answering your calls?"

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

Chen Ci gritted his teeth in rage. "Hurry up and let her answer."

Ruan Mianmian replied, "She's not available right now. Whatever you have to say, you can tell it to me, and I'll pass it along."

Chen Ci froze. "Not available? What do you mean not available? What is she doing?"

"Oho? So high-strung, are we?"

Ruan Mianmian couldn't help covering her mouth. To be honest, acting wasn't really her forte, but putting on a show for Chen Ci at a time like this was more than enough.

Another bout of silence came from Chen Ci.

Before Ruan Mianmian could say anything else, Chen Ci let out a sigh and asked, "Is it that she doesn't want to pick up? She doesn't want to talk to me? Is she mad at me?"

Ruan Mianmian arched an eyebrow. "As for that, I'm not entirely sure..."

"You! You're going to be the death of me!"

With that, an infuriated Chen Ci hung up the phone.

Hearing the dial tone coming from her phone, Ruan Mianmian was stunned for a second before bursting into laughter.

Xiang Kui stood in place, asking in a daze, "Well? What did he say?"

"He hung up."

Ruan Mianmian shrugged. Seeing Xiang Kui instantly revert to a tearful expression, she quickly offered comfort:

"Sis, don't cry! We still have a backup plan!"

Xiang Kui blinked. "What backup plan?"