Xu Xiuwen took a few deep breaths, then he was ready to tell Ning Wanqiu everything.
Ning Wanqiu, noticing his behavior and knowing her son well, immediately guessed that he had something important to say.
Xu Xiuwen opened his eyes, looked at Ning Wanqiu, and calmly said, "Mom, what I'm about to say is serious. I'm not joking."
Ning Wanqiu nodded, her curiosity piqued.
Xu Xiuwen continued, "During the summer, I started writing a novel."
"Yes, and then?"
"Then, I made some money from writing."
"I know, you've mentioned that."
"Actually, I lied to you."
"Lied to me?" Ning Wanqiu's expression tightened. "Your money wasn't earned? Did you steal it?"
Xu Xiuwen was instantly speechless.
"Mom, where would I steal 30,000 yuan? Do you really think so little of your son?"
Ning Wanqiu glared at him and huffed, "Blame yourself. You were so naughty when you were little. Just the other day, your grandma called and mentioned your antics as a child."
"That was years ago. I don't even remember. You can say what you want, I can't stop you."
"Enough chit-chat. Get to the point. What did you lie about?"
Xu Xiuwen cautiously observed Ning Wanqiu's expression, guessing she was in a good mood.
So he said, "I did make money writing books, but it wasn't 30,000 yuan. I lied about the amount."
"Hmm?" Ning Wanqiu raised an eyebrow, vaguely guessing what he was about to say.
Xu Xiuwen decided to say it all at once, "I've written three books so far. The first one made 250,000 yuan, the second one over a million, and the third one over 1.5 million. During my time at university, I turned my novels into a TV series and sold it to Jiangsu Television for 12.25 million yuan. Then I bought a BMW 5 Series for 650,000 yuan—"
"Wait!" Ning Wanqiu quickly interrupted.
The string of numbers Xu Xiuwen rattled off made her wonder if she had misheard.
"Say that again."
"…"
Xu Xiuwen had to repeat it.
Ning Wanqiu was silent for a few seconds after hearing it.
She looked at Xu Xiuwen and then asked, "Son, have you been under a lot of stress lately? You just got home and you're talking nonsense?"
Xu Xiuwen was both amused and exasperated, "Mom, I'm telling the truth."
Ning Wanqiu's expression grew serious. "You're saying it's true? Do you have any proof?"
"I actually do. Mom, come take a look."
Xu Xiuwen went to his room, turned on his computer, logged into the author backend on Jinjiang, and showed Ning Wanqiu the page with his earnings.
Then, Xu Xiuwen took out the contract for the BMW 5 Series from his bag and placed his bank card on the table.
"Mom, this card has over ten million yuan in it right now. You can check with the bank."
Ning Wanqiu looked away from the computer screen, at him, then at the contract and the bank card. She turned and walked toward the bedroom, muttering, "I must be too tired today. I'm hallucinating."
"Mom! It's not a hallucination," Xu Xiuwen hurriedly called after her.
Ning Wanqiu turned around, looking at him. "You're really not lying to me?"
Xu Xiuwen nodded seriously.
Ning Wanqiu stared at him, her face calm and unreadable.
Suddenly, she smiled.
Ning Wanqiu walked over, hugged Xu Xiuwen, and said excitedly, "You've really made me proud."
Xu Xiuwen didn't resist, leaning into her embrace.
Despite being much shorter than him, this emotional moment made it irrelevant.
After the emotional moment.
Ning Wanqiu suddenly let go, then glared at him and said, "So you made money and then spent 650,000 yuan on a car without telling me?"
Xu Xiuwen was about to confirm but noticed her expression wasn't right, so he felt guilty.
He awkwardly smiled and explained, "Mom, there's a reason I bought the car."
Ning Wanqiu nodded, "Go on, tell me what reason made you spend 650,000 yuan on a car without consulting me. Do you understand cars? Do you know the prices? Are you acting on your own because you think I can't control you anymore?"
Xu Xiuwen thought to himself that Ning Wanqiu's personality was a bit like Cheng Lu's.
Their personalities were similar enough to be mother and daughter.
As for looks, they were equally matched.
Although Ning Wanqiu was already thirty-four, time had left no trace on her face.
Her beauty was fully intact, rivaling actresses in the entertainment industry.
While Xu Xiuwen was also handsome, he was nowhere near his mother's level.
He even wondered if he wasn't her biological son when he was younger.
But that was impossible. So the only possibility was that his unseen father wasn't good-looking and brought his looks down.
That wasn't the main point.
The main point was that Xu Xiuwen had a headache.
Cheng Lu wanted him to listen to her.
Ning Wanqiu also wanted him to listen to her.
If they ever had conflicting opinions, who should he listen to?
The future in-law relationship seemed troublesome.
Xu Xiuwen thought for a moment and said to Ning Wanqiu, "Mom, there's a saying: economic foundation determines the superstructure. Now that I'm making so much money, shouldn't you listen to my opinions more at home?"
Ning Wanqiu immediately glared at him and said, "Let me tell you, Xu Xiuwen, as long as I'm your mom, you have to listen to me. If you do something like this again, don't blame me for not warning you. If you think you don't have to listen to me anymore, you can stay away from home."
Xu Xiuwen quickly gave up the idea of fighting for authority, nodding like a chicken pecking at rice, "I won't. I can ignore anyone else's words, but I'll always listen to my mom."
Ning Wanqiu finally looked at him with satisfaction.
Then Ning Wanqiu asked about some other details.
Xu Xiuwen answered each question one by one, without any concealment.
When she heard that Xu Xiuwen had spent two months filming a TV series, and that the series was about to be broadcast on Jiangsu Provincial TV, Ning Wanqiu's first thought was that Xu Xiuwen must have missed at least two months of classes!
How could he have time for classes while filming?
Ning Wanqiu was a bit angry, but she also knew that her son was grown up and had his own ideas, so she couldn't control such things.
She finally said, "I really want to see what kind of TV series you've made. You said it premieres the day after tomorrow, right?"
"That's right, the day after tomorrow."
"Alright, I got it."
Xu Xiuwen thought for a moment and then said to Ning Wanqiu, "Mom, you mustn't tell anyone about my making money. Otherwise, all those relatives will come asking for loans. If I lend them money, they might not return it, and if I don't, it will hurt your reputation."
"You don't need to remind me."
"And Mom, I'm planning to buy you a car."
"Another car?" Ning Wanqiu frowned.
Xu Xiuwen nodded, "I'm keeping the BMW 5 Series in Jinling for my own use. I plan to buy you another car so that you can drive wherever you want, and since you have a driver's license, it saves you from having to learn to drive."
"Money shouldn't be spent recklessly like this..."
Xu Xiuwen interrupted her, "Mom, earning money is meant to be spent. Besides, I'm your son, and it's my duty to be filial to you. How can you disagree? You need to listen to me on this; I'm buying you a car."
Seeing his firm attitude, Ning Wanqiu softened a bit.
She knew that if she insisted on not buying it, he would definitely listen, as she understood her son.
But thinking about his intention to show filial piety, she agreed, considering it was his way of expressing his feelings.
However, she still reminded him, "It's fine to buy a car, but I'll decide what car to buy, and you don't need to worry about it."
Xu Xiuwen grinned, "No problem, as long as you agree to buy one. Tomorrow, I'll transfer the money to you from the bank."
Ning Wanqiu waved her hand, "Keep the money you've earned. I have my own savings, which I originally planned to save for your wedding. Now that you have money, you don't need my little savings."
"That's fine," Xu Xiuwen didn't argue. After all, if Ning Wanqiu needed money, she would tell him.
Ning Wanqiu then went back to her bedroom.
Her son's words tonight had left her extremely surprised.
In front of him, she tried hard to keep her emotions in check and maintain her composure.
But once she returned to her bedroom, she wanted to share her excitement and pride with someone.
So she called Zhang Ruoshu.