***
"No, I think you're lying to me. Turn on the video. I want to see if you're having dinner with that guy."
After saying this, Mai's mother hung up the phone and started a WeChat video call.
Mai Xiaomai looked at Feng Qinglang, who was staring at her. "Sorry, I need a favor from you. You're eating my dinner, so you have to help me deal with my mom, or else I won't be able to explain it to her."
"Your blind date left, and you want me to stand in?"
Feng Qinglang asked with a twinkle in his peachy eyes.
Mai Xiaomai nodded, her eyes full of hope as she looked at him.
"Sure!"
Feng Qinglang actually nodded in agreement, with pleasure.
With his consent, Mai Xiaomai then answered her mom's video call and pointed the camera at Feng Qinglang.
"Xiaomai, who is he? He doesn't look like Chen Dadao, whom I saw the other day, does he?"
Mai's mother asked in surprise when she saw Feng Qinglang.
"Mom, do you think he's handsomer than Chen Dadao?"
Mai Xiaomai knew her mother was always about looks, so she asked on purpose.
"He's really handsome, just like those male stars from Korea!"
Mai's mother examined Feng Qinglang on the video very carefully.
"Hello, Auntie!"
Feng Qinglang greeted Mai's mother with enthusiasm. "Auntie, you look so young! Are you even forty? Did you have Xiaomai when you married early? You two look like sisters!"
Swept off her feet by Feng Qinglang's flattery, Mai's mother almost immediately forgot about Chen Dadao and cheerfully said, "Oh, young man, I'm already over fifty, I'm old!"
"Ah?"
Feng Qinglang pretended to be surprised as he exclaimed, "How is that possible? Auntie, you take such good care of yourself. I need to ask for your beauty secrets sometime, so my mom can also take care of herself."
The smile on Mai's mother's face grew brighter, and the more she looked at Feng Qinglang, the more pleased she became. "Young man, how do you know my Xiaomai, and what's your name? When will you come visit me at home?"
"I didn't know Xiaomai before, but I fell in love with her at first sight, and that's how we met. Auntie, my name is Feng Qinglang. 'Feng' as in my surname, and 'Qinglang' like clear weather. You can call me Qinglang."
"Qinglang! What a good name. Just looking at you, I can tell you're a sunny and handsome young man. Auntie loves boys like you."
As soon as Mai's mother heard Feng Qinglang had fallen for her daughter at first sight, she didn't bother with Chen Dadao anymore. She had Mai Xiaomai hand the phone to Feng Qinglang and started chatting directly with him.
Feng Qinglang really had a way with words; within a few sentences, he had charmed Mai's mother to the point where she lost all sense of direction, almost ready to call him son-in-law on the spot.
Mai Xiaomai looked on in awe.
Fortunately, Mai Xiaomai's phone battery was running low. In the middle of their chat, a low battery warning sounded, and Mai's mother had to say goodbye reluctantly. Before hanging up, she didn't forget to remind Feng Qinglang to visit her house that evening.
"It's out of battery."
Feng Qinglang smiled and handed the phone back to Mai Xiaomai. "Your mom's quite interesting!"
Mai Xiaomai took her phone back, saw the red low battery warning, turned it off, and casually tossed it into her handbag, laughing. "You're more interesting, being able to chat up someone like my mom."
"Ahahaha, making women of all ages happy and fond of me is one of my greatest skills. From eighty years old to eight years old, if I, Feng Qinglang, like them and want them to joyfully accept me, there's no problem at all."
Feng Qinglang boasted.
Though Mai Xiaomai scoffed, she had to admit that he indeed had a knack for winning women's hearts.
***