Chapter 91: An Old Trope—The Fake Boyfriend

“This is my first time riding in a car like yours. I’ve never even heard of the brand, but it feels incredibly high-end.”

Ding Ruoshui laughed softly. “It’s perfectly normal you haven’t heard of it, because it isn’t sold on the market at all.”

“Custom-made luxury?”

“It’s not quite custom either. My brother just got the urge and built it himself as a birthday gift for me.”

“Your brother can build cars himself?”

“Is that so strange? Every rich kid has their own way of life. His passion is building all sorts of machines.”

“That’s true enough... Your hobby is painting, your brother’s is building cars, your father’s is researching genetic technology—your whole family has taken your interests to the extreme.”

“My interest... It seems I’ve misled you!” Ding Ruoshui smiled. “I don’t paint because I like it. I paint because I’m a little different—my bloodline stirs within me from time to time, and painting helps keep my mind at peace.”

This answer genuinely surprised Lin Xiaosu.

So she wasn’t planning to hide her abilities?

Lin Xiaosu’s gaze flickered. “What would happen if your bloodline stirs and you lose your composure?”

“I’m grateful I’ve never let things get that far, so I don’t know. But I imagine it would be rather frightening.” Ding Ruoshui said, “Let’s talk about our next step.”

“Right now, you’re the boss. I’ll do as you say.”

“My parents have no idea I hired a detective, and no one else does either,” said Ding Ruoshui. “So you can’t show up as a detective—you need a different identity.”

“What kind of identity?”

“My boyfriend!”

“I go to Jiangcheng as your boyfriend, and enter your home as such?”

“Exactly! Once we arrive, we’ll buy some gifts and go to my house as if you’re a son-in-law meeting his future in-laws. We have to make the act convincing, because I don’t know which of the maids in my house are actually watching for someone, or where the latest surveillance equipment might be hidden.”

“So that’s why you didn’t hire a detective in Jiangcheng, but instead came all the way to Fengcheng?”

“That’s part of it, but not the main reason,” Ding Ruoshui replied. “The main reason is, you look decent enough. At least I can pass you off as a boyfriend, and not feel embarrassed.”

Lin Xiaosu hesitated for a moment...

Ding Ruoshui’s eyes sparkled. “What’s wrong? Does an extra identity mean extra pay?”

Lin Xiaosu shook her head immediately. “It’s already a ridiculous amount! Besides, for a detective, changing appearances and disguising identities is part of the job. No problem—I’m in!”

They arrived in Jiangcheng and first stopped at a jewelry store.

The two entered and quickly came out with two boxes.

Then, with a step on the accelerator, they headed to Nanhu.

Nanhu was vast—a sparkling gem in the palm of Jiangcheng, a city of over ten million.

At this time of year, the willows were green and the crowds thick as weaving threads.

Rippling green waters echoed the city’s vitality, but on the shore, a few standalone villas offered a different world—quiet and serene.

Under the shade of the willows, in their small car, Ding Ruoshui pointed to a villa on the eastern side. “That’s my home.”

“That villa must have cost over a hundred million, right?”

“Pretty good estimate. The above-ground part alone is just over a hundred million.”

“Above-ground? There’s more underground?”

“My father spends most of his time underground! My mother always says, don’t be fooled by me and my brother squandering money all the time—none of that compares to my father. But I have to say, if you really want to talk about wasting money, the only real spendthrift in our family is my mother.”

Completely understood!

Lin Xiaosu knew she was right.

Her father might spend the most, but does spending money mean wasting it? Research always burns cash.

Did her brother or she waste money?

That couldn’t be measured by spending alone.

Her mother, on the other hand, must be the real consumer—the kind whose spending counts as extravagance, regardless of the amount. Spend a lot, it’s a big waste; spend a little, it’s a small one.

“So the ugly son-in-law is about to meet the in-laws. Let’s go!” Lin Xiaosu tapped the door, unlocking it.

“Nervous?” Ding Ruoshui smiled softly.

“There’s probably only one kind of person who isn’t nervous meeting their future in-laws—a fake son-in-law like me,” Lin Xiaosu joked. “I know it’s all an act, so there’s nothing to worry about. When you have nothing to lose, your dignity comes naturally—just like the ancients said.”

Ding Ruoshui giggled, and the car drove through the Ding family gates.

The old gatekeeper came out, bowed, and greeted the young miss.

After the car stopped, a young man came over to park it for Ding Ruoshui.

At the entrance hall, two elderly people were pruning flowers, putting down their scissors to greet the young miss as well.

Outside the hall, two beautiful maids bowed in unison. “Welcome home, Miss.”

This was the life of the wealthy.

It wasn’t about your bank balance—it was about how naturally you kept a household of people around you.

Entering the hall, a beautiful middle-aged woman came down from the second floor. Her clothes were simple and unadorned, but she had clearly transcended the need to display wealth through dress.

Clothing in this world is a mysterious thing.

When you have no money, you long for a designer label to show off.

When you’re rich, you care only about comfort.

When you have no money, people suspect your expensive bag is fake.

When you’re rich, you can plainly say your pants cost seventy yuan from a street stall, and people will wonder if they’re really worth seven thousand.

The less you have, the more you try to show it. When you have everything, you return to simplicity.

As that elegant woman descended the stairs, Lin Xiaosu came to these conclusions...

The second half of the woman’s gaze was fixed on Lin Xiaosu, going from surprise to pleasure.

Because her daughter was holding hands with a young man, who also carried two boxes.

“Mom, this is my boyfriend, Xiaosu!”

“Hello, Auntie!” Lin Xiaosu offered both boxes.

Mrs. Ding accepted them with a bright smile. “Jewelry from Crane Pavilion—how did you know I liked this brand?”

“Ruoshui told me.”

“Crane Pavilion’s pieces aren’t cheap. Thank you!” Mrs. Ding beckoned to a maid, handing her the boxes and signaling her to put them away.

The maid bowed and withdrew.

“Come, Xiaosu, sit over here!” Mrs. Ding waved him to the main hall.

A maid served fragrant tea.

In the cup, the fine white tea buds stood upright, with delicate fuzz visible on their tips.

The topmost grade of white tea.

“Xiaosu, what does your family do?”

Ding Ruoshui nestled up to Lin Xiaosu and answered in a sweet voice, “Mom, his family works in seasonal bioengineering cultivation...”

“Seasonal bioengineering cultivation...” Mrs. Ding mused. “That sounds interesting. What exactly do you do?”

Lin Xiaosu smiled. “We grow vegetables.”

“Vegetables?”

“To be precise, my father works as a laborer at construction sites, and my mother grows all the vegetables herself. Maybe a few thousand kilos a year, but vegetables aren’t worth much these days. The whole crop brings in twenty or thirty thousand at most.”

The maid nearby widened her eyes.

Mrs. Ding was a little taken aback. “And yet... you still bought Crane Pavilion jewelry? Doesn’t it pain you to spend so much?”

“Ruoshui paid for it. Why should I feel the pinch?”

Ding Ruoshui pressed her forehead in exasperation, her gaze wandering...

Mrs. Ding’s expression was a mix of exasperation and amusement. “Xiaosu, you’re certainly honest.”

“I think the stupidest thing in the world is pretending to be rich in front of real rich people.”

“To be honest, I can usually spot people faking it around me. But with you, I don’t see any lack of confidence. If you tried to bluff, I might actually believe you.”

Lin Xiaosu laughed. “That’s because I have plenty of confidence.”

“And where does that confidence come from?” Mrs. Ding was intrigued.

Lin Xiaosu replied, “Obviously from Ruoshui. If someone as extraordinary as Ruoshui can fall for me, why shouldn’t I be confident?”

Mrs. Ding was taken aback.

After a moment, she stood, walked to the coffee table, and pressed a button. “Xiao Li, Lao Zhong! Come up here, my daughter’s boyfriend is here.”

“Boyfriend? She actually has a boyfriend?” a man’s voice answered from below.

“Yes, and he’s quite charming—his nerves are particularly strong...” Mrs. Ding released the button and turned. “Your father will be up soon. Let him chat with you while I go arrange dinner.”

With that, she gracefully left the hall.

Ding Ruoshui and Lin Xiaosu looked at each other.

Mrs. Ding’s truest impression of her daughter’s boyfriend was clearly that he was “thick-skinned,” but she refused to say so, insisting instead on calling it: strong nerves.

That was poise.

That was class.

Ding Ruoshui glanced outside the hall. “Looks like we passed my mom’s test?”

“Be confident—it’s not ‘looks like,’ it’s definite!”

“There’s that confidence again... Are you really that confident?” Ding Ruoshui’s eyes danced. “Just because I like you?”

“That’s one reason!”

“And the second?”