Chapter 110: An Unexpected Invitation

Su Tong stirred the vegetables in the pan with one hand while pulling out his phone with the other. To his surprise, it was a call from Gao Litong.

Li Wen had already come over and, seeing the caller ID, frowned displeased. She snatched the spatula from Su Tong’s hand. “Let me handle this. You go and flirt with her.”

Su Tong wasn’t about to let her take over; this dish was too good to waste on her.

Snatching the spatula back, Su Tong answered the phone. “Hello, Tongtong. Haha, missing me already?”

But the voice on the other end immediately dampened his mood.

“This is Tongtong’s mother,” said a mature woman’s voice, tinged with a chill.

“Ah… Mom?” Su Tong blurted out before realizing, having gotten used to Gao Litong calling her mother “mom,” he had done the same without thinking.

Xu Jing nearly wanted to toss the phone aside. What kind of guy was this Su Tong? Slick-talking and somewhat foolish.

“Young man, are you free tonight? Auntie would like to invite you to our home for dinner. How about it?” Xu Jing controlled her tone, softening her voice.

Gao Litong was beside her, playing with her ten-year-old sister while listening closely to the conversation between her mother and Su Tong.

Su Tong was startled. Dinner at Gao Litong’s house? What was this about? He and Gao Litong were just classmates—nothing more. Why would he be invited to meet her parents?

“Tonight?” Su Tong hesitated. It wasn’t just that it was sudden; he had a busy day ahead.

After picking up Wen Peiyan at the airport in the afternoon, he was supposed to have dinner with some fans in the evening.

Seeing Su Tong’s hesitation, Xu Jing quickly reassured him, “I’ll have Tongtong come pick you up. Don’t worry, Auntie just wants to meet you. No other meaning.”

Su Tong didn’t believe there was no other meaning, but he still answered politely, “Auntie, I’m busy tonight. Something’s come up.”

Xu Jing’s expression shifted slightly. This kid really wasn’t dependable. What could be bigger than meeting your future mother-in-law?

In Xu Jing’s mind, Su Tong was immediately crossed off the list.

Su Tong hadn’t thought about all that at all. He didn’t even save face—just said he was busy. And even if he had time, he might not go. Ridiculous.

“How about tomorrow night then? You’ll be free tomorrow night, right?” Xu Jing tried a softer approach, determined to meet Su Tong no matter what. Her daughter was so well-behaved yet had lied about such a serious matter—she was even planning to live at Su Tong’s place. Unforgivable.

“Tomorrow night? Should be free.” Su Tong’s cautious answer almost made Xu Jing furious. “Should be”? How dare he sound uncertain?

“Alright, then tomorrow night. I’ll have Tongtong pick you up,” Xu Jing decided hastily.

“Well… okay, then,” Su Tong replied reluctantly.

Xu Jing quickly said goodbye and hung up, worried she’d lose her temper if she kept talking.

Gao Litong felt uneasy; her mother didn’t look pleased.

“What kind of boyfriend have you got? So immature,” Xu Jing scolded. She had personally invited Su Tong, and yet he was dodging, as if their roles were reversed.

Xu Jing had asked Gao Litong about Su Tong’s family background, and the girl had been honest.

“Mom, I’ve told you, he’s not my boyfriend, just my classmate—high school classmate,” Gao Litong explained again.

Xu Jing, still graceful and well-maintained at forty, though looking barely over thirty, narrowed her eyes. “Not your boyfriend, yet you lied about living at his place? You’re not even twenty yet, and you’re causing this kind of trouble.”

Gao Litong sneered. Her mother hadn’t said how she found out about the incident the night before, but she guessed Yang Feifei must have told on her.

At Su Tong’s place.

“Why are you standing so close to me when I’m on the phone?” Su Tong put away his phone, annoyed. Li Wen had almost pressed her ear against his to eavesdrop.

That call from Gao Litong’s mother nearly made him burn the vegetables.

“Hmph.”

Li Wen was furious. That old witch Xu Jing was already treating Su Tong like a son-in-law, inviting him over for dinner.

This was bad—she was already behind Gao Litong by a step.

“You’re going to my house tomorrow night, not Tongtong’s. Her mother would probably devour you,” Li Wen grumbled, clearly upset.

“Why bother? Women are unreasonable creatures anyway,” Su Tong said lazily, turning off the stove as the dish was finished.

Li Wen ate her lunch in a huff and then drove Su Tong to meet his editor-in-chief, still sulking.

“What’s the point of sulking? It’s just dinner at Tongtong’s house,” Su Tong said to comfort Li Wen as he got out of the car around three o’clock. The girl wasn’t bad at heart and was quite clever, and lately, she had been treating Su Tong well, so he was no longer so resistant to her.

“Wait,” Li Wen said suddenly just as Su Tong was about to close the car door. “I’m a law major. I’ll come with you to review the contract. Don’t let them cheat you.”

Before Su Tong could reply, the little devil in his mind whispered, “Host, let her come along. Hehe, if you’d redeemed the system assistant evolution fruit earlier, I could handle these things for you.”

“Alright, park over there. I’ll wait for you by the door,” Su Tong said, then headed toward the tea room where he was to meet the editor-in-chief.

It turned out that bringing Li Wen was the right choice. Su Tong had no idea what kind of platinum contract Diandian offered in his past life, but in this world, he had finally seen one. He also learned that contracts could be negotiated to some extent—they weren’t all uniform A-signs.

An A-sign was a standard contract—everyone signed the same terms.

Diandian’s platinum contract required him to sign under his pen name for five years. Not only did Li Wen think this was unfair, but even Su Tong, an outsider, felt it was harsh.

Moreover, the other party wanted to buy out the electronic copyright at 500 Daqin coins per thousand words.

For a newcomer, this buyout price wasn’t low, but considering Su Tong’s current subscription numbers, it wasn’t high either.

Su Tong declined the buyout, and Diandian agreed, but they insisted on the five-year pen name contract. They refused to budge, saying all platinum contracts were similar except for the two or three supreme authors.

Platinum authors with buyout contracts received full payment from tips. Those with revenue-sharing contracts split subscriptions 70/30, but tips were fully paid to the author.

Diandian wouldn’t compromise on the five-year pen name term.

In the end, Su Tong didn’t want to waste time haggling. Five years it was—he wasn’t that committed anyway. At worst, he’d use a different pen name. He had already registered one on a site called “Qi Chuang” under the name “Nian Qiao Jiao.”

Though Qi Chuang was less famous than Diandian, it was still the second biggest platform in the industry.

Two hours after the negotiation and signing, it was 5:20 p.m. Wen Peiyan was expected to arrive at Haibin City Airport around 5:45 p.m.

Fortunately, flights rarely arrived exactly on time these days. Wen Peiyan had called before boarding to say her flight was over half an hour delayed.

After leaving the tea room, Su Tong and Li Wen headed straight to the airport.

What editor-in-chief? In Su Tong’s eyes, no fan was more important than any editor. He politely declined the editor’s invitation to dinner.