My Mother-in-Law and I Became the Internet’s Hottest Power Couple

On the way to the pork knuckle hotpot restaurant, Xia Jing was on the phone the entire time.

She wasn’t very familiar with the Marine Animal Protection Association, so she asked around through connections to see if any celebrities had promoted it before.

After making inquiries, she didn’t uncover anything particularly useful.

However, if they were to collaborate, it would likely involve filming promotional or documentary content, with a high chance of traveling to the Arctic or Antarctic.

Xia Jing was definitely in favor of the collaboration—it was a rare and meaningful opportunity with a public welfare aspect.

For this kind of partnership, they wouldn’t demand acting fees or anything of the sort.

Yu Wanqiu needed to discuss it with Jiang Lan first. Since Jiang Lan wasn’t planning to enter the entertainment industry, excessive exposure wouldn’t benefit her much.

Moreover, her dream was to join the National Symphony Orchestra, which was far removed from showbiz.

This collaboration wouldn’t really do much for Jiang Lan.

After finishing the show, she still had to return to school. If she took on this project, she’d have to frequently skip classes over the next year.

Yu Wanqiu also had a packed schedule—Yunnan’s tourism promotional video, Tribute, and now this. Adding another commitment might leave Jiang Lan with no time to prepare for her college entrance exams.

The benefits from their CP fame had been substantial. Their unique relationship had a positive influence on the public, which was why higher-ups were considering them for this.

Compared to this collaboration, even the most prestigious brand endorsements paled in significance.

Jiang Lan had made up her mind. "I think the meaning behind this collaboration is important. Before, I didn’t know much about it, but after hearing from the caretakers and staff, many of the fish, seals, and dolphins in the aquarium were rescued by the state. Now that I know, even if we can make the slightest difference, it’s worth it."

Many wild animals were on the brink of extinction, and some could never return to their natural habitats.

Those seals and dolphins would undoubtedly be better off in the wild.

"And besides, I’d be doing this with you, Yu Laoshi. I’m willing, as long as we manage our time well and it doesn’t interfere with my studies." Jiang Lan thought she had considered everything. "There’s nothing else, right?"

In the first half of her senior year, she only had two major courses, and the second half was entirely free for her thesis. She’d have plenty of free time.

Yu Wanqiu nodded. "Then let’s agree to it first. Once the details are confirmed and the contract is signed, Jiang Lan will have to start school soon."

Right.

School was about to start.

Jiang Lan slumped in her seat. "Yu Laoshi, let’s not talk about this. If we don’t mention it, it’s like school hasn’t started yet."

Yu ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‍Wanqiu chuckled. "Isn’t that just burying your head in the sand? If you’re tired, take a nap. I’ll wake you when we arrive."

Having skipped her midday nap, the motion of the car made Jiang Lan drowsy.

She closed her eyes and was soon fast asleep.

Chen peeked over the seat. "She’s—asleep!"

Jiang Lan was sleeping soundly. Yu Wanqiu told Little Xu to lower the AC, while Xia Jing, sitting in the back, remarked, "This girl really has a carefree heart."

If they went to the poles, the conditions would undoubtedly be harsh. Xia Jing had often accompanied Yu Wanqiu on film sets, and shooting was exhausting.

Yu Wanqiu said, "We should also inform Teacher Xie. Wouldn’t it be something if, after finally finishing the show, we ended up whisking her daughter away again?"

Xia Jing paused for a moment before remembering who Teacher Xie was—Jiang Lan’s mother.

"Hey, when are you two planning to discuss their marriage? After the show wraps up, shouldn’t there be a formal meeting with the parents?" Xia Jing felt that Jiang Lan and Lu Yicheng getting married was practically set in stone.

Lu Yicheng wasn’t yet of legal marriageable age, but after graduating next year, things would proceed smoothly.

Yu Wanqiu: "?"

"Too soon, isn’t it? She’s still so young—why rush into the grave of marriage? Besides, I don’t think Jiang Lan is that into Lu Yicheng anyway. People should have more options to figure out what they truly want. I didn’t have enough choices back in my day." Yu Wanqiu kept her voice low to avoid disturbing Jiang Lan’s sleep. "She still has to join the National Symphony Orchestra. What kind of qualifications does Lu Yicheng even have to think he can marry her?"

Xia Jing: "..."

Doesn’t Lu Yicheng’s mother have any idea what kind of conditions her son has?

The two cameramen seemed frozen in place—no wonder Xia Jing thought so. Most netizens probably felt the same way.

Graduate, get married—everything would go smoothly.

Yu Wanqiu: "I think getting married too young isn’t a good idea. At the very least, wait until twenty-four or twenty-five, when your career is stable."

"Marriage is a serious matter, completely different from dating. It involves a lot of things, and Jiang Lan is still just a kid." Yu Wanqiu could guarantee that Jiang Lan had probably never even considered marriage.

For her, being able to earn money, play the violin, eat, drink, and have fun was enough to make her happy.

Xia Jing said, "...Isn’t Lu Yicheng your son?"

Yes, he was her son, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be objective.

Yu Wanqiu just wanted Jiang Lan to be happy. Besides, if Lu Yicheng wanted to get married, what was the harm in waiting a few more years? His own father hadn’t married until he was thirty.

Lu Yicheng was only twenty-one this year.

And if Yu Wanqiu put herself in Xie Yunzhen’s shoes—as a mother with only one precious daughter—she wouldn’t want her daughter marrying too young either.

That was the truth.

Xia Jing rubbed her temples. She had overthought things. She’d assumed Yu Wanqiu wanted Jiang Lan as her daughter-in-law as soon as possible.

When they arrived at the braised pork trotters shop, Yu Wanqiu woke Jiang Lan up.

Jiang Lan was still groggy. "What time is it?"

Yu Wanqiu: "Six o’clock. It’s already dark outside."

It was actually only five.

Jiang Lan: "Six?!"

"Just kidding. It’s 5:05. We’re at the braised pork trotters place—this is the one, right?"

The shop was tucked away in a small alley, specializing in chicken wings, chicken feet, crab, shrimp, and pork trotters, with options to mix and match.

The flavors ranged from mild, medium, and extra spicy to numbing spicy and savory.

Their desserts and chilled fruit bowls were also particularly delicious.

Including Xia Jing and the two assistants, there were five of them in total, so they went straight to a private room on the second floor.

Jiang Lan said, "I heard their pork trotters and chicken feet are amazing. We can order two pots and mix them."

"Can everyone handle spicy? Spicy food goes great with rice. Their mini cakes are a must-try, and the chilled bowls are perfect for summer." These were all Xu Xiang’s recommendations. Jiang Lan hadn’t eaten all day and was starving now.

Both Chen and Little Xu could handle spicy food, and Xia Jing had no dietary restrictions, so they ordered one pork trotters pot, one shrimp and chicken feet pot, and since the crab pot looked good too, they added a crab and chicken wings pot.

For five people, it was just enough. Whatever they couldn’t finish, they could take home.

They ordered cola to drink and five different desserts. Chen and Little Xu got the chilled bowls, but Jiang Lan was close to her period and had to avoid cold food.

While waiting for the food, Xia Jing arranged a private room for the two cameramen and ordered a pork trotters pot so they could eat too.

They’d been filming all day without a proper meal.

Xia Jing raised her glass. "Let’s celebrate first—even though the collaboration isn’t finalized yet, cheers to the Yunnan tourism promo shoot! May ‘Lanzhou Hand-Pulled Noodles’ grow even more popular!"

Jiang Lan was embarrassed—Xia Jing was shipping them!

Yu Wanqiu downed her entire glass of cola. "Thank you. Bottoms up."

When the pork trotters pot arrived, the rich aroma filled the room. The tender, bite-sized pieces of pork were coated in a deep brown sauce, making mouths water just by the sight.

It looked incredibly delicious—and incredibly fattening.

This kind of melt-in-your-mouth collagen had never been part of Yu Wanqiu’s diet.

Xia Jing was also in her forties. Maintaining a good figure required discipline.

After over a month of salads, she felt like she was turning into a rabbit. One meaty meal wouldn’t hurt.

The first bite—after enduring weeks of greens—was a revelation. Suddenly, Xia Jing understood why so many people raved about that skewer place.

Beyond the celebrity hype, it was genuinely delicious.

Xia Jing ate two bowls of rice.

Yu Wanqiu was more restrained, stopping at one and a half bowls. Jiang Lan, however, polished off two and a half.

Returning to the villa, it was already past eight in the evening.

Outside, the sky had darkened. Zhang Tian came over to offer his congratulations and casually mentioned, "By the way, there’s a double interview scheduled for tomorrow morning."

Since joining the program, they had only done two interviews—one right after joining and another during the third episode.

The interviews might not make it to the final broadcast, but they were a necessary part of the process.

There would likely be one more, during the final episode, to bring the show to a satisfying conclusion.

He had already thought through the questions.

Jiang Lan, however, had forgotten what she’d said in the previous episode.

Yu Wanqiu had reminded her to remember, but she figured whatever she’d said must have been truthful.

That night, she called Lu Yicheng. It was past eleven, but he still hadn’t returned to the apartment.

He was packing up his things. His desk was nearly empty, everything already tucked into storage boxes.

"Just one more trip tomorrow morning to hand things over, and I won’t need to come in the afternoon," Lu Yicheng said, sounding particularly cheerful. "Sweetheart, do you want to pick me up after work tomorrow?"

He had been working overtime for days, always returning to the apartment alone. On his last day, spending the evening commute with his girlfriend didn’t seem like too much to ask.

Jiang Lan replied, "I have an interview tomorrow morning, not sure when it’ll end. If it wraps up early, I’ll come get you, and we can go for crab stew!"

Crab stew sounded absolutely delicious.

Lu Yicheng nodded. "Sure, what’s the interview about?"

He didn’t know much about it—the show hadn’t aired yet, and Jiang Lan hadn’t mentioned it.

"It’s just answering some questions," Jiang Lan explained. "Like, what do you think of Yu Wanqiu? What was your first impression of her? Things like that."

Shouldn’t be too hard to answer.

Lu Yicheng was a little curious. "Is that all? Nothing about me?"

Jiang Lan blinked. "Huh?"

Lu Yicheng coughed. "You know, like—what’s your boyfriend like? Where did you two first meet? Was it love at first sight, or did it grow over time?"

"Lu Yicheng, come on," Jiang Lan rolled onto her side on the bed. "Look at how many seconds you’ve appeared in six episodes. This is a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law show—why would they ask about you?" She sighed. "But now that the show’s almost over, I’m actually kind of sad."

Just as Lu Yicheng was about to comfort her, she added, "Luckily! The Marine Animal Protection Association reached out about a collaboration. Yu Wanqiu and I might get to go to the polar regions!"

Lu Yicheng was stunned. "...Another collaboration?"

Weren’t they already working with Yunnan Province on a tourism promo? Why was there more?

"Since we went to the aquarium today, the officials saw the footage and contacted Xia Jing. They’re interested in working together, but it shouldn’t take too much time."

"Congrats, sweetheart. But between classes, filming promos, and practicing piano, your schedule’s packed. No way—tomorrow afternoon, we’re going out!" Lu Yicheng realized that every time Jiang Lan and Yu Wanqiu went on a trip, his options dwindled.

The aquarium was off the table now. All he could think of was movies, arcade games, and dinner—but they’d already done that.

When it came to planning dates, Lu Yicheng felt like an idiot. Places Jiang Lan could stumble upon effortlessly, he had to dig for.

A collaboration was definitely a good thing, but...

He just felt a little down.

Jiang Lan’s eyes lit up. "Sure! I’ll come find you after the interview tomorrow."

Just like that, Lu Yicheng’s disappointment vanished. "Then make sure you don’t eat anything cold these next few days, and keep warm, got it?"

"Got it, got it... You’re carrying so much stuff. Call me back once you’re home."

Lu Yicheng was sure he could manage with one hand. "I’ll just put my phone in my pocket and keep talking while I walk."

The last time they’d seen each other was last Thursday—another week apart. "Sweetheart, I miss you so much."

The next day, the interviews began at nine in the morning.

The first guests called in were Zhang Lin and Li Jia.

Li Jia had been in a foul mood lately, plagued by sleepless nights that left her exhausted.

She thought Zhang Lin was nothing but bad luck—petty and perpetually acting like some victim.

Divorce. They absolutely had to divorce.

Li Jia refused to spend the next twenty-odd years living under the same roof as Zhang Lin.

Now that Zhang Lin had grown wings, she thought appearing on TV and making money from acting made her something special.

Well, Li Jia would just wait and see how well Zhang Lin fared after leaving the Xu family.

Xu Chaoyang had to divorce Zhang Lin—and he couldn’t let her take the children either.

If the baby in Zhang Lin’s belly turned out to be a boy, there was no way she could have him. He was a Xu grandson—was he supposed to suffer with Zhang Lin?

Absolutely not.

If it was a girl, fine, let Zhang Lin take her. A daughter of hers would probably turn out just as unrefined.