Waking up early, Xu Ming saw two plump sausages hanging from Mu Li's mouth.
"Are you sure you can go record like that?" Xu Ming asked, trying hard to suppress his laughter.
Mu Li could barely speak clearly, fumbling around for a long time, and Xu Ming had no idea what he meant.
Xu Ming couldn't help but roll his eyes and say, "Fine, suit yourself. Anyway, you're the one who'll be embarrassed."
Sure enough, two hours later, Mu Li still arrived at the studio with an unswollen lip.
Some people are destined to be the center of attention as soon as they appear—for example, Mu Li, who looked like he was eating two sausages.
Xin Fei Yu and Yang Jing, the show's hosts, had arrived at the studio early, and others also arrived at the scene one after another.
Jin Zhong and his mother, Luo Yushu; Ming Yu and his cousin, Ming Hongyi; Ai Jing and her father, Deng Hongye; Mu Si and her mother, Zhou Yan.
The only one who was late was Mu Li.
At the entrance of the studio, Mu Li looked at the people sitting inside, still with some hesitation in his eyes.
"Go in? What are you waiting for?" Xu Ming said irritably, "An ugly daughter-in-law still has to meet her in-laws. It's your own fault for turning out like this yesterday."
Mu Li couldn't even speak now. Although he was cursing very badly, Xu Ming said he couldn't hear it anyway, so he could curse as much as he wanted.
Inside the studio, it was almost time for the gathering. Xin Fei Yu and Yang Jing asked curiously, "Where's Mu Li? Why isn't he here yet?"
As soon as the topic shifted to Mu Li, Ming Yu and Jin Zhong couldn't help but laugh.
When the two of them started laughing, it made Ai Jing and Mu Si laugh uncontrollably as well.
Xin Fei Yu looked at Yang Jing with a puzzled expression, wondering, "What's wrong with them? Why are they laughing like this?"
However, laughter is like that; once it starts, it's hard to stop.
Xin Fei Yu and Yang Jing could only look at each other, and so could the other family members. Jin Zhong's mother, Luo Yushu, deliberately patted Jin Zhong, but it didn't stop Jin Zhong from continuing to laugh.
A few minutes later, the laughter finally stopped, and the four of them were all laughing so hard they could barely breathe.
Xin Fei Yu asked with a puzzled expression, "Can someone tell me what happened?"
Jin Zhong deliberately coughed, forcing down his laughter, and explained, "We just saw Mu Li at the entrance."
"A Li arrived early? Then why didn't he come in?" Xin Fei Yu asked curiously.
"Haha, it's not that he doesn't want to come in; he probably doesn't have the face to come in." Ming Yu couldn't help but almost burst out laughing again.
"That's right," Jin Zhong echoed, "But even if he came in, you might not recognize him."
As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Li walked in angrily. Although he was wearing a mask, the killing intent in his eyes was not hidden at all.
As soon as they saw Mu Li, the four of them forced their lips together, but this situation lasted less than three seconds before Ming Yu was the first to break, and the other three couldn't help but burst into laughter again.
Mu Li could only look at the four of them helplessly.
However, Xin Fei Yu and Yang Jing seemed even more confused: "No, what exactly is going on?"
Besides the four, everyone else looked Mu Li up and down: "There's nothing wrong. What are they laughing about?"
"You'll know if you ask him to lift his mask," Jin Zhong finally stopped laughing.
Everyone else turned their gaze to Mu Li.
Mu Li also knew that wearing a mask was just burying his head in the sand. There was no way he could wear a mask throughout the entire recording; the production team would probably explode if he did.
He sighed and took off his mask.
The scene immediately fell silent.
A few seconds later, Xin Fei Yu pressed his lips together and said, "Actually, it's not bad at all! It's just two plump sausages hanging from his mouth…"
"That's right, it's just that his lips are swollen by a tiny bit…" Yang Jing also tried her best to force a smile.
"Yes, that's right, why are you all laughing at him?" The other family members also echoed.
Mu Li's eyes lit up, and he squeezed out an extremely hoarse voice from his throat: "Really?"
Because the voice was so soft, no one heard it at all, and everyone was still finding excuses for Mu Li.
"These lips look very sexy. Aren't thick lips popular now?"
"That's right, lips look better when they're a bit thicker."
...
Mu Li blinked his eyes, looked at Mu Si sitting next to him, and asked, "Sister Mu Si, am I sexy?"
Mu Si took a deep breath, closed her eyes, probably doing some mental preparation. After a few breaths, she opened her eyes and said seriously, "Extremely sexy. Platypus-level… No, Jynx-level sexy!"
Mu Li had already given up on treatment and collapsed on the sofa: "This world would be better off destroyed."
With the two hosts present, everyone started chatting briefly, mainly about the content of the show and Mu Li's fiery red lips.
"Honestly, it's my first time seeing someone eat chili until they look like this," Xin Fei Yu said, somewhat exasperated. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd taken the Five Poisons Powder."
But Mu Li couldn't speak now, so he could only silently record these grudges in his little notebook.
Jin Zhong and the others even took the opportunity to take photos and post them on their Moments and Weibo.
Before long, Mu Li saw his own lips in his fan group.
Looking at the culprit, it was none other than Chichi.
Chichi: "Precious images from Moments, already posted, no need to thank me."
For some reason today, perhaps because it was the end of a day, the atmosphere in the studio was originally a bit subdued, but Mu Li's appearance just broke that oppressive atmosphere.
After lunch, the production team let each guest take their friends and family to wherever they wanted to go.
Mu Li was still a bit puzzled: "As an outsider, what place in Star City do I want to go to?"
But he found that this place, which was foreign to him, carried eighteen years of memories for Xu Ming.
The two walked through the streets of Star City. Mu Li was unusually silent today, and thanks to his hoarse voice, he heard more of Xu Ming's voice.
"I was born in the maternity and child health hospital over there. My mom said I couldn't leave her since I was little. After I was born, as soon as they took me away from her, I would cry uncontrollably…"
"My kindergarten was also nearby. I remember the stinky tofu on this street was the best, but unfortunately, that stinky tofu stall disappeared a long time ago…"
"I also went to elementary school around here. Back then, I played outside with friends all day and often forgot to eat…"
"Middle school wasn't far from here either, but my impression was only of studying. But at that time, I met Bulbasaur, and he accompanied me through my entire middle school…"
"Perhaps because I went to school near home since I was little, I specifically chose Yangcheng for college and left home. I still remember my parents going to school with me to send me off…"
"Later, they bought me this house, saying they were worried I'd be under too much pressure after work, but I didn't expect that I'd have to leave this house after only living in it for a few days…"
...
Xu Ming's voice was very faint, without any particular emotional fluctuations, but what Mu Li felt was his attachment to this city.
Xu Ming had left memories in almost every place.
Mu Li also had places where he left memories, Ling Fei's home and the training hall. Although the latter had changed somewhat, for Mu Li, that sense of belonging still remained.
After walking for a long time, the two arrived at a residential complex.
"This is where I grew up, and where my parents live," Xu Ming said with a smile. "You haven't seen them in a long time, have you?"
Mu Li nodded. He remembered the last time he saw Xu Ming's parents was when they traveled to Yangcheng and invited them to dinner, which was two years ago.
He remembered Xu Ming's father, Xu Jiayuan, wearing glasses, with the demeanor of a scholar, and his mother, Li Jing, who had the intellectual elegance of a literati from the Republic of China era, quite different from the Star City people Mu Li remembered, more like someone from a water town in Jiangnan.
When the two arrived home, Xu Ming's parents had already been waiting for a long time and were busy preparing dinner for the four of them in the kitchen.
"I took A Li around," Xu Ming explained briefly. "Is there anything we two can help with?"
Li Jing directly chased Xu Ming out of the kitchen, telling him to spend more time with Mu Li and letting the two of them handle things in the kitchen.
Xu Ming's parents seemed not very good at socializing, even with these children. All the Pokémon in their home were Grass-type, including Roserade and Floette.
Xu Ming's Ivysaur had already evolved into Venusaur, so it naturally couldn't stay at home.
"I'll have to get Xu Ming a house with a yard then, otherwise what will Venusaur do?" Mu Li thought, "Wu Yao will also need a place to stay when he comes to Modu."
Considering that his own house belonged to his parents and wasn't suitable for Xu Ming and Wu Yao to move in, Mu Li decided to just rent a new one.
Dinner was soon ready. Perhaps due to the presence of cameras, Xu Ming's parents seemed a bit constrained, but Mu Li was clearly even more constrained.
He couldn't even speak all day, only able to give silly smiles. What else could he do if he wasn't constrained?
But fortunately, Xu Ming was there. After all, he was a host, and he handled the atmosphere very well.
After dinner, the photographers also left and would return tomorrow morning.
Seeing the cameras disappear, the two visibly relaxed a lot.
"Mingming, were we too nervous just now?" Li Jing asked nervously.
Mu Li gestured to Li Jing for a while, and Li Jing said with a puzzled expression, "I don't understand."
Mu Li couldn't help but sigh, but then a female voice sounded in Li Jing's mind: "A Li says you don't need to worry, it's just a show."
Li Jing was stunned and exclaimed, "Someone just spoke to me, did you hear it?"
Xu Jiayuan also said in surprise, "I heard it too."
Gardevoir's voice sounded again: "You don't need to worry. I am A Li's Pokémon, Gardevoir. He can't speak, so I can only help him convey it."
Mu Li smiled and pointed to the Gardevoir doll on his bag. Gardevoir also politely greeted the two of them.
"You scared me to death. I thought our house was haunted by a Ghost Pokémon," Li Jing immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "But why did your Gardevoir turn into a doll?"
Mu Li couldn't help but sigh, and Gardevoir also briefly explained the peculiar situation of his Pokémon.
"Oh, I see! That's really interesting," Li Jing couldn't help but laugh.
The four of them had met before, and without outsiders, they relaxed a bit and quickly started talking about Xu Ming's future plans.