Under Xu Qin's repeated demands, the ticket checker was ready to have security control Lu Ming and hand him over to the police station for a thorough interrogation about how this special pass was obtained!
At this moment, the vice director of the museum walked out and shouted, "Stop!"
All eyes turned to the vice director.
The vice director, with his brows furrowed, walked over, bypassed the crowd, and went directly to Lu Ming's side, scrutinizing him from head to toe.
The ticket checker immediately said, "Reporting to the vice director, this person stole our special pass from somewhere. The crime is serious, and I was about to apprehend him and send him to the police station!"
Stole?
Heh.
The vice director knew very well that they had issued a total of three special passes this time, each to a prominent figure. Stealing a pass from any of those three individuals would be as difficult as climbing to heaven.
It was absolutely impossible that it was stolen.
The vice director was more inclined to believe that this was all orchestrated by a certain influential person.
He inquired, "What is your name?"
Lu Ming replied truthfully, "Lu Ming."
Hmm?
The vice director instantly tensed up. Although he didn't recognize Lu Ming, Master Zhu You, who was organizing the exhibition, had specifically mentioned this name to him, instructing him to take good care of Lu Ming if he came.
With a special pass and Master Zhu's special attention, Lu Ming's background must be extraordinary.
Therefore.
The vice director's face immediately broke into a smile, "Oh, so it's Mr. Lu. My apologies, sir. Our museum staff didn't recognize you, and this misunderstanding caused quite a scene. We are truly sorry."
What?
Everyone was stunned.
"No way, this scruffy guy who rode an electric bike, and the vice director has to be so polite to him?"
"Could this be a prominent figure incognito?"
"Nonsense! You really don't recognize him? He's Jiang Mengxin's fiancé, the live-in son-in-law, Lu Ming! He has no background whatsoever, just a graveyard keeper."
With that said, the crowd was even more confused. Why should a mere graveyard keeper receive such preferential treatment from the vice director?
The ticket checker was even more startled.
He had just confidently declared that Lu Ming's pass was stolen. Now, the vice director was being so courteous to him, indicating that this person's identity was not simple.
He might be a hidden big shot.
What if he had offended a hidden big shot?
The ticket checker quickly apologized, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I was short-sighted and misunderstood Mr. Lu. I hope Mr. Lu won't hold it against a small fry like me."
At this point, Lu Ming saw no reason to pursue the matter. After all, one shouldn't strike a smiling face.
Therefore, the ticket checker very readily let Lu Ming pass, personally welcoming him into the museum.
The most frustrated person present was Xu Qin.
She had been eagerly awaiting Lu Ming to make a fool of himself, planning to humiliate him severely and then badmouth him to her daughter. But reality had slapped her hard. Not only did Lu Ming not make a fool of himself, but he was also welcomed into the museum.
Where could she even complain?
"What kind of museum is this? How can they let in such trash so casually?" Xu Qin grumbled unhappily.
Soon, Jiang Mengxin and Xu Qin successfully passed the ticket check and entered the museum.
As soon as they entered, they saw Lu Ming.
Jiang Mengxin strode towards Lu Ming, asking, "What's going on here?"
Lu Ming scratched his head, "What's going on?"
"Are you pretending?" Jiang Mengxin questioned, "That's a special pass, worth a million dollars. Ordinary people can't get one! Even I can't get one. Where did you get yours? And why was the vice director so polite to a graveyard keeper like you?"
Uh...
This was a bit awkward.
Lu Ming himself wasn't entirely sure why the vice director was so polite; but the pass was a gift from his former subordinate, Zhu You. Lu Ming couldn't possibly reveal his true background to Jiang Mengxin all at once.
That wouldn't do.
So...
Lu Ming cleared his throat and casually fabricated a reason.
He explained, "My pass was given to me by Master Zhu. Since the purpose of this exhibition organized by Master Zhu is to commemorate the fallen soldiers and civilians in the war, and I recently protected China's dignity and the honor of the people and soldiers in the marathon, Master Zhu greatly admired me. He specially arranged for someone to send me a special pass, inviting me to attend this exhibition."
This explanation was quite reasonable!
Jiang Mengxin believed it wholeheartedly.
Besides this reason, Jiang Mengxin could find no other explanation. Moreover, what Lu Ming said was also true; the purpose of this exhibition and the previous marathon were essentially the same.
So, it was plausible that Zhu You would admire Lu Ming for his actions in the marathon.
"I see," Jiang Mengxin said with a wry smile, "You're really lucky to be appreciated by Master Zhu. But you can't get carried away and neglect your appearance. Who is Master Zhu? You're attending his art exhibition and you didn't even bother to tidy yourself up, just rode over on an electric bike. It's embarrassing. If something like this happens again, tell me in advance, and I'll help you prepare."
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Seeing that the matter had been smoothed over, Lu Ming breathed a long sigh of relief.
At this moment.
A familiar figure walked towards them.
"Hello, Aunt Xu, Chairman Jiang."
Jiang Mengxin turned her head and was stunned. The person walking over was none other than Gao Yuheng, whom she had gone on a blind date with yesterday!
Why was he here?
Didn't he give his pass to her?
"You... how come you..."
"How did I get here?" Gao Yuheng smiled slightly and said, "I truly admire Master Zhu's paintings, so I paid out of my own pocket to get another ticket from a scalper."
"Oh." Jiang Mengxin looked at Gao Yuheng, then at Lu Ming, and felt a pang of shame.
Although she hadn't done anything wrong to Lu Ming, meeting another man behind his back was not something to be proud of.
Gao Yuheng glanced at Lu Ming, his eyes filled with contempt. He thought to himself: This low-class fellow, how dare he compete with me for a woman?
He snorted coldly and extended his hand towards Lu Ming, smiling, "You must be Chairman Jiang's fiancé, Mr. Lu Ming, right? Hello, I am a partner of the Jiang family, the young master of Biao Niu – Gao Yuheng."
Seeing his polite demeanor, Lu Ming instinctively extended his hand, "Hello, Mr. Gao."
The two shook hands.
The moment their hands clasped, Lu Ming sensed something was wrong. Gao Yuheng's face was smiling, but he was exerting immense force on his hand!
This fellow, who looked like a good person, was actually full of mischief.
Gao Yuheng, taking the initiative, intended to put Lu Ming in his place. He wanted to crush Lu Ming's hand!