What one fears, the more it comes.
Jiang Mengxin and Xu Qin both felt it was too humiliating; they didn't want to acknowledge Lu Ming and wished he would leave quickly and stop embarrassing them.
But as it turned out, Lu Ming recognized them immediately.
Lu Ming waved at them and said, "Mengxin, Auntie, you're here to see the art exhibition too?"
As he spoke, he walked towards them.
Jiang Mengxin and Xu Qin wished they could die. The people around them cast strange glances their way.
"No way, they're with that food delivery guy?"
"But they drove luxury cars, how could that be? Did they rent them?"
"It must be!"
"Heh, it's pathetic how these people try to show off. The lower class, the more they try to prove themselves and climb up, the more foolish and weak they appear."
"I feel beneath me just being at the same art exhibition as these bottom-feeders."
Of course, not everyone failed to recognize them. Jiang Mengxin was somewhat famous, and many people recognized her.
But they didn't speak up for Jiang Mengxin.
Watching a celebrity like Jiang Mengxin make a fool of herself was, in itself, quite amusing.
Lu Ming walked over and smiled, "Mengxin, Auntie, you're also interested in the art exhibition? If I'd known you were coming, we could have come together."
Jiang Mengxin rolled her eyes. No way, she absolutely did not want to come with Lu Ming.
It was too embarrassing.
If you don't have a car, at least take a taxi! What's with riding an electric scooter? Aren't you ashamed?
Xu Qin was even more annoyed. "Lu Ming, what game are you playing now? What right do you have to be here at an art exhibition? Stop embarrassing yourself, okay? Go find a cool place to stay, and leave."
Lu Ming was taken aback. "It's just an art exhibition, what's wrong with looking?"
Xu Qin sneered, "Do you think this is like those free art exhibitions all the time? This is Master Zhu's solo exhibition today, and the tickets are very expensive!"
As she spoke, Xu Qin took out her ticket and waved it in front of Lu Ming.
She said smugly, "See this? This is the ticket! A single ticket is now being resold for 200,000 yuan! You still have the nerve to come to an art exhibition? Do you have the money to buy a ticket? Do you think it's a concert where you can listen from outside?"
Uh...
Lu Ming smiled slightly and, without haste, took out a ticket from his pocket.
"Tickets, of course, I have them too."
And so, under everyone's watchful eyes, Lu Ming produced his ticket and unfolded it.
Xu Qin initially thought Lu Ming actually had a ticket and was very surprised. She couldn't figure out how someone like Lu Ming, a nobody with no background, could afford such a precious ticket.
However, when Lu Ming fully unfolded the ticket, Xu Qin burst into laughter.
She roared with laughter, "Lu Ming, you really know how to put on a show. What can I say about you? If you don't have a ticket, don't pretend to be rich. What's the point of bringing a fake ticket?"
Fake?
Impossible?
Shura wouldn't possibly try to fool Lu Ming with a fake ticket. Besides, this ticket was personally delivered by Zhu You to Shura. There shouldn't be a problem.
Xu Qin waved her ticket and said, "Look closely. My ticket is real. Yours looks similar, but there are significant differences!"
Lu Ming looked, and sure enough, she was right.
The two tickets had a similar style, but the design of the tickets was vastly different, making the distinction obvious at a glance.
This time, Jiang Mengxin was unhappy.
If Lu Ming arriving by electric scooter had only made Jiang Mengxin feel ashamed, then Lu Ming trying to pass off a fake ticket now was an act of fraud.
Disgraceful, embarrassing, and utterly repulsive!
Jiang Mengxin said with a cold face, "Lu Ming, it's okay if you're poor, but a poor person shouldn't have lost aspirations! If you truly wanted to see the art exhibition, fine, tell me, and I'll find a way to get you a ticket. But you're trying to pass off a fake ticket? That makes you look extremely low-class and morally bankrupt! Lu Ming, I'm very disappointed in you."
The good impression she had finally built up for Lu Ming crumbled at this moment.
Xu Qin, however, was delighted.
She had wanted Jiang Mengxin to dislike Lu Ming all along and was worried about how to achieve it. Unexpectedly, Lu Ming walked right into a trap. This was great.
Fearing that the situation wasn't escalating enough, Xu Qin actively shouted to the ticket checkers, "Hey, hey! Ticket checkers, come take a look. This person is using a fake ticket to get in. Are you going to call the police and arrest him?"
As a prospective mother-in-law, she was doing quite a bit for her future son-in-law.
She wished Lu Ming would just disappear right then and there.
The crucial point was that Lu Ming's current actions made Jiang Mengxin extremely disgusted. If the situation escalated, her disgust towards him would double.
At this point, if Gao Yuheng were to make his move, he would have a great chance of winning over Jiang Mengxin!
When a woman is disappointed in one man, it's the best opportunity for another man to swoop in. Xu Qin, as a woman, understood this principle all too well.
Xu Qin was currently creating such an opportunity for Gao Yuheng!
As expected.
The ticket checkers took the issue of fake tickets very seriously. These were tickets worth 200,000 yuan each. If there were fakes, it was no trivial matter.
Two ticket checkers walked over and said sternly to Lu Ming, "Sir, please hand over your ticket for us to inspect."
Lu Ming shook his head with a wry smile and handed over the ticket. He also wanted to know if it was real or fake. Logically, Shura and Zhu You wouldn't lie to him.
The ticket checkers took Lu Ming's ticket and were instantly stunned.
They looked at each other and examined it more carefully.
After a long while.
The ticket checker looked up at Lu Ming, their expression extremely serious, with a hint of hostility in their eyes.
Lu Ming sensed something was wrong and asked, "So, is my ticket real or fake?"
Xu Qin chuckled, "At this point, why are you still putting on such a show? Just confess where you got the fake ticket from, quickly!"
Unexpectedly!
The ticket checker waved their hand and said very seriously, "No, this ticket is real."
What?
Xu Qin was greatly startled.
Impossible! Lu Ming's ticket was completely different from hers and everyone else's. If Lu Ming's was real, were everyone else's tickets fake?
Just as Xu Qin was confused and Lu Ming breathed a sigh of relief, the ticket checker suddenly shouted, "Security, arrest this thief and take him to the police station!"
What the hell?
Lu Ming was completely bewildered by the ticket checker and questioned, "My ticket is real, and you still want to arrest me?"
The ticket checker sneered and held up the ticket, saying, "This ticket is indeed real, but it's a very valuable 'connection ticket,' far more expensive than a regular ticket! With this ticket, you can even have a private meeting with Master Zhu! Such a precious ticket is only accessible to people of extremely distinguished status. And you... a loser who rides an electric scooter, do you honestly think you are qualified to have a connection ticket? Therefore, there's only one conclusion – you stole this ticket!"
What kind of nonsensical logic is this?
Without any evidence, they're calling his ticket stolen?
Just because Lu Ming arrived on an electric scooter?
What do they mean by judging a book by its cover? This is what judging a book by its cover means! Is society truly this tragic?
Lu Ming was speechless.
Xu Qin now realized that Lu Ming's ticket differed from hers not because it was fake, but because Lu Ming had obtained a 'legendary' connection ticket, rare and precious, hence its uniqueness.
Lu Ming's ticket was indeed real.
The problem was, how could someone like Lu Ming, with no connections and no money, possibly obtain a connection ticket?
He must have stolen it!
Xu Qin sneered, "Lu Ming, you're something else. From what I know, a connection ticket alone is resold for up to a million yuan. If you had stolen a regular ticket, okay, the same ticket as everyone else, I wouldn't know. But this kind of connection ticket isn't something ordinary people can buy. Behind every connection ticket is a top-tier figure. You dare to steal a ticket like this? Heh, if you don't court death, you won't die."
Turning to the ticket checker, Xu Qin said, "Quickly, arrest him, take him to the police station, interrogate him severely, and lock him up for ten to eight years!"
Her words were so venomous, showcasing the depth of Xu Qin's hatred for Lu Ming.
Lu Ming, however, shook his head with a bitter smile, not knowing what to say.
He could only sigh deeply.
Alas!!!