Chapter 78: Overprotection
“Lili,” Lu Huaiyu called out to Ning Li.
Ning Li pulled herself back from her trance and discarded the images out of her mind.
“Second Brother.”
Lu Huaiyu sized her up. “Wait a moment.”
Ning Li felt his request was strange but nodded nevertheless. “Okay.”
Lu Huaiyu then walked to the VIP rest area.
When Gu Tinglan saw this, he had a hunch about what would happen next. He did not follow Lu Huaiyu. Instead, he stood there and looked at Ning Li with a warm smile. “I never thought that we would see each other here.”
“Mr. Gu,” Ning Li courteously greeted the man.
“Nice horse you have there.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t pick this horse. I’m here with someone else today.”
It was not difficult for Gu Tinglan to know that. After all, only VIPs could enter the club. Ning Li might be a daughter of the Ye family by name, but everyone knew she was not Ye Ming’s own daughter; Su Yuan barely cared about this daughter of hers as well.
Otherwise, Su Yuan would not have abandoned her for 11 years before taking her in. It was obvious that Ning Li had no place in the Ye family, so someone else must have brought her in.
Who could it be?
It was neither Lu Huaiyu nor Cheng Xiyue, so…
It was then that Cheng Xiangxiang came with her horse. She saw Lu Huaiyu on the way and her heart raced.
For some reason, whenever she saw him, an unknown reverence rose from her heart, even more so after seeing Lu Huaiyu beat Dai Li up.
“Brother Ziqing.” She could only speak to Tang Ziqing, the only person she knew.
Tang Ziqing had a quick glance at the two girls. He had been quite far away when the girls were still in the stables and did not hear what they were talking about. However, he knew something was not right between them.
Any sane man could tell that the two girls were having some kind of fight, and it seemed like Cheng Xiangxiang had started it.
Having seen Cheng Xiangxiang a few times before, he could call her an acquaintance and should show some hospitality as the club owner. Unfortunately, she paled in comparison with the other girl.
This girl was able to catch Lu Huaiyu’s attention.
Tang Ziqing smiled and nodded before greeting Ning Li.
Lu Huaiyu then came back.
When Ning Li saw the item in his hand, she was slightly surprised.
“Come down,” Lu Huaiyu said as he stood beside her.
Hesitating for a bit, Ning Li decided to comply.
Lu Huaiyu was holding a helmet. “This is mine. Use it first,” he said as he passed the helmet to her.
Ning Li accepted it. “Thank you, Second Brother.”
He had gone to get her safety gear.
To be honest, Ning Li did not care about the race with Cheng Xiangxiang. She did not expect Lu Huaiyu to be more concerned than her. Anyway, it was always better to be safe than sorry, so she put the helmet on.
Lu Huaiyu bent over.
“Give me your leg.”
Ning Li froze for a moment. She then saw Lu Huaiyu with a pair of knee guards, indicating that he wanted to put it on for her. She wanted to refuse, but he was quick as he put the knee guards around her knee before she even realized it.
Her slender legs looked distinctly beautiful in his hands.
His long fingers pressed against her knee. With only one layer of cloth between them, she could feel the heat from his fingers.
She instinctively wanted to pull her leg away, but he caught her.
“Don’t move.” He sounded unconcerned but firm.
Ning Li looked down and saw his black hair covering his brows. She had a glimpse of his tall nose and sharp jawline. She could not do anything but stand still and let him tie the knee guards around her knee.
The atmosphere suddenly went quiet.
Tang Ziqing widened his eyes in shock as he thought that he was seeing things.
Lu Huaiyu was known for his hot temper and arrogance. He was always the one giving the command, people had to bear with his temper and treat him like a king, not the other way around.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Huaiyu had strapped both the knee guards to her knees.
Then, he got up. They were so close to each other that Ning Li had to slightly lean back to look at him.
Lu Huaiyu looked into her eyes before he moved even closer and reached out to her.
Ning Li then realized that because she was carried away for a moment there, she had not worn her helmet.
“This is how you adjust it.” Lu Huaiyu slightly leaned forward and adjusted her helmet. His fingers unconsciously grazed her chin.
It was ticklish, hot, and sensual all at the same time.
Ning Li looked at him. She noticed his concentration, and it seemed like no distance was too close for him.
The angle of the sunlight was just right. She could even see the shadow of his eyelashes against his eyelids. With his gaze hidden under the shadow of his eyelashes, he seemed deep and unpredictable.
The side view of his jawline was perfect and smooth. From the ridge of his brows to the tip of his nose and to his slightly curved lips, everything was perfect.
He was a lot taller than Ning Li, and with him slightly leaning over, she clearly saw his tightened chin and bulging Adam’s apple.
He had been even closer the other day back in his bedroom than he was now.
Ning Li thought of the kiss on the back of her hand and it still felt like a dream to her. However, it seemed like he did not remember anything from the other day.
“Second Brother?” she said softly.
Lu Huaiyu looked at her.
“Mm-hmm?” His eyes were crystal-clear yet enigmatic. He looked nothing like himself from the other day.
She did not say a word.
It was at that moment that Lu Huaiyu was done prepping her.
“Okay.” He let go and took a step back.
If she remembered correctly, this should not be the reaction she expected. Ning Li blinked. “Thank you, Second Brother. I’ll get going.”
He then nodded.
…
The two horses lined up side by side.
The second the whistle blew, Ning Li squeezed her legs and the horse dashed out.
Cheng Xiangxiang was a fraction of a second late. Nervously, she shook the reins as well. “Hyak!”
The two girls sprinted away on their horses.
Lu Huaiyu then walked towards the spectators’ seats at the endpoint.
As Gu Tinglan watched the race, he asked Tang Ziqing, “Who do you think will win?”
Tang Ziqing stiffly turned to him and looked at him in disbelief. “Are you really thinking about the race now?”
“Then, what should I think about now?”
“No, didn’t you see that??” Tang Ziqing gestured nervously and stared at Lu Huaiyu’s back.
What was going on?!
Was he seeing things or had Lu Huaiyu gone mad?
If those folks at the capital saw this, they would lose their minds.
Gu Tinglan chuckled. “Didn’t you hear what she called Lu Huaiyu?”
“I heard. Second Brother, wasn’t it? Even if they are real brothers and sisters, this is a little too much. Moreover, they are still—”
Gu Tinglan patted his shoulder and stopped him from talking. “I’m glad that you know.”
…
After Yu Pingchuan came back from his phone call, he could not see Ning Li anywhere.
However, he heard the galloping hooves of horses from afar. He turned to the tracks and saw her familiar figure and sighed a breath of relief.
He walked over to the spectators’ seats and saw Lu Huaiyu who also spotted him.
“Mr. Yu.”
Yu Pingchuan was surprised to find him there. “Huaiyu, why are you here?”
“A friend called me over. Did you come here today to find a new favorite?”
Yu Pingchuan laughed. “I really can’t keep secrets from you. There, that’s the one.”