Chapter 105: He Is Not Around
Ning Li had a glance at his hand, but Lu Huaiyu seemed reluctant to show her the bookmark.
It was just a piece of paper. She had a glance at the edge and noticed that it was a sketch of some sort, but she did not get a clearer look.
In the end, she gave him the book.
Lu Huaiyu put the paper back inside. He took the book Ning Li returned and put it back on the second row of the rack.
Ning Li was behind him.
“Second Brother, I’ve washed your pajamas and put them downstairs.”
Lu Huaiyu simply grunted in reply before he said, “You may choose any book on that row and have a look.”
Ning Li looked at where he was pointing at. The room was huge and there was a collection of books.
“Have you read all the books here before?” she asked.
“Almost.”
Lu Huaiyu had stayed in Yunzhou for almost a year now and was quite free since he rejected most of the jobs and meetings. Whenever he could not sleep, he would read to kill his time.
Ning Li stood in front of the other rack and scanned through the books. She then took one from the middle.
This particular book was wrapped nicely, and its cover was 2 mm thick. It felt quite heavy in her hand as well.
Lu Huaiyu had a look at her choice. “That’s the original German version. If you want to read it, there’s a Chinese translated version beside it.”
Ning Li paused for a while before she put the book back and took the translated version.
Lu Huaiyu did not notice the little pause.
She then put the book into her bag. “Thank you, Second Brother. I’ll be going now.”
“Wait.” Lu Huaiyu held her back. “Are you free later?”
Ning Li looked at her watch. It was 2:00 p.m.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“A friend of mine gave me a new set of coffee beans and a coffee machine. If you are free, can you help grind the coffee beans?”
Lu Huaiyu noticed her unusual reaction when he asked the question. He smiled and said, “Consider it payment for staying here the other night.”
Ning Li put her bag down and said, “Okay.”
…
On the first floor, Ning Li went down and saw a brand new coffee machine on the island kitchen. There were also a dozen bags of coffee beans beside it.
“Second Brother, all these…should be expensive, aren’t they?”
Lu Huaiyu looked at her. “Nope. My friend started a coffee shop earlier but lost interest. He sold this to me at cost price before even opening it.”
Ning Li went quiet for a moment. The machine alone was worth more than a coffee shop in Yunzhou’s city center. Who was that generous to sell it to him at cost price?
She walked over and had a look at the coffee beans. The beans came from all over the world and were the best coffee beans handpicked by professionals. The accessories were only found in the most expensive coffee shop out there, yet Lu Huaiyu brought everything back like they were Christmas presents.
“I’ll have to read the manual for this.” She then took the manual by the side.
“We aren’t in a rush. Take all the time you need.”
Lu Huaiyu sat on the couch opposite her.
Ning Li looked up and saw the bright sun outside the window. It shone through the ceiling-to-wall windows and shed a glorious glow on his face. Something inside her stirred and felt strange to her.
She asked, “Second Brother, which flavor do you want to try?”
Lu Huaiyu thought about it. “Mandheling.”
Ning Li looked a little reluctant. “But it will take a lot of time to grind.”
Indeed, it would take hours to transform the beans into coffee.
“It’s fine. I can wait.” Lu Huaiyu did not mind at all.
Ning Li took the can of coffee beans out and was about to roast them.
“Second Brother, are you fine with your schedule?”
Lu Huaiyu looked at her. “What schedule?”
The man usually did not have any activities starting from the afternoon.
“I heard there’s an event at HG tonight.”
HG was one of the Lu Corporation’s subsidiaries, and it seemed like it was having a huge event tonight. Therefore, she thought that he would attend it.
Lu Huaiyu raised a brow. “Do I look that free to you?”
Ning Li went silent as she stared at the coffee beans in her hands. It seemed like the man stopped her from going back just because he wanted to watch her make coffee.
“Oh.”
…
On the giant screen in front of the mall HG owned, Xu Yini’s promotional video was already up.
In the video, she was looking at the camera with exquisite makeup and a stunning smile. She caressed her face with her porcelain-white fingers, her finger adorned with a scarlet red ruby ring. She looked beautiful and elegant.
The mall had a lot of banners with her face on them as well, and the place was filled with balloons and flowers. The scale of this event was self-explanatory. There were already a number of fans waiting outside.
Compared to big cities like the capital and Gangcheng, Yunzhou was just an average city.
Therefore, Xu Yini’s surprise appearance excited the fans, all of whom had been waiting outside since the morning.
Around 5:00 p.m., a car arrived at the entrance.
One of the fans shouted, “Yini!”
The crowd immediately got excited and screams filled the air. The security guards came in to control the situation and cleared out a path for the car.
“Sister Yini, a lot of your fans are out there.” The assistant was in awe of the sheer number of fans.
Xu Yini had gotten used to the scene. She was scrolling her phone instead of being surprised.
Since the car windows were tinted black, no one from the outside could see what was happening in the car.
“Bunch of noisy apes,” she complained in a frustrated tone.
The assistant zipped her mouth shut.
“Yini, we are here. Go get dressed. The event will start at 6:00 a.m.,” Mei Li said from the passenger seat as she opened the door.
The car was parked at HG’s private parking lot where no fans were allowed.
Xu Yini kept her phone away. She had sent a message to Lu Huaiyu about her arrival but did not get a reply at all. More precisely, after the last call she got from the man, her texts and calls had all been one-sided
The man did not answer anything from her; there was not even a text. Lu Huaiyu had always been cold to her, but his distant behavior got worse after that incident.
She was mad at first. It was just a picture, and she had clarified it right after it got out, so why the cold shoulder?
However, after a few days and still nothing from Lu Huaiyu, she got restless.
Coincidentally, her endorsed brand had an event in Yunzhou that she agreed to attend. She wanted to use this opportunity to have a straight talk with Lu Huaiyu.
Xu Yini got out of the car and entered the elevator.
…
Right after the elevator door opened, Feng Yao was already there waiting for her. He showed a welcoming smile when he saw Xu Yini.
“Miss Xu, hello.”
Xu Yini knew the man. He was the regional manager of HG in Yunzhou.
“Mr. Feng.” She shook his hand firmly.
Given the man’s status, he did not have to welcome her by himself, but Xu Yini was not just any celebrity. She was the daughter of the Xu family. Feng Yao was a smart man who dared not be careless.
“The journey here must have been tiring for you. The waiting room is ready for you. Do you want to go there now?”
Xu Yini walked forward. “Not now. I want to see Huaiyu first.” She found out that HG had an internal meeting earlier in the day, thus Lu Huaiyu should be in the building.
Stunned, Feng Yao said, “I’m sorry, Miss Xu. Second Master is not here.”
Xu Yini froze. “He’s not here?”