Chapter 107: Paying Back the Favor
Lu Huaiyu paused for a moment before he straightened his body and chuckled. “Your classmate is really interesting.”
For whatever reason, even with him moving away, the strange pressure remained.
Ning Li turned her phone off and looked down.
“Xiaochen likes sweet stuff.”
With the cup of coffee in his hand, Lu Huaiyu said with a frivolous tone, “Well, that ice cream seems nice.”
Ning Li looked at him in surprise. As far as she knew, he disliked sweet stuff, even ice cream from a grocery store.
“How does your cup taste?” she asked.
Lu Huaiyu nodded. “It’s alright.”
Or rather, it was a perfect cup of coffee.
He was extremely picky with his coffee, be it the sweetness, the bitterness, or the aroma. There were only a few who could get his taste right.
However, Ning Li’s coffee ticked all the boxes for him, and it was perfect.
If he did not watch her make him the coffee for the first time, he would have thought that she prepared this a long time ago after doing deep research on him.
Judging from the look on his face, Ning Li knew that she had passed. She sighed a breath of relief and smiled brightly, her eyes curving into sickle moons.
“As long as you like it, that’s good.”
Lu Huaiyu’s heart throbbed for a moment while he watched her smile. “I praise you a bit, and you are already as thrilled as a child.”
“Of course. I troubled you the last time and I feel bad, so this is me paying back the favor,” Ning Li said as she tidied up the place and washed her hands. She owed Lu Huaiyu a lot of favors and would feel better if she could return them one by one.
Lu Huaiyu squinted his eyes, put his cup down, and smiled brightly. “Oh, really?”
The girl was just 17 years old, but she had her debts counted clearly. She was one step away from listing all of them down on a piece of paper.
He had flown back from the capital in the middle of the night, found her in the rain, and brought her home, but all he got was a cup of perfect coffee?
Ning Li got her bag. “Second Brother, I’ve cleaned the coffee machine and arranged the coffee beans. They are at the lowest drawer of the center cabinet. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”
Lu Huaiyu said, “Alright, then.”
…
Xu Yini waited for a long time, but there was still no message from Lu Huaiyu.
In the dressing room, the makeup artist was fixing her hair.
Xu Yini called Cheng Xiyue who finally picked up after a long wait.
“Yo, Yini, to what do I owe this call?” Cheng Xiyue said in a flippant tone as he loosened up his tie and walked out of the meeting room.
“Brother Xiyue, I’m in Yunzhou. Do you want to have dinner tonight?”
Cheng Xiyue paused. He knew that Xu Yini was in Yunzhou for the event because HG had been pouring money into their advertising.
However, he knew who exactly she wanted to meet at the dinner.
“Well, I’m afraid dinner is not convenient. I still have meetings to attend, and there’s a dinner I have committed to at 7 tonight.”
Xu Yini was a little disappointed. “Then…do you know where Huaiyu is now?”
Cheng Xiyue knew that she was actually asking for Lu Huaiyu. He shrugged and said, “He should be at home now.”
Before Xu Yini could feel happy, he added, “But he’s been resting well recently, so Gu Tinglan said it’s better to leave him be.”
Xu Yini took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll look for him tomorrow.”
After that, she hung up the phone. It was then that Mei Li came in and shook her head upon hearing Xu Yini.
“Yini, I told Qinqin to book a 10:00 a.m. flight tomorrow. I’m afraid you won’t have the time to meet him.”
Xu Yini frowned. “I thought we’re leaving the day after tomorrow. What’s with the sudden change?”
“The fashion director of G&S is arriving at the capital tonight. He’s there to prepare for the collection show for the autumn/winter season. He has a tight schedule, and I went through hell just to secure a meeting with him tomorrow. We cannot miss this.”
Mei Li looked rather excited.
“They still haven’t picked the model for the opening walk, and everyone is fighting for it. If we can get it and you can perform, maybe we can work together.”
Xu Yini was a little stunned. “What? I thought they would never pick anyone to endorse their brand.”
“I didn’t say it’s an endorsement. It’s just a brand ambassadorship, and this is the first brand ambassador that they are selecting from China. A lot of people are dying to get the spot.”
There were distinct status differences in the fashion world between the famous brands, and the chain of influence was obvious. Among them, G&S stood at the highest point. Their products were extremely well known and they came from Europe.
There were more than 500 years of history behind the company, but throughout half a millennium, they had never elected a brand ambassador before.
However, because G&S was taking on a whole new strategy, they were looking for a brand ambassador for a particular series of designs rather than an endorser. Since they would not conflict with Esya’s interest directly, Mei Li fought for Xu Yini to get the meeting.
Even though it was just a brand ambassadorship, the title was bigger than Esya’s endorser, which explained Mei Li’s excitement.
“Based on what I heard, a lot of people in the industry are looking out for the fashion director and trying to win favor from him. Whosoever wins his fondness will be the biggest winner. I’m sure that person will be laughing in their sleep.”
Xu Yini came from a good background, and she could use her resources to easily expand her network and connections that were usually off-limits to most people. However, it did not include G&S.
“I understand.” She put her phone away.
Qinqin, the assistant, said, “Sister Yini, it’s time. We have to go down now.”
Xu Yini then lifted her dress and went downstairs.
…
HG was extremely lively on a Saturday night. There was a huge crowd in every corner of the mall.
Xu Yini emerged from the elevator and heard loud cheers for her outside.
The crowd was chanting her name fanatically, “Yini! Yini!”
Xu Yini put on a wide smile and looked at her fans. She waved at the crowd as she walked out.
The cheers got louder, and some of the fans got so fervent that tears rolled down their faces. They waved banners with her name on them and turned on purple light sticks, which was her official fan club color.
Meanwhile, there were more than a dozen security guards paving the path for her. The emcee invited her on stage together with the chief of Esya for the Asian region. It was extremely lively.
“Now, Yini, we heard that you came all the way from the capital just to be here tonight. This is for the fans一I want to ask you what drives you here, or what motivates you to travel all the way here?”
The emcee passed her the microphone.
Xu Yini looked into the camera with a sweet smile. “It’s because there are people that I love here.” She paused and then added, “My beloved Ripples are here waiting for me, so of course I have to come.”
Ripples was what her fans identified themselves as. The crowd got even wilder when she said that.
“Aaaah!” Yini is so beautiful! I can’t!”
“What did she say? She came here for us? OMG! YINI G.O.A.T!”
“YINI! WE RIPPLES LOVE YOU FOREVER!”
Xu Yini’s confession to the camera ended up trending for the night.