Chapter 132: Appointment
Even though it was just a view from the side, Ye Ci knew it was Lu Huaiyu.
Lu Huaiyu’s laidback look and casual temperament were unique. She had never seen it on another person before.
Lu Huaiyu was at the art exhibition?
Ye Ci knew only so much about the man. She only knew that he came from a powerful and influential family and that he himself was an outstanding businessman.
Even her father, Ye Ming, had tried to win his favor during their previous meeting but failed to do so.
What could a high-schooler like her possibly do to attract his attention?
Lu Huaiyu was in Yunzhou for the time being and the only person who could approach him would be Cheng Xiyue from the Cheng family.
Cheng Xiangxiang was Cheng Xiyue’s cousin and given their relationship, the girl should have had more chances to meet Lu Huaiyu, but it had not happened at all.
It was difficult for any Tom, Dick, or Harry to meet the man.
Ye Ci had not expected to see Lu Huaiyu at the art exhibition.
She had never heard of the man being an artist or a painter, so surely the only reason he had shown up at the exhibition was to admire paintings.
Ye Ci’s heart pounded strongly as she stared at the picture.
She quickly replied Lin Zhouyang’s message.
[I see. I’ll try to finish my work as soon as possible and meet you there.]
Lin Zhouyang was over the moon. He had already been prepared to leave but Ye Ci’s reply made him stay.
[Okay. I heard it would be difficult to see Mr. Yu if you miss this exhibition. I’ll wait for you at the entrance.]
[Kay.]
Ye Ci gave a brief reply before she closed the books on her desk.
Her spacious room was equipped with a huge closet.
She opened the door to her closet and looked over all four of the custom-made glass cases that housed all her clothes.
There was also a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, which made the closet room sparkle.
She carefully went through her clothes.
It was inappropriate to wear something too eye-catching and it would be too boring to wear something simple.
She was going to an art exhibition, so she had to pick something suitable.
She took out more than a dozen dresses from the glass cases and stood in front of the mirror, wondering which one was suitable for the occasion.
The Ye family was considered one of the wealthiest families in Yunzhou and as the family’s only daughter, Ye Ci was a renowned socialite.
All the famous brands would send her a catalog every season to let her choose the newest dresses and accessories.
Her closet always had the most fashionable and latest designs of various brands.
However, she had done a lot of browsing today and still could not find a dress to her liking.
She could not afford to take too much either because she had no idea how long Lu Huaiyu would stay at the art exhibition.
If she was late, she might miss the man completely.
After some serious thought, she decided on a sleeveless black dress. The length of the dress reached her knees and the slim cut of it complimented her slender figure.
She curled her hair slightly and left the curls draping over her shoulders. She did not put on any makeup, except for some clear lipgloss.
She looked into the mirror and nodded happily.
The dress reduced her immature schoolgirl look and gave her the liveliness and youthfulness of a young lady. She looked clean and innocent.
Ye Ci ignored all the fancy branded bags in her closet and chose a silver purse that has no logo on it.
There was also a fluffy keychain on it. The cute accessory went well with her image.
After getting ready, she went downstairs.
Su Yuan was out with Ye Cheng, so only Aunt Zhao was at home.
Aunt Zhao was in awe when she saw Ye Ci.
“My gosh, miss! You look stunning, are you going out?”
Ye Ci felt great. She smiled at Aunt Zhao and said, “Yeah, I’m going to an art exhibition with my friend. It’s at the Sanyang Exhibition Center.”
It sounded like a normal outing, so Aunt Zhao was not overly concerned.
“Oh, but Zhao Hua drove the madam and Ye Cheng out earlier.”
There were two drivers in the Ye family.
One of them was Ye Ming’s personal driver who drove him to all kinds of business meetings. That particular driver rarely came to the house; the other one would be Zhao Hua.
Ye Ci went straight to the door without pause.
“It’s okay, I’ll just call for a ride.”
“Okay, please be careful out there, miss.”
Aunt Zhao saw her off and mumbled, “What’s so interesting about an art exhibition?”
…
Lin Zhouyang waited in front of Sanyang Exhibition Center with two cups of milk tea in his hand. He was happy but nervous at the same time.
Aside from the happiness, he was nervous because this would be his first time meeting Ye Ci alone outside school.
He had not put much hope into this meeting at first but he had been surprised by Ye Ci’s reply.
He had a quick glance at the time. Ye Ci should be arriving soon.
He took his phone out and mumbled something. It looked like he was memorizing something from his phone.
As a matter of fact, Lin Zhouyang was not interested in paintings and he only knew so much about paints and canvases.
If not for Ye Ci, he would never have come to the exhibition center to look at paintings. He was worried that he might look dumb in front of Ye Ci, so he had gone online to read up on some of the information regarding this exhibition, including the artists, the work on display, and the organizers.
He went through the information a few times and memorized them so that he would have more common topics with Ye Ci.
It was then that a car stopped in front of him.
Lin Zhouyang then saw Ye Ci come out from the car.
He went up to her and called her, “Ye Ci!”
Ye Ci turned to him.
Lin Zhouyang’s eyes sparkled when he saw the girl.
He knew Ye Ci had dressed for the occasion because she looked prettier than usual.
The way her dress swayed as she moved made him blush. He quickly gave her a cup of milk tea.
“Roasted grass jelly, no sugar, less ice.”
He had remembered Ye Ci’s taste.
Ye Ci smiled softly. “Thanks but no thanks. I don’t like to drink when admiring paintings.”
Lin Zhouyang felt embarrassed immediately.
“Ah, okay. It’s okay, I’ll just throw it away. Here, this is the ticket.”
Ye Ci took the tickets and thanked him.
Lin Zhouyang sighed a breath of relief. He then tossed the milk teas, including his own cup, into the garbage can beside him.
“Let’s go.”
Ye Ci nodded.
The two of them then walked towards the exhibition center entrance.
Lin Zhouyang dared not stay too close to her, so he kept his distance as he followed her in.
…
There were 8 different exhibition halls in the exhibition center and each had its own theme.
When they went in, the hall was already full of people.
Of course, it was common sense to keep quiet in an artistic space, so it was quiet even though there was a crowd.
Lin Zhouyang did not dare breathe heavily. He looked at all the paintings on display but he could not understand a thing.
He did not know how to admire the artistic meaning behind the strokes and colors.
A last-minute study on paintings had not helped him at all.
He had gotten nervous when Ye Ci arrived and he forgot everything he had memorized earlier.
A while later, he realized that Ye Ci was not looking at the paintings. She looked like she was looking for someone.
He whispered, “Ye Ci, are you looking for Mr. Yu? I think he’s on the second floor.”
Ye Ci looked at him. “Oh, really?”
“Yeah. I think he’s together with some other artists. They’re all from Yunzhou’s Art Committee.”
Lin Zhouyang knew nothing about art, he knew this particular detail because he had heard it from someone else earlier.
Ye Ci nodded. “Okay, I’ll go to the second floor for a look and maybe talk to Mr. Yu for a bit. I’ll be back soon. You help yourself here.”
Lin Zhouyang knew he would not be useful in front of the artists, so it was inappropriate for him to follow.
He said, “Okay, go ahead.”