Chapter 106: My Dear Ning Li

Feng Yao was a little surprised by Xu Yini’s reaction.

“Yeah. The second master left after the meeting ended.”

“He went off that early?” Disappointed, Xu Yini frowned.

Feng Yao was also at a loss for words. “Yeah, the second master rarely accepts jobs in the afternoon or the evening.”

He thought that since she was Lu Huaiyu’s childhood friend, Xu Yini would know about this.

Xu Yini tightened her lips. She came all the way from the capital just to see Lu Huaiyu, yet she missed him just like that.

“Where is he now?”

Feng Yao thought about it for a moment and smiled apologetically, “The second master has his own private schedule, so we have no idea.”

The truth was that several executive members of HG knew where Lu Huaiyu would be at this time of the day: his house.

Since Xu Yini did not know that though, it was not necessary for him to tell her.

Xu Yini reacted bitterly to that response.

Mei Li went up to her. “If that’s the case, why don’t we prepare ourselves for the event first?”

Frustrated, Xu Yini suppressed her anger and disappointment as she marched forward.

…

At Yunding Fenghua, Ning Li filtered the freshly ground beans a second time and put them into the pot.

The rich aroma of coffee permeated the air.

Lu Huaiyu stood up and walked to her. “It seems like you learned a lot at the coffee shop.”

He was always picky with his coffee. He asked Ning Li to prepare the coffee for him because he wanted to test her skills.

Well, it seemed like her skills had exceeded his expectations.

“The owner teaches me sometimes, and it’s not that hard to learn.” Ning Li did not even look at him when she said that.

Lu Huaiyu stood opposite her, and thanks to his towering height, he was peering down at the tiny spiral of her hair. She was concentrating on making the coffee and would blink from time to time, which made her eyelashes sparkle.

He took his phone and sent a message.

[Coffee beans: okay.]

…

Cheng Xiyue read the message in a meeting room. He sat straight up cautiously as if he was facing his greatest enemy.

The marketing manager, who was giving a presentation, saw the look on Cheng Xiyue’s face and his heart skipped a beat. A moment later, the marketing manager cautiously asked, “Mr. Cheng, is there anything wrong with the data?”

Cheng Xiyue recovered from his shock. He put his phone down and said, “Oh, no, it’s fine. Please continue.”

The marketing manager confirmed it thrice before he continued his presentation.

Cheng Xiyue could barely listen to the presentation anymore, so he quickly replied to the message.

[Aren’t you asleep?]

The man was usually sleeping at this time of the day. His habits never changed ever since he came to Yunzhou. Even Cheng Xiyue dared not contact him at this hour.

What could have happened today?

[No. I’m busy.]

Cheng Xiyue pondered the statement. ‘Busy? The word busy should be omitted from his dictionary.’

Then, he suddenly thought of that time when Lu Huaiyu had gotten drunk, which made him anxious.

[What are you busy with?]

At the same time, he screenshotted the chat and sent it to Gu Tinglan. He thought something must have happened since Lu Huaiyu was skipping his nap.

A while later, Gu Tinglan replied. [Who is he with today?]

Cheng Xiyue thought about it.

Lu Huaiyu went back after the meeting at HG, and usually, he should be taking a nap alone at home. Who else could he be with?

Moreover, he was talking to Gu Tinglan about Lu Huaiyu’s condition. Why would the doctor ask such a strange question?

Then, Lu Huaiyu replied with a picture of a cup of coffee.

Cheng Xiyue knew that Lu Huaiyu loved coffee, but the man never sent him a picture of a coffee before. He frowned and zoomed into the picture. After a careful look, he noticed something.

The table, the cup, and everything else looked familiar. The man seemed to be at home.

He knew Lu Huaiyu just bought a coffee machine and got a ton of coffee beans. He figured that the man wanted it to add to his collection and not to make coffee by himself. In fact, making coffee was not something the man would do.

He forwarded the message to Gu Tinglan.

[Dr. Gu, I want to ask if this is proof that his condition is getting worse.]

A while later, Gu Tinglan replied, [No. Look at the spoon.]

Cheng Xiyue zoomed in and finally saw something that became the answer to his question. The spoon showed a reflection of someone, and it was someone familiar.

Cheng Xiyue went silent for quite a while.

‘Is he being fed something?’

…

While waiting for the coffee to boil, Ning Li took her phone out and saw that someone had tagged her in WeChat.

She tapped on it and saw He Xiaochen’s status.

[My dear Ning Li bought me ice cream today! It’s delicious! @Ning Li]

The picture was the ice cream that she had bought for He Xiaochen earlier. The lighting was good and the ice cream looked delicious.

“What are you looking at?” Lu Huaiyu asked because the girl was staring at her phone.

At the next moment, he squinted his eyes at her and raised a brow. Then, he leaned forward slightly.

The kitchen island was in between the two of them, but Lu Huaiyu’s towering height allowed him to have a peek at her phone.

When he got close, the unique smell of refreshing cedar entered her nose. Even though the room was filled with the aroma of rich coffee, the smell on him remained refreshing and was extremely distinct.

Even the warmth from him felt like it could scald her without touching; all he needed to do was get close to her.

Ning Li subtly stepped back and drew distance from the intimacy. Her reaction allowed Lu Huaiyu to have a clearer look at the words, and he uttered the words softly in his charming voice, “My dear Ning Li…”

His rich and pleasant voice entered her ears, tickling her eardrums. They were like an enchantment that could bewitch someone.

Ning Li quivered while her eyes turned red.