Chapter 96: Come With Me
Worried, Cheng Xiyue asked, “Do you want me to come with you?”
Lu Huaiyu turned around to shoot him a quick, cold glance.
Cheng Xiyue’s survival instinct told him to sit back and wait. He would be better off putting that thought away. “Um, okay, anyway, be safe. Call me if you need anything!”
Lu Huaiyu then walked away.
It was raining heavily in the middle of the night, and the ground was filled with puddles. A single step into the water saw the rain soaking his shoes and the hem of his pants, but he did not care.
With the umbrella wide open above his head, he walked towards the dark building.
…
Rat-a-tat.
Knocks came from the door, waking Ning Li up. She saw the portrait on the paper and frowned slightly. She had been sketching freely, but for some reason, she had depicted Lu Huaiyu’s portrait at the end.
Just when she was about to crumple the paper, her eyes fell on the portrait again, stopping her in the midst of her action.
In the end, she put the other sketches on top of it and went to answer the door.
“Wei Songze?”
Who else could it be at this hour other than him? But why would he be back in the middle of the night?
A pleasant and rich voice came from outside the door. “It’s me.”
Ning Li was shocked as she thought that she heard wrongly.
“Second Brother?”
She looked through the peephole and saw Lu Huaiyu.
Should he not be at the capital? Why would he be here in Yunzhou, looking for her here?
An outrageous thought appeared in her mind as she opened the door.
Lu Huaiyu finally saw Ning Li. She was still wearing her school uniform and her soft hair was rather messy while her widened eyes were evidence of her astonishment.
Fortunately, she was well and fine.
“Second Brother, why are you—”
“You turned off your phone. Your family has been searching for you,” Lu Huaiyu said nonchalantly.
Ning Li frowned. She just wanted to be alone for the night to enjoy the peace and quiet. She did not expect her actions to catch Lu Huaiyu’s attention. Little did she think that he would have come back for her on this very night.
“Are you here alone?” he asked as he had a peek inside.
Ning Li nodded.
“Pack your things. Cheng Xiyue is waiting downstairs.” He sounded different from usual. She could tell he was mad, but…
She did not want to go back.
At other times, she would have gone back and been patient with her mother but not today.
Lu Huaiyu walked in and declared, “I’ll help you pack.”
Ning Li noticed that the hem of his pants was wet. It was pouring outside, and the man had flown back from the capital just like that. He probably did not even have a minute to rest on the way back.
Suddenly, a heavy feeling settled over her as if she had a rock on her chest.
Just when Lu Huaiyu was about to walk in, she tugged on his sleeve and held him back, so he paused and turned around to her.
The atmosphere started to get awkward, but she said it anyway, “I don’t want to go back today.”
Lu Huaiyu looked at her hand that was pulling his sleeve. A moment later, he said softly, “Then, we won’t go back today.”
Ning Li sighed a breath of relief. She realized that talking to him while pulling his sleeve felt inappropriate, thus she let go of him.
Lu Huaiyu walked into the apartment.
Surprised, Ning Li said, “Second Brother?”
Although he said that she did not have to go back today, he still came in nevertheless.
Lu Huaiyu spotted her bag. The place was quite empty, and the bag was probably the only thing she brought. Why was it that she would rather stay in this empty apartment than go back to the Ye residence?
“Come back with me.” Lu Huaiyu grabbed her bag. “Yunding Fenghua can still shelter you for a night.”
Then, he had a side glance at the papers scattered on the table. The first paper on the stack was just a mess of scribbles, and under it, he was able to see bits and pieces of a portrait.
“Are these yours as well?” he asked as he tried to take the papers.
Ning Li’s heart skipped a beat. She strode over and kept the stack of scribbles away before he could take them.
“Yeah, they are mine. I’m just doodling because I’m feeling down.”
Lu Huaiyu raised a brow but did not press the question. He simply gave her the bag.
Ning Li stuffed all the papers into her bag and zipped it up. “Second Brother, it’s late. Why don’t—”
She wanted to tell him to skip the ha.s.sle, but before the sentence could come out, she realized how inappropriate it was.
After all, Lu Huaiyu had come back from the capital for her and was travel-worn. He had probably gone through the mill before he even reached her. Besides that, his s.h.i.+rt was drenched.
He just kept quiet and looked at her as she silently shouldered her bag.
…
Cheng Xiyue waited in the car for quite a while before he finally saw the two came down. He sighed a breath of relief.
Lu Huaiyu held the umbrella for Ning Li to get into the car before he put it away and sat beside her in the rear seat.
Cheng Xiyue said, “I’ll call the Yes to tell them that we are sending Little Ning Li back.”
“She’s not going back. She’s going to Yunding Fenghua,” Lu Huaiyu said.
“Huh?”
Surprised, Cheng Xiyue stared at her through the rear camera. It seemed like Ning Li was in a conflict with the Ye family.
However, it was nothing surprising because the Ye family treated her poorly, and it was obvious even to an outsider.
Besides, it was Su Yuan’s birthday today, and the family was holding a dinner for her at Jinshen Hotel. He had a glance at the worn-down building beside the car and felt bad for the girl.
“Okay.”
…
Twenty minutes later, Cheng Xiyue dropped the two off at Yunding Fenghua and left.
When they reached the entrance, the rain had slowed down to a drizzle.
To Ning Li’s surprise, Lu Huaiyu then said, “000817.”
Ding!
The door opened.
“That’s the pa.s.sword for the door. If you don’t want to stay at the Ye residence, you can come here,” Lu Huaiyu said as he walked in. “The guest room is on the first floor. You can sleep there. The room is also equipped with an on-suite bathroom.”
There was another bathroom on the first floor as well, but the one inside the room would make the girl feel more comfortable.
Then, without looking at Ning Li any longer, he walked upstairs.