LIGHTNOVELONLINE
Chapter 3
Li Zhen looked back and saw a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
The man's features were dazzlingly handsome yet aloof, and the outline of his profile was extremely gentle.
With one hand supporting her and the other draped over a suit jacket, his pitch black belt cinched a light gray dress shirt, accentuating his narrow yet powerful waist and abdomen. "Handsome, you look...very sleepable..." Li Zhen's mind was rather hazy from the alcohol.
"Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment," the man laughed gently, bright as the autumn moon.
Behind the gold-rimmed glasses, the man's pupils were a slightly lighter color than normal people's, and he looked at people with an innate detachment.
But Li Zhen felt like he was staring at her, his gaze clean yet sincere.
The man said, "Let me help you over there to sit down."
Then in her muddled state, Li Zhen felt that boiling hot palm on her back, inching down little by little.
She felt her back and waist grow incredibly hot.
"Your back is too delicate, you should eat more in your daily life..." The man's voice was magnetic enough to make one's ears tingle. The edges of his gold-rimmed glasses gleamed tranquilly. "Why are you so nervous?"
"I'm...not nervous..." Li Zhen's breathing was very erratic.
"Okay, you're not nervous," the man chuckled.
He slid his hand to her slender waist, grasping it completely under his control.
After helping her sit not too far away, the man finally retracted his hand. "Can you manage on your own?"
"Yes." Li Zhen gazed up at him confusedly, nodding with great effort, her face flushed thoroughly.
"Good." The man turned and left.
-
After the man departed, he headed towards the elevator.
He was tall with long legs.
His lean yet powerful legs were wrapped in well-fitted suit pants.
His gait was relaxed yet forceful.
A few people were waiting for the man at the elevator - the head of Honghai Group's Southwest Branch, Wang Peng, stood at the very front.
Wang Peng, in his fifties, was very spirited. He patted the man familiarly on the shoulder and said, "Yanming, who did you see that you know?"
Lu Yanming laughed lightly. Every tiny expression of his oozed nobility. "A junior schoolmate from my college days. She was drunk so I lent her a hand."
As he spoke, Lu Yanming took out his phone.
He sent Li Zhen's photo to a cousin of the Lu family who was studying in Jincheng, along with an address.
【She's by the bathroom door on the first floor. Go get her and send her home.】
The reply came very swiftly: 【I'm not free right now. Even if the earth was exploding I couldn't get away.】
Lu Yanming: 【This month, double your monthly allowance from the Lu family.】
The other side replied in a second:【Be there in two minutes.】
Lu Yanming knew this cousin was quick, as he recalled she lived near this area.
Lu Yanming: 【After getting home, make her some hangover soup. She doesn't like bitterness, remember to feed her some candy after she drinks it.】
-
It took Yu Sheng quite a while to extricate himself from the person pestering him before he went upstairs, back to the door of their dining room.
He gave some tip money to the server at the door. "Go downstairs to the bathroom door and look for a woman with long white shirt and hair in a braid. Stay with her, and have her drink some hangover soup."
Remembering Li Zhen's distaste for bitter tastes, Yu Sheng added, "Prepare some candy. Feed it to her when she wants it."
The server happily accepted the money and immediately headed downstairs.
Yu Sheng pushed open the door to the dining room. Inside was a round table that could seat 30 people, all department heads of Honghai.
Yu Sheng laughed heartily, "The vice president isn't here yet?"
Someone immediately responded, "He should be here soon."
"Here he is, here he is," Wang Peng's sonorous voice rang out at the door. "Yanming, come on in."
"Sorry to have kept you all waiting," Lu Yanming followed Wang Peng into the room.
His refined features were normally gentle, yet his entire being faintly exuded the detachment of one high above, making people subconsciously revere him.
Seeing such a young vice president with such a powerful aura, everyone was stunned.
But they were all department heads who had seen their share of storms, and they quickly reacted, standing up one by one after Lu Yanming was seated to respectfully come shake his hand.
When Yu Sheng saw Lu Yanming, he froze for a moment too.
He didn't expect it to be him.
Yu Sheng went up smiling, "Mr. Lu, I'm also an alumnus of A University. That makes me your schoolmate."
Wang Peng exclaimed in surprise, "You two have that connection?"
Someone hurried to chime in, "A University really produces talent! Mr. Lu and Mr. Yu have accomplished so much at such young ages!"
Lu Yanming's long-fingered hand raised the teacup to lightly sip. He didn't say anything.
The atmosphere suddenly cooled.
Everyone immediately quieted down.
Yu Sheng's brows furrowed.
But the next second, Lu Yanming stood up and took the initiative to grasp Yu Sheng's hand. "Mr. Yu is accomplished at a young age. I admire that. If you need my support with anything work-related in the future, feel free to come to me anytime."
"Thank you, Mr. Lu." Yu Sheng hesitantly returned the handshake.
Could he have imagined the hostility from earlier?
Seeing this interaction, everyone understood what was going on.
The new vice president seemed hard to get along with at first, but he was quite friendly towards Mr. Yu - he was even the only one the VP stood up to shake hands with!
The atmosphere instantly became lively again. Everyone toasted Lu Yanming in turn.
Wang Peng chatted with Lu Yanming at the side, "Yanming, wasn't Samuel supposed to come? How come you suddenly came instead yesterday?"
"He had an urgent large project come up last minute that he couldn't get away from, so I came in his place," Lu Yanming replied.
Wang Peng sighed internally.
That Samuel really pulled one over him.
If it had been Samuel, he would've gained a right hand man. But with Lu Yanming's arrival, it was like greeting an ancestor!
Feeling glum, Wang Peng glanced at Yu Sheng who was only drinking tea and not alcohol. "Mr. Yu, have a drink with Yanming."
Wang Peng genuinely liked Yu Sheng. He was young and driven, capable.
He hoped Yu Sheng and Lu Yanming could get along well.
Yu Sheng looked up and declined apologetically, "Mr. Wang, my wife drank too much with her friends today. I have to send her home and take care of her later. I really can't drink today."
He quickly added, "It's my fault today. If it's convenient for Mr. Lu tomorrow, I'd like to treat you to a private kitchen that just opened. We won't stop drinking until we're hammered."
Wang Peng knew Yu Sheng was married, just not to whom. But he knew Yu Sheng treasured anything regarding his wife more than life itself.
Wang Peng understood there was no persuading him to drink today, so he helped smooth things over. Laughing, he said to Lu Yanming, "Mr. Yu is famously doting when it comes to his wife. When he's away on business, the jewelry and cosmetics he buys for his wife are endless. When we chat during free time, he can't go three sentences without mentioning his wife. I have no chance of getting him to drink today, so be sure to pour him a few more glasses tomorrow."
Lu Yanming had just been toasted. His hand with its distinct knuckles gingerly swirled the wine glass.
The crimson liquid inside spun, contrasting with his increasingly pale hand.
He set the wine glass down on the marble table neither gently nor forcefully.
It made a soft "ding" sound.
"Didn't Mr. Yu just get divorced yesterday morning? Why is he still referring to her as his wife?"