Chapter 74 - Encounter At The Stable
“Ack!”
Yu Pingchuan held his spatula tightly and moved it away from Ning Li.
“What hassle? The soup is almost ready. Just sit back and wait!”
Ning Li tried to talk him out of it as she said, “I…I-I saw a painting last time and I have some questions for you. Can you…”
Yu Pingchuan finally gave in when he heard her. “Okay. Lil Lin, take over, will ya?”
Overjoyed, Lin Yaohui ran over and took the spatula. “Mr. Yu, it’s been a while since you’ve seen Lili, right? Go on, go have a reunion. I’ll prepare the meal.”
Yu Pingchuan took his apron off and passed it to the man.
“I thought of letting you taste my cooking, but don’t you worry. The soup is almost done. Just give it a few more minutes and you can have a taste!”
“Okay…” Ning Li said.
The two of them headed to the study room.
“Which painting were you referring to just now?” Yu Pingchuan curiously asked.
Ning Li gulped and simply came up with a name.
Yu Pingchuan thought about it for a moment. “That? That’s his earliest work. He was still not mature at that time, and his creative mind was a little extreme back then. There’s nothing stellar about it.”
“Oh…” Ning Li said.
“Yours, however…” Yu Pingchuan sat down behind the desk. “I still haven’t asked you about the last-minute change the other day. How long have you put your brush away for?”
Ning Li’s heart skipped a beat.
“It’s been a while, I guess. I just transferred to a new school and I have to take the monthly test, so I’ve been having a lot on my plate recently.”
Yu Pingchuan softly grunted. “Brushing me off with those words again. How much have those trivial matters delayed your practice? Let me ask you, how did you fare in your monthly test?”
“I got first place.” Ning Li was honest.
Yu Pingchuan took a glance at her. “What? You are that good now?”
She listened quietly. Her obedient expression reminded Yu Pingchuan of some old memories. He felt pity for her but did not lecture her about that.
“Your painting is still okay.” He took a sip of tea and simply let it slip.
Ning Li smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Yu.”
He grunted and was reminded of something else. “Oh, you are living in the Ye family’s place, aren’t you? How are you keeping up?”
She curved her lips into a smile again. “Okay, I guess.”
Yu Pingchuan stared at her quietly. He had stayed in Lincheng for quite some time in the past and always thought Ning Li had lost her biological mother.
Who would have thought that her mother had remarried Ye Ming in Yunzhou and was living a decent life?
If Ning Li’s grandmother had not suffered a sudden heart attack, the Ye family would never have wanted to contact Ning Li.
Since she was introduced to the family under such circumstances, how could she be doing just okay?
Ning Li seemed calm, so Yu Pingchuan did not press on that matter. He switched to other topics and she answered whichever topic that she found interesting.
A while later, Lin Yaohui called the two of them over.
“Mr. Yu, Lili, the food is ready!”
…
The table was filled with freshly cooked dishes.
Ning Li saw an unidentified object in the center. There were several pieces of leaves floating on top of the bowl of white liquid.
“Lili, come, sit.” Yu Pingchuan waved at her.
The moment she sat down, he served her a big bowl of fish soup.
“Here, have a taste!”
Lin Yaohui looked at her sympathetically and then started to shove some rice into his mouth. He did not allow Yu Pingchuan to serve him a bowl of soup.
Ning Li picked up her spoon and ladled out a piece of charred fish. She bit the bullet and took a sip of the soup while Yu Pingchuan looked at her in anticipation. “How does it taste?”
Ning Li smiled. “It’s…nice.”
Yu Pingchuan was happy. He wanted a bowl for himself, but Ning Li held him back.
“Mr. Yu, the doctor said you can’t drink soup like this. There’s too much purine.”
“Sigh. Fine.” Yu Pingchuan put his hands down with a pitiful look. “Then, you can have more for yourself!”
Ning Li said, “Uh…Okay.”
Lin Yaohui respected the girl from the bottom of his heart. He even gave her an imaginary thumbs-up.
After the meal, he looked at her. “Lili, do you want some fruits?”
When Ning Li nodded, Yu Pingchuan was overjoyed.
“Lil Lin, go cut us some fruits. I bought some yesterday—”
“Uncle Lin, why don’t you cut the fruits that I brought!?” Ning Li interrupted the man.
“Ah, okay!” Lin Yaohui then took the basket out.
Yu Pingchuan had a quick glance at it and the smile on his face faded.
Pomelo, cucumber, tomatoes?
His eyes twitched helplessly. “You call these fruits?”
“Yeah!” Ning Li helped Lin Yaohui wash the fruits and brought them over.
“Don’t you like them?”
Yu Pingchuan had a lot of health problems given his age, and the doctor had told him to be cautious with his diet. However, the man had zero control over his gluttony. Even though Lin Yaohui was there to keep an eye out for him, the man would still consume fruits with high sugar levels.
Lin Yaohui caught the man red-handed a few times but did not know what to do about it.
Yu Pingchuan struggled when he saw Ning Li pass him the scarlet red tomato. In the end, he stiffly took the tomato.
“Of course, I like them…”
Lin Yaohui sighed a breath of relief from the side.
Ning Li had always been able to persuade the man. Yu Pingchuan would have thrown both the basket of fruits and the person out if it was someone else.
Yu Pingchuan took a big bite and found that it was almost tasteless. He looked at Ning Li with a mournful gaze. “Lili, I have some lychees and peaches in the refrigerator. Why don’t I—”
The second Ning Li glared at him, he swallowed the rest of his words and ate his tomato. He then said, “My friend sent me a horse a few days ago. Do you want to go have a look, Lili?”
Surprised, Ning Li said, “You bought another horse?”
The man barely had any hobbies except for painting and rearing horses.
“No, no, I didn’t buy it yet.” Yu Pingchuan waved his hand. “They sent the horse to the stables, and I haven’t gotten a chance to visit it yet. Since you are also in Yunzhou, why don’t we have a look?”
The equestrian club in Yunzhou had a lot of horses. Some of the horses were there for equestrian training and some were for racing. The racehorses would be sent to Gangcheng for races in the future.
She shook her head. “I’ll pass. Besides, you’ve bought a few horses already. Aren’t they enough?”
Yu Pingchuan decided to take a step back and said, “Then, why don’t you take it as accompanying an old man for a walk in the stables? I won’t buy it. I’ll just have a look.”
Ning Li said frankly, “You just want to see whether the horse is worthy of your investment if it was used for racing.”
He looked guilty. “Ahem, If you want to put it like that, I guess that’s true.”
Because Ning Li had not spent time with the man for a long time, some thought later, she nodded. “Fine, I’ll go with you this time.”
…
Lin Yaohui drove the two of them to the stables. It was close to their place, so they arrived in less than half an hour.
It was a private stables for equestrians, and it was quite large.
Yu Pingchuan had obviously called the place a while ago because there were attendants waiting for him the moment they arrived.
The car drove in.
Ning Li looked around through the window and accidentally had a glimpse at someone who looked familiar, but the car went too fast, so she did not get a clear look.
Nevertheless, she was not overly concerned.
When the car stopped, she followed Yu Pingchuan out of the car.