Chapter 40
Gu Tinglan handed Lu Huaiyu a cigarette.
Lu Huaiyu held the cigarette between his long and slender fingers before he turned around and leaned against the railing. Lu Huaiyu drew his hand closer, and just as he was about to light the cigarette, he saw Ning Li sitting on the corner of the couch, enjoying a glass of juice.
He paused for a while and his fingertips brushed the lighter but it did not ignite.
Gu Tinglan followed his eyes.
A picture was worth a thousand words.
Back then, Gu Tinglan was standing behind the crowd and did not go forward to see what was happening on the dance floor. All he caught was a glimpse of a fresh face.
Yet now, he could clearly see Ning Li’s face.
It was no wonder Lu Huaiyu hid Ning Li as if she was something precious.
Upon noticing that someone was looking at her, Ning Li turned her head and glanced in the direction of the balcony.
Ning Li was shocked to see the man who was standing next to Lu Huaiyu.
Gu Tinglan?
He was at the banquet as well?
In Ning Li’s past life, the first time she met Gu Tinglan was not so soon. At that time, his relationship with Lu Huaiyu was already great.
Seeing that he was in Yunzhou this early on, she assumed it must be because of Lu Huaiyu.
Gu Tinglan blinked in surprise.
Then, Lu Huaiyu asked him all of a sudden, “Do you know her?”
When Gu Tinglan heard Lu Huaiyu’s indifferent tone, he answered with a laugh, “I’ll know her if you introduce her to me.”
However, Lu Huaiyu did not move a muscle, signaling that he clearly did not want to.
Gu Tinglan did not mind that as well. “Oh yeah, I heard that Miss Ning was from Lincheng? She must be very familiar with Lincheng, I suppose.”
He was planning to visit Lincheng, so there might be something Gu Tinglan could ask Ning Li.
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Although Lu Huaiyu did not know what Gu Tinglan was going to do in Lincheng, he assumed it was personal. Hence, he questioned idly, “With Gu family’s power, do you need to ask for someone’s help if you want to investigate something?”
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Gu Tinglan just smiled at him.
Lu Huaiyu was really protective of Ning Li.
…
At a corner of the lobby.
Su Yuan was chit-chatting with a few of her friends.
“Madam Ye, you’re really humble. Your second daughter is amazing, but I never thought that your eldest daughter is that outstanding as well! Why didn’t you tell us anything?”
“Yeah, you must have put a lot of effort in Ning Li all these years.”
While the ladies were joking around, they secretly exchanged thoughtful glances.
Before this, none of Yunzhou’s prominent families knew about Ning Li’s existence, which showed how badly Su Yuan wanted to hide her failed marriage.
If it were not because Ning Li had no one to take care of, Su Yuan would not have wanted to see this daughter of hers again.
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How outstanding Ning Li was had nothing to do with Su Yuan.
Su Yuan’s smile stiffened.
Nonetheless, the ladies just smiled at her without saying anything else.
They could tell from Su Yuan’s expression that she had little to no knowledge of Ning Li.
However, that was not trivial.
A lady suddenly questioned Su Yuan, “Oh yeah, I realize Second Master Lu takes really good care of Ning Li. Do they know each other?”
In Yunzhou, only the Cheng family had a closer relationship with Lu Huaiyu. The other families had no chance to know him even if they wanted to.
Su Yuan straightened her back and replied, “Well, kind of.”
After that, the ladies became quite excited. “Well, if there’s a chance, can Madam Ye help us a little bit?”
…
“Miss Ning.”
A figure appeared in front of Ning Li.
Ning Li raised her eyes, and when she got a clear look at the person’s face, a cold glint flashed across her eyes.
Dai Li.
He was Yunzhou’s famous rich brat. Dai Li hounded Ning Li in her previous life, and his behavior was ridiculous. He even asked someone to drug Ning Li, but luckily, she realized it and managed to get away from him.
Ning Li never thought that she would see him again.
“I’m Dai Li. Can we be friends?”
Even though Dai Li looked courteous and well-mannered, greed and hunger lit up within his eyes, exposing his intentions.
“Do I have the honor to dance with you?”
Despite Ji Shu’s warning, Ning Li was Dai Li’s cup of tea.
Especially after he had seen Ning Li dance, he felt as if something was tugging his heart.
“I’m sorry, but I’m a little tired.”
Ning Li’s eyes were cold.
Having never imagined that he would get rejected, Dai Li was shocked at first, but then he became furious.
After all, Ning Li was just the Ye family’s stepdaughter. Why was she so arrogant?
Dai Li’s eyes brightened while he smiled at her. “Then, can I sit here with you and we can talk?”
By then, Dai Li had already walked to her side and sat down without waiting for Ning Li’s answer.
At the balcony.
Gu Tinglan was explaining his plan to Lu Huaiyu, “I’ll be leaving for Lincheng tomorrow––”
Before he could finish his sentence, Gu Tinglan could see that Lu Huaiyu’s expression had turned cold.
After that, Lu Huaiyu strode toward the hall.
One glance and Gu Tinglan knew that something horrible was going to happen.
Lu Huaiyu’s mental condition was not very stable at the moment. If somebody pissed him off then, Gu Tinglan had no idea what would happen.
He immediately followed closely behind Lu Huaiyu.
Ning Li stood up the moment Dai Li sat down on the couch.
“I’m busy. Excuse me, Young Master Dai.”
Quite a few people were looking in their direction.
When they saw that scene, various expressions appeared on their faces.
Dai Li was instantly blue in the face.
Dai Li was from an eminent family, and he looked quite good as well, so he had never failed to get any lady that he wished for.
Never did he imagine that he would be rejected by Ning Li.
Subconsciously, he stretched out his hand to grab Ning Li. “Miss Ning––”
The moment his fingers touched Ning Li’s wrist, she quickly backhanded his hand!
Pain instantly shot up his hand and Dai Li’s expression turned pale.
“M-my hand!”
Ning Li let go of his hand, emotionless.
“Young Master Dai, please have some self-respect.”
However, Dai Li’s thumb was in a weird position, and it was Ning Li who had broken it!
He was so frustrated and anxious that Dai Li could not help but yell, “Ning Li!”
Dai Li’s voice sounded extremely piercing in the enormous lobby.
The surroundings fell silent, and the crowd looked in their direction.
Who would have imagined that Ning Li could do such a thing on such an occasion!?
Cheng Xiangxiang was the first one to stand up for Dai Li.
“Ning Li, Dai Li just wanted to dance with you. You could’ve rejected him if you didn’t want to, but why do you need to attack him?”
When Su Yuan heard something, she immediately rushed in that direction.
Upon seeing Dai Li’s deformed thumb, her eyelids twitched. “Ning Li, apologize to him!”
However, Ning Li just glanced at Su Yuan coldly.
Old Master Cheng and the others had noticed the situation there too.
Xu Yini frowned and uttered, “I think we need to send him to the hospital as soon as possible. Otherwise, it would be bad if his thumb becomes disabled.”
Her suggestion alerted Cheng Baiqing.
Hence, he quickly told someone to get the car ready.
A lot of people were sizing up Ning Li, whom Cheng Xiangxiang scolded indifferently, “Ning Li, this place is not Second High!”
Her words immediately reminded the crowd about the video that had gone viral on the internet.
It seemed like Ning Li was not someone they should mess with…
At such a young age, Ning Li could behave so cruelly without having to think twice!
Ning Li then replied to her, “I’ve rejected him, but he was the one who still insisted.”
Cheng Xiyue then walked toward Ning Li.
He knew what kind of person Dai Li was, so he spoke up for Ning Li. “It doesn’t matter now. Let’s send Dai Li to the hospital––”
“Hold on.”
A cold and hoarse voice suddenly rang out.
Lu Huaiyu walked to Ning Li’s side, where he glanced at her hand and then stared at Dai Li.
He walked up to Dai Li and held up the latter’s injured hand. “Did you use this hand to touch her just now?”
Dai Li instantly broke into a cold sweat.
The next moment, Lu Huaiyu folded Dai Li’s whole arm all the way back before he kicked Dai Li in his chest!
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Crash!
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