Shen Li picked the cup up and lowered her eyes slightly.
“Not really.”
She took a sip of tea before looking at Lu Huaiyu. Her beautiful peach blossom eyes curved slightly as she smiled.
“Second Brother lied to me before, but isn’t he telling me about it now?”
Lu Huaiyu looked at her and saw that her eyes were dark and clear.
It seemed as if she really did not care about this matter at all.
Perhaps it was because this matter itself was too insignificant, or perhaps it was because she did not think that his concealment was something worth getting angry about.
He laughed.
“Is Ah Li being that magnanimous towards me?”
Shen Li nodded.
“After all, Second Brother spent this sum of money for me.”
This was almost equivalent to Lu Huaiyu directly giving that huge sum of auction money to her.
In the end, it was all for her, so what was there to be angry about?
“But–”
As she spoke, she suddenly stopped.
Lu Huaiyu looked at her with his pitch-black eyes.
If she minded…
“Second Brother, don’t buy my paintings at the auction like this anymore.” Shen Li looked at him sincerely. “If that really doesn’t work, I’ll just give the paintings to you directly, okay?”
That amount of money was actually enough to buy many of her paintings.
Lu Huaiyu’s heart felt slightly moved, and then the corners of his lips curled up slightly.
“Won’t that affect your income? That’s not very suitable, right? I can still afford a painting. Besides, if you gave me all your paintings to me, then what about the Gu family members?”
Shen Li was silent for a moment.
“… Did Second Brother consider this when he was bidding just now?”
Lu Huaiyu tilted his head slightly and said frankly, “No.”
No matter what, he had been resolved to have that painting.
Even if the Gu family had come to snatch it away, he would never let them.
Shen Li was quiet.
Then why ask?
She was actually really considering this matter.
Previously, she had sold the painting to earn money and support her family to pay off her debts. But now, she did not need to do that anymore. Moreover, no one could guarantee that the same situation would not happen again.
This time, she had finally managed to coax them. What about next time?
Her heart was tired.
“By the way, I haven’t asked. What did you say to them at the auction just now that made them give up on the auction?”
Lu Huaiyu had guessed that she must have offered some kind of condition to make the exchange with them. The message he had received later had proved his idea.
However, she had offered to make him coffee for a month, but he did not know what she had offered to those people…
Shen Li felt a lump in her chest when she mentioned this matter.
“Cooking,” she said in a muffled voice.
Lu Huaiyu’s eyebrows raised slightly. “For how long?”
Shen Li was quiet for a moment before she looked away. “… A month.”
“What?!”
Before Lu Huaiyu and Fang Yunyi could say anything, Fang Yunyi, who was sitting opposite them, became anxious first.
“Ah Li, in order to make them give up on the auction, you agreed to cook for them for a month?!”
Shen Li corrected her, “Actually, I was the one who proposed this condition…”
“Lu Huaiyu!” Fang Yunyi put down the menu that she was holding in her hands and furrowed her beautiful brows. “What’s wrong with you? It was just a painting, and you wanted Ah Li to help you this much?!”
One month!
It was one month!
Lu Huaiyu did not say anything.
Shen Li stayed quiet.
After a short silence, Fang Yunyi finally realized that she had lost her composure, and her eyelids twitched.
She immediately coughed lightly and tried to salvage her image.
“No, what I mean is… Ah Li is usually so busy, and it would be too long and tiring to do this for one whole month…”
Shen Li silently swallowed the rest of her words.
If she were to say that a month was only for her first uncle’s family, followed by a month and ten days for her third uncle’s, and second uncle’s…
If she did, she probably would not be able to eat this meal well.
“Aunt Fang,” Shen Li said after some deliberation, “Actually, it’s not too bad. There’s going to be a horse race in Hong Kong City in August, and I’ll be there at the end of July and all throughout August. When the time comes, my family will be there, so I’ll just do it while I’m there.”
Although it was said to be a month’s worth of cooking, of course, it would be impossible for her to cook every dish and soup.
Otherwise, she would not be able to do anything else for such a long time.
Hearing her words, Fang Yunyi finally felt a little better.
“Oh right, Ah Li, I’ve been studying cooking recently. My culinary skills have improved a lot. I’ll cook for you later!”
This was the truth. She had really spent a lot of effort on this recently. Old Master Lu and Lu Zheng had both said that she had improved a lot.
Lu Huaiyu paused.
Shen Li smiled and replied, “Okay.”
Hearing her affirmative answer, Fang Yunyi was relieved.
“Speaking of the horse race, I remember that the two of you went together last year?”
Although Fang Yunyi had been out of town with Lu Zheng for a long time, she still knew quite a lot about these things.
Moreover, Lu Huaiyu had taken Shen Li to a banquet in Hong Kong City at that time. It had been very high-profile, and many people had known about it.
Shen Li nodded. “Yes.”
Fang Yunyi smiled. “Then let Huaiyu go with you this year. He went there by himself a few years ago.”
Shen Li was stunned. She looked at Lu Huaiyu and said, “Second Brother… went there a few years ago?”
She knew that Lu Huaiyu had gone to the Hong Kong Jockey Club before. At that time, he had bought his watch for 130 million yuan at the auction held after the Jockey Club that year.
However, she had not known that he had been there in the past few years.
Lu Huaiyu nodded with a light smile.
“I was just looking around.”
Fang Yunyi thought of something.
“If you go this year, you should ask Huaiyu to take you to play at horse betting. The probability of him winning is quite high.”
Now, the entire Dutian Racecourse belonged to Shen Li. However, horse betting itself was quite interesting. Fang Yunyi thought that it would be good for Lu Huaiyu to accompany her.
Shen Li was really surprised this time.
“Second Brother also plays at horse betting?”
Last year, Lu Huaiyu had arrived in Hong Kong City at the end of the race meeting. It did not seem as if he had participated in the horse betting.
She had always thought that he was not interested in this matter.
But now, hearing what Fang Yunyi said, apparently he had gone there a few years ago to play?
Lu Huaiyu’s thin lips raised slightly, and he said with a casual smile, “I only played a few times.”
Shen Li thought about it and agreed.
The Hong Kong City Jockey Club was always very lively. Horse betting was almost a national entertainment, and everyone more or less participated in it to experience the fun.
Lu Huaiyu had very good equestrian skills. Since he would be going to watch a horse race, it would be normal for him to play along.
Lu Huaiyu tilted his head slightly, and he said with a faint smile,”I remember that you used 100,000 yuan to play back and forth many times last year. I believe that you managed to earn a small sum of money in the end?”
Shen Li suddenly recalled what Old Master Gu had ridiculed back then. “Is Lu Huaiyu that poor?”
She immediately felt guilty.
“Ahem, I didn’t have much experience back then? I was afraid of losing the bet.”
The last few words she said were sincere.
“But I was quite lucky. I did earn some money later.”
Lu Huaiyu lowered his chin slightly. He smiled and said, “Then you can gamble however you want this year. If you win, it’s yours. If you lose, it’s on me.”
Shen Li shook her head. “I don’t think so. What if I lose and I owe money?”
Seeing the serious look on her face, Lu Huaiyu could not help but laugh. He leaned back and said, “Then I’ll help you as well.”
