His warm breath had a hint of alcohol that scattered across her face like sparks that set a field ablaze.
Ning Li was pinned to the spot while her heart raced so fast that it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.
Lu Huaiyu got closer.
She instinctively shouted, “Lu Huaiyu!”
Her voice sounded extra clear in the spacious and empty room.
Lu Huaiyu froze, just inches away from her lips. He slightly squinted his eyes.
She stared into his eyes and saw a thin layer of red veins around the edges. He must be looking at her through a layer of mist.
‘He seems…unconscious of his action?!’
Complicated feelings washed over her, but all she did was stare at him.
Lu Huaiyu raised his hand and covered her eyes, so Ning Li fell into darkness right away. Then, she felt a gentle force pushing against her face.
She was stunned for a full second before she realized that Lu Huaiyu had kissed the back of his hand. Her face turned as red as an apple.
“Behave! Don’t make me mad!”
Lu Huaiyu’s voice was soft yet strict, but it also sounded like deadly temptation. Then, he backed away and fell on the bed beside her.
He did not move for quite some time after that.
Ning Li turned to him and realized that his eyes were tightly shut. He seemed to be asleep. She tightened her lips before she got up and draped the blanket over him.
The dark room returned to silence while Ning Li stood beside the bed for quite some time.
Then, she heard a set of hurried footsteps from downstairs.
Ning Li turned around and covered her blushing face with the back of her hands.
“Second Master?”
The door opened to reveal Cheng Xiyue.
Before he could walk into the room, he saw someone standing in front of him, much to his shock.
Ning Li quickly and nervously left the room.
“Little Ning Li? You are still here?” Cheng Xiyue was stunned. He thought she had returned to school after dropping Lu Huaiyu off.
He stole a glance into the room with dismay. “Is Second Master in there?”
Ning Li nodded. “He just fell asleep.”
Cheng Xiyue’s eyes twitched helplessly before he cautiously asked, “Then, then…you are here with him? Did he…do something bad?”
Lu Huaiyu had more than a glass of drink at this timing. Cheng Xiyue had come all the way here in a hurry because he was worried about him.
The intimate scene in the dark kept replaying in Ning Li’s head.
The corridor was decorated with bright lights, looking nothing like the dark and quiet atmosphere in the room.
The door felt like a gateway between two different worlds. What happened in the dark felt like a dream.
She shook her head. “No, but he seems drunk and tired.”
Cheng Xiyue sighed a breath of relief. “Thank goodness.”
He did not hear a sound in the room, so he assumed that Lu Huaiyu was fast asleep. After some thoughts, he decided to stay outside.
“He doesn’t sleep well, so his biological clock is a little messed up.’
It was considered the most reasonable explanation because no normal man would sleep at this hour.
After that, Cheng Xiyue had a glance at Ning Li. Since he got the confirmation from the girl, he decided to not press the topic.
The concerns in his heart were put to rest.
“Then…Little Ning Li, why don’t I give you a ride back to school?”
Ning Li rejected the ride, and since she insisted, Cheng Xiyue complied. “Be careful on the way back. Text me when you get back to school.”
“Okay. I got it. I have to go now. Bye, Brother Xiyue.”
Cheng Xiyue walked Ning Li out of the mansion and saw her get into a taxi before he returned inside.
…
It was already dark when Ning Li returned to school.
The last period was over, and it was dinner time. Half of the class were eating at the cafeteria.
“Ning Li!” He Xiaochen saw her and came over excitedly with a stack of papers. “Ning Li! Can you help me to analyze this electromagnetic resistance?”
Ning Li took the pen and had a glance at the question.
When she was halfway done with the explanation, He Xiaochen suddenly understood the question.
“Ah, I get it now!”
He Xiaochen was a smart student herself, and her results were one of the better ones. Ning Li usually just needed to give her hints on solving the problem, and she could understand the theory behind it.
“This isn’t that hard. The theory is actually all the same.”
He Xiaochen looked at her deeply and said in a heavy tone, “Ning Li, promise me. Don’t say that anymore in front of anyone.”
She was worried that others might get hurt because of Ning Li’s words. Even she herself was a little shaken when she heard it.
“I’ll try my best,” Ning Li said with a smile.
Her charming eyes were curved slightly when she smiled, but it did not dampen the glittering reflection of her crystal-clear gaze.
‘Ugh! Right! You are right! Everything you said is right! You will be right even if it is not because you are so beautiful! This little critical hit is nothing!’
All sorts of crazy thoughts clouded He Xiaochen’s mind for a moment.
She then quickly tidied up the papers.
“Ning Li, have you eaten? Why don’t we go have dinner together? I heard there’s a newly opened bibimbap stall on the third floor of the cafeteria and it’s good!”
Ning Li nodded. “Sure.”
…
The girls went to the third floor of the cafeteria and chose a quiet seat.
Many other students were looking at them.
Ning Li had transferred to Second High for almost a month now, but her beauty was eye-catching. She would turn heads no matter where she went.
Aside from her beauty, her background, her fierce attitude, and her getting first place in the monthly test, everything that happened around her did not pull her out of the spotlight. Instead, she remained the hottest topic in school.
Everyone in Second High knew her, or at least, had heard of her name. While Ning Li had gotten used to this, she did not mind the attention.
The moment she sat down, a boy from the opposite table came over.
“Is the place beside you taken?”
Ning Li looked at the boy. He looked delicate and somewhat pretty despite his height of 180 cm. He even blushed when Ning Li looked at him.
Behind him was another group of boys, looking at him curiously
“Yes, it is,” Ning Li said.
The boy did not expect such a direct rejection and things became awkward instantly.
“Excuse me, mate! This is my place. Do you mind?” He Xiaochen came back and spoke to the boy with the least courtesy.
The boy excused himself and apologized for interrupting before he left in a hurry. He returned to the group of boys that burst into laughter. The others even jokingly punched his arm.
“I told you our school beauty is an ice queen! And you just had to try her! You had it coming, you knucklehead.”
“I heard she got a few bags of love letters almost every day. Some even came from outside the school but all the letters were like stones thrown into the sea. Not a single reply from her.”
“She got first place in the entire third year, so I guess studying is her priority now. Why would she care about relationships now?”
“I guess you’re right…Huh, I thought Duan Xu and our school beauty were quite close.”
“Stop listening to that idiot’s boasting. If Duan Xu had something to do with our school beauty, he wouldn’t have been punished in public for cheating on the test.”
“D*mn, you’re right! Hahaha!” The group of boys left as they joked.
Meanwhile, Ning Li did not care as He Xiaochen showed them a sympathetic glance.
Ning Li had a lot of pursuers, but up until now, none of them could get her attention at all.
“Hmph! Peasants. No peasants are worthy of a deity like Ning Li!”
Ning Li could not help but chuckle. “You are exaggerating.”
“Am I?” He Xiaochen looked at her in shock.
“You are always with your second brother. The guy is practically a living painting or the God of Looks! So, why would those guys think they are worthy of your attention?”
Ning Li suddenly choked on her words and coughed.
