Chapter 165: Return The Favor

He held the back of her head gently with his strong but warm and steady hand, yet she could not break free from it.

She could see the high bridge of his nose and his long eyelashes. She even smelled the faint cedarwood scent of his breath.

The distance, his posture, it felt like he was going to…

The slightest movement and his lips would touch hers.

She could feel the warmth of his body and it made her blush.

She was frozen to the spot as if his scent had cast a spell on her.

She had not taken any alcohol but at that moment, she felt a little tipsy.

She even lost track of time. It felt like an eternity had passed and as brief as a moment, all at the same time.

Lu Huaiyu stared at her plump, soft lips as he warred with his own thoughts.

In the end, he curved his lips into a smile and said in his signature lazy tone, “You don’t smell like alcohol.”

He let go of her and straightened up.

His lips and his eyes curved into a casual smile on his face.

“Good girl.”

The words entered Ning Li’s ears like rumbling thunder, pounding in her eardrums fiercely.

Thud!

Ning Li heard her heart sink. A dangerous feeling rose within her that was steadily growing out of control. She could not understand what was happening to her.

She instinctively wanted to escape or even stop him, but she felt helpless against it.

Her heart pounded furiously, every beat that she heard felt like a warning to the danger.

As her heart beat faster, she felt as if it would pop out of her chest at any second.

Lu Huaiyu scrutinized her face, before suddenly reaching out to touch her forehead.

“Are you not feeling well?”

The back of his hand was a little cold but to Ning Li, it felt like molten lava wherever he touched her.

Without thinking, she took a step backward. “No.”

Lu Huaiyu’s hand was left hanging in mid-air. He raised a brow at her flushed earlobes and he smiled.

He pulled back his hand and said, “Great. Then let’s go, I’ll send you home.”

…

The taxi stopped in front of Jingyue Residence, where the Ye family’s mansion was.

“We’re here. I have to go now, second brother.”

Ning Li put her hand on the door handle. Before she could open it, Lu Huaiyu opened his eyes from his little catnap.

“Hold on.”

Ning Li froze.

Lu Huaiyu handed over her bag with a chuckle. “You didn’t even drink, but you almost forgot your own bag.”

Embarrassed, Ning Li took the bag. “Thank you, second brother.”

She quickly got out of the car and walked towards the gate.

Looking at her back, she gave the appearance of someone who had finally escaped a tiger’s den.

Lu Huaiyu watched her go in before he sighed a breath of relief.

Almost…

The girl always made mistakes, but he would always be the one to suffer the consequences.

It looked like there was still a long way to go in educating her.

…

The night breeze’s chill calmed Ning Li down a little, now that she had left Lu Huaiyu.

She slowed down but her mind kept replaying the scene back there.

This was not their first intimate interaction.

When she had been in Yunding Fenghua, they had been in his bedroom and even closer than this. However, he had been drunk at the time and was barely conscious, so it did not count.

Today, his eyes were clear and he was thinking straight.

She had heard the beating of his heart as he came near her.

She looked up ahead.

The Ye family’s mansion was still brightly lit at this hour.

She remembered that today was a day that the Ye family would have deemed worth celebrating.

She took a few deep breaths to calm her thoughts before she strode forward.

…

“Ms. Ning, you’re back.”

Aunt Zhao was the first to greet her.

She smiled, but it was not because of Ning Li’s return.

She smiled because the generous Ye Ming had also bought gifts for her and the other servants.

Su Yuan came down from the second floor when she heard her enter.

“Why are you so late?”

Ning Li said, “I had some things to do.”

Su Yuan had not expected a clear answer. She had only asked her out of habit. Moreover, today was a happy day and she did not want Ning Li to ruin her mood.

She put the matter aside and said, “Your Uncle Ye bought you a present, it’s on the tea table. You may go and take it.”

Ning Li saw some messy wrapping papers left on the tea table.

Ye Ming had bought gifts for everyone in the house.

His joy must have stemmed from the Qinghe Bridge project. The plan seemed to be progressing smoothly.

Ning Li grinned. She walked to the tea table and picked up the square box.

“Thank you, Uncle Ye.”

She had given the Ye family a huge ‘present’, so it was only courteous of them to return it with a tiny favor.

Su Yuan was surprised. She had thought Ning Li would reject it.

She could turn a deaf ear to Ning Li’s excuse for coming home late, but the present was from Ye Ming. If Ning Li refused to take it, it would have embarrassed her.

Because of Ning Li’s arrival, she could barely lift her head in front of Ye Ming. If the girl continued to be rebellious, the situation would go out of control.

She had actually prepared a lot of things to say to persuade Ning Li to accept the gift.

Ning Li’s compliance stunned her.

The words that she had prepared were stuck in her throat, but she was thankful that it had happened. It saved her a lot of trouble.

“Your Uncle Ye has already gone to bed, so you don’t need to thank him yourself now. You can get some rest.”

Su Yuan breathed a sigh of relief after Ning Li entered her room.

A hint of contempt flashed in Aunt Zhao’s eyes.

The girl behaved rebelliously, yet she happily accepted the present.

It seemed as if the girl was just another snotty brat from a rural city.

…

Ning Li tossed the gift into the drawer of her desk without even opening it.

She glanced into the mirror, the corners of her lips catching her attention.

The scene with Lu Huaiyu replayed in her mind again. She felt as if she could still hear his rich voice and feel his breath.

She looked away nervously.

After she had forced herself to calm down, she took her phone and a thumb drive out. A few minutes later, she put the thumb drive away.

…

Sun Huihui stormed into her room the moment she arrived home. She pulled her phone out to make a call. She soon realized that her friend had blocked not only her Wechat contact but her phone number as well.

Anxiety rose in her heart. She nervously paced around the room in circles while holding her phone.

What happened?

After thinking seriously for a while, she texted Ye Ci.

[Lil Ci, are you home yet?]

Ye Ci saw the message as she was drying her hair. She pondered the meaning of the message.

Sun Huihui had seen her get into her driver’s car and many hours had passed since then.

It was strange for Sun Huihui to ask Ye Ci this question at this hour.

It was obvious that her question was actually about something else.

[I’m home.]

After a slight hesitation, Sun Huihui typed another question.

[Then… is Ning Li home?]

Ye Ci realized what was going on

[She got home about 10 minutes ago. What’s wrong?]

[It’s nothing. I’m just asking. It’s a little dangerous for her to walk alone at night.]

[Thank you for your concern, but Sister Ning Li seems fine.]

Sun Huihui gripped her phone tightly.

Ye Ci’s answer was evidence that Ning Li had not run into any danger.

Why? How could this be?

She thought her friend had sent a group after Ning Li, but Ning Li had returned home just fine.

Just then, she received an anonymous email.

Feeling uneasy, she tapped on it.