Chapter 7
Yu Li woke up automatically when the car stopped in the garage.
He rubbed his eyes, his mind still hazy, and followed Yan Shiting out of the car.
After taking the elevator to the living room, Yu Li regained some of his senses. Through the huge floor-to-ceiling window, he saw the sky beginning to lighten.
He glanced at the wall clock again and realized it was almost five in the morning.
Yu Li was stunned, staring at the wall clock, and suddenly realized that Yan Shiting, Butler He, and the driver had all been disturbed from their sleep because of him.
Feeling somewhat apologetic, he said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Uncle He, for troubling you so late at night."
After a pause, he said to Yan Shiting, "I'm sorry, Mr. Yan."
Yan Shiting glanced at him but did not say anything. He turned to Butler He and said, "Go and get the ice and the first-aid kit."
Butler He nodded, smiled at Yu Li, and turned to leave.
Yu Li followed Yan Shiting awkwardly and sat down on the sofa.
A short while later, Butler He returned.
He wrapped some ice cubes in a towel and handed it to Yu Li: "Little Yu, your face is swollen, put some ice on it."
The spot where Yu Li was punched by that man was already swollen up.
He didn't seem to care at all, and somewhat surprised, he took the ice and put it on his face, saying, "Thank you, Uncle He."
Butler He paused, then gestured with his eyes to Yan Shiting, who was sitting to one side.
Yu Li realized what was happening and looked at Yan Shiting, only to find him sitting relaxed on the sofa, holding a tablet as if he were dealing with something.
Yu Li pursed her lips and said, "Thank you, President Yan."
Yan Shiting didn't even look up, and simply replied, "It's nothing."
Yu Li's face was a little stiff from the cold.
He moved the ice cube a little further away, puffed out his cheeks, and then stuck it back on.
Yu Li glanced at Butler He and then at Yan Shiting, and said, "I can apply the medicine myself, Mr. Yan, Uncle He, you should go and rest."
Yan Shiting didn't move, but looked up at Butler He and said, "There's nothing else, go and rest."
Butler He nodded quickly and stood up: "Yes, young master, young Yu, you should get some rest too."
Before leaving, he paused and added, "Little Yu, your room is still the same one as before."
Hearing him mention that room, Yu Li's heart skipped a beat.
He glanced at Yan Shiting out of the corner of his eye and saw that the other party was still in the same posture and his expression had not changed, so he was relieved.
After Butler He left, the living room became quiet.
Yu Li maintained his rhythm of applying ice for two minutes and then puffing out his cheeks, completely unaware that Yan Shiting had put down his tablet and was silently watching him.
In no time, the towel was soaked by the melting ice.
Yu Li then put down the towel, touched her face, and searched for medicine to reduce the swelling in the first-aid kit.
He applied medicine to his face and was about to put it down when Yan Shiting, sitting on the sofa next to him, said, "You've also injured your arm."
Yu Li was startled and looked down at her two arms.
He couldn't find it for a moment, and before he knew it, Yan Shiting stood up and came to his side, taking his right wrist in his hand.
The two were both stunned the moment their skin touched.
Yu Li was very nervous about Yan Shiting's approach; her entire right arm even stiffened.
He didn't dare to look up, so he didn't notice the hint of annoyance that flashed in Yan Shiting's eyes.
But to suddenly let go at this point would be strange.
Yan Shiting spoke in a normal tone, then pressed his other hand on the cuff of Yu Li's short sleeve and said, "Here, a little above the elbow."
The bruise was located right here.
Yu Li flinched instinctively in pain when he pressed her down.
He recalled that it seemed that when the man discovered that Sister You had called the police, he suddenly threw him aside, and his right arm hit the protruding corner of the wall at that moment.
Although he felt pain at that time, the situation was critical, so he didn't pay any attention to it.
Unexpectedly, Yan Shiting noticed it.
Yu Li was somewhat surprised. She pursed her dry lips and stammered, "Thank you, President Yan."
"Hmm." Yan Shiting let go of his hand and walked to the water dispenser to get a glass of water.
Yu Li poured some more medicine and applied it to the areas Yan Shiting had indicated, gently massaging it in.
As the sky grew brighter, a clear bird song drifted into the living room from outside, making the room seem even quieter.
Yan Shiting placed the half-filled glass of water on the coffee table in front of Yu Li and casually said, "Have some water. Just leave the first-aid kit there; someone will come to collect it in the morning."
Yu Li had finished applying the medicine and replied while packing up the first-aid kit, "Okay."
In the instant he looked up, he suddenly caught a glimpse of weariness in Yan Shiting's eyes.
Yu Li was slightly taken aback.
The Yan Shiting he saw was mostly serious and cold.
This was the first time he had seen a different expression on Yan Shiting's face.
Yu Li felt even more guilty.
He opened his mouth, but then felt that repeating the same apologetic words would be hypocritical, and he was in a dilemma for a moment.
Yan Shiting didn't notice his hesitation and said, "Get some rest."
Yu Li quickly replied, "Okay, you should get some rest too."
The sense of distance in his tone disappeared without him even realizing it.
After speaking, Yan Shiting glanced at Yu Li silently.
But he said nothing and turned to go upstairs.
-
Yu Li was already a little sleepy while applying the medicine.
After drinking the half glass of water, he went upstairs to his room and, without thinking about anything else, slept until past two in the afternoon.
When he woke up and saw the familiar room layout, his heart skipped a beat.
Fortunately, history did not repeat itself.
My mind wasn't very sharp in the early hours of the morning because I'd been staying up late.
Now that she had a good night's sleep and was looking at the familiar place, Yu Li thought about what happened that night again.
But he was no longer as afraid as before.
If Yan Shiting really remembered what happened that night, he wouldn't be treating him the way he does now.
However, it's best to confirm.
There are just not many opportunities right now.
Yu Li sighed, rolled around in bed a few times, then got up and went downstairs.
Butler He was finalizing the afternoon menu when he saw Yu Li and brought out a plate of pastries from the kitchen.
"Xiao Yu, have some of this to tide you over. Dinner will be served soon."
Yu Li smiled gratefully at him, "Thank you, Uncle He."
The pastry was still warm, with a soft and chewy texture, not sticky, slightly sweet, and with a hint of red bean aroma.
Yu Li really likes this flavor.
He ate a piece, then looked up and asked, "Uncle He, have you had lunch yet?"
Butler He smiled kindly and said, "I've already eaten. I got up just in time for lunch."
"So early." Yu Li was a little surprised. "Have you rested well?"
He paused for a moment, then added, "Thank you for your help with what happened in the early hours of the morning."
Butler He said kindly, "It's not hard work. I was working overtime with the young master last night, and I got twenty times the overtime pay. You have to do some work, right?"
Yu Li was startled and quickly asked, "Does President Yan... work overtime very late?"
Butler He sighed softly and said, "Young Master has always been like this. After all, he's the one who supports the entire Yan family. He's destined to be hardworking. Last night, he worked overtime until 2 a.m. He was planning to come back and continue working overtime, but he happened to receive a call from the young master on the way, so we came to pick you up."
He paused for a moment: "Luckily you weren't hurt, otherwise..."
Yu Li felt a mix of emotions.
He had assumed there were few cars on the road, which was why Yan Shiting and his group had arrived so quickly. Little did he know, the real reason was quite different.
Yan Shiting was already so busy, and because of his affairs, he was delayed for so long.
Yu Li pursed her lips and said, "Uncle He, I... I want to thank President Yan."
It's not about saying thank you verbally, but about doing something for him.
Butler He's heart skipped a beat.
He had never seen the young master rush out in such a hurry last night.
He didn't know where the young master got the news from. If he hadn't suddenly received the young master's call for help on the way to Yu Li's neighborhood, he wouldn't have known what the young master was going to do.
Butler He pondered for a few seconds, then chuckled and suggested, "Young Master is so busy, he definitely can't come back for dinner. Little Yu, could you go and deliver dinner to Young Master for me?"
Delivering food? Is that all?
However, the meals were cooked by the nanny, and the car was driven by the driver.
Yu Li was in charge of carrying the lunchboxes.
From this perspective, offering food as a token of gratitude lacks sincerity.
But after thinking about it, Yu Li agreed.
While the nanny was preparing dinner, Yu Li went into the kitchen, cut some fruit, made a platter, and baked some sugar-free cookies.
He learned these skills while he was at Yutingxuan.
After it was done, Butler He strolled over and took a look. He immediately asked the nanny to fetch a deluxe insulated lunchbox and carefully placed the fruit platter and cookies inside.
Yu Li set off with that deluxe insulated lunchbox.
An hour later, he arrived at the Yan family's industrial park.
The driver took him to the headquarters building in the center of the park. Yu Li got out of the car, took his lunchbox, and walked into the building.
The receptionist had already received a call from Butler He, and upon seeing Yu Li, she led her to the elevator that went directly to the top floor.
Upon reaching the top floor, a secretary led Yu Li to a small cubicle outside Yan Shiting's office.
"President Yan is in a video conference, please wait here for a moment."
"Okay, thank you." Yu Li nodded.
After the secretary left, Yu Li sat properly on the sofa and placed the insulated lunchbox on the coffee table in front of her.
It was already time to leave work. Yu Li looked out through the one-way glass door of her cubicle and saw her secretaries and assistants leaving one after another.
Yu Li waited for a while, but the offices outside were already empty, and Yan Shiting still hadn't come out.
Yu Li touched the insulated lunchbox, somewhat worried that the food inside would get cold.
It wasn't until another half hour had passed that Yan Shiting finally came out of his office.
He paused for a moment when he saw Yu Li.
A tall figure stood by the door, having just finished a meeting. His sharp gaze, still behind his gold-rimmed glasses, was fixed on Yu Li.
Feeling nervous under her gaze, Yu Li quickly stood up from the sofa.
"I...Mr. Yan, I've come to bring you your food."
Yan Shiting pursed his lips and nodded.
He then walked over and sat down opposite Yu Li, took off his glasses, and rubbed his temples.
Yu Li lowered her head, opened the insulated lunchbox, and took out the food.
The bottom of the lunchbox is the largest space, where he placed a fruit platter and cookies he had made.
Yan Shiting glanced around and saw five cherry tomato bunnies, an apple slice swan, a bird banana, and a flower made of two kiwi slices.
Next to the fruit platter was a small bag of cookies, shaped like various small animals.
Yan Shiting: ...
He pursed his lips and awkwardly put on his glasses.
"You did this?" His tone was devoid of emotion.
Yu Li nervously rubbed her fingers together and nodded, saying, "Yes, I want to thank President Yan. I didn't put much sugar in the cookies; they're fruit and vegetable flavored, so they can be a relaxing snack when I'm working overtime at night."
Yan Shiting looked up at him.
The sharpness in her phoenix eyes had faded, but the unfathomable look in her eyes, like a deep pool, still made Yu Li's heart skip a beat.
Fortunately, Yan Shiting quickly withdrew his gaze and said in a deep voice:
"It's just a small thing, no need to do these things to thank me."
"Thank you anyway, you can go back now."
Yu Li didn't react for a moment.
It took him quite a while to come back to his senses when he saw that Yan Shiting had already started eating.
"Then I'll be going now, goodbye Mr. Yan."
Yan Shiting nodded.
Yu Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief and left the office.
As Yu Li stepped into the elevator going downstairs, she recalled Yan Shiting's last two sentences.
For some reason, I felt that they weren't so indifferent.
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