Chapter 71 A Dramatic Love Triangle
"Mr. Lu?"
Ning Yao turned around in confusion.
When she saw Lu Jueming standing next to her with two drinks, her mind went blank for a moment, and she hurriedly stood up, "You... how long have you been standing here?"
"Not long after," Lu Jueming said with a polite smile, "it probably started when you said you were the future young mistress of the Lu family."
Ning Yao froze on the spot, her cheeks quickly burning, and even time seemed to stand still.
She had just taken advantage of Lu Jueming going to the restroom to show off in front of Ning Jinli.
When people get carried away with their words, they start exaggerating.
Who knew Lu Jueming would overhear!
This is so embarrassing!
Especially in front of Ning Jinli!
In those brief two or three seconds, Ning Yao's mind raced.
No, I can't let Ning Jinli laugh at me either way.
We're going all in! We have to hold things steady!
Anyway, Ning Jinli was just here to find a wealthy man. If she hadn't said all that just now, Ning Jinli wouldn't have known Lu Jueming.
So, as long as she can get Lu Jueming's cooperation, everything will be fine.
"Jue Ming...you're here." Ning Yao forced herself to take half a step forward. "You could have just had the waiter bring the drinks, why did you have to get them yourself?"
With her back to Ning Jinli, she deliberately acted as if she had a close relationship with Lu Jueming.
At the same time, she looked at Lu Jueming with apologetic and pitiful eyes, and tried to lower her voice to plead, "Young Master Lu, I am from the Ning family. Please help me put on an act. I will explain to you afterwards."
After saying that, she placed the two drinks in Lu Jueming's hand on the table.
Then she took his arm, turned to Ning Jinli and said, "Are you going to stay here and be a third wheel?"
Her forced arrogance was quite convincing, making her seem like a real girlfriend.
Ning Jinli looked at the two with a half-smile. She saw that Ning Yao was trying to remain calm, while Lu Jueming's gentle expression was already showing some displeasure.
As the heir of one of the top wealthy families in Xinghan City, Lu Jueming's refinement is far beyond that of ordinary people.
Even in this situation, he maintained the utmost restraint.
Moreover, he was unclear about the situation and felt there was no need to make the young woman next to him feel ashamed.
Just as he was about to take the young woman aside for a private talk and resolve the issue privately...
Several well-dressed young men and women had just entered the restaurant when they spotted him, greeted him, and walked over.
"Young Master Lu! It's been a long time!"
"We didn't expect you to actually come back! We were just saying we'd book a hotel for you tomorrow to welcome you back!"
"Hey? Brother Jueming, is this your girlfriend?"
"You're so beautiful, hello sister-in-law!"
"Hahaha! That's great! The Lu family no longer has to worry about our brother Jueming staying single!"
Just by looking at their attire, demeanor, and the tone of their voices as they spoke to Lu Jueming, it was clear that they were all good friends.
The next three sentences made Ning Yao extremely happy.
Before Lu Jueming could speak, she couldn't help but greet him with a smile, "Hello. Nice to meet you all."
This response can be seen as an admission to Lu Jueming's friends of an identity that did not originally exist.
Lu Jueming's brows gradually furrowed.
He was trying to save face for her, but she just took advantage of the situation.
But then I thought about it again, and the girl was probably too shy to explain things to her friends at that moment.
Never mind, let's just deal with this for now.
"I'll find a place tomorrow and host a get-together with you all," Lu Jueming said to his friends with a gentle smile. "Excuse me for a moment, I have some things to take care of."
After saying that, he gave Ning Jinli an apologetic look, and then prepared to leave with the girl who was holding his arm.
To his surprise, Ning Yao refused to move.
“Jueming, your friends are all here. We just met them, how can we leave?” Ning Yao said with a smile, not forgetting to give Ning Jinli a smug look.
Since Young Master Lu is already cooperating with her acting, of course she has to show off in front of Ning Jinli. Ning Jinli must be so jealous right now!
Although it was fake, only she and Lu Jueming knew it.
Therefore, it is certain that in the eyes of Ning Jinli and Lu Jueming's friends, she is Lu Shao's girlfriend and the future young mistress of the Lu family.
The more she thought about it, the happier she became, and she really couldn't bear to part with this wonderful feeling.
"There's no room here," Lu Jueming said, still trying to give her an out.
The implied meaning in his words was that he was urging her to leave.
But she didn't realize it, and in her euphoria, she genuinely considered herself his girlfriend.
“It’s okay,” Ning Yao hugged his arm even tighter, “We can squeeze in a little, ask the waiter to add two chairs next to the table, and then let Ning Jinli leave.”
"You two know each other?" Lu Jueming asked in surprise.
The question was directed at Ning Jinli, but Ning Yao still didn't notice and introduced herself, saying, "She's my cousin, but... we're basically not that related."
“That’s right,” Ning Jinli said. “Aside from that tiny bit of blood relation, Ning Yao and I are practically two different families.”
Upon hearing this, a meaningful look flashed in Lu Jueming's eyes.
Even his newly arrived friends could tell from the tone of the two cousins' voices that the two were not on good terms.
This is interesting...
Several of Lu Jueming's friends looked at Ning Jinli, who was sitting calmly in her seat.
Because she was sitting down, without makeup, and wearing only ordinary casual clothes, they didn't pay much attention to her at first.
Looking at her more closely now, I realized she's even prettier than Ning Yao.
The two sisters have a vague resemblance in their eyebrows and eyes, but her features are more delicate, especially her eyes, which are large, bright, clear and transparent.
You wouldn't notice it unless you compared them, but it became obvious once you did. Despite Ning Yao's flamboyant attire, she looked increasingly tacky.
"Alright, I'd better not bother you any longer." Ning Jinli slowly stood up. "You stay with your friends for now."
Ning Jinli thought that there would be plenty of time to talk about the pharmaceutical company later, and this time was mainly to meet and get to know each other.
It's rare for someone to come back, and if he runs into friends, let him catch up with them first.
This isn't about considering Ning Yao's feelings. If Ning Yao wants to pretend, let her pretend. Whether things end up a mess later is none of my business.
Lu Jueming understood Ning Jinli's meaning and nodded slightly, "I'm sorry."
"It's alright," Ning Jinli replied with a smile and a nod.
Lu Jueming's friends stared at each other in disbelief.
We look at each other.
Neither of them spoke, but they all imagined a complex drama of emotional entanglements.
It seems Lu Shao has a bit of a history with his girlfriend's cousin...
Judging from the three people's behavior and tone of voice, Lu Shao seemed to be closer to Ning Jinli, and even though Ning Yao was holding his arm, he was intentionally or unintentionally trying to avoid touching Ning Yao.
Could it be that, of these two sisters, the older cousin is the unrequited love of Mr. Lu, while the younger cousin is the one he is forced to be with for some reason?
Tsk tsk...
I never imagined that Lu Shao, who has never had any scandals, would have such a big scandal behind him.
Several friends frantically imagined the possibilities, and they all came up with the same idea, showing expressions of sudden realization. Doesn't this perfectly explain why Young Master Lu had been single all this time?
"Excuse me, could you please move aside? Thank you." Ning Jinli was about to leave her seat when she politely said this to the people gathered around her.
The group, who were almost engrossed in imagining a dramatic love triangle, finally snapped out of their reverie.
They politely made way for each other.
After all, she is Lu Shao's white moonlight.
"Miss Ning, take care." The group said, their eyes showing regret.
Although it was their first time meeting the two sisters, even disregarding the fact that the older sister was Lu Shaobai's ideal woman, they still had a better impression of her than the younger sister.
Putting aside looks, Ning Jinli's pure temperament already puts Ning Yao to shame.
What a wonderful girl! Perhaps it was because of her family's financial situation that the Lu family forced them to be separated.
Poor Young Master Lu, poor unrequited love...
well……
In just a few short seconds after Ning Jinli got up, their imaginations ran wild, and their eyes were practically overflowing with regret and sighs.
During this period, the subtle and complex changes in the atmosphere left Lu Jueming completely bewildered.
What's wrong with these guys?
Why are they suddenly so sad? What are they so sad about?
Could things get any more inexplicable today?
Ning Yao watched Ning Jinli walk out of the restaurant, a satisfied smile unconsciously appearing on her lips.
In any case, I've really gained a lot of face in front of her this time, and I'm sure it will make her so upset that she can't sleep at night and will cry under the covers!
Furthermore, being Lu Jueming's girlfriend feels absolutely amazing.
If only this were true!
"Now you can finally talk to me alone, right?" Lu Jueming's voice interrupted Ning Yao's thoughts.
Ning Yao was very reluctant to see her temporary trial card for Lu Shao's girlfriend expire.
But if we force him to continue acting, it might make him resentful.
It's better to stop now. Besides, this incident should have brought us closer to him, and who knows, our feelings might develop quickly and our fake relationship could become real!
Ning Yao was secretly delighted, but put on a well-behaved expression and said, "Okay."
Then, in a seemingly serious manner, he said to Lu Jueming and his friends, "Please have a seat, Jueming and I will excuse ourselves. We're sorry."
The others didn't reply, but nodded as a response.
Ning Yao took Lu Jueming's arm and followed him out of the restaurant to a corner of the lounge.
"Aren't you going to let go?" Lu Jueming's gentle voice had already turned cold.
Ning Yao reluctantly let go of his hands, smoothed her hair, and said in a sweet voice, "Young Master Lu, thank you for cooperating with my act. Consider it a favor I owe you."
“No need,” Lu Jueming said calmly. “Just pretend nothing happened. As for my friends, I will explain it to them to avoid any misunderstandings.”
Ning Yao hurriedly asked, "How are you going to explain this to them?"
Lu Jueming said, "Of course I'm telling the truth. As for why you did that, I don't know, and I don't want to know. My friend doesn't know you either, so naturally he won't pry."
“Actually, we can get to know each other…” Ning Yao said softly with her head down. “In the future, the Lu family will invest in my Ning family, and we will have to visit them more often. I also hope to make friends with you.”
Lu Jueming frowned slightly. "Those are matters of my family's business. I'm very busy and don't have time to get involved."
After saying that, he was about to leave.
"Hey, Young Master Lu!" Ning Yao mustered her courage and stood in front of him. "Please give me your contact information, your phone number is fine too. I'm really sorry about today. I'll apologize properly when you have time, otherwise I won't feel right about it."
Lu Jueming reluctantly gave her a number, which allowed him to escape.
——
It was past 10 p.m.
After watching the opera, Ning Jinli prepared to go home.
When I left the theater and checked my phone, I saw three messages.
She only realized it now because she had put her phone on silent while watching the opera.
The messages were all sent by Xiao Qidi, more than half an hour ago.
"Miss Ning, are you there?"
"I need to talk to you."
"The generator has run out of fuel and can no longer generate electricity. Please give us some more."
It seems he went to the factory warehouse at that time.
Ning Jinli was puzzled. She clearly remembered that when she delivered the diesel generator last time, she also gave them a lot of diesel fuel.
Is it that fast?
However, since he said he'd run out, we should hurry up and send some more.
So she called Aunt Su and said she had something to do and wouldn't be going back to Lanyue Villa, then drove to the factory.
The factory has begun partial operation and is almost fully staffed, but at this time everyone has already left work, with only some night shift workers and security personnel remaining.
Ning Jinli didn't want to ask her employees to do things so late, so she bought more than a dozen barrels of diesel oil and put them in the warehouse herself.
I was busy until late at night, and I was so tired and sleepy that I could barely keep my eyes open. I could only wash up and go to sleep.
The next day at noon.
After getting up, Ning Jinli went directly to the Immortal Cave in Linxian Village.
"Welcome, Fairy Jinli!" As always, the guards of the Immortal Cave knelt down and bowed when they saw her.
Ning Jinli asked, "Are you out of diesel here?"
"Your Excellency, it seems... we haven't heard this news."
"Hmm? Did your lord come here last night?"
"Yes."
"Where is he now?"
"Please wait a moment, fairy."
The guard took the walkie-talkie from his waist and used it skillfully.
Soon, he learned that the emperor was currently in the military camp in Linxian Village.
Ning Jinli rushed over immediately, intending to ask him personally what was going on.
Upon entering Xiao Qidi's tent, one would find the man sitting on the edge of the bed, laboriously taking off his clothes.
Ning Jinli hurriedly walked up to him, "You need to change your dressing, right? Where's the army doctor? Why is there no one here to take care of you?"
Xiao Qidi paused his movements, looked up and said, "The weather is bad and the labor is heavy. There are too many people in Linxian Village who need medical treatment and healing. There are not enough doctors. I have sent military doctors and logistics personnel from the camp to help."
Ning Jinli sighed, "Well, let me help you."
"Thank you for your trouble." Xiao Qidi obediently raised his arm.
Ning Jinli carefully removed his outer garment and then took off the protective cover for the wound on his back.
Then I had him lie face down on the bed so I could clean and disinfect him before reapplying the medication.
Xiao Qidi lay there for a while, but Ning Jinli didn't make a move.
"Miss Ning, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with your injury?"
"The injury has healed quite well..."
“However…” Ning Jinli was a little embarrassed, “You also need to take off your pants. If I remember correctly, your butt… also has burns.”
Xiao Qidi calmly uttered three words, "Take it off."
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