Yan Bo felt reluctant, but he dared not show it.
Tong Xiaohuai noticed his gaze, looked up to meet his eyes, unwilling to delve into the deep affection in them, and simply urged, "Get in the car, don't you have things to do?"
She said that because after he said goodbye, he received a call from his assistant, in which he promised to return to the company within half an hour.
"Okay, I'll be going now. My phone is on 24/7, so feel free to contact me anytime if you have any questions. Or, if there's anything you'd like me to bring back, you can call me too."
To outsiders, Yan Bo's words sounded like something he would say to an old friend or his girlfriend.
However, Tong Xiaohuai had never been in a relationship before, so she didn't think Yan Bo's words had any special meaning, and simply nodded in agreement.
"Okay, I understand."
After watching Yan Bo get into the car, Tong Xiaohuai turned around and went back to the mansion.
"Xiao Huai, I heard from Lao Yuan that a handsome young man was having dinner at home just now?"
Uncle Guan, carrying a tray with a bowl of stewed soup, looked around curiously.
"Uncle Guan, he's already gone. He said thank you for your hospitality, and that the food was to his liking."
The middle-aged man, in his forties, wore a shy smile.
"Really? I was worried my cooking skills would embarrass my little Huai!"
Tong Xiaohuai smiled and took the tray from his hands. "How could that be? Look, you've fattened me up so much that no one would want me!"
Tong Xiaohuai's relationship with Uncle Guan was closer than her relationship with Uncle Ming. This was because her parents were not good at cooking, and since she was a child, Uncle Guan had been in charge of the family's meals. Although the taste of his cooking was sometimes good and sometimes bad, he was always able to take care of the nutrition.
"Who said my Xiao Huai is unwanted? It's your dad who scared everyone away, isn't it? Who was that young master just now? Old Yuan said he's quite handsome!"
Tong Xiaohuai carried the tray toward the study. "Uncle Guan, you're overthinking it. He's just an ordinary friend."
He once said that it's too hasty to say you like someone when neither party knows the other.
And she was moved by just one sentence from him.
She had never been in a relationship, but she could feel his sincerity and respect from his words, as well as the subtle feeling of being cherished.
Tong Xiaohuai pondered Yan Bo's words as she carried the tray and pushed open the study door.
The desk was covered with account books that Uncle Ming had given him.
She had spent many days looking at these ledgers, but they only covered a few years' worth of records.
There were some parts that she didn't quite understand.
She underlined the parts she didn't understand with a red pen and copied them down in a notebook.
She sat in her office for two or three hours at a time, and when she looked up to check the time, the clock was almost pointing to eleven o'clock.
She looked away and glanced at the ever-growing amount of notes in her notebook, and couldn't help but frown.
She stared blankly at the troubling content for a moment, then raised her hand to rub her tense temples.
It seems I need to quickly ask Uncle Ming to hire an accountant for me to brush up on my accounting knowledge.
As she thought this, she picked up the phone.
"Uncle Ming, please hire an accountant for me tomorrow."
"What, you want someone else to do the bookkeeping?" Uncle Ming's tone was extremely surprised.
Over the years, Uncle Ming has been in charge of the Tong family's overall accounts.
It is said that Tong Ma used to be in charge, but later, her health deteriorated, so Tong Laoda handed the responsibility over to his good brother Teng Ming.
"Uncle Ming, you've misunderstood. I want to learn some finance, so could you help me find an accountant? The teaching schedule has to be flexible with my schedule."
The accounts she was looking at now were, of course, not done by Uncle Ming, but by the casino's accounting staff.
"Oh, I see... Okay, I'll go look for it tomorrow."
...
Yan Bo originally thought a week would be enough for his business trip, but little did he know that he would spend a full ten days in S City to resolve all the hidden dangers.
On the evening of the day he returned to L City, he received a call from Ling Qingyun.
"Third Young Master, Manager Xiao said there are two heavyweight boxers fighting at the boxing gym tonight. Would you like to go and watch?"
Yan Bo then realized that he had been so busy with company matters and taking care of Tong Xiaohuai that he had completely forgotten about Ling Qingyun and the other young masters from prominent families.
"Okay, what time?"
Yan Bo checked the time; it was a little past six. He secretly planned to call Tong Xiaohuai later to see if she had time to have a meal together.
He hadn't seen her for ten days, and to be honest, he missed her quite a bit.
However, since they had agreed to be just ordinary friends and to take things slowly, he suppressed his frantic heart and tried his best to follow her pace, not daring to disturb her casually.
"The competition starts at ten o'clock. Let's have dinner together, and then we can go there directly after dinner."
Ling Qingyun seemed to assume that Yan Bo would definitely have dinner with him.
After all, they had been having dinner together almost every other day before this.
"Young Master Ling, I'm sorry, I have an appointment for dinner. Let's meet at the boxing gym at ten o'clock."
Having been away from L City for so long, the person Yan Bo most wanted to see upon his return was Tong Xiaohuai. He has always been a person who follows his heart, so he rejected Ling Qingyun's suggestion very directly.
"Oh, I see... Okay then, let's have a drink together after the game."
"Okay, see you at ten!" Yan Bo readily agreed, and then promptly hung up the phone.
Yan Bo stared at the phone, silently organizing his thoughts before dialing Tong Xiaohuai's number.
He had known Tong Xiaohuai for so long, and this was the first time he had ever called her.
Tong Xiaohuai, of course, never called him.
Even though he repeatedly told me during our meal that day that I could call him anytime if I had any problems.
But Tong Xiaohuai's feelings for him were truly only at the level of ordinary friends. Therefore, even though she did encounter many difficulties during those ten days, she had no intention of seeking him out.
Throughout her eighteen years of life, she was only used to relying on her parents, Uncle Ming, Uncle Yuan, and Uncle Guan. She was actually very wary of everyone else.
It wasn't that she was hostile towards Yan Bo; rather, it was almost an instinct for her.
Hello! Who is this?
Tong Xiaohuai, who answered the phone, didn't even save Yan Bo's phone number.
Because she never took his words, "You can come to me anytime if you have any problems," to heart.
"Xiao Huai, it's me, Yan Bo."
Tong Xiaohuai recognized his voice at that moment, "Oh, it's you! You're back from your business trip?"
Yanbo over here was so moved he almost cried.
So, she still remembered he was away on a business trip? He thought she had completely forgotten about him.
"Yes, I just got back. Would you like to come out for a meal together?"
Tong Xiaohuai glanced at the pile of books in front of her, frowned, and said, "No, I need to review my lessons."
"Reviewing your lessons? The exams are coming up so soon?" Yan Bo asked, his voice tinged with surprise.
It's no wonder he was so surprised. It's only been a short time since the start of the semester. There aren't many university exams. Most of the time, students only start studying hard for the final exams.
"No, I hired a tutor myself!"
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