Chapter 130 Banquet - Part 2 Lu Yi trained all day...
Lu Yi returned to his room, feeling tired after a long day of training. As he pushed open the door, he saw rose petals scattered on the floor.
Tang Bufan's clothes were scattered on the floor, spreading like bait all the way into the bathroom.
The curtains were drawn on the curved floor-to-ceiling window in one half of the room, but the room wasn't too dark because a red candle was burning on the table.
Lu gripped the doorknob for a couple of seconds, then smiled and gently closed the door. He suddenly felt refreshed and could even feel the blood surging through his body.
He followed the marks on the clothes to the outside of the bathroom, where he saw that the door was not closed, but rather had a small crack in it.
The interior was dimly lit, with the curtains drawn and no lights on, only the faint flickering light of red candles visible.
Lu Yi peered through the crack inside, but instead of pushing the door open, he stood outside and politely called out, "Teacher, are you there?"
"Hmm." Tang Bufan's slightly lazy voice came from inside, followed by the soft sound of splashing water, as if the man had splashed the water in the bathtub with his hand.
Hearing these voices, Lu Yi pursed his lips, his smile deepening.
"May I come in?" The young orc's voice was as obedient as a child's.
But Tang Bufan knew he was no small man: "Come in."
With his permission, Lu Yi pushed open the door and went in. He saw Tang Bufan soaking in a bathtub full of foam. His cheeks were flushed from the steam of the hot water, and his long black hair was draped over his shoulders, with a little bit soaked in the water and most of it hanging down to the floor from the porcelain white bathtub.
Lu Yi thought he was really handsome, with bright, infatuated golden-green eyes, standing at the doorway.
"Come here," Tang Bufan called to him.
Lu Yi snapped out of her daze, immediately walked over, and happily sat down on the edge of the bathtub with a smile on her face.
"I took He Xing and He Yun to the shopping street today." Tang Bufan lifted his wet hand from the foam and placed it on Lu Yi's hand, looking at him with slightly raised eyes: "I bought you some gifts."
Tang Bufan racked his brains trying to come up with a gift for Lu Yi. Lu Yi was rich and powerful, and Tang Bufan couldn't think of anything he lacked. So he spent most of the day wandering around the mall before picking out a few trinkets that Lu Yi would probably like.
"What?" Lu Yi asked curiously, as he hadn't seen the gift box outside.
Tang Bufan leaned back in the bathtub with a slight smile, not answering directly: "Guess?"
Lu Yi's curiosity was piqued. He looked around the dimly lit bathroom with the red candles burning, but didn't see anything that looked like a gift.
He then looked again at Tang Bufan, whose cheeks were flushed, and said seriously, "You."
"..." Tang Bufan was speechless for a moment, then stopped keeping him in suspense and pointed to the bathtub full of foam: "You can fish it out yourself."
"!" Lu Yi was surprised, his eyes widened, and he looked down at the bathtub.
"...What's with that expression?" Tang Bufan complained. He had expected Lu Yi to show surprise, but instead, he was more shocked.
Lu Yi raised her hand to cover her mouth, unable to hide the corners of her mouth curling up: "...I thought the teacher was a very serious person and wouldn't do these things."
Tang Bufan slightly pursed his lips: "Are you trying to say I have no romantic side?"
"Uh...no, absolutely not." Lu Yi, having his thoughts guessed, quickly denied it shyly. He really hadn't expected Tang Bufan, who had such a strong teacher-student aura, to play these games with him.
Tang Bufan was too lazy to argue with him, so he splashed some water on his face and said, "Hurry up and get it out."
Lu Yi then happily bent down, put his hand into the warm water, and began to explore.
“…You really know how to touch.” Tang Bufan stared at him with his dark eyes, then put his feet together in the water.
Lu Yi blushed, moved her hand away, and continued to grope around in the bathtub.
A short while later, his fingers touched a small box.
Lu Yi fished it out and found it was a very delicate little red jewelry box. Judging from the size and shape of the box, he already had a good idea of what it was, and his heart started pounding faster.
He looked up at Tang Bufan, and the handsome man looked at him with encouraging eyes.
With excitement, Lu Yi opened the small red brocade box and found a platinum ring inlaid with small diamonds.
“We’re getting married soon, we can’t be without a ring,” Tang Bufan said gently, taking the small box from Lu Yi’s hand, then grabbing his large hand and gently slipping the platinum ring onto his ring finger.
The size was just right. Although Lu Yi's fingers were much rougher than Tang Bufan's, they were still long and slender with distinct knuckles, so they looked very good on him.
Lu Yi touched the ring, the joy in her heart almost overflowing.
Seeing that he liked it, Tang Bufan was also happy. The two looked at each other across the bathtub, and then Lu Yi couldn't help but want to kiss him.
Tang Bufan gently raised his hand to cover his lips.
"It's not over yet." Tang Bufan leaned back against the bathtub wall and said with a light smile, "Continue."
But all Lu Yi wanted to get was the man in the bathtub. He ignored everything and pressed himself against Tang Bufan across the tub, stubbornly kissing him...
***
The two stayed in the bathroom for more than five hours until late at night. When Tang Bufan was too tired to continue, Lu Yi let him lie in her arms, supporting his back with one hand and starting to scoop him out of the bathtub with the other.
He then retrieved five small boxes: a small gold cross earring, a star and moon necklace, a pair of couple's red string jade bracelets, a pair of ruby and sapphire cufflinks, and a small diamond cat hair clip.
Okay, it's all jewelry. Lu Yi now knows how much Tang Bufan values her, but giving her earrings and a necklace is one thing, but this kitten hair clip...
Lu Yi stared at the cute and sparkly hair clip in silence for a long time. He still couldn't quite understand it. He could only wrap the exhausted Tang Bufan in a bath towel and carry him to bed before he started to ponder it in front of the mirror.
He tidied his hair a little, then clipped the cat hair clip on...
Well, it still looks pretty good. Lu Yi wanted to laugh when he looked in the mirror. This hair clip could hold his bangs in place. Tang Bufan probably bought it for him because he often saw a few strands of hair hanging down his forehead.
Lu Yi blushed slightly and smoothed her hair again. Then, carrying the diamond-studded kitten, she walked to the wardrobe and planned to put on her pajama pants and go to sleep.
As the orc was halfway through putting on his pants, his sharp eyes spotted a small shopping bag in the corner of the closet.
There was another gift? Lu Yi put on his pajama pants and curiously took out the bag. Inside, he found extremely soft yarn balls. According to the label, they were products of the East District Underground City and had not yet been rolled into balls.
...Are you planning to knit yourself a sweater? Lu Yi smiled slightly, recalling last year when she and Tang Bufan were knitting together in the RV. Tang Bufan was in charge of pulling the yarn, and she was in charge of spinning it, while the RV door was tightly closed and there was sand and dust outside.
It was a tough but heartwarming time. Lu Yi felt nostalgic, and glanced back at the man who had fallen into a deep sleep. Then, she picked up the shopping bag full of yarn and sat on the bed. While keeping Tang Bufan company as he slept, she gently started to knit the yarn with her eyes lowered.
When Tang Bufan woke up the next day, he looked at the yarn that had been completely tangled into a ball and thanked Lu Yi in surprise: "You've already tidied up the yarn for me? Thank you! I'll tell Anderson that you helped when I give it to him later."
"..." Lu Yi's heart shattered silently, only then remembering that Tang Bufan had once said he would give Anderson a sweater.
After washing up together, the two went to the restaurant for breakfast. Tang Bufan looked around the restaurant but didn't see Anderson. He seemed reluctant to appear in front of the people of the Western Federation.
Tang Bufan couldn't help but feel worried. Although he and Lu Yi wanted to help Anderson restore his reputation and his status as commander, Anderson himself was evading responsibility.
"Maybe I should take him around again today." Tang Bufan thought to himself while eating breakfast. Anderson was a responsible bodyguard and would obediently follow behind him. Tang Bufan planned to use the excuse of visiting and familiarizing himself with the aircraft to allow Anderson to resume contact with the people of the Western Federation.
After finishing his meal, Lu Yi went back to training. Tang Bufan, now equipped with a personal AI, immediately instructed Kai Ge to harass Anderson.
Anderson was still asleep and sounded impatient: "It's just a tour of the aircraft, let someone else take you."
Tang Bufan glanced at the time; it was already nine in the morning. He then asked Anderson on the other end, "What did you do last night? Why did you stay up so late?"
"See a movie."
Tang Bufan recalled that when they were hiding from the beast tide in the Greater Khingan Mountains, Anderson often stayed in a cave with his legs crossed and watched movies. He realized that Anderson liked watching movies.
"Then sleep for two more hours, and come find me when you wake up," Tang Bufan said, then pressed the bracelet to turn off the communication.
Thinking he had nothing to do, he was about to go back to his room on the top floor to start knitting when Pei Zhishu came to visit.
Nine o'clock is the start of the workday. Pei Zhishu, along with his assistant and bodyguard, still looked like an elite in a suit and tie. Tang Bufan thought he was there because of the incident where he slapped Yu Shi yesterday, but little did he know that it wasn't.
Pei Zhishu came to deliver an invitation. Guo Wen was about to step down, and Guo Shen would take over as the head of the Eastern Federation. They were going to hold a grand banquet.
Tang Bufan was first startled, then fell silent. Guo Wen had been seriously injured in the previous drone attack, and his resignation was actually expected by many people.
Normally, he shouldn't have retired so early. For an orc, being over fifty is still very robust. Just look at Lermontov, who was over seventy. He was the one who retired due to old age, but he could still drive an armored vehicle to carry out exploration missions, and his physique was as strong as a bear.
If it weren't for protecting himself, he wouldn't have been shot so many times. Tang Bufan felt guilty about Guo Wen's retirement, and inevitably thought of Lu Yi as well.
"Mr. Guo Wen's retirement is regrettable. Our Western Federation will attend the banquet," Tang Bufan said earnestly as he took the invitation from Pei Zhishu.
Pei Zhishu glanced at Tang Bufan, whose demeanor was becoming increasingly outstanding, and said with a meaningful smile, "Madam Tang is becoming more and more like the First Lady."
Tang Bufan felt that Pei Zhishu's words had a deeper meaning, and that they seemed like praise but were not quite.
Pei Zhishu left with his assistant and bodyguards. Tang Bufan watched them leave before opening the invitation in his hand and was surprised to find that the banquet was on May 19th, just the day before he and Lu Yi were supposed to get married.
Tang Bufan frowned and asked Kai Ge, "Is May 19th a good day according to the Chinese almanac?"
“Nothing special, but the 19th is Guo Wen’s birthdate,” Kai said in a gentle, electronic male voice.
Tang Bufan sighed helplessly, planning to go back and discuss with Lu Yi whether to change the wedding date, otherwise it would clash too much.
-----------------------
Author's Note: I just got back from my trip yesterday and haven't updated for a week. I feel like I've forgotten how to write! [Please!]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com