Chapter 25
Lu Yun was startled by Yun Qi and quickly suppressed his smile: "I was getting ready for today's clothes. Xiao Qi, why are you up so soon? Couldn't you sleep a little longer?"
Yun Qi shook his head, his tail swishing restlessly behind him: "I can't sleep."
Lu Yun stared at the tail and smiled, "Then come and see what clothes we're going to wear today."
Whenever the two of them go out, Lu Yun especially likes to wear matching couple outfits, and on such a big day as today, he naturally couldn't miss it.
Yun Qi looked at the clothes Lu Yun was showing behind him. They were two formal suits, one black and one white, with embroidered patterns on them. When the two suits were put together, they formed a complete pattern.
Lu Yun pursed her lips, a little nervous: "Xiao Qi, do you think this outfit looks good?"
Yun Qi exclaimed in surprise, "You ordered this? When? I know everything."
Lu Yun: "This is a surprise, do you like it?"
Yun Qi stepped forward, gently running her hand over the pattern on the dress, and nodded: "I like it. Shall I wear this today?"
Lu Yun nodded. Yun Qi looked up at him, still not understanding what Lu Yun was trying to do. This made him wonder if Lu Yun had cheated on his wife and what had happened at the bar that day.
Yun Qi opened his mouth but didn't ask. Today was the day for both sets of parents to meet, and he couldn't ruin the atmosphere. Even if Lu Yun had cheated on him, he was going to take her away.
Lu Yun hadn't noticed anything wrong with Yun Qi and urged her to wash up so they could leave quickly.
Yun Qi suppressed her thoughts, washed up, changed her clothes, and followed Lu Yun out.
In the car, Yun Qi turned to look at Lu Yun, feeling that he seemed very excited today. Was he really this excited just for meeting the parents? Or was Lu Yun planning to do something at this parent-teacher meeting? Yun Qi's eyes darkened, hoping it wasn't something that would embarrass them both.
Lu Yun had already booked the hotel. He handed the car keys to the doorman, touched his inner pocket, and his smile faltered. The thing that should have been in there was gone; the inner pocket was empty. This was the most important thing for today's meeting, and he absolutely couldn't lose it.
Anxiety flashed in Lu Yun's eyes, but he couldn't show it directly and arouse Yun Qi's suspicion, otherwise all his efforts over the past few days would be in vain.
She cleared her throat and said, "Xiao Qi, I forgot to bring something. Could you wait here for me for a moment?"
Yun Qi nodded and smiled, "Okay, I'll wait for you here."
Lu Yun grabbed the keys and hurried back to get them.
Yun Qi sat on the sofa in the hotel lobby, texting her father on her phone: "Dad, have you arrived yet?"
Yun's father, who was already in the hotel's private room, didn't dare to say it directly. He remembered Lu Yun saying that this was a surprise.
I'm still on my way. Have you arrived yet?
We've arrived, but Lu Yun forgot something and had to go back to get it.
"Okay, we'll be there soon. Just wait a little longer."
Yun Qi replied with an "okay," and then idly scrolled through videos on her phone.
Time ticked by, and Yun Qi frowned. Their home and the hotel weren't far apart; even with traffic, an hour would be enough. But now it had been two hours, and Lu Yun still hadn't returned.
Yun Qi's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition washed over her.
He messaged Lu Yun: "Are you on your way?"
How much longer until we arrive?
One second after the message was sent, one minute, five minutes passed. Yun Qi frowned, his bad premonition growing stronger. He checked his phone twice a second. Lu Yun, who usually replied instantly, hadn't responded for over ten minutes this time.
Yun Qi stood up. Where did Lu Yun go? He needed to go home and check on him. Had something happened to him on the way? Was it a car accident? Or what?
The more Yun Qi thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She had just opened her ride-hailing app when she saw a message from her father: "Why haven't you and Lu Yun arrived yet?"
Upon seeing this sentence, Yun Qi suddenly felt something was amiss. Wasn't his father still on his way and hadn't arrived yet? How did he know that Lu Yun and he hadn't arrived?
His chaotic mind seemed to be connecting at some point, and an idea was gradually becoming clearer. To confirm his guess, he said, "Dad, you haven't arrived yet, have you? How do you know we haven't gone up?"
The other end hesitated for a few minutes before responding, as if they hadn't expected Yun Qi to ask that question.
[Didn't you just tell me that Lu Yun went back to get something? You didn't message me, so I guessed you guys hadn't come up yet.]
Yun Qi found the explanation reasonable, but he still felt something was off. He went straight to the front desk and asked, "Excuse me, where is the private room that Mr. Lu Yun booked?"
The receptionist glanced at Yun Qi and smiled, "Hello sir, what is your relationship with Mr. Lu Yun?"
The hotel has already received a call from Lu Yun saying he'll be proposing at the hotel today, so they need to be a little wary when someone asks about the private room.
Yun Qi sensed something was amiss from the receptionist's words. He didn't reveal his and Lu Yun's true identities, saying, "He and I are friends."
The receptionist remained wary: "Could you please provide some relevant documentation? Perhaps the chat logs, or could you call Mr. Lu Yun?"
Yun Qi: "Wait a moment, I'll show you the chat history."
Yun Qi changed Lu Yun's nickname and showed the receptionist a segment of intimate but normal chat history.
The receptionist glanced at the documents and, having made a basic decision, nodded: "Okay, Mr. Lu Yun has booked room 520 on the fifth floor. Mr. Lu Yun said that today's event is a surprise. Before you go in, please knock on the door and tell the person inside who it is."
Yun Qi paused, turned around, half-closed her eyes, and asked in a tone that was half shocked and half puzzled, "Surprise?"
The receptionist's smile froze: "You didn't know?"
Yun Qi snapped out of her daze: "I knew, but I didn't expect him to prepare so quickly."
The receptionist breathed a sigh of relief without making it clear: "Then please be careful when you go up."
Yun Qi nodded. While riding the elevator, he kept sending messages to Lu Yun, but still received no reply. This made him wonder if Lu Yun was waiting for him in the private room.
He texted his dad again, telling a lie: "Dad, Lu Yun and I are up here. How much longer until you get there?"
"Oh, you two are up here? We'll be there soon. Why don't you go inside and wait for us?"
Yun Qi had just replied with a "okay" when she saw Lu Yun's message: [My phone was in my pocket, so I didn't hear a sound. I've grabbed my things and I'm back now, Xiao Qi. Are you still waiting for me downstairs?]
Yun Qi narrowed her eyes slightly and replied, "[We're still down there, hurry up.]"
Does it really take this long to get something?
Lu Yun: [I don't know where I put it. I've been looking for it for ages. You have to wait for me downstairs. I'll be there soon!]
Lu Yun's words gradually calmed Yun Qi's restless heart. He replied, "Okay, I'll wait for you to come."
Yun Qi had already reached the fifth floor, and room 520 was right in front of him, but Lu Yun told him to wait for him on the first floor. With such an obvious meaning, there must be something waiting for him in room 520.
Based on what the receptionist and her father said, as well as Lu Yun's strange behavior these past few days, Yun Qi slowly began to suspect that Lu Yun might be preparing a marriage proposal for him.
Was this the reason I felt unwell a few days ago?
Yun Qi lifted his foot, his heart pounding wildly at the thought. He desperately wanted to know what lay behind the door, but he couldn't do that. He had promised Lu Yun that he would wait for him.
Yun Qi turned around, took the elevator down to the first floor, and sat on the sofa again, waiting for Lu Yun's arrival. This time, Yun Qi's mood was completely different from last time. He had a relaxed smile on his face, and he couldn't help but smile when he thought about what Lu Yun would do to him.
He also sent a message to his father, saying that something had happened to them and they hadn't arrived yet.
Dad sent a few ellipses and only replied with a single "okay".
Yun Qi sat below and waited for an hour without showing the slightest impatience.
But as time went on, Yun Qi's brows furrowed more and more. He sent messages, but Lu Yun didn't reply. Yun Qi then started calling Lu Yun. After several calls, Lu Yun finally answered.
Yun Qi's tone was slightly cold: "Lu Yun, how much longer until you arrive? Why are you so slow to reply to messages today?"
Lu Yun was still driving, and with horns blaring one after another, he said, "I'm driving, Xiao Qi. There's a bit of traffic at this time. Wait for me..."
"Humans smell so good."
"take away."
"Who are you? Wait..."
The phone fell to the ground with a dull thud. Yun Qi heard an unfamiliar voice and a few simple words on the other end. He immediately realized something was wrong and shouted into the phone, "Lu Yun, Lu Yun? What's wrong, Lu Yun?"
But the voice on the other end of the phone had completely fallen silent; even the sound of a car horn could not be heard.
In that instant, Yun Qi's world seemed to fall completely silent, as if there was no one else besides him.
Coming to his senses, he realized the call had already ended. He tried calling back several times, but no one answered. He knew something must have happened to Lu Yun. Forgetting all his joy, he immediately called his father. The father answered and said, "Dad, something happened to Lu Yun! Come downstairs quickly, I'm on the first floor!"
Hearing Yun Qi's urgent tone, Yun's father knew the urgency of the matter and said to the others behind him, "They haven't come yet, I'll go down and check. You guys wait here a little longer."
After saying that, they grabbed their partners and hurried downstairs. They didn't even have time to wait for the elevator and went straight down the stairs.
Yun Qi stood at the top of the stairs, anxiously waiting for her father and father-in-law, pacing back and forth, her face pale and weak.
As soon as Yun's father came down, he asked, "What happened? What's going on?"
Yun Qi recounted what she had heard on the phone, emphasizing a few key sentences. Yun's father's expression turned grave: "To be able to say such things means they are not human. Do you remember the demons I told you about last time, those who escaped to the human world?"
Yun Qi realized what was happening, her face turned even paler, and she staggered: "We...we have to find Lu Yun."
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