Chapter 25. Xiaofan Yizong
Wanli Hotel is a high-standard hotel restaurant in Jinshi, very suitable for business banquets or company gatherings. It has frequent cooperation with Yishi Group and Fengshun.
Nie Fei booked dinner here, and the hotel manager came in person to confirm the arrangements. Upon learning that two of the guests were from Hai City, the manager happily offered them two suites.
"Boss Nie, please tell Boss Yi not to rush and take his time to eat and chat. We've already prepared the rooms for the guests."
Nie Fei wanted to refuse, but suddenly remembered something and accepted the room card.
At the same time, Li Jing drove Yi Lingjia to the hotel where they were going to have dinner.
Along the way, he secretly looked at his boss's gloomy face through the rearview mirror.
Isn't it a joyous occasion to reunite with old classmates? Some time ago, their university class finally got together, enthusiastically organized by the class committee. Everyone ate, sang, and reminisced about their college days. It was a lively occasion.
Li Jing was quite puzzled until he saw a very eye-catching couple at the hotel entrance.
Both were dressed in casual shirts, possessing the same tall, slender figures, clean demeanor, and scholarly features. Standing together, speaking intimately, they resembled a scene straight out of an idol drama.
And the person who was looking up and smiling, if it wasn't Dr. Ke, who caused his boss to behave strangely, then who could it be?
Li Jing's heart skipped a beat, and in the rearview mirror, Yi Lingjia's brows slowly furrowed.
*
Ke Fan and Lu Qiaoyuan arrived at the dinner place shortly after each other.
The two met at the hotel entrance.
"Senior brother, what a coincidence, where are you from?" Ke Fan looked up and asked with a surprised smile.
"I came from the Tianjin University campus. I went back to take a look this afternoon." Lu Qiaoyuan also replied with a warm smile, "The campus has changed a lot since we were students. I don't recognize many places anymore."
"Really? I haven't been back for a long time." Ke Fan lowered his eyes, as if thinking about something.
"Yes, but there are still many things that have never changed."
Lu Qiaoyuan's gaze was deep and gentle. From an angle she couldn't see, it caressed her soft cheek inch by inch without leaving a trace.
All of this fell into Yi Lingjia's eyes.
He sat quietly in the car, his dark eyes were deep, and his sharp and profound facial features seemed to be covered with a layer of frost.
*
The box is magnificent, with marble decorations and gold-rimmed reliefs on the walls, and a beautifully embroidered tablecloth covering the mahogany round table.
A crystal chandelier hung in the center of the ceiling. When the heavy door was pushed open by the waiter, the light and shadow of the chandelier reflected colorful light on the European-style carpet.
Yi Lingjia arrived late, his face normal except for a slight wrinkle between his brows:
"Sorry, I'm a little late."
Nie Fei stood up to greet him:
"Lingjia, you're here."
Then he turned sideways, extended his hand to Lu Qiaoyuan and gently guided him: "This is Senior Lu, do you remember? He's the school idol who saved me in the fraternity."
Lu Qiaoyuan also stood up, a faint smile in his eyes. He extended his hand to the man standing opposite him, seemingly oblivious to the cold aura emanating from him:
"Xiao Yi, long time no see, do you still remember me?"
Yi Lingjia raised her hand and held Lu Qiaoyuan's hand. The two touched briefly, then quickly withdrew.
"Of course I remember. Senior was a real star at the party that year. I think I snapped a picture of him. He was ranked first in the Renren online poll for the most handsome guy on campus. It was a very memorable moment."
Yi Lingjia pushed his gold-rimmed glasses with his slender, bony fingers, and curled the corners of his mouth:
"So many years have passed in the blink of an eye. I'm afraid senior doesn't remember me?"
Lu Qiaoyuan was quite surprised:
"How could that be? You were in the same class with Xiaofan at that time, right? I remember you were the monitor of Xiaofan's class?"
Lu Qiaoyuan turned his head to look at Ke Fan who was silent:
"Right, Xiaofan?"
Ke Fan nodded gently: "Yeah. But we haven't gotten together since graduation. This time it was because of the project in Jinshi, and I happened to meet... Mr. Yi."
Small sail.
Mr. Yi.
Lu Qiaoyuan's intimate address to her was harsh, and her avoidance of suspicion was too obvious. A fire suddenly rose in Yi Lingjia's heart, burning the frozen shell she had been trying so hard to maintain into pieces:
"After all, we were classmates in college for four years. There's no need to be so distant, right?...Xiao Fan." He emphasized her name.
Ke Fan glanced at him and didn't respond.
Lu Qiaoyuan suddenly looked up, and their eyes met for the first time, with deep undercurrents colliding at an angle that no one could know.
*
After they sat down, the waiter came to serve the dishes and pour the wine, and then left the box at Nie Fei's signal, leaving the room quiet for the four of them.
After exchanging glances with Ke Fan, Nie Fei spoke first:
"I heard that our cooperation with Oasis this time is also thanks to the help of seniors behind the scenes. Let me toast to you first."
Lu Qiaoyuan smiled and said, "I'm helping you, Xiaofan. It's my duty. No need to be so polite. I'm also very optimistic about your collaborative offshore wind power and marine ranching project. If there's anything I can help with, feel free to contact me."
Ke Fan lowered his head and smiled shyly.
The three of them were chatting and laughing and raising their glasses in a harmonious atmosphere, but I felt like an outsider.
Yi Lingjia's heart grew heavier.
He stood up and left the table for a moment.
......
After the dinner, everyone was a little tipsy.
Nie Fei took out the room card and said, "Wanli and Yishi have cooperated a lot, and the hotel manager gave us two suites. It's so late, let's rest in Wanli. Here, the room numbers are 306 and 307."
Lu Qiaoyuan was about to refuse, but Ke Fan took the two room cards and said, "Thank you very much. I'm a little tired. I'll take Room 307."
After thanking him, the two took the elevator upstairs together.
In the lobby, Nie Fei and Yi Lingjia stood there, watching their backs disappear.
Nie Fei suddenly sighed heavily and put his arm around Yi Lingjia's shoulders:
"Lingjia, you should let it go."
"Just now, while you were away, I heard them say that after the Oasis project is finished, they will return to Hai City to get engaged."
"Honestly, they look really good together, don't they?"
The shoulder he was hugging suddenly stiffened.
*
After Ke Fan returned to his room, he received a bedtime greeting call from Cao Xinyu.
Since Ke Fan is a person who is extremely inactive in replying to messages, it takes half a day for her to send a few messages back and forth. Cao Xinyu often video chats with her for a few minutes before going to bed to exchange daily life with her.
"Brother Qiao Yuan, have you been in Jin City these days?"
"Well, the article that the Institute of Geology and Tianjin University collaborated on was accepted by N journal, so he came to visit Professor Li. He also happened to be helping me bring the recent samples from the Oasis Project back to Hai City."
"Where did you get so many? Just right! You straight girl!" Cao Xinyu yelled on the other end of the phone.
"We have a revolutionary friendship, okay? Please don't randomly pair us up." Ke Fan felt helpless.
"Taking everything will only help me achieve a balanced diet!" Cao Xinyu said confidently, "You're the most obtuse one. You haven't noticed it in all these years."
She laughed like a villain: "Hehehe, believe it or not, you two rarely live so close to each other tonight, and you've both been drinking, he might not be able to resist knocking on your door later?"
Ke Fan held his forehead and said, "How is that possible? Read less romance novels, Doctor Cao."
But just as he finished speaking, Ke Fan's doorbell rang.
When I opened the door, I saw a tall figure standing there.
The dim light in the corridor cast a hazy shadow on the man's delicate features, but his pair of black eyes were staring at her clearly and moistly.
His voice was low and hoarse: "Xiao Fan."
Ke Fan's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
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