31 Chapter Thirty
◎Sometimes I really want to punch her because of that cleverness of hers.
The moment Li Yingqiao lifted her buttocks, Yu Jinyang swiftly grabbed her wrist, his movements so fast that even he was surprised by his own anticipation of her actions, or perhaps it was more of a conditioned reflex. He put down his chopsticks with his other hand and asked her in a low voice, "What are you doing?"
Li Yingqiao's gaze remained fixed on Li Boqing. Knowing that she was no match for him in strength, she made a token effort to pull her hand away, but failed. She could only say, "Meow, let go first, I promise I won't act impulsively."
Yu Jinyang, of course, didn't listen to her. Instead, he tightened his grip. He could feel Li Yingqiao's pulse pounding in his palm, rapid and heavy, even getting hotter and hotter. He could only suppress the nameless fire in his heart that was about to extinguish but couldn't be ignited, and watched her say calmly, "Li Yingqiao, this has nothing to do with you."
Li Yingqiao finally turned to look at him, her expression one of utter disappointment, and said through gritted teeth, "But he's up to no good, he's after you. I don't want to sit here so miserably, listening to him fart and fart like that, the stench is unbearable, and we're sitting here acting as air purifiers for him!"
"Then why did you come back?" Yu Jinyang asked, still holding on.
"I missed you all," Li Yingqiao said, picking up a piece of food with her chopsticks and stuffing it into her mouth, her eyes crinkling into a smile.
Yu Jinyang, of course, didn't believe her. She'd been like this since she was little, a silver tongue that came easily to anyone. Even after all these years, her words were still incredibly eloquent, leaving no room for argument. He twitched his lips, glanced away, and just then saw Li Boqing, a cigar between his fingers, staring at them relentlessly, grinning like a mischievous radish spirit as he continued to tease them:
"What are you two young people whispering about? Jin Yang, do your parents know you two are still so close?"
A murmur of knowing, ambiguous laughter suddenly filled the room.
Immediately, someone slammed their hand on the table and interrupted. The person then precisely inserted their chopsticks into the belly of the fish on the turntable in front of them, poking around for a while before saying sarcastically, "That's why I said Secretary Li, you're just meddling in other people's business. Li Wusheng and Boss Yu will become in-laws sooner or later. Why do you need to mediate any compensation? It's just money going from one pocket to another, nothing more than a dowry."
This man was Qian Dongchang, their grade leader back when they were in school at Xiaohua City. When Li Yingqiao entered, he looked familiar, but it wasn't until she heard that familiar accent from a teacher from Xiaohua City that she suddenly remembered who he was. She subconsciously turned to look at Yu Jinyang, and the moment their eyes met, she knew he remembered her too.
After leaving Xiaohua City, Qian Dongchang actually managed to get on Li Boqing's good side.
The fire in Li Yingqiao's heart burned brighter and brighter. She forcefully broke free from Yu Jinyang's grip, and the next second, she reached for her wine glass. Her gaze lingered between Li Boqing and Qian Dongchang for a moment before she said without changing her expression, "Secretary Li, it's not appropriate for us juniors to interfere in our elders' affairs. As outsiders, it's best not to interfere either. Otherwise, your indiscriminate meddling will only make things worse. Boss Qian is right; you're indeed meddling in other people's business. If Yu Jinyang and I leave this room, we won't even be able to remain friends. It's all because of your and Boss Qian's nonsense today—"
“Ahem, Yingqiao—” Li Lianfeng tried to smooth things over, picking up his wine glass to stop her.
Yu Jinyang didn't move, knowing he couldn't stop her. He leaned back quietly, his gaze calmly painting a picture of peace for her, only occasionally glancing at Li Yingqiao. She ignored Li Lianfeng, slamming her wine glass heavily onto the marble turntable with a crisp, loud "crack." It didn't break, but it felt like a slap in the face to both of them.
Li Yingqiao looked at Li Boqing with feigned hurt and said, "Actually, if you had other purposes for this meal, you shouldn't have invited me. Regardless of my relationship with Yu Jinyang, you have always been a very great figure in my mind since I was a child. My memory of you is still from 1982, when you single-handedly went to the Guangdong Sales Fair, won the first batch of orders, and then came back and boldly raised funds to set up a factory, leading everyone to get rich."
"Who in Fengtan doesn't know your name? I've aspired since I was a child to become like you, not only to get rich myself, but also to help everyone around me get rich. I've always respected you, and even these past few years while I've been studying away from home, I've often recommended you to my friends, saying that we in Fengtan have a true sage. But now, Secretary Li, I feel like a joke—"
She spoke with such emotion that it was truly moving. Yu Jinyang glanced at her repeatedly, a gentle curve forming at the corner of his mouth, a stark contrast to his taut jawline.
Wow, turns out she's the one who farts the best.
“And this Mr. Qian,” Li Yingqiao changed the subject, rolling her eyes dramatically, almost making Yu Jinyang laugh again, “You’d better watch your mouth. What business is it of yours? Disgusting.”
"...Let's go, let's go. If we stay any longer, Yu Jinyang and I might end up having babies in your mouths. You bosses are so idle, why don't you take turns reheating the dishes on the table so the old man doesn't have to eat leftovers? There are so many opportunities to make a contribution, why do you have to bully us juniors? I can't play this game, I'm leaving now."
Li Yingqiao stood up from her seat with little interest. Looking at the silent table, the leftover food only made the atmosphere in the private room worse. Li Boqing's expression was neither good nor bad, because he was completely dazed. Ever since he made a big splash in 1982, he could no longer hear anything else but flattery and praise.
Li Lianfeng was also stunned. He didn't dare to look at the old man's face. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, his temples start to throb, and his blood rush to his head. Every time Li Yingqiao said something, he would get goosebumps. He wanted to cover his mouth, but he was afraid that Yu Jinyang would pinch him.
Heavens above! Who would dare speak such blunt truths in front of his old man? Although he knew that the situation for Fengtan wooden toys was dire, with a trade war raging both domestically and internationally, and that a comeback was simply a pipe dream, he only dared to play along with his old man's "old steed in the stable" act, considering how old he was, practically buried to the roots of his neck.
...
"However, I will continue to run Xiaohua City. Of course, Secretary Li, if you feel that what I said today was inappropriate and you want to change your mind, I am ready to wait for your call at any time." Before opening the door and leaving, Li Yingqiao casually tossed out this sentence.
"..."
The private room was eerily quiet; even the cigars had gone out, and Li Boqing had forgotten to smoke them.
The next second, Yu Jinyang also stood up unhurriedly, his posture upright. His gaze swept around the room, finally settling on Li Boqing. Strangely, he and Li Yingqiao were clearly two different personalities. Li Yingqiao was playful and lively, while he was consistently composed and polite, as always, with impeccable manners. Yet, one could inexplicably sense the same coldness and sarcasm in his words as in Li Yingqiao's—
"My father's matter is none of Secretary Li's concern. The perpetrator should go to jail if he should, and pay compensation if he should. We cannot issue a letter of understanding. If anything we said tonight made you uncomfortable, please forgive us as the younger generation for our ignorance."
"After all, my dad broke his leg, such a big deal, and you were so magnanimous in persuading us to sign a letter of understanding. So I think you should be very forgiving of Yingqiao and me for the offense we committed at dinner tonight."
***
Li Yingqiao parked Xiao Meng's car at the villa, planning to pick it up tomorrow. She was squatting downstairs waiting for Yu Jinyang when, sure enough, she heard unhurried footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw it was him. She stood where Yu Jinyang and Li Lianfeng had just been talking, waving vigorously at him. When the man approached, she patted his car with a generous tone, "Come on, get in, I'll take you home."
"You've said both the right and the wrong thing," Yu Jinyang chuckled, slowly taking out his key from his pocket to unlock the door, then deliberately not pressing it. He bent down to look into her eyes, finally confirming with her one last time, "Did you drink it or not?"
Li Yingqiao is easy to recognize when she drinks. While others' faces turn red when they drink, her eyes do, no matter how much she drinks. A very light pink blush spreads from the outer corner of her eyes outwards, like she's wearing blush, making her very recognizable.
He remembered one time in their senior year of high school, the two of them secretly drank half a bottle of his father's treasured red wine to relieve stress. Before they had even finished one glass, Li Yingqiao's face began to blush imperceptibly. He didn't let her drink the remaining half bottle, and that bottle of wine is still kept to this day, never touched again.
But even after examining her closely for a moment, he couldn't see anything amiss, because she was already wearing makeup and had applied blush.
"I drank it," Li Yingqiao said honestly. "Otherwise, I would have driven away in Xiao Meng's car."
Yu Jinyang glanced back at her little panda car, then reached out and opened the passenger door for her. "Okay, get in. I'll drop you off first. Call me when you wake up tomorrow, and I'll come with you to pick up the car. It's hard to get a taxi up the mountain here."
"Wow—meow, your car is so cool!" Li Yingqiao started her exaggerated performance as soon as she got in the car. She ran her fingers along the leather seat, whistled a rather lowbrow tune, and flattered him, saying, "A Wrangler, right? It's just as handsome as you, you two are such a good match. When did you buy it?"
Yu Jinyang paused slightly as she pressed the start button, glancing over warily. Instantly, she was reminded of some unpleasant memories. She had the same reaction the first time she sat in Yu Renjie's Maybach, even more so, having made his father blush and then turn pale.
"Uncle Yu, your car is so cool, it matches you so well! It's true what they said, a good horse needs a good saddle, even a bald man can make it to shore."
"Really, Uncle Yu, your leather seats are even more comfortable than my sofa at home! When your car is scrapped, can I use the seats as a sofa?"
Yu Renjie also chatted with her, talking nonsense, and even turned around and asked her, "Don't you want the steering wheel? Nobody else has ever seen one before, and it has the famous Maybach logo. Take it home and use it as a wall clock."
"Yes, yes, yes!" She didn't realize her father was teasing her at all.
"Don't you need the rearview mirrors? We'll have a set." Yu Renjie asked again.
"No, Meow said you have to take pictures of yourself every time you go out."
Yu Renjie: "..."
Yu Jinyang: "…………"
Sometimes I really want to punch her because of her quick wit. So Yu Jinyang was also at a loss for words, laughing so hard he couldn't stop, his hands were weak, and he leaned against the car, looking at her with a twitching mouth: "Li Yingqiao, don't do something crazy."
"Praise won't work, and not praising won't work either. Fine, you're so hard to please. Then tell me what you want to hear."
"Shut up, be quiet, and don't comment on my car."
Li Yingqiao remained silent for a moment, then turned her head away.
"snort."
[Author's Note]
Wishing all high school seniors the best of luck on their college entrance exams and the best of luck in achieving great results. (High school seniors, read this after the exams. [Facepalm peeking][Facepalm peeking])
Two hundred red envelopes, see you tomorrow.
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