Free Web NovelChapter 167: Chapter 167: Lu Yunque Still Hasn’t Had a First Love?
"Hey! You and your little project! They can write it anytime. Do you have to make them do it on an empty stomach? Hurry up! Go wash your hands and get ready for dinner!"
Fang Shuxin couldn’t take it anymore. She yanked him right out of his seat and ordered Huo Wenqing to go wash his hands.
Seeing that Fang Shuxin was genuinely angry, Huo Wenqing reluctantly tore his eyes away from the route map Zero One and his team had drawn and meekly went to wash his hands.
While Fang Shuxin was leading Yun Zijin to the dining room, Zero One’s team of seven quickly finished the route map and then promptly dispersed.
Their employer was a guest in someone else’s home; it wouldn’t be appropriate for them, as bodyguards, to sit at the dinner table.
When Fang Shuxin returned, she found seven neatly arranged, hand-drawn route maps and seven pens.
But there was no sign of the men. When she asked around, no one knew where they had gone.
Fang Shuxin returned to the dining room again. "Zijin, your bodyguards... I turn my back for a second and they’re gone! You have to call them back. They can’t just skip dinner."
Inwardly, however, Yun Zijin was praising Zero One and his team for their tact. If they hadn’t seized the opportunity to slip away, she would have had to find an excuse for them to leave anyway.
After all, she was a guest at the Lu Family’s home, not there to freeload a meal for her entire entourage.
Showing up to dinner with seven people in tow... if word of that got out, who knows how the story would be twisted.
"Grandma Fang, I’ve been in the dining room this whole time, so I don’t know when they left. No one has sent a message to check in, so I have no way of contacting them right now either."
’They wouldn’t be able to eat here at the Lu residence anyway. When we get back to Jade Lake, I’ll have the kitchen prepare a proper meal for them to thank them for their hard work today.’
It was unclear whether Fang Shuxin believed Yun Zijin, but she didn’t press the matter. Once Lu Yunque and Huo Wenqing came over and sat down, the butler signaled for the kitchen to begin serving the meal.
When Lu Yunque emerged again, he had changed into a set of casual loungewear. This was the first time Yun Zijin had seen this side of him.
She was certainly captivated at first glance, but she quickly reined in her emotions.
"Come now, you young people should sit together."
The motive behind Fang Shuxin’s arrangement was perfectly clear, and to her dismay, Lu Yunque was all too happy to cooperate, leaving Yun Zijin with no good way to refuse.
Huo Wenqing’s mind was still preoccupied with the route maps drawn by Zero One’s team, so he was completely oblivious to Fang Shuxin’s little machinations.
After wolfing down his dinner, he rushed eagerly to the living room. Seeing the seven route maps on the coffee table, he gathered up every last one, then took out a special phone and sent a message to an unknown recipient.
Only then did he take the seven maps into his study and carefully seal them away for safekeeping.
After dinner, Yun Zijin didn’t linger. She was still concerned about Zero One and his team, who hadn’t eaten yet.
"I’ll see you home."
The words were barely out of Lu Yunque’s mouth when Fang Shuxin shot him an approving glance.
’Yun Zijin’s bodyguards are nowhere to be found. It would be perfect for Lu Yunque to take her home.’
’They’ll have time alone on the drive. Who knows, maybe some sparks will fly!’
"Then I’ll have to trouble you."
Seeing the expectant look in Fang Shuxin’s eyes, Yun Zijin couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
Hearing Yun Zijin agree, Lu Yunque’s mood visibly brightened. "I’ll go change. I’ll be quick!"
The loungewear he was currently wearing was indeed not suitable for going out.
Yun Zijin nodded. "It’s fine. I’ll wait."
As soon as Lu Yunque left, Fang Shuxin sat down beside Yun Zijin. "So? What do you think? My grandson is quite a catch, isn’t he? Not only is he handsome, but he’s also rich. And let me tell you a little secret..."
Fang Shuxin leaned close to Yun Zijin’s ear and whispered, "My little sparrow has never had a girlfriend!"
Finished, Fang Shuxin smiled at Yun Zijin. "What do you think? A catch like that is one in a million, wouldn’t you say?"
Young people these days are all about "fast-food" relationships. A man like Lu Yunque, who’s 28 and has yet to even have his first relationship, is practically a priceless artifact.
That was something Yun Zijin hadn’t expected.
"Are you sure?"
’With his looks and status, he must have had tons of girls chasing him in school, right?’
’For him to remain an unattainable "flower on a high peak" through all that... isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?’
"Sigh, that’s why I’m so worried! I mean, he’s top-tier in every way, but he just won’t find a girlfriend!"
"For a while, I almost thought he was having a thing with his assistant!"
After all, if he wasn’t interested in girls, it stood to reason he might be gay, right?
"I was so worried back then, I was seriously planning to set him up on two blind dates a day, but he just rejected them all with a simple ’I’m busy with work’."
That’s right—it was the very same excuse he’d used when she first told Yun Zijin she wanted to introduce her to her grandson.
"Assistant Mo?"
Hearing Fang Shuxin’s story, Yun Zijin supplied a name.
"Exactly! The two of them were inseparable back then, and neither had a girlfriend, so naturally, some rumors started to fly."
"Luckily, my little sparrow shut those rumors down very clearly. Otherwise, who knows how out of hand they would have gotten."
The Lu Family has business rivals, after all.
Yun Zijin blinked. She hadn’t known Lu Yunque for long, so she had no idea he’d been the subject of such gossip.
’Then again,’ she thought, considering how Lu Yunque and Mo Bin interacted, ’the rumor actually sounded quite plausible.’
Just then, Lu Yunque came downstairs, having changed his clothes. Fang Shuxin immediately swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
"All changed? It’s getting late. You should hurry and take Zijin home now. Be safe, and don’t be too long!"
"I know." Lu Yunque nodded.
"I’ll be going then. Goodbye, Grandma Fang. And could you please say goodbye to Grandpa Huo for me?"
Huo Wenqing hadn’t emerged from his study since entering, and Yun Zijin didn’t feel it was her place to disturb him.
Fang Shuxin nodded to show she understood.
When the two of them reached the parking lot of the Huo Family’s Old Mansion, Lu Yunque spotted Zero One’s team of seven standing guard by their van and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Take my car."
Lu Yunque took out his key fob and unlocked his Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Seeing Zero One and his team, Yun Zijin had been about to tell Lu Yunque that he didn’t need to drive her, but he beat her to it.
"If my grandmother saw me come right back, she’d definitely call me useless."
He put on a rather troubled expression.
If he couldn’t even manage a simple task like taking a girl home, he really would feel useless.
In the end, Yun Zijin got into Lu Yunque’s car. She had Zero One’s team drive the Sielbe Tuatara she’d brought back home.
"To Jade Lake, please. I have two classes tomorrow."
Lu Yunque sounded surprised to hear that. "Jade Lake?"
"That’s right. Is there a problem?"
’She’d been living at Jade Lake ever since the semester started.’
"The word in our circle is that some mysterious tycoon bought out all the properties at Jade Lake in cash. It’s a pretty big piece of gossip."
"So... you’re living at Jade Lake? I thought you disliked paying rent to other people?"
Lu Yunque hadn’t deliberately looked into Yun Zijin’s background, so he had no idea that Jade Lake was, in fact, one of her properties.
