Chapter 195: Hold Hands

The banquet hall fell into a dead silence.

For a moment, there were too many hidden meanings in Lu Huaiyu’s words to process which caused everyone to be too stunned to react.

‘Lili? Was he calling…Ning Li?’

‘What did he mean when he said “everyone is waiting”?’

In an instant, an absurd conjecture surfaced in everyone’s minds.

Finally, someone looked at Ning Li in shock.

‘Could it be…?’

Was Lu Huaiyu’s party at the Grand Hyatt this evening meant for Ning Li?

Su Yuan was also frozen in place. She looked at Lu Huaiyu, then at Ning Li, momentarily speechless.

Lu Huaiyu’s gaze fell on Su Yuan’s hand. The glare from his eyes was icy.

“Mrs. Ye.” He spoke clearly and coldly. “I’m here to pick Ning Li up tonight. Please let go of her.”

His eyes were so cold that Su Yuan’s heart trembled, and she subconsciously let go of Ning Li’s hand.

Ning Li then walked towards Lu Huaiyu.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, and the air seemed to have frozen.

The only thing that moved was Ning Li, who kept walking forward.

Lu Huaiyu watched as she walked up to him.

It was rare to see her in a dress. Her wavy long hair fell softly over her shoulders, covering her slender neck. Her white knee-length dress showed off her slim waist and beautiful long legs.

The sight of her dress swaying gently as she walked taunted him.

His eyes turned slightly darker at this sight.

“Second Brother.”

Ning Li stood in front of him and tilted her head slightly to look at him.

Her small face was so fair and smooth. Her eyebrows were delicate and framed her sparkling eyes.

Lu Huaiyu looked at her intensely before his thin lips curled up slightly.

“Congratulations, Lili.”

This was the first congratulations Ning Li had received this evening, so she felt touched.

In the next moment, Lu Huaiyu pulled her wrist at the same spot where Su Yuan had grabbed her earlier.

His warm, strong palm easily wrapped around her small, slender wrist.

Lu Huaiyu’s fingers were slightly calloused, so his touch felt slightly rough.

Ning Li’s heart clenched.

Just as the two of them were about to leave, Ye Ci suddenly spoke. “Second Master Lu.”

Lu Huaiyu paused in his footsteps and turned to look to the side.

Ye Ci’s throat felt a little dry, but she still managed to gather enough courage and said, “Are you asking Sister Ning Li to be your female companion this evening? This celebration banquet tonight is specifically for me and Sister Ning Li. I’m afraid it would not be appropriate for Sister Ning Li to leave now…”

“Oh, is that so?” Lu Huaiyu laughed. “What a coincidence. The star of the party at the Grand Hyatt is also Lili. It would also be inappropriate if she doesn’t attend.”

Ye Ci’s face instantly paled.

When she had heard Lu Huaiyu’s words earlier, she had still held a glimmer of hope that perhaps she had been overthinking things.

With his status, why would he go to such lengths for a commoner like Ning Li?

He had been in Yunzhou for almost a year and rarely attended such occasions. He had not even hosted a single banquet during his time here. Why was he making such a big deal, just because Ning Li got first place in the provincial physics competition?

Lu Huaiyu looked around and took a glass of champagne from the waiter’s tray next to him. He then gave a toast and said in his nonchalant tone, “I’m taking Lili away now, so we won’t bother you all any longer. Enjoy your party!”

After saying that, he downed the glass of champagne and put down the flute. He then looked to Ning Li who was by his side and said in a deep voice, “Can you come with me now?”

…

The two figures quickly disappeared beyond the door and left the guests in the banquet hall looking at each other with confusion.

It was an extremely awkward atmosphere.

Even though everyone knew that this banquet was mainly for Ye Ci and that Ning Li was merely a companion, the situation felt strange now that Ning Li was gone.

The guests who were supposed to have come here were now at the Grand Hyatt across the street, waiting to celebrate Ning Li’s achievement.

To put it bluntly, the ones who remained at Jinsheng Hotel were no one to Lu Huaiyu.

Many of them even began to secretly reflect on why they had not received an invitation from Lu Huaiyu.

How could the Ye family compare with Lu Huaiyu?

It was obvious which of the two parties a sane person would go to.

Even Ye Ming, who was usually calm, was now feeling a bit tense. He looked extraordinarily gloomy.

‘Should we even continue this party? Even if we continued, the star of the party was not even here! If we don’t, how should I clean up this mess?’

Su Yuan went over to Ye Ci and comforted her in a soft voice. “Lil Ci…”

Ye Ci’s head hung low, and the corners of her eyes were slightly red.

Seeing her like this, Su Yuan choked up and did not know what else to say.

Ye Ci lifted her head and forced a smile.

“Mom, I’m fine. Let’s continue, shall we?”

…

Ning Li followed Lu Huaiyu out of the banquet hall and left the hotel.

She looked over at Lu Huaiyu several times as she wondered if he was alright since he had downed that glass of champagne earlier.

Although the alcohol percentage in champagne was not high, Ning Li had witnessed Lu Huaiyu’s low tolerance to alcohol. Thus, she was a little worried.

Lu Huaiyu could not help but laugh. “What are you peeking at? Am I too handsome?”

Ning Li blushed. Only then did she realize how misleading her actions were.

“I wasn’t peeking,” she said in a small voice.

Lu Huaiyu suddenly stood still.

Ning Li was stunned. She then felt Lu Huaiyu let go of her hand to take off his suit jacket.

In the next second, his jacket that still carried his body heat was draped over her shoulders.

Before she could come out of her daze, she suddenly felt his touch again.

He gently wrapped her hand in his.

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