Chapter 80

Before Xiao Luyan could ask, Lu Yuezhi instinctively backed away several steps, and the distance between them instantly widened.

“Did you catch a cold from the rain?” Xiao Luyan’s face was cold, and her voice was cold too.

Lu Yuezhi answered honestly: “I didn’t get rained on, and I don’t feel cold.”

She just felt like there were little feathers inside her nose, and she wasn’t sure if it was an allergy.

But Xiao Luyan thought she was just being stubborn and poured her a cup of hot water: “Drink this first.”

She handed it over, but Lu Yuezhi backed away again, as if afraid of infecting her. And she claimed there was nothing wrong? Xiao Luyan snorted coldly in her heart and couldn’t help but glare at her.

Lu Yuezhi truly didn’t think she was sick. She was purely afraid of losing control and sneezing on Xiao Luyan again. They’d kissed before, sure, but that didn’t mean she could spray saliva on her without a care.

That would ruin her image too much.

Seeing her earnestly finish the water, Xiao Luyan’s anger subsided a little.

“I’ve already eaten dinner. I was just busy earlier, so I only ate a little over half,” Lu Yuezhi explained, licking her lips still moist from the water. “I’ve been thinking too much tonight, so I’m hungry faster.”

A little over half? Xiao Luyan silently compared it—that was more than she’d eaten herself.

Remembering her earlier tone, she felt a bit embarrassed.

Her ears grew faintly warm, and her breathing was barely steady: “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Lu Yuezhi blinked, thinking to herself that she hadn’t even let her finish speaking.

But Xiao Luyan was never wrong, and Lu Yuezhi always gave her the green light in her heart. So she naturally shifted the blame to her disobedient nose.

“My nose suddenly got itchy, so I sneezed.”

The way she wrinkled her nose reminded Xiao Luyan of how stubbornly she’d blocked drinks for her at the engagement banquet, and her heart softened.

She looked away, not daring to keep staring.

“Even if it’s not a cold, don’t take it too lightly. Finish your night snack, then take a shower and rest early.”

She set down the cup and prepared to head back to her room.

Seeing that she had no intention of eating a night snack, Lu Yuezhi didn’t press her to stay. But she felt that Xiao Luyan didn’t seem happy tonight, weighed down by heavy thoughts.

She wanted to ask, but Xiao Luyan walked away quickly.

“Luyan, good night,” Lu Yuezhi called out, poking her head out just before she entered her room.

Xiao Luyan didn’t turn around. After a moment, she said softly: “Good night.”

After closing her room door, Xiao Luyan’s furrowed brows didn’t relax; her expression grew even more grave instead.

It wasn’t the first time she’d lost control after hearing that sneeze and going out.

And this time, she couldn’t comfort herself with excuses like carelessness or oversight. Her rationality was gradually slipping out of control—at least when it came to Lu Yuezhi, it was losing its effectiveness bit by bit.

She could no longer avoid it. That hurdle she’d always circled around was now squarely in front of her again.

She sat quietly at her desk, carefully recalling every little detail from these past days.

What she was tangled up about now wasn’t her own feelings toward Lu Yuezhi. It was, where had Lu Yuezhi’s feelings come from?

Was there really such a thing in this world as falling so deeply in love just from a single glance? Had Lu Yuezhi truly changed her entire personality just because of this affection?

Xiao Luyan’s thoughts were still a mess, but this time she had to sort them out.

The next morning, Xiao Luyan took the breakfast from Lu Yuezhi’s hands with thoughts still unclear, her mood even more complicated.

The breakfast was to her liking, and seeing this person made her heart glad. But as soon as she recalled last night’s doubts, she felt endlessly frustrated.

Xiao Luyan realized that as long as Lu Yuezhi was by her side, she probably wouldn’t figure this out. Because whenever Lu Yuezhi got close, she lost her ability to think and analyze at certain moments.

She needed to send Lu Yuezhi away for a while to give herself some complete space.

Lu Yuezhi and Ji Yunzhuo met up at the airport. Both had light luggage, and after greeting each other, there was nothing they needed help with.

Ji Yunzhuo was heading to Paris for a small auction. Xiao Luyan had asked her to take Lu Yuezhi along to expand her connections.

This favor was nothing to her, but she couldn’t quite figure out Xiao Luyan’s intentions.

“Luyan, there’s no real networking at this auction. If I didn’t like those two items so much, I might not have gone in person.”

But Xiao Luyan didn’t change her mind: “She hasn’t been to many auctions before. No matter how few connections, it’s new to her. It’ll be good for her to learn about it.”

Ji Yunzhuo thought for a moment and said: “There’s a big exhibition next month. I have VIP tickets—that would be more suitable to take her to.”

“No.” Xiao Luyan frowned. “Too late.”

Ji Yunzhuo then realized—the real intention wasn’t the wine.

She couldn’t get anything substantial out of Xiao Luyan, but Ji Yunzhuo still shouldered the task without hesitation.

Lu Yuezhi truly hadn’t attended many auctions and was quite looking forward to the Paris trip. The equipment she brought was top-notch; she clearly wanted to practice again.

Ji Yunzhuo half-jokingly said: “You’re already amazing, and still so diligent. Who are you trying to outshine?”

Lu Yuezhi was a bit shy: “I’m just starting out. There’s so much to learn. I want to improve faster too, so Yuezhi and Luyan will have more in common.”

Her eyes and heart were full of Xiao Luyan. The tone when she mentioned her was sweet with honey, impossible to see as having issues with her feelings.

But why was Xiao Luyan so eager to send her away?

Ji Yunzhuo thought Xiao Luyan had seemed quite irritated last night, but not like she disliked Lu Yuezhi. That was strange.

After thinking it over, she figured it was probably the newlywed adjustment period. As an outsider, she shouldn’t meddle in their marriage.

So she changed the topic and discussed photographing collectibles with Lu Yuezhi. She hadn’t been joking last time; she was seriously considering having Lu Yuezhi help shoot a full set.

Lu Yuezhi said frankly: “I don’t have full confidence in controlling the entire shoot yet. If you don’t mind me being slow, give me a bit more time.”

“Sure, I’m not in a rush.” Ji Yunzhuo was straightforward and trusted her.

Suddenly, someone interrupted their pleasant conversation, and Lu Yuezhi’s smile stiffened.

“Lu Yuezhi?” The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it right away.

Ji Yunzhuo recognized the person first and sighed.

She knew her and knew she didn’t get along with Xiao Luyan, but not the specifics. By the time she met Xiao Luyan, Le Yu was already a taboo topic.

Lu Yuezhi turned around, surprised to run into Le Yu at the airport.

She wasn’t happy about it but still politely replied: “Hello, what a coincidence.”

Le Yu held her documents and looked like she was going on a business trip too.

“You’re going to Paris too?”

Lu Yuezhi thought to herself, no way it was this unlucky? It was just a small auction—how could they end up together?

She didn’t want too much contact with this person. She’d been thrilled to hear recently that Le Yu was temporarily not going to the Cultural Management Bureau. She’d thought there wouldn’t be much interaction, but who knew even a casual small event would lead to this.

Le Yu didn’t elaborate on her purpose and just asked curiously: “Heading out now? Not attending Old Master Quan’s birthday banquet?”

Lu Yuezhi was stunned. What was this? She had no idea.

Seeing her blank look, Le Yu was even more surprised: “Luyan didn’t tell you?”

Ji Yunzhuo caught the implication in her words and quickly interrupted: “They haven’t officially posted the invitation yet. No rush.”

Lu Yuezhi turned: “You knew too?”

Ji Yunzhuo paused, thinking she’d let it slip?

Le Yu understood: “The birthday banquet is less pressure than the engagement one. Going alone wouldn’t be a problem.”

She glanced at Lu Yuezhi’s camera bag: “If you’re busy with work, she definitely won’t hold you back.”

Lu Yuezhi ignored Le Yu, a fire gradually rising in her heart. She didn’t understand why Xiao Luyan had hidden the birthday banquet, and sending her to Paris right now—was it just to avoid it?

She’d gone to the engagement banquet—what was there to worry about with a birthday one?

Her mind was full of confusion about Xiao Luyan. Even for work, was this necessary?

No matter how much she favored Xiao Luyan, she couldn’t fully convince herself now.

“President Ji, I probably can’t go to Paris.”

Ji Yunzhuo frowned but didn’t stop her.

“You should still tell Luyan.”

Lu Yuezhi’s brows knit: “I’ll explain it to her.”

With that, she grabbed her camera bag and left without looking back.

Watching her retreating figure, Le Yu speculated: “Looks like there’s a good show coming.”

Ji Yunzhuo tsked, thinking this person was so petty—bad mouth, bad heart, couldn’t stand seeing others happy?

But she had no time to argue with Le Yu; she needed to tell Xiao Luyan right away.

Unfortunately, it all went to voicemail. Xiao Luyan was probably in a meeting—calls didn’t connect.

Ji Yunzhuo felt helpless, thinking even if Xiao Luyan’s luck was bad, the two of them should sort it out themselves.

Xiao Luyan was receiving the advance team from Trans today. Besides Su Yiqui and Trans, the others had arrived. It was the first business discussion with Deyounian, and both sides valued it highly.

Cheng Yanran handled the main process, with Xiao Luyan guiding from the side. She occasionally got distracted thinking Lu Yuezhi’s flight should have taken off by now.

The frequency of her losing control had risen sharply, forcing her not to put this off any longer. She wasn’t used to this person not being home, but solving the problem was more important.

Just after the meeting, back in her office, Xiao Luyan saw many missed calls on her phone.

The names were mixed, but the most were from Lu Yuezhi.

Her first reaction was that something had happened to her—otherwise, why so many calls? But looking at the time, shouldn’t she have taken off?

How could she call from the plane?

Xiao Luyan was startled. Could it be that Lu Yuezhi hadn’t left?

Whether from guilt or nerves, she didn’t call Lu Yuezhi back right away.

Flipping to Ji Yunzhuo’s message, she was even more exasperated with Le Yu. Did this person clash with her horoscope? Always stirring trouble at key moments.

Right now, she had no time to dwell on Le Yu. Lu Yuezhi had learned she’d deliberately sent her away and called so many times, then came straight back from the airport—she must be angry.

Anyone would be angry in that situation. Xiao Luyan imagined it but couldn’t picture it clearly. In her memory, Lu Yuezhi was always gentle, compliant, extremely tolerant toward her, and never willing to get mad.

Lu Yuezhi was extremely easy to coax with her.

Even last time when she’d been so harsh, Lu Yuezhi had teared up but still wouldn’t let her go out in the rain. This time shouldn’t be too bad.

Flipping to Lu Yuezhi’s last message, Xiao Luyan steadied herself: 【I just finished the meeting. I’ll be back soon.】

Not long after sending it, Lu Yuezhi replied: 【Okay.】

Just one word, no emoji, no extra content.

Xiao Luyan’s heart sank, unease growing.

No matter what, she had to go back and talk to Lu Yuezhi. Since the original plan wouldn’t work, she’d have to play it by ear.

Xiao Luyan took a deep breath and drove home from Deyounian.