Chapter 173: Rabbit And Carrot
When Ning Li was being bullied online, Lu Huaiyu had gone to great lengths to convince her to sue those bullies.
He had worried that the girl was too soft and kind, and might not be able to protect herself if it continued.
Now, judging from the situation, his worries were unnecessary.
Lu Huaiyu raised a brow. “What’s wrong with it?”
Stunned, Cheng Xiyue was all ears.
“She got bullied. Of course, she had to fight back.”
He had taught her to protect herself before and it looked like the girl had taken his teachings to heart.
However, she could have at least informed him first.
Lu Huaiyu thought back to last Friday.
He lifted his chin as he pondered the details.
Ning Li must have dealt with those bullies before she went to Ignite with Ji Shu and his friends.
Maybe it was because she had been afraid that he would find out about her sneaking out to a club so she remained silent.
Zhou Fei voiced his agreement upon hearing that. “Yeah, I couldn’t agree more! Sun Huihui had tried to lock Ning Li up the first time, but failed. Why should Ning Li have continued to be courteous? It’s great that she could deal with it once and for all.”
He even looked a little proud as he spoke about Ning Li.
“I don’t know about the others, but now Ning Li can finally have some peace at school. That’s the best thing for her because then her time won’t be wasted with distractions while she’s learning in my class.”
Zhou Fei favored Ning Li a lot. It was not only because of her results but also because of what the girl endured from her family, especially from Su Yuan.
He knew about the way that the Ye family was treating her.
“Speaking of which, Ning Li has been making notes for Ye Ci, helping her to catch up in the competitive Physics class.”
Zhou Fei shrugged. “I have no idea how the Ye family convinced her.”
Ye Ci had limited potential in competitive Physics and he had told her twice to rethink her path.
Ye Ci had insisted otherwise, so he simply let her be.
He thought that after the midterm, Ye Ci would drop out due to her declining results but the Ye family had gotten Ning Li to help her instead.
Fortunately, Ning Li’s performance was not affected, or else Zhou Fei would have marched to the Ye family to reason with them.
“She’s living under their roof, so I guess her hands are tied.” Cheng Xiyue shook his head.
The Ye family was not a good place for Ning Li. However, she was still a minor and Su Yuan was still her legal guardian and mother. Moving out of the family home was not a realistic solution.
“Oh right. Second master, on that day that Ning Li didn’t go home, didn’t you find her in some rented unit? I believe that the unit belongs to her friend?”
Cheng Xiyue felt bad for the girl as he recalled that rainy day.
“She tried to escape her family but she doesn’t even have a place to go to. Why don’t I get an empty unit for Little Ning Li to rent? No contract is needed. She can go there whenever she likes until her entrance exam is over.”
Cheng Xiyue was certainly not lacking in properties in Yunzhou.
Lu Huaiyu narrowed his eyes at him.
Officially, the name of the renter for that unit was Wei Songze, but the real tenant was Ning Li.
Lu Huaiyu was only the third person to know the truth, and he had no intention of telling Cheng Xiyue about it.
Cheng Xiyue cleared his throat and added, “I can even give Little Ning Li a 10% discount if you are okay with it.”
Lu Huaiyu propped his forehead on his palm, seemingly pondering the suggestion seriously.
All of a sudden, the door opened and someone came in.
All three men were sitting in Lu Huaiyu’s living room and the sound of the opening door caught their attention immediately.
The door had a password lock and only those who knew the password could enter.
However, since the living room was a little far away from the door, the three of them had yet to find out who had come into the mansion.
Shocked, Cheng Xiyue said, “Second master, is your brother back? Or is it your old man checking on you? There are only so many people who know the password to your door!”
Lu Huaiyu ignored him and got up.
Zhou Fei turned off his phone and sat up straight with a serious look.
Whether it was Lu Huaiyu’s brother or his grandfather, he would definitely receive a lecture if either of them saw him playing games on the couch like a useless person.
He glanced in the direction of the door.
“It can’t be Lu Yuxiao, right? He just passed through Yunzhou a while ago and left on the same day. How could it be him?”
“Could it be Old Master Lu? It doesn’t seem like it either…”
…
When Ning Li opened the door, she saw Lu Huaiyu coming towards her.
“Second brother, I thought you were busy.”
She was rather surprised to see him.
It was a Saturday and she had come to return his book.
She had thought of returning the book when she had lunch with him the other day, but her mind had been on other things and she had forgotten about it.
Today, she had come to his mansion after confirming that he would be home. She thought Lu Huaiyu would be busy with HG matters, so she entered directly without pressing the doorbell.
She had not expected to see Lu Huaiyu right away.
“Yeah, I had some time to spare.”
Lu Huaiyu opened the closet in the hallway to retrieve a pair of slippers for her.
“Here.”
Ning Li fell silent when she saw the pinkish-white fluffy slippers.
The left slipper had a rabbit sewn on it and its fluffy ears wobbled as it was being taken out. The right slipper had a carrot on it.
Ning Li said hesitantly, “Second brother, are there any single-use slippers? This is a little…”
She had never seen these slippers before on her last few visits.
Lu Huaiyu’s mansion had been designed with a minimalistic concept in white, black, and grey colors.
All the slippers that he kept in the closet had the same cool tones as well. The pink rabbit slippers felt out of place.
Lu Huaiyu said succinctly, “It’s convenient.”
Ning Li was stunned.
What was convenient? Convenient for her to change her shoes? But she was only here to return the book.
“Little Ning Li?”
Cheng Xiyue’s surprised voice sounded from inside.
Ning Li saw Cheng Xiyue coming out with Zhou Fei behind him. She was also stunned.
“Brother Xiyue, Mr. Zhou? Why are you two here?”
She then looked at Lu Huaiyu.
The man had only said that he was home. He had not mentioned that he had guests.
Lu Huaiyu noticed her gaze. Her charming eyes widened and he could see his own reflection in her eyes clearly.
She looked puzzled and confused, like a lost child looking for her parents.
He grinned at her obedient look. “They are only here for a while. They will be leaving soon.”
Cheng Xiyue and Zhou Fei were both stunned.
Cheng Xiyue was here because of the project agreement.
Zhou Fei was here to ask Lu Huaiyu to boost his game ranking.
“Did you want other books to read?” Lu Huaiyu asked.
Ning Li nodded. She wanted to borrow the original version.
“Follow me.”
Lu Huaiyu went up to the second floor.
After a moment’s hesitation, Ning Li put on the rabbit slippers and followed him up.
As she walked, the rabbit ears on her slipper wobbled.