Chapter 191: Very Expensive
Ning Li had already read half of the book that she had borrowed from Lu Huaiyu.
Reading this one was indeed much better than reading the translated version.
When she flipped a page, her eyes suddenly widened.
There was a picture of a nebula on that page.
Since it was an astrophysics book, it was not strange to see such a diagram.
However, what stunned Ning Li were the handwritten numbers below this diagram.
8.17.
It seemed to be a date of some sort.
More importantly, the handwriting seemed to be Lu Huaiyu’s, and it looked like it had been written a long time ago.
Since this was his book, it was perfectly normal for him to make notes in it. However, Lu Huaiyu was the type of person who would rarely leave any marks in a book.
When Ning Li had gone to his large study, she had looked through some of the books. She could see that while some books were more worn, some were still in pristine condition, even though he had probably read most of them.
However, all of those books were still clean without a single marking.
Thus, this number was very eye-catching.
8.17.
Ning Li suddenly recalled that the password of Yunding Fenghua had this number as well.
At first, she had not thought much about it, but now it seemed that this number was very important to him.
‘But… what did it represent?’
Ning Li fell into deep thought.
“Sister Ning Li?”
Ye Ci’s voice rang out and interrupted Ning Li’s thoughts.
Ning Li looked up and closed the book in her hand.
Ye Ci was standing next to Ning Li, who asked in a light voice, “Yes?”
Ye Ci’s eyes quickly swept over the book that Ning Li had pressed under her hand. It was a rather thick book with German words printed on the cover.
It was Ning Li’s extra-curricular reading material and it seemed to be a new book this time.
Ning Li would bring some of these books to read from time to time, and Ye Ci had not paid much attention to them. She figured that Ning Li read them casually to pass the time.
Ye Ci quickly withdrew her gaze and said, “Sister Ning Li, Mom said that she wanted to buy some clothes for you so she asked me to shop with you. When would you be free?”
She was certainly not referring to Ning Li’s daily clothes.
The Ye family had some status in Yunzhou, so from time to time, they needed to be well-dressed to attend formal occasions.
Although Ning Li was an adopted daughter, she was now living with the Ye family and was considered one of them.
Su Yuan had wanted to prepare these things before, but Ning Li was stubborn and disobedient. That had made it difficult for Su Yuan to even talk to her calmly, let alone worry about these things.
When Old Master Cheng had celebrated his 70th birthday, Su Yuan had intended for Ning Li to borrow Ye Ci’s gown first due to time constraints, but Ning Li had refused.
Su Yuan was angry with Ning Li, who had also made a scene at the birthday banquet, which caused a strain in the relationship between the Ye family and the Dai family. Thus, Su Yuan did not even consider shopping with Ning Li.
This Saturday, the Ye family was going to hold a celebration banquet at Jinsheng Hotel. They had invited many dignitaries in Yunzhou, so they certainly would not let Ning Li attend the event in just her school uniform.
That was why Su Yuan had asked Ye Ci to shop with Ning Li.
“I’m busy,” Ning Li said.
Ye Ci frowned because Ning Li was merely reading a random book. If she had time to read these, she certainly had time to shop for a dress.
Ning Li was clearly doing this deliberately.
Ye Ci paused for a moment before saying nicely, “Sister Ning Li, this celebration banquet won’t be as lavish as Old Master Cheng’s birthday banquet previously, so you don’t have to go through so much trouble to find a high-fashion gown. You can just pick a dress from this season’s major brands. I can send you some of the catalogs, then you can take your pick and discuss it with Mom? Or, I could help you choose a few suitable ones for you first. I think GMY and Esya are both pretty good. That way, it won’t waste a lot of your time.”
She sounded so thoughtful.
“There’s no need,” Ning Li said, “You don’t have to concern yourself with these things. I’ll take care of it myself.”
Ye Ci bit her lip.
Even if these brands were not high-fashion, the basic dresses from these brands already cost five or even six figures.
With Ning Li’s background, how could she afford them?
Ning Li talked about it like it was nothing, insisting that she would take care of it. Why was she so confident?
Previously, Lu Huaiyu had bought Ning Li’s gown. Was he going to buy another dress for her this time?
Ye Ci’s voice was soft when she asked tentatively, “Sister Ning Li, even these dresses are not cheap. Our family isn’t short of money, so it won’t be appropriate if you still ask for Second Master Lu’s help, don’t you think?”
Several students around them looked over.
‘Did Ning Li ask someone to buy her clothes?’
Ning Li wanted to laugh.
Not only did Ye Ci want to control her, but did she also want to control Lu Huaiyu?
Ning Li did not know who had given Ye Ci the confidence and audacity to do so.
She leaned back in her chair and looked at Ye Ci with slightly raised eyebrows and a smirk.
“Then, you should talk to him about this instead.”
Ye Ci’s face turned white.
She did not even have Lu Huaiyu’s contact information, so how could she talk to him?
Besides, Lu Huaiyu had even cleared out the entire floor of HG just to pick a dress for Ning Li. It was clear as day that he was biased towards Ning Li.
Was there anything he could not do?
“Sister Ning Li, I didn’t mean that. I… This celebration feast is mainly for you, so just think of it as respecting Mom and Dad, okay?”
They all knew who this celebration was actually for.
Ning Li laughed and said, “Ye Ci, I’m a little confused about what you mean by this. Didn’t I already agree to attend the banquet? I’ve also said that I’ll take care of the rest myself. How have I disrespected anyone? Of course, if Uncle Ye and the others can’t trust me to do as I see fit and are worried that I’ll be an embarrassment, I’m fine with not attending as well.”
She had spoken with such nonchalance. Only she could speak such words so frankly.
Many people around them had heard it and could not help but marvel at Ning Li’s boldness and unyielding attitude.
After the “self-reflection speech” that Ning Li had given in front of the school previously, everyone had gotten used to Ning Li’s impertinence, so much so that they did not see anything wrong with what Ning Li had said this time.
Ye Ci furrowed her brows.
‘How can Ning Li not attend? I only got fifth place while Ning Li got first place. If I go without Ning Li, what will other people say about it?’
“No, no, Sister Ning Li, please don’t get upset. I-I just thought that you might not be familiar with these, so I wanted to help you pick one. Since you’ve said you can handle it, I’ll talk to Mom.”
They had offered to help Ning Li, but she had refused. If she made a fool of herself, it wouldn’t be their fault.
Ning Li put her book away and took out a physics paper.
Ye Ci saw it and felt uncomfortable, so she quickly left.
He Xiaochen came over, feeling a little worried.
“Ning Li, those dresses do seem very expensive…”