Chapter 166: You Can Leave Now

(Introducing a new book: "Bloody New Era", Book ID: 1760220)

He only knew that Qiao Huanxuan was working with other architects on a project for the city government of City S. But whether it was just a bid, or already confirmed, what exactly she was designing, and how long it would take, he wasn’t interested and hadn’t asked.

What he didn’t expect was that, when he made an inquiry, Qiao Huanxuan replied that she had already arrived and said she was coming to the airport to pick her up. Didn’t that mean she was already at the airport?

Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives, Qiao Huanxuan really came as soon as she spoke, faster than Cao Cao’s Lightweight Skill...

"You’re not joking? You’re at the airport right now?" Li Yan asked while walking. He felt a bit helpless at this moment. If she really was, what should he do? If he sent Qiao Huanxuan to the hotel and came back later, it would be too late. Moreover, he had just said something like accompanying her to the hotel and then leaving. But letting her wait with him for Yu Xiaodi to come back didn’t seem good either.

"Yeah, I just arrived. It’s evening now, and I’m afraid it’s not safe, so I called you. Are you free to pick me up? No need to force yourself. If you come, I’ll wait for you; if not, I’ll find my own way to leave." Qiao Huanxuan directly asked him to make a statement.

If Li Yan had nothing to do, he wouldn’t mind picking her up, especially since he was already at the airport. If he said he wasn’t free, it would be awkward to run into her later. Thinking about it, anyway, Qiao Huanxuan knew about Yu Xiaodi’s existence, so there was no need to avoid her.

"Originally, I was busy with something important. But picking up Huanxuan is such a significant event; of course, I’d come over no matter what." After saying something nice, Li Yan directly asked, "Where are you waiting? I’ll come to find you soon, faster than you can imagine."

"Uh, I’m resting at the airport KFC right now. Call me when you arrive, and I’ll come outside."

"OK, give me a few minutes. I definitely won’t keep you waiting."

...

Qiao Huanxuan knew that Li Yan also had work and a girlfriend. Except for their first meeting, she rarely asked him to pick her up intentionally. Though it was evening now, it wasn’t too late at night, and taking a taxi to the seaside hotel in the east wouldn’t lead to any incidents. She called Li Yan because she encountered something annoying.

When she came over for work before, an official had arranged for his son, Wang Lin, to join and get acquainted with the architects. That young man, when he first saw Qiao Huanxuan, was deeply attracted by the beautiful, sexy, and outstanding temperament of this mature woman. He had no interest in getting to know the architects or understanding any professional matters, focusing solely on trying to please Qiao Huanxuan.

Qiao Huanxuan usually couldn’t be bothered with him, but this attitude only made Wang Lin, who was used to being popular due to his family background, more fascinated. He found her very refreshing, unique, and charming, which made his pursuit even more ardent.

Today, Qiao Huanxuan came over, and Wang Lin somehow found out and showed up at the airport to pick her up.

The airport was in the western part of the city, while the booked hotel for reception was by the eastern seaside. To get to the hotel, she had to take a taxi, and it was hard to find a reason to refuse a ride from Wang Lin.

If she took his car, she would have to spend one or two hours alone with him. After reaching the hotel, he would find reasons to follow her to the guest room... So, Qiao Huanxuan didn’t want to give him the opportunity for a ride. Over the years, while searching for Li Yan, she had plenty of suitors due to her attractiveness and talent, so she was quite experienced in refusing advances.

Welcomed by Wang Lin enthusiastically, Qiao Huanxuan initially claimed the airplane meal was bad and she was a bit hungry. Wang Lin, naturally thrilled to have the chance to invite her for a meal, immediately said he hadn’t had dinner either and suggested they go to a great restaurant he knew. But Qiao Huanxuan said she was too lazy to go anywhere and would just eat something at the airport KFC.

Although KFC was relatively simple, and there was less opportunity to impress, for Wang Lin, it was still progress. He immediately volunteered to carry Qiao Huanxuan’s luggage to KFC. After asking what she wanted to eat, he eagerly went to place the order. Meanwhile, Qiao Huanxuan took advantage of his absence to call Li Yan, asking him to come to the airport to pick her up.

Fast food places like KFC, although seemingly quicker with ready-made food, allowed for easy stalling, like eating fries slowly. Qiao Huanxuan reckoned that by delaying until Li Yan arrived, she could easily dismiss Wang Lin by saying her boyfriend was picking her up.

However, Qiao Huanxuan didn’t expect that when Li Yan said he’d be there in a few minutes, it would literally be just a few minutes!

She initially thought he meant a few minutes to prepare to leave. Since she planned to stall anyway, she didn’t mind. Unexpectedly, just a few minutes later, as Wang Lin placed a bunch of food in front of her, Li Yan appeared!

"You..." Qiao Huanxuan looked at Li Yan in surprise, wanting to say, "How did you get here so quickly?" But, seeing Wang Lin watching him warily, she restrained herself, having to act as if Li Yan had been waiting for her all along. "...Have you been waiting long? I... just got here."

Have I kept you waiting long? Li Yan looked at the young man with an unfriendly gaze beside him and immediately understood. It turns out Qiao Huanxuan summoned him here tonight because there were some other admirers she needed to get rid of! Otherwise, given how independent she is, she wouldn’t have bothered him.

Realizing this, Li Yan no longer stood in front of Qiao Huanxuan, but instead sat down next to her. He took her hand and cradled it in his palm, blowing warm air onto it: "Is it cold? Are you freezing?"

Qiao Huanxuan felt a bit taken aback by his exaggerated performance, but she didn’t reject him, hoping Wang Lin would be discouraged and leave.

Soon, she found it quite comforting. This feeling took her back to her youthful years, and she vaguely remembered during one cold winter evening when they were returning home from night study sessions, he warmed her icy hands just like this, making her heart feel warm...

Li Yan was deliberately exaggerating. In his memory, there was no such romantic scene that Qiao Huanxuan was now ’recalling’. In fact, it wasn’t that he had forgotten; it was just that such an incident never happened. They were not officially dating then, and thus didn’t have many intimate memories. What Qiao Huanxuan was ’recalling’ was merely a blend of memories and imaginations from over the years.

Just as Wang Lin sat down with his food at the table opposite Qiao Huanxuan, enthusiastically promoting the extra food he bought beyond what Qiao Huanxuan mentioned, suddenly a guy appeared and cozied up with the goddess he was pursuing, which made his expression sour.

"Hey! Who are you? Why are you holding her hand?" Wang Lin glared at Li Yan and interrupted them. Meanwhile, he was full of regret and disappointment, thinking why hadn’t he thought of this move earlier? This not only allowed him to hold her hand but also to create a warm, romantic, and considerate moment.

Qiao Huanxuan frowned as she was interrupted by him.

Li Yan glanced at Wang Lin and replied, "Who are you? Can’t you see someone is already sitting here? There are plenty of empty seats, move along!"

"You... you!" Wang Lin fumed, thinking to himself that he went through the trouble to pick her up from the airport, only to have someone occupy the nest right after he stepped away!

But he maintained his composure and didn’t utter anything harsh, instead, forcing a smile, he asked Qiao Huanxuan, "Miss Qiao, is this someone you know? He isn’t harassing you, is he? If so, you don’t need to be afraid, I can help you!"

"No need, thank you. This is my boyfriend, he said he would pick me up, and we agreed to meet at KFC, so that’s why I came here." Qiao Huanxuan replied calmly.

"Then..." Wang Lin wanted to say, why did you mention eating at KFC then, making me buy so much! But then he realized that she merely mentioned buying some fries and juice, and the rest was his ploy to please her and prolong their time together. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"The car can’t stay parked outside for long, shall we go?" Qiao Huanxuan squeezed Li Yan’s hand, which was still holding hers.

Li Yan didn’t want to leave yet. It wasn’t even nine o’clock, and Yu Xiaoxi hadn’t returned. Going outside wouldn’t be convenient for chatting or waiting; since they were already here, they might as well talk here.

"No rush, let’s rest for a while." Li Yan said, loosening his grip and then taking out a hundred-yuan note from his wallet, handing it to Wang Lin. "Hey... you bought so much, can’t finish it all, apparently haven’t touched it, I’ll take it off your hands. You can go now!"

Wang Lin was enraged, but amused! A hundred yuan to make him leave? Damn, no need to act like such an idiot!

He tried hard to maintain a smile and then looked at Li Yan, "This guy has money to throw around, huh, then I’ll give you a thousand yuan, will you leave then?"

He opened his wallet, ready to pull out 1000 yuan and throw it back at Li Yan. But when he opened his wallet and was about to retaliate, he found he only had a little change left, and only two 100-yuan notes, far from 1000 yuan. He was used to using cards for transactions, so didn’t carry much cash.

Li Yan was teasing him on purpose, seeing that Qiao Huanxuan was impatient with him. Hearing him say 1000 yuan, Li Yan was about to take the money and then move with Qiao Huanxuan, didn’t expect Wang Lin to falter first.

"Tsk tsk... little friend, looks like your strength isn’t enough yet. Can’t even come up with 1000, don’t pretend to be a nouveau riche. This 100 is for buying your food, which is about right in price, nothing else."

Hearing Li Yan’s taunt, Wang Lin felt both depressed and embarrassed, he could only pull out a few cards, "I have money in the cards!"

(There’s another Chapter coming later) (To be continued, for more Chapters, please visit www.qidian.com, support the author and legal reading!)