Reed had to marvel at the boundless power of love and was delighted to see Hu Li gradually growing in matters of the heart. This man, who had faced so many twists and turns in life, was getting closer and closer to his own happiness.

Four or five days passed, and Hu Li was already able to get out of bed and walk for half an hour, which made Hu Da and the others secretly breathe a sigh of relief. However, Cheng Yunqi, who had originally been very happy, began to feel uneasy as she hadn't received any messages from Ke Shaozheng for a long time. She tried calling him, but his phone was always off, causing her to worry even more.

Determined to finish her work, Cheng Yunqi grabbed her bag and ran to the Jubin Hotel, where she had initially met Ke Shaozheng, to wait blindly. She hoped for a miracle, that she would encounter Ke Shaozheng again.

Cheng Yunqi paced back and forth downstairs, watching every person and every car that pulled up. Upstairs, in a spacious room with large floor-to-ceiling windows, Ke Shaozheng, dressed casually, had his legs propped up on a chair, leisurely drinking plain water and looking down.

This woman could match her heroic brother in many ways, but when it came to love, she turned into a fool. Her impatience was playing right into his hands. With a smile, he picked up his phone and dialed her number, testing the waters.

“Hello, Miss Cheng?” Ke Shaozheng's voice sounded like that of the boy next door, instantly making him seem trustworthy and close.

“Where are you? I've called you so many times and your phone was always off. How did the matter I asked you to help with go?”

“Ah... Miss Cheng... it seems it’s not that easy,” Ke Shaozheng said, sounding quite conflicted.

“Why? Could it be that your friend doesn’t know either?”

“On the contrary, he knows everything clearly. It’s just... he made some very unreasonable demands, which I immediately refused.”

“What? You refused?”

“Are you saying you would accept his demands, Miss Cheng?”

“Do you have time now? How about we meet and talk?”

“Sure... we can meet at the tea lounge of the Juben Hotel.”

“Okay, I’ll be there soon.”

Ke Shaozheng changed into a suit and went to the tea lounge. A few seconds later, Cheng Yunqi arrived.

“What tea would you like?” Ke Shaozheng asked.

“I’ll have what you’re having. So, what exactly did your friend ask for?”

“He wants you to help him bring in a batch of electrical appliances.”

“Electrical appliances? Is it a large quantity?” Cheng Yunqi lit a cigarette and asked in a particularly businesslike manner, which made Ke Shaozheng think she wasn’t entirely just a pretty face.

“Five large containers.” This time, they were bringing in five kilograms of drugs, and to ensure everything went smoothly, they had brought in five large containers of electrical appliances as a cover.

The loss of the five kilograms of drugs last time had almost ruined their plans. Fortunately, this time several major drug trafficking groups were cooperating, sharing the risk. They had finally managed to prepare another five kilograms. This time, they could only succeed, not fail.

Taking a few deep drags on her cigarette, Cheng Yunqi asked, “Does he have all the necessary paperwork?”

Ke Shaozheng smiled and said, “If he had all the paperwork, he wouldn’t be looking for connections.”

“Oh? How does he know that I can help him?”

“These things are easy for him to find out.”

Another few minutes of silence passed. Ke Shaozheng consoled her, “Maybe you should forget about it. Without proper paperwork, it would be very troublesome for you to help him bring it in.”

“Let me inspect the goods first, then I’ll decide. Can you communicate with him for me?” Cheng Yunqi said seriously.

“Sure, wait for my message.”

―――――――――

In less than a week, aside from being somewhat weak and looking a bit pale, Hu Li was otherwise like a normal person. As soon as he recovered, Hu Li drove straight to the gate of H University. Around noon, Hua Yan and Cheng Qingqing came out together, chatting and laughing. Hu Li smiled, got out of the car without waiting for Hu Da and the others to open the door, and called out, “Hua Yan, over here.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Someone’s calling you, Hua Yan. He’s quite handsome!” Cheng Qingqing excitedly tugged on Hua Yan’s sleeve, pointing. Hua Yan took off her earphones and looked in the direction Cheng Qingqing was pointing.

Hu Li, in his usual dark coat, stood there with what he thought was a smile, quietly watching her.

“Hua Yan, is that your boyfriend? He’s so handsome!”

“Qingqing, I have something today, so I won’t invite you to my house.” Hua Yan said quickly, walking towards Hu Li. Behind her, Cheng Qingqing giggled, “Got it, Hua Yan, go on your date with your boyfriend!”

Having not seen Hu Li for many days, Hua Yan was also very happy. As she reached Hu Li, she said, “How do you have time to come here... Wait a minute, you don’t look well. Have you been sick?”

Hu Li dodged Hua Yan’s hand as she tried to feel his forehead and said, “Just a small cold, it’s nothing now. Let me take you to lunch.”

“Alright, you choose the place. But don’t pick anywhere too fancy.”

“Got it. I know you don’t like formality. There’s a place that’s not only clean but also has very flavorful food.” Hu Da and Hu Er had already gotten into the car behind them. Hua Yan got into the car, and after closing her eyes for just a moment, they had arrived at their destination.

It was an old street with old houses, yet still very clean. As they walked into an ancient-looking house, Hua Yan realized it was a private kitchen restaurant. The whole area belonged to the owner of this private kitchen. Hua Yan couldn’t help but think that someone like Hu Li, no matter how he searched, would always find a unique place.

“What, you don’t like it here?” Hu Li asked, seeing Hua Yan frown and thinking she didn’t like it.

“I like it, this place is very nice,” Hua Yan smiled and said.

“The food here will make you like it even more.” Hu Li said with a gentle smile.

“You’re making me more and more excited. I’m starting to feel a bit hungry.”

“I know you love to eat.”

“You seem to know me very well,” Hua Yan joked.

Hu Li poured tea for Hua Yan, his voice still hoarse, “I know a little, but I still need to learn more.”

At this moment, a young and beautiful woman walked out, greeted Hu Li with a smile, and after looking Hua Yan up and down, said with a smile, “So that’s why Hu Li didn’t like anyone else. He likes someone pure. Hello, just call me Caicai. Feel free to come often.”

“Just call me Xiaoyan.”

“Can I call you Xiaoyan too?” Hu Li asked eagerly. Hua Yan hesitated for a moment but then nodded.

Caicai laughed heartily and pointed at Hu Li, “So you haven’t had this honor yet. It’s true what they say: what goes around, comes around. You’ve broken so many girls’ hearts, and now you’ve met your match.”

Hu Li glared at Caicai, his expression unreadable, and said, “Watch your cooking.”

“Oh, if you hadn’t reminded me, I might have forgotten. Please wait, I need to check on the dishes.” Caicai said, hurrying off. As she walked out of sight of Hu Li and Hua Yan, tears started streaming down her face.

A young man in his twenties, dressed as a chef, peeked out to look at Hu Li and Hua Yan, then wiped her tears with clean hands, saying, “Sis, are you finally giving up? For him, you became beautiful, you learned to cook, you gave up a job in Germany, and opened this private kitchen here. Did you ever think he would come here for the first time with another woman?”

“Stop it!”

“Sis, wake up, please?” He grabbed Caicai’s arm, trying to shake some sense into her.

“How can I let go of twenty years of feelings so easily? Go and serve the dishes to them. I’ll check on the other dishes.” Caicai wiped her tears, hiding her sadness, and started directing her brother efficiently.

Her brother sighed deeply, “Got it.” He said, carrying the dishes out.

Caicai, with her glistening eyes, glanced outside one more time and hurried into the kitchen. She had just seen Hu Li carefully cutting a steak for Hua Yan. Such a scene had only appeared in her dreams countless times. Seeing him busy for another woman truly broke her heart.

“Thanks for cutting it for me. It’s much easier now,” Hua Yan smiled at Hu Li, took a small piece of steak, chewed it slowly, and nodded frequently.

“If you like it, eat more. Their spring rolls with the special sauce are also very good.”

“Do you come here often?”

“No, it’s my first time.”

“No way. So, you haven’t actually tried the food here?”

“Caicai and I have known each other since childhood. I’ve tried many of her dishes as she learned to cook. That’s why I recommended this place.”

After lunch, when Hu Li dropped Hua Yan off at school, he finally decided to ask, “Xiaoyan, if you go to the Ningying Group’s banquet, could I be your date?” Hu Li stared into Hua Yan’s eyes without blinking.

“If that’s the case, it’s more like I’d be your date! But it’s fine. You can be my date. Anything else?”

Hu Li’s tense expression instantly softened. Although they were about to part again, he happily nodded.

Cheng Qingqing didn’t have any afternoon classes, but shortly after Hua Yan entered the large lecture hall, she followed and started pestering Hua Yan about Hu Li.

“We’re just simple friends. Besides, I know very little about him.”

“Oh... But his surname and name are a perfect match. Hu Li? So cool. I think if someone in the entertainment industry used that name, they’d definitely become famous. Hua Yan, you’ve got to hold on to such an amazing man. I’m cheering for you.”

“Stop making a fuss. Are you worried I’ll steal your Brother Ning?” Hua Yan teased. Cheng Qingqing blushed and playfully hit Hua Yan several times.

Time passed slowly, with sunny days, cloudy days, and rainy days. A week later, Cheng Yunqi and Ke Shaozheng went abroad to inspect the batch of electrical appliances. Finding no issues, she called Cheng Jie and said, “Brother, an overseas friend wants us to help bring in a batch of electrical appliances, and we can take a 20% profit from it.”

“Electrical appliances are profitable, but is the quantity worth our effort?”

“Five large containers. What do you think? But their paperwork isn’t complete.”

“We’ve handled incomplete paperwork before. Last time, because you didn’t want to have dinner with Wang Wen, our ‘Emerald Dream’ project had to rely on Gao Ruqing. Taking on this deal could showcase the Cheng family’s big moves again.”

After hanging up with Cheng Jie, Cheng Yunqi immediately called Ke Shaozheng to tell him the deal was on and demanded that his friend disclose the information about the pocket watch’s owner tonight, or the deal would be off.

Ke Shaozheng, hiding his internal shock, quickly reassured Cheng Yunqi and promised to have the information for her that evening.