Ning Lan had no choice but to follow Boss Liu to a corner to “catch up on old times”. After all, he had lent him money during difficult times, although the means of collecting debt later were not very ethical. In any case, it had helped him live intact until now, and he could be considered Ning Lan’s benefactor.
Boss Liu scrutinized him from head to toe as if appraising merchandise, “Xiao Lan Lan is so incredible now, flying up to the branches and turning into a phoenix.”
Ning Lan was very speechless at his choice of words and responded politely, “How could it be, just scraping by. I don’t even have the qualifications to stand next to you, Boss Liu.”
This flattery pleased Boss Liu, who chuckled heartily. “You little stars, each one of you is more eloquent than the other.”
“Not at all, not at all, just trying to make a living,” Ning Lan spoke plain truths.
The two exchanged a few more pleasantries. The big guy standing behind Boss Liu became visibly agitated upon seeing Ning Lan, grunting discontentedly. Boss Liu glared at him reproachfully, “What kind of attitude is this? Xiao Lan Lan now has a powerful backer. Be more polite when you see him in the future.”
Ning Lan continued to be modest, “No, no.”
Dealing with such a face-conscious nouveau riche was best done by showing weakness, satisfying their boundless vanity.
Boss Liu asked doubtfully, “Really?”
Ning Lan quickly pondered the meaning behind his words, afraid of causing trouble for Sui Yi, and denied, “Of course not, otherwise why would I still be here singing and dancing?”
Boss Liu’s eyes lit up, “Ah, I knew it! Our Lan Lan has such good character, how could he… haha.” He rubbed his hands together while speaking, “Actually, you didn’t come to ask me for help that time. I was really a little disappointed.”
Ning Lan’s expression faltered. He hadn’t expected Boss Liu to still remember that incident.
“That girl I just hired is so willful, look.” Boss Liu pointed to the roses held in the hands of the big guy behind him, “Insisting that I bring her flowers to show off. Willful, not knowing how to make people worry less at all. Don’t you think so?”
Ning Lan was sweating profusely, but he echoed and said yes.
Boss Liu took a step forward, lowered his voice, and said somewhat ambiguously, “Tell me, why didn’t I notice before how lovable Xiao Lan Lan is?”
Ning Lan took a step back, the smile fading from his face, a hint of anger rising. He didn’t owe anyone now except Sui Yi and had no need to suppress himself anymore. He said in a deep voice, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave first. Boss Liu, you continue your business.” With that, he turned and walked away.
Boss Liu stubbornly grabbed his arm and pulled him back, “Hey hey hey, I haven’t finished speaking yet, don’t leave first.”
Ning Lan was about to struggle when his other arm was grabbed from the side. A strong force pulled him away from Boss Liu, a deep voice accompanying the action, “Our turn is about to come.”
It was Sui Yi.
Ning Lan’s head was simply about to explode. He felt like Heaven was mocking him, always making Sui Yi find himself in such awkward situations.
“Oh, isn’t this… isn’t this…” Boss Liu was tongue-tied for a while, and still didn’t call out Sui Yi’s name. The Sui family was one of the well-known aristocratic families in the capital. They were not in the same class as a middle-aged nouveau riche like him. He only felt like this young man seemed familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
Meanwhile, Sui Yi had already dragged Ning Lan behind him far away, turning a few corners to a secluded corner before releasing Ning Lan’s arm.
Ning Lan winced from the pain caused by his rough grip, rubbing his arm and pouting at him, “Why are you so fierce?”
His words were intended to be coquettish, wanting Sui Yi to feel sorry for him, kissing or hugging him like before. Ever since he had made a mistake by mentioning the violin a few days ago, Sui Yi hadn’t been paying much attention to him. Last night, when he took the risk and climbed to the upper bunk again, Sui Yi had only kissed him perfunctorily, then turned over to catch him under the bed, and then went back up to sleep.
He didn’t know what the problem was, so he could only rack his brains to please him in every possible way, not daring to get too close for fear of being disliked, but also not daring to stay too far away for fear of being forgotten.
Ning Lan thought that Sui Yi should have been appeased by now. Although he had never said it out loud, Ning Lan just knew that he was most susceptible to softening up when he was injured.
Unexpectedly, Sui Yi’s expression showed no sign of softening. He asked coldly, “How much more money do you want?”
Ning Lan was stunned, “What?”
In fact, Ning Lan had guessed correctly. Sui Yi had been in a bad mood these days, but it had nothing to do with him.
These days, Sui Yi had been receiving phone calls from his father every day. If he hung up, his father would call again. If he set his phone to the do not disturb mode, his father would send him a text saying that his teacher was ill and was hospitalized at XX Hospital. Even though his father sent the address and room number, he had no intention of going to visit. The master-apprentice relationship between him and his teacher had ended long ago when his teacher intervened in their family of three. The other party had betrayed his trust first. In order to cut ties with them completely, he had already taken drastic measures up to this point. It was simply impossible for him to turn back now.
It seemed like unfortunate things had agreed to collide with each other. Ji Zhinan was also hospitalized. He was such a timid person. Even as a child, he would cover his eyes and scream for help when he saw Sui Yi entering the water to swim. Now, after receiving such a shock, his company actually arranged for him to return to work so quickly?
Sui Yi felt helpless about both matters, but they both lingered in his heart and mind, disturbing him incessantly. He couldn’t even avoid it even if he wanted to.
And now, even Ning Lan was giving him a hard time. Didn’t he say all his debts had been paid off? Why was he still involved with an old man who clearly had ulterior motives towards him?
“I’m asking you, how much more money do you want?” Sui Yi repeated each word slowly and deliberately in a deep voice.
Ning Lan was still at a loss and muttered, “I… I don’t want money.”
Upon hearing his response, Sui Yi suddenly smirked sarcastically.
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