LHKE Ch27

Shen Li hadn’t yet decided how to invite Lu Changting out when he received an invitation to Chu Jinghong’s engagement party.

The invitation was personally delivered by Chu Jinghong to “Gu Jiu,” with the event scheduled for the end of July at the Chu family’s villa.

Shen Li was surprised when he received the invitation, first because it hadn’t been long since Chu Jinghong reconciled with his girlfriend, and now they were already getting engaged. Second, he was surprised that Chu Jinghong had invited him…

Perhaps because his big day was approaching, Chu Jinghong couldn’t hide the joyful smile on his face, and his words were full of pride: “I’ll only feel at ease once everything is settled.”

He and Su Linlang had gone through several breakups and reconciliations when they were younger. It was all due to youthful pride; neither of them wanted to back down first. After all the back and forth, they realized they couldn’t be without each other. Now that they had both matured and learned to understand each other, it was only natural to settle down.

“Congratulations.” Shen Li smiled as he put the invitation away. “I’ll definitely be there.”

“Here’s Changting’s invitation too.” Chu Jinghong handed him Lu Changting’s invitation. The Lu family’s invitation had already been sent—one for the whole family. Writing a separate invitation just for Lu Changting and asking Shen Li to deliver it was simply an excuse to create an opportunity for the two of them. “He’s been busy with work lately, and I’ve been tied up with the engagement party. Since you two are close, could you hand it over for me?”

Shen Li was momentarily stunned. Considering their relationship, it should have been Lu Changxu who helped deliver the invitation…

Besides, if Chu Jinghong had the time to deliver the invitation to “Gu Jiu,” couldn’t he have made the time to drop by Fengchun Villa?

“I’ll find some time to give it to him.” Although Shen Li found it strange, he couldn’t refuse, so he agreed.

“I’ll head back now.” After delivering the invitations, Chu Jinghong didn’t stay long, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness and a touch of boastfulness. “I’m under strict supervision at home. It’s time for me to head back.”

Shen Li chuckled. “Alright, take care.”

After seeing Chu Jinghong off, Shen Li returned to the lounge and sent a WeChat message to Lu Changting.

Over the past few days, Lu Changting had been messaging him on WeChat regularly. Though they only talked about simple, everyday things, it helped ease Shen Li’s anxious feelings. But because Lu Changting was busy with work, Shen Li hadn’t yet decided whether to ask him out.

In the afternoon, Lu Changting mentioned that he had to work late, so he got busy and hadn’t sent any more messages. By now, Shen Li wasn’t sure if he was home yet.

[Liquor Seller: Are you home yet?]

After a while, Lu Changting’s reply popped up.

[L: Just got home. I was about to message you.]

[Liquor Seller: Chu Jinghong just gave me the invitation.]

[Liquor Seller: He also gave me yours. Should I bring it to you tomorrow?]

[L: I’ll come by after work to pick it up, but it might be a bit late.]

Recently, the company was about to launch a major project, and with Lu Shiyang and the board members stirring things up, there were meetings and overtime. He had been working nonstop for several days.

Shen Li knew how busy he’d been and that he was replying to messages during rare breaks, so he felt sorry for him.

[Liquor Seller: I’m free during the day, so I can bring it over to you.]

[L: You need to catch up on sleep during the day.]

[L: I’ll pick it up after work. Just wait for me at the bar, okay?]

Seeing that “okay,” Shen Li thought he might be seeing things for a moment.

He stared at the screen for a while, his face slowly turning red.

[Liquor Seller: Okay.]

[Liquor Seller: I’ll wait for you.]

After midnight, Shen Li planned to head home.

On nights when the bar didn’t have any VIPs or friends to entertain, he usually went home around midnight. Since his job involved a lot of socializing, he knew he needed to take care of his health.

As he left the lounge and headed downstairs past the tables, Shen Li noticed a couple sitting closely together. The man was holding a young woman in his arms, about to leave. The flickering lights passed over the man’s face, revealing him to be about thirty years old, with downward-slanting eyebrows like an inverted eight character, a high nose bridge, short hair, and a slightly chubby face with an honest-looking appearance. He had the woman’s purse draped over his arm.

Shen Li’s gaze unintentionally swept over the woman in his arms and paused for a moment.

She was a young and beautiful woman with long hair curled into large waves. Her exaggerated hoop earrings, adorned with a pearl, swayed with her movements. Her face, with a blend of light and heavy makeup, bore the flush of drunkenness, looking charming and captivating.

They were an oddly matched pair.

He couldn’t help but take a closer look, frowning slightly.

“Sir,” he called out to the man, his tone calm, “do you need help?”

As he approached, the familiar eyebrows and eyes came into view, especially the beauty mark between the brows. Shen Li felt as if a boulder was pressing down on his heart, sinking heavily, making it hard to breathe.

“No, no need.” The man was startled at first, then gave a simple smile, “My girlfriend just had too much to drink.”

Shen Li stared at his face, not missing the evasiveness in his eyes: “This is your girlfriend?”

“Yes…”

Shen Li’s tone suddenly turned cold, “What’s your girlfriend’s name?”

“She’s called…” The man’s tone became impatient, “What business is it of yours what my girlfriend’s name is?”

“Security.” Shen Li called out loudly for security.

“Boss.” Two tall and strong security guards nodded towards Shen Li.

Shen Li called over two female waitresses: “Xiao Bai, Xiao Ke, please help this lady over here.”

“Sir, please hand me the lady’s bag and tell me her name. If it’s a misunderstanding, I will apologize.”

“Damn.” The man tossed the bag in Shen Li’s direction and tried to flee amidst the commotion.

The security at “Gu Jiu” was well-trained and immediately restrained the man, causing quite a stir.

“A mouse accidentally wandered in.” Shen Li apologized to the guests, “Please continue, I’ll take care of it.”

“Is there another idiot causing trouble at ‘Gu Jiu’?” someone exclaimed eagerly, relishing the drama, “Boss, should we call the police?”

“No need.” Shen Li nodded, “I’ll handle it.”

Considering the frequent troubles in the bar, they had set aside a room next to the staff rest and changing area on the first floor to deal with unexpected situations.

The security guards brought the man to the empty room, while the two female waitresses helped the woman, who was too drunk to be coherent, to the staff rest room next door.

Shen Li sat down in a chair, asking slowly, “Isn’t she your girlfriend? Why are you running?”

The room was very spacious, with only a few chairs, dim lighting, isolated from the bar’s lively music and cheers, creating a very oppressive atmosphere. Two bodyguards stood behind Shen Li, making the man feel uneasy.

“Boss…” He already knew Shen Li was the boss, and now that things were exposed, he naturally didn’t dare to lie anymore, “It’s just that kind of thing between a man and a woman, I’m not the only one here to pick up girls in the bar.”

“Hookups, one-night stands, they’re none of my business.” Shen Li frowned, “But it has to be consensual.”

“That lady was clearly drunk and out of it. To put it bluntly, what you did is called rape.”

The man lowered his head guiltily, “But I didn’t do anything, please show mercy…”

Shen Li looked at him coldly, “Did she get drunk on her own, or did you spike her drink?”

The man didn’t respond. Shen Li sneered, losing the patience to waste more time with him, and turned to the security guard, “Call the police, tell them there’s an attempted rape, and ask the police to come over and handle it.”

“Boss! I’ll talk, okay?” The man called out in a panic, “I put some sleeping pills in her drink…”

“Attempted drug-induced rape.” Shen Li corrected, standing up and leaving without hesitation.

The man’s increasingly frantic voice was muffled by the closing door.

The staff rest room next door was much more comfortably furnished than the empty room. The woman lay on the sofa, a thin blanket over her, her handbag on a small coffee table. Two female waitresses sat nearby. Seeing Shen Li enter, they stood up.

“Boss.”

“Take her to a nearby hotel.” Shen Li looked at the familiar face, a complicated expression in his eyes, “Book a room, and the expenses can be reimbursed by me.”

S City is indeed small; after so many years, he unexpectedly met Tang Yao under such circumstances.

“Boss.” Bai Xu, younger and more lively than Chen Ke, couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Do you know her?”

Shen Li gave her a faint glance, and she quickly shut her mouth, blinking innocently.

Chen Ke picked up the woman’s bag, changing the subject, “Just take her to the hotel? Should we call a friend of hers or something?”

Shen Li simply felt it would be a hassle to call someone and decided to send her directly to the hotel.

Moreover, with a phone call, who knows who’s on the other end, whether it’s a man or a woman, or whether they can be trusted…

“Leave a note for her.” Shen Li sighed inwardly, “Just write, ‘Don’t drink a stranger’s drink casually.’”

Watching Chen Ke and Bai Xu help Tang Yao out the door, Shen Li touched the red string on his wrist.

An uneasy feeling gnawed at his heart again, as if an invisible hand was squeezing it, making it ache.

Although nothing has happened yet, and Lu Changting treats him as always, he has a premonition.

A storm is brewing.

His relationship with Lu Changting probably won’t get any better.

…

Shen Li returned home, took a shower, and opened WeChat on his phone.

“I met Tang Yao.”

He typed and deleted those six words over and over, but in the end, he couldn’t press the send button.

He didn’t want to tell Lu Changting, and even more, he didn’t want Lu Changting to see Tang Yao again.

In high school, Tang Yao had a beautiful appearance, an outstanding temperament, and was an art student. Without a doubt, she was a star in the school. Shen Li had a period when he was desk mates with Du Heng, and occasionally heard Du Heng talk about Tang Yao, always starting with “my goddess.” Back then, neither he nor Du Heng expected Lu Changting to be with Tang Yao.

Unexpected, but somehow fitting.

What Shen Li was hung up on wasn’t that Tang Yao and Lu Changting were together, but that day in the infirmary, Lu Changting’s words to Tang Yao, “Thank you.”

Tang Yao was like a thorn in his heart, stuck there for so many years, always causing a dull pain whenever he thought about it.

He couldn’t get over it.

Deleting the text in the chat box, he stared blankly at the phone screen, watching it dim and light up again.

It was a voice message from Lu Changting…

Shen Li rubbed his eyes and played the voice message.

“Why aren’t you sleeping yet?” He brought his phone closer to his ear, and Lu Changting’s voice, filled with tenderness, seemed to echo right beside him. “What did you want to say to me? You were typing for so long, and I waited for a long time, but didn’t receive a single word.”

Shen Li’s ears felt a bit itchy. He listened to the voice message again before slowly typing his reply.

[Liquor Seller: Nothing much.]

[Liquor Seller: Why aren’t you sleeping yet?]

Lu Changting said, “I couldn’t sleep, waiting for you to say goodnight to me.”

Shen Li pressed the voice key and softly said, “Goodnight.”