17
Her appetite was shockingly large, yet she was so thin, looking so frail and delicate.
Zhang Zihan looked at Yun Li’s slender little arms and legs, then looked at herself, and felt so upset she wanted to cry.
They were both eating fried chicken, so why was she the only one gaining weight?
Zhang Zihan was incredibly envious. “I can’t believe you’re one of those legendary people who eat a lot but never gain weight! I’m so jealous!”
Yun Li smiled sheepishly. “Are there any more chicken legs? I’m still not full.”
She had been hungry all day. One family bucket was only half a meal. The other half of her stomach was still empty.
Ouyang Mengyao was envious too. Comparing Yun Li’s tiny waist to her own, even though hers wasn’t thick, she was still much heavier than Yun Li.
Feeling like crying but having no tears, Ouyang Mengyao ordered another family bucket for Yun Li, trying to fatten her up.
Beautiful people were pleasing to the eye even when they ate.
Yun Li finished the freshly ordered family bucket all by herself and finally felt about eighty percent full.
The chicken legs here were so delicious. Next time she came with her “poop scooper,” she would buy some for him too.
After eating, Yun Li wanted to go home so she could have dinner with her “poop scooper” again.
But when she heard Ouyang Mengyao mention something even better than chicken legs, Yun Li started to waver, unsure of what to choose.
“There’s even a drink better than cola. You really don’t want to go?”
“Really?”
Her heart stirred restlessly. Hearing there was something in the world even better than cola made her even more tempted. “I want to go!”
After school, Ouyang Mengyao often hung out with Zhang Zihan and the others at chill bars.
Chill bars were empty during the day, but at night, they got crowded.
There were quite a few students from nearby schools, and some office workers who came after work to listen to music, drink, chat with friends, and relax.
Yun Li followed behind Ouyang Mengyao, curiously peeking around her.
In the dark environment, colorful lights shone on people’s faces. Some were drinking, others were laughing and chatting – everyone looked happy, in short.
No wonder Ouyang Mengyao said this was a place that made you forget your worries. Everyone really did seem happy.
They sat down with Ouyang Mengyao, who expertly ordered some fruit wine. She turned to ask Yun Li, “Can you drink alcohol?”
Yun Li nodded. “Yes!”
“Really?” Ouyang Mengyao was a bit skeptical.
After all, Yun Li looked like such a well-behaved girl, strictly raised at home, had never even had cola or roasted sausages, yet she could drink?
“When I was little, I secretly drank my dad’s alcohol with my brothers.”
But the alcohol her dad brewed was terrible. She took one sip and threw up, and then her brothers said she slept for several days.
Ouyang Mengyao chuckled, afraid Yun Li would get drunk, so she ordered her a low-alcohol fruit wine, something that basically tasted like straight fruit juice.
Yun Li held her cup and watched the others happily take big gulps. Didn’t they think alcohol tasted bad?
Not wanting to be looked down upon by the humans, Yun Li held her breath and tentatively took a sip of the peach-flavored fruit wine.
She had expected a bitter, spicy taste, but instead, it was a sweet peach flavor on her tongue – completely different from what she had imagined.
After one sip, she took another, then excitedly said to Ouyang, “This is so delicious.”
The little girl was incredibly excited. Ouyang Mengyao shook her head helplessly.
She really hadn’t seen much of the world.
The fruit wine was delicious. Yun Li got more and more into it, switching between several flavors, almost drinking the fruit wine like water.
No matter how low the alcohol content, drinking too much would make anyone drunk, especially since Yun Li had a terrible tolerance.
Ouyang Mengyao sighed. Yun Li leaned closer. “Ouyang, are you unhappy?”
“Sigh, the lead singer I’m waiting for, he didn’t come today.”
Following Ouyang Mengyao’s gaze, Yun Li saw the band performing on the center stage.
“What’s a lead singer?” Yun Li was a bit drunk, her tongue felt tied, and she spoke haltingly.
“They’re the most dazzling, shining person in a band!”
For the past six months, the reason Ouyang Mengyao had been skipping class to come here was simply for the lead singer, Yun Jian.
But she didn’t know what had happened to Yun Jian; he hadn’t come for several days in a row.
Ouyang Mengyao thought about Yun Jian’s handsome face, his captivating appearance when singing, and couldn’t help sighing repeatedly.
Yun Li squinted her eyes and looked at the lead singer on stage. He was indeed dazzling and shining.
However, she didn’t think he was as good-looking as her own “poop scooper.”
In this world, besides her father and her brothers, the best-looking person was her “poop scooper.”
Yun Li had only known Ouyang Mengyao for two days and didn’t know the details, so Zhang Zihan had to explain.
“Sigh, you don’t know, that lead singer Yun Jian is Ouyang’s crush. He’s so handsome!”
Crush? What was that? Could you eat it?
Yun Li was also drawn to the name Yun Jian. “My brother is also named Yun Jian, and he’s very handsome too.”
Fu Qingheng had something to do today and didn’t come home for dinner.
He made plans to meet up with Lu Zhen and also talk about that glass bead.
A week had passed so Lu Zhen should have some results by now.
Coincidentally, there was a chill bar near the research institute, so the two of them sat down for a drink.
The man was handsome and striking. Just sitting there, he drew the attention of many nearby women who were itching to go over and chat him up for his contact information. But his aura was too strong, radiating a chilling “keep away” vibe.
Fu Qingheng took a sip of his drink, listening to Lu Zhen complain, “Can’t you even smile? You’re scaring all the young ladies around us so they can’t even get close!”
Fu Qingheng responded with a blank stare.
Lu Zhen took a lazy sip of his wine. “I’m serious. With how cold you are, what girl would dare to approach you!”
If he had Fu Qingheng’s good looks, he would have been in several relationships by now.
For a face like that to be wasted on Fu Qingheng, Heaven was truly being wasteful.
“Find anything out about that glass bead?”
“Which bead?” Lu Zhen looked around casually and asked offhandedly.
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt the man beside him emit waves of cold air that sent a shiver down his spine.
His survival instincts kicking in, Lu Zhen quickly remembered. “Oh, you mean that luminous pearl you brought last time!”
“You know, I usually research things in the biology field. That glass bead of yours isn’t in my area of expertise.”
As Lu Zhen spoke, he glanced at the man’s gloomy face out of the corner of his eye. Anyone who knew him would recognize this as a sign of his anger. Lu Zhen quickly added, “But I have a junior colleague who specializes in studying things like that glass bead.”
That junior colleague was truly impressive, fond of researching strange and unusual things from a young age.
Fu Qingheng didn’t care who investigated it; he just wanted to know what that thing actually was.
“How long will it take to get results?”
“Don’t know. It depends on my junior colleague’s progress.”
Once he started talking about work, Lu Zhen had a lot to say. “They’re building a subway in the neighboring city, right? They were digging halfway when they suddenly unearthed a tomb. I heard they brought up quite a few artifacts. My junior colleague is going to be busy.”
Judging by his tone, it would probably take at least half a year to a year before he could study that glass bead of Fu Qingheng’s.
Fu Qingheng tapped his two closed fingers rhythmically on the table, his eyelids lowered. “Isn’t there anyone else who can study this thing?”
Lu Zhen thought for a few seconds. “No, not really.”
“My junior colleague is a one-in-a-hundred genius with extensive knowledge in this area. If you really want to find out something, you’ll just have to wait patiently.”
“Don’t worry. As my friend, I’ll definitely urge my junior colleague to study your glass bead quickly.”
They quickly finished one drink, and Lu Zhen casually waved over a waiter to order another round.
Halfway through their drinks, Fu Qingheng’s phone rang. It was Yang Qing calling.
“What’s up?”
“Young Master, Miss Yun is missing!”
Fu Qingheng frowned. “What do you mean, missing?”
Yang Qing sighed on the other end and anxiously explained the situation.
This was Yun Li’s second day of school. Yang Qing had waited at the school gate for her to get out, just like the day before.
But when 7 or 8 o’clock came and all the other students had left, he still hadn’t seen Yun Li come out of the school.
Yang Qing was extremely worried. Yun Li was such a well-behaved girl; if something happened to her…
Yang Qing immediately called the Dean of Academic Affairs and told him to investigate where Yun Li had gone.
He was terrified that some bad boy had lured Yun Li away.
The girl was naive. She would follow anyone who offered her some food.
The Dean of Academic Affairs also had a headache. He knew the extent of Fu Qingheng’s power; one word from him could cost the Dean his stable job. As soon as he heard that Yun Li was missing, he immediately sent people to look for her and started checking the surveillance footage.
Upon checking, they found that Yun Li had skipped her last self-study period and climbed over the wall with some classmates.
As for where they went after that, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Yun Li didn’t have a phone. Yang Qing couldn’t find her, so he had to call Fu Qingheng.
Upon hearing this, Fu Qingheng’s face quickly darkened. “She knows how to climb over walls to skip class, does she?”
Well, that figured. She could go into the water to catch fish. Was there anything she couldn’t do?
The topic seemed to be veering off course. Yang Qing quickly steered it back. “Young Master, the main point right now is finding Miss Yun.”
“Miss Yun is very naive. It would be easy for someone to trick her. What if…”
Their Young Master had finally been willing to bring a girl home. If she got lured away by some bad person, wouldn’t he end up single again?
Sitting nearby, Lu Zhen overheard something about climbing over walls to skip class and perked up his ears in surprise. Who were they talking about?
Fu Qingheng’s face darkened. “Got it!”
Fu Qingheng contacted Guo Ziyang and instructed him that he had to find Yun Li, no matter what.
Lu Zhen had never seen Fu Qingheng look so angry. Curious, he asked, “Who is this Yun Li?”
She was still in school… could she be his kid?
He leaned closer to Fu Qingheng and asked cautiously, “When did you have a kid through mitosis?”
There was no way Fu Qingheng would have a child with a woman. He couldn’t even be bothered to look at them.
Fu Qingheng shot him a look, his gaze suggesting he thought Lu Zhen was an idiot. Lu Zhen quickly shut his mouth, not daring to say another word.
“Something came up. I’m leaving first.”
Fu Qingheng stood up and walked outside.
Lu Zhen continued lounging with his legs crossed, watching the man’s departing figure and clicking his tongue in amusement.
If it wasn’t his own kid skipping class, why was he so nervous?
He tried to imagine what Fu Qingheng’s child would look like. If it were a son, he’d probably look just like him—a baby face always tense, mature beyond his years.
Better to have a daughter.
**