“I deeply apologize for this.”
“Minister Lu, this happened the first time you visited our home. I also can’t escape responsibility.”
“Of course, Minister Lu is a distinguished guest. When a guest is in trouble, I…”
“Is that really what you think?”
“Then why are you smiling?”
Hearing this, Luo Qiaoying just tilted her head, her expression unchanged.
“Am I?”
“Yes, you’ve been smiling since just now, and you haven’t stopped.”
“How could that be? I wouldn’t find it funny just because Minister Lu’s whole body smells like a garbage dump.”
Seeing this, Lu Yunze raised an eyebrow. Although their conversation sounded hostile, their relationship didn’t seem as bad as imagined.
Luo Qiaoying’s every word was laced with sarcasm, but Minister Lu never lost his temper with her.
‘Could they have known each other for a long time?’
“That’s right.”
Ye Qianlan, who had suddenly appeared behind him, startled him.
“I’ve been working by Miss’s side for many years now. Since Lu Zhenghao was transferred here, they’ve met and maintained contact.”
“Has Lu Zhenghao been working in Donghai City for a shorter time than Qiaoying?”
Lu Yunze paused as he said this. Ye Qianlan casually explained:
“After the Donghai City disaster eleven years ago, the previous minister was transferred away for negligence, and the current Lu Zhenghao was brought in.”
“Luo Qiaoying was also placed here by Luo Tianyu after the disaster. They have some similarities and quite a bit of work-related communication.”
“But their relationship isn’t as good as you think.”
Ye Qianlan added at the end, “The relationship between the Execution Division and the Luo family… is actually quite tense.”
“I can see that.”
If they were really friends, they wouldn’t be so restrained; they would talk like ordinary friends.
“By the way, you know so much. How many years have you worked here?”
“About seven or eight years.”
Lu Yunze blinked, thinking that Ye Qianlan didn’t look much older than him, yet she had already worked for seven or eight years.
“I’m also a native of Donghai City. I was a lucky one picked up by Miss Qiaoying.”
“Oh, I see.”
So she and Lu Yunze were similar—both had lost their homes due to the destruction of their hometowns and were taken in by the Luo family.
The difference was that the person who picked up Lu Yunze was of a much higher status than Luo Qiaoying, otherwise their positions wouldn’t be so different now.
Not long after they chatted, Luo Qiaoying asked the irrelevant people to leave first, leaving only herself and Lu Zhenghao in the hall.
“The first time I came to your house, something like this happened. I initially suspected you had deliberately arranged for an assassin to attack me.”
“We’re old colleagues after all. How can you still not trust me?”
Luo Qiaoying looked somewhat disappointed, like a wronged little girl.
“How could that be? It’s really just a coincidence, Minister Lu. Our Luo family has been completely cleared of suspicion.”
“Drop the act. We have a cooperation, but that doesn’t mean the Luo family is innocent,” Lu Zhenghao snorted.
“Minister Lu, haven’t you given up investigating the truth about that disaster?” Luo Qiaoying squinted slightly. “Wasn’t the conclusion already reached? The Luo family was also a victim. The real culprit should be…”
“It’s been ten years since I was transferred here.” Lu Zhenghao said without changing his expression. “There are still many doubts about that disaster. If I can’t uncover them all, I would be letting down the great expectations placed on me when I was transferred.”
“Minister Lu is truly upright and righteous. A sickly person like me can’t match you.”
As she said this, Luo Qiaoying took a sip of the fragrant tea in her hand.
On the other side, after leaving the living room, Lu Yunze thought that there was nothing left for him to do, so he decided to return to his room.
After entering, Lu Yunze stood at the door and swept his gaze around the room.
Although this bedroom wasn’t as large as his room in Central City, it was still a decent size and had all the necessary furniture.
That meant more hiding places.
Lu Yunze first checked behind the door, then opened the wardrobe, and then checked the bed and under the bed. After confirming no one was there, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Lu Yunze sat down on the chair and stretched.
‘Jiang Sui has no reason to come looking for me now.’
“No, I think finding the young master doesn’t necessarily need a reason.”
The low voice suddenly sounded in his ear, startling Lu Yunze so much that he nearly fell off the chair. He turned around to see Jiang Sui had appeared behind him without him noticing.
Lu Yunze averted his gaze from her smiling face and looked up at the ceiling.
“This time, you’re not going to say you’ve been hiding on the ceiling all along, are you?”
“Of course not. Does the young master think I’m a spider?” Jiang Sui pouted slightly because of the misunderstanding. “I came in through the door fair and square this time.”
Hearing this, Lu Yunze glanced at the door of the room. It turned out that he had been so busy checking other possible hiding spots that he forgot to close the door.
The reason Jiang Sui came to his room was simple: to bring him the snacks that should have been delivered much earlier.
With everything that had happened, the snacks that should have been eaten long ago were now cold by the time they reached his hands.
“Aren’t you going back? What if Luo Yao gets suspicious again…”
“Don’t worry, I checked on my way here. Right now, Miss is sulking in her own room.” Jiang Sui puffed out her chest, seemingly very confident in her intelligence work.
‘So she’s hiding because she got scolded by Luo Qiaoying.’
Lu Yunze watched as Jiang Sui personally unwrapped the snack packaging. Although they were cold, he could still smell a faint aroma from the snacks.
It was snail noodles.
“Here, young master, would you like me to feed you?”
“No, thanks.”
“Here, young mas…”
“I said no, really.”
“…”
Lu Yunze gave up. He simply closed his eyes and opened his mouth.
Seeing this, Jiang Sui picked up a strand of snail noodles with chopsticks and brought it directly to his lips.
Lu Yunze slurped the noodle in with a “slurp,” then chewed and nodded.
Although the snail noodles were cold, the taste was still good. It was the best snail noodles he had ever eaten so far.
But as he slurped the noodles, Lu Yunze felt a bit uneasy inside.
He had seen scenes in some comics where couples eat noodles, each starting from one end and then gradually moving closer until their lips meet.
Thinking about it was ridiculous, but he felt that it was something Jiang Sui would do.
Until the entire bowl of snail noodles was finished, that kind of thing didn’t happen.
Looking at the red soup in the bowl, Lu Yunze couldn’t tell whether he was happy or disappointed.
“Finished eating.”
Jiang Sui’s gaze moved downward, and then she pulled out two tissues.
“Young master, your mouth is all oily, and there’s some on your collar too.”
“I can wipe my own mouth.”
“Let me help you wipe it.”
“No, young master, you can’t.”
Jiang Sui directly pressed her finger against his lips, not caring about the oil all over.
“Why can’t I?”
“I said young master can’t, so you can’t.”
“What kind of tyrannical logic is that?”
Lu Yunze was amused and annoyed by her. He thought to himself, ‘Whatever.’
If he kept resisting, who knew what tricks she would pull.
Better to just lie down and let her be satisfied, then she would let him go.
Lu Yunze lay back in the chair, thinking, ‘It’s just wiping my mouth. What else can she do?’
However, it turned out that he had underestimated Jiang Sui’s methods.
The little maid could easily see through his thoughts. She sneered inwardly:
‘Don’t think I can’t handle you.’
She came in front of him, unhesitatingly spread her legs, and straddled him directly.
“Huh?”
Lu Yunze immediately widened his eyes and tried to escape, but the girl’s full weight was already on him.
“Don’t move, young master, or I might fall.”
Jiang Sui was still smiling, her smile full of cunning and mischief.
As she spoke, she tightened her thighs, clamping down on Lu Yunze’s lower body, not giving him a chance to escape.
Lu Yunze took a deep breath, completely surrendered, and closed his eyes.
Jiang Sui’s smile grew wider. She leaned forward slightly, close to his face, and began to wipe his mouth.
Although Lu Yunze had his eyes closed, he could feel the weight pressing on his chest, its shape changing as Jiang Sui leaned.
This reminded him of that night a while ago. The blood in his body immediately started flowing faster, and it was rushing downward.
Jiang Sui’s movements suddenly stopped, and she instinctively looked down.
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
Something was poking her.
Realizing the truth, she felt no shame; instead, a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.
‘This is a good thing.’
The more Lu Yunze was captivated by her, the happier she was.
‘You should be like this, Lu Yunze.’
Jiang Sui’s heart began to race as well. She didn’t pull away, but instead pressed harder, as if to bind him to her side forever.
After wiping his mouth, Jiang Sui didn’t hurry to get off him. Instead, she gently cupped his face with both hands.
‘Such a delicious expression. I want to taste it. It should be delicious, right?’
Like a snake, the girl stuck out her little tongue and licked her lips.
Just then, the door to the room suddenly opened.
“Is this Lu Yunze’s room?”
Lu Zhenghao and Dong Youer walked in and happened to witness this scene, causing the air to freeze.
Lu Yunze also opened his eyes, dumbfounded.
“Ah…”
Dong Youer didn’t know what expression to make.
“Is this how young people are? It seems we came at a bad time. You’er, let’s go.”
“Hey, wait!”
Lu Yunze quickly stood up, leaving the little maid, who still seemed unsatisfied, sitting on the bed swinging her legs.
“Um, you can continue.”
“I said wait!”
Lu Yunze almost failed to stop them. If they had left like that, his reputation in the Execution Division would be completely ruined.
Direct explanations would probably lack credibility, so Lu Yunze could only hope for Dong Youer’s help, sending her meaningful glances.
Dong Youer blinked, then suddenly understood.
“Minister, they are truly in love, not having an affair.”
“Forget it, just shut up.”
Lu Yunze quickly said.
“So, Minister Lu, did you need something from me?”
“I talked to Luo Qiaoying. That little thief probably wasn’t an ordinary burglar, so we plan to investigate his background next.”
Lu Zhenghao explained.
“Young man, I think you have quite a bit of talent, so I came specifically to tell you this.”
As he spoke, he patted Lu Yunze on the shoulder.
“By the way, don’t get too caught up in that. It’s bad for your health.”
“I told you I wasn’t…”