Chapter 71: Triangular Love and Emotional Tangles

"Mr. Lu?"

Ning Yao turned back, puzzled.

When she saw Lu Jue Ming standing nearby holding two drinks, her mind short‑circuited, and she hurried to her feet, "You… how long have you been standing here?"

"Not long," Lu Jue Ming said with a polite smile, "probably since you said you were the future Miss of the Lu family."

Ning Yao froze on the spot, her cheeks heating up quickly, as if even time had stopped.

Just now she had only taken advantage of Lu Jue Ming going to the restroom to show off in front of Ning Jingli.

Having said that, she was exaggerating a bit.

Who would have thought Lu Jue Ming would hear it!

This is so awkward!

Especially in front of Ning Jingli!

In those brief two or three seconds, Ning Yao's mind raced.

No way, she couldn't let Ning Jingli see her as a joke, no matter what.

She must go all out! She must stay steady!

Anyway, Ning Jingli was just here scouting wealthy people; if she hadn't just said that whole lot, she wouldn't even know Lu Jue Ming.

So, as long as she secures Lu Jue Ming's cooperation, everything will be fine.

"Jue Ming… you're here," Ning Yao forced herself forward a half step, "The server could have brought the drinks; why did you have to bring them yourself?"

She turned her back to Ning Jingli, deliberately acting as if she were very close to Lu Jue Ming.

At the same time, with apologetic, pitiful eyes she looked at Lu Jue Ming, lowering her voice as much as possible, "Young Master Lu, I'm from the Ning family; please help me act out a scene, and I'll explain to you later."

After speaking, she placed the two drinks from Lu Jue Ming's hands onto the table.

Then she looped her arm around his, turned to Ning Jingli and said, "Do you still want to stay here as a third wheel?"

The forced, proud demeanor she put on actually looked convincing, as if she truly were his girlfriend.

Ning Jingli looked at the two with a half‑smile, half‑serious expression, seeing Ning Yao pretending to be calm while Lu Jue Ming's gentle face showed some displeasure.

As the heir of one of Xinghan City's top wealthy families, Lu Jue Ming's refinement was far beyond that of ordinary people.

Even in this situation, he still maintained the greatest restraint.

Moreover, he wasn't even clear what was happening, and felt there was no need to make the young woman beside him feel utterly embarrassed.

Just as he intended to take the young woman aside for a private conversation to resolve the issue,

a few impeccably dressed handsome men and beautiful women entered the restaurant, spotted him at a glance, and walked over while greeting him.

"Young Master Lu! Long time no see!"

"We didn't expect you to actually come back; we were just talking about booking a hotel tomorrow to give you a warm welcome!"

"Hey? Jue Ming, bro, is this your girlfriend?"

"So beautiful, sister‑in‑law!"

"Hahaha! Now the Lu family won't have to worry about our Jue Ming staying single!"

Just by looking at their attire, demeanor, and the way they spoke to Lu Jue Ming it was clear they were good friends.

The three lines that followed made Ning Yao thrilled.

Before Lu Jue Ming could speak, she couldn't help but laugh and greet, "Hello everyone. Nice to meet you, please take care of me."

That response amounted to acknowledging a non‑existent identity to Lu Jue Ming's friends.

Lu Jue Ming's brows gradually furrowed.

He thought about preserving her dignity, but she, on the contrary, kept climbing the ladder.

But on second thought, the girl was thin‑skinned and truly couldn't explain clearly to his friends at this moment.

Fine, just deal with it for now.

"Tomorrow I'll find a place, I'll be the host and get together with you all properly," Lu Jue Ming said with a gentle smile to his friends, "I'll excuse myself for a moment; I have something to take care of."

After speaking, he cast an apologetic glance at Ning Jingli, then prepared to take the girl who was arm‑in‑arm with him and leave.

What he didn't expect was that Ning Yao refused to move.

"Jue Ming, your friends are all here, we just met, how can we leave?" Ning Yao said with a bright smile, not forgetting to flash a smug look at Ning Jingli.

Now Young Master Lu is cooperating with her in this act, so of course she wants to show off in front of Ning Jingli, who must be insanely jealous right now!

Even though it's fake, only she and Lu Jue Ming know.

Therefore, what can be confirmed is that, in the eyes of Ning Jingli and Lu Jue Ming's friends, she is Young Master Lu's girlfriend, the future Miss of the Lu family.

The more she thought about it, the more secretly delighted she became, unwilling to give up this wonderful feeling.

"There's no room here," Lu Jue Ming continued to give her an excuse.

The hidden meaning in his words was to urge her to leave.

But she didn't pick up on it, and in her airy state she truly treated herself as his girlfriend.

"It's fine," Ning Yao said more affectionately, hugging his arm tighter, "We'll squeeze a bit, ask the server to add two chairs beside the table, and then let Ning Jingli leave."

"Do you know each other?" Lu Jue Ming asked, surprised.

He was asking Ning Jingli, but Ning Yao still didn't notice and proactively introduced, "She's my cousin, but... basically it doesn't matter much."

"That's right," Ning Jingli said, "Aside from that tiny bit of blood relation, Ning Yao and I are practically family."

Hearing that, a hint of meaning flickered in Lu Jue Ming's eyes.

Even his newly arrived friends sensed discord between the two cousins from their tone.

Now that's interesting...

Several of Lu Jue Ming's friends turned their gazes toward the composed Ning Jingli seated at the table.

Earlier, because she was seated, with her hair down and wearing simple casual clothes, they hadn't paid much attention at first.

Now that I look closely, I find that she is even more beautiful than Ning Yao.

The two sisters' brows and eyes are vaguely similar, but her features are more delicate, especially her eyes—large, bright, clear, and transparent.

It wasn't unnoticed; once compared, it became obvious—though Ning Yao dresses flamboyantly, the more one looks, the tackier she appears.

"Alright, I'll not disturb you any further," Ning Jingli said, rising slowly. "You stay with your friends for now."

Ning Jingli thought that, regarding the pharmaceutical‑company matters, there would be plenty of time later; this time was mainly to meet and get to know each other.

Since it's rare for a person to return, and he met friends, let him catch up with them first.

This isn't about considering Ning Yao; if Ning Yao wants to act pretentiously, she can, and whether it ends well later has nothing to do with me.

Lu Jue Ming understood Ning Jingli's meaning, gave a slight nod, and said, "My apologies."

"It's fine," Ning Jingli replied with a smile, nodding.

A few of Lu Jue Ming's friends stared wide‑eyed beside him.

You look at me, I look at you.

No one spoke, but each imagined a complex emotional drama.

Lu Shao seems to have some history with his girlfriend's older cousin…

From the three's behavior and tone, Lu Shao appears to be a bit closer to Ning Jingli, and even though Ning Yao has an arm around him, his body deliberately—or unintentionally—keeps away from Ning Yao.

Could it be that among the two sisters, the older cousin is Lu Shao's unattainable White Moonlight, while the younger is a reluctant choice he must be with for some reason?

Tsk tsk…

I never expected that Lu Shao, who's never had any scandal, actually has such a huge secret behind him.

The friends wildly speculated together, all showing an enlightened expression—doesn't that perfectly explain why Lu Shao has been single all this time?

"Excuse me, could you let me through, thank you," Ning Jingli said politely to the few people gathered nearby as she prepared to leave her seat.

Only then did the few, who had almost become lost in speculating about a love‑triangle drama, snap back to reality.

One by one they courteously stepped aside.

After all, she is Lu Shao's White Moonlight.

"Miss Ning, take care," they said, a hint of regret in their eyes.

Although it was their first meeting with the two sisters, even setting aside the filter of the older being Lu Shao's White Moonlight, the older sister still left a better impression than the younger.

Putting looks aside, Ning Jingli's pure aura already puts her eighteen streets ahead of Ning Yao.

What a wonderful girl—perhaps because of a modest family background, she was struck down by the Lu family like a broken pair of mandarin ducks.

Poor Lu Shao, poor White Moonlight…

Sigh…

In the brief few seconds it took Ning Jingli to stand, their speculation had already reached the heavens, the sighs and wry expressions in their eyes nearly spilling over.

During this time, the subtle and complex shift in atmosphere left Lu Jue Ming completely baffled.

What's up with these guys?

Why did they suddenly get sentimental? What are they feeling sentimental about?

Can today's situation get any more inexplicable?

Ning Yao watched Ning Jingli's departing silhouette from the restaurant, a satisfied smile involuntarily tugging at her mouth.

Regardless, this time I've definitely earned a big face in front of her, sure to rattle her so she can't sleep at night and ends up crying under the blanket!

Besides, the feeling of being Lu Jue Ming's girlfriend is just wonderful.

If this were real, how great would that be?

"Now you can finally talk to me alone, right?" Lu Jue Ming's voice interrupted Ning Yao's thoughts.

Ning Yao was reluctant to see the temporary trial card of this young Lu friend expire.

But if she forced him to keep acting, it might cause him to resent it.

It's better to stop at a reasonable point; moreover, this incident should have subtly brought them closer, perhaps the feelings will heat up soon, turning the fake drama into reality!

Ning Yao felt a secret joy, putting on a docile look, "Hmm, okay."

Then, in a proper manner, she told Lu Jue Ming's friends, "You all sit first; I'll excuse myself with Jue Ming, sorry about that."

The few didn't reply, just nodded, as a response.

Ning Yao linked her arm with Lu Jue Ming's, following him out of the restaurant to a corner of the lounge.

"Still not letting go?" Lu Jue Ming's gentle voice already carried a hint of coldness.

Ning Yao, reluctant, released her hands, brushed her hair, and in a sweet voice said, "Young Master Lu, thank you for cooperating with me in the act. Consider me indebted to you for a favor."

"No need," Lu Jue Ming said lightly, "Just act as if nothing happened. As for my friends, I'll explain clearly to avoid misunderstandings."

Ning Yao hurriedly asked, "How will you explain to them?"

Lu Jue Ming replied, "Of course I'll tell the truth. As for why you did that, I don't know, and I don't want to know. My friends don't know you, so they won't dig deeper."

"Actually we could all get to know each other…" Ning Yao said softly, head lowered, "If the Lu family invests in the Ning family later, we'll have to visit more often, and I'd really like to be friends with you."

Lu Jue Ming frowned, "Those are matters of my family's business arena; I'm very busy and have no time to get involved."

Having said that, he turned to leave.

"Hey, Young Master Lu!" Ning Yao mustered courage, blocking his path, "Please give me a way to contact you, a phone number will do. I'm truly sorry today; when you're free, I'll apologize properly, otherwise I'll feel guilty."

Lu Jue Ming reluctantly gave a number, finally allowing himself to get away.

——

A little past ten at night.

Ning Jingli finished watching the opera and prepared to go home.

After leaving the theater, she took out her phone and saw three messages.

Because she had set her phone to silent during the opera, she only noticed now.

The messages were all sent by Xiao Qidi, a little over half an hour ago.

"Miss Ning, are you there?"

"I have something to discuss with you."

"The generator's fuel is exhausted, it can't keep generating; please give some more."

It seems that at that time he went to the factory warehouse.

Ning Jingli was puzzled; when she last delivered the diesel generator, she had also given a good amount of diesel along with it.

Did it run out that fast?

But since he said it's finished, we should hurry and send more.

So she called Su Yi, told her she had other matters to attend to and wouldn't return to Lanyue Villa, then drove off toward the factory.

The factory had already begun partial operations, and the staff were nearly all hired, but at this hour everyone had left; only a few night‑shift workers and security guards remained.

Ning Jingli didn't want to go looking for employees so late, so she bought a dozen or so barrels of diesel herself and stored them in the warehouse.

She was busy until the late night, both sleepy and exhausted, her eyes barely staying open, so she could only wash up and get some sleep.

The next day at noon.

After getting up, Ning Jingli went straight to the Immortal Cave in Lin Xian Village.

"Welcome, Jinli Fairy!" the guard of Immortal Cave, as usual, knelt and saluted upon seeing her.

Ning Jingli asked, "Are you out of diesel here?"

"Reporting, Fairy, it seems… we haven't heard that news."

"Hmm? Did His Majesty come here last night?"

"Yes."

"Then where is he now?"

"Fairy, please wait a moment."

The guard took the Walkie‑Talkie from his waist and used it skillfully.

Soon, he reported that His Majesty was currently in the military camp of Lin Xian Village.

Ning Jingli hurried over immediately, intending to ask him personally what the situation was.

Upon entering Xiao Qidi's tent, she saw the fellow laboriously taking off his clothes beside the bed.

Ning Jingli hurried to his side, "Are you about to change bandages? Where's the army doctor? How come you have no one to look after you here?"

Xiao Qidi paused, looked up and said, "The weather is harsh and the workload heavy; among the tens of thousands of villagers in Lin Xian, there are too many needing treatment, and doctors are scarce. I sent the army doctors and the camp's logistics staff to assist."

Ning Jingli sighed, "Sigh, let me help you."

"Much obliged." Xiao Qidi obediently raised his arm.

Ning Jingli carefully removed his outer garment, then took off the protective cover from his back wound.

Then she had him lie on the bed so she could clean, disinfect, and reapply medicine.

Xiao Qidi lay there for a while, yet Ning Jingli still hadn't begun to act.

"Miss Ning, what's wrong? Is there something abnormal with the wound?"

"The injury is actually healing quite well…"

"But…" Ning Jingli said somewhat embarrassed, "Your pants also need to be removed; if I recall correctly, your… butt also has a burn."

Xiao Qidi calmly uttered three words, "Take it off."