Chapter 161: No time, have to go pick up my girlfriend from work

After hearing this, Su Ruoyun decisively refused. With her exquisite little face taut and expressionless, she spat out two words: "No way."

As her voice fell, she lifted her eyelids, swept a suspicious glance at Huo Jingcheng several times, and asked slowly:

"You don't have some sort of special fetish, do you?"

"..." Huo Jingcheng.

Upon hearing this, Huo Jingcheng let out a clear sigh, as if he were sighing deliberately for her to hear. His chest rose and fell slightly, and Su Ruoyun's head bobbed up and down along with it.

He raised a hand to touch her white jade earlobe, his fingertips, calloused from years of use, rubbing it gently, and spoke lazily:

"Fine, then let me be the first person in the world to die because a birthday wish couldn't come true."

"..." Su Ruoyun.

He was being dramatic, and Su Ruoyun was speechless.

She couldn't help but defend herself, accusing him of being in the wrong: "But who does things like that?"

Asking his girlfriend to style her hair like it was when they first met in childhood just to look at it.

Besides, she hadn't worn her hair in those two dangling braids—that kind of cute hairstyle—since she started elementary school at age seven.

As she spoke, Su Ruoyun knitted her brows, subconsciously turning to get off him, and made an excuse: "I've already forgotten how to do it."

Huo Jingcheng had anticipated she would say that; his large hand hooked firmly around her waist, refusing to let her go.

On the other side, he spoke unhurriedly, 'kindly' thinking of a solution for her: "There's a photo album. I've seen it."

Huo Jingcheng curled his lips and raised an eyebrow, looking slightly smug.

His pair of bewitching peach-blossom eyes naturally hooked upward at the corners when he smiled, inexplicably roguish, and the arc of his lips carried a hint of playful mockery.

There was a photo album in the living room; Su Ruoyun closed her eyes in silence.

He had even managed to dig that out; it looked like he had been planning this for a long time.

The next morning, the two went out together, and Huo Jingcheng dropped her off at the entrance of the orchestra.

Su Ruoyun got out of the car, said "bye-bye" to him, and then intended to turn and walk away.

Who would have thought, Huo Jingcheng reached out to open the door, stepped out with his long legs, and stood there with a dashing posture, holding an exquisite wooden box in his hand.

Su Ruoyun, who had walked a few small steps forward, heard the faint movement, stopped, and curiously turned her head to look in the direction of the sound.

After staring for a while, her gaze gradually shifted downward, landing on the small box in his hand.

While she was observing, Huo Jingcheng had already walked to her side with a leisurely gait.

Su Ruoyun looked up at him with her small face and asked: "What are you doing?"

Upon hearing this, Huo Jingcheng raised his eyebrows, saying nothing.

Su Ruoyun, confused, could only follow behind Huo Jingcheng, wanting to see what exactly he was up to.

Passing the security booth, she saw him walking toward the elderly guard, and only then did it dawn on her.

Inside the security booth.

The elderly guard was sprinkling tea leaves into a white porcelain cup when he heard the glass window being knocked on—three rhythmic thuds—and he turned his head to look.

Through the glass window, he recognized Huo Jingcheng at a glance and hurriedly put down the tea canister to open the window.

The orchestra valued humanism, and there was air conditioning in the security booth; the guard invited Huo Jingcheng to come in and sit for a while to cool off.

It was a midsummer morning, and the temperature was high.

Huo Jingcheng politely declined, then handed over the exquisite wooden box in his hand. With his long arms, he placed it directly on the table by the window, avoiding any back-and-forth fumbling.

"Last night, I heard you say your blood sugar was a bit high. These are all low-sugar pastries."

The elderly guard was also a straightforward man; he accepted it without refusal and took a disposable plastic cup from the cabinet to brew a cup of tea for Huo Jingcheng.

While the two were talking, Su Ruoyun had already walked to Huo Jingcheng's side, standing close to him—a beautiful woman and a handsome man.

"The young lady is here early today."

The guard handed the teacup to Huo Jingcheng and said with a chuckle, clearly having recognized her.

Su Ruoyun buried her head in embarrassment, while Huo Jingcheng's lips curled slightly—not because he was laughing at her, but simply because he was learning another side of his girlfriend.

The old man sighed, "The boyfriend is a good person; the young lady has a good eye."

Su Ruoyun was carrying her guqin on her right shoulder, and the strap was about to slide off; she pulled the strap with her left hand and supported the case with her right, lifting it up, and nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Huo Jingcheng chimed in: "I have a good eye too, finding such an amazing girlfriend who can play the qin."

The lazy male voice fell into her ears; Su Ruoyun, having adjusted her qin, pushed him shyly, and Huo Jingcheng indulgently didn't dodge, letting her push him.

The old man saw the little interaction between the young couple and laughed twice.

——

The design institute needed to send someone to the Bank of China to deliver blueprints. Second Young Master Chen was on good terms with Mr. Huo, so he was pushed out by his colleagues to take the lead.

After the two finished discussing the blueprints, seeing that Huo Jingcheng was still unsatisfied, Chen Zheyan was on the verge of tears.

This was something he had worked on for a whole week of overtime, and the evil capitalist just said it wasn't good and didn't want it.

Huo Jingcheng leaned lazily against the office desk, tapped a cigarette out of the pack, and held it between his lips.

The custom lighter slid open, a ghostly blue flame dancing across his handsome face for a moment, and sparks ignited at his fingertips.

He unhurriedly brought the thin cigarette to his thin lips, exhaled a puff of smoke slowly, and spoke: "Go back and contact your teacher."

Chen Zheyan graduated from the world-class architecture university UCL, studying under Pritzker Prize winner Oliver Johnson.

Hearing the word "teacher," Chen Zheyan cursed under his breath; having been a student, one fears teachers the most.

Yet he, this 'stupid' student, hadn't designed anything fancy in all the years since graduation; he usually only sent greetings on holidays, and didn't dare to contact him at all otherwise.

Huo Jingcheng had simply given him a difficult problem; he would rather redo the blueprints.

Thinking this, Chen Zheyan tentatively reached out his arm, trying to take back his blueprints from Huo Jingcheng's side, saying cautiously while taking them: "How about... I take them back and revise them."

Seeing this, Huo Jingcheng raised his hand and pressed down, his large palm resting directly on the architectural blueprints.

With the attempt unsuccessful, Chen Zheyan hung his head in defeat, "I don't understand you either; why are you in such a hurry? We just won the bid; shouldn't we be celebrating and resting now?"

"Without the blueprints, those people on the Board of Directors won't listen to your empty fantasies."

All they want are feasible plans and tangible benefits.

Huo Jingcheng's left hand, holding the cigarette, tapped the ash into the ashtray on the desk, and the blue-white ash drifted down, landing at the bottom of the tray.

When it came to business, Chen Zheyan understood but wasn't proficient, so he turned the subject to asking what activities Huo Jingcheng had for his birthday on the first of July.

Huo Jingcheng didn't respond, so Chen Zheyan offered him an idea.

"How about we get together tonight? I'll think of a plan for you. Once your birthday passes, you'll be heading from your thirties to your forties."

Huo Jingcheng was uninterested; his long legs, wrapped in suit trousers, were naturally crossed, and he leaned back against his office chair, speaking lazily: "No time, have to go pick up my girlfriend from work." ===== CHAPTER 162 =====