Chapter 3

After Huo Jingcheng changed his clothes, he opened the door and walked out. Only Lin Cheng was standing at the door. Then he scanned the surroundings and found it empty.

Meeting Huo Jingcheng's questioning gaze, Lin Cheng felt a sudden flash of inspiration and explained: "The Boss Lady said she went to wash her hands."

After the words fell, the clacking sound of high heels came. Su Ruoyun walked over gracefully. Seeing two big men standing at the door, she couldn't help but ask: "What's wrong?"

Just now, she didn't notice that the metal railing was full of dust, and her arms had touched it directly, getting dust all over them, so she went to the sink outside to wash her hands. When she came back, she saw Huo Jingcheng and Lin Cheng standing face to face.

Huo Jingcheng glanced at Lin Cheng calmly, "Nothing."

Seeing this, Lin Cheng pursed his lips, stepped back with his head down, and made way for Su Ruoyun. His eyes were fixed on the patterns on the floor tiles, and the most daring and impossible thought flashed through his mind.

His boss's intentions were probably not pure.

Over there, Su Ruoyun raised her hand to close the door, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over a certain place, "These clothes……"

She raised her finger and pointed at the handbag on the sofa.

Huo Jingcheng looked inside following her gaze and also saw the paper bag, his voice calm, "Didn't the Boss Lady say she would help me deal with them?"

"……Okay, then you can send someone to pick them up when you have time another day."

By the time they returned to the Guanlan private room, it was already nearly four o'clock.

Huo Jingcheng sat on the couch in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his sitting posture extremely casual, his right leg bent, his left elbow supported on his raised left knee. There were a few tea classics on the tea table, and he opened one at random and started reading it like that.

Before brewing tea and whisking tea, one needs to clean their hands and burn incense.

In the basin, the clear water waves were stirred and rippled, and rose petals floated and spun in the water. A pair of jade hands, fingers thin and slender, distinct joints, rounded and clean nails, and faint cyan lines could be vaguely seen under the fair skin. Because she was thin, even without force, her tendons and bones were revealed.

The only flaw was the bite mark on the web of her thumb.

After cleaning hands, it was time to burn incense.

With a "crack" sound, the match was quickly lit. Su Ruoyun moved the tip of the incense stick to the blue inner flame. After the match went out, the incense was also lit.

A wisp of light smoke rose, and the lingering fragrance permeated the quiet private room.

At this moment, the bystander's heart seemed to calm down as well.

Huo Jingcheng put the tea classic back on the tea table, staring intently at Su Ruoyun raising her hand to twist the incense.

Suddenly he spoke: "The client I had an appointment with this afternoon had to go to another city temporarily. He was catching a flight, so we talked about things on the way to the airport. After he got on the plane, I drove here."

Hearing this, Su Ruoyun was distracted and looked sideways unconsciously. Was this... explaining to her?

Her heart swayed, and a burning sensation came from her fingertips.

She didn't care about the explanation, hurriedly pulled her hand away, looked down at her slightly red and swollen finger, pinched her earlobe with the burned finger, and after the fingertip returned to normal temperature, she inserted the incense into the lotus incense holder.

Su Ruoyun returned to the tea table and sat opposite Huo Jingcheng.

The man in front of her had a few buttons on his shirt collar unfastened, the collar slightly open, revealing his full Adam's apple just right. His cuffs were rolled up to his elbows, revealing the expensive watch on his left wrist. Compared to wearing a T-shirt and sports shorts, the shirt and suit pants fully displayed the charm of a steady man.

On the tea table in front of them was a tea stove, and the tea water was already boiling, making a bubbling sound.

Su Ruoyun raised her hand to take a cloth, wrapped it around the handle, and lifted the purple clay teapot lightly.

She originally thought that under Huo Jingcheng's gaze, she would lose her composure, but she didn't expect her movements to be surprisingly steady.

Warming the cup, putting in tea... dividing the tea.

After brewing the tea, she placed the teacup by Huo Jingcheng's hand.

Huo Jingcheng didn't rush to drink the tea, but instead focused his gaze on Su Ruoyun's hands.

Su Ruoyun looked down following his gaze, and the bite mark on the web of her thumb was obvious. She raised her thumb to cover the tooth mark in a self-deceiving way, but the bite mark wasn't completely covered; instead, it was looming, even more thought-provoking.

She only heard the man sitting opposite say: "This mark is quite unique."

Su Ruoyun's face turned red instantly, two blushes floating on her fair and tender cheeks, and even her earlobes turned red.

She cleared her throat, took the utensils to cover it up, stopped looking at Huo Jingcheng sitting opposite, and started whisking tea and performing tea art.

From pounding tea, grinding tea... to seven-bowl tea whisking, and finally, it was tea art.

She was born beautiful, and her posture when doing it was also pleasing to the eye.

Su Ruoyun held the tea scoop, preparing to scoop clear water to paint, "Mr. Huo, what pattern do you want?"

She lifted her eyelids and met Huo Jingcheng's eyes. The man's eyelids were folded with layers of wrinkles, which was an indescribable depth.

He said: "Bamboo."

Su Ruoyun's hand paused slightly, but returned to normal in an instant.

The tea foam diluted and changed into white, and a white bamboo leaped onto it.

She offered the tea bowl. While Huo Jingcheng was admiring it, she supported the corner of the tea table, stood up, and cleaned her hands in the basin again.

The originally warm water had long since turned cold.

"Please enjoy."

After speaking, Su Ruoyun left the scene, and another female tea server in the tea house replaced her and walked into the private room.

He picked up the tea bowl in front of him and took a sip.

Not long after, the sound of zither music of spears and swords drifted into the private room; it was Guangling San.

"The one playing the zither is……"

"Oh, it's our Boss Lady." Seeing Huo Jingcheng interested, Xiao Chen said a little too much: "Our Boss Lady's zither skills are superb."

"Sometimes when the Boss Lady is in a good mood, she will play the zither in the tea house."

While speaking, Huo Jingcheng moved to the front window. Looking out, there were rolling green mountains. Inadvertently, he recalled the question Su Ruoyun asked him: how he knew there was an East Gate entrance.

This courtyard was the Su family's. A long time ago, he was taken by someone to sneak in over the wall from the East Gate. As for who he came in with...

Thinking of that man, Huo Jingcheng tsked secretly, bad luck.

Seeing that Huo Jingcheng's teacup was empty, Xiao Chen took the initiative to step forward to refill the tea. After pouring the water, he heard the man's low and magnetic voice: "You go out first."

Xiao Chen was slightly disappointed and left with his head down.

Huo Jingcheng leaned against the window, preparing to smoke a cigarette to calm his nerves, but didn't expect to overhear gossip.

"Is the legendary thing true?" A delicate female voice floated in.

The rumors outside were raging, and they, as employees, had also heard some things.

Another person hurriedly "shushed", "You want to be fired, right? Forgot why Xiao Liu left last time? You should have some sense about what can be discussed and what cannot."

"We're just talking secretly here, it won't spread to the Boss Lady," after the words fell, the woman deliberately lowered her voice, "So, is the Boss Lady really being kept?"

Huo Jingcheng's hand holding the cigarette paused.

Seeing the other person absent-minded, she urged again: "Oh, tell me."

Forced with no other way, she finally said: "Pretty much, isn't that what's being rumored outside?"

"No wonder, in this location, the market price is 100,000 per square meter, such a large three-entry courtyard. I said, the Boss Lady is young, where would she have so much money? In a tea house, the pricing is so expensive and people still come to drink, it should all be for the sake of the gold master behind her."

"I heard that person is Mr. Su from Hengfeng."

Hearing the familiar name, Huo Jingcheng raised his eyebrows slightly, Su Mingyan... his mind recalled the woman swaying her figure again.

A wolf in sheep's clothing and a gentle Boss Lady?

?? Mr. Huo in his youth would also climb over walls with his best friend.