Chapter 33: Do you really like that tea house owner?

A soft sensation spread from her lips, like a feather brushing past, seeping into her nerves in thin, delicate strands.

Before two or three seconds had even passed, and before Huo Jingcheng could react, Su Ruoyun suddenly shoved him backward. He stumbled, taking a good while to steady himself.

Before he could open his mouth to say anything, the girl's voice, laced with a hint of annoyance, rang out abruptly in the room.

"Mr. Huo, please have some self-respect."

Su Ruoyun enunciated every word clearly; her speech was resonant and stern. Her clear, limpid eyes were filled with her own personal emotions as she glared resentfully at Huo Jingcheng.

It was as if the person before her were a heinous villain, and this villain had just stolen one of her kisses.

"..." Huo Jingcheng.

His eyebrows arched slightly. His gaze lingered leisurely on her for half a second before he spoke in a measured tone: "If I recall correctly, you were the one who bumped into me."

Huo Jingcheng's implication was clear—he hadn't even asked her to have self-respect yet.

As the man's words fell, an invisible awkwardness quietly dispersed into the air, cutting off all other emotions.

"..." Su Ruoyun.

She let out a soft "Oh," the tail end of the sound drifting into the air. Her thoughts seemed tangled, and it took a long while for them to turn sluggishly before she asked in a low voice: "Is that so?"

She answered herself silently in her heart: It seems so.

"Then..."

Su Ruoyun hesitated, forcing the words out from her lips, "I will have self-respect, you stay away from me."

Her response was a light "Mm," which brushed past her ear as if it were there and yet not.

She turned her face away, not daring to meet his gaze. With lowered eyes, her sight fell upon the long legs outlined by his suit trousers. She feigned composure, though her voice trembled slightly: "That was just an accident, Mr. Huo need not mind it."

The last time she sat on his lap, it was Huo Jingcheng who told her she need not mind it; this time, the roles were reversed, and it was her turn to cautiously ask him not to mind it.

Hearing this, Huo Jingcheng turned his face slightly, his gaze falling on Su Ruoyun. He saw her hands nervously clasped in front of her, the subtle movements exposing her nervous state completely.

Su Ruoyun still didn't feel at ease and emphasized repeatedly, "Please don't take it to heart."

As she spoke, she raised her head, her gaze meeting the man's. Their eyes collided briefly in mid-air.

Her heartbeat accelerated abruptly. Feeling as if she had been scalded, she lowered her head again to hide her expression, "I can't find the *Classic of Tea* right now, I'll look for it and give it to you later."

Huo Jingcheng's expression remained as usual, as if the kiss just now were merely an insignificant interlude, "Very well, sorry to trouble you, Boss Lady Yun."

"Then I won't see Mr. Huo out."

This was a clear indication that she was showing him the door.

Huo Jingcheng followed her lead, lifting his feet to step away, preparing to leave the Zhengyuan. He had only taken one step when Su Ruoyun's voice suddenly rang out from behind, calling him back.

"Wait."

He turned his head to look. The girl, with her red lips, white teeth, and delicate, pretty face, was standing before the yellow rosewood table, her two hands still cautiously crossed in front of her.

Su Ruoyun raised her eyebrows slightly, her gaze skimming over his thin lips like a dragonfly touching water. She lowered her eyes instantly and pursed her lips: "Wipe your mouth."

She was wearing light pink lip glaze. Although it had only been a shallow touch just now, it had inevitably stained the man's thin lips, blooming into a flush of red that was extremely obvious.

There was a tissue box on the curved-leg Ruyi side table by the door. Su Ruoyun raised her hand to point out the location, signaling him to look.

She just didn't expect the man to lift his arm abruptly. With a casual posture, his thumb brushed over his thin lips, wiping away the color of spring. The action was extremely flirtatious. Afterward, he raised his eyes with a straight face, his clear, cold gaze locking directly onto her, "Is there any more?"

Su Ruoyun tightened her small, exquisitely featured face and spat out two words expressionlessly: "No more."

After dropping these words, she didn't look at Huo Jingcheng at the door again. She turned around neatly, her hair ends curving in the air before settling back against her slender back, and walked straight toward the tea table.

Stepping over the threshold, Huo Jingcheng lowered his head, his gaze locked on the trace of red on his fingertip. He rubbed his thumb and index finger together gently, and the light pink quickly bloomed and spread across his fingertips.

In the Chao Shou You Lang, light and shadow were dappled. A tall and upright figure stood quietly, his posture relaxed.

Footsteps approached from afar, growing clearer. Qi Zhiwen, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, turned back slowly. Seeing it was Huo Jingcheng, he raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Yo, that fast?"

Not long ago, the time for the private room booked by Mr. Tang had expired. In the Qian Yuan, Qi Zhiwen had 'parted ways' with Mr. Tang. Only after asking the waiter at the front desk did he learn of his friend's whereabouts, following the winding corridor all the way to the Zhengyuan.

He had seen that 'heated' scene. Not daring to disturb the two, he lightened his steps and retreated from the Zhengyuan silently.

"Where is Mr. Tang?"

Qi Zhiwen said in a teasing tone, "The time was up half an hour ago. You plunged headfirst into a land of gentleness and even forgot the time."

On the way back, Huo Jingcheng and Qi Zhiwen sat in the back row of the car. In the driver's seat, Lin Cheng gripped the steering wheel with focus, driving steadily.

After chatting about work for a bit, Qi Zhiwen suddenly blurted out, "Do you really like that tea house owner?"

Seeing Huo Jingcheng didn't respond, he added, "I asked the female staff at the front desk. In just these two weeks, you've come to this 'One River Tobacco' tea house seven or eight times. That Shifeng Longjing group cultivar tea at noon is worth ten thousand gold."

Huo Jingcheng leaned casually against the leather seat, his long legs wrapped in black suit trousers crossed. He lowered his eyes to flip through emails on his phone and spoke nonchalantly: "Instead of having time to care about me, you'd better care more about your ex-wife."

Qi Zhiwen gritted his teeth and said, "Heh, you sure know how to talk."

Always poking at the sore spot.

Not wanting to discuss this topic anymore, he brought up work again: "In the morning, I spoke with Su Mingyan on the phone. He still refuses to loosen his stance."

In the business world, everyone is for themselves. Hengfeng pulling Bank of China into the partnership doesn't mean they will concede their own interests.

Huo Jingcheng wasn't particularly surprised. The expression on his face didn't change in the slightest, as if he had anticipated this result all along, "In a while, I'll give him another call."

"I don't know how Su Mingyan was raised; his heart is as full of holes as a honeycomb briquette. I've never seen him be this underhanded before." Qi Zhiwen complained.

"First he secures the development project, then he pulls in a competitor to partner up. Everyone in the Beijing Circle is praising Su Mingyan, saying he knows how to handle people. It should be that he knows how to deceive people..."

As he spoke, Qi Zhiwen associated it with the rumors outside: that the owner of the 'One River Tobacco' tea house was a little star Su Mingyan was keeping on the side.

Not to mention anything else, that owner is indeed exquisite, with regular, delicate features and a pretty, refined face.

The topic went off-track again. He probed tentatively: "Are you trying to disgust Su Mingyan, or..."

After pondering for a moment, Qi Zhiwen added a sentence: "Do you really like that tea house owner?"

?? Begging for follow-up reads, mua~