Chapter 25
The man had clearly overheard their conversation.
"Didn't I say I had a guest?" Huang Hui frowned slightly.
“President Huang, I’ve come up with a solution, that’s why I rushed over to find you.” The tall, thin man appeared to be a designer at the company. “We can modify it like this.”
“Not needed for now,” Huang Hui said. Since she had chosen to trust Tang Yao, she didn’t intend to pursue Plan Two. Besides, she had a feeling Tang Yao would give her a big surprise.
“President Huang, can you introduce this designer?” The man’s eyes held a hint of arrogance.
Huang Hui frowned slightly, but before she could speak, Tang Yao stood up. "Hello, I'm not a famous designer, just an ordinary guesthouse owner."
A hint of disdain flashed in the man's eyes. "President Huang, are you grasping at straws? Shouldn't only a famous designer be able to solve this problem? What can a guesthouse owner do?"
Huang Hui's frown deepened. "Why do I need to explain to you? I know you're young, ambitious, and capable, but you should also learn to respect people. After all these years in society, haven't you understood that there is always someone more capable?"
The man pursed his lips. Expressionless, he opened the door to leave.
"I'm sorry," Huang Hui said apologetically to Tang Yao. "They are indeed very capable, but most of them are a bit arrogant because of their skills."
"It's alright, I understand," Tang Yao said.
After becoming the most skilled embroiderer in Xia Kingdom, she had faced no shortage of targets. There were even assassins. This verbal attack was nothing to her. Knowing that Tang Yao could repair the finale dress, Huang Hui gave Tang Yao the partitioned room to use as a workshop.
Everything Tang Yao needed was moved to the workshop and Huang Hui even put aside her own work to help.
Tang Yao began her work that day. She first removed the thin tulle from the dress, and then, taking advantage of the workshop being empty, retrieved another piece of tulle from her own space.
When Huang Hui returned, she was so stunned by the exquisite, ethereal, cloud-like tulle that she instinctively slowed her pace.
It was far more beautiful than the fabric she had acquired at a high price.
“This…what is this?”
“Cloud gauze, legend says it’s woven by the Weaver Girl from clouds, as thin as a cicada’s wing and as light as nothing,” Looking up, Tang Yao replied.
This cloud gauze was something she had brought back from an ancient world. At the time, it was worth a fortune and could only be enjoyed by members of the royal family.
Because it was so beautiful, she had secretly stockpiled quite a bit. Now, such cloud-like gauze was practically extinct.
"It's so beautiful," Huang Hui remarked, reaching out and stroking it lightly in the air. Her eyes filled with admiration for the gauze. She hadn't expected Tang Yao to give her such a wonderful surprise.
Tang Yao attached the gauze to the skirt, then picked up a needle and thread and began embroidering the gauze at the hem.
Her movements were swift and her fingers almost dancing in afterimages.
Once, in the ancient world, she had made a floral dress for the Empress, but due to jealousy from her colleagues, the dress was damaged. She spent two days working tirelessly to remake it, stunning everyone at the celebration and gaining immense fame.
Seeing this, Huang Hui carefully opened the door and left, instructing the others not to disturb her.
While Tang Yao was immersed in her own little world, rumors began circulating in the company that Huang Hui had brought in a nepotism hire who lacked real talent and that Huang Hui had even entrusted the most important show's closing dress to this person to mess around with.
These words were clearly intended to incite emotions internally.
However, everyone wasn't stupid. Having worked at the company for so long, they knew what kind of person Huang Hui was.
A small group of people were swayed, feeling resentful. After all, they had worked day and night for so long, all for that show.
This minor disturbance within the company didn't attract Huang Hui's attention.
For the past three days, Lu Bei tried sending messages to Tang Yao, but received no reply.
Lu Nan looked at his younger brother, who was staring at his phone and radiating a gloomy aura, and shook his head helplessly.
This was clearly a one-sided love affair, unrequited. His younger brother was probably planning to take her out to have a good time in the capital, perhaps even had arrangements made, but now the other party hadn't even replied to a message.
Lu Nan also knew that the show at Huang Hui's company was indeed very important.
It seemed that not replying was understandable.
Lu Nan shook his head, glanced at his younger brother who seemed oblivious to his own reverie, and waved the car keys in his hand: "Want to go pick her up from the airport?"
"No," Lu Bei said. Lu Nan, who had originally intended to cheer him up, turned and left.
The car drove towards the airport and stopped in a corner of the parking lot.
A considerable number of people were standing at the arrival gate, including reporters and fans, all eagerly awaiting the arrival.
A banner read, "Welcome back, Movie Empress."
Soon, a large crowd poured out of the airport. Everyone looked left and right, but they didn't see the figure they expected.
Not far from the arrival gate, in the parking lot, a girl wearing a hat, mask, and sunglasses stealthily slipped away from the crowd and got into Lu Nan's car.
"Elder Brother Lu Nan," the girl said, removing her mask to reveal a bright and beautiful face.
She looked more composed than she had three years ago.
"You've grown up and are even more beautiful," Lu Nan complimented, his eyes filled with gentle light.
Cheng An smiled, subconsciously brushing her now-long hair aside.
Then, Cheng An's gaze fell on the back seat: "Didn't Lu Bei come?"
Lu Nan shook his head and started the car: "No. I'll take you home first. Shall we invite your parents over for dinner tonight?"
"Okay," Cheng An nodded.
The journey was mostly dominated by Lu Nan’s chatter, with Cheng An occasionally responding.
Lu Nan glanced at her sideways. Cheng An's eyes were lowered and a faint smile playing on her lips. She really was different from before.
The car quickly arrived at the villa halfway up the mountain. Lu Nan dropped Cheng An off and watched her leave.
Cheng An stood in front of the house, turned, and waved to Lu Nan before entering the house.
When Lu Nan returned home, Lu Bei was just about to leave.
"Where are you going? Tonight, we’re having dinner with Uncle Cheng and Aunt Cheng."
"I'm not going." Lu Bei said, putting on his sunglasses and hat before heading out.
Lu Nan raised an eyebrow. It seemed the girl had responded. Now, Cheng An was likely to be disappointed.
Lu Nan's mind conjured up that fair and beautiful face.
Lu Bei hurried to Huang Hui's company building, just in time to run into Tang Yao coming out.
She looked quite tired and was stretching.
Seeing Lu Bei, Tang Yao was a little surprised: "What brings you here?"
"Oh, I was running some errands nearby. Seeing you replied to my message, I came to check on you," Lu Bei said. "Have you eaten?"
"Not yet. Just planning to wander around and grab something to eat." Tang Yao stretched her wrists. She'd been at the studio for the past two days and finally only had some finishing touches left.
Huang Hui couldn't bear to watch any longer and pulled her out, letting her get some rest for the night.
Originally, Huang Hui wanted to arrange for someone to take her home, but Tang Yao refused. She'd been here for a few days and hadn't even had a proper chance to explore.
"Really? Perfect, I haven't eaten either. Let's go together."
Tang Yao was slightly taken aback and then said, "Okay, but aren't you afraid of being recognized? There are quite a few people around here."
"It's fine." Lu Bei shook his sunglasses and hat, indicating that he was fully equipped.
The two chatted as they walked out.
The evening in the capital was bustling. Not far from the building was an old alley and outside the alley was a food street.
There were century-old roast duck restaurants, noodle shops, and all sorts of snacks.
Tang Yao was already hungry. Huang Hui had sent her some food earlier, but she had been engrossed in her work and hadn't eaten much.
The enticing aromas of delicious food wafted into their nostrils, and their stomachs began to rumble.
Queues had already formed outside some of the more appealing shops. Tang Yao looked at this one, then that one, wanting to try them all.
“Go buy that one, I’ll hold the queue for you at this shop,” Lu Bei said, resolving her predicament at the crucial moment.
Tang Yao didn’t stand on ceremony and headed straight for another shop.
Lu Bei was tall and had long legs and with his face well-covered, he inevitably attracted attention from passersby.
A young girl even secretly took a picture of him and shared it with her friends.
Lu Bei pulled his hat down low. With Tang Yao not around, he reverted to his aloof demeanor, making others hesitant to approach him.
Ultimately, through their combined efforts, they bought quite a few snacks.
To avoid being recognized, the two found a small park, sat on an empty lakeside bench, and began to share their food.
The sesame seed cakes were crispy and delicious, while the skewered dumplings were cloyingly sweet and sticky. The roast duck was fragrant, while the fermented bean juice made Tang Yao feel nauseous.
At the end, Tang Yao realized that the food she had eaten and didn't like had all ended up in Lu Bei's stomach.
She immediately felt a little embarrassed.
"It's okay, I have a big appetite. Better not to waste food," Lu Bei said.
Finally, the two of them each had a cup of milk tea, ending their dinner.
Tang Yao rubbed her full stomach, feeling very satisfied.
A gentle night breeze blew and Lu Bei felt better than ever. Listening to the soft voice beside him and looking at her beautiful profile, a sudden thought arose in his mind: he wanted to take her back and hide her away, perhaps in the castle he had bought in Europe…
"…Lu Bei?"
Tang Yao's voice brought him back to reality. Lu Bei turned and smiled at her: "What's wrong?"
"Leave? It's getting crowded here."
Lu Bei looked around. Sure enough, people who had finished eating and were strolling around had arrived.
Lu Bei nodded: "Let's go. I'll take you back to your hotel first."
"Thank you for having dinner with me today. I'll treat you to dinner again when I'm done with my work," Tang Yao said to Lu Bei.
"Okay, see you another day."
After Lu Nan took Cheng An's family home, he found his younger brother cooking instant noodles in the kitchen.
"What? Didn't see her?" Lu Nan raised an eyebrow.
"I saw." Lu Bei's mood was clearly much better than before he left.
"Then why are you eating instant noodles?"
"Girls have small stomachs. It's normal." Lu Bei's expression remained unchanged, but Lu Nan still sensed something was different.
The man had clearly overheard their conversation.
"Didn't I say I had a guest?" Huang Hui frowned slightly.
“President Huang, I’ve come up with a solution, that’s why I rushed over to find you.” The tall, thin man appeared to be a designer at the company. “We can modify it like this.”
“Not needed for now,” Huang Hui said. Since she had chosen to trust Tang Yao, she didn’t intend to pursue Plan Two. Besides, she had a feeling Tang Yao would give her a big surprise.
“President Huang, can you introduce this designer?” The man’s eyes held a hint of arrogance.
Huang Hui frowned slightly, but before she could speak, Tang Yao stood up. "Hello, I'm not a famous designer, just an ordinary guesthouse owner."
A hint of disdain flashed in the man's eyes. "President Huang, are you grasping at straws? Shouldn't only a famous designer be able to solve this problem? What can a guesthouse owner do?"
Huang Hui's frown deepened. "Why do I need to explain to you? I know you're young, ambitious, and capable, but you should also learn to respect people. After all these years in society, haven't you understood that there is always someone more capable?"
The man pursed his lips. Expressionless, he opened the door to leave.
"I'm sorry," Huang Hui said apologetically to Tang Yao. "They are indeed very capable, but most of them are a bit arrogant because of their skills."
"It's alright, I understand," Tang Yao said.
After becoming the most skilled embroiderer in Xia Kingdom, she had faced no shortage of targets. There were even assassins. This verbal attack was nothing to her. Knowing that Tang Yao could repair the finale dress, Huang Hui gave Tang Yao the partitioned room to use as a workshop.
Everything Tang Yao needed was moved to the workshop and Huang Hui even put aside her own work to help.
Tang Yao began her work that day. She first removed the thin tulle from the dress, and then, taking advantage of the workshop being empty, retrieved another piece of tulle from her own space.
When Huang Hui returned, she was so stunned by the exquisite, ethereal, cloud-like tulle that she instinctively slowed her pace.
It was far more beautiful than the fabric she had acquired at a high price.
“This…what is this?”
“Cloud gauze, legend says it’s woven by the Weaver Girl from clouds, as thin as a cicada’s wing and as light as nothing,” Looking up, Tang Yao replied.
This cloud gauze was something she had brought back from an ancient world. At the time, it was worth a fortune and could only be enjoyed by members of the royal family.
Because it was so beautiful, she had secretly stockpiled quite a bit. Now, such cloud-like gauze was practically extinct.
"It's so beautiful," Huang Hui remarked, reaching out and stroking it lightly in the air. Her eyes filled with admiration for the gauze. She hadn't expected Tang Yao to give her such a wonderful surprise.
Tang Yao attached the gauze to the skirt, then picked up a needle and thread and began embroidering the gauze at the hem.
Her movements were swift and her fingers almost dancing in afterimages.
Once, in the ancient world, she had made a floral dress for the Empress, but due to jealousy from her colleagues, the dress was damaged. She spent two days working tirelessly to remake it, stunning everyone at the celebration and gaining immense fame.
Seeing this, Huang Hui carefully opened the door and left, instructing the others not to disturb her.
While Tang Yao was immersed in her own little world, rumors began circulating in the company that Huang Hui had brought in a nepotism hire who lacked real talent and that Huang Hui had even entrusted the most important show's closing dress to this person to mess around with.
These words were clearly intended to incite emotions internally.
However, everyone wasn't stupid. Having worked at the company for so long, they knew what kind of person Huang Hui was.
A small group of people were swayed, feeling resentful. After all, they had worked day and night for so long, all for that show.
This minor disturbance within the company didn't attract Huang Hui's attention.
For the past three days, Lu Bei tried sending messages to Tang Yao, but received no reply.
Lu Nan looked at his younger brother, who was staring at his phone and radiating a gloomy aura, and shook his head helplessly.
This was clearly a one-sided love affair, unrequited. His younger brother was probably planning to take her out to have a good time in the capital, perhaps even had arrangements made, but now the other party hadn't even replied to a message.
Lu Nan also knew that the show at Huang Hui's company was indeed very important.
It seemed that not replying was understandable.
Lu Nan shook his head, glanced at his younger brother who seemed oblivious to his own reverie, and waved the car keys in his hand: "Want to go pick her up from the airport?"
"No," Lu Bei said. Lu Nan, who had originally intended to cheer him up, turned and left.
The car drove towards the airport and stopped in a corner of the parking lot.
A considerable number of people were standing at the arrival gate, including reporters and fans, all eagerly awaiting the arrival.
A banner read, "Welcome back, Movie Empress."
Soon, a large crowd poured out of the airport. Everyone looked left and right, but they didn't see the figure they expected.
Not far from the arrival gate, in the parking lot, a girl wearing a hat, mask, and sunglasses stealthily slipped away from the crowd and got into Lu Nan's car.
"Elder Brother Lu Nan," the girl said, removing her mask to reveal a bright and beautiful face.
She looked more composed than she had three years ago.
"You've grown up and are even more beautiful," Lu Nan complimented, his eyes filled with gentle light.
Cheng An smiled, subconsciously brushing her now-long hair aside.
Then, Cheng An's gaze fell on the back seat: "Didn't Lu Bei come?"
Lu Nan shook his head and started the car: "No. I'll take you home first. Shall we invite your parents over for dinner tonight?"
"Okay," Cheng An nodded.
The journey was mostly dominated by Lu Nan’s chatter, with Cheng An occasionally responding.
Lu Nan glanced at her sideways. Cheng An's eyes were lowered and a faint smile playing on her lips. She really was different from before.
The car quickly arrived at the villa halfway up the mountain. Lu Nan dropped Cheng An off and watched her leave.
Cheng An stood in front of the house, turned, and waved to Lu Nan before entering the house.
When Lu Nan returned home, Lu Bei was just about to leave.
"Where are you going? Tonight, we’re having dinner with Uncle Cheng and Aunt Cheng."
"I'm not going." Lu Bei said, putting on his sunglasses and hat before heading out.
Lu Nan raised an eyebrow. It seemed the girl had responded. Now, Cheng An was likely to be disappointed.
Lu Nan's mind conjured up that fair and beautiful face.
Lu Bei hurried to Huang Hui's company building, just in time to run into Tang Yao coming out.
She looked quite tired and was stretching.
Seeing Lu Bei, Tang Yao was a little surprised: "What brings you here?"
"Oh, I was running some errands nearby. Seeing you replied to my message, I came to check on you," Lu Bei said. "Have you eaten?"
"Not yet. Just planning to wander around and grab something to eat." Tang Yao stretched her wrists. She'd been at the studio for the past two days and finally only had some finishing touches left.
Huang Hui couldn't bear to watch any longer and pulled her out, letting her get some rest for the night.
Originally, Huang Hui wanted to arrange for someone to take her home, but Tang Yao refused. She'd been here for a few days and hadn't even had a proper chance to explore.
"Really? Perfect, I haven't eaten either. Let's go together."
Tang Yao was slightly taken aback and then said, "Okay, but aren't you afraid of being recognized? There are quite a few people around here."
"It's fine." Lu Bei shook his sunglasses and hat, indicating that he was fully equipped.
The two chatted as they walked out.
The evening in the capital was bustling. Not far from the building was an old alley and outside the alley was a food street.
There were century-old roast duck restaurants, noodle shops, and all sorts of snacks.
Tang Yao was already hungry. Huang Hui had sent her some food earlier, but she had been engrossed in her work and hadn't eaten much.
The enticing aromas of delicious food wafted into their nostrils, and their stomachs began to rumble.
Queues had already formed outside some of the more appealing shops. Tang Yao looked at this one, then that one, wanting to try them all.
“Go buy that one, I’ll hold the queue for you at this shop,” Lu Bei said, resolving her predicament at the crucial moment.
Tang Yao didn’t stand on ceremony and headed straight for another shop.
Lu Bei was tall and had long legs and with his face well-covered, he inevitably attracted attention from passersby.
A young girl even secretly took a picture of him and shared it with her friends.
Lu Bei pulled his hat down low. With Tang Yao not around, he reverted to his aloof demeanor, making others hesitant to approach him.
Ultimately, through their combined efforts, they bought quite a few snacks.
To avoid being recognized, the two found a small park, sat on an empty lakeside bench, and began to share their food.
The sesame seed cakes were crispy and delicious, while the skewered dumplings were cloyingly sweet and sticky. The roast duck was fragrant, while the fermented bean juice made Tang Yao feel nauseous.
At the end, Tang Yao realized that the food she had eaten and didn't like had all ended up in Lu Bei's stomach.
She immediately felt a little embarrassed.
"It's okay, I have a big appetite. Better not to waste food," Lu Bei said.
Finally, the two of them each had a cup of milk tea, ending their dinner.
Tang Yao rubbed her full stomach, feeling very satisfied.
A gentle night breeze blew and Lu Bei felt better than ever. Listening to the soft voice beside him and looking at her beautiful profile, a sudden thought arose in his mind: he wanted to take her back and hide her away, perhaps in the castle he had bought in Europe…
"…Lu Bei?"
Tang Yao's voice brought him back to reality. Lu Bei turned and smiled at her: "What's wrong?"
"Leave? It's getting crowded here."
Lu Bei looked around. Sure enough, people who had finished eating and were strolling around had arrived.
Lu Bei nodded: "Let's go. I'll take you back to your hotel first."
"Thank you for having dinner with me today. I'll treat you to dinner again when I'm done with my work," Tang Yao said to Lu Bei.
"Okay, see you another day."
After Lu Nan took Cheng An's family home, he found his younger brother cooking instant noodles in the kitchen.
"What? Didn't see her?" Lu Nan raised an eyebrow.
"I saw." Lu Bei's mood was clearly much better than before he left.
"Then why are you eating instant noodles?"
"Girls have small stomachs. It's normal." Lu Bei's expression remained unchanged, but Lu Nan still sensed something was different.