Chapter 452

Chapter 452 I Can Support You

Why was Su Rui so surprised to hear the name Junlan?

　　Fortunately, since the office lights were off, Lin Aoxue couldn’t make out Su Rui’s expression clearly, though she sensed something slightly off in his tone.

　　”What’s wrong with you?” Lin Aoxue asked with a hint of confusion. She knew Su Rui must be starving, and she wanted to welcome him back properly, so she had reserved a quiet private room at the Junlan Hotel.

　　It was just that, looking at him now, he didn’t seem too keen on going?

　　”Uh, it’s nothing, I just think the Junlan Kempinski is too expensive.”

　　Thinking of Qin Yueran, Su Rui couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on, and said awkwardly, his eyes shifting away.

　　”It’s not expensive.” Lin Aoxue answered in her usual two-word style. In her mind, this hotel held a special sentimental significance — after all, it was where she and Su Rui had shared their first dinner together.

　　Of course, on another level, Lin Aoxue did have a small ulterior motive. As a well-connected figure in the business world, there was no way she hadn’t heard about how Su Rui had stormed the Qin family estate in the capital with twelve helicopters just to crash Qin Yueran’s wedding — a spectacle so outrageous it was almost infuriating.

　　Even if Qin Yueran was just an ordinary friend of Su Rui’s, any woman would feel jealous over something like that. When it comes to feelings, everyone is selfish, regardless of gender — no one is truly magnanimous enough to share their other half with one or more rivals.

　　Otherwise, the imperial harems of ancient times wouldn’t have been filled with so much scheming and strife.

　　The two of them walked up to the BMW, and Lin Aoxue stepped ahead to pull open the driver’s door, saying, “Let me drive.”

　　”Haven’t I always been the one driving? Let me do it.” Su Rui said, somewhat surprised.

　　”Driving while fatigued is dangerous.” Lin Aoxue said, already settling into the seat and buckling her seatbelt.

　　What she really meant, of course, was — you’re tired, so don’t drive, let me handle it.

　　Yet coming from her lips, the same words carried an entirely different flavor.

　　Still, Su Rui could appreciate Lin Aoxue’s good intentions. He smiled faintly, sat down in the passenger seat without a fuss, and went back to resting with his eyes closed.

　　Lin Aoxue was clearly a novice driver. She drove extremely slowly, keeping the 4.0T BMW 760 stubbornly capped at fifty kilometers per hour. Su Rui almost felt sorry for the car — it was perfectly capable of cruising at two hundred without breaking a sweat…

　　That said, slow and steady keeps trouble away. Lin Aoxue drove slowly the whole way, but also very smoothly. Su Rui, true to his incorrigible nature, kept stealing glances at the two peaks made all the more prominent by the seatbelt pressing against them.

　　Lin Aoxue could feel Su Rui’s gaze, and a faint blush crept onto her pretty face. But since she was focused on driving, she couldn’t exactly do anything to shield herself — which only made things more convenient for Su Rui.

　　As the Junlan Kempinski drew closer and closer, Su Rui actually began to feel a little nervous.

　　He looked calm on the surface, but inside he was praying desperately — please don’t let him run into Qin Yueran, because if he did, there’d be no getting out of it.

　　Lin Aoxue pulled up in front of the hotel entrance, tossed the car keys to a valet, and walked side by side with Su Rui into the hotel.

　　Before leaving the office, Miss Lin had changed into a casual summer outfit — a floral bohemian maxi dress paired with wedge espadrille sandals, looking cool and alluring.

　　Su Rui, on the other hand, was dressed completely ordinarily, in clothes he hadn’t even washed in two days. To onlookers, they were a completely mismatched pair, and many men quietly lamented that yet another beautiful flower had been planted in a pile of dung.

　　This time, Lin Aoxue hadn’t chosen the seaside terrace for dinner, but instead picked a quiet private room — partly to avoid being disturbed, wanting to share a low-key meal with Su Rui.

　　When he saw the private room, Comrade Su Rui let out a long breath of relief… This was perfect — slip in quietly, eat, and get out fast, and he wouldn’t run into Qin Yueran!

　　Su Rui didn’t quite understand why he felt this way. He certainly didn’t dislike Qin Yueran, and he wasn’t sneaking around behind her back either — it was just that the whole situation gave him a splitting headache.

　　Lin Aoxue was quite generous, ordering a bottle of Royal Salute specially, pouring a glass for Su Rui, then raising her own glass with something clearly on the tip of her tongue.

　　She had originally intended to say something like “here’s to your triumphant return,” but now that the glass was raised, the words simply wouldn’t come out.

　　Su Rui raised his glass as well, quietly amused, and deliberately said, “Aoxue, shouldn’t we say a few words before we drink?”

　　Lin Aoxue’s expression became a little conflicted.

　　She hesitated for a long moment before saying, with some difficulty, “How about… you stop doing such dangerous things from now on.”

　　Su Rui shook his head helplessly. “If I don’t do that, how am I supposed to earn money and support a family?”

　　”I can support you.” The words slipped out of Lin Aoxue’s mouth before she could stop them.

　　Once said, there was no taking it back. The moment she saw Su Rui’s stunned expression, she realized she had said the wrong thing!

　　But perhaps that was exactly what she truly felt in her heart.

　　At this point, Lin Aoxue’s face had gone completely red. She hastily raised her glass and downed it in one go!

　　She drank so fast that she choked and broke into a fit of coughing, making the already awkward moment even more embarrassing.

　　After his initial shock, Su Rui drank his glass as well, and asked with a grin, “You’d really be willing to support me?”

　　Lin Aoxue kept her head down, red-faced, picking at her food without a word.

　　”I won’t lie, I’d genuinely be happy to be a kept man — being supported by a stunning woman like you is something most men can only dream about.”

　　Lin Aoxue’s face was so red it looked like it might drip.

　　Su Rui burst out laughing, his laughter filled with boundless warmth and delight.

　　Because of this little episode, the two of them barely exchanged a word through the rest of the meal. Su Rui occasionally asked a question or two, and Lin Aoxue could only manage a few words in reply. Fortunately, the food was genuinely delicious, and Su Rui ate with great gusto, showing no restraint whatsoever.

　　Between the two of them, they finished an entire bottle of Royal Salute. Su Rui was fine, but Lin Aoxue was already slightly tipsy.

　　Once a person gets a little drunk, they find a little extra courage.

　　She rested her chin in her hand, her beautiful eyes fixed on Su Rui, rippling with an unspoken warmth.

　　Her heart had been locked away for over twenty years, yet in just two short months after meeting this man, it had been thrown wide open.

　　Su Rui looked at Lin Aoxue and felt a stir in his chest. “Aoxue, you’ve had quite a bit to drink. Let’s get a designated driver to take us back.”

　　”No, I’m not drunk yet.”

　　Everyone who says they’re not drunk already is.

　　”Su Rui, I…”

　　Lin Aoxue stared at him, seemingly summoning her courage, yet the words still wouldn’t come.

　　”What did you want to say?” Su Rui said with a smile. He instinctively sensed that Miss Lin tonight was somehow a little different from usual.

　　It was only then that Lin Aoxue realized how hard it was to say what had risen to the tip of her tongue.

　　”I… I want another bottle of wine.”

　　After all that buildup, she never said what she meant to say — instead, Lin Aoxue came out with a line that nearly made Su Rui’s jaw hit the floor.

　　”You’ve already had plenty.”

　　”No, I’m just getting started.”

　　With that, Lin Aoxue stood up, walked to the door of the private room, and pulled it open.

　　”Waiter, bring two more bottles of Royal Salute.”

　　Having had too much to drink, Lin Aoxue’s voice came out very loud — at least twice her usual volume. That distinctively cold, personal voice of hers rang out clearly through every corner of the hallway!

　　Su Rui didn’t even have time to stop her!

　　In Ninghai, fate has a cruel sense of humor — whatever you fear most is exactly what comes to find you!

　　At every critical moment, those words proved uncannily true!

　　Qin Yueran was at the other end of the hallway, going over some instructions with the lobby manager, when she suddenly heard that voice. She raised an eyebrow and murmured to herself, “That sounds like it could be Lin Aoxue from Bikang. Strange — given her personality, she wouldn’t normally call out like that.”

　　For Qin Yueran, the “Queen of Junlan,” she had a crystal-clear memory of the voice and face of every notable figure in society — without that, she could never have managed the entire hotel so effortlessly.

　　On the surface she seemed perfectly at ease, charming everyone around her, living a glamorous life — but who could have imagined the painstaking effort behind every one of those simple greetings?

　　The lobby manager was full of admiration. “Ms. Qin, you’re absolutely right — the guest in that private room is indeed Miss Lin from Bikang.”

　　Upon hearing the confirmation, Qin Yueran seemed to suddenly think of something, and her expression shifted slightly. “Who did Lin Aoxue come with?”

　　”With a gentleman. Very plainly dressed.”

　　Qin Yueran’s voice rose another notch. “Does the man look to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, fair-skinned, wearing a light-colored striped T-shirt?”

　　The lobby manager was truly in awe of Qin Yueran, and nodded repeatedly. “Ms. Qin, you’re exactly right — the gentleman is indeed wearing a light-colored striped T-shirt! How did you know?”

　　”That shameless, womanizing bastard!”

　　Qin Yueran clenched her teeth, looking utterly indignant — her expression was exactly like that of a woman who had just caught her own man cheating red-handed!

　　The lobby manager immediately fell silent. He had a vague sense of what was going on, and a burning curiosity instantly welled up inside him.

　　As for how Qin Yueran knew what Su Rui was wearing today — that was the simplest thing in the world. Like Lin Aoxue, Zhang Ziwei, and the others, she had been following the news of Su Rui’s arrest from start to finish, her attention fixed on the capital the entire time. Qin Ranlong had been calling her every half hour to report the latest developments!

　　When she learned that Su Rui had gotten out safely, Qin Yueran let out a long breath of relief — but she never expected that after returning to Ninghai, Su Rui wouldn’t contact her at all, and instead went straight out to have a good time with Lin Aoxue… right under her own nose!

　　That bastard — did he have any idea how worried she had been about him?

　　Just then, a waiter walked past Qin Yueran carrying two bottles of Royal Salute on a tray.

　　”Hold on — is that wine going to room 108?” Qin Yueran reached out and stopped him.

　　”Yes, Ms. Qin.” The waiter nodded.

　　”I’ll take it.”

　　After getting the waiter’s confirmation, a glint of provocation flashed in the eyes of the formidable Queen of Junlan. She took the tray, and on those two incomparably long legs of hers, strode purposefully toward the private room where Su Rui was waiting!