The two found a place to sit down, and Huo Jingrui asked, "Why didn’t you call me in advance? I could have picked you up from the station."
Yunyi pouted. "I originally wanted to give you a surprise, but who knew seeing you would be this difficult."
Huo Jingrui felt somewhat guilty and raised his hand to touch the tip of his nose. Seeing this, Yunyi knew there was definitely more to the story. "Come clean, what happened?"
HОuo Jingrui glanced around and cleared his throat before speaking. "A few days ago, I went to the county government for a meeting and happened to run into Deputy County Mayor Gao. His family elders have some long-standing connections with the Huo Family, and he insisted on inviting me over to his house.
"Out of courtesy, I felt it wouldn’t be right to decline. But after just one visit, Deputy County Mayor Gao’s niece, Lian Shuzhen, started showing up every now and then, claiming the Deputy County Mayor had sent her to bring me food and drinks.
"At first, I didn’t think much of it and accepted out of consideration for our families’ connection. But then, a few days later, that girl came over again. I’m not a fool. After politely declining her kindness, I also called Deputy County Mayor Gao.
"Lian Shuzhen stopped sending meals, but she kept coming over, still invoking Deputy County Mayor Gao’s name. After the second time, I couldn’t take it anymore. I told the gatekeeper that, apart from my fiancée, no other women were to see me. That’s why you were stopped at the gate."
Yunyi looked at him with a wry smile. "I think if it were just this one girl after you, the gatekeeper probably wouldn’t have stopped me. Maybe you should think a little harder?"
Huo Jingrui reached out and took Yunyi’s hand. "I was just worried you’d be upset."
Yunyi didn’t pull her hand away. "Then tell me."
This time, Huo Jingrui was honest and spilled everything. "I’ve been setting up the house we were allocated these past few days, thinking of getting a carpenter to make that cupboard you mentioned. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍
"So I asked around in the finance department, and Chief Lu, who is very enthusiastic, offered to have his son take me there. But I didn’t expect that when his son came, Chief Lu’s daughter came along too.
"At the time, Chief Lu’s son, Lu Yucheng, said his sister also wanted a cupboard made, so they went together to find the carpenter.
"But the next day, Chief Lu’s daughter came over, saying she wanted a cupboard of the same design and asked if that would be okay. I wanted to call Chief Lu right then and give him a piece of my mind.
"One look at that girl, and her impure motives were clear. I called my secretary and had him personally escort Chief Lu’s daughter back to Chief Lu.
"Even though Chief Lu’s daughter hasn’t come back, word about it still got out.
"And then there’s Pan Huixin from the Pan Family’s Second House in Beijing. A few days ago, she was escorting an injured serviceman. While passing through here, she actually showed up at the factory..."
At this point, Huo Jingrui rushed to explain, "Don’t worry, I wasn’t friendly to her at all. I didn’t let her stay and had my secretary send her away promptly. You are the only one in my eyes and heart."
Yunyi saw he was practically about to swear an oath. Considering the times, the situation, and the fact that he had handled things reasonably well, she conceded, "Alright, I believe you. You handled it tolerably well, for the most part. Keep it up."
Of course, she had her own questions, but now wasn’t the time to ask—not with people occasionally glancing their way.
Noticing Yunyi wasn’t upset, Huo Jingrui let out a sigh of relief. "After we eat, I’ll take you to see the house. You can tell me what else we need, and I’ll get it ready."
Yunyi nodded. "Okay."
But internally, she was preparing to subject him to a grueling interrogation to find out just how much unwelcome romantic attention he had attracted.