Liu Duo could see the redness gathering on his face. She smiled and withdrew her gaze. Ling tended to shy away easily. She couldn’t change him.
But she liked it that way!
Liu Duo looked at Dongfang Ming. “Mr Dongfang, Ling and I should go. The chefs already learned how to prepare the chilled drinks, so I leave everything in your hands now. We’ll be waiting for the bonuses.”
Dongfang Ming just smiled in return. “There’s no need to rush, I have prepared a room for you to rest. You can stay until it’s not so hot outside.”
He’d learned from the last time he visited that she had the habit of taking a nap. This was quite rare in a farming village.
After all, the common farmer’s wife had to work and take care of the kids. Who would have time for a nap?
But he could tell Ye Yang and the men adored her a lot, and not just because she made a better life for them.
Liu Duo merely smiled and shook her head. “Thank you, Mr Dongfang, for your kind offer, but that’s alright. It’s just going to be hot for a little while. It’s no big deal. We can handle it.”
It would only take ten to twenty minutes to return to the village. She wasn’t so dainty that she couldn’t withstand a little heat.
“Madam Ye, it’s true that a little heat isn’t a big deal. But it’s a little token from me to you, please don’t take it the wrong way. I don’t want us to only be business partners. I want to be friends with you and Ling.” Dongfang Ming looked at Liu Duo with full devotion in his eyes.
Liu Duo squinted her eyes a little upon hearing his reply. She did not respond immediately.
Be friends?
Dongfang Ming didn’t demand an answer when he noticed her lack of response. He could tell Liu Duo wasn’t as approachable as the other girls. She would keep her distance ever so subtly when they were having conversations.
And she didn’t seem like a common village girl either. She seemed more like the rich daughter of a renown family in the capital.
It took a while before Liu Duo settled with a reply. “We’re working together on two projects now. Naturally, that makes us friends.”
She gave it a little thought. Even though she wasn’t very delighted about staying in touch with him, she supposed having another friend couldn’t be too bad.
They seemed to have Li Wazi as their only friend, and no one else!
“Then there’s no need to call me Mr. Dongfang anymore, Madam Ye. Just Dongfang will do. Since we’re friends, calling me Mr. Dongfang isn’t quite right. So, how about it? Can I call you Little Duo?” Dongfang Ming smiled.
“Sure, no problem, Dongfang.”
Little Duo didn’t hesitate. Since they were willing to be friends, there really wasn’t any need to continue calling him Mr. Dongfang!
Thus, Dongfang Ming began to call her by a friendlier term. “Little Duo, why don’t you and Ling take a rest in the guestroom I have prepared for you? Later I’ll get my coachman to take you home.”
“Alright, I see no reason to decline,” she nodded.
Ye Ling didn’t mind. He would go along with whatever Liu Duo decided.
He was just like a servant to his wife!
Dongfang Ming was pleased that she had agreed to friendship so readily. He happily got up and led the way.
There was an ice wall in the room he prepared for them. That was basically the last block of ice he had brought with him.
If it was used up, that would be that.
“Little Duo, Ling, take a good rest. I shall not disturb,” Dongfang Ming said and left with a smile.
Ye Ling didn’t take naps, so he said to Liu Duo, “Duo Er, you can take the bed. I’ll stay with you here.”
Yet Liu Duo took his hand and lured him to the bed. “Ling, why don’t you nap with me? There’s nothing much to do anyway.”
They weren’t at home, where they could still work if they didn’t want to nap. He might as well take a nap with her rather than stay awake.