Ning Li found Gu Tinglan’s question confusing. He made it sound like she had to report to Lu Huaiyu wherever she went.
As a matter of fact, she had told everyone that she was going back to Lincheng, but only Wei Songze knew that she was actually going to the capital. Lu Huaiyu did not even know she was leaving Yunzhou for the weekend.
She rubbed the boarding pass in her hand tightly. It seemed like she could not fool Gu Tinglan anymore.
“Not yet.”
Gu Tinglan nodded. “For how long?”
“For the weekend. I still have to go back to class on Monday.” Since she could not escape Gu Tinglan, she might as well be honest with the man.
Gu Tinglan sat down beside her. “There’s still some time before boarding. Sit down.”
She then sat down.
Gu Tinglan looked at her with a meaningful gaze. He looked like he was trying to pry the girl open to find out more. Ning Li was only 17 years old. What was so important that she had to fly to the capital on a weekend alone?
Judging from her brief luggage, he could tell that she was not there for a getaway.
The calmness in her eyes and her tone made it seem like she had prepared for this a while ago.
Fortunately, Gu Tinglan knew where to stop. Ning Li’s privacy was involved, and since the girl did not tell him more, he should not be asking why she was going to the capital.
“Dr. Gu, you are going back to the capital for a business trip?” Ning Li asked.
“I guess you can say so, but it’s not entirely right.” Gu Tinglan smiled awkwardly as he recalled the contents of the phone call earlier. “I’ve got a friend’s appointment.”
Ning Li nodded silently. She heard that Gu Tinglan had grown up aboard and most of the Gu family properties were scattered across the globe. However, the Gu family knew their roots and had been maintaining a strong connection with their own businesses within the country.
Gu Tinglan came from an excellent family, and the man was amazing himself. He was very likable. It was rare for him to come back to the country, so attending social gatherings was common for him.
“Do you have a place to stay in the capital? If not, I can do you a favor.”
“Thank you, Dr. Gu. I’ve booked a place.” Ning Li really wished that she could part ways with Gu Tinglan after reaching the capital. It was already surprising to meet the man at the airport, and she did not want her plans to be disrupted.
Gu Tinglan was a smart man, and he knew what Ning Li was hinting at. Nevertheless, he was not concerned at all. Instead, he smiled and gave her a name card.
“This is my name card. I’ll be in the capital for a whole week. You can contact me if there’s anything you need.”
Ning Li received it with both hands and thanked the man. Given Gu Tinglan’s status, there were countless others who tried to win his favor, so the name card was considered a precious gift.
Gu Tinglan then looked out of the window and suddenly asked, “Ning Li, have you ever seen me before?”
Ning Li froze for a moment. She subtly denied it, “No.”
Did Gu Tinglan notice something hence the question?
However, Ning Li had always been careful and she only had limited meetings with Gu Tinglan, so he should not have noticed anything strange.
“Really? I’ve never met you before, but I feel like I know you from somewhere.”
Ning Li’s heart throbbed for a moment as she looked at him. In her past life, Gu Tinglan had said the same thing to her before, ‘I feel like I know you from somewhere.’
In this life, her encounter with Gu Tinglan was entirely different from the past life, yet Gu Tinglan said the same thing.
He locked eyes with the girl and explained with a smile, “Maybe it’s because you are from Lincheng?”
“Lincheng?”
Ning Li remembered that the man had been to Lincheng the other day, appearing to be investigating something. She did not ask him for details though.
“Mm-hmm. I’ve been there before. It’s not too bad.”
Speaking of Lincheng, Gu Tinglan sounded a lot softer. It seemed like that place meant something else to him.
“It’s your first trip there, right?”
“Yeah.”
Ning Li felt strange. Lincheng was just a normal rural city and there was nothing stellar about it. There were a ton of other similar cities in the country.
Given Gu Tinglan’s background, why would he be fond of Lincheng?
“However, I went there on a limited schedule and didn’t get the time to enjoy the place. If I have the chance to go there again, can I ask you to be my tour guide?” Gu Tinglan was rather persistent about Lincheng.
Ning Li was stunned for a moment. “Sure, but there’s really nothing special about Lincheng…”
“I like Lincheng’s hospitality. The people there are friendly. Looking at them alone makes me feel good.”
“Okay…”
Since Gu Tinglan put it that way, there was no reason for Ning Li to reject him.
“Passengers of M3692 on the flight from Yunzhou to Jincheng, you may start boarding now…” The sweet voice of the flight attendant came from the broadcast.
Gu Tinglan then got up.
“Let’s go.”
Ning Li sighed a breath of relief. She ought to part ways with Gu Tinglan after the flight.
…
Alas, thoughts were usually better than reality.
When she boarded the plane, she realized that Gu Tinglan had booked an economy seat.
He noticed Ning Li’s surprised gaze as well. After he pushed his briefcase into the upper compartment, he said calmly, “Well, it was a last-minute ticket. There were no more seats.”
It was a solid reason.
However, when Ning Li realized they were only one row apart from each other, she started to think that maybe it was a bad day to travel.
Fortunately, after Gu Tinglan sat down behind her, he did not ask anything else. He shut his eyes, seeming to be asleep.
Ning Li turned her phone off and the plane soon took off.
…
Forty minutes later, the flight attendant pushed the meal cart around. The flight provided two types of meal: rice with unagi and kung pao chicken rice.
Ning Li went for rice with unagi.
Then, she heard a voice behind her. “Rice with unagi, please. Thank you.”
He took the rice box from the flight attendant and asked, “Ning Li, do you like unagi as well?”
Ning Li shook her head. “No, I’m just allergic to peanuts.”
The kung pao chicken had nuts in it, so she had no other choice.
Gu TInglan froze for a slight second and smiled. “Really? I have a friend who is also allergic to peanuts. What a coincidence.”
Ning Li disagreed. There were people who were allergic to all kinds of nuts, and she had met a lot of them as she grew up. It was not that rare, to be honest.
As for the mentioned friend, Gu Tinglan had a sea of friends, so it was not surprising that he had such a friend at all.
Gu Tinglan leaned back in his seat. A quick thought later, he shook his head silently. Ever since he met Ning Li, he had been noticing uncanny coincidences with her.
…
In Huanxing Entertainment in Jingchen, the capital, Mei Li was rushing Xu Yini to get prepared.
“The meeting tonight starts in half an hour. We have to leave right now. Edmond has a great impression of you, and he said he will introduce you to the son of G&S. You have to seize this chance!”
Edmon was the fashion director from G&S.
Xu Yini’s busy schedule was finally paying off. In addition to her solid background, she stood out from the rest of the competitors and entered the final selection phase.
This upcoming meeting was a private one, and there were only three celebrities invited, one of which was Xu Yini.
According to reliable sources, the son of the owner of G&S would also be there. This meeting would highly determine who would win the ambassadorship.
Xu Yini tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get this.”