"Yes. You know her?" Li Yang was about to call her back.
“We’re not close. I’ve seen her once at a party. We just nodded to each other, that’s about it!” Zhao Lihua said.
"What does she want with you?" Zhao Lihua pressed, her eyes filled with suspicion and wariness.
"Look at the way you're looking at me, like I'm some kind of pervert who'd pounce on any pretty girl I see!" Li Yang said, amused.
"What do you think? A womanizing playboy!" Zhao Lihua said resentfully.
"Do I have one?" Li Yang asked, a little smugly.
"Still denying it? You're a woman's worst nightmare! If women are iron, you're a magnet!" Zhao Lihua sneered.
"Thank you for the compliment, I'm honored!" Li Yang said with a smug smile.
"Go ahead and be smug! But I'm not worried about Ye Ziyan. Even if you have the desire, you don't have the guts. She's Mayor Ye's precious daughter. Do you really think you can mess with her?" Zhao Lihua said to Li Yang.
"No, no. I wouldn't dare to mess with someone like you! Let alone someone of that caliber!" Li Yang coaxed Zhao Lihua sweetly.
"You don't dare? And you still say you didn't ruin me?" Zhao Lihua said, dissatisfied.
“How can this be considered waste? This is pity, this is care. You need to learn to distinguish between them!” Li Yang instructed her.
"Nonsense! Tell me quickly, what does she want with you?" Zhao Lihua said, pursing her lips.
"How would I know? I'll ask her right now," Li Yang said, shaking his head. He picked up his phone and pressed the call-back button.
The call was answered immediately after only two rings, clearly she had been waiting for Li Yang's call back.
"Miss Ye, is there something you need?" Li Yang asked seriously.
"Yes. I have something I'd like to talk to you about. How about we arrange to meet somewhere?" Ye Ziyan said softly, her voice gentle, revealing no emotion.
She always spoke to everyone with this same indifferent, gentle tone, yet she kept everyone at arm's length. Even with Li Yang, with whom she had a relationship, it seemed she hadn't truly entered his heart. Even though they had shared a meal together, her relationship with his father, and even her relationship with Gao Qingmei, didn't seem to affect her relationship with Li Yang. They remained as indifferent as strangers, at most familiar strangers.
“Um…” Li Yang hesitated for a moment and looked at Zhao Lihua.
"What are you looking at me for? Go do what you're supposed to be doing!" Zhao Lihua glared at her, while muttering under her breath, "You're making me look like a female bandit. Do you think I'd care about anything you do?"
"What? Is it inconvenient?" Ye Ziyan was very clever; she immediately sensed Li Yang's slight hesitation.
"No. Name a place!" Li Yang was just giving Zhao Lihua face, letting her know that he cared about her and her opinion. Even if Ye Ziyan invited him, he would still refuse her if she asked!
"Let's come to XXX Tea House!" Ye Ziyan said.
"Okay." Li Yang hung up the phone.
"Why don't you come with me?" Li Yang asked, seeing that Zhao Lihua seemed a little downcast. He walked over and hugged her.
"Why would I go? She's on a date with you, I'm not going to be a third wheel!" Zhao Lihua said she wasn't jealous, but she was still a little annoyed.
"What date? We're just friends. She must have contacted me about the demolition issue. This demolition not only concerns me, but also her father, Mayor Ye. If this matter is handled well, Cai Lan's power might be greatly reduced, and her father, Mayor Ye, could suddenly become the top official in Jiangdong City, completely suppressing Secretary Cai. That's why she's taking it so seriously. Otherwise, I really can't imagine why she would contact me!" Li Yang explained immediately.
"Isn't it for something else?" Zhao Lihua asked, still somewhat doubtful.
"Of course it's not for anything else, I even suspect she might be frigid or a lesbian!" Li Yang apologized to Ye Ziyan in his heart before launching into a scathing attack.
"What? She's not interested in you?" Zhao Lihua asked, amused.
“Of course it’s boring,” Li Yang said.
"No wonder you spoke so harshly about them. You're so mean!" Zhao Lihua said, amused. Her mood improved.
Li Yang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "What are you talking about? I didn't say that because she's not interested in me. She's not interested in any of the men, that's why I made that bold guess! You really aren't coming with me?"
"I'm not going. Since you're meeting a gay man, and a woman at that, I'm relieved!" Zhao Lihua said casually. But she was still a little reluctant to let him go. After all, it wasn't easy for them to get together, and it had only been a short while before Li Yang was leaving. She was still very sad to see him go.
"Where are you going later?" Li Yang asked.
“Go back to the martial arts school. Keep practicing. Practicing martial arts is like studying; it’s like rowing against the current. If you don’t move forward, you fall behind!” Zhao Lihua said with emotion.
"Good girl!" Li Yang patted her head and said.
"Don't take pictures! You'll make me stupid! I'm ignoring you!" Zhao Lihua opened Li Yang's handbag and walked towards the door.
"Hey, wait for me!" Li Yang hurriedly followed and went out. After leaving the residential area, Li Yang asked his younger brother to drive Zhao Lihua away. Seeing how considerate Li Yang was, Zhao Lihua felt a warm glow inside and said with some guilt, "You sent me away, what about you?"
"There are cars everywhere, I might as well just tie one up!" Li Yang joked.
"Then be careful. Mmm!" Zhao Lihua blew Li Yang a kiss, giggled, and got into the car. Li Yang, still dizzy from the electric shock, watched as the car drove off. Li Yang shook his head and hailed a taxi straight for the teahouse.
Chapter 623: Chrysanthemum
As soon as he arrived at the teahouse, he sensed something was off. Teahouses are usually quiet and elegant, but today it seemed rather noisy, especially the public areas. He wasn't sure about the private rooms.
He only saw people whispering among themselves in the public areas, especially the men, who were all flushed and excited, as if they had been injected with chicken blood. If Li Yang were to pull down their pants now, they would definitely be exposed in their most shameful state.
"Did you guys see that? That super hot girl just now, holy crap, she was amazing..."
"Yes, I've never seen such a beautiful woman before. She's not just beautiful, she also has such an elegant demeanor..."
"Heaven is fair; it bestows beauty upon you but not wisdom. But today I've witnessed the unfairness of the heavens..."
"Everyone says that young people die young and beautiful women have short lives; those who are too smart and beautiful don't live long and are punished by heaven. How come this one is an exception..."
Listening to their incessant chatter, Li Yang frowned slightly, thinking to himself, "Who have these people seen that they're so excited about? They look like they're driven by lust. Uh, could it be that they saw Ye Ziyan?" Li Yang almost instantly confirmed his thought. Only a beauty like Ye Ziyan could cause such a sensation? Only she could be praised for possessing both wisdom and beauty?
"Sir, how may I help you?" A pretty waitress approached and asked kindly, wearing a seemingly friendly professional smile.