Lu Chen looked up and saw Shangguan Bei's beautiful, blinking eyes. He felt that avoiding the phone call would only make him look more suspicious.
He chuckled sheepishly and answered the phone.
On the other end, Zhuang Keluo's clear and loud voice reached Lu Chen's ears very clearly, even spreading out; Shangguan Bei must have heard it too.
Moreover, judging from her somewhat strange expression, she clearly knew who was speaking.
Lu Chen felt quite awkward and shrugged at Shangguan Bei.
Shangguan Bei smiled gently and slowly shook her head.
She gently pushed Lu Chen away with both hands, lifting herself up from his embrace. Then, she leaned to the other side, using the strength of her waist to place her two fair and delicate feet on Lu Chen's thighs, lying there like that.
This intimacy warmed Lu Chen's heart. He couldn't help but place his hand on Shangguan Bei's foot, gently massaging her toes to unblock the meridians in her toes.
Zhuang Keluo's voice sounded cheerful on the other end, asking where Lu Chen was.
Lu Chen thought for a moment and said, "At work."
In fact, he was at work.
Zhuang Keluo asked, "Brother Chen, do you work for that brat Shangguan Bei?"
The voice was so loud that it reached Shangguan Bei's ears completely, making Lu Chen even more embarrassed. He looked at Shangguan Bei, who shook her head helplessly on the other end, mouthing a five-word sentence: "I'm used to being scolded by her."
Shangguan Bei definitely knew who was calling Lu Chen.
Lu Chen smiled, suddenly feeling that Shangguan Bei was much more tolerant of Zhuang Keluo. He said yes to Zhuang Keluo.
He understood, of course, that Zhuang Youxing must have told her; it was inevitable. He was prepared, but he didn't expect it to happen so coincidentally at this time.
Zhuang Keluo said softly, "Brother Chen, can you come with me to the football match this afternoon? It's the Longwei Football Team from Yunzhou City playing against the Yongda Football Team from Qingyang City, Longjiang Province. They're both strong teams, very competitive, it's sure to be exciting."
This surprised Lu Chen. He hadn't expected Zhuang Keluo to change her tone so suddenly. Judging from Zhuang Youxing's tone before, Zhuang Keluo would usually erupt in anger whenever anything related to Shangguan Bei was mentioned.
But now, she was asking him to go to a football match? Was this tantamount to doing it in front of Shangguan Bei?
Lu Chen quickly declined, "Luo Luo, no, I'm at work, very busy. By the way, weren't you locked up by your grandfather to learn how to manage the car city? How come you have time?"
"Being locked up doesn't mean I can be locked up every day! Besides, my grandfather built the Longwei Football Team from scratch. If I go cheer him on, how could he refuse?" Zhuang Keluo said, then started to whine, "Come on, come on, Brother Chen, we haven't seen each other in so long, don't you miss me? Let's go watch the game together, just take half a day off!"
"This..." If Shangguan Bei wasn't here, Lu Chen might have actually agreed. After all, he had a strong liking for Zhuang Keluo, and the two had fought side-by-side, even against enemies.
Calling them comrades wouldn't be an exaggeration.
"Okay, okay, Brother Chen, I really want to see you!"
The sweet voice on the other end became coquettish, with a hint of resentment. She felt as if her heart would break if Lu Chen refused.
Lu Chen looked at Shangguan Bei with a troubled expression, and surprisingly, he saw a hint of surprise on her face.
Lu Chen scratched his head and said into the phone, "How about this, Luo Luo, I'll ask for leave first, okay? If I can get leave, I'll go to the game with you. If not, there's nothing I can do."
Zhuang Kelu muttered for a while, sounding quite dissatisfied, even mixing in some curses at Shangguan Bei. But in the end, she had no choice but to agree, her tone pleading, "Brother Chen, then hurry up and give me a reply!"
Reluctantly, she hung up the phone.
Lu Chen looked at Shangguan Bei again, suddenly feeling like his head had become incredibly large.
Shangguan Bei sighed softly, and her first words were, "Luo Luo definitely likes you, and it's not just ordinary liking. You could say it's love!"
"How so?" Lu Chen asked with a scholarly air.
Shangguan Bei said, "Luo Luo and I grew up together, so I know her personality very well. When we were in school, she also had crushes. That kind of crush was wild and domineering. When she dated boys, she was like a queen; whatever she said went, and if her boyfriend said no, he'd get a beating."
"My savage girlfriend!" Lu Chen exclaimed. However, considering Zhuang Keluo's characteristics, Shangguan Bei's words weren't entirely untrue; he just hadn't experienced it firsthand.
Shangguan Bei glanced at Lu Chen and said quietly, "Luo Luo used to be gentler with me when we were on good terms, but after our relationship broke down, we became like oil and water. She's actually been so gentle and sweet to you; this has never happened before. She's never been this obedient and ingratiating with her grandfather or parents. So, she's fallen in love with you."
Hearing this, Lu Chen felt awkward and quickly changed the subject: "Bei Bei, you know I... I know Luo Luo, right?" This was clearly a pointless question.
Shangguan Bei nodded earnestly, "Yes, it was also passed on by my informant in Huaihai. He told me that Director Zhuang knows you because of Luo Luo. Luo Luo and you seem to have some history, but he doesn't know the details."
As she spoke, she looked at Lu Chen, her eyes filled with curiosity and anticipation, "Brother Chen, can you tell me?"
What did Lu Chen have to hide? He felt he could tell Shangguan Bei anything, including running away from his wedding. Of course, that was best left unsaid. He began by rescuing someone at the bus station, then recounted how he and Zhuang Keluo went to confront the criminal gang that kidnapped Gong Xiaoyi, and how they fought against unscrupulous medical staff at the Fourth Hospital.
He told the story like a series of thrilling tales, captivating Shangguan Bei.
After listening, she said softly, "Brother Chen, I seem to be just like Luo Luo, having gone through so many adventures with you. True friendship is tested in times of hardship, that's the best kind of friendship. No wonder Luo Luo fell in love with you; she always said she wanted to find herself a great hero. She's had a few boyfriends, but they were all just casual flings; she rarely even held hands. She said she wanted to dedicate everything to a great hero worthy of her devotion."
"It seems that person is you!"
Lu Chen couldn't help but laugh, gently patting Shangguan Bei's head: "You understand her quite well."
Shangguan Bei nodded: "I still consider her a sister in my heart, even though she's always targeting me. The only thing I can't tolerate is that I… I lost my parents, and she still tries to hurt me. Oh well, it's all in the past…"
Shangguan Bei waved her hand, as if trying to drive away unhappy memories.
Lu Chen felt a surge of emotion; Bei Bei's heart was much broader than Luo Luo's. Her parents had suffered a terrible tragedy, and she was even bullied by her best friend. Anyone in her shoes would have found this hard to forgive, but in her eyes, only a trace of resentment and pain remained.
Clearly, in Shangguan Bei's heart, Zhuang Keluo was still a sister.
Thinking this, Lu Chen couldn't resist lifting Shangguan Bei's fair foot, which was still resting on his lap, and kissing her toes.
Shangguan Bei was startled, trying to pull her foot away but unable to, and could only pout, saying, "Brother Chen, your feet are dirty!"
"Not dirty!" Lu Chen grinned, "So white and tender, I love them." He then kissed her again.
Shangguan Bei giggled, straightened up, and snuggled into Lu Chen's arms again, softly asking, "Brother Chen, you seem to know something about me and Luo Luo?"
Lu Chen nodded. "I know a little. Director Zhuang told me. He was quite objective and fair, saying that Luo Luo has always been jealous of you and your boyfriend. But, based on his allegiances, he's naturally on Luo Luo's side."
"I understand." Shangguan Bei nodded, then straightened Lu Chen's collar and said softly,
"Then call Luo Luo back. Go with her to the football match this afternoon. Maybe she can introduce you to some of Yunzhou City's talented young people. The Longwei Football Team she mentioned is quite famous throughout Yunzhou City—actually, it's more like a club. Several of the shareholders are rich second-generation heirs. The captain is Zhuang Sicong, a rising star of the Zhuang family."
Lu Chen was taken aback. "You want me to go?"
Shangguan Bei smiled, "Actually, I didn't want you to go, but I saw you wanted to, and I was afraid I'd be unhappy. So, I had to be happy for you to go, otherwise, I'd seem petty. Brother Chen definitely wouldn't like a petty person like me, right? So, I have to be a magnanimous person!"
These words resonated deeply with Lu Chen.
When he came out of the dormitory area, Lu Chen saw Du Haoqi again near the medicinal herb planting area.
The raw materials for making the Vitality Dragon Elixir, apart from some herbs from high-altitude, frigid regions, were all grown here. These medicinal herbs were precious and fragile, so they required constant care.
As one of the key staff members of the Vitality Dragon Elixir project, this task of care mainly fell to Du Haoqi.
Therefore, she often appeared here.
This young and beautiful woman always managed to deeply attract Lu Chen's attention with her incredibly hot figure. Although there was some distance between them, Lu Chen thought for a moment, then walked over and greeted her.
Du Haoqi turned and glanced at him. Although her expression was cold, Lu Chen still saw a hint of panic in her eyes.
"Director Lu," she greeted him curtly, then ignored him and walked away along the herb field.
This was clearly an attitude of "I don't want to talk to you."
Lu Chen felt awkward and scratched his head. He thought about it; since arriving in Yunzhou City, he'd met so many beautiful women, all of whom had been incredibly kind to him. But this Du Haoqi—he tried to talk to her, but she ignored him.
Actually, he'd noticed over time that Du Haoqi was intentionally or unintentionally avoiding him.
Of course, Lu Chen wasn't angry. He chuckled, enjoying a moment of admiration for Du Haoqi's two large, full breasts, taut and twisting in her knitted pants. Then, he followed her.
"Dr. Du, did the prescription I gave you work? How are you feeling now? Any better?"
He asked with great interest.
Du Haoqi replied coldly, "Much better, thank you for your concern, Director Lu."
Lu Chen suddenly sighed, "Dr. Du, why are you doing this? Health is the foundation of everything. The first principle of living is taking care of yourself. Only by taking care of yourself can you have the strength to do other things. I don't know why you didn't use my prescription. But by doing this, you're not only letting me down, but you're letting yourself down!"
Upon hearing this, Du Haoqi's body stiffened instantly.