Spy

Xua Ying Yue neither agreed nor denied she looked at the magazine and closed it with a flick of her wrist. She felt a bit nauseous upon hearing Zou Zeming's words. Admire? How can she even think of admiring such a man? A part of her wished to throw this magazine at Zou Zeming's face but she calmed down and simply threw it aside with a casual look on her face.

If she was to get angry wouldn't it mean that she was agreeing with this man's words and that she was too embarrassed because he caught her peeking at her idol? Just the image was enough to make her stomach churn as she rolled her eyes a few times before she started to read about bitter rose and jasmine which could be used as tea when they were dried up.

Seeing that Xua Ying Yue was no longer reading the magazine and she did not seem interested in Lu Qin Yaozu, Zou Zeming heaved a breath and then said in a light voice, " Don't think that I am being nosy but such a man is not worth admiring, he is the kind of man whose wardroom is filled with nothing but skeletons.

" I am not his admirer," Xua Ying Yue stated firmly her hands clenching as she tried to focus on the properties of the bitter rose as she refused to raise her head and look at the dimwit man in front of her.

" You do need to hide it, I am not saying that it is not right to admire a man but you should admire someone who is more upright and proper." Zou Zeming was very afraid that this young friend of his would walk down the wrong path which was why he very generously advised Xua Ying Yue who finally looked up with a raise of her brow in a questioning manner and asked,

" Oh, then what kind of men should I admire then?" Since this man was not going to let her read, she should just play along with him. Maybe if she paid enough attention to this man-child, he will quieten down?

Zou Zeming did not expect that Xua Ying Yue would ask him such a question at first he was a bit stunned but then he thought about it carefully and then said in all seriousness, with his hand in a shape of a tick mark as he placed that mark which he made with his fingers under his chin, " Like me."

Xua Ying Yue: "….." forget that she even asked.

A frustrated sigh escaped her lips as she rose from her chair and went to another table for continuing her study, she was afraid that if she stayed with that guy, her IQ will drop as well.

A man whose muscles were yet to grow was telling her that she needed to admire him. For what? For being silly like that golden retriever which was being raised by Aunt Wang who lived three houses down the street?

This time even Zou Zeming blushed a little, it seemed that he went too far with his teasing. But why else was that girl reading about the likes of Lu Qin Yaozu if she was not his fan?

….

" The peonies are blooming really well, Master Lu," the butler who was in charge of attending to the members of the Lu family looked at the flourishing peonies and praised Lu Qin Yaozu who was nipping the leaves which had gone bad with a pair of garden scissors.

" Of course they are, brought them from country A with a guarantee that they will bloom," replied Lu Qin Yaozu as he tipped the hat that he was wearing on his head, unlike the city in which Xua Ying Yue was staying, the city S's sky was filled with sunshine, though it was still a bit cold, no one needed to wear long overcoats anymore.

Butler Lin did not say anything as he looked at the peonies with a smile and then placed a report on the table before reporting in a serious voice, " Lu Yan Sheng is planning to invest in the countryside of city S apparently there is a piece of hidden information that the price of land of the outskirts are going to rise since the government is planning to build factories there."

" Is that so?" Lu Qin Yaozu hummed as he nipped the flower which was not blooming properly and threw it on the ground before turning to look at Butler Lin and then said in a soft voice which was neither too hot nor too cold, " Send another hundred thousand yuan to that spy whom you sent in my dear brother's company, tell him that he had done a worthy job and make sure to remind him that he needs to keep up with the good work if he wishes to get such rewards in the future."

" Are you sure that he is trustworthy, Master Lu?" Butler Lin had no qualms about sending the money to their spy but the matter lies with the fact whether or not that spy was trustworthy. What if he was only doing this to get more money out of them?

" I have never been wrong about people, Butler Lin," Lu Qin Yaozu stepped on the small flower which did not bloom as fast and bigger as the rest of the peonies causing its beautiful petals to be broken and scattered all over the place as he strode towards the white tea table and then sat down. " I was right when I said that my little brother can never surpass me and I am right when I say that the man will never betray us. There has only been one such time when I was wrong but …" as Lu Qin Yaozu was reminded of the girl who stood in front of him and threatened him while looking him in the eyes, his finger clenched around the tea cup which he held rather tightly and then said, " But I swept that trouble under the rug as well."