Chapter 288: Chapter 288

Shi Yang was about to say goodbye, but before he could speak, Liu Cheng quickly said, "I didn’t expect to meet you here. My father fell ill and went to Beijing for treatment in early May. I’ve been accompanying him all the while, and I was planning to find you as soon as I got home."

Shi Yang felt a stir inside, but remained calm outwardly.

Sure enough, Liu Cheng continued, "I want to discuss the lease of Naughty Castle with you."

Shi Yang looked surprised, "But I’ve already agreed to transfer it to someone else."

Liu Cheng’s face immediately changed, "What?"

Shi Yang apologized, "I had mentioned earlier that I planned to transfer it by June 1st. During that time, two parties approached me for negotiations. I chose one of them, and we agreed to handle the transfer as soon as I returned from my trip."

Liu Cheng hurriedly said, "Come on, at least I was the first to see Naughty Castle, right? I mentioned back then that I would consider leasing it."

Shi Yang shook his head, "I’m sorry. Since you didn’t contact me later, I thought you weren’t interested. Besides, I’ve already negotiated the price with them and just need to handle the transfer once I return."

Upon hearing this, Liu Cheng became anxious, "No, Mr. Shi, it’s because there were family issues that I couldn’t contact you. But I’m sincerely interested in leasing Naughty Castle." Get full chapters from nοvelfire.net

Shi Yang looked troubled and was about to speak when suddenly someone behind him called out, "Brother-in-law!"

Shi Yang turned around in surprise, and upon seeing the caller, both were momentarily shocked, pointing at each other.

Zhang Jiahui quickly approached, looking at Shi Yang with delight, "Why is it you? How come you’re here?"

Shi Yang greeted her with a smile, "What a coincidence!"

Liu Cheng looked at Shi Yang and Zhang Jiahui separately and chuckled, "You know each other?"

Zhang Jiahui introduced with a grin, "Ah, we were high school classmates."

Liu Cheng laughed, "So you are classmates!"

Zhang Jiahui nodded and her gaze fell on Zhao Meimei, who was standing nearby.

After growing up, Zhao Meimei’s appearance had matured. Unlike the past when she had an exposed forehead and appeared quite unattractive, standing beside Shi Yang now, she looked tall and pretty. Their posture was intimate, and standing in the hotel lobby, Zhang Jiahui immediately misunderstood, looking at Zhao Meimei with a somewhat assessing gaze, her smile not as bright as before.

While Zhang Jiahui was observing Zhao Meimei, Zhao Meimei was also staring at Zhang Jiahui.

When watching from afar earlier, Zhao Meimei felt the person seemed familiar. As Zhang Jiahui got closer, Zhao Meimei immediately confirmed she must have seen her somewhere before, though couldn’t recall at that moment. It wasn’t until Zhang Jiahui introduced herself as Shi Yang’s high school classmate that Zhao Meimei’s face changed.

She remembered now; Zhang Jiahui was none other than the class monitor who had clearly admired Shi Yang during their high school days, leading Zhao Meimei into the classroom when she was looking for Shi Yang.

Zhao Meimei’s gaze toward Zhang Jiahui immediately changed.

Zhang Jiahui asked, "Who is this?"

Shi Yang turned his head for Zhao Meimei to greet, "Meimei, this is my classmate, call her sister."

"Meimei? Ah, your sister? Right! You came looking for him in the classroom during high school!"

This time, not only did Zhao Meimei remember, but Zhang Jiahui also recognized Zhao Meimei.

Knowing Zhao Meimei’s identity, Zhang Jiahui couldn’t help but genuinely praise, "It’s been years, and you’ve grown into such a beautiful young woman. If you hadn’t mentioned, I wouldn’t have recognized you."

Zhang Jiahui greeted her with a smile, "Meimei, do you remember me? I led you to your brother’s seat when you came to our class back then!"

"Oh, is that so... I don’t remember." Zhao Meimei responded in a somewhat uneasy tone.

Zhang Jiahui completely overlooked Zhao Meimei’s cold attitude and after greeting her, turned to ask Liu Cheng, "Brother-in-law, what were you discussing here?"

Liu Cheng didn’t intend to embarrass Zhang Jiahui, afraid it would be too awkward for Shi Yang, and thought about leaving a good impression on Shi Yang, hoping to use Zhang Jiahui’s connection to persuade him into transferring the Naughty Castle in the future.

Liu Cheng replied with a smile, "We just happened to meet and exchanged greetings."

Only then did Zhang Jiahui notice Shi Yang carrying a suitcase, clearly intending to leave the hotel, and quickly asked, "Where are you headed?"

Shi Yang answered, "Planning to travel to Xiamen."

Zhang Jiahui recalled something, asking, "Meimei just finished the college entrance exams, right? I remember you mentioned years ago that you were seven years apart, correct?"

Shi Yang hadn’t expected Zhang Jiahui to remember such details, nodded with a smile, "Yes, finally finished the exams, so I brought her out to relax."

Shi Yang checked the time and said, "We need to catch our flight. Let’s meet after we return home in a few days."

Shi Yang glanced at Liu Cheng after speaking, and as their eyes met, Liu Cheng immediately understood that Shi Yang was somewhat willing, eagerly expressing his pleasure in saying goodbye, "No problem, when you’re back, I’ll host. Let’s have a good gathering then."

Shi Yang didn’t refuse, smiling as he said goodbye, "Then we’ll leave first, see you!"

Zhang Jiahui waved, "Meimei, bye! I’ll treat you to ice cream when you return."

Shi Yang agreed, "Alright, bye-bye."

"..." Zhao Meimei bit her lip, her face gradually sinking.

The whole way on the plane to Beijing, Zhao Meimei remained sullen, and Shi Yang thought she was just tired from traveling. He thoughtfully asked the flight attendant for a blanket, helping Zhao Meimei cover herself, urging her to close her eyes and nap for a while.

Upon arrival, after getting off the plane, Shi Yang took a taxi with Zhao Meimei to the hotel he had booked. Since they were only staying for the night and catching a flight early the next day, Qu Chaozong had booked the hotel near the airport, with nothing around for shopping or strolling.

Shi Yang settled the luggage and took Zhao Meimei to the hotel restaurant for dinner.

Zhao Meimei barely ate and put down her chopsticks, refusing to eat more.

Shi Yang misunderstood, thinking she found the restaurant food unappetizing, and remembered he had snacks bought during their stay in Tianjin, planning to let Zhao Meimei eat them later. So, he quickly ate something himself and led Zhao Meimei back to their room.

Shi Yang first urged Zhao Meimei to take a shower while he sorted out the luggage outside, finding clean clothes for tomorrow, and packed the dirty ones into a bag to be sent for dry cleaning in Xiamen.

After finishing his tasks, Shi Yang had nothing to do, so he turned on the TV, randomly picked a channel, but couldn’t concentrate on watching it. Instead, the sound of running water from the bathroom was more captivating to him.

Bathrooms in hotels mostly had frosted glass, through which the silhouette of someone showering inside could be seen.

Shi Yang casually glanced at it, and his gaze fell on the shadow cast on the frosted glass. He couldn’t help but feel a bit captivated.