Xu Yanxia spent half the day tasting dishes at Jiu Shan as usual, her stomach stuffed full.
While the Lu family was eating, she organized the various kitchen utensils in the kitchen, prepared the cat food, and went to the garden to feed the cats.
She had stayed at the clubhouse for the past few days and couldn't come back, and she ate dinner out yesterday. By the time she returned, Aunt Zhang had already fed the little ones.
Having not seen them for a few days, she was afraid the cats might have forgotten her.
Fortunately, the delicious cat food helped to bond them. As soon as she arrived, the little ones quickly gathered around and started purring and eating heartily.
Xu Yanxia was just about to pet them one by one when she saw Lu Jingming walk out of the living room and say to her, "Tomorrow's itinerary is very important. I'm sorry I can't go to Hainan with you."
"You didn't have to go with me anyway," Xu Yanxia smiled and said. "Jingxi's assistant will pick me up at the airport, and I'm just cooking a few dishes. The recording will be done in a day."
Lu Jingming then asked her, "So you'll be able to come back on Sunday night?"
"I should be," Xu Yanxia nodded. "Jiu Shan is starting its trial operation on Monday and Tuesday, so I want to come back and keep an eye on their kitchen."
Lu Jingming quickly said, "There's no need to rush. Safety comes first. If the recording finishes late on Sunday, just come back on Monday."
Xu Yanxia responded with an mm and asked him, "What about you? When will you be back?"
Lu Jingming thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow afternoon I have to rush over to meet with some top leaders. The forum runs from Sunday to Tuesday, three days in total. I'll be back by Tuesday at the latest."
Xu Yanxia nodded and comforted him, "That's pretty good. It won't delay the National Day holiday on Wednesday."
After she finished speaking, Lu Jingming paused and then said, "Don't be distracted by all those wild flowers out there. I'm the first one."
...
Here he goes again.
Xu Yanxia looked at him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "First of all, I have no money or fame, so why would anyone be distracted by me? Secondly, I have my own standards. It's not like I'm going to like just any good-looking guy, okay?!!"
Who knew he would nod, say mm, and take the opportunity to ask her, "Then is it convenient for you to reveal how far I am from meeting your standards?"
"What are you talking about..." Xu Yanxia blushed and turned to walk toward the kitchen. "I'm leaving."
Lu Jingming smiled and stopped her, saying, "I'll stop, I'll stop. You haven't petted the cats yet. Leave a little later."
...
Not far away, in the second-floor bedroom, Chairman Lu saw this scene through the window and could not help but sigh to Mrs. Lu, who was lying by the bed applying a face mask, "Tonight's meal was exceptionally delicious. It would be great if the New Year's Eve dinner could be this lively."
"What's the rush?" Mrs. Lu smiled and said. "The timing has to be right."
"Besides, he's been a bachelor for so many years, does a few more days matter?"
...
A night passed.
After breakfast the next day, Chairman Lu and his wife, along with Third Brother Lu Jingyao, went to attend their respective activities. Lu Jingming packed his luggage and also set off for the airport.
Xu Yanxia went to take another look at Jiu Shan, and when she came back in the afternoon to pack her things, she went to the airport too.
When the plane took off, it was a brilliant sunset evening in Rong City. By the time the hour-plus flight ended and she stepped onto the island's ground, the surroundings were already flashing with neon lights.
The tropical night breeze carrying the scent of the sea blew against her face. Xu Yanxia took a deep breath, feeling very relaxed.
Well, speaking of which, this was her first time coming to Hainan.
Going on a business trip occasionally was quite nice.
"Xia, over here!!!" Queen Xixi's assistant saw her from afar and waved at the airport exit.
"Coming." She waved back and hurried over to meet her.
Two thousand kilometers away in Hang City.
Lu Jingming's itinerary for today was fully packed.
After landing in the afternoon, he first held a few meetings with colleagues from the branch office here, and then went with several industry bigwigs to meet with top leaders of the relevant departments.
After that, there were unavoidable receptions and social engagements.
By the time he finally returned to the hotel, it was already past nine-thirty at night.
Before he even had time to change clothes, he first sent a message to Xu Yanxia: Have you arrived?
She replied quite quickly: I arrived over an hour ago. I'm at the hotel right now.
He felt relieved and asked her: Is it convenient to video call?
Sure. She replied to him.
So he sent a video call request.
It rang twice before being answered. Xu Yanxia's face appeared on the screen. Looking at the background, she should be in a hotel suite. The soft lighting made her features look even more beautiful. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail, and her bright eyes were shining as she smiled and waved at him.
Lu Jingming couldn't help but smile too. Just as he was about to speak, his sister Lu Jingxi's face appeared on the screen. Eating while smugly waving at him, she said, "Hello brother, Xia is mine now!"
As she spoke, she held up a few food boxes in front of her for him to see. Inside were golden french fries, popcorn chicken, chicken nuggets, and red roasted chicken legs.
His foodie sister hummed proudly at him, "That's what you get for making me crave food the other day! Now it's my turn to make you crave!"
Lu Jingming frowned, "Aren't you worried about your weight eating that?"
Lu Jingxi raised an eyebrow and said, "This is a low-fat version Xia made for me! I've been starving all day just waiting for this meal! Even if I eat it all, I won't get that fat. Die of jealousy!!"
Lu Jingming's frown deepened, "She traveled so far to help you record a show, and you still made her cook for you?"
"No, no," Xu Yanxia quickly leaned into the screen to explain. "I made these at home today and brought them over. Jingxi has an air fryer here, so we just heated them up to eat."
Lu Jingming still frowned.
She still had to make them at home.
And bring them all this way for his foodie sister?
However, before he could speak, the doorbell rang on the screen.
The angle of the video didn't allow him to see the whole room. He only heard someone open the door, and then people walked into the room one after another, greeting Lu Jingxi—
"Hello, Xixi, I heard there's good food?"
"Oh, who is this lovely lady?"
"Wow, it smells so good!!!"
It sounded like there were both men and women.
...And it seemed there was more than one man among them.
Then he heard his sister Lu Jingxi introduce Xu Yanxia to the newcomers, "This is my Baby Xia! All the delicious food today was brought by her from home, everyone try some!"
Immediately after, he heard those people greet Xu Yanxia, and Xu Yanxia on camera smiled in response, inviting them to eat together.
Following that, a group of people exclaimed—
"Wow, this popcorn chicken is so good!"
"Oh, the chicken leg is so tender! I love the Orleans flavor!!!"
"The garlic flavor is delicious too!!! There are even fries!!!"
"These fries don't taste fried, but they smell amazing!"
Xu Yanxia smiled and explained to them, "That's right, these are all baked today, not fried. The calories are much lower than what you buy outside."
It was as if she had forgotten she was still on a video call with him.
"..."
Lu Jingming couldn't help but call out to her, "It's so late, aren't you going to rest?"
Hearing the voice, Xu Yanxia finally lowered her eyes to look at him and said, "They just finished recording the show."
His foodie of a younger sister also leaned into the frame and told him, "Bro, we have a few friends over, so I'm going to let you go. Xiaoxia is perfectly fine here with me, so don't worry."
With that, she waved goodbye and hung up the video call.
Lu Jingming, "..."
Wait a second, he still wanted to ask who exactly came over...
For now, he could only guess from the background noise that at least two guys had entered the room, and judging by their voices, both sounded quite young.
"..."
