Party At The Liâs (2)
âAlright, alright, youâre a handsome man!â said Athena. âBut, even if she recognised you, she still shouldnât act like that around you⊠Youâre both enemies, not lovers! Her behaviour doesnât match her personality at all. I donât understand!â
This was where it got confusing. It didnât matter if she recognised Ye Lang, she shouldnât have behaved like that under normal circumstances.
If Ye Langâs guess was right- Zhao Yarou was âmesmerizedâ by his looks⊠but they were enemies, the kind where they both wanted each other dead!
Also, would Zhao Yarou ever turn dumb over a good-looking boy?
Only she would know. All they could do was to wait for the answer to reveal itself.
Athena did not want to dwell further either, there was no answer to be found. Turning to Ye Lang, she said, âThe most important thing now is to settle the matter between you and Li Yue. You can still do the same thing youâve been doing tomorrow. Eat breakfast with her, shoot some arrows. If you can, ask her out to do something else! Although both of you have gotten quite close, youâve got to be closer! Donât waste any time, make her hand you the Tianji Armour within ten daysâŠâ
âAs long as you can do this in ten days, we donât have to care about what Zhao Yarou is planning. You leave immediately!â said Athena. Like Ye Lang, she wanted to leave everything once the mission was completed.
âI know. Li Yue listens to me. Should I ask her tomorrow?â
âAbsolutely not! Asking her directly and so suddenly would only make her suspicious!â
âThereâs nothing wrong with that, Iâve asked her before. She said sheâd give me the Tianji Armour if we get married!â said Ye Lang, clueless.
âIf you get married⊠Why were you two talking about marriage? What does she think?â Athena did not know this. Ye Lang hadnât told her about it, he didnât think it was important.
Athena looked very anxious when she asked the question, either for the development of this mission or merely worried about both of them getting married.
âI donât think she agreed, but, I donât think she said no either,â said Ye Lang after a moment of thought. He couldnât tell.
There is a saying: a ladyâs heart is like a needle at the bottom of the ocean. Her thoughts are turbulent- plus Ye Lang was already a clueless person himself.
âItâs good she didnât object. As long as she hasnât refused, weâre halfway there! She must be shy⊠What if we pay the Li family a visit and propose marriage?â suggested Athena. Although this method seemed very aggressive, as long as they could confirm a marriage, Li Yue would let him see the Tianji Armour. Then it would be his to take.
At that point, Ye Lang would probably tell Li Yue, âIâm leaving, thank you!â
Next, Ye Lang would disappear from the Imperial City. When Li Yue and the rest fail to find him, they would realise he was a liar, here to cheat her of her feelings for the Tianji Armour.
It was still hard to predict if they would be able to find out Ye Langâs true identity by then.
âMeet the parents? Maybe not. Weâre just here to lie about our feelings but meeting the parents to propose marriage might be too much!â Ye Lang shook his head.
After giving him a long, hard look, Athena finally nodded. âYouâre right!â
This was definitely going to hurt Li Yue, but the aftermath would still be manageable. However, if they went on to discuss marriage with the Li family, the consequences might be more difficult to deal with.
âNo matter what, you have to go eat breakfast with Li Yue tomorrow morning. You cannot break this habit or sheâll be suspicious!â said Athena in the end. Once he agreed, she left discreetly.
On the second morning, Ye Lang went to the small stall once again but Li Yue never came. Ye Lang and Coldblood Five were both puzzled but did not dwell too much on the problem.
It was very normal for a person to change their habits for all sorts of reasons. Their decisions could be temporary, or it could be lifelong.
Ye Lang did not change his schedule with her absence. He went about his routine as usual, and soon received news.
Athena had sent her men to gather intelligence the moment she heard Li Yue did not arrive. Theyâd realised that she never even left the Li Residence- and that was because there was going to be a party at their house a few days from today.
It was very common for aristocrats to throw parties, including the Ye family, who often threw parties at their house to spend time with friends and family.
This time, the Li family seemed to be holding a party right before Zhao Yarouâs birthday party not just to spend time with each otherâ they planned to discuss matters relating to Zhao Yarou.
For example, they had to decide on what greetings and well-wishes they could say, gifts to bring, who sits where and a lot more!
Li Yue wasnât supposed to be involved in this discussion. Usually, at Li family parties, sheâd merely show up for a while during the party but not help with the preparations. No one was sure why she stayed home.
Athena could not find out the reason for Li Yue staying home. The only speculation she could make was that it had something to do with Ye Lang and Zhao Yarou but she needed more information to confirm.
Of course, Athena also thought Ye Lang didnât have to ask, it was none of his business. Ye Lang naturally did not think to ask either.
In the days after, although he went to the archery range and all the places she usually went to, he never saw Li Yue.
Ten days passed, just like that!
It was the same every day. Li Yue wasnât even there, how could he complete his mission within ten days? There was nothing they could do even if they had formulated the best plan!
On the fifth day, Ye Lang had already failed to meet Li Yue for four days. Athena was growing frustrated, she felt so helpless.
She almost bit him whenever she saw him being so relaxed. However, she did not do such a thing for she knew being anxious would not help the situation.
All they could do now was wait!
Very soon, the wait would be overâŠ
âExcuse me, is Mr Fox here?â A servant from the Li family was brought in by a waiter at Zhuâs Soup House. A person from the Li family would never have much objection if he/she needed to look for a person!