LRAB 073 Couples
073 Couples
Amber House.
Nono sat on the second-floor corridor of the banquet hall, her legs dangling from between the railings, swinging gently.
Everything downstairs was ready; flowers and candlesticks were arranged, and waiters were filling ice buckets with champagne.
Caesar came up from downstairs with two glasses of sparkling water in his hand and handed one to her.
"The sparkling water Frost sent is from France. I wonder if it tastes good."
Nono took it and took a sip. "Not bad."
Caesar leaned against the railing and turned his head to look at her.
"The earrings are very pretty."
Nono tilted her head, revealing her right ear. A small, deep-colored sapphire was set in the silver base.
"To match my dress tonight," she said.
"It suits you very well," Caesar said casually, holding his glass. "The previous pair were rubies, shaped like teardrops."
Nono turned her head to look at him.
"Before that," Caesar took a sip of the water, "was a pair of small silver rings."
Nono's expression shifted slightly. She put down her cup and stared intently at Caesar's profile.
Do you remember what earrings I wore before?
"Of course I remember, it's a basic quality of a boyfriend," Caesar said.
"Gattuso," Nono drawled, "was someone putting pressure on you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have noticed such details."
Caesar leaned against the railing, facing Nono.
"I've been paying attention."
Nono raised an eyebrow, wanting to refute. Caesar usually touched the rim of his cup when he lied, but now he rested one hand steadily on the railing, without any unnecessary fidgeting.
Moreover, Caesar liked to add unnecessary explanations when he lied, but he spoke very concisely just now.
Caesar silently thanked Chu Zihang for the second time.
Chu Zihang, that blockhead, couldn't even sense Su Qian's feelings for him, but he ended up stepping into a trap for him.
He hadn't expected that Chu Zihang could help him with this matter.
"What are you thinking about?" Nono asked, noticing his absent-minded look.
I'm thinking about Chu Zihang.
"Why did you think of him?"
"I don't quite understand his relationship with Susie," Caesar said. "What's going on between them?"
Nono rolled her eyes and started swinging her legs again.
"Chu Zihang, he knows Su Xi likes him, he can see everything."
What? Chu Zihang knew Su Xi liked him?
"Then why doesn't he respond?" Caesar asked in surprise.
"Because he felt he wasn't ready yet. He was used to being alone, and everything in his world had a fixed place. To accept Susie, he had to make room for her in his own world."
Caesar shook his head: "Susie won't be able to wait."
"No, she'll wait." Nuonuo shook her head. "Chu Zihang has been influenced by Su Qian. He used to eat at six o'clock, but Su Qian deliberately delayed her dinner time to after six-thirty to avoid him. He actually changed his dinner time to six-forty without saying a word."
"You really are good at observing these things," Caesar said with admiration.
"Of course." Nono proudly swirled the sparkling water in her glass. "Susie was able to get to him because I gave her a push. Otherwise, those two would have been star-crossed lovers for life, one waiting for him at the playground every morning at 5:50, and the other running at 6:00 every morning pretending not to see him."
Caesar lowered his head and chuckled.
He looked down at the banquet hall, where two chairs were placed at the front, slightly higher than the others, with light blue ribbons tied to their backs.
"Aki said she doesn't want the wedding to be too grand." Nono also looked downstairs, "Professor Mans will be the officiant."
Caesar did not speak; he held his cup, his gaze fixed on the two chairs tied with ribbons.
Nono glanced at him.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing much," Caesar said. "I was just thinking about what to say in my toast tonight."
"Couldn't you try giving a different speech?"
"The host giving a speech is basic etiquette."
Nono sighed, put the cup on the ground, and said, "Caesar."
"Um?"
"When you give your speech, say something practical."
-----------------
Underground computer room.
Fingel propped his feet up on the console and gulped down his beer.
"Aren't you going to the ball? Ye Sheng and Aki are your juniors." Eve appeared beside him, blue light and shadow flowing softly in the air.
"I'm not going."
"reason?"
"Hiccup—" Fingel hiccuped. "I don't want them to see my face."
Eve tilted her head, her translucent long hair swaying with the movement.
"Ye Sheng remembers Fingel from that time," she said softly.
"I remember too, so I'm not going." Fingel's nails scraped against the beer can, making a clicking sound. "He should be happily engaged to Aki tonight, not seeing my face and having all sorts of random thoughts come to mind."
Eve reached out and stroked his face.
"Alright, let's get down to business." Fingel wiped his mouth, straightened up from his chair, and his eyes suddenly became shrewd.
"Eve, do you have access to the surveillance cameras at the ball tonight?"
"All thirty-seven cameras in the Amber Pavilion are online."
"Very good." Fingel rubbed his hands together. "Keep a close eye on all women within five meters of Lu Mingfei. Take screenshots and archive any of the following behaviors: 1. Initiating conversation for more than three sentences; 2. Physical contact for more than five seconds; 3. Attempting to ask someone to dance alone; 4. Having an abnormal look in their eyes."
Please define 'abnormal eye expression'.
"You know, that kind of thing—" Fingel squinted, striking a pose of being head over heels in love, clenching his fists and pressing them against his chest, radiating starry-eyed light into the air, "that kind of thing."
Eve watched his performance and remained silent for a moment.
"Your demonstration is not in my facial recognition training set, but I can set thresholds for pupil dilation and gaze duration."
"That's how you've always seen me."
I've never seen you like this before.
"You must have forgotten. Anyway, make a record of all those guys who have designs on Lu Mingfei." Fingel typed a few times on the keyboard. "Send screenshots to Zero in real time."
"Give me zero?"
"Nonsense, that's her man! Of course, this kind of thing should be reported to the Empress." Fingel said matter-of-factly.
He stared at the ceiling for a while, then suddenly spoke.
"Eve".
"I am here."
"Help me draft a congratulatory message, anonymous, and send it to Ye Sheng's school email address."
"What about the content?"
Fingel stroked the stubble on his chin and thought for a moment.
"Just write..." He paused for a moment, "Congratulations. Don't let her cook alone, she'll burn the eggs when she frys them."
Eve looked at him.
"This message has zero anonymity. Before you left the Executive Department, Aki, who was still an intern at the time, fried eggs for everyone."
"Then let him know." Fingel put his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. "Let him know."
Eve floated beside Fingel, as if to embrace him, and gently wrapped her arms around him.