The Favored Heiress
Chapter 419: Good Girl, Help Me

Chapter 419: Chapter 419: Good Girl, Help Me

Li Qiao looked at him, trying not to smile, her finger lightly tapping his bandage, "I’m just afraid your wound might reopen..."

The man embraced her and kissed her again, then stood up, taking her hand as they walked towards the bathroom, "Then we’ll do as you say."

Li Qiao gazed at his broad back, feeling both a sour and warm sensation in her heart.

Then, in a daze, she followed Shang Yu into the bathroom, and before she could react, she was pushed against the bathroom wall and kissed deeply.

Maybe the sweetness after a quarrel was particularly enticing, Li Qiao tilted her head back, striving to meet his kiss, as the temperature around them rose higher and higher.

It was only when coolness spread across her back that she realized her T-shirt was gone.

Looking back at the man with bandages wrapped around his chest, her cheeks flushed, she said softly, "You have an injury; you can’t shower."

Her fingers were led down by the man, and next to her ear, his raspy voice coaxed in a low murmur, "Be good, help me..."

...

At midnight, both with wet hair, they lay back down on the large bed, and Li Qiao almost immediately fell into a light slumber the moment her head touched the pillow.

Shang Yu leaned back against the headboard, wearing only black pants, looking down at her peaceful and calm sleeping face, his Adam’s apple sliding as he leaned down to peck her lips.

It seemed that wasn’t enough as his cool lips moved to her forehead and eyelids, lightly kissing each spot. After a moment, he returned to her lips and began to stir trouble again.

Li Qiao felt she had just fallen asleep only to be woken by the wet kisses.

The bedside lamp on Shang Yu’s side of the room was the only light on, the dim glow casting a hazy golden fringe around his shoulders.

The girl squinted her eyes, muttered a few words in her sleep, Shang Yu didn’t catch them clearly, kissed her deeply a few times, then held her face and whispered low, "Go to sleep."

Li Qiao snuggled into his arms and quickly fell asleep again.

...

At one in the morning, Shang Yu, now fully dressed, entered the next room, pushing the door open.

A waft of smoke greeted him as He Chen, just out of the bathroom, glanced at his wristwatch and then at Shang Yu’s damp hair, clicking his tongue, "What, you’ve coaxed her into bed already?"

Shang Yu, with one hand in his pocket, shot him a cold glance and ignored him.

Liuyun, Wang Yue, and Luoyu were seated at a small round table playing cards and upon seeing Shang Yu, they all dropped their cards and stood up.

Wang Yue asked, "Boss, going back already?"

"Yeah, let’s head back."

The issues in South Sea weren’t resolved yet, and indeed he couldn’t afford to linger in Chong City for too long.

He Chen followed behind him, scrutinizing Shang Yu without restraint and threw out a sarcastic comment, "How come I never realized you had so much patience with women before?"

The man picked up a cigarette pack from the table, pulled one out to his thin lips, and as he was about to light it, his voice came out blurred with sarcasm, "Don’t you miss out on a lot?"

Oh, he was blaming him for not keeping an eye on Li Qiao.

He Chen, with no regard for image, leaned against the wall and touched his eyebrow, "So much resentment? Did the injury affect your performance?"

The three assistants: "..."

In the whole world, only Brother Chen dared to tease their boss with such a sharp tongue.

If it were anyone else, they’d have been shot already.

Shang Yu, propping one hand on his knee, sat on the edge of the bed, watching the cigarette butt glow intermittently, and warned He Chen without looking up, "Before the conference ends, don’t let her go back to the South Sea."

He Chen, leaning against the wall, pursed his lips, "Are you sure that by the time the conference ends, the issue in South Sea will be resolved?"

"Yes," the man replied monosyllabically, the thin line of smoke drifting from his lips, "She wouldn’t dare bet Xiao Yeyan’s life against me."

He Chen narrowed his eyes at Shang Yu, his expression complex, "Does your father know she’s come to South Sea?"

"He doesn’t need to know."

He Chen understood and chuckled as he looked out the window, "I’ve never seen a mother play favorites like this in my entire life."

No one in the room responded, and while Shang Yu continued to smoke, only his handsome face, veiled in smoke, exuded a profound chill.

...

The next morning at six o’clock, Li Qiao’s alarm clock rang.

She reached under her pillow for her phone, squinted her eyes to turn off the alarm, and rolled over, intending to continue sleeping.

Seconds later, remembering something, she suddenly opened her eyes, sat up, and looked around, but she didn’t see Shang Yu’s figure.

Has he left?

She was exhausted last night, it seemed she fell asleep as soon as she lay down.

Li Qiao lifted the quilt and got out of bed, a glance catching sight of a special note from the guesthouse on the bedside table.

She picked it up and saw a few words written in a vigorous hand: Waiting for your return.

Li Qiao’s lips curled into a smile, as if she could see his expression as he wrote those words through the handwriting.

Half an hour later, she left the house.

Before seven o’clock, the other lab members gradually entered the dining room.

Today was the second half of the research presentation, and it was Li Qiao and Lian Zhen who were going to share on stage from Renhe Laboratory.

Academician Jiang sat at the breakfast table, eating while chatting about various precautions.

After breakfast, the group headed to the convention center.

On the way, Lian Zhen deliberately fell back a few steps, came up to Li Qiao, and said with a worried look, "Xiao Li, I think I saw Guan Mingyu last night."

Li Qiao continued to stride forward leisurely, her gaze flickered, "Where did you see her?"

"In an old residential house on the back street of the convention center." Lian Zhen furrowed his brows, speaking in a low voice, "The restaurant where everyone had dinner last night is on that back street.

Around eight o’clock last evening, the street was crowded, and I saw Guan Mingyu being taken into a residence by two men.

After that, I tried to call her, but no one answered. I even called Guan Mingchen, but his phone was switched off.

To this moment, neither of them have returned my call. Do you think something might have..."

Li Qiao glanced at Lian Zhen, his face serious, "Guan Mingchen is currently at a closed training and can’t use his phone."

"Is that so?" Lian Zhen knew of Guan Mingchen’s mental arithmetic skills and had heard about his studies.

But Li Qiao’s explanation didn’t ease his furrowed brow, which instead deepened, "Then Guan Mingyu..."

"Perhaps, we’ll have the results today."

Li Qiao gave a noncommittal answer, and seeing Lian Zhen looking helpless, she consoled him in a calm voice, "Senior Brother Lian, don’t think too much. On the submitted presentation list, the initiating researcher for the human gene mutation study is written as me."

The implication being, even if there was a problem, she would be the main responsible party.

Hearing this, Lian Zhen wanted to say more, but a familiar voice came from ahead.

"Academician Jiang, good morning. The Council colleagues are all looking forward to Renhe Laboratory’s presentation today."

The speaker was Shang Qiongying, who had just arrived in a business car.

She was dressed in a neat and professional suit for women, her hair done up behind her head, standing in front of Academician Jiang with a briefcase in hand, making polite conversation while subtly glancing towards the back of the group.

Academician Jiang was not familiar with Shang Qiongying, but out of respect for her status, he also hurried to respond with a modest smile, "You mustn’t say that, Renhe hasn’t been established for long, naturally we can’t compare with other major laboratories, I’m actually worried the Council might not appreciate our research findings."