Chapter 15: Falling Short

“I knew it! Your skills wouldn't be bad!” She used to watch plenty of food videos; whenever she saw a dish she liked, she would follow the recipes in the videos to make it herself. Over time, her culinary skills had improved significantly.

She could even modify recipes to take the flavors of her ingredients to a higher level.

To a foodie, wasting delicious food was a profanation of the cuisine itself.

“I can't stay much longer. I have to go back and watch over Yaya. She left her in Sister Xu's care, and she's probably hungry by now.” Looking at Ling Zhuoqun, who was eating with great relish, Li Luo thought of Yaya, who was still at Xu Mei's house.

Ling Zhuoqun nodded. Just as Li Luo was about to leave the doorway, he suddenly said, “What kind of meat do you want to eat tonight? Just let me know and I'll bring it back. It'll all be fresh.”

Li Luo slapped her thigh. “That's right! How could I forget? You own a farm!”

To think she had foolishly gone to the market to buy meat and wasted extra money. However, seeing Ling Zhuoqun eating so heartily, she felt no regrets.

“I want ribs! And... pig kidneys, pig lungs, pig liver, things like that.” When she mentioned pig kidneys, Li Luo's ears instantly turned red.

Fearing that Ling Zhuoqun might notice something unusual, she hurriedly added several more items to the list.

It wasn't that she was looking to nourish herself; she wanted to nourish Ling Zhuoqun. Even though he had undergone a vasectomy, it didn't mean he was "incapable." She wanted to see if Ling Zhuoqun was truly the composed, untouchable gentleman he appeared to be.

There was no helping it—Ling Zhuoqun was exactly her type. He was a towering 1.88 meters tall, with a textured, layered haircut from some unknown barber, and wore rimless glasses, giving him the look of an ascetic CEO.

Li Luo could clearly see the faint outline of eight-pack abs beneath his shirt, as well as his exposed arms, where his well-defined wrist bones protruded, with veins faintly visible.

One look told her he had excellent physical stamina.

“Alright. I'll finish work early today and bring all that meat back for you.” Although Ling Zhuoqun didn't know why Li Luo needed so much offal, since she needed it, he would bring it to her.

“Move aside! I want to see which vixen dares to seduce Brother Ling!” A familiar voice drifted in from outside the window.

Li Luo turned her head curiously, only to find—oh! Wasn't this an old acquaintance!

Li Ailian!

Li Ailian kicked open the door to Ling Zhuoqun's office. Several men tried to block her, but to no avail; as soon as they got close, Li Ailian would scream, "He's a hooligan!"

These men all had families; if rumors were spread about them, their households would be turned upside down. Thus, they could only keep retreating, and before they knew it, they had retreated all the way to the entrance of Brother Ling's office.

The whole group shrunk their necks, terrified of being punished by Ling Zhuoqun, and fell completely silent.

Ling Zhuoqun waved them off, and they fled as fast as rabbits, feeling as though they had been granted a grand amnesty.

Li Luo turned back with a smile, her eyes full of mischief. “Oh, Brother Ling, your romantic luck has arrived.”

Ling Zhuoqun gave a bitter smile. “I don't even know her.”

Li Luo looked at Ling Zhuoqun in bewilderment, then at Li Ailian, wondering what her true intention was.

Having chased away the miscellaneous men, Li Ailian rushed straight toward Ling Zhuoqun, shoving Li Luo aside with her hip.

In the past, she had only caught a glimpse of Ling Zhuoqun from afar and had already secretly pined for him. Now, seeing this exquisite face up close, she was momentarily dazed.

“Who are you? What do you want with me?” Ling Zhuoqun's face was stern; he showed none of the tenderness he had shown Li Luo.

However, even Ling Zhuoqun himself didn't realize this distinction.

“Is that even a question? I'm here to bring you lunch, of course,” Li Luo chuckled, covering her mouth.

Li Ailian, who had been immersed in Ling Zhuoqun's beauty, was startled awake by Li Luo's sudden voice. She turned and shot Li Luo a glare. “Of course Brother Ling knows! Do you really need to tell him?”

“Brother Ling, my sister-in-law sent me to bring you lunch~” While her voice was coarse when addressing Li Luo, it became instantly high-pitched and coquettish when speaking to Ling Zhuoqun.

Li Ailian's affectation made Li Luo's skin crawl.

Li Ailian placed the lunch box on the coffee table and prepared to press herself against Ling Zhuoqun.

“Brother Ling, isn't it hot in this shirt? Look at those men outside, they've all taken off their outer layers. Look, you're even sweating. Why haven't you taken it off yet?”

As she spoke, Li Ailian began to touch him all over.

Li Luo's jaw dropped so low an egg could have fit inside.

Were women in this era all this aggressive? Forcing the issue? But surely, Ling Zhuoqun wouldn't actually let Li Ailian take advantage of him?

Li Luo covered her eyes but left a small gap to observe the situation.

If she looked, she was afraid of getting a stye; if she didn't look, Ling Zhuoqun was her husband.

Sigh, what a dilemma!

Just as Li Luo was sighing, in the next second, Ling Zhuoqun delivered a swift hand-chop that knocked Li Ailian unconscious.

Li Luo couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. “She is a girl, after all. Is it really okay for you to do that?”

Seeing Li Ailian about to collapse onto her, Ling Zhuoqun quickly reached out and poked her forehead. “Catch her and put her on the sofa.”

Before Li Luo could react, her body moved honestly, stepping aside. She only managed to grab one of Li Ailian's hands before Li Ailian slumped to the floor.

With a loud *thud*, even the floor seemed to tremble.

“I... I couldn't catch her.” Li Luo spoke the truth; her small frame weighed less than a hundred catties, while Li Ailian was twice her size. How could she possibly hold her up?

In the end, two fifty-year-old cleaning ladies were called to take Li Ailian out and bring her back home.

“Now you know who she is, right?” Li Luo said with a smile.

Ling Zhuoqun hadn't expected that Auntie Wang would send her sister-in-law to bring him lunch. This wasn't bringing lunch; it was practically throwing herself into his arms!

To do this right in front of Li Luo made Ling Zhuoqun wish the floor would open up so he could crawl inside.

“You're still laughing!” Ling Zhuoqun said with a stern face, letting out a helpless sigh.

“Whose fault is it? It's because you're too charming. People are chasing after you, trying to throw themselves at you.” Li Luo finished tidying her things, nearly forgetting her actual business.

“By the way, don't eat this lunch. I went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy groceries today and saw Li Ailian. She was acting suspiciously at the clinic; I don't know what kind of medicine she was buying.”

“I have a feeling it's not good food. Even if it's for dogs or pigs, it's fine, but humans shouldn't eat it,” Li Luo explained.

Li Luo figured that since Li Ailian had put on such a performance, she wouldn't go to the clinic to buy poison—after all, if Ling Zhuoqun died, they would lose a wealthy husband to cling to.

Furthermore, Auntie Wang's job would be at risk. It was highly likely that something had been slipped into the food.

If she hadn't come to bring him lunch today, she might not have witnessed this scene. Wouldn't Li Ailian have actually succeeded?

Auntie Wang's family certainly had clever methods—the elders took what they could, and the youngsters aimed to take everything at once. Truly talented!

“Don't worry, I'll handle it. Yaya is at home; you should go back and check on her early,” Ling Zhuoqun said, his eyes darkening.

Even for someone as smart as him, Li Luo's obvious suspicion was clear; how could he not see the blatant scheme?