Chapter 269 - Planning a Few Surprises

After the matters in Capital City had all settled, Li Qin Yao and her husband had returned to Y City and she has been busy reviewing a few documents and the site progress for the past few days.

Fortunately, as her investors mentioned that they have complete trust in her, the project in B City was progressing despite a few hiccups. According to Liang Sheng, the construction workers had hesitated whether they should continue to work.

After they heard about the crisis, the workers were scared that later on, QL Group will have no money to pay their salary. Because of that, there was a two days delay on the project.

Liang Sheng had to convince them and coax them to return to work. After agreeing that QL Group will pay in advance half of their salary, the workers then agreed to continue and work.

When Li Qin Yao visited the site yesterday, she was glad to see that the workers were doing their best to catch up with their progress. 

A knock sounded on her door and soon, Liang Sheng walked in with a few documents in his hand. He placed the document on the table and waited as Li Qin Yao scanned through the documents and signed it.

"I'm going to clock out earlier today," Li Qin Yao announced as she closed the file and slid it on the table back to Liang Sheng.

"Something happened?"

"Hmm," Li Qin Yao smiled, but did not offer any other explanation. 

Once the clock struck twelve, it will be her husband's birthday. As this will be the first time for her to celebrate his birthday together, Li Qin Yao was planning a few surprises. She wanted to come back earlier and bake a cake. Then, when the time comes, she wished to be the first person who wishes and celebrate his birthday together.

Seeing that his boss had not offered him any explanation, Liang Sheng knew right away that it might be a personal matter. He picked up the documents on the table and slid an envelope to Li Qin Yao.

"What is this?" Li Qin Yao took the envelope and peered inside.

"LUX Group is holding a banquet next week to celebrate their twentieth anniversary," Liang Sheng said. "Would you like to attend?"

Li Qin Yao glanced at the invitation card and nodded. "LUX Group has been in the industry for years and they had a good reputation. Since it will be their twentieth anniversary, they should be inviting their clients and business partners to come as well. It will be a waste not to go. I can use this chance to get to know a few people." She looked at Liang Sheng and continued, "Tell them that I will attend the banquet with my husband."

Liang Sheng nodded before he left the office.

Once he had left, Li Qin Yao gathered her belongings and pulled out the parcel that Han Yue Xiu had sent over to her office when she had accompanied her to shop for Zhang Yu Han's birthday gift.

Li Qin Yao peered into the box to look at the condition of the gift and paused when she noticed a small foreign parcel inside. Curiously, Li Qin Yao picked up the parcel and saw Han Yue Xiu's handwriting on the card.

'For Yao Yao. Additional present. In case you might need it.'

Li Qin Yao took out the contents and felt her face burned at the sight of the sheer lingerie along with something that resembles cat ears and tail.

"This crazy woman! I already told her that I won't be needing such things!" Li Qin Yao mumbled angrily as she shoved the thing back into its bag. 

…

Zhang Yu Han was not around when Li Qin Yao arrived at their apartment. Stealthily, she hid the present in the guest's room and went to change her clothes into something more comfortable. Then, she walked into the kitchen and started to ȧssemble for the ingredients she needed to prepare a cake.

There have around three hours to bake the cake before Zhang Yu Han would return home.

Right after she had put the batter into the oven, Li Qin Yao heard her phone rang in the living room. She wiped her hand on clean clothes and went to pick up the phone.

Seeing the ID on the screen, her lips curled into a smile. "Ma," Li Qin Yao greeted as soon as the call was connected. She clipped her phone between her ears and shoulder and picked up the dirty dishes to the sink.

"Yao Yao, are you and Yu Han free this weekend?" Xu Yilan asked.

Li Qin Yao thought over her schedule and answered, "We should be free this weekend. If there's nothing, we'll come over to visit you in B City."

"There's no need for that," Xu Yilan said quickly. "I was thinking of coming to Y City this weekend. Your in-laws called me just now and they wanted to have dinner together so that we can discuss your wedding."

"Ah?" Li Qin Yao froze for a few seconds. Because she was too busy with the matter regarding QL Group, she had forgotten that her mother-in-law had told her that she wanted to arrange a meeting with her mother to discuss their wedding banquet.

Since both Zhang Xi and Liu Hui Lan had returned, they wanted to hold a wedding for the two of them before they might return to C Country later. Anyway, they were managing Zhang Worldwide Group's international hotels and traveled here and there a lot.

"Sure," Li Qin Yao reacted after a few seconds passed. "I will talk to him later."

Once she put the cupcakes on the cooling rack, Li Qin Yao began to prepare the frosting. She glanced at the clock and panicked a little bit when she realized that it will not be long before her husband returned.

Swiftly, Li Qin Yao cleaned up the kitchen and opened the window to help with the ventilation. She did not want Zhang Yu Han to notice something once he walked into the apartment and caught the sweet smell of those cupcakes.

To cover her trail, Li Qin Yao began to prepare for dinner. The smell of fried chicken wafted through the kitchen, masking the earlier smell of the cupcakes earlier.

When Zhang Yu Han entered their apartment, he immediately walked over to his wife and put a hand on her forehead.

"What are you doing?" Li Qin Yao blinked her eyes in confusion.

"You came back early," Zhang Yu Han said. "I was worried that you were feeling unwell."

"I'm fine," Li Qin Yao gave him an ȧssuring smile. "I got off work early and thought that I haven't cook for a while. Come on," She tugged at his hands and said. "Wash your hands. Let's eat before dinner gets cold."