Lu Shaoting looked at his older brother speechlessly. Was he still this childish?
"Alien Shaoting, could you hurry? My wife must be hungry."
Lu Shaoting couldn't help but reminisce. "Bro, do you remember when we were little kids and I said something similar? I said my head was an egg if I didn't top my class. I lost and you called me an egg-head for a whole year."
"Reminisce on your own." he brushed him off.
"Ha ha bro, just admit you're scared I'll mention something embarassing. Like how you sneakily tied up two girls' hair together for fun and got a generous beating from father."
"Out!" he roared.
"Yes yes yes. Your humble servant will go out now. Eer...bro, can I join you for lunch?"
"We don't need a third wheel."
"Of course you don't. I'll bring my wife too and we'll be complete. I promise, I won't bug you to pay."
Lu Aotian glared at him. He fled all the way to Elite Fashion World.
Unexpectedly, Wan Jia had not yet left her office.
"What do you want?" she asked sharply when she saw Lu Shaoting. One look and anyone would know she was in a bad mood. Her temper had always been more even than other people's. She did not get angry easily but when she did, she would take longer calming down.
Lu Shaoting proceeded nervously. "Sister-in-law, are you still angry? Don't worry about those idiots, my brother has already dealt with them. Have you heard? Those designers have been sued and their studios have been blacklisted by Lu Enterprises and all our allies. They are completely done for. Isn't it satisfying?"
She nodded as she rubbed her aching temples. "Your brother is looking for me?"
"Bingo! My brother guessed that you would not have eaten and sent me to call you out for lunch."
"I don't have an apetite." she groaned.
"My brother also said that if you refuse to go, I should forcefully drag you there." he exaggerated.
Who wanted to be dragged? To avoid all that ruckus, she obediently stood up.
"Uhm, sister-in-law, can you go ahead first? I have something else to do here. Just go to Lu Enterprises."
Before she could reply, he had already disappeared.
He hid in a corner where Wan Jia could not see him and made a phone call.
The phone rang without being answered. The second time he called, it was cut off.
Frustrated, he sent a message over. [Where are you? I'm in EFW]
Su Ling replied. [I'm with my boss.]
Lu Shaoting's lips twitched. [In case you forgot, your boss is my sister-in-law. She has just gone to look for my brother for lunch.]
Su Ling did not reply.
When she did not reply even after ten minutes, he went back to his car and took out his laptop, hacked into her phone and tracked it. He had done this before so it only took a minute to complete.
He followed the tracker and found her in an abandoned park, crying her eyes out.
"Su Ling? What happened?"
Without waiting for her answer, he went foward and pulled her into his arms, letting her head rest on his chest and rubbing her back.
The girl cried even harder when she felt someone comforting her.
Lu Shaoting let her cry it all out before asking again softly, "What happened."
"You will not understand." she sniffled. How could he understand? He was Wan Jia's brother-in-law. Without a doubt, he would believe his own family and also think she was in the wrong.
His heart ached. "Why would I not understand? Trust me, I will."
She tried her luck. "My boss doesn't trust me. I...I got this job after struggling so much. What will I do if I lose it?"
Lu Shaoting frowned. "My sister-in-law?" he was about to ask when he understood the situation. "Is it about the drafts? We already said that we would investigate the thief. Wait, sister-in-law thinks you stole them?"
She nodded and looked down. Lu Shaoting would probably think the same thing.
However, what he said next surprised her. "I know you have done a similar thing before but I wouldn't blindly judge you without confirming it. I actually have a feeling you didn't do it."
"You...you trust me?"
Lu Shaoting nodded. "I'll help you convince your boss. Cheer up, let's go for lunch, okay?" he tickled her waist a little.
"Ha ha! Stop it...okay, I'll go for lunch with you."
___
As the two pairs went for lunch, something happened in Elite Fashion World.
Dai Youran's assistant ran into her office. "Boss, I just saw something."
"What is it?" asked an very irritated Dai Youran.
The assistant sighed and spoke. "Just now I was coming back from lunch, I saw Lili revieving something that looked like a cheque from a stranger. That man then told her that her work is complete and they owe each other nothing. Boss, I don't want to sound paranoid but didn't someone recently steal Designer Wan's drafts? I overheard that Lili and Su Ling are the main suspects."
Dai Youran glanced at her. "What you saw could be something different. But even if it's really what you think, do you think Designer Wan would believe me if I told her? After all, it's my assistant who witnessed the scene."
"Maybe I can tell her?" the assistant suggested.
"Go on and try. Don't tell anyone else about this. I don't want my assistant getting in trouble because she poked her nose where it doesn't belong."