96: She actually waited right on time.

Wu Fan lightly sighed. For the sake of the system reward, he didn't care anymore.

Although Lin Jingyi's character wasn't great, at least she was still beautiful. It wasn't a loss.

Xiao Ai urged him from the bathroom, "Brother Fan, are you ready?"

"Coming, coming."

Wu Fan got up and pushed the door open.

The sight before him instantly made Wu Fan freeze.

Xiao Ai was already completely naked.

"Why did you take everything off?"

"Brother Fan, if I don't, I'll get the bathrobe wet, and that's too much trouble," she said, her cheeks flushed, giving him a charming smile.

Wu Fan leaned in, kissed her ear, and said, "Your little intentions, your brother understands. Your brother will reward you handsomely."

... In the early morning, the sound of heavy rain pounding against the window glass woke Wu Fan up with a clatter.

The wind on the island was strong, scattering the raindrops everywhere.

He rolled over and felt around; Xiao Ai was long gone. She must have taken Yaoyao to school and then gone grocery shopping.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have received a random gift of fifty thousand yuan. Current account balance: 1.191 million.]

Wu Fan rubbed his eyes, swiped the system panel, and learned the beginner and intermediate ancient zither Skill Books that were in the system warehouse.

Instantly, sheet music for many ancient melodies flooded his mind, and playing techniques flowed through his fingertips, making him an accomplished ancient zither player.

Once he acquired the advanced ancient zither Skill Book later, he would achieve the level of an ancient zither Grandmaster.

He picked up the phone on the nightstand and glanced at the time. Holy cow, it was 8:55 AM.

He stretched lazily, reluctantly got out of bed, and after washing up, found a small note Xiao Ai had left attached with a fridge magnet.

"Brother Fan, there's cooked corn and sweet potatoes in the pressure cooker, and white fungus, red date, and longan soup in the slow cooker. Remember to eat breakfast."

Wu Fan smiled knowingly, finished his breakfast, changed his clothes, and headed out.

The rain was still pouring down furiously, like the Milky Way overflowing and dumping its contents.

He didn't like using an umbrella, so he held his briefcase over his head, jogged to the car, and wiped himself down with tissues.

He turned on the music, and Wang Feng's "Born to Wander," a somewhat melancholic song, began to play.

Walking every day on the streets of frantic dream chasing, we are spiritually ragged yet tireless, wandering and searching for that hollow joy...

Listening to it, Wu Fan seemed somewhat moved.

He urgently lit a cigarette and leaned back in his seat, listening quietly. Only after the song finished did he drive away.

The winter rain, mixed with cold wind, struck the car window glass fiercely, like sharp swords.

Wu Fan mused, "With rain this heavy, Lin Jingyi shouldn't be able to deliver the tea gift boxes, right? If they get wet, the tea will be ruined."

Nevertheless, he drove toward the Haidao Grand Hotel. The presidential suite he booked yesterday was still available; he could go lie down for a while so it wouldn't go to waste.

If he got lonely by himself, he could call Lin Daixi and Mao Jiajia to come over and hang out.

Staying in the room to play games, eat, and chat aimlessly might be the best option on a rainy day.

The sky was gloomy, and visibility wasn't great.

Wu Fan drove very slowly; the trip that normally took about ten minutes ended up taking more than twenty minutes.

By the time he walked into the hotel lobby, it was almost ten o'clock.

Wu Fan registered at the front desk and then walked into the dedicated elevator for the presidential suite.

When the elevator door opened with a "ding," Lin Jingyi standing outside the suite door startled Wu Fan.

Her hair was soaking wet and clung to her beautiful face, making her look somewhat pitiful.

Her bright, large eyes seemed to be glistening with tears—or perhaps it was just rainwater.

Her white down jacket was covered in water stains, and her blue jeans and white sneakers were also completely soaked.

Wu Fan looked at her and finally spoke after a long pause, "When did you get here?"

Lin Jingyi blinked her eyes and said pitifully, "Didn't you tell me to arrive around nine, and that you wouldn't wait if I was late?"

Wu Fan was momentarily speechless.

He hurriedly opened the door. "You didn't already put all the tea gift boxes in the luggage room downstairs, did you?"

Lin Jingyi stood dumbly in the living room, unsure what to do.

She didn't know whether to sit or stand.

She looked at the suite's decor and replied, "Yes, they've all been put away."

Wu Fan murmured "Oh," and went to the tea station to boil water, preparing to brew her a hot cup of tea to warm her up.

This woman was truly dedicated. Not even a torrential downpour could stop her from selling tea.

He had truly underestimated her thirst for money.

The fact that she had waited nearly an hour outside the door without giving up was unbelievable.

Moreover, she must have known in her heart what Wu Fan intended by inviting her to the presidential suite.

Wu Fan sat on the chair at the tea station, listening to the kettle hiss, and asked, "With rain this heavy, the tea gift boxes didn't get soaked, did they? If they got wet, I can't give them away as gifts."

Lin Jingyi respectfully stepped closer. "Mr. Wu, please rest assured. There are ten gift boxes inside one large cardboard box. Because of the rain today, I wrapped the outside of the large cardboard box in a large plastic bag. I guarantee not a single drop of water got in."

Wu Fan nodded, looked at her pretty face, and asked, "Why did you get soaked like a drowned rat?"

Lin Jingyi paused. "I got wet while carrying the large cardboard box; it was hard to hold an umbrella."

Wu Fan frowned slightly. "Why didn't you wear a raincoat?"

Lin Jingyi's eyes moved, and her face flushed slightly. "At the time, I was only thinking about keeping the tea gift boxes dry, not myself."

Wu Fan examined her body again. Although her clothes were somewhat ruined by the rain, her figure was still very appealing—curvaceous and not lacking in the slightest.

In particular, her tight jeans clung even tighter to her body after being soaked by the rain, making her look even sexier.

He averted his gaze, took out a packet of black tea, poured boiling water over it, stood up, and handed it to her. "Drink a few sips."

Lin Jingyi took it and began sipping slowly.

Wu Fan sat down on the sofa. "Why aren't you sitting?"

Lin Jingyi smiled faintly. "I'm soaked. It wouldn't be good to get the sofa wet."

Wu Fan lit a cigarette and sighed. "Go take a shower first."

Lin Jingyi softly murmured, "Mhm," but still stood motionless.

Wu Fan exhaled a puff of smoke. "What's wrong? The bathroom is on the right. Do I need to take you there?"

Lin Jingyi said coyly, "What about the clothes I take off? And I only have this one outfit..."

Wu Fan raised an eyebrow and said in a louder tone, "There are new bathrobes in the closet. After you shower, you can just put one on, right? There's also a laundry room next to it, wash-and-dry immediately. Do you know how to use it?"

Lin Jingyi pursed her lips and said softly, "I know, I can use it."

In truth, she had never used a washing machine like that, but she figured if she couldn't operate it, she could just search for instructions on her phone.

She turned and walked toward the bathroom.

Wu Fan watched her retreating figure and took a deep drag from his cigarette.

To value money so highly at such a young age was truly the tragedy of the era.

He extinguished the cigarette butt, peeled a banana from the fruit basket, and began to eat it.

He suddenly realized that the bathtub wouldn't be clean if it hadn't been washed. Lin Jingyi wouldn't just jump in for a bath, would she?

He stood up and hurried toward the bathroom, intending to give her a reminder...