140 Erase All The Traces (2/2)

Yue Lao flung off his beer bottle and staggered to his feet. He steadied himself against the tree as his rheumy eyes squinted at Hui Yin.

”You silly girl, let me worry about that. If you don't mind, this old man needs to find another bottle of beer to drink. Care to join me?”

The alcohol wafting off him made Hui Yin pucker her forehead in distaste. She didn't really like the smell of alcoholics and smokers, which was why she had tried so hard to make Lu Shen quit these bad habits. But she knew that despite his seemingly drunkard appearance, this senior of hers truly had a kind heart. Because he was a deity, he really didn't need her to save his life. He would be alright even if he was hit by that car, or beaten up by those gangsters.

But Yue Lao still gave her a reward for these small acts of unnecessary kindness.

”I'll have to politely decline, senior. I have a flight tomorrow.”

He gave her a casual wave of his hand. ”Fine, fine, be a wet blanket. This old man won't force you. Just be sure to make a decision as soon as possible, because I don't want to have too much entanglements with mortals.”

Hui Yin gave him a deep bow. ”Many thanks for senior's wise advice. If in the future senior needs my help, this junior is willing to do her best to repay you.”

”Why would I need your help?” Yue Lao gave her a disdainful side-eye. ”I gave you a reward because I thought that you were a good child. Won't the heavens think I'm abusing my power if I make a female who is still wet behind the ears pay me back for a small favor? But...”

A sudden crafty look emerged on his geriatric face. ”If you give me a case of beer, then this old man won't dare to refuse it.”

”...”

What 'won't the heavens think I'm abusing my power'? You're already abusing your power to feed your drunkard tendencies! Hui Yin secretly felt aggrieved in her heart, but didn't dare to say this out loud. Who knows how many of those red string bracelets this senior was keeping inside his pockets?

Hue Yin quickly said her goodbyes to Yue Lao since he might he find something suspicious in her expression. She twisted her ponytail into a bun and inserted the hairpin. Although it had a bit of a 'Shang Dynasty' hairstyle going on, it was at least less conspicuous than the sprout hairpin craze that took off in Chengdu a few years ago. [1]

The next morning, Hui Yin took a flight back to Beijing with Ye Qiang and Bao Bai. Because Ye Qiang was originally from Beijing and Bao Bai wanted to tour around the Summer Palace, the three of them decided to book the tickets together and had fun chatting on the plane.

It was only when they landed on the airport that Hui Yin realized nearly all of the magazines and newspapers on the plane featured Lu Shen and Nian Zhen.

For a man ruthless enough to bankrupt media companies featuring his photo because he wanted to stay low-key, why was he doing everything he can to attract attention now?

[1] Sprout hairpin craze: hairpins wherein there are small plants in it, so it kind of looks like there are plants growing on the top of your head.