Chapter 16: Bold Ideas _1

"My point is, given that I already have a ton of suitors driving me nuts, having Ye Ming act as a shield wouldn't be a bad choice."

Upon hearing Xu Lele say this, Xia Ningning's expression eased a bit.

Indeed, as the young heiress of the Xu Family, whether it be business partners or friends from her social circle, there were bound to be several suitors.

Dealing with these people had Xu Lele wracking her brains; if she could let Ye Ming act as a shield to block out these suitors, she could avoid a lot of hassle.

Just then, Ye Ming had finished adjusting his breath and came over, asking Xu Lele, "Miss Xu, I need your help with one more thing! I need a lot of medicinal herbs, like Ginseng and Lingzhi—consider it my condition."

Xu Lele thought briefly before she already had a target in mind and immediately replied, "Isn't it just the herbal market? I'll take you there. But this is too trivial to be considered a condition from you."

Xu Lele insisted on this, leaving Ye Ming no choice but to nod and agree.

Having said this, Xu Lele had already grabbed the car keys and didn't forget to pull Xia Ningning along with her.

Xia Ningning promptly refused, "I'm not going. If you want to go, go by yourself."

Xu Lele didn't get angry; instead, she cheerfully said, "Then I'll go shopping with my boyfriend! Just stay home by yourself."

After that, Xu Lele promptly pulled Ye Ming out the door, leaving Xia Ningning alone with a worried face.

Xu Lele drove the luxury car, taking Ye Ming toward the city center.

Looking at the urban street views, Ye Ming couldn't help but sigh. In just a few days, his life had changed drastically.

Once he had gathered enough medicinal herbs and successfully concocted the Qi Condensing Pill, his strength would go up a level, and his success was just around the corner.

As the car passed by a hotel, Ye Ming saw a collection of luxury cars outside its doors, with many rich young men gathering there, creating quite a lively scene.

Noticing Ye Ming's gaze, Xu Lele asked, "If you like this hotel, I could give it to you as part of my conditions—what do you think?"

Ye Ming shook his head disinterestedly; these things didn't interest him.

Xu Lele said with a laugh, "Then let me be your girlfriend instead. That condition is sensible as well."

Just as Ye Ming didn't know how to respond, he suddenly saw a figure surrounded by people among the luxury cars outside the hotel.

That person was Wang Hai.

Ye Ming asked, "Is this hotel hosting some kind of large event?"

Distracted from the previous subject, Xu Lele was a bit unhappy but still answered, "The day after tomorrow, there will be a wedding held at this hotel. It seems to be the wedding of Qianyang Corporation's heir."

At this, Ye Ming suddenly remembered that Xu Ling had mentioned Wang Hai's identity as the heir to Qianyang Corporation.

Ye Ming thought for a moment and then asked, "This hotel—can it be my condition?"

Having just said he didn't want it and then changing his mind so quickly, Ye Ming felt a bit embarrassed.

But Xu Lele didn't hesitate and said, "If you want it, it's yours."

Then she asked again, "Aside from that, do you have any other conditions? Like asking me to be your girlfriend or something."

To Xu Lele, a hotel was just a hotel; it was nothing serious. She was more concerned about the latter.

Ye Ming wasn't sure how to reply, so he changed the subject, explaining, "I'm just borrowing it for a few days, that's all. Just until the heir of Qianyang Corporation is married."

He deliberately said this also to distract himself from being tempted.

Xu Lele was whimsical and spoke too directly, making Ye Ming unsure whether to trust her sincerity, especially since he had just experienced betrayal and developed a shadow over matters of love.

He did not want to start a new relationship with his own shadows, and the conditions he proposed were also to dispel those shadows.

Xu Lele was somewhat puzzled and didn't understand what Ye Ming meant.

She didn't know that Ye Ming's ex-girlfriend had married the heir to the Qianyang Corporation.

But since Ye Ming didn't say anything, she didn't ask further.

Ten minutes later, the car stopped at a vast medicinal herb market.

This market supplied the entire medicinal herb business of Hai City, and also catered to several surrounding cities, boasting a very large inventory of herbs.

Ye Ming entered the market and started looking directly for the stalls with the fewest people and the highest prices.

Although he was frugal in his daily life, on this matter, Ye Ming did not want to skimp at all.

Before long, a large bag of expensive medicinal herbs had been loaded into Ye Ming's car.

Even though Xu Lele didn't know much about medicinal herbs, the sheer amount of ginseng she saw told her it must be pricey.

"Are you going to cook and eat all these herbs? That must cost a pretty penny, right?" Xu Lele asked curiously.

Ye Ming did not deny it, saying, "Around two million, I'll cook and eat them."

A few black lines appeared on Xu Lele's forehead, as she found Ye Ming's response absurd.

To her, spending two million on such things had no value at all, sort of like throwing money on the ground.

However, Ye Ming was not satisfied; while the medicinal herbs he found were decent enough, for now, they would suffice for making the Qi Condensing Pill.

But for higher-quality herbs, he would need a bit of luck.

Xu Lele drove all the way and dropped Ye Ming back at his place.

Seeing where Ye Ming lived, Xu Lele couldn't help but frown.

As a young mistress from the Xu Family, she had been raised in luxury, living in large villas.

It was her first time encountering an old apartment building such as this one.

At the door, Ye Ming thanked her and turned to carry the medicinal herbs upstairs.

At that moment, Xu Lele suddenly called out to him, saying, "Ye Ming, I wasn't really joking with you, I do want you to be my boyfriend."

Ye Ming froze slightly and a troubled look appeared on his face again.

Before he could say anything, Xu Lele had already continued, "But not in the way you're thinking. You know, someone like me, I have too many suitors. I just want to use you as a shield."

"What do you think?"

After finishing, Xu Lele looked at Ye Ming with expectant eyes, waiting for his response.

After a moment's hesitation, Ye Ming agreed, saying, "If that's the case, then I can give it a try."

The smile on Xu Lele's face immediately blossomed, and she cheerily said, "Well then, my boyfriend, you should go to bed early tonight. I'll pick you up tomorrow and take you to the Garden Hotel to let you experience what it's like to be the boss!"

After saying that, Xu Lele turned and got back into her car, driving away.