Mr. Li looked embarrassed at being interrupted.

He coughed lightly and looked behind Kong Rui. Kong Rui knew that he was hinting that he wanted to enter the room to talk.

However, Kong Rui didn’t intend to let him in. “Father, if there’s nothing else, please go back. I still have to prepare for the competition tomorrow.”

When he heard Li Ling’s order to leave, Mr. Li’s expression instantly became ugly.

He glanced around the hall, obviously looking for something.

It seemed that Mr. Li’s main goal in coming to look for her today was Chao Bai.

Although she understood, Kong Rui didn’t show it. She only said to Mr. Li, “Is there anything else?”

Father Li frowned and rolled his eyes a few times before suddenly blinking.

He reached out and grabbed Kong Rui. “Ling’er, I still have something to give you. Why don’t we go in and talk?”

“Then please follow me,” Kong Rui said as she broke free from Mr. Li’s grip.

She led Mr. Li into the hall.

It seemed that Mr. Li’s goal was to see Chao Bai. If he didn’t see him, it would probably be difficult to get rid of him today.

As for Chao Bai, he only acknowledged things that he was interested in. Other people or things seemed to be an eyesore to him.

Thinking of how Chao Bai treated Li Han, Kong Rui smirked.

They walked into the hall. Chao Bai was sitting at the table, studying a plate placed on it.

After Kong Rui walked in, Chao Bai stood up and was about to welcome her when he saw Mr. Li behind Kong Rui. He frowned.

“Who are you?” Chao Bai asked with a displeased expression.

Kong Rui wasn’t displeased by Chao Bai’s “rudeness” at all. Instead, she was even grateful towards him.

Hearing Chao Bai’s question, Mr. Li immediately felt embarrassed. “Who are you? Why are you in my daughter’s courtyard?!”

Seeing that Mr. Li was asking the obvious, Kong Rui wanted to roll her eyes and kick him out.

However, there were still many things she hadn’t done. It was clearly not a wise choice to go against Mr. Li.

Kong Rui took a deep breath and said to Mr. Li, “This is the powerhouse I brought back today. He has already met the Patriarch.”

Only then did Mr. Li Li finally look enlightened. “So this is the expert the Patriarch mentioned!”

Seeing Mr. Li’s reaction, Kong Rui couldn’t help but give him a thumbs up for his superb acting!

Staying in the Li family as an elder was really a waste of his good acting skills!

Kong Rui was still smirking, but her expression looked a little stiff. “Yes, what did you say you wanted to give me?”

Kong Rui appropriately brought back the original topic so that Mr. Li wouldn’t continue asking.

Only then did Mr. Li seem to remember this. He wrinkled his nose in embarrassment. “Wait a moment!”

Mr. Li stared ahead in a daze, but his eyebrows twitched from time to time. Kong Rui knew that he was looking for something in his storage space that could be used as a gift.

After all, it was a promise he had blurted out on a whim, so he didn’t know what to give her.

After a while, Mr. Li took out a palm-sized wooden box from his storage bracelet.

There were a few lotus flowers engraved on the wooden box. It looked like it was worth some money.

Kong Rui looked at the carving on the wooden box. The lotus flower was half-open, and there seemed to be something hidden in the center.

The carving was a little old and looked tarnished. Clearly, it hadn’t been well taken care of. What was hidden inside was no longer clear.

Mr. Li took Kong Rui’s hand and placed the wooden box in it. “I don’t have anything valuable. This is for you!”

Before Kong Rui could reply, Chao Bai’s hand had already grabbed hers and forcefully pulled Kong Rui’s hand out of Mr. Li’s.

Mr. Li was startled.

Kong Rui didn’t expect Chao Bai to do this and the wooden box in her hand almost fell to the ground.

Kong Rui grabbed the wooden box tightly and the lotus flower carving in her hand suddenly pierced her palm.

Kong Rui frowned slightly. She removed the wooden box and realized that her palm had been pierced.