After Breaking Up with the Stoic CEO - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Can I Go Home With You?

On the balcony by the window, points of light flickered intermittently, illuminating that iconic, stoic beauty of a face.

It was the woman she had seen earlier that day.

A flash of surprise flickered in Lu Wu’s eyes. Would someone who looked so old-fashioned and conservative actually smoke? And the woman had a daughter, so why was she here?

Doubts began to ferment in her mind, but at this moment, asking any of those questions would only seem presumptive. Lu Wu swallowed hard and, following her inner instinct, walked toward the woman.

She stood still against the balcony wall and smiled, her tone relaxed: “What a coincidence, you’re here too.”

Though it was a statement of fact, it was also a very clichéd and classic pick-up line. Lu Wu expected not to receive an answer. And indeed, the woman kept her eyes lowered, looking entirely too lazy to engage in conversation.

One stood while the other sat. The one standing didn’t say anything else out of turn, and the one sitting didn’t get up to leave; a subtle balance formed between them. For a fleeting moment, Lu Wu even had the illusion that her presence was faintly overpowering the other’s aura.

She observed her openly, noticing that the woman was still wearing the same outfit from the afternoon. The black long dress was made of exquisite material, looking rigorous and formal under natural light. Now, as the woman sat there with her legs lazily crossed amidst the rising curls of smoke, her smooth body curves stood in sharp contrast to the sharp profile of her face.

Lu Wu looked down and inadvertently caught a glimpse of a subtle cleavage. It was hazy and somewhat alluring. She instinctively pursed her lips and averted her intrusive gaze.

It was at this moment that the seated woman spoke.

“Have you seen enough?”

The voice was cold and indifferent, just as it had been during the day, with the only difference being a slight, unmistakable hint of warning.

Lu Wu apologized immediately: “I’m sorry.” After saying that, she blinked and added earnestly: “You are very beautiful.”

Rarely encountering someone who was so self-righteous after being caught staring, Li Jin’s movements paused. She finally raised her eyes to look at the person in front of her. The bar’s ambient lights flashed and shifted, making it only possible to see a slender, tall silhouette; her face seemed decent.

Li Jin narrowed her eyes slightly to see the other’s eyes clearly. They were naturally upturned—a mature, seductive fox-eye shape—yet the pupils were as pure and bright as pearls. They were quite special.

If both were mature, independent adults, there would be no need to explain what such ambiguous words meant in this setting. But—the girl in front of her looked like a child.

She looked away, her tone flat: “I’m not interested.”

Not interested? In what? Lu Wu wasn’t quite sure what she meant, but before she could ask, another mature female voice rang out.

“Li Jin? Why have you been out here for so long?”

The newcomer was a woman with sharp, heroic features. Her shirt sleeves were rolled up, her short hair fell naturally behind her head, and she carried a friendly smile as she walked over. The two clearly knew each other. Lu Wu didn’t speak again, tactfully remaining quiet.

Li Jin stubbed out the cigarette between her fingers, her lips moving slightly: “Getting some air.”

Xue Yiqi was used to her speaking style. Her gaze swept over Lu Wu’s face: “This is…”

Li Jin didn’t look at Lu Wu, who was standing in the middle, and answered succinctly: “A passerby.”

Since Li Jin said she was a passerby, Xue Yiqi didn’t press further, only saying: “Let’s go back. Everyone is waiting for you.”

Li Jin nodded, picked up her coat draped over the chair, and walked inside. As they brushed past each other, Lu Wu smelled that faint scent of lilies again.

She thought to herself: So her name is Li Jin.

After sitting on the balcony for a while longer, Lu Wu’s phone suddenly rang. The caller ID had no special name, just the word “Editor.” She pressed the answer button, and a somewhat shrill female voice sounded from the other side.

“Lu Wu, it’s me, Liu Xiang.”

Lu Wu lowered her gaze, her tone not exactly warm: “Editor Liu, is something the matter?”

Liu Xiang seemed not to notice Lu Wu’s attitude and just laughed: “I remember Two Sides had a signing event today. It must have been tiring, right? Make sure to get some good rest tonight.”

Two Sides was Lu Wu’s first work, and her only one. It told the story of two women—a homeless teacher and a peacekeeper in a war-torn country. The book featured a gripping plot with intertwined light and dark narrative threads; more impressively, while ensuring readability, it explored many thought-provoking social issues.

When Two Sides was published, it coincided with the widening of the creative bottleneck in literature, and same-sex themes were flourishing. Without any marketing or platform assistance, relying solely on spontaneous promotion from readers on various short-video platforms, the discussion surrounding the work reached a staggering level. Later, Feiyan Literature approached her to sign a contract, and then came Liu Xiang, the direct editor for Two Sides, responsible for all matters related to the work.

At this moment, Liu Xiang’s mouth was uttering pleasantries, but her voice felt hollow. Her laughter sounded insincere, giving off a distinct vibe of hypocrisy. Lu Wu knew very well that the other woman didn’t really want to talk about these trivial things.

So, she replied perfunctorily: “Thanks for the concern.”

Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Liu Xiang spoke as if casually: “Xiao Lu, the public opinion trend online today is quite good. Have you seen it?”

Lu Wu looked out the window, recalling the comments she had caught a glimpse of during her busy breaks.

“Who is this Lu Wu? Can any random cat or dog participate in a signing with Yue Yuan and He Qing now?”

“I heard she’s a one-hit wonder genius.”

“What kind of ‘genius’? I’ve read her stuff; the values are all wrong. I really don’t understand why so many people like her.”

“One-hit wonder? Maybe she just paid off the website?”

Even without intentionally paying attention, she had long grown used to the daily chaos of online discourse. In any case, those cursing her as a fraud would always be the majority.

“The trend is good.” For Liu Xiang, as long as people were talking, it brought heat to the work; whether they were bashing or praising didn’t matter. So, in that sense, it was true. But to Lu Wu, those words only felt mocking.

She pursed her lips, her fingertips idly rubbing her sleeve, and didn’t respond.

Liu Xiang didn’t care about the silent person’s mood and continued on her own: “Since you were both guests at today’s event, you should find an opportunity to interact with Yue Yuan. Ride his popularity a bit; it’ll also increase fan engagement.”

Yue Yuan was a top author at Yangtze.com with over a hundred million in royalties. Whether in terms of fan base or platform, Lu Wu couldn’t even compare. Most importantly, the two had almost no interaction in private. If she followed Liu Xiang’s suggestion and tried to “climb” onto his popularity…

Lu Wu’s temples throbbed. She frowned and said: “I don’t agree.”

The refusal came decisively. Liu Xiang was taken aback by the slight, and her tone turned colder. “This has already been decided. I’m just informing you. If you don’t use your private account to interact, the operations staff will use the official account to post.”

“Lu Wu, don’t think too highly of yourself just because you had one hit. The site spent a lot of money to sign you; you ought to create some value for us, shouldn’t you?”

The call ended. A long time passed before the faint light on the screen died out, returning the surroundings to darkness.

Li Jin raised her hand to check the time; it was past ten o’clock. She picked up her blazer from the side and stood up.

Xue Yiqi was having a great time, and seeing Li Jin about to leave, she was quite surprised: “Leaving already?”

Li Jin explained: “I still have work to finish.”

Xue Yiqi turned to look at her. This woman’s eyes were clear and her expression was normal, she didn’t look like she had been drinking at all. She chuckled: “Thinking about work all day long… fine, go ahead. Be safe on the road and call me when you get back.”

Li Jin nodded: “Okay.”

Li Jin’s control over her time was always precise: fixed sleeping hours, fixed working periods. She would never sleep after midnight, and she almost never handled work after six. However, since a new project had recently launched, she needed to keep an eye on it, so her work had piled up into her rest time. If she went home now and processed the documents quickly, she could still fall asleep on time by twelve.

That was the plan, but plans are destined to encounter variables. Li Jin didn’t expect to pick up a drunkard in the parking lot.

It was a young woman, quite pretty, curled up next to a white Porsche. Her eyes were half-closed, and she seemed to be sleeping soundly. She looked like the person she had seen on the balcony earlier.

Li Jin frowned slightly, unable to tell for a moment if this was a simple coincidence or some new kind of “fishing” tactic. She stood there, waiting for the other to reveal her true colors.

During the silence, the woman’s mouth instinctively twitched downward, and she began mumbling something in a rather impassioned tone. The voice grew louder and became clear in the small space.

“Liu Xiang, you #@! I curse you to eat instant noodles with no… seasoning packets!”

Li Jin was speechless. It seemed that she really was just a simple drunkard. She patted the woman’s shoulder lightly: “Wake up. Do you need me to call a car for you?”

In her daze, Lu Wu felt as if someone was calling her. She opened her eyes to look ahead.

Thin, sexy lips. An exquisite nose. Noble, cold eyes. They seemed familiar. Her head was heavy, and her throat was dry and painful, making it difficult to speak.

But Lu Wu followed her instinct, her lips moving as she spoke: “You’re so beautiful… have we met somewhere before?”

Li Jin ignored the drunken talk: “Where do you live? I’ll call a car for you.”

Lu Wu’s ears were buzzing; she couldn’t hear the words clearly, only feeling that the other’s voice was clear and cool, like it had been chilled—it was very comfortable to listen to.

She blinked and asked again: “You’re really beautiful. Can I go home with you?”

Li Jin: “…”

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