After Breaking Up with the Stoic CEO - Chapter 37
Chapter 37: Can We Continue Now?
The little girl’s tone was jubilant. “Great! When did Lu Lu get there? I’ve missed her so much.”
Li Jin replied in a natural tone, “It’s been a while.”
The statement was ambiguous, and Li Xinrui’s little head didn’t overthink it as she immediately jumped to another topic.
“By the way, I made cranberry shortbread cookies this afternoon. I’ll bring them for your breakfast when I come over tomorrow morning!”
Li Jin hummed in response. “Alright.”
The girl had a lively and cheerful personality; once she started chatting, there was no end to it. After venting about the upcoming placement exams at school, she began protesting her grandmother’s nagging in the evenings.
Li Jin listened until the girl grew tired of talking, then lifted her wrist to check the time.
22:30.
“Rui Rui, you should go to sleep.”
“Okay…”
Li Xinrui still felt she hadn’t said enough, but she was very obedient toward Li Jin.
“Xiao Jin, goodnight. See you tomorrow.”
Li Jin replied softly, “Goodnight. See you tomorrow.”
The call disconnected.
Intimacy is something that requires the right mood and timing. After such a disruption, the spark had naturally fizzled out.
Lu Wu was still sitting upright beside her, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. When their eyes met, she asked tentatively, “Can I continue now?”
Li Jin gave a light reminder: “Rui Rui will be here very early tomorrow.”
With just that subtle hint, Lu Wu very consciously swallowed all her shameless words back into her stomach.
“Then… I’ll go sleep in the guest room.”
“Mhm. Rest early.”
Amusement parks are usually crowded on weekends, but the three of them arrived early, and there was hardly anyone at the entrance yet. Li Xinrui skipped toward the ticket gate, smiling sweetly at the ticket collector and revealing a row of straight, white teeth.
“Sister, can we go in now? There are three of us!”
Due to school regulations, Li Xinrui’s hair had been dyed black, and her curls had been straightened. At first glance, she looked like a well-behaved and adorable porcelain doll.
The ticket collector, delighted by the “Sister,” asked with a smile, “Little one, do you have a reservation?”
Li Xinrui nodded. “Yes!”
Behind her, Lu Wu handed over the QR code. “Sorry for the trouble.”
The collector finished scanning. “All set. Hope you have a pleasant time!”
Once inside the park, Li Xinrui walked ahead while the two adults followed at a short distance. Lu Wu had applied light makeup, but the dark circles under her eyes were still visible. Last night, her emotions had been left hanging by Li Jin’s teasing; after returning to her room, she lay in bed for a long time without any sleepiness. Closing her eyes only brought back the image of the other woman’s dazed, lost expression. As a result, she ended up having several dreams, continuing the unfinished “exam” in a half-dreaming state.
As for Li Jin, perhaps because she had drunk the milk, her sleep quality had improved last night. Upon waking up, her complexion was excellent, surpassing her usual composed self.
Lu Wu let out a yawn, and Li Jin looked over.
“You didn’t sleep well last night?”
Lu Wu replied gloomily, “I didn’t.”
A thin smile touched Li Jin’s eyes as she asked knowingly, “Why?”
Lu Wu had a grievance she couldn’t voice: “…It’s nothing.”
Li Xinrui was looking around at the towering amusement rides, looking as if she were interested in every single one of them.
“Roller coaster! And the drop tower! Xiao Jin, can you play with me?”
Li Jin said gently, “I’ll pass. Lu Wu will play with you.”
She didn’t agree, but Li Xinrui didn’t show much disappointment; instead, her excitement grew even more.
“Sister Lu Lu is going on the roller coaster and the drop tower with me?!”
Lu Wu listened from the side. Li Jin was the mother, and she was the “sister”—wouldn’t that mess up the family generations?
“Sure.” She agreed first, then spoke up to correct her nonchalantly, “But Rui Rui, I think you should call me Auntie.”
A flash of confusion crossed Li Xinrui’s eyes. “Auntie… but Lu Lu, you clearly don’t look much older than me. Why should I call you that?”
Lu Wu caught Li Jin’s gaze out of the corner of her eye and coughed to interrupt the girl.
“How do you usually address Teacher Tan? Do you remember?”
Li Xinrui thought for a moment and answered crisply, “Auntie Tan!”
Lu Wu continued to guide her: “Teacher Tan is my friend, so what should you call me?”
Li Xinrui nodded as if she partially understood. “Oh… Auntie Lu.”
Lu Wu patted the top of her head. “Good girl.”
Li Xinrui laughed and hurried ahead to join the queue. Behind her, only the two adults remained. Li Jin didn’t speak, her gaze calm.
Lu Wu moved closer and whispered, “Are you unhappy?”
Li Jin didn’t even lift her eyelids. “What is there to be unhappy about?”
Lu Wu tugged on the other’s sleeve. Seeing the girl ahead wasn’t paying attention, she slipped her fingers into the other’s hand and drew circles in her palm with her fingertips.
“I can tell.”
Li Jin glanced at her and said unhurriedly, “You are Rui Rui’s sister; you should call me Auntie.”
Lu Wu looked thoughtful. “Oh~ if ‘Auntie’ works, would ‘Mommy’ be okay too?” “So when you said yesterday you didn’t want me to call you President Li, you were thinking…”
Bringing up old matters only to be caught in a trap, Li Jin frowned and instinctively snapped, “Shut up.”
Lu Wu hadn’t intended to be reckless at an inappropriate time. She laughed softly and leaned into her ear. “I was teasing you, Sister.”
Li Xinrui shouted from ahead, “Auntie Lu, hurry up! It’s our turn!”
Lu Wu pulled back and winked at Li Jin. “Wait here for us. We’ll be back soon.”
Li Jin showed no reaction, saying flatly, “Mhm.”
“Auntie Lu!”
“Coming~”
The big one and the small one entered hand in hand. Li Jin stood in place for a long moment; finally, her brow smoothed out, and a small curve touched the corners of her mouth.
“Please pull down the safety bar and fasten your seatbelt…”
Lu Wu had actually never tried these high-altitude thrill rides. It wasn’t until the roller coaster started moving and she saw the undulating tracks and felt the violent vibrations beneath her that she belatedly felt a sense of fear.
Li Xinrui was swinging her legs and laughing nearby. “Auntie Lu, do you feel the wind blowing? It’s so cool and comfortable~”
Lu Wu secretly gripped the safety bar and managed a forced smile. “It is indeed quite cool.”
The girl noticed her voice was tense and turned to show concern. “Auntie Lu, are you scared? It’s okay, I’m not scared. You can hold my hand tight.”
At that moment, the roller coaster reached its highest point and hung there, suspended. Lu Wu’s heart was pounding like thunder, but she still feigned composure. “No need, I’m not very—”
Before she could finish, the intense G-force and weightlessness hit simultaneously. All that remained in the air was a distorted ending of a word.
“SCARED!!!”
Tortured enough by that plummeting weightlessness and high-flung suspension, Lu Wu’s entire face was deathly pale when she got off the roller coaster. Her stomach was churning, and she was covered in a cold sweat. Amidst the crowd, she held the railing and walked down the stairs step by step. Before she could even celebrate finally being back on solid ground, a child playing behind her ran over and bumped into her without realizing.
Her limbs were still numb, and Lu Wu couldn’t control her movements to dodge; the momentum caused her legs to go weak. In the next second, she didn’t hit the hard concrete ground but a soft body instead.
The embrace carried that recognizable faint lily scent. Lu Wu looked up and indeed saw Li Jin’s familiar face. The other woman looked down, her expression subtle. It was Li Jin who had caught her, but…
A soft, warm rebound came from her fingertips, and a heartbeat was inches away. Lu Wu’s face suddenly heated up, and she instantly sprang up, withdrawing her hand from a very offensive position.
“Sorry.”
Li Jin glanced at her and confirmed flatly, “Are you okay?”
Lu Wu answered in a small voice, “I’m fine.”
Just then, a work call came in. Li Jin nodded slightly and went to the side alone. At this time, Li Xinrui crowded around, chirping with concern: “Auntie Lu, are you unwell? Should I go buy a bottle of water for you?”
“No need, I just need a moment. Thank you, Rui Rui.” Lu Wu reached out to pat the girl’s head, but her heart still hadn’t calmed down.
Her peripheral vision fell ahead. Li Jin was simply standing there, yet she drew the gazes of every passerby. She wore a white chiffon shirt and light blue high-waisted flared trousers. Her hair was loosely tucked back, and her collar was open, revealing half of her fair, smooth collarbone. This outfit didn’t have such a strong aura; it was poised, elegant, and generous. Occasionally, she would turn and smile at Rui Rui, causing that “do not approach” vibe to dissolve and making several young girls nearby gasp softly, itching to approach her.
Lu Wu also watched, lost in thought, her heart burning and uncontrollably fantasizing about more. She wanted to stand openly by that person’s side. She wanted to hear her say “I like you” with her own ears.
Li Xinrui was still holding her hands together in apology. “Sorry, Auntie Lu. I didn’t know you were this scared. Maybe we should play something else? There are bumper cars over there—”
Lu Wu snapped back to her senses and laughed, interrupting the girl: “No need, let’s continue. Didn’t you still want to ride the drop tower and the log flume?”
Just then, the nearby speakers began playing an announcement: “The drop tower project will begin within five minutes. Visitors who wish to participate, please arrive at the project site as soon as possible~”
Li Xinrui looked back, clearly tempted but still uneasy about Lu Wu’s condition. “But…”
“I’m fine.” Lu Wu winked at her, feigning relaxation. “I actually thought the roller coaster was quite exciting just now.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Li Xinrui finally felt relieved. She called out to Li Jin and excitedly pulled Lu Wu toward the drop tower site.
The safety bar was lowered. Lu Wu’s palms were sweating again as she gripped the seatbelt. At the entrance, two girls were hesitating to sit; the tall one looked nervous while the petite one laughed as if comforting her.
Li Xinrui watched with narrowed eyes. “Auntie Lu, do you see those two girls over there? I think the tall girl has impure intentions toward the short one.”
Lu Wu’s nerves were taut, and for a moment she didn’t understand. “Impure intentions?”
Li Xinrui gestured in the air, explaining vividly: “Look at her eyes. They’re so sticky, she clearly likes her. It’s very obvious.”
It was the first time Lu Wu had discussed such a topic with a teenage girl, and her mood was somewhat subtle. “Is that so?”
Li Xinrui looked at her with a look of disappointment. “Have you never had someone you liked?”
Lu Wu paused, didn’t answer the question, and made a stiff turn in the conversation. “Rui Rui, your mother is so beautiful and outstanding. If someone liked her, would you feel repulsed?”
Support
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
