After Breaking Up with the Stoic CEO - Chapter 43

Chapter 43: The Hem Clinging to the Abdomen

“The surprise you mentioned… is this it?”

Li Jin stood by the roadside, her gaze directed to one side, her tone sounding somewhat subtle.

After parking the car, Lu Wu followed closely behind, looking at the “this” she was referring to.

It was a small wooden cabin that had suddenly appeared by the road. It wasn’t large, about thirty centimeters high, made of a deep natural wood color. Inside sat a plush cat bed, and a small bowl was filled with food and water.

Lu Wu secretly watched Li Jin’s reaction. The other woman didn’t frown; her expression was merely surprised, and she didn’t seem to dislike it. Lu Wu smiled, squatting down to close the small movable wooden door.

“I’m not entirely sure, but maybe it’s part of the surprise.”

Li Jin raised an eyebrow, clearly interested in the “part of it” phrasing. Lu Wu had whetted her appetite but didn’t continue to explain what the full surprise looked like.

“This is a temporary shelter I customized specifically for Xiao Hei. The outer layer has a waterproof coating, so he won’t get soaked by rain, and it can provide some warmth in the winter.”

Lu Wu rambled on about the cat house, and Li Jin listened quietly without speaking. To her, most houses were merely temporary stopping points; Rongjiang only had the added advantage of being closer to work than other places. The interior decoration had been outsourced entirely to a design firm, and the exterior garden was left in its original state. It was simple and clean, without any clutter.

Li Jin originally thought she would resist someone making new changes to things that were already settled. But unexpectedly, with the addition of this unremarkable wooden cabin, the empty area suddenly seemed much more vivid.

As Lu Wu spoke, she turned back to look at her. “Since you like Xiao Hei so much anyway, you can’t let him keep wandering forever without even a decent little nest.”

Li Jin paused, looked away, and walked forward. “I don’t like her.”

Lu Wu stood up and followed, playing along with her words. “That’s okay then. She’ll just come to the door to borrow a room occasionally.”

Li Jin didn’t say yes, nor did she say no. Lu Wu was used to this person’s words and actions being completely different and laughed softly behind her.

“Anyway, since you ‘conveniently’ put out food and water for her when you pass by, you’ll just need to periodically change the cat bed.”

Li Jin’s footsteps paused, and she acted as if she hadn’t heard the sentence.

When they opened the door and entered, a cross-breeze blew through. The ceramic wind chimes hanging from the terrace lintel swayed and collided, emitting a crisp and pleasant sound in the air. Li Jin realized that the surprise Lu Wu spoke of didn’t end there; even the furnishings in the room had changed.

On the floor, there was now a flannel rug printed with a lazy kitten. On the sofa sat several cute cat plushies. On the TV cabinet, there was a row of ornaments and a calendar, and…

Li Jin froze in place, her thoughts uncharacteristically sluggish. “This is—”

Lu Wu was full of anticipation, taking her hand and leading her over to introduce them one by one.

In a glass vase sat a cluster of lilies, their petals pure and beautiful, with a few water droplets still clinging to them and clearly, they had been carefully tended to.

Lu Wu: “These are lilies I bought at the nearby flower market this morning. I thought they were beautiful at first sight, and the meaning is good—’May you be united for a hundred years’… What do you think? Do you smell a faint fragrance in the air?”

Li Jin: “No.”

On the table were two thermos cups, one red and one blue. The design was simple and clear, and each was printed with cat and dog patterns.

Lu Wu: “Matching cups, pretty cute, right? I noticed you don’t seem to drink much water; using these might help improve that habit. Oh, by the way, I brought some goji berries—do you want some?”

Li Jin: “…No need.”

There was a calendar primarily in white tones, decorated with fine, surging waves.

Lu Wu: “This calendar has a natural water theme. I felt it matched the character ‘Jin’ in your name well; it will surely bring you luck. It works like this: see, there’s a dotted line here, and you can tear off a page for every day that passes…”

Li Jin: “…”

Lu Wu moved around the rooms and finally returned to the living room. She raised her hand to block the display cabinet behind her and asked, “Guess what this is?” Her words carried a hint of pride, and her eyes were bright as if they were glowing.

Li Jin had no interest in small riddle games, but after a few seconds, she cooperated and gave her guess. “Ornaments?”

Lu Wu curled her lips, stepped aside, and revealed three wood carvings behind her.

Li Jin looked at them, a flash of confusion in her eyes. “What are these?”

Lu Wu said as a matter of course, “Didn’t you tell me not to display the photos? I spent time carving a little wooden person for both you and Rui Rui to serve as a replacement.”

The features of the wooden people were indistinct; one could only barely tell they were two adults in pajamas and a little girl in a school uniform. They had the same fist-clenching gesture, the same mung-bean noses, and very obvious carving marks with pitted surfaces—it was clearly the work of one person.

Li Jin looked closer and finally couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. Lu Wu raised an eyebrow; she was very satisfied with her work and felt no embarrassment.

“And the cat wood carving I gave you—should we put that here too?”

Li Jin’s expression shifted slightly but quickly returned to normal. “No need. I’ll keep that one myself.”

Seeing that she valued it, Lu Wu figured she had quietly taken it to the office. She smiled even more happily, her grin refusing to fade. “That works too.”

Li Jin nonchalantly shifted the topic to the plushies on the sofa. “What are those?”

Lu Wu didn’t overthink it and picked up a plushie in each hand.

“This is a calico cat.” “This is a Siamese.” “They are one-to-one replicas, but the material is gentler. There’s no real cat fur, so there won’t be allergies. I guessed you might like them.”

Li Jin’s gaze shifted to the big-eyed black cat plushie lying lazily in the corner. “Is this a one-to-one replica too?”

“Oh, this is the protagonist of an anime. You probably don’t know it.” Lu Wu laughed softly and said naturally, “But both movies for this anime are quite good. When you have time, we can watch them together.”

Li Jin didn’t know much about the hobbies of young people, but seeing Lu Wu’s expectant expression, she didn’t say no. “Okay.”

Lu Wu arranged all the plushies neatly, turned around, and took a few steps forward. Finally, she stood directly in front of Li Jin, scrutinizing her expression. Li Jin met her gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Lu Wu could see that Li Jin’s features had relaxed; she should be in a much better mood. But she still confirmed once more: “Do you dislike it? If you aren’t used to it, you must tell me.”

Li Jin said thoughtfully, “If I’m not used to it, what do you plan to do?”

Lu Wu winked. “You are the most important; everything else can step aside. I’ll pack these things up and mail them home right now.”

Li Jin paused. “No need. Let it be.” With that, she turned toward the elevator with an air of indifference.

Lu Wu had mostly figured out Li Jin’s emotional patterns and could increasingly feel the other woman’s indulgence toward her. Li Jin didn’t take the initiative to say she liked her, but it wasn’t that she didn’t care; this was her unique way of expressing affection.

Lu Wu smiled and followed her in. Li Jin stood there and asked, “What are you coming in for?”

Lu Wu answered, “I’ve just come in from outside and I’m quite dirty. I’m going up to shower and change first.”

She said this, but in reality, Lu Wu always cooked first and didn’t start cleaning up and showering until after dinner, because showering before cooking would leave her smelling of kitchen fumes. Li Jin obviously knew this too, and she gave her a fleeting glance.

Lu Wu added, “You shower in the master bedroom, and I shower in the guest room. Is that not allowed?” Her tone was righteous and left no room for fault-finding. Li Jin withdrew her gaze: “It is.”

The two walked out of the elevator one after the other. Lu Wu went to the guest room. Li Jin walked into the master bedroom, casually took off her coat, and prepared to remove her makeup.

Just as she sat down, the sound of pitter-pattering water rang in her ears. The sound was coming from the bathroom. Was there a problem with the pipes? She got up and went to check the situation.

Passing through the glass, what met her eyes was an unexpected scene. The bathtub had already been filled with hot water in advance. Amidst the swirling steam, bright red petals floated on the surface. The overflowing water dripped down the marble edge of the tub, forming a curtain of water that seemed to hold back unspoken words.

Scattered petals also covered the floor. With the rising heat, the fragrance became even more active, drifting into her nose—ambiguous and intoxicating.

While Li Jin was still frozen in place, the sound of footsteps drew near. Lu Wu appeared behind her right on time, gripped her hand to pull her back, and kissed those lips without hesitation.

Her wrist was gripped, and Li Jin was startled, but her resistance vanished the moment she saw the face before her. The warm touch and the unique citrus scent descended together. Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly lowered her eyes.

Different from what she expected, the kiss held no scent of desire. Lu Wu merely pressed against her lips gently and quickly pulled away. Li Jin’s heart skipped a beat, as if she had been brushed by soft fur, leaving a dense, tingling itch.

Lu Wu brought out a hand-wrapped bouquet of roses from behind her back and handed it over.

“Happy one-month anniversary of living together.”

Li Jin opened her eyes, and Lu Wu was looking at her with an earnest expression. That face was already beautiful, and under the bathroom lights, set against the red petals, it appeared even more passionate and radiant.

Li Jin pursed her lips; there seemed to be a bit of lingering sweetness on them. “When did you prepare this?”

The corners of Lu Wu’s mouth lifted slightly. “The flowers were trimmed this morning, along with the bouquet of lilies on the table. Are they beautiful?”

Li Jin looked at her, her gaze following the bridge of her high nose all the way down, passing the moist lips, and stopping at the half-open collar. The bouquet was wet, and because Lu Wu had held it close as she came over, her clothes were mostly drenched. Beneath the white T-shirt, the black silhouette of her underwear was visible, and the hem clung tightly to her abdomen, revealing a hint of her figure—alluring in its half-hidden state.

Support