My Boss Always Wants to Join My Family - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Fruit Candy (2)

Lu Yue didn’t lower her voice at all, making no effort to hide her outburst. With such a scene breaking out, many people nearby looked over, sizing up the two of them.

Upon hearing the news, the bar manager rushed over. Looking at the scene before her, she felt a massive headache coming on.

In recent years, as the economic center shifted, young people had taken a liking to more lively music bars. Whisper had been on the verge of closing down until Zhou Ran suddenly appeared and bought the bar without saying a word.

The previous owner had thought the new buyer intended to change the storefront and the employees were already prepared to be laid off, but to their surprise, Zhou Ran shook her head and simply let the bar maintain the status quo.

She only made a few small requests involving adjustments to the music and atmosphere while leaving everything else unchanged, even allowing the manager to keep her position.

After that, whether it was due to those adjustments or not, the bar’s business miraculously improved. Lapsed regulars returned, and its reputation grew more solid by the day.

Although Zhou Ran rarely visited and only collected dividends periodically, the manager was very grateful to her and wanted to leave a good impression.

—And then, this incident happened.

On a rare occasion that Zhou Ran actually visited, she was grabbed by the collar by a customer. Her clothes were tugged into a mess, and several buttons had come loose, revealing slightly pale skin.

Zhou Ran knit her brows slightly. Her fingers met Lu Yue’s knuckles, sliding down slowly until they rested on her wrist. Her voice was extremely faint: “Have you been drinking?”

She’s definitely angry!

The manager was frantic. She gestured to the several servers behind her and stepped forward quickly to explain: “President Zhou, I will handle this matter.”

Zhou Ran shook her head and raised a hand, placing a fingertip against her lips in a “shh” gesture.

She steadied Lu Yue to prevent her from falling to the floor, then raised her hand to check the temperature of Lu Yue’s forehead before quickly pulling away.

“I apologize. I won’t be inspecting the premises today. Just compile the financial reports and future planning proposals and send them to my assistant.”

Zhou Ran was concise: “She’s drunk. I’m taking her back.”

The manager asked cautiously: “Is there anything we can do to help? Should we contact this lady’s family first?”

Zhou Ran: “I’ll take care of it.”

Lu Yue couldn’t even stand steadily, yet she gripped Zhou Ran’s clothes tightly and wouldn’t let go. Zhou Ran bent down, letting the other woman lean against her shoulder.

Leaning on her shoulder, Lu Yue blinked blankly. Her curls scattered across Zhou Ran’s back, strands brushing against the skin and bringing a ticklish sensation.

Rejecting assistance from the others, Zhou Ran half-carried Lu Yue toward the exit. Dragging and pulling her along the way, she finally made it to the car with great effort.

As she looked down to fish for her car keys, she suddenly felt a tickle at her waist. Looking down, she found the other woman’s hand covering it, wrapping around her waist like a vine, pulling her into an embrace.

Lu Yue leaned against her, her dark eyes clouded with a layer of watery mist. Her breath, hot and mixed with the scent of alcohol, seeped bit by bit into Zhou Ran’s collar, scaldingly hot.

“Zhou Ran,” Lu Yue called her name, her voice sounding somewhat lost and helpless. Like a child, she asked, “Where did you go before? Why did you leave me all alone?”

Zhou Ran said softly: “You’re drunk.”

Lu Yue shook her head, her arms locked tightly around Zhou Ran’s waist. She nuzzled her like a kitten and mumbled in a small voice: “I’m not drunk.”

Zhou Ran lowered her brows slightly, a faint shadow gathering under her thick, long lashes, obscuring the light in her eyes.

After a long silence, she asked: “Where is your home address?”

Zhou Ran’s voice was very light and low, sounding strangely gentle, as if she were afraid of frightening the other person. She spoke slowly and seriously: “I’m sending you back.”

Unfortunately, Lu Yue was so drunk she didn’t take in a single word. She just laughed somewhat foolishly, the dimples on her cheeks appearing and disappearing; there was no way she could provide an address properly.

The sky had grown somewhat late. The sun had sunk heavily, and the darkness weighed down the branches. In the blink of an eye, only the hazy glow of twilight remained.

With a great deal of effort, Zhou Ran stuffed Lu Yue into the back seat of the car and buckled her seatbelt before she dared to return to the front.

They had been apart for too long; she wasn’t sure if Lu Yue had moved, and asking Lu Yue for her address was clearly a waste of effort.

After a moment of thought, Zhou Ran took out her phone. It was cluttered with over thirty unread messages and calls; she swiped down directly, following the principle of “out of sight, out of mind.”

After some searching, she dialed a number.

After a melodious ringtone, a woman picked up the phone. Her voice was flat and professional: “Yinglu Group, Chairman’s Office.”

“Hello, this is Zhou Ran.”

While replying, Zhou Ran turned her head and saw Lu Yue leaning against the car window, exhaling a thin layer of white mist and tracing through it with her finger with great interest.

“Please transfer me to Chairman Lu. His daughter is with me,” Zhou Ran sighed. “Miss Lu is drunk and can’t get back; she might need someone to pick her up.”

The secretary on the phone was silent for a moment. After a few clicks, a deep male voice took over: “Hello?”

Zhou Ran breathed a sigh of relief and explained: “Hello, Chairman Lu, I—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Lu’s father snorted, cutting her off: “Oh? I hear my daughter is in your hands?”

Zhou Ran hesitated for a moment but still answered truthfully: “Yes, Miss Lu is with me.”

That said, listening to Chairman Lu’s tone and the swaying cadence of his words, she felt something wasn’t quite right.

A moment later, Chairman Lu gave a cold laugh.

“What? Has Xiaoyue been kidnapped, or has her credit card payment lapsed?” Chairman Lu said indifferently. “Or are you from the embassy, and you’ve seized Xiaoyue’s passport and need me to wire money to a certain account?”

Zhou Ran was stunned for a moment and opened her mouth to explain: “Chairman Lu, wait a moment, I—”

“Get lost! You messy scam callers, do you really think everyone is a three-year-old? Don’t you know how to use your brains?”

Chairman Lu slapped the desk and scolded sharply: “My daughter isn’t returning to the country until tomorrow! Her plane hasn’t even landed yet, and you dare call me to demand a kidnapping ransom?!”

With that, Chairman Lu hung up the phone with a clatter and stalked off in a huff, leaving only a string of “busy” dial tones.

Zhou Ran: “…………”

What was she supposed to do now? Her head throbbed painfully. She sighed softly and rubbed her temple.

Given the current situation, she could likely only take Lu Yue back to her own home and send her back tomorrow.

Just as Zhou Ran made up her mind, she heard some noise behind her. Turning around, she saw Lu Yue leaning over, tilting her head to look at her.

Her voice was soft, sounding strangely like she was acting spoiled, as she whispered: “I’m a little hot.”

Zhou Ran turned the air conditioning down a bit.

The cold air hit her skin, and Lu Yue’s body shivered. She couldn’t help but shudder and complained: “So cold.”

Zhou Ran turned the air conditioning up a bit.

As it turned out, Lu Yue didn’t stay still for long before she started complaining about the heat again. After tossing Zhou Ran back and forth like this several times, she was finally satisfied.

However, Lu Yue didn’t seem inclined to let her off the hook just yet. After being quiet for a minute, she started clamoring again: “I want to hear music. I want to hear pop songs.”

Zhou Ran connected her phone to the car audio, but the pop song hadn’t even played for half a minute before Lu Yue shook her head and mumbled: “I want to hear a symphony. Beethoven!”

Zhou Ran was silent for a moment, then silently pulled up the third movement of Pathétique. Unsurprisingly, two minutes later, Lu Yue pouted her lip and said aggrievedly: “I want to hear The Moon Reflected in the Second Spring.”

…What a mess.

Zhou Ran gave an “mm” and started changing the song again. The sorrowful, desolate sound of the erhu rang out, like a bleak northern wind, dripping with blood and tears, every note incomparably miserable.

In this incredibly eerie atmosphere, the car drove steadily. Once the erhu piece finished, Zhou Ran gripped the steering wheel and asked: “What else do you want to hear?”

Lu Yue shook her head.

The car fell into silence. After a long while, Lu Yue suddenly blinked and tilted her head forward: “Why aren’t you angry?”

Zhou Ran was puzzled: “Why should I be angry?”

“I have so many demands, tossing you around like this, yet you aren’t angry.”

Lu Yue ignored her response and continued on her own, “If it were anyone else, they would have wanted to beat me up a long time ago and then thrown down the towel and quit.”

Zhou Ran did not answer, gazing quietly ahead. In the silent night, the streetlights lit up one by one.

The city in the distance was prosperous and bustling. Neon lights illuminated the horizon, and the lights surged in a chaotic flood, but as they fell into her dark eyes, they turned into a single star.

“…I won’t be angry.”

As if afraid the other woman hadn’t heard, Zhou Ran paused and repeated: “I won’t be angry with you.”

Considering there were other people at her main home, Zhou Ran felt it wasn’t appropriate to bring her back there. After some deliberation, she drove the car to one of her apartments.

Lu Yue, who had been “unreasonably troublesome” just moments ago, was now exceptionally cooperative. Dizzily wrapping her arms around Zhou Ran’s neck, she was carried back on the other’s back.

After all the tossing and turning, they finally arrived at the apartment. Zhou Ran felt a strange sense of relief. She placed Lu Yue on the bed, then knelt down on one knee to check her condition.

“I’ll go get a hot towel and cook some hangover soup. After you drink it, sleep for a while. I’ll be sitting in the living room; you can come find me if you need anything.”

Even knowing the other woman likely wouldn’t understand, Zhou Ran still felt uneasy and reminded her repeatedly: “I’ll be right back. Sit for a moment, don’t move around.”

Lu Yue lay among the soft bedding, her dark hair scattered by her side, her face flushed with a hint of red. She looked at Zhou Ran blankly and gave a muffled “mm.”

Zhou Ran went to pour a basin of hot water. After soaking the towel completely, she gave it a light twist with both hands. Water droplets soaked her well-defined fingers and pitter-pattered back into the basin.

“Come, let me wipe your face.”

Zhou Ran spoke softly as the steaming towel covered Lu Yue’s face, carefully wiping her forehead.

The towel moved to the side, wiping down slowly along the side of her face. Suddenly, her wrist fell into Lu Yue’s fingers, her movements forcibly halted by the other.

Zhou Ran hesitated: “What is it?”

Lu Yue didn’t speak. Her eyes held a hint of a smile, and her clear, dark eyes gazed at Zhou Ran like gems submerged in water.

The room was so quiet that one could hear the sound of breathing. Lu Yue tilted her head slightly, the tip of her tongue darting out a bit to lick delicately at Zhou Ran’s pale wrist, and then she bit down.

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