Running Towards You - Chapter 15

“Hey beautiful, are you here alone?” a girl asked.

“No, I have a friend on the way,” Ji Yin explained.

The girl nodded regretfully and walked away.

Ji Yin glanced at her phone, feeling a little happy.

Friend? Could she and Dr. Lu be considered friends now?

Dr. Lu not only had meals with her but was also coming here to hang out, that counted as friends, right? Right, right, right?

“Hello, what would you like to order?” A server approached with a smile. “We have some special set menus today. Would you like to try one?”

“Let me see.” Ji Yin took the menu, skimmed through it, then pointed at the first set. “I’ll have this one.”

“Got it, one Love & Love set.”

Ji Yin glanced at the other customers in the shop and asked curiously, “Is there some kind of event happening here today?”

“Today’s our anniversary celebration. There’ll be interactive activities later, hope you’ll join us” the server said.

Ji Yin nodded, though what she really wanted to ask was why the place seemed to be filled entirely with women. Was it some kind of ladies’ day?

The food arrived quickly, complete with two glasses of wine. She picked one up and took a couple of sips, her gaze drifting around the room. Unintentionally, she caught a few appraising looks from others.

Seemed like everyone was pretty curious about this place.

A band was performing on stage, singing nothing but love songs.

Ji Yin glanced at the guitarist before turning her attention to her phone, replying to messages and buttering up Chen’s mom while she was at it.

“Hey beautiful, here alone?” Another girl sidled up to her.

“Nope.”

“I’ve been watching you, you’ve been by yourself since you got here,” the girl said.

Ji Yin looked up, puzzled. “What, is this place not welcoming to solo visitors? Or is today couples-only?”

The girl chuckled and sat down beside her without invitation, hinting, “Of course not. But it could be.”

“What do you mean?”

“Can I add you on WeChat?”

“Sure.”

Lu Jiahe stepped through the entrance, the clamor of voices immediately filling her ears.

The place was lively today. As she walked, she scanned the room, searching for Ji Yin.

Soon, a burst of laughter caught her attention. Instinctively, she turned and saw five or six girls laughing together, with Ji Yin right at the center.

Whatever Ji Yin had said had them in stitches, and they were taking turns adding her on WeChat.

Lu Jiahe stared at the beaming figure, unsure how to react.

This girl… seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself?

“Dr. Lu!” Ji Yin looked up and spotted the figure standing under the lights. Her eyes instantly lit up.

When it came to presence, Dr. Lu had it down to an art.

Ji Yin immediately stood and pulled her into the booth.

The other girls exchanged glances and tactfully dispersed.

“You added them on WeChat?” Lu Jiahe asked.

“Yeah, they wanted to hang out. I figured I’d take them grocery shopping or play some pool,” Ji Yin replied.

“Are you some kind of sales champion?”

“You can tell? I actually used to be a top salesperson, my numbers were killer,” Ji Yin said proudly.

“…” Lu Jiahe couldn’t help but ask, “So what happened to all the girls who added you back then?”

“We haven’t been in touch. Maybe she got tired of my constant sales pitches.”

“…”

Ji Yin pointed to the drinks and snacks on the table. “Dr. Lu, help yourself. If you don’t like these, we can order something else.”

“I don’t drink.”

“You came to a bar… not to drink?” Ji Yin exclaimed in surprise.

Lu Jiahe gave a helpless smile. “Do you even know what kind of place this is?”

“Of course I do.”

Lu Jiahe was taken aback. “You know?”

“It’s a bar. It’s written right at the entrance. I can read, you know, though I couldn’t make out those English words.”

“That’s pinyin.”

Ji Yin immediately ran outside to check, then slumped back into her seat in frustration. “Damn it, who writes pinyin in such a fancy font? At first glance, I thought it was English, didn’t even look closely.”

Lu Jiahe couldn’t help but laugh. She glanced around, the girls who had been eyeing Ji Yin earlier were still sneaking glances at them, making her feel uneasy.

“If you want to drink, we can go somewhere else,” Lu Jiahe suggested.

“Why? This place is free, you know.” Ji Yin raised an eyebrow.

“I’d prefer another place. Come on, my treat. You won’t have to pay either.”

“No way, I can’t let you pay. But if you want to leave, then let’s go.”

Just as Ji Yin stood up, someone grabbed a microphone and announced, “Welcome, everyone! Next up is game time! Feel free to join—there are prizes for the winners! First place gets an oven!”

Ji Yin’s eyes lit up. “Dr. Lu, wanna play?”

“You want the oven?”

“Yeah, it’s free, no reason to pass it up. Dr. Lu, can you wait for me?” Ji Yin asked.

“Mm.” Lu Jiahe sat back down.

The host began explaining the rules of the first game: participants needed a partner.

“Dr. Lu, will you be my partner?” Ji Yin immediately extended the invitation.

Under her eager gaze, Lu Jiahe nodded slowly.

Ji Yin grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the stage, whispering encouragement, “Don’t worry, I’m really good at games. Once we win the oven, I’ll give it to you.”

Lu Jiahe looked at her confident expression and didn’t have the heart to tell her that the games here probably weren’t the kind she was used to.

Once on stage, the host handed each pair a balloon. The rule was simple: pop the balloon without using hands.

Ji Yin was stumped. “No hands? Then how?”

Lu Jiahe gestured to another pair nearby. Ji Yin looked over and saw two girls pressing the balloon between their stomachs, squeezing together.

“Got it.” Ji Yin immediately copied them, pressing the balloon between their bodies. But the moment she leaned in, the balloon flew up.

She quickly pinned it back, wrapping her arms around Lu Jiahe’s waist.

While other pairs were cautiously nudging their balloons, afraid of the pop, Ji Yin acted decisively without hesitation, she pulled Lu Jiahe close and pressed their bodies together.

Pop!

The balloon burst between them.

Lu Jiahe instinctively closed her eyes but wasn’t startled by the noise right before the pop, someone had covered her ears.

She slowly opened her eyes to see a bright, triumphant grin.

“We won,” Ji Yin said with a laugh.

Cheers erupted from the audience as the other pairs finished the game one after another.

Just as Ji Yin thought victory was assured, the host announced that another team had burst their balloon at the same time, leading to an additional tiebreaker round.

“No big deal, Dr. Lu. Let’s stick to the same method as before, don’t be afraid of it popping,” Ji Yin whispered, strategizing with her.

Lu Jiahe nodded.

Drawing from their previous experience, Ji Yin immediately placed the balloon between them, pressing her hands against Lu Jiahe’s waist as she reminded her, “Dr. Lu, you should hold me too.”

“…” Lu Jiahe slowly raised her hands and rested them on Ji Yin’s waist.

As soon as the host signaled the start, the two pressed forcefully toward each other, but this time, they didn’t succeed immediately.

The balloon was quite elastic.

Ji Yin pushed forward twice with all her strength. Seeing the other team about to win, she gritted her teeth, stepped forward, and tightened her grip around Dr. Lu, pressing her entire upper body against her.

After Ji Yin’s relentless efforts, the balloon finally burst.

This time, Ji Yin didn’t have a chance to cover Lu Jiahe’s ears instead, she covered her lips.

Both of them widened their eyes in shock, staring at each other in disbelief.

The audience, always eager for drama, erupted in screams.

“Sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Ji Yin quickly stepped back, hurriedly apologizing to Lu Jiahe.

“It’s fine,” Lu Jiahe replied, feigning composure.

The host walked over to them, grinning. “Well, well, it seems you two couldn’t wait! Though you lost the game, you won a beauty, that’s still something to celebrate!”

“What did you say? We lost?!” Ji Yin asked, incredulous.

“Yes, you were two seconds behind such a shame,” the host replied before turning to the winning team. “Congratulations on winning this little game! You two have such great chemistry. Do you have anything to say to your partner?”

At that moment, another wave of enthusiastic cheers rose from the audience.

Ji Yin turned her head curiously and saw the two girls locked in a passionate kiss.

Ji Yin:

She immediately complained to Lu Jiahe, “They’re way too competitive! They even have to one-up us in this?”

Lu Jiahe: Or maybe they’re just a couple showing off?

The two stepped off the stage and returned to their seats. Ji Yin downed several gulps of alcohol in frustration. “What a waste! We lost the game and made fools of ourselves.”

“Tell me about it,” Lu Jiahe agreed, sipping her tea. She licked the moisture from her lips and suddenly chuckled. “Even lost my first kiss, didn’t even get to savor it before it was gone.”

Ji Yin gasped, even more regretful, and blurted out in panic, “I’m so sorry, it’s all my fault. Do you… want to kiss me back?”

Lu Jiahe raised an eyebrow. “I’ll think about it.”

Ji Yin belatedly realized what she’d just said. “Huh?!”