Running Towards You - Chapter 21.1

Ji Yin and Lu Jiahe walked toward the parking lot together. With her movement hindered, Ji Yin limped along, but fortunately, Dr. Lu walked just as slowly, deliberately matching her pace.

“Dr. Lu, where on earth did a living saint like you come from?” Ji Yin was nearly moved to tears. “On New Year’s Eve, won’t I just be a bother if I go to your place?”

“It’s fine. My home is usually just a place to sleep anyway… Besides, I’m the only one there right now. Having someone to spend the New Year with is actually nice it’ll be livelier.”

With a mix of excitement and nervousness, Ji Yin got into her car and bombarded her with questions along the way: “I forgot to ask last time, why are you spending New Year’s alone too? Do friends usually come over to your place? What are we eating tonight? My treat!”

“My parents are traveling. Friends do come over sometimes. Tonight, I was originally planning to freeload a meal at Li Chenyao’s place, she’s the girl who played pool with us last time,” Lu Jiahe answered each of her questions one by one.

“So, did I mess up your plans?”

“It’s alright. If she hadn’t insisted, I wouldn’t have wanted to intrude on her family’s celebration anyway. Her parents would’ve ended up nagging her about marriage and dragging me into it too,” Lu Jiahe said with a laugh. “Now I have a perfect excuse to skip it.”

Ji Yin nodded, though she suspected these words might have been said just to put her at ease.

In any case, on New Year’s Eve, she had met a kind-hearted deity!

“Then what do you want to eat tonight? My treat no refusing,” Ji Yin insisted.

“Let’s eat out. I can’t cook. What about you?”

“I can cook, but it’s terrible just edible, not what you’d call good food.”

Most restaurants were closed for the New Year’s Eve. Ji Yin pulled out her phone and searched for a while, only finding one or two well-reviewed places. “They’re a bit far. Should we go?”

“How far?”

“About half an hour’s drive.”

Lu Jiahe thought for a moment. Since they were almost home, she asked, “Check if Helilao is delivering today.”

“They are. Should we order takeout?”

“Yeah, let’s have hot pot at home.”

“Okay.” Ji Yin placed the order, and just as she was entering the address, the car pulled into the parking lot. After parking, she handed her phone over. “Dr. Lu, can you fill in the address?”

Lu Jiahe entered the address, then called Li Chenyao after getting out of the car. “I won’t be coming over for dinner tonight.”

“Why? We agreed on it!” Li Chenyao protested.

“I’m eating with a friend. She’s alone too, so it works out.”

“Really? Or are you just making up an excuse because you don’t want to come?”

“Of course not. Here, say hi to her.” Lu Jiahe held the phone out to Ji Yin.

Ji Yin: “Hiiiiii!”

Her enthusiastic voice echoed throughout the entire parking lot.

“Whoa, you really do have a friend! And she’s hilarious,” Li Chenyao said, completely failing to recognize Ji Yin’s voice over the phone.

After hanging up, Ji Yin asked, “Dr. Lu, why didn’t you tell her it was me?”

“Let’s see if she can figure it out herself. Besides, she’s way too nosy,” Lu Jiahe said helplessly.

“What’s there to be nosy about? We’re just eating together, spending New Year’s together, and staying together that’s all.”

This would be enough gossip for Li Chenyao to last eight hundred years.

The residential complex wasn’t very tall, with only nine floors at most. Ji Yin watched as the elevator stopped at the third floor, then followed Lu Jiahe out.

There were four units per floor. Lu Jiahe lived in 303. Ji Yin glanced around, staring at the door number for a few seconds before eagerly watching her open the door, feeling a little excited.

“Come in.” Lu Jiahe opened the door and took out a new pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet.

After changing her shoes, Ji Yin finally felt comfortable again. As soon as she stood up, Lu Jiahe said, “Hold out your hands.”

Ji Yin extended her arms and instinctively went in for a hug. “Is this the ceremonial welcome for me?”

“Don’t overthink it. There’s no special ceremony.” Lu Jiahe pressed her shoulders down, then picked up a bottle of disinfectant spray from the cabinet and spritzed it over Ji Yin a few times. “Turn around.”

“Okay.” Ji Yin turned her back and sighed. “You say there’s no ceremony, but you might as well have me bathe and burn incense.”

“Done.” Lu Jiahe sprayed herself as well before leading Ji Yin to the living room. “There’s hand sanitizer on the table and water in the kitchen. Find your own way to wash up.”

Ji Yin wasn’t exactly mobile, and once she sat on the sofa, she was too comfortable to move. So she squeezed some hand sanitizer from the coffee table while her eyes roamed around the room.

The place was neat and tidy, spacious at a glance, it looked brand new.

“Is this place newly bought?” Ji Yin couldn’t help but ask.

“Bought over a decade ago,” Lu Jiahe replied, taking off her coat and heading to the kitchen to wash her hands.

“Over a decade?!” Ji Yin stared around in disbelief. “How does it look so new? My rental was a mess after just half a year, full of ‘life.'”

“Because I never cook at home, and my mom likes to come over to clean when she has nothing else to do.” Lu Jiahe finished washing her hands thoroughly and opened the fridge. “What do you want to drink?”

“Coke.”

“Don’t have that.”

“Sprite then.”

“Don’t have that either.”

“Then whatever, as long as it’s cold.”

“Don’t have that.”

“?” Ji Yin turned her head, staring blankly at her. “Then what do you have in your fridge?”

“Sweet soups.” Lu Jiahe pulled out a few pre-packaged ingredients. “I don’t have cold drinks here, just these. Do you want red dates and goji berries or brown sugar and sweet potato?”

“Anything else?”

“There’s also…” Lu Jiahe squinted at the labels. “Papaya milk.”

“That one, then.”

Lu Jiahe took out a milk pot and simmered the milk with chopped papaya.

Ji Yin found it all very novel. “Why do you have so many pre-made ingredients?”

“My mom prepared them. She was afraid I’d sneak cold drinks, so she made these before going abroad.” Lu Jiahe sounded resigned.

Ji Yin couldn’t help but laugh. “I thought it was you who didn’t want cold drinks.”

“I’ve always wanted to, but my mom was strict, so I got used to drinking warm things.” Lu Jiahe shrugged.

Ji Yin smiled faintly to herself.

This kind of maternal discipline might feel like a burden to some kids, but she couldn’t help feeling envious.

The milk in the pot began to bubble. Lu Jiahe turned off the heat and poured out two bowls of sweet soup. “Drink up.”

“Thanks, Dr. Lu.” Ji Yin carefully took the bowl and sipped, her expression one of pure bliss. “Mmm So good ”

“Don’t overpraise it.”

“What a unique flavor.” Ji Yin’s tone suddenly shifted.

Lu Jiahe calmly sipped her soup. “This is the best I can do. Not sure where I went wrong.”

Ji Yin couldn’t figure it out either. Dr. Lu had dumped all the ingredients in, so why did it taste so different from what she’d imagined?

At least it wouldn’t kill anyone.

Ji Yin downed half a bowl in one go.

“Don’t get carried away. We haven’t even had dinner yet,” Lu Jiahe reminded her.

“Right, I was just really thirsty.”

A while later, the takeout finally arrived. The two tidied up the table and started cooking the hotpot.

“Wait, something’s missing,” Lu Jiahe suddenly said.

“What?”

“Background music.”

Talk about being particular about ambiance.

Ji Yin opened a music app, hesitating over whether to buy a subscription, only to see Lu Jiahe turn on the TV. The enthusiastic, perfectly enunciated voices of the Spring Festival Gala hosts filled the room. Ji Yin laughed. “Now it feels like New Year’s.”

They each had their own side of the pot, clearly demarcated and undisturbed harmony at its finest. Until the very end.

“You ordered the potatoes. You paid for them. Finish them, don’t waste them,” Lu Jiahe said.

“You’re the one who wanted the duck blood. There’s still so much left,” Ji Yin countered.

“This sausage is yours.”

“The broccoli is yours.”

After divvying up the spoils, they forced down a few more bites before giving up entirely.

After sitting for a while, Lu Jiahe stood up. Ji Yin quickly said, “Leave it, I’ll clean up.”

Lu Jiahe paused for a few seconds. “I was just going to get some water.”

“Oh, go ahead then. Make yourself at home.”

“…” Who could possibly be more at home than you?

Lu Jiahe poured two glasses of hot water and turned around to see Ji Yin bustling around the dining table. She worked efficiently, quickly clearing the table before heading to the kitchen to wash a few plates.

“Where do the plates go?” Ji Yin bent down, opening cabinet doors one by one in search of space.

“The cabinet above your head.”

As soon as Lu Jiahe spoke, she watched Ji Yin straighten up, effortlessly open the cabinet, and slide the plates in with ease.

Her mom and Li Chenyao had both complained about her storing dishes so high up too inconvenient to reach.

Inconvenient? Look at this long-legged creature, it was practically effortless.

Lu Jiahe had always been on the taller side growing up, but she was only 170 cm. Ji Yin was a good half-head taller.

“What did you eat to grow so tall?” Lu Jiahe couldn’t help asking.

“Whatever people gave me,” Ji Yin said.

“…” A casual question had led to such a pitiful answer. Lu Jiahe bit her lip lightly before asking again, “Then how did you still end up so tall?”

“I’m not that tall, really. Most people back home are around this height. Look at Yanzi, she’s pretty tall too.” Ji Yin walked out, wiping her hands dry on her clothes.

“Alright.” Lu Jiahe studied her for a few seconds. “Hold out your hands.”

“What for?”

Lu Jiahe picked up a bottle of hand sanitizer and spritzed it over her.

“Where did you even get that from?!” Ji Yin stared in amazement at the bottle in Lu Jiahe’s hand, then glanced toward the entryway, the one on the cabinet was still in its place.

“Here.” Lu Jiahe returned the sanitizer to the cupboard.

Ji Yin scanned the room carefully before suddenly realizing there were bottles of sanitizer placed in several spots around the house. She blinked in surprise. “Dr. Lu, do you have OCD?”

“Just a little hobby, that’s all.”

“…” What a refreshingly simple reason.

After dinner, the two sat on the sofa watching the Spring Festival Gala, their phones buzzing nonstop with messages.

Ji Yin was busy exchanging business greetings and pie-in-the-sky promises with various suppliers.

Lu Jiahe, meanwhile, was chatting with colleagues and friends when an unfamiliar text suddenly popped up in her inbox.

[Happy New Year’s Eve.]

Lu Jiahe opened the message. It was from the same number that had previously asked if she had a girlfriend.

She replied again: [Who is this?]

Still no response.

After a moment’s thought, Lu Jiahe suddenly remembered the figure she’d seen at the hospital recently.

[Cheng Jingwen?]

[You remember me?]

This time, the reply came instantly. Lu Jiahe stared at the message, momentarily stunned, before responding: [I think I saw you at the hospital last time.]

[My family member was hospitalized.]

[How are they now?]

[Discharged before the New Year. Would you like to meet up sometime?]

[I’m on duty these days.]

As expected, there was no further reply. Lu Jiahe had braced herself for this, but couldn’t help feeling a pang of regret.

Once close friends, now so distant.

Just then, another message popped up on WeChat.

[Ji Yin]: Dr. Lu, Happy New Year’s Eve! [fireworks]

“What are you doing?” she asked, turning her head.

“New Year’s greetings,” Ji Yin said with a laugh.

“But I’m right next to you. Why send a text?”

“This is written communication,” Ji Yin explained. “Dr. Lu, Happy New Year’s Eve that would be spoken.”

Lu Jiahe couldn’t help but chuckle. “You must have been good at writing essays in school.”

“Not at all. My brain isn’t cut out for studying, my grades were never good.”

Lu Jiahe was about to say more when her phone rang.

It was a video call from her mom.

Glancing at Ji Yin, she got up and went to the study to take the call, avoiding the inevitable barrage of questions if her parents saw Ji Yin.

Noticing that Dr. Lu hadn’t returned from the study, Ji Yin called Yanzi. “How’s the meet-the-parents going?”

“Oh, we’re all old friends nothing to worry about,” Yanzi laughed. “But his parents are starting to push for marriage. They want us to get married and would like to meet you.”

“If you’re all old friends, why meet me?”

“They want to discuss the wedding with you. You’re my family, after all.”

“Do you actually want to get married?”

“I don’t know. I feel like it doesn’t matter either way.”

“Then you don’t have a strong desire yet. If you don’t want to, just tell his parents I don’t approve and that the conditions aren’t right.”

“Got it.” Yanzi laughed again, then asked, “Are you with your old neighbors now?”

“No, I’m at Dr. Lu’s place.” Ji Yin didn’t know why, but she instinctively lowered her voice, as if sharing a secret.

“You’re at her place?!” Yanzi gasped.

“It’s a long story.”

“I’ve noticed you’ve been spending a lot of time with Dr. Lu lately,” Yanzi said.

“Isn’t that normal? Wouldn’t you want to be friends with someone like Dr. Lu?”

“Of course, but I always feel a bit. what’s the word inadequate.”

“I don’t know about feeling inadequate. I just know the cost of living is high, bring me some rice for the New Year.”

“…”

After hanging up and seeing Dr. Lu still hadn’t returned, Ji Yin opened the surveillance app on her phone to check on the supermarket remotely.

During the day, it was a bit livelier, but by evening, most people were at home celebrating the reunion of the New Year, so there were far fewer customers. A few employees had gathered together to chat idly.

Ji Yin usually didn’t scold them too harshly. As long as they got their work done, she didn’t mind if they slacked off occasionally.

With nothing else to do, she went back to browsing online for rental or sale listings for storefronts.

The bustling commercial districts were already saturated, but in the more remote suburbs, consumer purchasing power just couldn’t keep up.

After a quick look around, Ji Yin still hadn’t found anything suitable.

If it really came down to it, she could always check out neighboring cities.

The voices from the study had gone quiet for a while now. Curious, Ji Yin walked to the door and peeked inside, spotting Lu Jiahe standing motionless in front of the bookshelf. “Dr. Lu, what are you doing?”

“Helping my mom find some materials she needs urgently.” Lu Jiahe’s eyes kept scanning a pile of magazines.

Ji Yin stepped inside and followed her gaze for a moment, noticing that they were all interview magazines, some quite old. Puzzled, she asked, “What kind of materials are you looking for? Maybe I can help.”

“Sure. See if you can find an interview about a figure from Siam.” Lu Jiahe pulled out a stack of magazines and spread them on the table to search through.

Ji Yin flipped through them one by one, realizing most of the magazines featured interviews with people from all walks of life, even some from abroad.

“Do you really like reading interviews?” she asked.

“No, these were all moved here from my mom’s study because she ran out of space.”

“Your mom has great taste,” Ji Yin couldn’t help but remark.

Lu Jiahe smiled. “She conducted all these interviews herself. She used to be a journalist.”

“That’s amazing!” Ji Yin’s eyes widened as she randomly opened one magazine and saw an interview with a now-prominent business tycoon—back then, they were only just gaining recognition, nothing like the household name they were today.

“That’s seriously impressive! What about your dad? Was he a journalist too?”

“No, he was a university professor.”