Running Towards You - Chapter 24.1

Lu Jiahe found an excuse to pull Li Chenyao into the room and gave her a thorough explanation.

“So, you’re saying she really just came to stay over, nothing more?” Li Chenyao asked, half-convinced.

“Yes.”

“Then what did she mean by ‘sleeping together’?”

“She meant the time, not the location.”

Li Chenyao nodded, reluctantly accepting the explanation. When she opened the door and saw Ji Yin bustling about in the kitchen, she paused and whispered to Lu Jiahe, “I think she suits you quite well.”

“This is already the third person you’ve said that about. Every time I interact with a pretty girl, you trot out that line, don’t you?” Lu Jiahe said exasperatedly.

“Oh ho, I never said she was pretty. Why do you have to add that descriptor?”

“I’m not blind.”

“This is the first woman you’ve ever brought home to stay over, isn’t it? Dare you say you don’t have ulterior motives?” Li Chenyao teased, poking her shoulder with a smirk.

“I’m a righteous person, always happy to help others, with a clear conscience.”

Li Chenyao burst out laughing at her deadpan expression. Just then, Ji Yin emerged from the kitchen and asked, “What would you like for dinner? I saw some leftover greens in the kitchen. Maybe we could”

“Let’s eat out,” Lu Jiahe suggested.

“Sure.”

The three of them headed out and found a nearby mall. Over dinner, Li Chenyao complained that her parents had gone away again, leaving her home alone, and invited Lu Jiahe to join her for a short trip over the next couple of days.

“Aren’t you off tomorrow? Let’s go for a couple of days. I’ve already planned everything,” Li Chenyao said.

Lu Jiahe glanced at Ji Yin, who immediately guessed her thoughts and quickly said, “It’s fine, Dr. Lu. If you want to go, don’t worry about me.”

“Ji Yin can come too! The more, the merrier,” Li Chenyao chimed in.

Lu Jiahe nodded and extended the invitation, “Would you like to come along?”

Ji Yin froze for a moment. It seemed like ages since she had last gone out purely for leisure. After a brief pause, she asked, “Where are we going?”

“Just to Jianwu City next door. We can stay at a mountaintop hotel great views, plus hot springs,” Li Chenyao explained.

“If it’s Jianwu City, then I can go,” Ji Yin said. “But I might need to split off from you guys sometimes.”

It just so happened that she had been planning to scout nearby cities for potential locations to open a new branch.

After a quick discussion, they settled on the plan.

Li Chenyao hurriedly booked the hotel. “Let’s drive there ourselves it’s not far. Ji Yin, do you have a driver’s license?”

“I do.”

“Class D?” Lu Jiahe asked.

“Class C too,” Ji Yin replied.

Li Chenyao quipped, “Unlike me, I only have a B cup.”

Ji Yin: “Wow! You can even drive a truck so cool!”

Lu Jiahe shot a glance at the oblivious Ji Yin and sighed at Li Chenyao, “Just shut up.”

Li Chenyao burst into laughter, slapping the table.

After dinner, Li Chenyao went straight home to pack.

“Come on, I’ll take you back to get your things,” Lu Jiahe said, looking at Ji Yin.

“Thank you, Dr. Lu!”

When they reached the parking lot in the complex, Ji Yin pointed to her parking spot and said, “Wait here, I’ll go get my car.”

She quickly pushed the motorcycle aside to make space, and Lu Jiahe parked the car in the vacant spot.

“I won’t go up. I’ll just wait for you here.”

“Alright, I’ll be back soon.” Ji Yin hurried home and heard laughter inside as she knocked on the door.

Aunt Chen opened the door and, upon seeing her, exclaimed with delight, “We were just talking about you! You’ve been out busy with work these past few days finally back! Do you want to join us for an outing tomorrow?”

“No need, Auntie. I just came back to grab some clothes. I have a business trip tomorrow.” Ji Yin had always used business trips as her excuse, so they didn’t press further.

As she entered the living room, everyone greeted her one after another. She smiled and responded to each before heading to her room to pack.

Aunt Chen followed her in, closing the door behind her, and pulled a red envelope from her pocket, pressing it into Ji Yin’s hand.

“Auntie, I can’t accept this!” Ji Yin was startled and immediately tried to return it.

“Nonsense, you keep it!” Though Aunt Chen looked frail, her grip was surprisingly strong, squeezing Ji Yin’s wrist until it ached. “I know our family has been a burden to you, but my little granddaughter has been begging to visit for years. This is just a New Year’s gift it’s not much, and you can’t refuse it. If you don’t take it, I’ll feel terrible.”

“Alright then, I’ll accept it. Thank you, Auntie.” Ji Yin smiled.

When Aunt Chen learned she was traveling with a friend, she brought out some local specialties. “These wood ear mushrooms are all handpicked by me, dried perfectly. Take some for your friend to try our hometown flavors.”

On their first day, they had brought several large bags of wood ear mushrooms. Since Ji Yin didn’t cook, she had mailed them directly to Yanzi for Dong Xiang’s parents to prepare.

“Okay, thank you, Auntie. I’ll bring some for her.”

Carrying two large bags, Ji Yin returned to the parking lot and noticed Dr. Lu wasn’t in the car but was instead crouched beside her motorcycle, inspecting it with an air of furtiveness.

Ji Yin couldn’t help but laugh. “Dr. Lu, want to give it a try?”

Lu Jiahe turned her head, looking slightly regretful. “I don’t have a Class D license.”

“But you have a B-cup.”

“…” Lu Jiahe blinked in realization. “You understood Li Chenyao’s joke earlier?”

“I’m not stupid. I’ve heard all kinds of jokes, I was just teasing her, and she actually believed it.” Ji Yin stowed the bags in the car and pulled out her motorcycle key, lowering her voice. “Would you dare to ride it yourself?”

Lu Jiahe shook her head. “I’ve never ridden one before. I don’t think I’d dare.”

“Then how about I take you for a spin? Want to go?”

Without hesitation, Lu Jiahe replied, “Yes.”

Ji Yin went back home to fetch a spare helmet. Lu Jiahe put it on and shook her head. “It’s a bit loose.”

Ji Yin reached out and adjusted the strap at the back of the helmet, tightening it.

Lu Jiahe heard the clicking sounds and felt the helmet gradually snug against her scalp. Her gaze lifted, lingering on Ji Yin’s face, so close that her thoughts briefly wandered.

“Still loose?” Ji Yin asked, glancing down.

Lu Jiahe shook her head again and met her eyes. “It’s fine now.”

“Let’s get going.” Ji Yin put on her own helmet and gripped the handlebars. Lu Jiahe climbed onto the back seat, instinctively bracing her hands against the seat.

“That posture is a bit dangerous. Once we pick up speed, you might get blown off,” Ji Yin warned.

“What should I do then?”

“Of course, hold onto me,” Ji Yin said with a laugh. “Dr. Lu, have you never ridden on someone else’s back seat before?”

“I’ve only ever sat on the back of my parents’ bicycles,” Lu Jiahe replied, gripping her clothes with both hands.

Ji Yin glanced down but didn’t say anything, slowly riding out of the parking lot and onto the road.

Lu Jiahe looked around at the scenery with wide-eyed wonder. “This is my first time on this kind of vehicle.”

“You’ve never ridden a motorcycle either?” Ji Yin asked, raising her voice.

“My parents never let me when I was growing up. They said it was too dangerous.”

A nearby electric scooter kept glancing their way. When the two of them looked over, the rider immediately sped ahead, leaving behind a pretentious silhouette.

“Is he laughing at us?” Lu Jiahe asked.

“Absolutely,” Ji Yin said. This wasn’t her first encounter with such behavior, she often ran into riders who, intentionally or not, tried to race her.

Just then, Lu Jiahe suddenly wrapped her arms around Ji Yin’s waist.

Ji Yin immediately understood, a smirk forming at the corner of her lips. “Hold on tight. We’re about to speed up.”

“Mhm.”

The response was too quiet for Ji Yin to hear, but she felt Lu Jiahe’s head nod against her back.

The next moment, Lu Jiahe was hit with a powerful gust of wind, the sheer force of nature exhilarating her.