Running Towards You - Chapter 27

Since they were scheduled to return on the afternoon of the third day, the trio decided to explore the surroundings of the hotel after breakfast.

The hillside hotel’s main selling point was its scenery, natural landscapes enhanced by carefully crafted artificial touches, creating several distinct scenic spots.

The sunlight was pleasant that day, so they strolled along the mountain paths while Li Chenyao snapped photos with her phone.

Glancing at the two walking ahead, she called out, “Hold still! Let me take a picture of you two.”

“Sure.” Lu Jiahe turned to Ji Yin. “Let’s take a photo together as a keepsake.”

“Okay.”

The two stood side by side, but after a few glances, Li Chenyao frowned. “Ji Yin, you’re standing too stiffly, and your expression is way too serious. This is just a photo, not an oath-taking ceremony. Relax a little.”

“Ah, right.” Ji Yin rarely took photos, and whenever she faced the camera, she turned rigid, unsure how to pose or what expression to make.

After several attempts, the photographer still wasn’t satisfied. “Ji Yin, relax, relax! One, two, three say cheese!”

Ji Yin remained expressionless.

Li Chenyao sighed. “Even ‘cheese’ can’t save you?”

Ji Yin scratched her head sheepishly. “Maybe we should just go with this.”

Lu Jiahe chuckled, taking the phone from Li Chenyao to check. “It looks fine to me. Pretty cool, actually.”

Ji Yin leaned in for a look. Dr. Lu, as always, was effortlessly photogenic, standing there with a faint smile, looking effortlessly handsome. Meanwhile, she resembled a wooden post, completely out of place.

“How about you two take one? I can take the photo for you,” Ji Yin offered.

“No, no need!” Li Chenyao shook her head vigorously. “Let’s just take one last group selfie together.”

She raised her phone, and both Lu Jiahe and Ji Yin turned toward the camera.

Just then, Ji Yin noticed Lu Jiahe making a silly face at the lens before glancing at her, which made her burst into laughter.

Click

Li Chenyao checked the newly captured photo. “Wow, Ji Yin, you finally showed some expression!”

Lu Jiahe smirked. “Glad my ugly face wasn’t wasted.”

“Wait, Dr. Lu, you did that on purpose?” Ji Yin suddenly realized.

After checking out in the afternoon, the three began their journey back, with Ji Yin behind the wheel again.

By the time they arrived home, it was already dark. They grabbed dinner outside, and Ji Yin called her neighbors, confirming they’d be leaving for their hometown the next day.

“Dr. Lu, I might have to crash at your place for one more night,” Ji Yin said.

“Mm, a few more days won’t make a difference,” Lu Jiahe replied with a nod.

The moment they stepped inside, Ji Yin immediately dashed toward the living room, eager to collapse onto the sofa.

“Come back,” Lu Jiahe’s voice rang out behind her.

Ji Yin straightened up and obediently trotted back, submitting herself to the ritual of being sprayed with disinfectant. “After a few days out, I almost forgot the Lu family rules.”

Lu Jiahe laughed at her mention of “Lu family rules.” “Regretting staying here now?”

“Of course not! I must’ve accumulated tons of good karma in my past life to earn this privilege,” Ji Yin quipped.

“Your silver tongue must’ve sweet-talked plenty of people before, huh?”

“Surviving society’s beatings requires a sweet mouth, only then do you get the good stuff,” Ji Yin said playfully, winking.

Just then, her phone rang, a call from her manager. After a brief conversation, she tucked her phone away and said, “Dr. Lu, something’s come up. I need to head out for a bit.”

“Where are you going? Do you need me to give you a ride?”

“No need, it’s just the supermarket. You must be tired get some rest early.”

“Then take my car.” Lu Jiahe handed her the car keys.

Ji Yin hesitated for a moment before accepting them. “Thank you, Dr. Lu. I might be back late.”

Ji Yin headed straight to the store. As soon as she entered the office, she heard the sound of an argument inside.

The manager had briefly explained the situation over the phone: a customer had purchased an expired product and had come demanding compensation.

The manager had agreed to compensate but asked the customer to provide the receipt as proof. However, the customer claimed they had thrown it away after buying the item and insisted the product was from Yanhua Supermarket, threatening to call the police if they didn’t pay up.

“Look at this, this is my payment record. This bag of nuts was bought from your store. My son got diarrhea after eating them, and when I checked, I realized they were expired! You people are trying to kill someone!” The customer’s voice was so loud it made Ji Yin’s ears ring.

“Ma’am, please calm down first. Let’s talk this through properly don’t upset yourself,” Ji Yin soothed.

“None of you can talk your way out of this! Get your boss here!”

“Ma’am, she is our boss,” the manager said.

The woman looked at Ji Yin in disbelief. “You’re the boss?”

“Yes. Let’s sit down and discuss this properly. Would you like some water or tea?” Ji Yin asked.

“Water, then.” The woman’s aggressive tone softened slightly as she sat down under Ji Yin’s calming influence.

Ji Yin turned to the two employees in the office, they were responsible for checking products nearing expiration.

Both looked miserable, not daring to make a sound.

“Ma’am, when did you make this purchase?” Ji Yin asked.

“December 23rd.”

Ji Yin flipped through the inspection log. “Xiao Hu, you were on duty that day. Are you sure you checked everything thoroughly?”

“I checked every item, but.” Xiao Hu struggled to explain. With so many products, occasional oversights were possible, even he couldn’t guarantee a 100% perfect record.

“See? It’s your fault! My son is taking the college entrance exams this year. If something really happened to him because of this, ruining his future, how would you take responsibility?” the woman said.

“Ma’am, have some water first. If it’s our employees’ mistake, we’ll definitely compensate. But I need to figure out exactly where the error occurred, which might take a little time. Could you show me your payment record again?” Ji Yin asked.

“Fine, no problem.” The woman handed over her phone with the payment details and took a sip of water.

Ji Yin turned and whispered to the manager, “Pull up the surveillance footage 5:32 PM.”

The manager left immediately.

A short while later, Ji Yin received a video on her phone. After watching it for two minutes, she sat down next to the woman.

“Ma’am, I think you might’ve just mixed things up. Look, when you checked out, there was no bag of nuts in your purchase.”

The woman froze, staring at the surveillance footage, which clearly showed every item she had bought.

Her expression darkened, but then she suddenly burst into dramatic realization. “Oh! You’re right, we went to another supermarket in the morning. I must’ve gotten them mixed up!”

“It was just a misunderstanding,” Ji Yin said with a smile. “Next time, make sure to check carefully when you’re shopping so you don’t end up with expired products again.”

“Yes, yes, I’m so sorry for bothering you. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now. I’ll definitely come back to your supermarket next time.”

“Of course, take care on your way home,” Ji Yin replied, watching her leave with a warm smile.

“Sorry for making you come over so late,” the manager sighed. “She insisted on seeing the boss, otherwise she threatened to call the police. I really had no choice.”

“It’s fine, these things happen,” Ji Yin said.

“What kind of person does that?” Xiao Hu was so angry her nose was practically twitching, she had almost lost her job over a scam. “Yin-jie, you’re way too nice. Aren’t you even mad?”

“I’ve cursed her eight hundred times in my head,” Ji Yin admitted, gritting her teeth at the thought of how she should’ve been lounging on Dr. Lu’s sofa reading magazines right now.

Xiao Hu blinked. “Huh? You were so polite, I almost thought you were going to fire me over her.”

“There’s no helping it. Our supermarket mainly serves the local community. If we don’t humor her and let her make a scene or spread rumors, it’ll only escalate and hurt everyone. We had to calm her down first and then get to the truth,” Ji Yin explained.

Xiao Hu’s eyes lit up with realization. “Got it, got it.”

“I’m heading back now. You take care of things here,” Ji Yin said to the manager before hurrying off.

It was almost midnight. Normally, Dr. Lu would already be getting ready for bed by now. Ji Yin quietly opened the door, only to find the living room brightly lit.

Dr. Lu was sitting on the sofa, reading a book.

“You’re back?” Lu Jiahe looked up.

“Why aren’t you asleep yet? Were you. waiting for me?” Ji Yin found it hard to believe, but a faint sense of anticipation bubbled up inside her.

“Unless I was waiting for my grandma to visit me in a dream?” Lu Jiahe retorted.

Ji Yin laughed, quickly rushing over, bending down to hug her, and happily nuzzling her cheek.

“Back then, Yanzi and my mom used to wait for me at home too. But after growing up, that never happened again. Dr. Lu, you’re so good to me. It’s been so long since I’ve felt this way.”

Lu Jiahe waited until she was done hugging before saying, “Go disinfect and wash your hands.”

“Okay!” Ji Yin cheerfully ran off to wash up, then returned and stretched her hands out in front of her. “Here, inspect them. I scrubbed so hard my skin’s about to peel off.”

Lu Jiahe looked down at those slender hands, pinching her nails. “You cut them this short?”

“Yeah, long nails get in the way of work. I trim them every week. Shorter is cleaner,” Ji Yin explained.

“Hmm… it is cleaner,” Lu Jiahe murmured, looking up at her and thinking to herself, You really are the chosen one for sapphic sainthood.

“Dr. Lu, I’m all done.”

“Mm.”

Ji Yin stared at her eagerly.

Lu Jiahe was puzzled. “What?”

“Can I hug you again now?” Ji Yin asked.

“…”

“I’m leaving tomorrow. Can I hug you a little longer?” Ji Yin half-squatted, meeting her eye level.

The corner of Lu Jiahe’s lips curled slightly. “Why do you want to hug me?”

“Because I’m touched.”

“Besides being touched?”

“I like the feeling of hugging you. You’re soft and smell nice.”

Lu Jiahe opened her arms, and Ji Yin immediately embraced her, breathing in her unique scent, feeling utterly relaxed and content.

It felt like an eternity had passed before Lu Jiahe, sensing she was about to fall asleep, finally asked, “Done yet?”

“It’s done, but my legs are numb,” Ji Yin replied with difficulty.

She had been balancing only on the balls of her feet, a position that was truly exhausting. While her heart felt at ease, her legs had gone completely numb.

Trembling slightly, she crawled onto the sofa and sat down, massaging her legs. “I must be getting old. I used to hold this pose for half an hour.”

“Impressive. What other tricks do you have up your sleeve?”

“I know plenty of poses, I can even do a handstand. Can you?” Ji Yin boasted, shaking her legs smugly.

“Nope.”

“Well, what can you do then?”

“I can kiss terrifyingly well,” Lu Jiahe teased, raising an eyebrow.

Ji Yin burst into laughter, her face full of defiance. “Pfft, what’s so hard about that? I can do it too!”