Running Towards You - Chapter 35

There was still some time before dinner, so the two stayed at home for a while.

Ji Yin showed her around the rental apartment: “This is where I sleep, and next door is the storage room.”

“Your place is practically a warehouse,” Lu Jiahe remarked, standing at the doorway of the adjacent room, surprised by the sheer variety of items inside, there really was a bit of everything.

“Some of it belongs to Yanzi. Her room couldn’t fit everything, so she piled it all in here.” Ji Yin nudged a large box with her foot. “This one’s full of her seasonal clothes.”

“What about your clothes?”

“They’re all in the wardrobe.” As soon as Ji Yin opened the bedroom wardrobe, a heap of clothes tumbled out all the ones she had just moved from the sofa earlier. She quickly stuffed them back in and gave an awkward laugh.

“That’s it?” Lu Jiahe chuckled, pointing at the meager collection inside.

“Yeah, too many clothes would just be a hassle to move. As long as I have enough to wear, it’s fine.” Ji Yin didn’t pay much attention to outward appearances or fashion. Aside from two or three formal outfits, the rest were everyday clothes with high rotation and practicality.

Take the hoodie she was wearing, for example it could be worn for three out of four seasons in a year. Couldn’t get any better than that.

“Other people dress up nicely because they at least have the incentive of attracting a partner. I don’t have that,” Ji Yin said bluntly.

Lu Jiahe glanced down at the outfit she had deliberately changed into and coughed guiltily. “Do you have any more water?”

“Yeah, hold on.” Ji Yin hurried to the kitchen. The boiled water had cooled to just the right temperature.

The kitchen wasn’t big either, and it was clear that cooking wasn’t a regular activity here. Lu Jiahe stood at the doorway and asked, “What did you guys have for lunch?”

Ji Yin poured water while listing off the dishes, then turned to hand her the cup.

Lu Jiahe took a couple of sips. “How’s that girl’s cooking?”

“Pretty good. I almost overate,” Ji Yin said with a laugh. “She used to be kind of scared of me, but now that we’ve gotten closer, she won’t stop talking telling me everything, like I’m her confidante or something.”

Lu Jiahe silently drank her water before handing the cup back. “Put this away for me, will you, Confidante?”

Ji Yin laughed. “What should we have for dinner?”

“You decide. It’s not like I can cook anyway.”

“Then let’s go for coconut chicken. It’s light.”

“Sure. We can have some chicken broth no need for alcohol.”

“Alcohol? No way,” Ji Yin shook her head firmly. “I don’t want to drink again. Li Fang’s boyfriend has an insane alcohol tolerance, he nearly drank me under the table.”

“She has a boyfriend?”

“Yeah, a delivery guy. Hardworking, earns a decent amount, really honest just not great with words.”

“That’s nice,” Lu Jiahe said with a smile.

“Yeah, he treats her well too.” Ji Yin grinned. “Just like Yanzi and the others, they’ve known each other since they were kids.”

“Yanzi and Dong Xiang are childhood sweethearts?”

“Yep, they’ve been close since they were little. When my mom passed away, he helped out a lot. Later, when I left to work, he followed, saying he wanted to earn money to support Yanzi’s education. I chased him back to school and told him to look after Yanzi there.” Ji Yin sighed and shook her head, amused. “Turns out, Yanzi’s just like me not cut out for studying. He ended up being the most educated out of the three of us, managing to graduate from a vocational college.”

Lu Jiahe smiled, turning to look at her. “Actually, I think you’re quite smart quick-witted and with a talent for languages. You don’t seem like someone who can’t study well.”

“But my grades have always been poor since I was little. You’re the first person to say that even my teachers never did.”

“Honestly, if I were in your family situation, I wouldn’t have been able to focus on studying either. You just lacked a good learning environment. I think the reading insights you shared were excellent you grasped the key points keenly and even picked up on the subtle sarcasm and metaphors,” Lu Jiahe said.

“Really?” Ji Yin scratched her head and grinned sheepishly, unable to handle praise. “You make me want to read more books now.”

“Go ahead. You can always borrow books from me anytime.”

“Okay!”

The two went out for a meal. As they walked, they encountered a couple the girl was charmingly holding the man’s arm while listening to him talk about national affairs.

When the man was passionately discussing how national policies affected the broader environment, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked at Ji Yin awkwardly.

Lu Jiahe noticed his gaze and found him somewhat familiar. It wasn’t until the man spoke that she remembered where she’d seen him before, he was the one who had pestered Ji Yin with a confession at the hospital entrance.

“Ji… Ji Yin, what are you doing here?”

“Eating,” Ji Yin replied, glancing between him and the woman beside him before smiling. “Wishing you happiness.”

The man stiffened slightly, nodded, and walked away with the girl. Lu Jiahe could still hear the girl questioning him about who Ji Yin was.

“Hasn’t even been half a year, and he’s already found a girlfriend?” Lu Jiahe asked quietly.

“Half a year?” Ji Yin scoffed. “That jerk was still confessing his love to me on WeChat last week.”

Lu Jiahe looked at her in surprise. “Really?”

“Absolutely. He said things like I’m the only one he’ll ever love, so I blocked him,” Ji Yin said. “And now, less than a week later, he’s found his ‘true love.'”

Lu Jiahe: “…”

After they sat down, Ji Yin remarked, “At noon, when I saw Li Fang and her boyfriend, I briefly believed in love again. But then I ran into this idiot tsk , talk about a slap in the face.”

“You can’t generalize like that. People are different, you can’t judge everyone by the same standard,” Lu Jiahe said, wiping her hands with a wet wipe.

“That’s true, but I still find it unbelievable. Dr. Lu, do you believe in love?”

“I do.”

“Do you have someone you like?”

Lu Jiahe looked at her and smiled, lowering her head to continue wiping her hands. “Why ask that? Whether I do or not doesn’t affect our friendship.”

“Fair point,” Ji Yin said, immediately distracted. She quietly observed Lu Jiahe’s every move, thinking that someone as remarkable as Dr. Lu deserved only the very best partner.

“Dr. Lu, if you ever start dating, you have to tell me. I want to see who’s lucky enough to be with you.”

“Sure,” Lu Jiahe chuckled. “You can vet them for me.”

“No problem I’ll be strict. No one unattractive, no one with poor education, no one from a bad background, no one with a bad personality, no one unhygienic, and no one who doesn’t like reading.”

Lu Jiahe laughed. “You’re stricter than my parents.”

“I just don’t want you to be unhappy.”

Half a month later, Ji Yin finally finished reading a book and messaged Lu Jiahe, saying she wanted to return it.

[Lu Jiahe]: I’ll be off work in half an hour. You can come straight to the hospital.

[Ji Yin]: 1.

[Lu Jiahe]:

Ji Yin put the book in her bag and walked out of the office, bumping into Yanzi.

“Where are you going?” Yanzi asked.

“Returning a book.”

“Wow, what book is so good? Lend it to me too.”

“You should hurry to your makeup improvement class instead,” Ji Yin stopped and urged. “Study hard, then start an account and do livestreams.”

“You’re really bold. You have no idea how competitive the beauty niche is these days,” Yanzi said.

“Is there only one niche in beauty? If others dress up pretty, you dress up ugly. If others do celebrity makeup looks, you do male celebrity makeup. If others transform one face into multiple stars, you turn one face into multiple Sun Wukongs.”

“Then why am I even taking this class? I want to become a beauty, not a monkey!”

“As long as it makes money, you’ll be beautiful. Wealth radiates beauty, Liang Xiaoyan,” Ji Yin said.

“Fine.” Yanzi was instantly convinced. “I’ll go to class right after work!”

Ji Yin arrived at the hospital and checked the time it was almost the end of the workday. She quickened her pace to the consultation room but saw someone unexpected.

Cheng Jingwen was there too.

They noticed each other, exchanged glances, then turned away in silent agreement to pretend they hadn’t seen one another.

Ji Yin stole a glance but was caught red-handed. Both averted their eyes and didn’t look at each other again.

A few minutes later, Cheng Jingwen stepped aside to take a work call.

Seeing how agile her movements were, Ji Yin knew she had no real ailment, she was just here to see Lu Jiahe.

As the other woman spoke on the phone, she rattled off strings of English, leaving Ji Yin dumbfounded.

Ji Yin sized her up from head to toe dressed head-to-toe in designer brands, clearly doing well for herself, and flaunting her fluent English like it was nothing.

Honestly, she wasn’t too surprised. After all, she was Dr. Lu’s classmate she had to be capable.

It was just that their first meeting had left a bad impression on both sides, so Ji Yin couldn’t bring herself to like her.

She turned and headed to the restroom. Meanwhile, Cheng Jingwen finished her call and turned around, noticing Ji Yin was gone. A smug smile crept onto her face.

Not long after, Lu Jiahe stepped out of his office, glanced around, and only saw Cheng Jingwen. He froze. “Why are you here again?”

“I’m on a business trip. Since I had time tonight, I thought I’d drop by. Oh, I found this at home take a look.” Cheng Jingwen pulled out a yellowed notebook from her bag.

Lu Jiahe found it familiar. When he opened it, he saw notes they had taken together, along with snippets of conversations they’d scribbled during class. He couldn’t help but laugh. “So it’s still here.”

“Of course. I kept all your things.” Cheng Jingwen pointed at one of the messages. “Do you remember what this was about?”

“I really can’t recall. What was it?”

“We were talking about our homeroom teacher’s bald spot.”

Lu Jiahe burst out laughing, reminiscing. “And then the math teacher saw it. I wonder if he ever snitched to the homeroom teacher.”

When Ji Yin returned from the restroom, she saw the two standing close, chatting and laughing like old friends.

She slowed her steps and walked over.

Lu Jiahe turned and smiled when he saw her. “Just got here?”

“Yeah, I went to the restroom.”

Cheng Jingwen glanced at them and immediately asked, “Are you free tonight? Let me treat you to dinner. You can bring your friend along too.”

Lu Jiahe looked at Ji Yin. Although Ji Yin wasn’t particularly willing, she still shrugged and said it didn’t matter whatever was fine, she’d go along with the plan.

“Sorry, we already have plans,” Lu Jiahe replied.

“You invited her?” Cheng Jingwen pointed at Ji Yin.

“Yeah.”

“Then just add me in. It’s just dinner, after all.”

Ji Yin thought to herself that Lu Jiahe probably couldn’t refuse this they were all friends, and having a meal together wasn’t a big deal. Still, she wasn’t exactly thrilled about sharing a table with this person.

“Ji Yin, let me talk to her alone for a second,” Lu Jiahe said.

“Alright.” Ji Yin walked ahead, giving them space.

“Sorry, but I can’t bring you along,” Lu Jiahe said.

“Why not? We’re all friends. What’s the harm in eating together? It’d be a good chance for me to get to know her too.”

“I’m pursuing her, so I don’t want any distractions,” Lu Jiahe stated plainly.

“What?!” Cheng Jingwen looked as if she’d been struck dumb. She stared at the distant figure, disbelief in her voice. “You… you like her?”

A hand tapped Ji Yin’s shoulder, and Lu Jiahe’s voice came from behind. “Let’s go.”

“Okay.” Ji Yin turned back and glanced at Cheng Jingwen, still rooted in place. Though she couldn’t make out her expression, the dejected slump of her posture was unmistakable. “What did you say to her?”

“I told her I like you.”

“What?!” Ji Yin’s knees nearly buckled, and she almost stumbled into Lu Jiahe. Before she could process it, she caught the sly grin on Lu Jiahe’s face and immediately understood. “You lied to her on purpose, so she’d back off?”

“Do you mind? If you do, I can ”

“No, no, not at all. Not even a little.” Ji Yin quickly reassured her. She glanced back at Cheng Jingwen, who was still eyeing them, and draped an arm over Lu Jiahe’s shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Lu Jiahe asked.

“Going all-in on the act,” Ji Yin whispered.

Lu Jiahe laughed. “No couple walks like this. We look like bros.”

“Then… I’ll just hold your hand.” Ji Yin looked down and laced their fingers together.