Running Towards You - Chapter 37

Before she knew it, the clock had already struck three in the morning. Lu Jiahe felt a bit drowsy and, after glancing at the time, stood up to take her leave. “It’s late. I should head back to sleep.”

“It’s so late already. Why don’t you just stay here for the night?” Ji Yin urged, worried about her going out at this hour.

Lu Jiahe paused mid-step and turned to look at her. “Is that alright?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? Have you forgotten how shamelessly long I’ve stayed at your place?” Ji Yin immediately took the bag off her shoulder. “It’s settled then. You can sleep in my room.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll take the sofa.”

After shooing Lu Jiahe off to shower, Ji Yin swiftly changed the bedsheets and pillowcases. She glanced around the slightly messy room and wished she could just burn everything in sight it was all so unsightly.

With the place in such disarray, there was no guarantee Dr. Lu would even want to stay here.

When Lu Jiahe finished her shower, she saw Ji Yin bustling around, tidying up the room. “What are you so busy with?” she asked.

“My place is a bit messy. Please bear with it,” Ji Yin sighed.

Lu Jiahe chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m not as pampered as you think.”

“But don’t you have OCD?”

“Didn’t you already change all the bedding?”

Ji Yin scratched her head, and as she lowered her gaze, she accidentally caught a glimpse of the smooth expanse of skin at Lu Jiahe’s chest.

Since it was an impromptu stay, Lu Jiahe naturally hadn’t brought any spare clothes. Ji Yin had lent her one of her own white T-shirts loose-fitting on Ji Yin herself, let alone on Lu Jiahe.

“You sleep with a bra on?” Ji Yin blurted out.

Lu Jiahe looked up, holding the neckline of her shirt, her expression amused. “Should I take it off now?”

Ji Yin immediately realized her blunder, her face flushing red as she waved her hands. “No, no! Wear whatever you’re comfortable with.”

Lu Jiahe climbed into bed and waited until Ji Yin had left before reaching back to unhook her bra. Just as she pulled it free, the door suddenly swung open.

“Tomorrow, do you ” Ji Yin froze at the sight of the bra in Lu Jiahe’s hand, her eyes instinctively darting to her chest. Realizing how perverted she must seem, she guiltily retreated, pressing herself against the doorframe. “Do you still want breakfast tomorrow?”

The corners of Lu Jiahe’s lips curled up as she settled comfortably under the covers. “I probably won’t be up that early.”

“Alright, we’ll sleep in then. Goodnight, Dr. Lu.”

“Goodnight, Ji Yin.”

Ji Yin froze for a moment before stumbling dazedly to the sofa. She lay there, legs crossed, replaying the way Dr. Lu had just said her name. The more she thought about it, the more she realized her name actually sounded quite nice.

“Goodnight, Ji Yin.” It really did sound lovely.

Thank goodness for the local police officer.

Otherwise, it might have been “Goodnight, Yingzi.”

By nine the next morning, Ji Yin was awakened by sunlight streaming through the window.

After closing the curtains, she flopped back onto the sofa but couldn’t fall asleep again. Rolling over, she picked up her phone, her gaze inadvertently landing on the bedroom door. Remembering that Dr. Lu was still resting inside, she instinctively softened her movements, even tapping her phone screen more gently.

She tiptoed downstairs to buy breakfast. Unsure when Lu Jiahe would wake up, she bought a variety of bread.

Returning home, the apartment was silent.

Cautiously, she crept to the bedroom door and pressed her ear against it. Not a sound. It seemed Dr. Lu was destined to sleep in today.

She walked into the bathroom, closed the door, and began washing her face and brushing her teeth when suddenly, a loud voice rang out from outside.

“Sis! Sis, are you up yet?”

“Damn it, keep your voice down!” Ji Yin hadn’t even rinsed the toothpaste from her mouth before she opened the door, lowering her voice to issue a stern warning.

“What’s the matter?” Yanzi gave her a puzzled look, put away her keys, and then dashed to the storage room to rummage through boxes.

“I told you to keep it down, did you hear me?!” Ji Yin walked over and issued a second warning.

“What now, sis? Isn’t this my normal speaking volume?” Yanzi looked at her speechlessly.

Ji Yin made a shushing gesture. “Someone’s still sleeping.”

“Who?” The moment Yanzi spoke, her eyes suddenly widened in surprise as she stared at Ji Yin, then pointed at the adjacent room. “There’s someone in there?”

Ji Yin nodded.

“Oh my god!” Yanzi clapped a hand over her mouth in shock, tiptoed to the neighboring door, and pressed her ear against it, her face alight with excitement. She whispered, “Who is it? Do I know them?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Yanzi grew even more excited and slapped Ji Yin’s arm hard. “Wow, you! Who is it?”

Click

The door suddenly opened. Yanzi turned eagerly, but when she saw Lu Jiahe, her smile froze, and confusion flashed in her eyes. “Dr. Lu?”

“Hello,” Lu Jiahe replied with a gentle smile.

Yanzi craned her neck to peek inside. “No one else in there, right?”

“Nope.”

“You stayed here last night?”

“Yes, we talked until late, so I ended up staying over,” Lu Jiahe explained.

“Oh.” The spark of gossip in Yanzi’s eyes instantly fizzled out.

“What’s with that look?” Ji Yin seized Yanzi’s braid and hissed a warning while Lu Jiahe went to freshen up. “You’re giving Dr. Lu that dead-fish expression do you have a death wish?”

“That’s so unfair! When did I make a dead-fish face?!” Yanzi couldn’t explain her frustration. “I thought you were hiding a man in there. I didn’t expect it to be Dr. Lu.”

“Hide a man my ass. If there was a man in there, he’d either be a thief or a robber. Wipe that look off your face before Dr. Lu thinks you hate her,” Ji Yin snapped coldly.

“Got it.” Yanzi immediately plastered on a bright smile and scurried over to greet Lu Jiahe with exaggerated deference. “Dr. Lu, did you sleep well here? If not, I can ask my sis to book you a fancy hotel.”

“It was fine. I was just staying one night no need to spend extra money,” Lu Jiahe replied with a smile as she washed her face.

“No wonder my sis gets along with you so well. You’re both so frugal,” Yanzi chuckled.

Lu Jiahe glanced at her. Carefree and thoughtless clearly, she had been well-protected by her sister.

“Frugality is a virtue. And she isn’t frugal just for herself.”

“Dr. Lu gets me!” Ji Yin called out from the living room.

“But sometimes she takes it too far. She loves bottled water you should’ve seen how many empty bottles she hoarded in that empty room before, just to sell them for scrap.”

Lu Jiahe: “…”

“If they’re just going to be thrown away anyway, why not make a little money from them?” Ji Yin retorted matter-of-factly.

“How much is your rent?” Lu Jiahe asked after drying her hands and stepping out.

“Thirty-two hundred,” Ji Yin grumbled, her irritation flaring at the mention of rent. “They raise it every year. So annoying.”

“How much do you get from selling scrap?”

“At most, a little over twenty bucks,” Ji Yin declared proudly.

“So you’re using a thirty-two-hundred-a-month place to store twenty bucks’ worth of scrap?”

Ji Yin: “…”

“Exactly!” Swallow was thrilled to have found an ally.

“I… didn’t actually let it go either,” Ji Yin mumbled.

“That’s because I threw it away for you several times,” Swallow retorted, only to have her braid yanked by Ji Yin, prompting her to turn around and start playfully hitting her.

The two began roughhousing without a care in the world, but Swallow’s combat skills were no match for Ji Yin’s. Within just one round, she was pinned to the ground.

“I surrender, I surrender! Spare me, Your Majesty!” Swallow clung to Ji Yin’s leg, desperately trying to get up while Ji Yin kept pressing her head down. Amidst the struggle, Swallow suddenly burst into laughter. “Are you playing whack-a-mole or something?”

Ji Yin couldn’t help laughing too. “Yeah, whacking you little groundhog!”

“Let me up already! Dr. Lu is watching this is so embarrassing!”

Only then did Ji Yin realize and immediately stopped, turning to Lu Jiahe with an awkward smile. “Sorry about that.”

“It looked fun,” Lu Jiahe said, her eyes brimming with amusement as she watched their antics. “I’m an only child, so I’ve always envied people with siblings.”

“Well, I could press your head too, if you want to experience it?” Ji Yin boldly suggested.

Lu Jiahe thought for a moment, then lowered her head. “Go ahead.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Ji Yin placed her hand on Lu Jiahe’s head, too reluctant to use much force, and gave it a gentle push.

“Did you skip lunch or something?” Lu Jiahe teased.

“…”

Ji Yin pressed down harder, her hand sliding down to hook around Lu Jiahe’s neck. “Had enough?”

“That’s it?” Lu Jiahe chuckled.

“Fine, I’ll give you something tougher.” Ji Yin initially planned to pin her to the ground like she had with Swallow, but remembering Lu Jiahe’s aversion to dirt, she instead scooped her up in a princess carry, intending to toss her onto the sofa.

But as she approached the sofa, she worried it might be too small, what if she missed and Lu Jiahe ended up on the floor?

So she turned and headed for the bedroom instead, tossing Lu Jiahe onto the bed. Unexpectedly, Lu Jiahe kept her arms wrapped around Ji Yin’s neck, pulling her down too. Ji Yin’s lips bumped against Lu Jiahe’s shoulder with a soft thud.

“Ouch”

Swallow, leaning against the doorframe, doubled over with laughter. “For a second there, I thought you two were acting out a drama scene!”

Lu Jiahe lay sprawled on the bed, laughing as she cupped Ji Yin’s chin to check her lips. “Did it hurt?”

Ji Yin was half-sprawled over the bed, her waist resting against the edge. She licked her lips. “You’re really made of steel, huh?”

“Where did you hit? Let me see,” Lu Jiahe said with a smile.

Ji Yin pointed to her lower lip.

Lu Jiahe leaned closer. “Inside too? Does it hurt?”

“Not inside, just here on the outside.”

Lu Jiahe raised a hand and pressed lightly. “Here?”

“Yeah.”

“Still hurt?”

“A little better.”

Lu Jiahe kept her fingers there, and Ji Yin let her, neither speaking as they waited to see what would happen next.

Swallow watched the scene, a slow question mark forming in her mind.

Wait, sis, don’t you have hands? Can’t you press it yourself? You need Dr. Lu to help with something this minor?!

Before she could voice her thoughts, her phone rang, so she stepped out to the balcony to answer it.

“How does it feel now?” Lu Jiahe asked.

Ji Yin instinctively licked her lips again but accidentally brushed Lu Jiahe’s finger. She froze.

Lu Jiahe looked up at her, murmuring in a low voice, “Are you taking advantage of me on purpose?”

“I’m not, I didn’t.” Ji Yin’s face flushed red as she shook her head hurriedly. “I really didn’t mean to.”

“Alright, I forgive you.” Lu Jiahe withdrew her hand and rubbed her own shoulder.

Noticing she was rubbing the exact spot where they had collided earlier, Ji Yin quickly asked, “Did you get hurt there too?”

“You said my bones were hard, but I think your mouth is pretty tough too,” Lu Jiahe remarked.

“Sorry about that.” Ji Yin reached out to massage the spot for her.

“Wrong place. Not there you’re about to press on my chest.”

Ji Yin immediately pulled her hand back, her face turning even redder. “I really didn’t mean to!”

“It’s fine,” Lu Jiahe said with a laugh. “No need to massage it. It doesn’t hurt much here, but your mouth.”

“What? It’s not swollen, is it?” Ji Yin licked her lips, running her tongue over the spot where they had been bumped, but she didn’t feel any swelling.

“Looks very kissable,” Lu Jiahe said.

Even redder than her moistened lips were Ji Yin’s cheeks at that moment, flushed so deeply they seemed about to bleed.