Running Towards You - Chapter 60.2

Winter had arrived this was the first snowfall of the year.

Students just out of school were playing in the snow, chasing and laughing with each other.

Ji Yin overheard them talking about the prettiest girl in their class and couldn’t help but smile, wondering if Lu Jiahe had been the same back in school, admired and gossiped about by her classmates.

Lost in thoughts of Lu Jiahe, she turned a corner and spotted the woman standing at the entrance of the neighborhood. Without hesitation, she broke into a run. “Hey!”

Lu Jiahe turned to her, smiling as she stood in place, only to be pulled into a tight hug. She reached up and brushed the snowflakes off Ji Yin’s head, teasing, “What’s with the ‘hey’? Don’t I have a name?”

“I just blanked for a second. I was going to call you ‘Dr. Lu,’ but that felt too formal. Calling you by your name feels even more distant,” Ji Yin admitted.

“Then how about ‘baby,’ ‘darling,’ ‘sweetheart,’ or ‘honey’? Those aren’t distant,” Lu Jiahe teased.

“…” Ji Yin faltered, her face flushing. “I, I can’t say those things.”

Lu Jiahe laughed at her flustered expression, then took her hand and tucked both into her pocket for warmth. “You can call me ‘jie’ (older sister) too, I am a year older, after all.”

“That’s even weirder. I’ve been the ‘jie’ for so long, suddenly calling you that would feel like Yanzi calling me,” Ji Yin said.

“Then just call me by my name,” Lu Jiahe said with a smile.

“Lu Jiahe?” Ji Yin stepped on the snowflakes gathering on the ground, repeating the name over and over. “Lu Jiahe, Lu Jiahe, Lu Jiahe, Jiahe… Your name is so nice! Wait your mom’s name is Liu Jia, right?”

“Right.”

“Wow, your parents must’ve been really in love. No wonder you’re so happy,” Ji Yin mused.

“You’ll be happy too.”

Ji Yin hopped onto the nearby flower bed, grinning. “I’m already happy * all because of you, Lu Jiahe.”

Lu Jiahe looked up at her, his smile deepening. “Come down and let me hug you.”

Ji Yin spread her arms and jumped down, immediately wrapping herself around him. She kissed his ear and murmured his name, “Lu Jiahe, Jiahe.”

The snow grew heavier. Shortly after they returned home, their takeout arrived, a serving of pork stomach chicken. A sip of the hot soup warmed them from the inside out.

Ji Yin gazed at the snow outside the window. In winters past, she had always spent them alone, bundling up in blankets when cold, ordering random takeout when hungry, and sleeping when bored.

Life had never been this interesting before. Such quiet, tender moments filled her with an unprecedented sense of contentment.

“Why did you buy me such an expensive coat?” Ji Yin asked.

“It’ll last for years. The more you wear it, the more value you’ll get out of it,” Lu Jiahe replied.

“Don’t spend so much on me. I’m always running around it’d be a shame to get such nice clothes dirty.”

“Clothes are meant to be worn. If they get dirty, just wash them.”

“But.” Ji Yin couldn’t argue with that, so she silently resolved to buy him a bag next time. Wasn’t there a saying that a bag could cure all woes?

“Ji Yin, you need to learn to accept kindness from others without feeling like you have to repay it. You’re my girlfriend, the closest person to me besides my parents. Seeing you wear the clothes I bought makes me happy too,” Lu Jiahe said.

Ji Yin froze, her eyes reddening again.

Lu Jiahe couldn’t help but laugh. “So tall, yet such a crybaby.”

Ji Yin flopped onto the table, muffling her voice. “I don’t usually cry!”

“Alright, alright. The food’s getting cold come eat, little crybaby.”

Ji Yin sniffled and sat up to continue eating. Just then, Yanzi called over video.

“Come down for dinner,” Yanzi shouted.

“Not coming. I’m at Lu… Jiahe’s place,” Ji Yin said, glancing sheepishly at Lu Jiahe, who smiled and placed a piece of chicken in her bowl.

“Wait, why are you always running to Dr. Lu’s place? Doesn’t your boyfriend get jealous?” Yanzi asked.

Lu Jiahe lifted his gaze. Ji Yin grinned. “Of course not.”

“Seriously, are you even dating anyone? Or are you just lying to me?”

“Why would I lie?”

“Then why are you hiding your boyfriend? Is he that embarrassing?”

“Can’t be bothered to explain. We’re eating now,” Ji Yin said flatly, hanging up. She scooped some pork stomach into Lu Jiahe’s bowl and changed the subject, but noticed his mood had dimmed.

After dinner, Ji Yin pressed her hands on his shoulders. “What’s wrong?”

Lu Jiahe hesitated, but seeing her worried expression, he finally asked, “You still haven’t told Yanzi about us?”

“Yeah, I haven’t figured out how to bring it up yet.”

“Are you afraid she’ll find out you’re dating a woman? That I’m something to be ashamed of?”

“Of course not!” Ji Yin was stunned. “That’s not what I meant at all. I want the whole world to know you’re my girlfriend!”

“But you’re even hiding it from Yanzi?” Lu Jiahe asked.

Ji Yin pressed her lips together and slowly sat down, rubbing her face despondently. “I’m just scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“That you’ll get tired of me soon.”

“Why would you think that?”

“You don’t understand. Ever since I was little, whenever I felt happy, fate would play a cruel joke on me. So I have no choice but to prepare for the worst,” Ji Yin said, lifting her head to look at her. “I know how big the gap between us is. Even if one day you realize you don’t need me anymore, it’s fine. I just don’t want the people around me to cause you trouble then.”

Lu Jiahe crouched down, staring incredulously at the helplessness and vulnerability in Ji Yin’s eyes. She had thought that being together was enough, but she had overlooked the hidden unease in Ji Yin’s heart.

For her, the only challenge in this relationship was whether Ji Yin would like her back.

But for Ji Yin, the difficulties were never just that her background, past, and even their social circles had silently piled pressure on her.

That’s why she was so afraid of meeting the parents, terrified of being kicked out because of their differences in status.

Ji Yin was so insecure, and Lu Jiahe was only realizing it now.

“Ji Yin, do you still not know when I started liking you?” Lu Jiahe asked, holding her hand. “Did you think I agreed to be with you just because I’d been single for too long, out of loneliness, and that’s why I accepted your confession?”

Ji Yin looked at her but said nothing.

That was as good as confirmation.

Lu Jiahe sighed, cupping Ji Yin’s face in her hands and kissing her lips. “I’m sorry. I should’ve confessed to you sooner. I shouldn’t have played hard to get, waiting for you to make the first move.”

Ji Yin stared at her blankly.

“The truth is, I’ve liked you for a long time. The first time my heart skipped a beat was when you took me on your bike to see the view from the bridge. That night, you were absolutely mesmerizing.”

Ji Yin’s eyes slowly widened in disbelief. Lu Jiahe had liked her that early? And since when was she ever mesmerizing?

“Do you know all the things I did to get your attention?”

“What?” Ji Yin grew even more astonished.

“When you meet Li Chenyao later, she won’t be able to resist telling you,” Lu Jiahe said with a laugh. “Actually, I can call her right now, she can vouch for how long I’ve liked you.”

Seeing her pull out her phone, Ji Yin immediately grabbed her hand. “No need to call. I believe you.”

“Do you really?”

“I do.”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“…” I’m dying of curiosity!

Lu Jiahe chuckled at her increasingly eager expression and dialed Li Chenyao’s number.

“What’s up?” Li Chenyao answered.

“Ji Yin and I kissed.”

Caught off guard by the sudden announcement, Ji Yin whipped her head around to stare at Lu Jiahe, her cheeks burning.

“Hell yeah! You’re something else. I’ve gotta ask you for tips on how to turn a straight girl someday.”

“Why would you need that? Who are you planning to turn?”

“Just curious! But that blockhead Ji Yin, is she any good at dating? Don’t tell me you have to teach her everything?”

Lu Jiahe glanced at Ji Yin, whose face was now completely flushed, and grinned. “Pretty much. Hey, do you remember when I started liking her?”

“Of course I remember it’s seared into my brain! Wasn’t it during that trip the three of us took? The night before, you were all ‘I’m gonna let her go,’ and the next day, you were ‘I can’t, I’m gonna seduce her.’ Tsk tsk, I don’t even wanna talk about your mess.”

“Thanks. Bye.”

“What are you thanking me for?” Li Chenyao was utterly confused. She glanced at her phone, the call had already ended.

“Now you know,” Lu Jiahe asked.

Ji Yin, overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, nodded in disbelief. “What is there about me that you could possibly like?”

“You can doubt yourself, but don’t question my judgment,” Lu Jiahe said, sitting down beside her. “I know about your background and your past, but I still like you. I like all of you.”

Moved, Ji Yin slowly embraced her.

It wasn’t until Lu Jiahe was nearly out of breath that Ji Yin snapped out of her daze of overwhelming joy and asked softly, “When did Li Chenyao find out about us?”

“I told my parents and her on the very first day we got together. Not long ago, my uncles and aunts found out too,” Lu Jiahe replied.

Ji Yin released her, pulled out her phone, and immediately called Yanzi: “Come over to Dr. Lu’s place right now.”

“It’s so late, what’s the matter?” Yanzi asked.

“Come meet your brother-in-law,” Ji Yin said succinctly.

Yanzi stared at her phone, baffled. “Seriously, sis, are you even speaking Chinese right now?”