Running Towards You - Chapter 63

“Hurry and get in the car, we can’t park here for long,” Ji Yin urged.

“Alright, let’s get in first and talk later,” Li Chenyao said, pulling Lu Jiahe into the car.

Lu Jiahe glanced at Cheng Jingwen and invited, “Want to join us for a meal?”

“I’ll pass, goodbye,” Cheng Jingwen replied.

“Okay, see you.”

Only after watching Cheng Jingwen leave did Ji Yin breathe a sigh of relief and slip into the car. “Where are we going to eat?”

“I’ll send you the location. It’s my treat today,” Li Chenyao said from the back seat.

After the car started moving, Li Chenyao felt the backseat cushions and lay down to test them out. “Hey, not bad. Luxury cars really are something else. Zaozao, next time we go out, let’s rent a fancy car too. If we can’t afford to buy one, we can at least rent one, right?”

“Sure,” Lu Jiahe agreed.

“Why rent? If you like this car, we can just take it out next time,” Ji Yin offered generously.

“Ji Yin, stop pretending. Cheng Jingwen is already gone,” Li Chenyao laughed, sitting up and leaning forward to ask, “Honestly, how much does this car cost per day?”

“…”

Karma had arrived. Ji Yin felt that no matter what she said now, no one would believe her.

She tentatively ventured, “Actually, I’m the supermarket owner.”

“You’re still bragging?! If you keep this up, I’m going to lower my impression of you,” Li Chenyao scolded. “Being poor isn’t scary, what’s scary is being poor and still putting on airs!”

“You’re right, but I’m really not putting on airs!” Ji Yin found it hard to explain herself and quickly glanced at Lu Jiahe. “Jiahe, what do you think?”

“It’s okay, I understand. Is it because you wanted to make a good impression when meeting my friends and family these past couple of days?” Lu Jiahe said considerately.

It was true that she wanted to make a good impression, but the car was real too!

Ji Yin groaned inwardly. This really was impossible to explain, and with her hands full, she couldn’t even produce any evidence.

“Why are you getting so worked up?” Li Chenyao wondered. “Zaozao, you should talk to her. Picking up this kind of pretentious habit is no good.”

Lu Jiahe nodded and advised, “Don’t worry, Yaoyao and my parents already know your situation. There’s no need to mind it just be your true self.”

Though she still hadn’t gained their trust, hearing those words made Ji Yin inexplicably happy.

Lu Jiahe’s friends and family had already accepted the worst version of her, what could be more joyful than that?

When they arrived at the restaurant, Li Chenyao enthusiastically ordered seven or eight dishes and asked if they wanted to add more.

“Isn’t that too much? Don’t be so polite. Order less it’d be a waste if we can’t finish,” Ji Yin said.

“Now that’s the Ji Yin I know. Don’t worry, these are all dishes I really love. I usually can’t eat this much by myself, so it’s perfect to order more while we’re all here,” Li Chenyao said contentedly, putting down the menu.

Ji Yin often saw her social media updates. Aside from work, Li Chenyao frequently went out on weekends eating, drinking, and having fun, living a very vibrant life.

Although Ji Yin had grown accustomed to her own monotonous routine, seeing Li Chenyao’s exciting lifestyle every day couldn’t help but stir a bit of envy in her.

“Tell me, do you ever have any troubles in life?” she asked sincerely.

“Of course I do. Students not listening is annoying, having meetings all the time is annoying, and struggling to wake up for morning self-study is annoying.”

“Any troubles besides work?”

“None.” Li Chenyao smiled breezily. “Work is meant to support life. Since work already brings enough worries, I must be extra good to myself in life.”

“I’ve learned something.”

Yanzi always told her to enjoy life, but she never really took it to heart probably because Yanzi’s idea of treating herself was buying luxury goods, which held no appeal for her.

But perhaps, like Li Chenyao and Lu Jiahe, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to unwind during free time, see new sights, enjoy good food, and experience various things.

“Most of my friends are married now. Though Zaozao isn’t, she’s quite busy. It’s hard to find a dining companion, so I often end up eating alone and can’t order many dishes.” Li Chenyao sighed.

“You can ask me. If I have time, I can be your dining companion,” Ji Yin said.

“Really?”

“Yes, and I mean it. I genuinely want to try more delicious food like you and find joy in life.”

“That’s wonderful!” Li Chenyao was delighted and eagerly began telling her about specialty dishes from different regions.

The two chatted happily, with no need for Lu Jiahe to mediate. As she ate, she watched the lively conversation between them, unable to suppress a smile.

Ji Yin truly had strong social skills. Her occasional sincerity was touching, making people naturally regard her as one of their own. By now, Li Chenyao was already sharing stories from her puppy love days.

After the meal, Li Chenyao suddenly realized, “Oh dear, I was supposed to hear your gossip to go with my meal. How did it turn into me feeding you my own stories?”

Ji Yin laughed. “I really envy how exciting your school days were.”

Li Chenyao paused, sensing the genuine admiration in her words, and finally asked the question she’d been curious about: “Why did you drop out of school?”

“Did Dr. Lu not tell you?”

“He didn’t go into details.”

“My stepmother had breast cancer, my younger sister was still small, and our family needed money.”

In just a few words, spoken in a matter-of-fact tone, the hardships were unmistakable. Li Chenyao felt a surge of compassion. “You poor thing. From now on, you’ll be my free dining companion.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not? I can’t finish everything alone anyway. Having someone to eat with is already great.”

“But I’m really not as poor as you think,” Ji Yin said awkwardly.

“Right, right, you’re not poor at all. You have a resilient spirit, worth more than any fortune!”

“…”

Lu Jiahe lowered his head to hide his laughter.

As they left the restaurant, Li Chenyao was still eager, making plans with Ji Yin for their next meal.

“Alright, I need to go back and work on my lesson plans. I won’t interrupt your date anymore. Bye.” Li Chenyao waved, hailed a taxi by the roadside, and left first.

“I was going to offer her a ride. She left in a hurry.” Ji Yin opened her car door, waiting for Lu Jiahe to get in.

“Let’s return this car first. How many days did you rent it for?” Lu Jiahe asked after getting in.

“I have permanent use of it.”

Lu Jiahe smiled wryly, then noticed her hair. “Did you dye your hair today?”

“Yes, wanted to make a good impression on your parents. Do you think I should buy a pair of glasses to look more scholarly?” Ji Yin asked with a laugh.

“You can’t fake that, just try to control how often you swear.”

“Okay, okay, as you command.” Ji Yin said humbly.

“Come over tomorrow morning.” Lu Jiahe started discussing going to her parents’ house for dinner tomorrow, but noticed the scenery outside looked different. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll know in a moment.”

Lu Jiahe was puzzled until the car stopped in front of a supermarket. She followed Ji Yin out of the car, confused: “What are we doing here? Shopping or working overtime?”

“To watch others work overtime.”

Completely bewildered, Lu Jiahe let herself be led inside by Ji Yin. They encountered several employees along the way, all greeting Ji Yin.

“Sister Yin.”

“Sister Yin’s here.”

“Sister Yin, I want to change my shift.”

“Talk to the supervisor about shift changes,” Ji Yin replied.

Lu Jiahe looked at the employees with confusion, while they equally curiously sized her up.

Then she was taken into a modest-sized office where a photo frame sat on the desk containing a picture of three women.

A middle-aged woman stood in the center, holding hands with two young girls on either side. The one on the left was a younger version of Ji Yin.

Dressed in oversized clothes with a high ponytail, her expression was timid, eyes filled with curiosity and nervousness.

Lu Jiahe smiled and touched the person in the photo: “When was this taken?”

“On my sixteenth birthday, I think. My mom took Yanzi and me to take this photo together – it was my first family portrait,” Ji Yin said.

Lu Jiahe gave her a sympathetic look, pointing at Yanzi in the photo: “People change so much as they grow up. I didn’t recognize Yanzi at first glance.”

“She was still young then, hadn’t grown into her features yet. She was quite dark,” Ji Yin mercilessly teased.

“I could hear you talking about me from far away!”

Speak of the devil, Yanzi strode in energetically, walking toward Lu Jiahe with a smile: “I heard my sister brought a beauty to visit, and I immediately knew it was you, sister-in-law!”

Ji Yin: “What nonsense is this?”

Yanzi: “Then what should I call her?”

“I’m not sure either.” Ji Yin turned to ask Lu Jiahe, “What should she call you?”

Lu Jiahe laughed: “Other titles sound strange. You’d better just call me Dr. Lu.”

“That’s too formal. How about I call you Sister Jiahe?” Yanzi suggested.

“Okay.”

“Yay, Sister Jiahe… Oh my god, Dr. Lu has become my Sister Jiahe!” Yanzi couldn’t help but cheer. Noticing the photo frame in Lu Jiahe’s hand, she leaned in to look. “Ah, seeing this photo reminds me of mom.”

Lu Jiahe put down the frame, accidentally noticing some writing on the back.

Happy birthday to my daughter – Chen Yanhua.

Chen Yanhua. Yanhua Supermarket?

Lu Jiahe looked up in disbelief: “Your mom is Chen Yanhua?”

“Yes,” Yanzi nodded.

“Then this supermarket… you really own it?”

“Not us, just my sister. I’m just her employee,” Yanzi said.

It had been a long time since Lu Jiahe had felt so shocked. She barely managed to control her expression as she looked at Ji Yin in disbelief.

“Do you believe me now?” Ji Yin breathed a sigh of relief. “I really didn’t rent the car.”

Lu Jiahe slowly sat down, scanning the office carefully before turning her gaze to Ji Yin. It was hard to imagine Ji Yin working in such a place.

“We need to talk. Could you step out for a moment?” Ji Yin ushered Yanzi out, closed the door, and sat down beside her. She pulled out her phone and showed her the bank account details. “Here, this is my current balance. Some of it is still tied up in stocks and funds. I shouldn’t have listened to my friend’s advice and bought them blindly the losses are making me sick to my stomach.”

Lu Jiahe stared at the numbers, counting them over and over again, and asked in disbelief, “If you have this much money, why do you live so frugally?”

It wasn’t that Lu Jiahe didn’t believe her; it was just that Ji Yin’s daily behavior was nothing like that of a wealthy person. What rich person would bother collecting plastic bottles?

“I’m used to it. Money should be saved whenever possible. And don’t be fooled by the balance in my account now every month, there are plenty of expenses, not to mention the final payments to suppliers. Money comes and goes like this, and it makes me anxious. I’m always worried the cash flow might break,” Ji Yin explained. “Besides, I don’t have many hobbies, and I’m not into luxury goods. There’s really nowhere for me to spend money. Look, I don’t even want to buy a house.”

“Then why did you buy such an expensive car?”

“For business negotiations. Those people are very pragmatic. They see that I have no background and am just a young woman, so they hesitate to discuss big deals with me, afraid I might run off,” Ji Yin said.

“Alright.” Lu Jiahe believed her explanation. Ji Yin was indeed that kind of person it wasn’t as if she had intentionally tried to deceive her.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Before, you thought I was just an employee and treated me so well. I was really happy about that, so I never told you. It never felt like a big deal, and I never found the right opportunity to come clean. Then, I just forgot.” Ji Yin gently held her hand and asked pitifully, “Are you angry with me?”

“I think I need some time to process this,” Lu Jiahe sighed.

“How long?” Ji Yin asked cautiously.

A minute later, Lu Jiahe said, “Alright, I’ve processed it.”

Ji Yin exclaimed in amazement, “You city folks really have a strong ability to adapt!”

Lu Jiahe smiled. “My girlfriend is actually a wealthy woman that’s news I can definitely accept.”

Ji Yin’s heart finally settled. Gazing at the dimple at the corner of Lu Jiahe’s mouth, she leaned in impulsively and kissed her. Then, cupping her face, she was about to deepen the kiss when Lu Jiahe gently pushed her away.

“Be careful, someone might see,” Lu Jiahe whispered.

Ji Yin looked at her with a pitiful expression. “I closed the door.”

Lu Jiahe chuckled softly, leaned in, and kissed her lips. But the moment Ji Yin’s tongue touched hers, Lu Jiahe skillfully pulled back.

“Let’s just go home,” Lu Jiahe said, standing up and turning back to smile at her. “We can kiss at home.”

“Okay!!!” Ji Yin immediately drove her home.

The moment Lu Jiahe opened the door, Ji Yin eagerly wrapped her arms around her, spun her around, and closed the door with a swift motion, pressing her against it as they kissed. The warmth from their palms gradually spread, and Lu Jiahe couldn’t help but let out a few soft, suggestive gasps.

Lu Jiahe wrapped her arms around Ji Yin’s neck, and their kiss deepened.

An unfamiliar desire surged within Ji Yin, desperate for an outlet but unsure how to satisfy it. She could only blindly lick and nibble at Lu Jiahe’s tongue, her hands moving with unrestrained urgency.

Lu Jiahe’s soft hum made Ji Yin even more excited, but the next moment, her ear was pinched.

“You dummy, be gentle.”

“Oh, oh, sorry!” Ji Yin quickly apologized, not daring to mess around anymore.

Having been single for thirty years, she had always thought she was frigid, completely unable to understand what others meant by desires and needs. Living alone felt so carefree.

But recently, she realized she had been terribly mistaken.

She loved kissing Lu Jiahe, loved caressing her delicate skin, and loved having more physical contact with her.

Just the thought that it was Lu Jiahe made her adore it beyond words.

And when Lu Jiahe responded to her, she loved it even more every reaction and breath seemed to declare affection for her.

Just as she leaned in to kiss her again, a knock sounded at the door.

“Zaozao, are you home?”

Ji Yin looked at Lu Jiahe in confusion, and Lu Jiahe whispered, “My mom.”

Ji Yin: “!!!”

Lu Jiahe made a shushing gesture, and Ji Yin pressed her ear against the door to eavesdrop on the commotion outside.

Seeing her sneaky demeanor, Lu Jiahe found it adorable. She pinched Ji Yin’s chin, turned her head, and leaned in to kiss her.

At that moment, the sound of keys jingling came from outside the door, startling both of them.

“Mom, why are you here?” Lu Jiahe turned and called out toward the door.

“Oh, you’re home. I came to discuss tomorrow’s plans with you. Open the door,” Liu Jia said.

“Coming, just a moment.”

Lu Jiahe glanced back and realized Ji Yin had already vanished. She had no choice but to open the door. “Why are you here so late? Is something wrong?”

“I just had dinner with friends and passed by, so I thought I’d ask. I also wanted to see if your place needed cleaning helps with digestion,” Liu Jia said.

“No need to clean. Just tell me what you need,” Lu Jiahe said, standing in front of her.

“Why are you blocking the way? Don’t want me to come in?” Liu Jia asked, puzzled.

“No. come in,” Lu Jiahe stepped aside to make way.

But Liu Jia didn’t move. She glanced around the living room and said, “Never mind, I won’t come in. I’ll leave after I ask.”

“What is it?”

“You haven’t told us what Ji Yin likes to eat. Does she have any dietary restrictions?”

“I forgot with everything going on. She likes spicy food, and I haven’t noticed any restrictions yet.”

“Alright, you two rest early. I’m leaving,” Liu Jia turned to go.

“Goodnight.”

Lu Jiahe rubbed her forehead, closed the door, and said, “Come out.”

Ji Yin poked her head out from behind the curtains, sneaking a look as she asked, “Did Teacher Liu notice me?”

Lu Jiahe couldn’t help but laugh. “As she was leaving, she said something.”

“What did she say?” Ji Yin stepped out from behind the curtains, curious.

“Ji Yin has pretty big feet.”

“？？？？”

Ji Yin froze mid-step, looked down at her feet, then glanced back at the curtains. “Damn! I screwed up again!”

Lu Jiahe narrowed her eyes, and Ji Yin knew trouble was coming. She immediately turned and headed toward the bathroom.

“Where are you going?” Lu Jiahe asked.

Ji Yin: “To find the washboard!”