Chapter 051

Half a step away, Lu Jin really wanted to hug He Ye tightly.

But he just bent his knuckles a few times without raising his hand.

Suddenly, the family next door pushed their door open.

He Ye’s heartbeat, which had just settled, almost stopped again. She hurriedly unlocked her door and rushed inside before her neighbor appeared.

Of course, she didn’t turn it off. Her face was flushed, and her heart raced as she motioned for Lu Jin to come in quickly.

Lu Jin glanced past her toward next door.

A young couple stepped out, the husband pushing a baby carriage with a fair, pretty baby inside.

Lu Jin guessed the child was about seven or eight months old.

When the young wife saw Lu Jin, her eyes widened in surprise, sparkling with admiration.

Despite sweating from the walk, his height, features, and demeanor were striking, especially in such a private setting. Women often appreciate male beauty regardless of age or marital status.

The young husband smiled politely: “Hello, I don’t think I’ve seen you before?”

Lu Jin glanced at He Ye, who had hurriedly closed the door, leaving only a small crack. “Yes, I just got my girlfriend, and I’m sending her home for the first time.”

The young wife exclaimed, “Wow, congratulations! Where is He Ye? Why is she hiding? She used to always play with our Chen Chen for a while when she saw him.”

She had only caught a glimpse of He Ye’s fleeting figure.

Lu Jin looked at the baby in the stroller and said quietly, “She tends to be shy.”

“Yes, that’s right. He Ye is like this. When she first moved in, she was shy when I came to deliver fruit. Well, you guys enjoy your date; we’re going out to play.”

Lu Jin replied, “Goodbye.”

The elevator was still on the ninth floor, and soon the family of three disappeared.

Lu Jin glanced back at the door.

He Ye glared at him from inside: “I didn’t know you liked socializing so much.”

After glaring, she looked down. As the neighbors left, the thrilling atmosphere from before returned.

Lu Jin, seeing her blushing face, whispered, “I’m working now. If I keep being sneaky, people might think I’m not serious.”

He Ye said softly, “I didn’t mean to be sneaky; it’s just…”

Lu Jin replied, “I know; they opened the door at the wrong time.”

This was quite unreasonable. She could go out whenever, and he didn’t know they were getting back together.

But that little humor made He Ye laugh. She fully opened the door, stood aside, and asked, “Want to come in and sit for a while?”

Lu Jin looked inside and said, “I’m not tired. Is there anything I can help you with?”

He Ye shook her head slowly.

Her foot wasn’t as painful as when she fell. She could walk short distances at home without issue. The doctor told her to rest more. She would take a shower later and probably stay in bed, napping, reading, or watching a TV series.

Lu Jin said, “Then I’ll head back first. I’m soaked in sweat.”

He Ye understood. She also wanted to shower but felt it wasn’t appropriate for him to stay.

Lu Jin asked, “What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll cook and bring it to you.”

At that moment, He Ye remembered the last time he joked about coming over for dinner as her old classmate.

The ambiguity he showed was clear, but he never made it explicit. She hadn’t agreed because she wouldn’t invite an old classmate over for dinner alone.

Now, they were officially together, having dated once and even shared meals.

“I still have a lot of food in the refrigerator. You can come to my place this evening to cook. It’s too troublesome to send food back and forth.” 

He Ye looked at his pants and said something. 

Lu Jin smiled and replied, “Okay.” 

After Lu Jin left, He Ye closed the door and leaned against the wall, thinking back on all their meetings and conversations recently, feeling more relaxed. 

There’s a big difference between thinking he likes her and actually hearing him say it. 

He Ye was grateful that he was slow to realize his feelings in their senior year of high school. If she had figured it out then and kept guessing, it might have distracted him from his studies. 

She put her backpack on the entrance cabinet and looked inside. 

The water bottle they had shared was already thrown away in the hospital trash, and only a little bit of tissues and wet wipes remained, so there was no need to keep those. 

He Ye took out her phone, limped to the bedroom, closed the curtains, grabbed a set of pajamas, and headed to the bathroom. 

After taking off her clothes, she noticed mud on the back and sides, which couldn’t be wiped clean. 

Looking in the mirror, she saw that a lot of her hair was messy, with some stuck to her forehead and cheeks from sweat. 

He Ye thought, “The last time Lu Jin confessed to me, it was during a beautiful night by the lake with music and a dancing fountain. This time, are we just trying to see who looks more embarrassed?” 

She untied her hair carefully to avoid hurting her bruised wrists. 

After tossing her dirty clothes into the washing machine, He Ye went to shower. 

She held the showerhead with her right hand and used only her left hand to wash her hair, then rinsed her body. 

As her hand brushed over her chest, He Ye, who had just reunited with her ex-boyfriend, couldn’t help but think about their past moments together. 

Would things move quickly this time? 

Wangchao Mansion is just across the street. 

Once Lu Jin got home, he headed straight to the bathroom. 

He turned on the shower and rinsed off with his eyes closed, his mind shifting between memories of He Ye from years ago and her now. 

She seemed a bit hurt by his indifference when they reunited, but if she could see his true thoughts, she might be so upset that she would run back to Shanghai and never return to Ancheng again. 

Does true love have to be perfect? 

Lu Jin didn’t know that while math has perfect answers, no one really knows what perfect love looks like. 

He just knew that sometimes he wanted to be with He Ye, but more often, he wanted to kiss her, hug her, and hold her close. He wanted to see her blush, to see her cry, and to have her in his arms, where she could scold him or beg him, but in the end, she would hold his neck and let him take control. 

The more she kept things to herself, the more he wanted to know. 

One year, three years, six years—no one could replace her; he only wanted her. 

He Ye fell asleep around 3:30 AM and woke up at 6. 

The night outside was dark, and with the curtains drawn, her bedroom was filled with the mixed smell of iodine on her wrists and ointment on her ankles. 

She picked up her phone from beside the pillow. 

Team leader: [Let me know when it’s convenient for you to go there.] 

The message had been sent an hour earlier. 

He Ye instantly woke up and replied while leaning against her pillow: [Sorry, I just woke up and saw it.] 

Team leader: [I figured. I went to the supermarket for some vegetables and just got back.] 

He Ye: [Come over; I just need to wash my face.] 

Team leader: [Take your time. It’ll take me about ten minutes to walk.] 

Ten minutes didn’t seem long. 

He Ye tossed the quilt aside, turned on the light, and checked the bathroom mirror. Sure enough, her long hair was a mess, with a clump sticking up that wouldn’t flatten. 

He Ye washed her hair again, taking two minutes to rinse it and two minutes to blow dry. 

She quickly changed into pants and a sweater, spread out the quilt, then moved to the living room, turned on the lights, and checked for anything that needed cleaning. 

Team leader: [I’m downstairs.] 

He Ye took a deep breath and replied: [Okay, I’ll open the door for you.] 

While waiting for Lu Jin to come upstairs, He Ye washed a glass for guests and set it on the dining table, then pulled out a pair of men’s slippers from the entrance cabinet. 

Just then, the doorbell rang, startling her so much that her shoes nearly slipped off. 

She calmed herself and opened the door. 

Lu Jin was standing outside, obviously fresh from a shower. He had short, neat hair and wore black pants with a black jacket that was open, revealing a white shirt underneath. 

He held a shopping bag in each hand. 

Seeing him notice the slippers, He Ye awkwardly said, “My dad has used this pair several times…” 

Lu Jin raised his right hand: “I figured you wouldn’t have anything ready, so I bought a pair.” 

He Ye smiled and stepped aside for him. 

Lu Jin walked in, handed He Ye a bag of ingredients, and took out the disposable slippers from the other bag. 

He Ye: “Why did you buy these? They’re not convenient, especially for working in the kitchen.” 

Lu Jin tore off the plastic wrapping of the slippers and replied: “If I had bought something else, wouldn’t it seem like I had bad intentions?” 

He Ye was taken aback, unsure if he was serious or teasing. 

“Do what you want,” she said, glancing at him before turning on the TV. 

There was an open window on the balcony, letting in a cool breeze that cleared the faint smell of medicine from her. 

Lu Jin thought the smell was actually quite nice. 

He changed into the slippers and went straight to the kitchen like it was his own home. 

He Ye tilted her head to see him put away the ingredients, then quickly looked back at the TV. 

But she noticed Lu Jin take off his black coat, draping it over a dining chair before rolling up his shirt sleeves and returning to the kitchen.

Before He Ye closed the glass sliding door, she reminded him, “There’s an apron.”

Although He Ye spoke softly, Lu Jin heard her. He turned around and noticed a refreshing green apron with white stripes hanging on the wall, featuring a cartoon cat head and a fat little red fish on the front.

Lu Jin decided to cook right away.

He Ye couldn’t really focus on the TV; she felt too shy to watch him cook, so she tilted her head to observe him.

Zhu Qing texted: [What are you doing? Are you tired from the team-building activity this morning?]

He Ye replied, “The colleague behind me got heat stroke and fainted, and I fell down.”

Zhu Qing sent a video call her to express her sympathy.

As they chatted, Zhu Qing suddenly asked, “The college bully is there too, right? How he behave?”

He Ye told her the truth because she didn’t want to hide it from her best friend. It was better than pretending everything went well during team-building. 

Sooner or later, Zhu Qing would find out, so there was no point in hiding things. Unlike high school, He Ye didn’t want to share everything about her interactions with Lu Jin, fearing misunderstandings from her friends.

She pointed the camera at the kitchen long enough for Zhu Qing to recognize Lu Jin before turning it back.

Zhu Qing smiled and said, “Are you back together?”

He Ye nodded and smiled in agreement.

Zhu Qing replied, “I knew you couldn’t escape his charm. Okay, I won’t interrupt your date. I’ll ask you for details next time we meet!”

After the video ended, He Ye put her phone down.

Suddenly, the kitchen door opened. Lu Jin stood there, holding the door with one hand and a spatula with the other, looking at her with his dark eyes. In the background, oil sizzled in a pan.

He Ye replied to Lu Jin, “Zhu Qing wants me to go shopping tomorrow.”

Lu Jin asked, “What did you say?”

He Ye responded, “What can I say? I can’t go anywhere in my current state.”

Lu Jin inquired, “Did she ask how you fell?”

He Ye nodded.

Lu Jin continued, “Did she ask how you got back?”

He Ye’s face flushed, and she reminded him, “The pot is going to burn.”

Lu Jin turned back to the stove and stirred the food, then stood at the kitchen door and looked at her.

He Ye sighed, “I already told her, okay?”

Lu Jin then asked, “Can we tell Uncle He and the others?”

He Ye glared at him, “Don’t say that.”

Talking about romantic relationships with friends is different from telling parents.

Seeing Lu Jin lower his gaze, He Ye added firmly, “You can’t tell your parents, grandparents, aunts, cousins—either directly or indirectly.”

Lu Jin was silent.