Chapter 73: Chapter 73 After Fleeing, The Disabled Boss Stops Pretending 35
Su Zhiruan stood erect, holding an umbrella in her hands. The man lowered his head, buried in her shoulder nook, draping his coat over her, with its warm temperature rendering her mind blank.
Honestly, she had never imagined that Lu Peijin would appear here, right in front of her, and say to her, “Long time no see.”
“Lu Peijin?” She swayed slightly, attempting to rouse the man immersed in the moment, “How come you are here?”
“I…” Lu Peijin was led by her under the eaves, then watched her shake the umbrella, flinging all the droplets to the ground. He remained silent, naturally not admitting he came specifically for her, as she had decisively chosen to leave him before; if she knew, she would undoubtedly flee even further away from him. After pondering, he finally said, “I had some business here, so I came.”
Su Zhiruan nodded understandingly, thinking about it made sense; Lu Peijin, being a busy man, certainly wouldn’t come to this small city unless he had business.
The two stood side by side, unsure of what would be appropriate to say at the moment.
Even though, just half a month ago, they had made love in the bed of the Fujin Water Pavilion, before that, she had borne his child, and they had lived together for over a year. Yet now, no longer bound by any contract, they were exactly like the most familiar strangers.
Ultimately, it was Su Zhiruan who spoke first, “How are Mingzhu and the others? They must have grown a bit.”
“They have,” Lu Peijin pulled out his phone, opened the gallery, “Our kids are getting cuter as they grow. I have taken many photos, come take a look.”
Su Zhiruan was momentarily stunned when Lu Peijin uttered the words “our kids” so naturally. To those uninformed, they might even think they were a family. She lowered her long, raven-like eyelashes and leaned closer to Lu Peijin to view the album’s photos of their three children.
Mingzhu, dressed in a light pink floral outfit, was sobbing heavily in the center, her little face crumpled together, tears falling like raindrops, with each of her hands clutching the clothing corners of her brothers.
“The one on the left is Qinghe, and the one on the right is Qingyuan, the eldest is calm, the second is mischievous,” Lu Peijin pointed them out, but his gaze stayed fixed on Su Zhiruan unblinkingly, full of gratitude where she couldn’t see. What exactly he felt fortunate about, he didn’t know, but at that moment, his heart seemed to have found its home, gaining peace and tranquility.
“Thank you for letting me see the photos of the kids again,” Su Zhiruan hadn’t seen the children for a long time, and her heart ached, her mixed emotions erupting at this moment.
She studied the photos, the left side depicted Qinghe sitting formally, his small hand on his sister’s which was grabbing his clothing corner, appearing composed, whereas Qingyuan on the other side was constantly struggling and twisting, as if trying to escape his sister’s “demonic” grip.
“How about you, how have you been lately?” Lu Peijin let her flip through the album, his current album filled entirely with the three kids, and also secretly snapped photos of Su Zhiruan, though the latter were all hidden in a private album, out of her sight.
Su Zhiruan tried to laugh it off lightly, “Going smoothly, I used the money to buy a house and a car, found a job for grandma that she likes, just took my graduate entrance exam, and now I am idly waiting for the results.”
“Why didn’t you choose Jinghua University? I remember you graduated from Jinghua University for your undergraduate, Jinghua’s educational resources are also better,” Lu Peijin had known before that she was preparing for her postgraduate studies, but did not expect she would forgo the top universities in Jinghua and choose a more remote city’s school instead. “After the previous contract… you could often visit Jinghua to see the children, they miss you a lot.”
Lu Peijin gazed into her eyes, unwilling to let go even a bit, as if he wanted to firmly etch her into his heart, never to forget.
The smile on Su Zhiruan’s face had faded significantly, and she spoke very seriously, “Since the contract has been completed, let it be in the past. The three children are of the Lu Family’s bloodline, I hope Mr. Lu takes good care of them. As for my grandmother and me, spending our lives in this warm little city will be enough.”
“Mr. Lu came here, surely there is important business to attend to, I won’t delay your time any further. I have to take an umbrella to my grandmother!” Su Zhiruan resumed her smile, shook the umbrella in her hand, then opened her own umbrella, ready to leave.
At that moment, a torrential rain began to pour down.
Her figure was slender, wrapped in his large coat, she looked very thin and fragile, making one irresistibly want to protect her.
Su Zhiruan realized she had forgotten to return the coat after walking a few steps away, so she turned back, placed the umbrella aside, took off the coat, and handed it to Lu Peijin, thinking after returning it she would quickly leave. She began to speak, “Mr. Lu, your—”
The next second, she was yanked by the arm by the man, and before her mind could react, she was pushed against the glass wall behind her. She widened her eyes, about to say something, when suddenly, a kiss filled with annoyance landed on the corner of her lips.
“You—mmph!” Su Zhiruan stared at him wide-eyed, reaching out to strike him.
Lu Peijin pressed down heavily, intensely, yet his arms held her throughout, preventing her from hitting the wall behind.
“Let go—” Su Zhiruan still wanted to argue firmly, but found that because she was speaking, the man pressed even closer.
Lu Peijin realized he must have been dazed by anger, or perhaps he had completely thrown caution to the winds. At this moment, he cared about nothing, saw nothing, whether it was heaven or earth, the heavy rain, or the occasional curious glances of passersby, he was utterly blind to it all.
He only wanted to seal her lips, not wanting her to utter words sharp as knives, slicing him up into pieces.
As she went limp, Lu Peijin took the black coat, covered her with it, and held her in his arms, wrapping her within the coat as if he was encasing a rare treasure, his most cherished possession, not wanting anyone else to covet or peep.
“Su Zhiruan,” his movements suddenly stopped at some point, he looked seriously at the dazed girl in his arms, her cheeks flushed from their prior actions, her expression bewildered. He supported her, his cool voice accompanied by the pitter-pattering of the raindrops, entered her ears together, “I like you.”
Su Zhiruan’s eyes widened suddenly, she truly hadn’t expected to hear him say this, “You—”
She couldn’t believe it, even wondered if Lu Peijin was drunk, or had taken the wrong medicine.
But Lu Peijin was very serious, he gazed at her, unwavering, and repeated, “I like you, not because I’m drunk, not because I lost at truth or dare, not on a whim, it’s something I’ve thought about for a long time.”