Chapter 18

There was a need to rush over so early in the morning.

She had a few guesses.

Those guesses also outweighed her embarrassment.

Lin Yu returned to the lounge, fetched her scarf and small bag, then left the shop and walked to the roadside. A heavy chill of dew still hung over the streets in the early morning, and pedestrians hurried past. Lin Yu stood beneath the shadow of a tree, her features as beautiful as jade. Chen Lüli's black Brute slowly pulled up in front of her. A car like that stopping on a street in the old town so early in the morning drew quite a bit of attention.

Lin Yu bent down to look at him.

The window rolled down, and the doors unlocked.

Lin Yu opened the door and got in. His car carried a faint scent of cedar, the same fragrance he wore. Chen Lüli started the car and drove to a traffic light. He took a bottle of Evian mineral water from the center console, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to Lin Yu. "Did you eat breakfast?"

Lin Yu took it and said, "A few bites of bread. What about you?"

Chen Lüli said, "I had a cup of pour-over coffee."

Ahem.

The plot thickened.

P.S. I saw my babies saying it was hard to stay up late, so I updated early.

There are 200 red packets for this chapter. See you tomorrow. Let's schedule the next chapter for 10 p.m. tomorrow night too.

Chapter 18

"Oh," Lin Yu said, holding the Evian. "Do you want something else to eat?"

Chen Lüli glanced sideways at her. "If you want something, I'll find a place to stop."

Lin Yu met his eyes and shook her head. "I'm not hungry, but are you sure you don't need to eat?"

"No."

The light turned green, and he started the car again.

Lin Yu leaned back in her seat. She rarely rode in his car. In high school and college, they had both taken public transportation. After graduation, they returned to Li City and each got a car. His cars seemed to appear out of thin air, and they were all black, including that heavy motorcycle. She later heard from Ming Yu that he had gone abroad to pick up the motorcycle himself and brought it back through Berlin Airlines.

There was a national highway from Li City to East City, but it carried a lot of traffic. Chen Lüli took the expressway instead. There were plenty of cars there too, but traffic flowed freely, at least, and the road conditions were good.

The gleaming black Brute rode steadily as the shadows of trees flashed past in reverse. The sun had barely peeked out before dark clouds covered it. Chen Lüli propped up his chin as he watched the road.

Lin Yu took a sip of Evian, her scarf resting across her lap.

Chen Lüli's voice was low and steady. "Who introduced you to Li Yin?"

Lin Yu had been lost in thought, wondering what she might see when they reached East City. She abruptly came back to herself and looked at him, meeting his gaze. He quickly looked back at the road as he drove. Lin Yu replied, "My mom."

"Why did Auntie Zhong introduce him to you?"

Lin Yu said softly, "His mother and my mom are colleagues. They're both professors at Li University. His father is a teacher at Li University Affiliated Secondary School."

Chen Lüli raised an eyebrow slightly, his hands on the steering wheel. "Has he already bought an apartment in Li City?"

"He has."

"And he's definitely going to settle in Li City in the future?"

Lin Yu pressed her lips together. "That's what he said when our parents met."

Chen Lüli tapped the steering wheel a few times with his fingertips. "Auntie Zhong has seen a lot of the world. She's taught hundreds, if not thousands, of students. Couldn't she see the weakness in Li Yin's character?"

Lin Yu looked at him. "What weakness?"

Chen Lüli met her eyes with his long, narrow ones. "The weakness of letting others push him around."

Lin Yu felt a slight tug at her heart.

She pressed her lips together and said, "He... has his good points too. He's easygoing and easy to get along with."

She lowered her eyes.

Chen Lüli looked at her for a few seconds, nearly laughing in anger. "You're still speaking up for him?"

Lin Yu looked up sharply and met his eyes. "Isn't it true? Someone with his personality really is easy to get along with. Being with him is relatively relaxing."

"Relatively relaxing? So being with me puts you under a lot of pressure?" he shot back instinctively.

Lin Yu was taken aback.

Chen Lüli looked at her for a few seconds, then turned his gaze back to the road and turned the steering wheel, overtaking a black sedan ahead. The black Brute sped along brazenly. The other driver nearly stuck his head out to curse, but when he saw the car's make, he calmed down a little. After all, it was a sport coupe.

Lin Yu looked at Chen Lüli's profile.

He had regained that composure of his and drove with his chin propped up.

Lin Yu was quiet for a few seconds.

She said, "We've known each other for so many years. A close friend and a boyfriend aren't the same."

Chen Lüli tightened his grip on the steering wheel, nearly laughing in anger again.

He recalled how she had charged at him in the game and stabbed him dead, and how the ice queen outfit had fallen onto that default skin. Hadn't she seen that he had never intended to kill her then, that he had gone past her to deal with Li Yin?

Even after killing Li Yin, he hadn't intended to touch her.

And how had she treated him?

He clenched his teeth.

Lin Yu fell silent too, fiddling with the bottle in her hands. How could she not feel pressure being with a man she had liked for so many years? She had almost answered him just now: yes, she felt a lot of pressure. Every moment, she worked hard to stay composed and calm, burying her feelings deep, afraid she might let something slip if she wasn't careful, afraid he would see even a little of what was on her mind, see through even a little of her behavior. Even when she went to feed Xiao Diu, she stayed as far from his territory as she could, afraid she would fall deeper and deeper.

Neither spoke again. The East City expressway exit was already in sight. The trip took less than an hour and a half by the national highway, and it was even faster by expressway; they arrived in about fifty-one minutes. After leaving the expressway, the black Brute headed toward a hotel in the central district, its destination clear and its purpose obvious.

Lin Yu's grip on the bottle of Evian loosened instead.

The black Brute was brazen, stopping right at the hotel entrance. Chen Lüli unfastened his seat belt and said, "Jiang Yingshan came to East City to meet a client last night. He ran into Li Yin and his superior at this hotel."

Lin Yu turned to look at the hotel entrance.

It was a long-established five-star hotel, dazzling in gold and jade, its decor luxurious and gleaming gold, completely unlike the newer brands. It seemed as though it should have been left behind long ago, yet it was splendid and high-end, still standing firm among all the minimalist brands of the day, extravagant to the extreme.

Lin Yu pushed open the door and got out. The wind was strong, blowing her hair out of place as she walked to the entrance.

The phone in her coat pocket rang. Jiang Zao had sent a long message about the character and past of Li Yin's superior, Qin Jialan, but Lin Yu didn't take it out to read. She looked at the hotel lobby and found it somewhat absurd. In her very first relationship, she had to come to a hotel to catch her boyfriend cheating.

If her mother found out, she could imagine the scene.

Chen Lüli came up behind her, his hands in his trouser pockets. His voice was mild as he said, "Out of their whole team, only Li Yin and his superior are staying here. In the middle of the night, Qin Jialan helped Li Yin into his room."

Lin Yu's heart thumped, though she didn't know why. She folded her arms and turned around.

She found herself facing Chen Lüli.

Chen Lüli lowered his eyes to her. Lin Yu looked relatively calm. His gaze swept over the corners of her eyes and her eyes themselves; there was no glimmer of tears. Lin Yu brushed away the hair the wind had blown across her face and looked up, as beautiful as a painting. "Let's wait here. I'll call him."

Chen Lüli's brow lifted slightly. "You're not going upstairs?"

Lin Yu shook her head.

Chen Lüli didn't answer. He raised his eyes to look at the lobby behind her, just as someone came down in the elevator. He glanced at the two people getting out, then brought his gaze back to Lin Yu's face. "How far have things gone between you and him?"

Lin Yu's heart skipped a beat. She looked up from her phone and met his eyes. Pressing her lips together, she found it hard to talk about this in front of him. Before now, there had been a certain distance and sense of boundaries between them as close friends. She shook her head gently and said, "We're still just getting to know each other."

Chen Lüli watched her in silence, his eyes already narrowed.

Hearing her answer, he raised his brows slightly, a trace of relief showing through.

He said, "He's right behind you. Let's catch him in the act."

Hearing that, Lin Yu turned to look.

She immediately saw the two people by the elevator doors. Li Yin was about to walk out when Qin Jialan said something, and he stopped. They were some distance away, but Lin Yu could see a hint of restraint on his face. Then Qin Jialan said something else, and he still didn't take a step forward.

The blue shirt he wore was a little loose, and he carried a laptop in his hand. Qin Jialan folded her arms and gestured. Li Yin tightened his grip on the laptop, and after a few seconds, he walked over to her. Qin Jialan smiled, raised a hand to straighten his collar, and spoke to him at length.

Her fingertips even brushed his neck.

Lin Yu watched the scene, unsure what she was thinking. She had been quite happy during the short time they had dated, but now she felt a little upset. She didn't know whether it was because of the scene before her or because of those few days they had spent together. Li Yin moved and came toward the entrance. Qin Jialan lowered her arms and came this way too.

Li Yin focused his gaze and saw the figure standing at the hotel entrance. He stopped abruptly.

The wind was strong, blowing Lin Yu's hair out of place, with a sky full of dark clouds behind her.

Chen Lüli looked down at her for a few seconds, afraid she would be embarrassed. As Li Yin moved his legs weakly and was about to speak, Chen Lüli raised a large hand and covered Lin Yu's eyes from behind.

A hard chest pressed against her without warning, bringing that familiar scent of cedar, and everything went dark before Lin Yu's eyes.

Chen Lüli bent down, his breath right by her ear. "Tell him to get lost."

Lin Yu was slightly taken aback.

She instinctively reached up to pull his hand away.

Li Yin quickened his steps, but he looked as though he had just been sentenced, his face startlingly pale. He stammered, looking deeply at Lin Yu, "Wife-"

Chen Lüli abruptly raised his head. "What did you call her?"

Li Yin met the man's cool, distant, questioning gaze and paused again. He knew they were close friends and classmates and must have a deep bond. Now that he himself had done wrong, President Chen would naturally stand up for Lin Yu too. Chen Lüli's voice was as cold as an ice sculpture. "How long have you even been dating? And you're already calling her 'wife'? You have no sense of propriety, so it's no wonder you fall for it the moment someone beckons."

Li Yin swayed on his feet, his face already as white as paper. He had never expected Lin Yu to appear here.

Lin Yu finally managed to pull Chen Lüli's hand down. Light returned to her eyes, and she looked at Li Yin, calm and composed. "Actually, before today, I was still thinking that if it was just a small incident at the dinner, I could understand. So I waited for you. But now that I've seen you here, I want to ask you: do you know what you're doing?"