Chapter 4

When Lin Yu reached Chen Lüli's office, a programmer recognized her and immediately greeted her. "Morning, Sister Yuyu!"

Lin Yu smiled. "Morning."

She gestured toward the office with her eyes.

The programmer raised a hand and pointed. "He's inside."

Lin Yu nodded and pushed the door open.

She immediately spotted the man in a black shirt, asleep with his head on his desk. His office was enormous, but its style was much like his home: black and gray, with a somewhat cold, austere feel.

Perhaps the lounge in the new office area wasn't ready yet, because he had simply slept at his desk. He had changed his shirt; this one had gold thread at the cuffs, giving it a more distinguished look.

At two in the morning, he had still been in Dream Fiend, helping her obtain fire coins. He hadn't logged off when she did, so it was possible he hadn't left the company last night.

Lin Yu carefully placed the breakfast he had ordered within his reach.

It reminded her of the open lectures they had attended in college. He used to sleep like this in a corner at the back. His phone lit up beside him; Ming Yu was sending him messages.

Lin Yu watched his sleeping face for a few seconds, then turned to leave.

Just as she turned, he opened his eyes. His long, narrow eyes still held traces of the weariness and detachment of someone newly awake. Lin Yu's heart skipped a beat. When he saw who it was, the distance in his eyes faded, and he asked in a low, husky voice, "Here to bring me breakfast?"

Lin Yu nodded.

She pushed the breakfast across the desk. "Were you at the company all last night?"

"Yeah. If I'm still busy tonight, could you feed Xiao Diu for me again?" He rubbed his neck, sat up, and leaned back in his chair to look at her.

"Okay," Lin Yu said.

When she returned to the shop, the first rush had just ended. Xiao Li, the young shop assistant, was arranging the bread display, while the baker yawned as he and the manager packaged bread.

A few scattered customers were drinking coffee and chatting.

When Xiao Li saw Lin Yu, she smiled. "Sister Yu, did you bring President Chen breakfast?"

Lin Yu took off her scarf, folded it, and placed it with the red one. She answered with a hum, and Xiao Li brushed the crumbs from a tray. "President Chen is so handsome. Sister Yu, lots of people must have liked him when you were in school, right?"

Lin Yu opened the cake display, took the cakes brought out from the kitchen, and put them inside. "Quite a lot did, but he was aloof and didn't pay them much attention."

Xiao Li laughed. "I can tell."

Lin Yu tapped her on the head. "Get back to work."

"Okay!"

A little after ten, Li Yin woke up and replied to Lin Yu's message.

Li Yin: I slept until now. I was going to take a break and come see you at your shop, but then I got called back to the company for a meeting.

Lin Yu found a moment to reply: You'd better get going, then.

Li Yin: I definitely won't work overtime tonight. Let's go on a date.

Lin Yu: Okay!

They were busy for a while at noon, and again during the afternoon tea rush. The shop had a new product, so Lin Yu packed one to take with her when she went to pick up Li Yin.

Li Yin had been in meetings all day and could leave on time a little after five.

When Lin Yu arrived downstairs at Genesis Tower, Li Yin came out wearing a white T-shirt, jeans, and a black jacket. Their eyes met, and his lit up slightly as he walked toward her. Smiling, Lin Yu handed him the drink she was holding. "It's new. Give it a try."

Li Yin took it, his eyes fixed on Lin Yu.

She wore a scarf pieced together in shades of light pink. Her features were lovely, and her fair skin had a rosy glow. Li Yin was a little dazed by the sight of her. He had fallen in love with her at first sight on their blind date.

Lin Yu blinked. "Li Yin?"

Li Yin came back to himself, his ears turning a little red. "Yes?"

Lin Yu smiled.

Li Yin thought he was being silly too, and smiled. He pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. Lin Yu took it. "What's this?"

"Take a look."

Li Yin gestured for her to open it.

Lin Yu unfolded the paper and found that it was a summary he had written of the coffee he'd tried from nearby shops recently. She found him both funny and cute. The last line read:

-Xiao Yu's Shop still has the best coffee.

Lin Yu's eyes curved into a smile. "You didn't let your personal feelings influence this summary even a little?"

"No, I'm serious." Li Yin led her along and asked, "What would you like for dinner?"

Lin Yu walked beside him toward the parking lot. "You decide."

"Okay."

The setting sun shone on Lin Yu and Li Yin as a light breeze blew. Li Yin never looked away, his gaze resting on her face.

Jiang Yingshan and Chen Lüli walked out of the lobby and immediately saw the young couple talking. Jiang Yingshan recognized Li Yin at once as the guy whose girlfriend had sent him more than a dozen coffees yesterday. He had been a little envious then, and now, seeing the girlfriend at his side, he was even more jealous.

Here it is.

Paragraph comments are open now, darlings, so feel free to say whatever you like.

A hundred red packets for this chapter. See you tomorrow.

Chapter 4

"Damn, his girlfriend's that pretty?"

"I think she looks familiar. I think she's the owner of a popular shop nearby." Jiang Yingshan had only just returned from abroad and wasn't very familiar with the area yet.

Chen Lüli took out a cigarette and lit it, without answering Jiang Yingshan.

Smoke curled upward. His gaze lingered, settling on Lin Yu. She was holding some sort of paper, her eyes curved with laughter as she turned to look at Li Yin.

The sight turned Li Yin's ears bright red.

Jiang Yingshan was jealous all over again.

"Why can't a beautiful woman like that be my girlfriend?"

Chen Lüli held his cigarette between his fingers and blew out a cloud of smoke. "You were too late," he said mildly.

Jiang Yingshan beat his chest.

Jiang Yingshan watched Lin Yu get into Li Yin's car. Li Yin started the engine, and Lin Yu put the paper away. When she looked up, she vaguely made out a tall man standing at the entrance to the tower.

From a distance, he looked like Chen Lüli.

They were far apart.

So Lin Yu didn't greet him.

Since Lin Yu worked in the food industry herself, Li Yin had a hard time choosing a restaurant. He looked online and found a few for her to choose from. Lin Yu took his phone and laughed when she saw them. "You really are a science major. You're so thorough."

Li Yin tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his ears reddening again. "You work in food, so you must have eaten at a lot of places. I picked a few that were less well-known but had great reviews, based on online recommendations, comments, and rankings in posts."

"Hmm, I can't let your efforts go to waste. Let's go with this one." Lin Yu handed the phone back to Li Yin.

Li Yin looked at it.

It was a Hainanese coconut chicken restaurant. The broth was said to be wonderfully fragrant and sweet. He put down the phone and smiled. "Okay."

Lin Yu smiled too and settled back in her seat.

She looked out the window as the car happened to pass Nansha No. 1 High School.

It was Saturday, so there weren't many people at the school gate. Presumably, only the seniors were inside studying. It was Lin Yu's alma mater, and Chen Lüli's too.

When she first began to like Chen Lüli, she hadn't known Ming Yu was by his side.

That day, rain was pouring down, and the light from the bus stop blurred across the ground and water beneath a dark, oppressive sky. Lin Yu had left school late. By the time she got on the bus, it had already started moving. She folded her umbrella as she walked farther inside, holding the dripping thing with nowhere to put it. Her shoulders and the ends of her hair were wet too.

A boy stood beside her, holding the rail with one hand and using his phone with the other.

Even on a rainy day, there were quite a few people on the bus. The rain had made everything damp and humid, and the ride was unsteady. Electric bikes and bicycles kept weaving across its path, making the bus stop and start. The first time it braked, Lin Yu lost her footing and stumbled into the boy's arms with the momentum.

The boy glanced at her in surprise. Lin Yu hurriedly apologized, but she also got a clear look at his face. In the dim light, with neon from outside falling across it, his sharply defined features held a touch of coolness, and his dark eyes were faintly distant. When she met his gaze, she went red from her cheeks to her ears and all the way down her neck. She gripped the hanging strap tightly, straightened up, and steadied herself.

But before long, the bus braked hard a second time.

Traffic outside was in chaos. Lin Yu twisted her wrist but still crashed into his arms again. At that moment, she wanted to die, and she apologized once more amid the crowded passengers.

Once she was steady again, the boy put away his phone, which she had almost knocked to the floor. He stepped farther inside and changed positions, moving a little farther away from her.

Lin Yu felt so ashamed that she couldn't lift her head, and her wrist hurt too.

She stared straight ahead, taking up two spots by herself, until the bus pulled up at a stop. The boy let go of the hanging strap and straightened up from the partition, preparing to get off.

Before he got off, he spoke to Lin Yu.

"Come stand by the partition and lean against it." His voice was clear, with a hint of languor, somewhat unlike his icy expression.

Caught off guard, Lin Yu looked up.

But the boy had already gotten off, his long legs carrying him up the bus stop steps and through the crowd. He soon disappeared from sight. Seeing more people get on and squeeze toward the back, Lin Yu hurried over and leaned against the partition. She looked out the window, trying to catch sight of him again through the hazy curtain of rain.

But she didn't.

It wasn't until the next day at school, when Jiang Zao brought her a group photo of their class, that she spotted a boy standing at the very back, his face turned slightly away from the sun and not quite looking at the camera. Only then did she learn that the boy on the bus, the one she had bumped into twice and who had given her his place, was called Chen Lüli.

He was the academic god who held the number one spot in the entire school year-round.

That was when she began to like him, and because she liked him, she wanted to know more about him.

And in getting to know him,

she saw Ming Yu at his side.

Ming Yu was also an academic ace, and she had an especially good personality.

After unexpectedly becoming friends with them, Lin Yu worked hard to rein in her feelings for Chen Lüli.

The car rounded a corner, leaving the century-old school behind.

Li Yin called Lin Yu's name.

Lin Yu came back to herself and looked at him beneath the neon lights, her lips lifting instinctively. "Hmm?"

Li Yin smiled at her. "Are you cold? Should I turn up the heat?"

Lin Yu shook her head. "No. Look how much I'm wearing."