Boss Lu: A reborn life is destined to be without regrets!
Chapter 237 - 179. Release water and nurture fish_2

Chapter 237: 179. Release water and nurture fish_2

His relationship with her had grown closer without them even realizing it.

How bitter was that?

Whenever she thought of the bitterness, her heart felt like it had sunk into icy cold waters, unspeakably sour.

Zhou Sinin had told her clearly that she liked Lu Jincheng!

She liked him so much, she was so outstanding, and they might... also like each other.

They would eventually end up together.

Yet, she found herself getting so close to the boy her best friend liked.

She had actually considered setting clear boundaries with Lu Jincheng, making a distinct separation.

She had thought about it.

But on that night when she was emotionally shattered, Lu Jincheng appeared at her doorstep, like a warrior riding a rainbow-colored cloud.

Rather than establishing boundaries, several intersections were added instead.

Now, they not only had to raise a kitten together but also prepare a thesis and strive for journal publication. It might even become a quality project for the school to compete for awards.

Of course, these weren’t Lu Jincheng’s plans; they were all mentioned offhandedly by Professor Li during a lecture in classroom 302.

Fools often move against the tide, while the wise understand how to assess the situation, and those with certain positions know how to leverage it.

In the realm of academics, Mr. Lu’s ideas couldn’t compare to Professor Li Suying’s.

With just a few words, she elevated the whole topic, not only enhancing its importance but also drawing an even bigger sweet pie on the basis of Lu Jincheng’s promises.

Guan Yongyi realized she truly couldn’t escape now.

But it didn’t matter.

Before they officially announced they were together, Guan Yongyi could still deceive herself.

They were just friends.

...

"Put an egg in it! I want to eat an egg!"

As a guest from afar.

Guan Yongyi actually ran to the kitchen and cooked a meal for the guest.

Even if it was just the simplest boiled noodles.

"My... my fried eggs always burn."

The short-haired girl fiddled with the spicy ramen in the pot with chopsticks, her face blushing, avoiding looking at the man beside her as she stammered.

"It’s okay, just set these aside and grab two eggs for me."

Lu Jincheng patted her shoulder, weighed the frying pan in his hand, looking confident.

"Learn something!"

His culinary skills were just average, but they were enough to fool a cooking novice like Guan Guan.

"Oh."

Guan Yongyi moved aside obediently, took two eggs from the refrigerator, and handed them to Lu Jincheng in a bowl.

He shook his wrist lightly, cracked the two eggs, and poured them into the frying pan with oil.

The egg whites mixed with the yolks slid over the olive oil, emitting a delightful sizzling sound.

Thyme, salt, pepper—when the fried eggs turned an enticing golden brown, Mr. Lu carefully transferred them onto a plate that was passed to him.

They were quite in sync.

Everything was ready; boiling noodles and frying eggs took about ten minutes.

Lu Jincheng turned off the kitchen hood overhead, and a slight breeze sound also stopped abruptly.

"Shall we eat?"

"Yeah!"

Guan Yongyi seemed to be in good spirits, her steps much quicker than usual as she moved plates around in flip-flops, her cheeks hidden in the steam from the spicy noodles, making her blush indiscernible.

"Your cooking isn’t too bad."

The girl ate bit by bit, a trace of surprise hidden in her sparkling eyes.

After all, he was just a boy who had started college; how many could cook?

"What, seeing my cooking skills, you want me to entertain guests with you?"

Lu Jincheng raised an eyebrow, following with a smile.

"Really... keep dreaming."

Guan Yongyi was taken aback at first, instinctively wanting to agree, then quickly realized what he meant and hurriedly suppressed her response.

He mentioned entertaining guests together?

This guy really saw himself as the host.

But... then who was the guest?

It was very clear between the lines; it seemed it could only be Zhou Sinin.

The two of us cooking for Si si in the kitchen?

Just thinking about that scenario, Guan Yongyi couldn’t help but bow her head, her toes tensed.

That’s too strange, right?

She shook her head suddenly, her chopsticks forcefully poking at the ramen, trying to clear her swirling thoughts.

This kind of joking should not continue!

And don’t even think about it!

When Lu Jincheng saw her cheeks turning from white to red, he couldn’t help but laugh and forked the last piece of fried egg into his mouth.

"Alright, alright, let’s eat."

Before long, Guan Yongyi finished eating, wiped her mouth early, and sat opposite him.

"Just leave the plates and bowls here, I’ll wash them all later tonight."

"Okay."

Mr. Lu hated these trivial chores, and he wasn’t polite with her.

After having his fill, the man leaned back on the sofa playing with his smartphone, with the clattering sounds from the kitchen reaching his ears.

Watching Guan Yongyi earnestly washing the dishes, Mr. Lu suddenly found her offline presence to be unusually adorable.

This kind of adorableness was something impossible to see during online chats with Guan Yongyi.

In fact, Mr. Lu in his past life didn’t like chatting online either.

He loved efficiency, directness, and smoothness.

Language had already diminished the effectiveness of interactions, let alone text.

Humans shouldn’t be staring at an avatar, transmitting emoticons one after another, wasting time meant for other activities on typing.

Interactions between people need to be face to face, with eye contact, savoring each other’s tone and scent, forming a bond between individuals.

This bond couldn’t be matched even with tens of thousands of characters.

Even so, this was also a compromise from the spiritual to the linguistic realm.

It’s just that he no longer had a better solution, the drawback of multi-tasking was that it was impossible to meet everyone at the same time.

Unless it was in a wonderfully liberating party.

...

"Look, they’ve already started selling, their prices are lower than ours, and they’ve got quite a few transactions too."

Sitting on the sofa, freshly wiped hands holding two bottles of beer, Guan Yongyi sat near the man, looking at the smartphone screen he handed over.

On it was a shop called "Plaid Story", prominently displaying products highly similar to "All Dreams."

"Didn’t you think of a bunch of nasty tactics last time? Have you made a move?"

Guan Yongyi turned her head, curiously staring into Lu Jincheng’s eyes.

"Very soon."

Mr. Lu said with a smile, "The design patent should probably be approved by the weekend. I’ve already arranged for Ji Editor from the circle to prepare the draft. After letting the knockoffs ferment a bit longer, I will strike."

"Why not launch it now?"

The girl blinked her eyes.

"You wouldn’t understand, right? It’s just one shop engaging in knockoffs now, without having created a trend, crushing it now would be meaningless."

"If this shop gets squashed before selling a few items, there will soon be another, and it won’t fuel the genuine versus knockoff dispute, nor will the idea of supporting authentic products solidify in the public’s mind."

"You studied law, you know there’s a term in court execution called ’releasing water to nurture fish’? What I’m doing is similar to that."

Guan Yongyi nodded her head, looking deep in thought.

"No wonder you manage to make money..."

The two chatted about serious matters on the sofa for a good while, drinking the craft beer down to the last drop.

"Is that it?"

"That was the last two bottles, there’s none left in the house."

"Alright then."

But it was still early, Lu Jincheng glanced at the screen of his smartphone, then at Guan Yongyi sitting next to him, and on a whim.

"How about we change locations for a drink?"

"Huh?"

Guan Yongyi subconsciously smoothed her hair, widened her eyes, and asked.

"I know a place that’s great for drinking, it’s in Light Valley, wanna go?"

"Isn’t that too far... We can’t drive."

"I have an electric scooter! It’s just parked nearby, what do you say? If we love it, let’s move!"

By chance, the man’s scooter was parked in Jiangnan Garden.

This eliminated any symbolic resistance from Guan Yongyi.

"Stop thinking about it, let’s go! There’s a band playing!"

Lu Jincheng grabbed her hand, pulling her up from the sofa.

"Really?"

"That’s the famous VOX!"

Guan Yongyi, barefoot, dashed to the mirror, hesitated no more.

She touched up her lipstick, changed her outfit, left the house, and then took the back seat on Lu Jincheng’s electric scooter.

The wind brushed against her cheek, her arms tightly embracing the man’s sturdy chest.

She gently squinted her eyes.