Boss Lu: A reborn life is destined to be without regrets!
Chapter 240 - 181. Countdown!

Chapter 240: 181. Countdown!

The noise at VOX was deafening, the bar lights glittering and myriad.

A man and a woman’s fingertips intertwined, gazing into each other’s eyes.

In their collective gaze, a subtle tension was vaguely concealed.

...

Human limits are meant to be surpassed.

Such things, once done the first time, make second attempts no longer insurmountable chasms.

Even determination and courage are not necessary.

Lies don’t hurt people, it’s the truth that cuts deep.

Guan Yongyi didn’t want her best friend to misunderstand, much less to hurt her.

So, she easily deceived her best friend with practiced ease.

"Ride faster, hurry up!"

Those two well-made martinis ultimately went to waste in the late night at VOX.

The short-haired girl sat on the back seat of the electric bike, arms tightly wrapped around, eyes gently narrowed in the night breeze.

"I didn’t expect you to be so good at sweet-talking..."

The voice from the front was loaded with meaning.

"Shut up! It’s all your fault! Who asked you to drag me out this late!"

Guan Yongyi puckered her lips, thumped his back, her fair cheeks flushed with red.

For some reason, she could have just told the truth, but when it came to voicing it, the words morphed into a different answer.

"Don’t worry, I’ve calculated the time. It’ll take her at least twenty minutes to pack up in her dorm and drive here to Jiangnan Garden, not counting traffic."

Mr. Lu was confident: "But it’s different for us on an electric bike, we’ll be home in ten minutes."

It turned out Zhou Sinin was planning to stay over at her friend’s place. Seeing no response to her WeChat message, she decided to just call.

It was also fortunate she wasn’t in a long call with Guan Yongyi; even if the latter acted well, the longer it went, the more likely she’d slip up.

"Stop bragging, just hurry up."

"Why the rush? There’s a red light ahead. If we have an accident, it won’t be easy to explain. To others, we’d look like a pair of drunk, unfortunate lovebirds caught in a disaster..."

"Who’s your lovebird!"

Light Valley was indeed not far from Jiangnan Garden. Going full speed on the electric bike, the two arrived at the complex before Zhou Sinin.

Passing by the security guard’s post, Lu Jincheng firmly pressed the brakes, and under the short-haired girl’s skeptical gaze, he patted his pocket before walking into the guardroom.

"What are you doing?"

"Just saying hello, no worries."

Finally, at the base of building number six, Guan Yongyi leaped off the electric bike almost as if she was flying, sprinted to the entrance in three long strides, and with a turn, waved to the man, calling out loudly.

"I’m going up to clean up, bye!"

She was in a rush, and even her goodbyes seemed casual.

Her make-up wasn’t removed, her clothes weren’t changed, and the smell of alcohol lingered on her breath...

Oh no, oh no, her best friend was about to arrive, what to do?

"Wait for me... I left my pen and notebook at your place."

But the man also stepped off the bike, locked it up, and with a smile, followed after her.

"Lu Jincheng, are you a pig!"

Guan Yongyi pouted, her face exasperated, as she turned and stormed up the stairs.

She had to clean out all of his things if the act was to be complete.

The short-haired girl was preoccupied, and naturally, her movements were faster than usual.

Grabbing the keys, opening the door, changing shoes, hanging up clothes, sweeping a glance around.

Then, in one motion, she grabbed the bag containing pen and paper from the sofa and shoved it into the hands of the man who had just entered.

"Go, go, go, goodbye!"

"You’re so mean... why are you in such a hurry to get rid of me?"

Mr. Lu, at that moment, wore a relaxed expression, pressing down on her hand with a leisurely smile.

"I’m not rushing you out, ah, you know what I mean, I haven’t cleaned up yet, and she’s nearly here!"

Guan Yongyi spoke with a mix of reluctance and urgency, a warmth in her cool eyes reflecting red, as if the snow of a whole season had melted away in her gaze.

"I was still enjoying myself."

The man stayed calm, lowering his voice, locking eyes with her.

"Yeah, I know..."

Guan Yongyi glanced at her phone again: "Next time, we’ll go out again some other day!"

About five or six minutes left.

Maybe even sooner.

"I mean... it’s not that I didn’t enjoy our outing."

"Hmm?"

"I mean, the time spent with you was too short, it was unsatisfying."

The man tugged at his collar, a button came undone with a twist of his finger.

In a showing of strength, the contours beneath his broad arms were ready to reveal themselves against the light, Lu Jincheng’s jawline sharp and distinct.

Guan Yongyi stood frozen as if under an immobilization spell.

He... he... he...

In an instant, her brain also crashed, and she didn’t know what to say.

"Let me hold you one more time before I go, okay?"

"..."

A superfluous question.

Like one must tread steps to descend a staircase, there was simply no need to seek the other’s consent.

Lu Jincheng took a step forward, arms outstretched horizontally, the bag fell to the ground in free fall, and his forearms then tightened in a parallel embrace.

He held Guan Yongyi.

For as long as they had known each other, this was their first face-to-face hug.

It was not like the friendship-based acts of leaning on shoulders, wrapping arms around waists, or other gestures that were more than friends yet less than lovers.

This was a heart-to-heart, chest-to-chest, face-to-face embrace.

Through the two layers of clothing, it felt as though they could sense each other’s throbbing heartbeats.

"..."

Guan Yongyi’s half-buried face rested on his shoulder, her cheeks red as fiery clouds.

Time seemed to stand still, the tension inherent to the word "ambiguous" fissuring and multiplying, surging and steaming in the air with the countdown to another girl’s arrival.

Embraces have no sound.

Yet at the point where their skin touched, it was deafening.

Seconds later, the short-haired girl’s limp arms found their promised place.

She also wrapped her arms around the man’s back.

"Alright, now I really should go."

It was unclear how much time had passed, maybe only a minute, perhaps more.

But Guan Yongyi still kept something in mind, and she patted Lu Jincheng on the back as a reminder.

That’s enough.

Let it end here.

For tonight.

Zhou Sinin was really about to arrive.

Out of Lu Jincheng’s sight, she let out a light sigh.

"It’s okay."

Yet the man showed no sign of wanting to move an inch.

"???"

She lifted her head, tilted her cheeks to the left, and met the man’s eyes.

In his gaze, there was a hint of confusion, but much more haziness.

"I told you, don’t rush."

Lu Jincheng’s lips curved effortlessly.

"I’ve informed the guard about her license plate number; they’ll give me a call when the barrier is lifted."

"You..."

Guan Yongyi bit her lip hard, her emotions complex, joy mixed with dots of exhilaration.

"So, from the gate to building 6 plus parking the car, we have at least..."

The man arched his eyebrows and leaned into her ear.

Even his words seemed to exhale the steaming heat of strategic command, scorching the very tips of the heart.

"Three minutes."

They were extremely close, almost cheek to cheek. Perhaps with the immediate farewell in mind, Guan Yongyi had no objections.

But as the countdown extended from seconds to minutes...

The tension that grew from imperceptible to ready to burst nearly suffocated her.

She had never been this close to any man before.

Nor had she ever imagined herself drunk and staggering into a man’s embrace, sharing the same patch of air.

Though she had never experienced it, she somehow guessed what would happen in the next few seconds.

Which was now.

"Don’t... don’t..."

Her chin was seized.

"Lu Jincheng... she’s about to..."

Their eyes locked.

"No..."

The man kissed her.

"Mmm..."

The sweat-stained phone was discarded.

Forget the countdown, her imminent arrival, the impending chaos...

It didn’t matter anymore.

She tiptoed, closed her eyes tightly.