Reborn in the 80s: Everyone Falls For Me
Chapter 182 - 181: Love Rival Attacks (2 More)

Chapter 182: Chapter 181: Love Rival Attacks (2 More)

The icy cool touch on his arm felt particularly comfortable, and Jin Yu squinted his eyes as he looked at her.

She was lying on the table, lazily blinking at him with a hint of envy in her eyes.

Jin Yu found her quite peculiar; it was such a hot day, yet she’d been cooking in the kitchen all along, and her hands were still icy cool.

And it wasn’t the clammy cool of sweat; her palms were dry, as if she had not sweated at all, but at night when it cooled down, her hands would become warm and soft, very comforting.

Xu Niannian was pinching Jin Yu’s arm, unaware that he had been watching her the entire time, while she was busy examining the muscles on his arm.

Her tender fingertips poked at the muscles on his arm, hard and firm; Xu Niannian wrinkled her dainty nose in disdain.

Jin Yu couldn’t help but laugh.

"Business was pretty good today," he said.

As soon as she heard this, Xu Niannian got excited; indeed, business had been very good that day, probably because the customers who had come to eat the day before had given positive feedback, bringing more people in.

She saw many customers brighten up after the first bite of their food, eagerly exclaiming how delicious it was.

Xu Niannian felt extremely satisfied.

She immediately perked up, straightened her body, and said, "You were right about yesterday; it was just the beginning. But indeed, we still need to hire a couple more workers."

Taking the opportunity of a lull in customers, Xu Niannian hurriedly took out the red paper and black brush she used for writing menus.

She wrote the word "Hiring" on it.

Hiring two employees, offering a monthly salary of 40 yuan each.

Xu Niannian was particularly generous. Ordinary factory workers earned 30 yuan a month, but she was offering 40. As for future raises, that would depend on individual performance.

As Xu Niannian was writing the job posting, Jin Yu sat beside her. Her brush writing was clean and neat but had a certain bold flair to it.

The strength of her brush strokes surprised him.

People say that one’s handwriting reflects their personality. Someone who could write with such a font was expected to have a quite free-spirited and generous character.

Yet, why did he feel that this young woman was more like a fox, capable of being both submissive and cunning, very clever?

But sometimes, she seemed like a soft bun, easily and quickly intimidated.

"Done, big task accomplished." Xu Niannian held up her work with an expression of having completed a significant national event, her bright eyes sparkling with delight.

Jin Yu found it somewhat amusing. Was this young girl always so positive and optimistic every day?

Her enthusiasm was very contagious.

"I’ll go hang this up," Jin Yu said as he took it from her hands to paste it outside. Just then, another customer came in. Jin Yu glanced over–a rather clean-cut young man, probably about seventeen or eighteen.

Liu Wendong paused to give Jin Yu a look as if he had made up his mind about something, then braved his way inside.

Seeing the customer, Xu Zhiqiang forced a smile and said, "Welcome."

That was what Xu Niannian had instructed him to do.

Hearing Xu Zhiqiang’s voice, Xu Niannian looked over.

The midday sun was fierce, and the sunlight somewhat blinding, making the customer’s silhouette hard to see against the backlight. Xu Niannian quickly got up from the table, "Hello, what would you like to order?"

As the newcomer sat down, Xu Niannian finally saw his face clearly. At first glance, he looked familiar.

Upon closer look, memories stored in this body surged forth, and Xu Niannian froze, her heart pounding fiercely.

She was certain that these weren’t her emotions.

It was an instinctual response left in the body.

"Liu Wendong..."

"Long time no see, Niannian," Liu Wendong lifted his head and showed Xu Niannian a faint smile.

This smile was very familiar to Xu Niannian.

Because this was the person the original owner of the body had kept secret deep inside her heart.

Although she behaved arrogantly and domineeringly at home, she was very concerned about her reputation outside. In school, she was just cold and looked down on others.

Liu Wendong was the secret hidden in her heart, and the original owner was especially fond of him, even carving his name on the inside of her arm for this man.

Xu Niannian had been aware of these memories since she had first been reborn into this body. Since Liu Wendong had never appeared before, and he and the original owner had only been in an ambiguous phase, never clarifying their relationship, she didn’t take it seriously.

But she hadn’t expected to see him today.

She stammered a bit, "...Long, long time no see."

Her heart "thumped" wildly, and her face grew hot—emotions that were not her own.

But she was sure that the only soul in her body was her own.

Jin Yu entered from outside and what he saw was Xu Niannian stammering, her gaze flickering, in a scene of coy and blushing shyness.

He subconsciously looked at the boy in front of her, the boy’s eyes on her filled with infatuation and tenderness.

The two were engaged in a tender eye-to-eye exchange, which suddenly made Jin Yu feel stiflingly uncomfortable, a sense of crisis erupting at that moment.

This person, he was "Dong".

Jin Yu sensed it immediately.

His hands, hanging at his sides, suddenly clenched, Jin Yu forced himself not to get angry, but the jealousy in his heart surged like a tsunami.

In front of him, she had never acted like this, yet he had no right to even question her.

"Niannian..." He called her in a hoarse voice, striding over to her: "Do you know him?"

Only then did Xu Niannian snap back to reality, seeing Jin Yu’s lengthened face, that weird flutter in her heart suddenly disappeared.

"Yeah, an old classmate," she said with a smile, then asked Liu Wendong: "What would you like to eat? Today’s on me."

There wasn’t much between her and Liu Wendong, and any feelings that existed belonged to the original host. Since the host had never made it clear, she might as well pretend she didn’t know.

Liu Wendong’s gaze locked tightly on her, wishing he could engrave every smile and frown of hers into his heart.

"I like everything you make," he murmured, revealing his inner thoughts.

Realizing he’d said what he shouldn’t have only after the words slipped out, he did not correct himself.

Upon hearing this, Xu Niannian’s scalp tingled, cringing at the cheesiness, but her body honestly reacted, as her face flushed hot.

Xu Niannian didn’t like Liu Wendong, she didn’t feel anything at all, and aside from feeling awkward, she just found his words cheesy.

But inexplicably, her face turned red, and her heart raced faster.

Moreover, it happened immediately after he finished speaking, in less than a second, her reaction came swift.

With the two seemingly oblivious to the world, Jin Yu felt a tightness in his throat, his heart clenched harshly.

He watched Xu Niannian’s reddening face, his eyes dark and intense.

Just looking at him made her feel uncomfortable, as if a lump blocked her chest, almost leaving her breathless.

Suddenly, without warning, he grabbed Xu Niannian’s wrist and dragged her into the kitchen.

With a startled "Ah" from Xu Niannian, Liu Wendong, seeing her treated so rudely, wanted to stand up and stop her, to confront Jin Yu.

Jin Yu glanced back with a sweep of his icy, startling gaze, pinning Liu Wendong in place, preventing him from moving a step forward.

By the time Liu Wendong recovered, Jin Yu had already pulled Xu Niannian into the kitchen.

Uncertain whether Xu Niannian was truly married or not, Liu Wendong hesitated, not knowing what to do, and could only sit mutely on his stool.

Xu Niannian was roughly pulled into the kitchen by Jin Yu and cornered against the wall.

"What are you doing?" Xu Niannian was annoyed, the wrist he was holding hurt so much she almost cried.

Jin Yu’s gaze was heavy as he looked at her, struggling to calm his anger, and cursed himself for finding it impossible.

"Who is he?"

"Liu Wendong, my classmate," Xu Niannian replied.

"Liu Wendong!" Jin Yu narrowed his eyes, it was indeed him.

The man she kept in her heart, whose name was carved onto her body.

"What is your relationship with him?" Jin Yu asked sternly.

Xu Niannian thought Jin Yu was being unreasonable: "I told you, he’s my classmate, are you sick in the head? You forget right after I say it."

"Do you like him?" Jin Yu asked, his voice dropping several notches, low and cold.

Of course, Xu Niannian liked him, but that was the original host; as for herself, she liked money.

But she felt no need to tell Jin Yu this.

Most importantly, Xu Niannian glanced at Jin Yu’s darkening face: "Who I like is none of your business. Why are you so angry? Didn’t we agree to a fake marriage, not to interfere with each other’s feelings?"

Xu Niannian simply didn’t understand why Jin Yu was angry, but when these words reached his ears, it seemed like she was admitting it indirectly.

For a moment, Jin Yu felt as if his chest had been fiercely clawed at, causing him pain.

This was the first time Jin Yu had ever been in love, he simply didn’t understand these romantic intricacies, nor did he know how to handle the current situation.

He felt terrible, extremely so, his chest was stuffy and painful, making him desperately want to do something, yet he remembered something very important.

From the beginning, she never liked him, nor did she ever think of making him take responsibility. It was he who insisted on taking responsibility.

Fearing that any reckless action might result in her completely shutting him out, his reason told him to calm down and think clearly, to slowly deal with his rival in love.