Young Brave Hearts – CH 047

Chapter 47

That night, Lu Rangchen drove off without a word.

He didn’t know where he was going.

He always said Zhu Yunque was stubborn and hard to appease, but when he got angry, he was the same—that cold, aloof aura made anyone think twice before approaching him.

The only unusual thing about him was that his terrible temper had never been shown to Zhu Yunque.

To the point that Zhu Yunque had almost forgotten how formidable Lu Rangchen used to be.

She called several times, but Lu Rangchen didn’t answer.

Zhu Yunque could only call Li Tie.

They made a WeChat call; they’d added each other yesterday and hadn’t exchanged a single word.

When Li Tie answered, he was quite puzzled. Hearing Zhu Yunque’s reason for calling, he was even more confused, saying that Lu Rangchen hadn’t said he was coming to see him.

Zhu Yunque was silent for a few seconds after hearing this, then said, “Okay, I understand, thank you.”

Just as she was about to hang up, Li Tie suddenly said, “Wait a minute, did you two have a fight?”

Zhu Yunque said no.

It was Lu Rangchen who was unilaterally angry.

He must be angry.

He slammed the car door so loudly.

Li Tie chuckled upon hearing this, saying, “No, girl, what did you do to make him so angry? You probably haven’t known him very long, so you don’t know him very well. He has a terrible temper, but how should I put it? He’s the type who doesn’t show his emotions directly.”

After he said that, Zhu Yunque was even more speechless.

Li Tie wasn’t the type to gossip behind people’s backs, so after thinking for a moment, he said, “I’ll ask him for you and see what’s going on.”

Zhu Yunque said okay.

Li Tie added, “Don’t overthink it. He probably had a fight with his family and is in a bad mood. He’s always like this; when he’s in a bad mood, he just shuts himself off and can’t talk to anyone. He’ll be fine once this blows over.”

Zhu Yunque: “…”

She immediately remembered the phone call from before.

Lu Rangchen was indeed in a bad mood.

Even so, he had been trying to comfort her.

Zhu Yunque suddenly felt a pang of unease.

She realized how little she understood Lu Rangchen.

She asked Li Tie, “Does Lu Rangchen have a bad relationship with his family?”

“To be precise, he has a bad relationship with his father.”

Li Tie left it at that regarding other people’s family matters, not saying anything more.

He hung up the phone.

Zhu Yunque was deep in thought.

This feeling was different from the bittersweetness of her past crush on Lu Rangchen. She couldn’t describe it, yet it inexplicably brought back memories of the past. She remembered the time Lu Rangchen visited her when she was sick, deliberately taking off that scarf and tossing it aside.

Later, Xu Linda told her that Lu Rangchen knew the scarf belonged to Zhao Qijia.

He seemed particularly sensitive to Zhao Qijia from the very beginning.

And this sensitivity was probably because he liked her.

During those days when she secretly harbored feelings for him, he was also silently caring for her.

The more she thought about it, the more unbearable it became for Zhu Yunque. Soon after, Li Tie called back. He must have asked around among his acquaintances, but no one knew where Lu Rangchen was or could contact him.

Zhu Yunque was truly numb at this point.

She suddenly felt terrified.

In the end, she could only contact Deng Zhe, asking him to help her think of a solution. Deng Zhe offered her a glimmer of hope, saying, “Could Lu Rangchen have flown back to the capital?”

His words were a wake-up call for Zhu Yunque.

Deng Zhe roughly understood the situation and, rather helplessly, said, “Lu Rangchen is very possessive and has a strong sense of pride. Part of it is that he doesn’t like Zhao Qijia, but he’s probably also incredibly jealous. He’s prone to being stubborn and argumentative. I suggest you try to appease him. Of course, as an outsider, I can only offer advice. I know you aren’t the type to back down easily. Even if you don’t contact him, he’ll come back to you once he calms down.”

After a pause, Deng Zhe comforted her as if he understood her perfectly, saying, “Don’t worry; Lu Rangchen likes you a lot. He can’t bear to lose you.”

These words of comfort made Zhu Yunque chuckle slightly.

She said, “I’ll coax him properly.”

Deng Zhe laughed, saying he was a grown man and nothing would happen to him, so she didn’t need to worry.

After saying this, Zhu Yunque’s tone sounded calmer.

But she was still a little uneasy after hanging up.

She opened her chat with Lu Rangchen and suddenly wanted to say something to him.

For example, that there really was nothing between her and Zhao Qijia, and no matter what Feng Yanlai thought, she didn’t like Zhao Qijia.

For example, that she cared about him a lot, and if she knew he had a disagreement with his family, she would definitely go to be with him.

For example, that she actually really disliked arguing with him; a cold war made her feel very insecure, and she was also afraid.

Her mind was a jumble of thoughts.

She kept editing and rewriting what she typed, hesitating whether she should send this kind of “long essay” that boys disliked.

Feng Yanlai tried to talk to her a few times, but she didn’t feel like replying.

Later, she simply locked herself in her bedroom and wouldn’t come out.

Outside, Feng Yanlai was still rambling on, praising Zhao Qijia and saying how wonderful he was and how perfect he would be as a boyfriend. Zhu Yunque couldn’t explain why, but suddenly felt incredibly stifled, her eyes welling up with tears. Regardless of whether it was reasonable or not, she sent a message to Lu Rangchen.

She said: 【Lu Rangchen, I hate you like this. I hate how you disappear and ignore people all the time.】

She also said: 【Conflicts can be resolved peacefully between two people. What kind of cold war is this?】

By the third message, Zhu Yunque had already lost her composure.

She didn’t know why she was so out of control.

She had never been in a relationship before, and her first one was with someone she had had a crush on for a long time. She was completely at a loss.

It seemed impossible not to care, impossible to remain indifferent.

As they talked, she started saying hurtful things.

She said, 【Lu Rangchen, if you don’t want me anymore, just say so. There’s no need to use this method.】

Typing simply couldn’t convey the same emotional impact as face-to-face interaction.

In Zhu Yunque’s mind, these words were meant as a playful complaint, but once sent, their destructive power was multiplied.

Lu Rangchen was truly helpless.

He had just arrived at the airport and turned off his phone’s “Do Not Disturb” mode when he saw Zhu Yunque’s WeChat message about “breaking up.”

On the small screen of his phone were various WeChat messages and calls asking him what was going on and where he was.

His eyes, however, could only see her three messages.

Like needles, pricking his heart, making him feel both pain and itch, even a slight urge to laugh.

Perhaps it was a matter of one thing overcoming another.

He would have ignored such words and tossed them aside if it were anyone else.

But not Zhu Yunque.

Sometimes, a single word or glance from her could imprison him completely.

Lu Rangchen stared down at his phone, suddenly let out a long sigh, and chuckled softly as he dialed the number back.

Zhu Yunque was sitting on the bed, hugging her knees, lost in thought.

Her heart leaped into her throat the moment she saw the caller ID.

The instant the call connected, she heard Lu Rangchen’s low, husky voice, a tone of helplessness tinged with indulgence, a tone of surrender, saying, “Zhu Yunque, are you being reasonable? Who doesn’t want whom?”

Hearing his voice, her chilled heart instantly warmed.

Zhu Yunque took a deep breath, and the tears welled up in her eyes.

She said, “You still understand reason.”

Lu Rangchen sensed something was off in her tone and frowned slightly.

Forget about checking in; he found a quiet place and called her.

“I’m not ignoring you.”

Lu Rangchen’s tone softened. “My phone was on Do Not Disturb the whole way; I couldn’t hear anyone’s calls.”

“Why was it on Do Not Disturb?”

“My mom kept calling me; it was really annoying.”

Zhu Yunque clutched the blanket and remained silent.

A few seconds later, she said, “Lu Rangchen, I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have kept it from you.”

Lu Rangchen chuckled. He said, “What did you hide from me? Your date with that guy surnamed Zhao?”

“It wasn’t a date. His mother brought him to my house for dinner.”

Lu Rangchen’s tone was quite concerned. “And then, did your mom try to set you two up?”

Zhu Yunque said, “Trying to set us up wouldn’t have worked. I’m already your girlfriend.”

Lu Rangchen thought she was actually very good at sweet-talking.

Really good at it.

It was just a matter of whether she wanted to or not.

He couldn’t help but chuckle softly. He said, “Just so you know, don’t say things like that next time.”

He took a deep breath. “That’s kind of scary.”

“…”

Zhu Yunque really hadn’t expected the second half of his statement to be like that. Her lips twitched inexplicably.

“So, you aren’t angry anymore?”

Lu Rangchen chuckled. “I’ve already gotten over it; why would I still be angry?”

On the way here, he drove with one hand, smoking and coughing profusely, before finally calming down.

Later, he thought about it; it wasn’t Zhu Yunque’s fault.

If she really had something going on with that guy surnamed Zhao, they wouldn’t be together.

But while Lu Rangchen was able to let go, Zhu Yunque could not. She said, “I thought you were going to be angry for a long time.”

Lu Rangchen laughed. “You really don’t want me to be happy, do you?”

Zhu Yunque said no. “I just felt I should comfort you.”

She couldn’t help but say, “There are so many things I want to tell you.”

She wanted to tell him how much she liked him and how afraid she was of never seeing him again. It felt like a void had suddenly appeared in her heart, one that only Lu Rangchen could fill.

The words fell.

There was an inexplicable silence on the other end of the phone.

When he spoke again, Lu Rangchen’s tone was somewhat emotional, a low, husky laugh: “You can coax me now too.”

“…”

Zhu Yunque clenched her fingers.

Lu Rangchen glanced at the flight schedule and said, “I’m at the airport, taking off soon. Can you leave tonight?”

Zhu Yunque admitted she was tempted.

She asked, “What time can I buy tickets at the earliest?”

“I don’t know.”

Lu Rangchen’s tone was casual, yet undercurrents surged. “But I should be able to buy tickets after midnight.”

He seemed to want to say something more, but did not, as if deliberately waiting for Zhu Yunque to speak first.

As it turned out, he was right.

Zhu Yunque mustered her courage and said, “Then you can help me buy them. I need to prepare, and I’ll pay you back later.”

She spoke as casually as a primary school student paying tuition.

Lu Rangchen let out a muffled laugh. “That’s enough.”

Zhu Yunque swallowed, a sweet smile playing on her lips.

Lu Rangchen’s tone softened considerably. He said, “I’ll buy it for you now and arrange a car for you. We’ll go back together after we get off the plane.”

Lu Rangchen meant what he said.

He made the arrangements for Zhu Yunque as soon as he hung up the phone.

It dragged on until almost midnight before Feng Yanlai finally washed up and went to bed.

Zhu Yunque didn’t have much luggage, and she didn’t make much noise when she left. The journey went smoothly; the driver he had arranged was waiting for her downstairs. She arrived at the airport, checked in smoothly, and before boarding the plane, Lu Rangchen had already arrived in Beijing.

Lu Rangchen wanted to wait for her, but Zhu Yunque wouldn’t allow it.

She knew Lu Rangchen hadn’t had a good day, so she insisted he go home early to wait for her.

Lu Rangchen clicked his tongue, drawing out his tone, “I didn’t expect my girlfriend to be so considerate.”

Zhu Yunque said to him, “Stop joking around; go back to sleep early.”

Now she was acting like a nagging little shrew.

Lu Rangchen’s lips curled into a rather pleased smile, and he replied nonchalantly, “Okay, I’ll sleep for a few hours first. I’ll have the energy to kiss you when I wake up.”

His voice wasn’t quiet.

By then, another passenger was already sitting next to Zhu Yunque.

The passenger was an older woman who glanced at her after hearing this, making Zhu Yunque’s cheeks flush. She said, “We’re taking off soon,” and hung up the phone.

She didn’t sleep much during the rest of the journey.

Something seemed to be subtly tugging at her nerves, making her uncontrollably excited.

She couldn’t help but wonder what Lu Rangchen would do to her when they got there.

Just a kiss?

And what about Feng Yanlai? Would she go crazy if she woke up in the morning and found her gone?

But even if she went crazy, Zhu Yunque didn’t care.

She’d already gone astray, following Lu Rangchen’s lead.

Lu Rangchen, on the other hand, had slept for several hours.

It wasn’t much time, so he set an alarm.

He wanted to be able to contact Zhu Yunque as soon as she got off the plane.

However, Zhu Yunque didn’t really have any hope for him. Perhaps in her mind, boys weren’t very reliable, and she thought Lu Rangchen would definitely be asleep, and she didn’t want to disturb him.

But what happened?

Shortly after getting off the plane, she received a call from Lu Rangchen.

Lu Rangchen had only just woken up, his voice still languid and hoarse. He asked where she was and said he’d found a car to pick her up.

The airport was huge, and Zhu Yunque was quite lost.

Luckily, the car was parked in a prominent spot, and the driver was reliable. After a few quick directions from Lu Rangchen, Zhu Yunque got into the car smoothly.

Because there were other people around, Zhu Yunque didn’t spend much time looking for him.

She later learned that the driver belonged to the Cheng family.

Lu Rangchen had specifically sent him to pick her up.

The man was quite interesting, constantly referring to her as “Miss Zhu,” making Zhu Yunque quite embarrassed.

Fortunately, the journey wasn’t long.

Soon, Zhu Yunque was taken to Lu Rangchen’s apartment building.

It was five in the morning, the sky just beginning to lighten.

The streets weren’t crowded, and the surroundings were relatively quiet.

Zhu Yunque glanced out the car window and saw Lu Rangchen, wearing a long coat, standing by the roadside below, waiting for her in the autumn morning light.

A tall, slender figure, elegant and refined, with a handsome and clean-cut face, possessing a sharp and aloof air.

An untamed person.

Just standing there, one could feel an overwhelming attraction.

Lu Rangchen narrowed his eyes at her and suddenly smiled. Zhu Yunque’s heart skipped a beat.

The car slowly stopped in front of him. The window rolled down, and the driver respectfully greeted Lu Rangchen, “Hello, Young Master Lu.”

It was a rather cheesy address.

But for some reason, it seemed fitting on Lu Rangchen.

He was naturally aristocratic; this kind of air just didn’t seem right.

Lu Rangchen nodded and smiled at the driver, helped Zhu Yunque out, and then said, “Thank you for your trouble.”

After a few brief pleasantries, the car drove away, and the world finally belonged only to the two of them.

For some reason, Zhu Yunque glanced at Lu Rangchen somewhat awkwardly.

She wasn’t wearing makeup, and her eyes were slightly swollen, but she was still fair and beautiful.

Lu Rangchen deliberately glanced down at her, then smiled, “Crying?”

“…”

Zhu Yunque’s face remained tense. “No.”

He dragged her suitcase forward, and Lu Rangchen casually pulled her along, taking her hand in his other hand.

In this season, even the air was chilly in the early morning.

But his hand was warm, a solid warmth.

The void in Zhu Yunque’s heart was suddenly filled.

Then she felt a sense of daze.

Did they really argue last night?

Her heart suddenly raced.

Lu Rangchen didn’t say much, and neither did she; they just held hands tightly until he led her upstairs.

At the door, Lu Rangchen looked at her. “Let’s register your fingerprints.”

Zhu Yunque hesitated slightly, then nodded, extending her hand.

Lu Rangchen took her hand in his. His hands were truly large, with long, clean fingers. He held her hand as he helped her input the data, their bodies close together. His breath brushed against her neck, almost imperceptible, like an embrace from behind.

Finally, the data entry was complete. He pressed another button, and the door clicked open.

The same fat cat came out, meowing, to greet her.

For some reason, Zhu Yunque’s tense nerves suddenly relaxed, as if she were in Lu Rangchen’s territory, in a safe haven.

But this sense of security lasted less than two seconds.

Zhu Yunque felt a tightening around her waist as a force pulled her firmly from behind.

Her heart leaped into her chest.

Lu Rangchen’s chin rested against the crook of her neck.

As if finally able to tear away all pretense of calm, his breath was hot, like hot sand, as he whispered in her ear.

He said, “Zhu Yunque, did you miss me?”