Young Brave Hearts – CH 063

Chapter 63

An old man in his seventies and a girl not yet twenty.

It seemed like an odd pairing.

But that day, the two chose a coffee shop and sat down facing each other, seemingly harmoniously.

Several men in suits were waiting outside the coffee shop.

Inside the coffee shop, the old man chatted amiably with Zhu Yunque, mostly asking questions and receiving answers.

From her studies and family to her mother’s current situation.

At that time, the video of Feng Yanlai being beaten that day spread like wildfire online, with a barrage of insults directed at her. In reality, Ye Tian and Feng Yanlai had just been taken to the police station. Feng Yanlai was cooperating with the investigation, while Ye Tian was facing criminal detention for fighting.

Zhu Yunque had never felt so helpless.

She also understood what Cheng Fusen’s visit meant.

In fact, Cheng Fusen was far more gentle than she had imagined.

A man in such a high position wouldn’t bully a child; he was simply explaining the implications to her.

He wasn’t seeking justice for his daughter. Things had escalated to this point, and he had only one request: that Zhu Yunque break up with Lu Rangchen.

The disparity in their social standing was one factor.

Furthermore, Cheng Liru and her family would never accept her.

She was the daughter of a mistress who had broken up another family.

Such a label was shameful even to utter, and how could the Cheng family forgive her?

Therefore, seeing that Lu Rangchen refused to break up with her, the Cheng family intervened.

Money and power could easily crush ordinary people.

The Cheng family merely flicked their fingers, and Feng Yanlai was already breathless.

How could Zhu Yunque possibly hope that she and Lu Rangchen could still be together?

No, Zhu Yunque knew very well.

It was a dead end.

In the end, the conversation ended smoothly. The old man kept his word and resolved the online issue that same day. The bystander who had previously firmly opposed reconciliation at the police station suddenly changed his mind and agreed to reconcile.

Like a storm that came and went quickly.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, preparing to welcome the new year, except for Zhu Yunque.

Only she remained forever trapped in the quagmire, never seeing the light of day.

Later, under the old man’s arrangement, she quickly completed her paperwork to go abroad. She and Cheng Fusen never saw each other again; all subsequent contact was handled by his secretary.

The male secretary wasn’t young, seemingly refined but possessing an aloof coldness.

Each time, he would repeatedly reiterate to her the risks she would face if she didn’t keep her promises.

For Zhu Yunque, it wasn’t a threat.

It was an announcement.

Zhu Yunque didn’t quite remember how long she maintained contact with this secretary.

She only remembered that it was about a year or two. She and Feng Yanlai adapted to life in Australia, while Lu Rangchen, back in China, seemed to have completely given up and forgotten her.

Perhaps in Cheng Fusen’s eyes, there was no longer any possibility between them.

After all, it was just a first love that lasted less than half a year; who would be so deeply affectionate and persistent for so long?

He seemed to have complete confidence in Lu Rangchen, and afterwards, he never had anyone contact Zhu Yunque again.

Later, she graduated and returned to the capital alone, living a conventional life, working and working. She truly never considered that she could have anything with Lu Rangchen again.

In her world, he seemed to have become again the unattainable yet eternally shining moon of her adolescence.

She would just think of him frequently.

Occasionally, she would hear news about him from her former classmates.

She knew he no longer played tennis, and she knew he had been placed in the Cheng Group’s company and was being groomed as its heir.

Later, she heard that he had returned to Nancheng and opened a club as a hobby.

When Zhu Yunque learned of this, Lu Rangchen had already been in Nancheng for two years. At that time, Zhu Ping’an repeatedly urged her to go to Nancheng, saying she was too lonely alone in the capital.

Actually, it wasn’t Zhu Ping’an’s fault for worrying.

Zhu Yunque’s years in the capital were indeed far from peaceful.

She encountered malicious exclusion at work and undue harassment from students’ parents. Then, she fell seriously ill.

That illness, like a preordained trigger, caused a seed buried deep within her to sprout.

Zhu Yunque had never acted so impulsively.

Impulsively returning, wanting to see him.

So impulsively that she hadn’t even thought about the future, she barged into his life, even forgetting why they had separated in the first place.

Until Lin Zhi made that phone call.

That phone call made Zhu Yunque suddenly realize that even after so many years, the insurmountable barriers between them hadn’t changed at all.

–

After the rainy season, the July sun in the southern city was particularly bright.

As soon as the weather improved, the morning exercises and physical education classes at Yuhua High School resumed their usual grandeur.

Not just the students.

Even subject teachers like Zhu Yunque, who were physically weak, were ordered by the dean of students to go outside to get some sun.

Zhu Yunque didn’t mind.

However, she didn’t expect Zhang Leyao from the Chinese language group to seize the opportunity to chat with her.

To be honest, the two weren’t very close. Aside from sharing a large office and having dinner at Old Liu’s place once, they had almost no interaction.

It was after that that Zhang Leyao started paying more attention to her.

What Zhu Yunque didn’t expect was that she would bring up Lu Rangchen during this visit.

The annual club membership that Lu Rangchen had given Old Liu as a birthday gift somehow ended up in her pocket. On a whim, she organized her office colleagues to go out for the weekend.

Zhang Leyao, arm in arm with Zhu Yunque, said, “Lu Rangchen said this is a gold card; it lets you play anywhere. I’ve organized a few teachers, and there are still spots available. Do you want to come?”

Zhu Yunque stood gracefully by the playground, watching the students do their exercises expressionlessly.

Only after hearing this did she react slightly, turning to look at Zhang Leyao.

Her eyes held a subtle disbelief.

She finally couldn’t help but ask, “When did you get in touch with him?”

“Just last time,” Zhang Leyao said bluntly, “Old Liu sold me the gold card cheaply, so I called their club using the number on the card, saying I was a teacher from Yuhua, and the receptionist transferred me.”

Zhang Leyao raised an eyebrow, as if suddenly remembering something. “Oh, right, I forgot, you two are…”

Even though there was no one around, she exaggeratedly covered her mouth, as if saying the word “ex” would be a grave offense.

“…”

Zhu Yunque silently withdrew her gaze, remaining silent.

In fact, she and Lu Rangchen hadn’t seen each other for several days.

Whether at work or after getting off work, their schedules never overlapped; unless they actively contacted each other, they would never run into each other.

Even Xu Linda complained about her, saying she lacked perseverance.

They had such a good opportunity! She could have simply cooked a late-night snack, gone downstairs to knock on his door, and thanked him, and they could have rekindled their relationship. But instead, she hadn’t made a single move for days, not even trying, and wasn’t she afraid that someone else would take a liking to Lu Rangchen?

But Zhu Yunque, on the other hand, refused to listen.

One good thing about her was that she wouldn’t utter a sound, no matter how much Xu Linda criticized her.

However, Xu Linda never expected that her jinxed prediction would come true so easily.

Just after the morning exercises ended.

As the students returned to the teaching building, Zhang Leyao finally couldn’t help but ask Zhu Yunque what her relationship with Lu Rangchen was now.

Zhang Leyao was an outgoing girl, always saying what she thought at school.

Zhu Yunque just hadn’t expected her to dare ask such a direct question.

Outside the teaching building, Zhu Yunque stopped and quietly looked at Zhang Leyao.

Actually, this girl was quite attractive.

She had a baby face, a voluptuous figure, and was lively and interesting; in relationships, she was the proactive type.

Seeing that she remained silent, Zhang Leyao cut to the chase, saying in a friendly tone, “Don’t misunderstand, I don’t mean to steal someone else’s love. I just want to figure out if there’s still a chance for you two. If you’re still entangled, it wouldn’t be good for anyone if I interfered. It would be so awkward if we saw each other all the time.”

This made it clear that she wanted to pursue Lu Rangchen.

This caused Zhu Yunque’s heart to skip a beat.

Zhang Leyao was really good at being charming. Thinking she was angry, she quickly shook her arm and said, “Hey, let’s talk things out. If there’s a chance for you two, I won’t interfere. If there is not, how could I bear to give up such a handsome guy—”

Before she could finish, Zhu Yunque interrupted her, saying, “You aren’t his type.”

“…”

Zhang Leyao choked.

Zhu Yunque gently pulled her arm out from under Zhang Leyao’s and went up the steps alone.

Because of this incident, that afternoon, neither of them spoke, even though they had to switch classes.

Zhu Yunque was, in a way, sensitive but also incredibly oblivious at times. Even when Zhang Leyao looked at her with utter disbelief, she remained completely unaffected.

But the more she acted this way, the angrier Zhang Leyao became.

That girl was really clever. Before even leaving after getting off work, she started discussing going to the club that weekend, constantly mentioning Lu Rangchen.

She said Lu Rangchen had reserved a good spot for her.

And he could even personally teach her.

It was as if she and Lu Rangchen were incredibly close.

Zhu Yunque remained silent throughout, but unexpectedly, she ran into Lu Rangchen at the school gate after school.

The man she hadn’t seen for days was leaning lazily against his car, clearly waiting for someone.

His figure was dazzling and flamboyant.

Even out of the corner of her eye, she could spot him.

Zhu Yunque paused for a moment, and the next second, she saw Deng Jiao appear out of nowhere, running happily over to Lu Rangchen and saying something.

Lu Rangchen gave her a nonchalant smirk, then glanced at Zhu Yunque standing not far ahead.

After not seeing her for several days, the girl finally looked a little better.

However, she still looked so aloof and cold, devoid of any extra expression, so indifferent that it was suffocating.

Thinking about how long it had been since she’d even shown any initiative and how he only saw her when he came to pick up Deng Jiao, Lu Rangchen felt inexplicably irritated.

He narrowed his eyes, staring intently at her.

Zhu Yunque didn’t look away, silently returning his gaze with a tight smile.

Then Deng Jiao noticed her.

This clever girl popped her head out of the car window, waved, and shouted, “Teacher Zhu, Teacher Zhu, are you going home too? Let’s go together!”

The students passing by all turned to look at her.

Zhu Yunque frowned slightly.

Finally, under Lu Rangchen’s burning, direct gaze, she walked up to him.

Lu Rangchen raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing her with a serious expression, and said, “Going home?”

Zhu Yunque clenched her fingers and hummed in agreement.

Lu Rangchen raised his chin slightly. “Get in the car.”

Zhu Yunque’s lips moved, wanting to say “no need,” but Deng Jiao kept urging her, saying, “Teacher Zhu, get in; I can give you a ride.”

Zhu Yunque couldn’t quite put her finger on what she was upset about.

She stood there without moving.

Lu Rangchen simply looked down at her, suddenly grinning, and said in a roguish tone, “What, do you want me to carry you in?”

His words were spoken with a drawn-out tone, seemingly intentionally teasing, yet also carrying a hint of lewdness.

Deng Jiao’s eyelids twitched.

She cursed inwardly.

The next second, she saw her pure, beautiful, and seemingly otherworldly Teacher Zhu’s thin face suddenly turn red.

But even so, her expression remained impassive.

Lu Rangchen’s gaze blatantly drifted downwards, his hand casually resting on her slender waist.

When he was serious, he was utterly upright and virtuous.

When he got carried away, he was absolutely unrestrained; his eyes were like hooks, making it impossible for you to remain indifferent.

It’s unclear how many seconds this standoff lasted.

Zhu Yunque’s shrugged shoulders finally gave way. She forced a smile, walked around Lu Rangchen, and tried to get into the back seat.

But before she could get in, Lu Rangchen grabbed her arm.

It was a slender, delicate arm, as if it could snap at the slightest pressure.

Zhu Yunque choked for a moment, looking at Lu Rangchen.

Lu Rangchen, however, gestured with his chin towards Deng Jiao, who was sitting in the passenger seat, grinning and watching the scene, and said casually but unequivocally, “You, get out.”

Deng Jiao: “?”

Lu Rangchen turned to look at Zhu Yunque.

His gaze, usually so calm and collected, softened slightly when it fell on her. “Go to the passenger seat.”