Young Brave Hearts – CH 068

Chapter 68

It was quite ridiculous, really.

Lu Rangchen, a man with a considerable reputation both inside and outside the industry, had maintained a single image for eight years, and importantly, he hadn’t had a sexual relationship in those eight years.

None of his clients and investors were honest; after every gathering, they had to engage in some kind of activity, either finding beautiful women to drink with or simply dragging someone they liked from a bar to a hotel.

Whether they were married or not, these men couldn’t control their desires and thought it was perfectly normal.

Even while immersed in this quagmire, Lu Rangchen had never been promiscuous all these years. Forget one-night stands; those women hadn’t even touched his hand once.

Many people in the industry laughed behind his back, calling Lu Rangchen a hypocrite and an eccentric, and had even questioned his sexual orientation.

Lu Rangchen, however, never bothered to deal with it, nor did he care. He simply felt that relationships that didn’t take feelings seriously were dirty and that the ability to truly love someone was the most precious capacity of being human.

Of course, he hadn’t completely ignored the idea of ​​having a proper relationship again.

Perhaps, as they said, one relationship could make him forget the person who had once been in his life.

But feelings were such mysterious things.

Every time Lu Rangchen saw the wealthy heiresses introduced by Cheng Liru, he felt utterly uninterested.

Later, he simply stayed single. He was busy with work anyway, and if he needed anything, he could just take care of it himself.

So, over time, he truly forgot what kissing felt like.

Let alone when that person was Zhu Yunque.

Some things, some emotions, could be hidden, but falling in love was like a wolf that had never had meat finally seeing some; once the desire arose, it could not be concealed.

Lu Rangchen vividly remembered the way he kissed her, the way he wanted to devour her, her reddened eyes, and the chapped lips he’d sucked.

Zhu Yunque hadn’t expected Lu Rangchen to call her, and even less that his first question would be so blunt.

She froze, caught off guard, her ears turning bright red.

It was lunchtime, and several young teachers in the office were napping at their desks.

Zhu Yunque didn’t dare speak loudly. After a pause, she answered, seemingly unrelated, “How did you get my number?”

Her gentle tone and voice betrayed no emotion.

Lu Rangchen lowered his eyes and said, “Old Liu gave it to me.”

His voice was as magnetic and calm as ever, as if the embarrassing ending of the previous night had never happened.

Then he added, “I’m asking you, don’t change the subject.”

His tone was quite assertive, neither warm nor cold, leaving her speechless, yet her heart pounding.

Zhu Yunque touched the corner of her mouth.

She found it still hurt a little.

That morning, a colleague had asked her what was wrong with her mouth, and Zhu Yunque, without batting an eye, simply said it was from a sore throat.

Now, being asked by Lu Rangchen, her shame belatedly surfaced.

The image of their passionate kiss in the hallway last night inexplicably flashed through her mind. She pursed her lips and said, “You said it was ruined; how can it be better so quickly?”

She sounded reproachful in her voice.

Lu Rangchen chuckled, jokingly whispering, “Then what can I do? I’ll pay for it.”

“…”

Zhu Yunque realized that this man really hadn’t changed at all.

She had a terrible temper and loved to cause trouble.

She truly didn’t understand Lu Rangchen.

He was the one who initiated the kiss last night, he was the one who said no, and now he was the one calling to ask.

She had even prepared herself for the relationship to be completely over.

But then, Lu Rangchen suddenly gave her the feeling that the rift between them could still heal.

He was indeed holding onto the anger from last night.

Zhu Yunque deliberately remained silent, neither of them hanging up.

The two of them remained silent, as if in a contest of wills, until finally Lu Rangchen spoke.

He unwrapped a mint and put it in his mouth, the candy clattering against his teeth, his deep, magnetic voice carrying a seductive allure, saying, “Anything planned for tonight?”

The words fell.

Zhu Yunque’s heart skipped a beat.

Even if she was a beat slow to react, she wouldn’t have missed the underlying meaning in his words.

For a fleeting moment, Zhu Yunque almost said it was nothing.

But the words stuck in her throat, and she said, “I have a dinner party tonight.”

Lu Rangchen hummed in agreement, asking casually, “What kind of dinner party, a blind date?”

“…”

Zhu Yunque really wanted to glare at him through the phone.

She finally couldn’t help but explain, “It’s the engagement party of my high school homeroom teacher’s child.”

Lu Rangchen was slightly taken aback. “Zheng Guoxiong?”

Zhu Yunque said no, “Niu Haifeng from Class A.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Rangchen suddenly realized that Zhu Yunque had been in Class A for her entire senior year.

Although she had only been in Class A for a year, Niu Haifeng had treated her quite well, and since she was also in Nancheng, Zhu Yunque readily decided to attend after receiving the class monitor’s notification.

Most importantly.

The more people around, the more lively it would be; she wouldn’t be alone at home after getting off work, constantly thinking about Lu Rangchen.

Of course, Zhu Yunque wouldn’t mention this reason.

She only mentioned the first part.

Lu Rangchen didn’t react much, simply saying, “Okay.”

Zhu Yunque pursed her lips, suddenly feeling a little resentful.

But then she realized that besides “okay,” he didn’t seem to have much else to say, especially since Zhang Leyao and the others were going to the club to learn tennis from him that evening.

Just that morning, Zhang Leyao had been ostentatiously discussing tennis equipment with everyone, showing off as if she owned the place, and hadn’t even considered inviting Zhu Yunque again.

She clearly resented what Zhu Yunque had said.

Their relationship plummeted from that point on.

Zhu Yunque didn’t bother arguing with her, but that didn’t mean she didn’t hold a grudge.

She was actually quite vengeful, but she wouldn’t express it, much less vent it. Even when the person involved was right in front of her, she simply suppressed her emotions and calmly said, “Is there anything else? If not, I’ll hang up. Lunch break is about to end.”

No matter how much she tried to smooth things over, there was still a trace of coldness in her tone.

Lu Rangchen knew she was angry.

Actually, being angry was a good thing; at least it proved she still cared.

Just like himself last night.

Even though his heart was reeling from her words, he still couldn’t help but feel angry and irritable and want to accuse her of abandoning him so easily.

To put it bluntly, he just wanted her to care.

Thinking this, Lu Rangchen chuckled, now appearing quite nonchalant.

He said, “Fine, then I won’t bother you anymore.”

He paused, wanting to say, “Deng Jiao is secretly using her phone in class; could you keep an eye on her?” But before he could finish, Zhu Yunque hung up without hesitation.

The cold, beeping tone was like a sharp slap in the face.

“…”

Lu Rangchen, gripping his phone, paused for two seconds, then let out a snicker.

–

That afternoon, until the students left school and the teachers finished their meeting and left work, Zhu Yunque didn’t contact Lu Rangchen again.

Because it was Friday, everyone was exceptionally relaxed; even their laughter was joyful.

Zhang Leyao was the most excited.

Her mouth hadn’t stopped since the meeting, arranging for those going to the club to share a taxi later.

Zhu Yunque ignored her, went into her office alone, packed her things, and left the campus.

Niu Haifeng’s engagement banquet was held at a hotel on the city’s first ring road.

Zhu Yunque wasn’t close, and by the time she arrived by taxi, it was almost six o’clock.

The restaurant was already full of people at all the round tables. Zhu Yunque only managed to contact her class monitor, Li Chan, after arriving. Li Chan led her directly to a table near the main hall.

Speaking of which, quite a few alumni from Nancheng No. 3 Middle School had attended this time.

They were all students Niu Haifeng had taught. Nearly fifteen people sat at one round table, and Zhu Yunque recognized more than half of them.

Of course, they also recognized Zhu Yunque.

One girl called out her name directly, saying, “Hey, isn’t this Zhu Yunque, who came from Class B back then? I really didn’t expect you to stay in Nancheng too.”

The girl’s smile was a little insincere. She said, “I thought a top student like you would stay in the capital and make a fortune.”

Hearing her say that, everyone at the table turned to look at Zhu Yunque.

Zhu Yunque looked at the girl and then vaguely remembered who she was.

If she remembered correctly, this girl was Zhao Xiaoqiu, who used to be very close to Lin Zhinian. She had always been at the bottom of Class A.

It was only after Zhu Yunque and Zhao Qijia got into Class A that she was expelled and never made it back.

Sometimes, hostility between people could arise so easily.

Even after so many years, those feelings of jealousy and resentment still lingered in the memory and would surface whenever the opportunity arose.

Of course, Zhu Yunque didn’t consider herself a good person either.

So she completely ignored her and turned to ask Li Chan where the teacher was.

Surprised by her coldness, Zhao Xiaoqiu was first taken aback, then her face fell, and she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

But even so, Zhu Yunque pretended not to see her.

Li Chan felt rather awkward but didn’t say anything. Instead, she pointed in a direction to Zhu Yunque and said, “Teacher Niu is over there. Let’s go talk to him later.”

Zhu Yunque nodded and agreed.

Actually, giving money as a gift wasn’t very common in Nancheng, but she still prepared a rather generous red envelope.

Li Chan did the same; Niu Haifeng had always been most fond of these two girls.

The two hadn’t seen each other for a long time and got along quite well, so they started chatting about old times. As they talked, the others at the table joined in.

Unlike the two of them, these people weren’t from Class A but from the subject classes taught by Niu Haifeng. They weren’t familiar with the two girls, but they were very familiar with Zhao Xiaoqiu.

Those boys already knew Zhu Yunque’s name.

Now that they saw Zhu Yunque had grown even more generous and beautiful, they didn’t bother to hide their eagerness.

Zhao Xiaoqiu hadn’t really cared who these boys were flattering.

But then Zhu Yunque deliberately embarrassed her.

Birds of a feather flock together, as the saying goes.

Zhao Xiaoqiu immediately added insult to injury by holding a grudge against her for Lin Zhinian, and regardless of whether Zhu Yunque responded, she blurted out, “I heard you used to date Lu Rangchen; is that true?”

Her sharp tone, with a half-smile, instantly extinguished the good atmosphere at the table.

Everyone stared blankly at Zhao Xiaoqiu, then at Zhu Yunque.

This time, it wasn’t a question of whether Zhu Yunque would respond or not, but rather another boy from Zhao Xiaoqiu’s class who spoke up, exclaiming in surprise, “Lu Rangchen? The one who was really famous on the school tennis team? Wow, my idol!”

Hearing that name, students from those three graduating classes back then would instantly recognize it.

And coincidentally, half the students at this table were from the same year as Zhu Yunque.

One boy laughed and said, “Wow, beautiful. You can talk to him? I heard he transferred schools in his second year of high school, and his family is incredibly rich.”

Another boy chimed in, “More than just rich, he’s smart too. Teacher Niu always bragged about him, saying he was a genius, that he could memorize anything after just one glance.”

“Really? That’s true, isn’t it?”

“Seriously, he was famous at No. 3 High School. Girls would come to see him in Class A every day.”

“I heard he’s doing quite well now, owning his own club and making millions a year.”

A girl who seemed only vaguely familiar chimed in, saying, “But I heard that the prettiest girl in the art class went with him back then. They were quite close.”

Hearing this, Zhao Xiaoqiu perked up. She said sarcastically, “Our Zhinian doesn’t have that kind of ability. She’s so naive; she just says what she wants outright, unlike those particularly cunning girls, who are all smiles and veiled.”

At this point, she deliberately exclaimed, “Zhu Yunque, I wasn’t talking about you; don’t misunderstand.”

Zhao Xiaoqiu’s smile was fake. “After all, you two didn’t date for very long. I heard you broke up after only four months. That’s not even a proper relationship.”

Then, seemingly sincerely, she asked, “But why did you two break up? Who initiated it? Was it him?”

The woman blinked, her affected manner as obnoxious as could be.

And everyone at the table looked at her curiously.

To be honest, Zhu Yunque had never been targeted like this by outsiders before, so for a second, her face fell. She wasn’t the kind of person who grew up surrounded by love.

She was petty, vindictive, and fiercely loyal to her friends.

Like her past treatment of Zhang Leyao, she would retaliate if wronged.

But this time, before she could even speak, the empty chair next to her was suddenly pulled away.

At the same time, a bunch of car keys with a teddy bear attached was thrown onto the round table with a thud.

The air was filled with the cold, heavy scent of ebony.

Zhu Yunque’s heart skipped a beat.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Lu Rangchen casually sat down between Zhao Xiaoqiu and Zhu Yunque.

The next second, the man turned to look at the shocked Zhao Xiaoqiu, a sarcastic smirk playing on his lips. His tone was arrogant and nonchalant as he said, “She dumped me, so what?”