Young Brave Hearts – CH 085

Chapter 85

Perhaps in life, everyone needed a moment of impulsiveness to make it worthwhile.

That day, Zhu Yunque was instantly stunned by Lu Rangchen’s words, feeling a mix of helplessness, surprise, and longing.

It seemed there was absolutely no reason to refuse him; nothing could stop them from taking this step… They should take this step.

They weren’t young anymore.

They had waited for each other for eight years…

How many eight years of prime life did one have in a lifetime?

At that moment, Zhu Yunque’s mind barely processed anything. She couldn’t say she was bewitched by Lu Rangchen’s tone and gaze, but she inexplicably agreed in a moment of impulsiveness.

Compared to her excited flutter, the suppressed urge within Lu Rangchen was clearly far stronger.

Ignoring whether anyone outside was looking for him and the frequent ringing of his phone on the coffee table, Lu Rangchen, seeing her nod, directly pulled her onto the sofa armrest and kissed her passionately.

He kissed her, and Zhu Yunque closed her eyes, responding with abandon.

But it never seemed enough.

Lu Rangchen simply gripped her shoulders, pinched her supple waist, and pulled her onto his lap.

The office was quiet and fragrant.

The air conditioning was on full blast, but it still couldn’t extinguish the intense, alluring atmosphere hidden behind the potted plants. It was only when the people outside couldn’t find Lu Rangchen and, in their anxiety, came upstairs and knocked loudly on the door that the long, lingering kiss was finally interrupted.

Her lips, neck, and shoulders bore the marks of his rough treatment.

Later, while Lu Rangchen was out busy again, Zhu Yunque took a taxi home, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

The summer heat was unbearable, so she took a cold shower when she got home.

When she calmed down a bit, Lu Rangchen had already arranged things for the club for the next ten days.

He texted Zhu Yunque.

His words were direct, as if afraid she might change her mind: “I’ve already taken leave. When are you planning to take yours?”

Zhu Yunque had just poured herself a glass of ice water.

She gulped down more than half of it, the coolness reaching her heart.

She swallowed slightly, as if making a decision. Her slender white fingers danced across the screen as she said, 【When I go to work tomorrow.】

Lu Rangchen: 【Okay】

Lu Rangchen: 【I’ll go now. I have a meeting tonight; I probably won’t be home until very late. Don’t worry about me; go to sleep early.】

“…”

Zhu Yunque’s face flushed slightly.

She thought to herself, “This tone sounds so much like a husband to his wife,” but then she realized, “Won’t we be in this kind of relationship soon?”

…It really was fast.

They had only been back together for less than a month, and they’d already reconciled, and not only reconciled, they were getting married.

The thought of this fact stirred a restless unease within Zhu Yunque.

The feeling was like the anticipation of Feng Yanlai taking her to the amusement park when she was a child, like waiting for the teacher to announce her grades after exams, and like her teenage years when she always longed to catch a glimpse of Lu Rangchen in the crowd on her way to morning exercises.

Back then, she never dared to dream that Lu Rangchen would one day be hers, body and soul.

Her heart pounded with excitement, and Zhu Yunque gently pinched her earlobe.

It wasn’t a dream.

It was all real.

Thinking this, a faint smile finally curved her lips.

Mondays always had the most English classes, and it was only after the second period in the afternoon was completely finished that Zhu Yunque asked the head of the academic affairs office for leave, saying she was going to the capital for two days.

The head of the academic affairs office, upon hearing that Zhu Yunque was recently in a relationship, smiled and said, “What, is this some good news?”

Zhu Yunque wasn’t usually this shy.

But for some reason, whenever Lu Rangchen was involved, her expression would inadvertently reveal the naivety that was once part of the young Zhu Yunque.

She pursed her lips and said no.

Before things were settled, she didn’t want to reveal anything, so she said, “He needs to go back to get some things; I’ll go with him.”

The middle-aged woman was quite curious, pushing up her glasses and saying, “I heard he’s the parent of one of your students? He owns a supermarket?”

“…”

Zhu Yunque said with a hint of helplessness, “No.”

“Then who is he, and what does he do?”

Zhu Yunque didn’t want to press the matter, so she said, “A friend of a student’s parent, a former schoolmate.”

Given the head of the teaching department’s temperament, it would take several sentences to get leave approved, especially since Zhu Yunque needed to reschedule her classes. After much persuasion, she finally granted her leave.

However, the leave was short, only two days.

Lu Rangchen was a decisive person; she said he wouldn’t wait until the weekend.

There was no other way but to go along with him.

So the flight was booked for the next morning, and that evening Zhu Yunque dragged Xu Linda to the mall to shop. This time, Lu Rangchen’s trip wasn’t just about retrieving his household registration book; he might introduce her to his friends.

Zhu Yunque wasn’t actually worried about that.

She just wanted to take this opportunity to see Cheng Liru.

Xu Linda was terrified when she heard this. She exclaimed, “You want to see his mother? My God, are you crazy? Her mother retaliated so badly against you and your mother back then; how can you still dare?”

She truly didn’t dare.

But she couldn’t hide forever.

Zhu Yunque wasn’t the kind of person who couldn’t make decisions.

So, when paying the bill, she took a deep breath and said, “No matter what, I have to see her at least once.”

That apology.

Feng Yanlai couldn’t say it, so she would say it herself.

She just hadn’t told Lu Rangchen about this idea yet and didn’t know how to tell him.

She was also afraid he wouldn’t agree.

The next morning, Lu Rangchen took her to the airport. He was quite surprised to see the gift boxes she had brought.

He raised an eyebrow and said, “It’s just meeting a few friends, having a meal. No need to make such a big deal out of it and give gifts too. Too much trouble.”

“…”

Zhu Yunque wanted to say no, that they weren’t for them, but then she swallowed her words.

The flight was only two hours long.

Having gotten up so early, Zhu Yunque fell asleep on Lu Rangchen’s shoulder shortly after takeoff.

Lu Rangchen, worried she might be uncomfortable, held her even tighter.

An auntie happened to be sitting next to them. She smiled and said, “Young man, you’re so considerate to your girlfriend.”

Lu Rangchen wasn’t one to flirt, but he smiled and replied, “She’s not just my girlfriend; she’s my future wife.”

He glanced down at Zhu Yunque’s sleeping face, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said, “This time, I’m just going back to get the household registration book.”

His tone was firmer than ever before.

No one, nothing, could shake that resolve.

Zhu Yunque vaguely heard him, gradually waking from her light sleep. When she looked up again, she met Lu Rangchen’s calm and gentle gaze.

The man looked at her misty eyes, smiled slightly, and said, “You are awake already?”

Zhu Yunque rested her head on his shoulder, looking at him intently like a kitten, and said, “I just had a dream.”

“What did you dream about?”

“…We went to the Civil Affairs Bureau, and the photographer took really bad pictures of me.”

Lu Rangchen chuckled softly as soon as he finished speaking.

He said, “Zhu Yunque, can’t you have a little more confidence?”

Zhu Yunque’s lips curled slightly, and she leaned her head on his shoulder again, saying, “First time, huh? I have no experience.”

Her tone was unusually coquettish.

Lu Rangchen’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. If it weren’t for the fact that they were on a plane, a public place, he really would have wanted to kiss her passionately.

It was strange.

The club had been incredibly busy these past few days.

It was either investor banquets or event preparations; Lu Rangchen was completely tied up, and naturally, he hadn’t had much time to be affectionate with her.

And now, the two of them were finally able to be together, and it was on a plane.

He could only dream of it.

So he slipped his long, slender fingers between hers, his fingertips gently caressing the back of her hand. He rubbed his chin against Zhu Yunque’s warm hair, hummed in agreement, and said with a rare, honest, lazy smile, “I’m pretty nervous too.”

Lu Rangchen was adept at everything.

But with Zhu Yunque.

He always felt an uncontrollable anxiety.

If it weren’t for the fact that his independent household registration was still in the capital, he would have taken her to get their marriage certificate that very day.

It was as if once the certificate was issued and stamped, an unbreakable bond would be formed between them, and he would no longer have to worry about Zhu Yunque abandoning him and disappearing.

Before she knew it, Zhu Yunque was sleepy again.

Like a soft, fluffy little animal, she snuggled against Lu Rangchen without restraint, inhaling his scent, which was like the best tranquilizer, and quickly fell asleep again.

Not long after, the plane landed, and Peng Yuan was there to pick up Lu Rangchen.

Zhu Yunque had only heard of him from Lu Rangchen before; this was the first time she had met him in person.

But Peng Yuan had heard Lu Rangchen talk about the two of them before.

He had even seen her photos on Lu Rangchen’s phone many times in the past, so he always had a strange sense of familiarity with Zhu Yunque.

“Hey, it’s because his phone wallpaper used to be you. I lived with him back then, and sometimes when I helped him get his phone, I would see your picture.”

Peng Yuan had arranged lunch.

As soon as the three of them sat down, he started chatting with Zhu Yunque. Zhu Yunque, having slept enough, looked at Peng Yuan with slightly dilated pupils. “When did this happen?” she asked.

Before Peng Yuan could answer, Lu Rangchen interrupted him with a sneer, “You are just like Deng Zhe, blurting out every little thing.”

It wasn’t just “like Deng Zhe”; Peng Yuan had surpassed him.

The man grinned and said, “What’s wrong with it? It isn’t something shameful. If my sister-in-law heard, wouldn’t she be head over heels for you?”

“…”

Lu Rangchen gave him a disgruntled glare, about to speak, when his phone rang.

It was undoubtedly work-related.

Zhu Yunque had gotten used to it by now.

Lu Rangchen lowered his gaze and frowned. It was a call he couldn’t ignore, so he stood up and gestured to Peng Yuan with his chin, “You stay with her first.”

Then he looked at Zhu Yunque, gently pinched her chin, and his tone softened, saying, “You eat well; I’ll be back after this call.”

It wasn’t appropriate to be too affectionate in front of others.

So Zhu Yunque pursed her lips and softly said, “Okay.”

After Lu Rangchen left, she asked Peng Yuan again when he had seen her picture on his phone screen.

“After you went abroad, he hadn’t been an athlete for long, and he’d stay with me on weekends,” Peng Yuan knew she wanted to hear and spoke patiently. “Back then, I thought you two hadn’t broken up, and I even laughed at him, which made him angry. Later, I found out you left him for abroad.”

“…”

Zhu Yunque’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t expected Lu Rangchen to still have her photo from back then.

She finally couldn’t help but ask the question she’d always wanted to ask, “But I heard that during that time, he was always surrounded by other girls…”

Actually, she had wanted to ask Lu Rangchen these questions for a long time.

She knew he probably hadn’t had any other women all these years, but she still cared, still cared about the rumors that circulated when they broke up.

Those people said that Lu Rangchen was having a lot of fun during that time, surrounded by many girls, and never idle.

It was impossible not to be jealous.

Even after so many years, Zhu Yunque was still incredibly jealous. She could still vividly recall the scene shortly after their breakup, when she bumped into Lu Rangchen at the supermarket. Just moments before, they had been inseparable, clinging tightly to each other, but now he was cold and indifferent, with another girl by his side.

That bittersweet feeling was still clear to Zhu Yunque.

Now, she finally had a chance to confide in him.

Of course, Zhu Yunque had considered the possible answers. Peng Yuan would likely offer some explanations for Lu Rangchen, saying things like, “Men are all like that; they need to distract themselves after a breakup.”

But she was wrong.

Upon hearing this, Peng Yuan exclaimed, “You mean those rumors? He spread them all on purpose!”

“…”

Zhu Yunque choked slightly. “Why on purpose?”

Peng Yuan laughed. “What else could it be? To provoke you, of course.”

“…”

“Back then, he only talked to those girls at school. Why at school? Because you’d come back to complete your paperwork.”

“Those rumors about him messing around were also deliberately spread, just to make you angry, to make you care.”

“And what happened? You really didn’t react at all, not to mention you two barely had any chance to run into each other at school. When he realized he couldn’t provoke you, you went abroad anyway, and in a fit of anger, he deleted all those girls.”

“Damn, so many girls actively added him, constantly nagging and sending him WeChat messages, all that fuss and concern, and he didn’t reply to a single one. And what happened? Lu Rangchen was drunk that day, in a terrible mood, and wouldn’t even acknowledge them. He spent ages deleting them, so he just dumped them on me to delete for him.”

“For this, he even gave me two hundred yuan as a service fee the next day.”

“I used that service fee to pay my electricity bill for several months. Do you think I don’t remember this?”