Chapter 33.2
The three of them sat around a table. Yu Le chatted with them casually, asking where they had been over the past few days. Somehow, the conversation turned to Lu Yao.
“Yu Le, are you very close with Boss Lu?” Cheng Xiwu asked.
Yu Le smiled and said, “I’ve been staying here for such a long time, so of course, I’m familiar with him.”
Cheng Xiwu, casually inquiring while lowering his gaze to his noodles, asked, “So, what do you think of Boss Lu?”
Yu Le answered without hesitation, “He’s a great person, really great. He’s good at everything and very reliable.”
Cheng Xiwu: “…Good at everything?”
“Yep,” Yu Le said. “When I first came here, I was very unaccustomed to it, and it was rare if I didn’t run into problems every day. If it weren’t for him, I’d probably have left long ago.”
Cheng Xiwu tightened his grip on his chopsticks, maintaining a gentle smile. “It sounds like he takes good care of you.”
Yu Le smiled. “There’s nothing I can do. I don’t want to either, but he’s been so generous.”
Cheng Xiwu: “…”
“Oh, right.” Yu Le remembered something and bragged like showing off a treasure. “Did you notice? Boss Lu used to be a soldier.”
“Really? That explains it,” Su Hui said, unable to hold back. “When I first saw Boss Lu, he seemed very serious, with a steady and composed demeanor. It’s different from ordinary people. Turns out he was trained in the military.”
“Yeah,” Yu Le said, his lips curving into a smile. Hearing praise for Lu Yao made him happier than hearing praise for himself.
Su Hui smiled, teasingly asked, “So, is that why you stick to Boss Lu so much?”
Yu Le blinked. “Huh? Do I?”
“Of course you do.”
Su Hui counted off on her fingers, “From what I’ve noticed in just these few days, someone always wants to follow Boss Lu whenever he’s doing something, whether it’s washing things, going to the counter, buying stuff, or even feeding the dog.”
Su Hui set her hands down and smiled, “If that’s not clingy, what is?”
Yu Le did these things on a whim, going wherever he wanted without much thought. Only when Su Hui listed them did he realize that, yes… it did seem that way.
He wasn’t sure when it started, but he really liked following Lu Yao around, being by his side.
And Lu Yao had been accommodating him, which led to him getting lost in indulgence, not realizing he had become a shadow.
“It really does seem that way…”
Yu Le scratched his neck, a bit embarrassed but also in a good mood, his smile broadening uncontrollably. “Well, fortunately, Boss Lu has a good temperament and hasn’t kicked me out.”
Cheng Xiwu quietly exited the group chat, listening to their conversation in silence, his smile looking a bit awkward.
Su Hui: “So it seems you have a really good relationship. If I didn’t know it was your first time in Daiwa Town, I’d think you two had known each other for a long time.”
Yu Le seemed to think of something, his eyelashes fluttering quickly as he said softly, “Ah… Haha, not really.”
Su Hui: “What?”
“Nothing.” Yu Le changed the subject playfully. “We’ve even worshiped the Buddha together, so it would be odd if we didn’t have a good relationship, right?”
Su Hui: “Worshiped the Buddha? You two—”
“Yu Le, where’s that pool you went to yesterday?” Cheng Xiwu set down his chopsticks and spoke up, interrupting Su Hui.
Yu Le: “It’s at the foot of the mountain, but you have to enter through a different entrance. The route up the mountain would make a big detour.”
“Can you take us there?”
After his previous invitation was declined, Cheng Xiwu, not giving up, tried again. “We saw a waterway while going up the mountain, and Su Hui wants to check it out. It’s a pity we couldn’t find the way down.”
Having already declined once, Yu Le was reluctant to refuse a second time. Plus, he also wanted to go and play in the water again. He was about to agree when Cheng Xiwu received a work call.
It seemed urgent, so Cheng Xiwu had to return to Wen Yuan’s inn to handle work, and their plan to go up the mountain was aborted.
He had work to return to, but Su Hui didn’t, so she was left behind.
When Wang Wenyan came down, Yu Le was feeding Da Huang the dog. In the kitchen, Su Hui was the only one left, leisurely enjoying her breakfast.
“Good morning.”
Among the two girls of the same age at the inns, Su Hui had a good impression of Wang Wenyan because of the plastic hearts from yesterday. She took the initiative to greet her with a smile.
“Good morning.” Wang Wenyan, yawning, sat at the table, having ordered sour and spicy noodles.
“By the way, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Su Hui, Su from Suzhou and Hui meaning wisdom. And you?”
“Wang Wenyan. Wang from culture, Wen, and Yan from the charming, colorful blossoms.”
“Nice name!” Su Hui smiled, complimenting her, and then asked, “Yu Le mentioned you’re both university students, right? What year are you in?”
Wang Wenyan raised an eyebrow. “Is this morning’s Q&A session?”
Su Hui quickly waved her hand. “No, I’m just curious and asking casually. It’s fine if you don’t want to answer.”
“No problem.” Wang Wenyan rested her chin on her hand. “We’re in our fourth year, working on a project.”
“Fourth year, that’s nice,” Su Hui said with a hint of envy. She had graduated three years ago, and many of her classmates had lost touch.
“Not that great. It’s just the way it is.” Wang Wenyan tilted her head, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Su Hui. “What about you? Why are you here alone? Where’s your fiancé?”
Su Hui: “He has work and went back earlier.”
Wang Wenyan: “He went back because of work, so he left you alone here?”
Su Hui explained, “No, it’s just that I felt it would be boring to go back without anything to do, so I decided to stay a bit longer.”
Wang Wenyan: “Tsk tsk. A man takes his fiancée on a trip and not only leaves her bored but even abandons her alone. How can that be?”
Her words sounded strange. Su Hui wanted to respond, but Wang Wenyan leisurely continued, “Sister, your fiancé is quite something.”
She twirled her bright red nail polish with her fingertips. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m just curious—what do you see in him?”
Yu Le, eating halfway through his meal while watching Da Huang, saw Lu Yao come down with a plum blossom knife from upstairs and head to the hall. He instinctively wanted to follow.
But then he hesitated.
Careless!
Almost got clingy again.
He chewed on his back teeth, bending down to pat Da Huang’s head. “Strange, Da Huang, why does your boss seem like a flower, making this bee want to buzz around him?”
“Hey, do you think he might be a bit annoyed by me being so clingy, but he’s too good-natured to say anything?”
“Our Boss Lu is really pitiful. Good people get taken advantage of. Maybe I should endure a bit today and let him have some peace?”
Half a minute later.
“…Forget it, the tolerant one works more.”
He patted the dog’s head and excitedly ran into the hall, leaning over the counter to look inside. “Boss Lu, what are you busy with?”
