Chapter 85 The Love-Brain Female Lead Awakens 28

“If it works out, then everyone’s happy. All those old discarded embroidery pieces will finally have somewhere to go, and we might even have to cut finished embroidery pieces. If it doesn’t, then spending a few hundred thousand to buy you some project experience still feels like a pretty good deal to Dad.”

Sang Ruo hadn’t planned to take it on, but with Old Sang putting it that way, it didn’t seem like there was any reason not to.

Yi Chen’an had also told her that since she didn’t have any particular goal right now, she should try more things.

Then she could use this as an entry point and try getting involved in the family business for herself.

Sang Ruo agreed.

She wasn’t the type to charge in blindly just because she’d said yes. “I can do it, but Dad, you’ll have to assign a few people to me, and you’ll also need to approve a budget.”

Old Sang assigned one of his secretaries to Sang Ruo, and also picked out people from the various stages of the process for her. Those people would cooperate with her in their respective areas.

Looking at the little accessories in her hands, Sang Ruo wanted to laugh.

She had only come home for National Day¹ break, and somehow it had suddenly turned into a rich second-generation girl’s work diary.

But since she’d accepted it, she would do it seriously. She also wanted to know whether her idea could actually work.

Find designers and discuss draft designs.

Visit factories, choose materials, and inspect samples.

Add counters to the brick-and-mortar stores, carve out a DIY experience area, then move on to promoting the new project.

Set up the livestream room, choose hosts, and build anticipation for the stream.

One thing after another, one task after another.

Even with Old Sang’s instructions and every internal department giving her the green light, she was still busy to the point of being overwhelmed.

Not to mention that when dealing with outside parties, some people saw that she was just a young girl and naturally tried to fool her.

Once this got started, there was no stepping away from it anytime soon, so she specifically asked the school for another two weeks of leave to deal with all these odds and ends.

Only after the designer’s drafts were finalized, the factory was confirmed, samples were produced, the offline DIY event had begun, and the Embroidery House account had resumed livestreaming, with the project finally starting to get on track, did Sang Ruo return to school for classes.

And she guessed there would still be plenty of remote communication in the future. She might even have to go back every week to keep an eye on how things were being carried out.

She announced the good news to Yi Chen’an that she was going back.

Yi Chen’an said, “Where are you right now?”

“I just came out of the store on Hefang Street and was about to head home.”

“Walking?”

“Yeah.” Sang Ruo found the question strange. “You don’t need to worry. Even though it’s night, Hefang Street is really lively at night too, and the police patrol it heavily, so it’s very safe. My home is also very close to here.”

As she spoke, she suddenly stopped and looked ahead. “Yi Chen’an, let me tell you something. I just saw someone who looks a lot like you, only about fifty meters away from me. The more I look, the more he looks like you. Does your family happen to have a brother who got lost years ago? He really looks so much like you. I’ll take a picture when I get closer and send it to you. You’ll definitely think so too. Even the way he moves and dresses is really similar.”

Yi Chen’an sounded rather helpless on the phone.

He sighed. “I also see, from fifty meters away, a Little Moron who looks a lot like my girlfriend.”

Sang Ruo instinctively shot back, “Your girlfri… is the moron!”

Only after saying it did she realize she’d just insulted herself.

Yi Chen’an was laughing. “Right. My girlfriend’s a moron.”

Sang Ruo kept staring at the man under the streetlight who looked so much like Yi Chen’an. It wasn’t until she got a little closer that she realized, why was this person also wearing a trench coat she’d bought for Yi Chen’an?

Then Yi Chen’an’s gentle voice came through the phone, warm with laughter. “Little Moron, what are you standing there for? Shouldn’t you be running over and throwing yourself into my arms?”

“Y-you-you…”

Now she could see clearly. That person really was Yi Chen’an.

The person from the phone had appeared right by her side.

What kind of romantic magic was this?

She really did run over and throw herself into the arms that were opening for her.

Feeling his long-missed presence, even Sang Ruo’s voice turned nasal.

“Why did you suddenly come without telling me?”

Only at this moment did she realize just how much she had missed him after three weeks apart.

The man held her tightly, very tightly.

But his voice was gentle enough to melt. “I missed you, so I came.”

Actually, at a moment like this, Sang Ruo felt that in the face of such intense emotion, words were unnecessary.

She rubbed against Yi Chen’an, turning into a little animal guided only by instinct, making soft incoherent sounds to express herself.

Smoothing her down, Yi Chen’an comforted her, “I don’t mind if you keep holding onto me and refuse to let go, but I think we should first pick up your bag.”

Her bag? What bag?

Only then did Sang Ruo look at herself. Right, when had her bag disappeared?

She was only still holding her phone.

Yi Chen’an jerked his chin behind her.

She turned around and only then saw her canvas bag lying exactly where she’d been standing just now.

When she’d run toward Yi Chen’an, she hadn’t even realized she’d dropped it.

Sang Ruo ran over to pick up her bag, but after taking two steps, she came back and pulled Yi Chen’an along with her.

Yi Chen’an let her hold his hand. After picking up the bag, he switched it to the hand that wasn’t holding her.

That way, Sang Ruo could cling to his arm with both hands like a sloth.

“When did you get here?”

“Earlier today. You said you were busy, so I didn’t say I was coming.” Yi Chen’an explained with a smile. “Otherwise, if you were like this, forgetting even your bag, how could you focus on work? Right, Little Moron?”

Sang Ruo hmphed. Right now, with her boyfriend here, she was content with everything and didn’t mind his teasing.

Thinking back on it now, what she’d said just now about seeing someone who looked like him really had been stupid enough.

She sent a message home saying she’d be back later.

“Come on, I’ll take you to a place I’ve been eating at since I was little.”

This time, Yi Chen’an didn’t let himself be led away by her.

Instead, the man pulled her back.

He was standing in the shadow beneath a tree.

With that tug, Sang Ruo tumbled into his arms and was pulled back behind the tree with his arm around her. He pressed her against the trunk, and even before he bent down, his breathing was already a little unsteady.

“Let’s eat something else first,” he said softly.

This time, his kiss was like a towering wave, sweeping her away completely.

She could feel it very clearly, this fierce, aggressive kiss was filled with desire.

It was very much like the way he had kissed her the first time.

If anything, this time was even more than before, when he had only simply been kissing her.

When, in her haze, that softness fell under his control, she could barely hold out, a helpless whimper slipping from her lips.

Those sounds were swallowed back by his kisses, leaving behind only a few broken hums.

They were pressed so tightly together that she could even feel the obvious change in the man’s body and the unconscious way he rubbed against her.

Sang Ruo’s legs went weak.

The man wrapped his arms around her and leaned against her shoulder, breathing hard.

“Don’t be scared. Let me calm down for a bit.”

By the time the two of them returned to normal and stepped out from behind the tree’s shadow, neither of them knew how much time had passed.

Sang Ruo still took him to the snack stall she often visited, only she didn’t quite dare look at him, trailing behind him like a shy little wife.

Every time her gaze met his, she blushed without fail.

Yi Chen’an walked her back, and when they were about to part, he asked, “Are you planning to keep avoiding my eyes forever?”

The man brushed the hair away from her face and cupped her cheeks, kissing her eyelids.

Then he pulled back and said to her, “There, I’ve soothed it. So can it look at me now?”

Sang Ruo looked at him. In his pupils, all she could see was her own reflection.

Yi Chen’an discussed it with her. “I’ve already come to Qingyan. Tell your parents today, and I’ll pay them a proper visit tomorrow.”

“No.” Sang Ruo refused.

“Hm?”

Sang Ruo said, “Actually, I still haven’t told them that I have a boyfriend.”

“It’s nothing. We really haven’t been dating for long, so normally it wouldn’t be time to meet the parents yet. But it’s not like we were strangers before. This visit wouldn’t be too abrupt, would it?”

“No.” Sang Ruo spoke in a coaxing tone. “I’m not ready yet.”

Yi Chen’an laughed. “What do you need to prepare? Shouldn’t I be the one who needs to get ready and make a good impression?”

Sang Ruo didn’t know either. She just felt especially nervous whenever she thought about telling her parents that the person she was dating was Yi Chen’an.

She had never felt this way back when she was with Zhou Yan.

As if he knew what she was thinking, Yi Chen’an said, “Are you worried that I used to be your father’s friend, and now that friend has turned into his son-in-law, your parents won’t accept me?”

“Maybe. I don’t know either. I just feel really nervous.”

Sang Ruo covered her chest. With Yi Chen’an standing so close, he could probably already hear how violently her heart was pounding.

Yi Chen’an said, “Bubu, let me ask you something. You want to keep going forward with me, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“Would you mind that I’m eight years older than you?”

“Of course not. What are you talking about? If I minded that, I wouldn’t have gotten together with you in the first place.”

“Good girl, I know.” Yi Chen’an soothed her. “In that case, leave it to me, all right? Even if they object, let me handle it. But first, they need to know that I exist as your boyfriend. Better now than later…”

“No, you haven’t even heard how fast my heart is beating. Tomorrow won’t work. Next time, okay? Next time?”

Translator’s Notes