The Ceo Of The Company Next Door Seems To Have A Crush On Me Chapter 14

Pursuing Art and Large Dogs

During dinner, Lu Zhiyu announced a major decision: “I’m going abroad to study!”

Lu Zhiyu is currently a freshman at the Jingji Academy of Arts, set to enter her sophomore year in the fall. She has considerable talent in painting, but no one knew what she was truly thinking. Lu Ming and Liu Huaixiu’s first reaction was: “Absolutely not!”

“Why not?” Lu Zhiyu was not someone who would give up because of others’ opposition.

Liu Huaixiu felt a headache coming on. “Why should you? You already got into Mei University; why suddenly go abroad?”

Lu Zhiyu stuck out her neck. “I want to pursue art!”

As she spoke, her eyes inadvertently fell on Lu Zhijian, who was sitting farthest from her. While everyone else was focused on her, Lu Zhijian didn’t look at her. Instead, he continued picking up food as if he hadn’t heard her words.

Facing the glaring Lu Ming and Liu Huaixiu, Lu Zhiyu became even more resolute. “I am going. If you don’t let me go, I’ll sneak off by myself.”

Lu Ming was baffled. “What art? Is there no art in our country? You’ve never left our side since you were little. Even when we went back to our hometown in Haicheng, we went with you. Now you want to go so far alone? I don’t agree.”

Lu Zhiyu argued logically. “I’m grown up now. You can’t keep treating me like a child and tying me down. You’re preventing me from growing and progressing!”

Lu Ming blurted out, “Then your mother and I will go with you!”

At this, Lu Zhiyu couldn’t help but look at Lu Zhijian again. Lu Zhijian was still the same, his frequency of picking up food barely changing. If Lu Zhiyu didn’t know her brother was normal in every way, she might suspect he was deaf.

“Anyway, I’m going.” Dropping that statement, Lu Zhiyu thumped up the stairs.

“Sigh—” Lu Ming and Liu Huaixiu lost their appetite.

Lu Zhijian put down his chopsticks and picked up the orange juice beside him, taking a sip.

Liu Huaixiu saw this and said worriedly, “The orange juice is cold. Try the mulled wine I simmered this afternoon.”

The mulled wine looked delicious, with various fruits lying inside, stained with an unnatural red. There was also a slice of blood orange in it. Lu Zhijian looked at it. “I won’t drink it. I have to drive back later.”

Lu Ming snapped out of his contemplation. “You’re going back so late? Why don’t you stay the night?”

Lu Zhijian shook his head. “No, I have work tomorrow, and that place is closer to the company.”

Once he mentioned work, no one tried to keep him. Lu Zhijian took his coat from the rack with one hand, pushed open the door, and walked into the night. The wind of early spring evening made his coat tails flap loudly.

Lu Zhijian looked up at the sky. There was only a sliver of a crescent moon, and not a single star. His luck was truly bad today, running into a major temperature drop.

The wind made a terrifying sound against the car window. Yan Xucheng cranked up the heat and sped to Redwood Academy like a flash of lightning.

Although his own house was already renovated, it still needed time to air out, so Yan Xucheng was still living with his parents. Redwood Academy was not close to Qishan Private Hospital. Without traffic, the drive usually took an hour.

Yan Xucheng, who used to be the least busy person in the family, had become the last one to return home every day, and he had to wake up early to avoid the morning rush hour.

After returning home and eating the ready-made dinner, Yan Xucheng enjoyed a hot bath. Then, he changed into a pajama set with a kitten print, lay on the bed, and played on his phone with his legs crossed.

The pajama pants were loose, and as he crossed his legs, they slid down to his knees, revealing his pearly white, slender calves and ankles that could be grasped with one hand. They flashed under the bedroom light, catching the eye.

Unsurprisingly, he was playing an online game with Jiang Mingyi. While playing, he recounted the story of Xu Songmian he heard today, omitting the names. “Isn’t that ridiculous? Today I witnessed firsthand how the parents of children with psychological disorders often need treatment more than the children themselves.”

“Definitely. Just thinking about it feels suffocating. There’s nothing else to say. I can only wish that child can get away from his parents soon.”

Jiang Mingyi remembered something. “Oh, right, I got an appointment. I’m going to file for divorce next Tuesday. After another month of the cooling-off period, I’ll be single again!”

The thought was good, but Yan Xucheng remained consistent in his low expectations for Yan Zhu’s character. “I hope everything goes smoothly.”

Yan Xucheng quit the game at 10:30 PM because he had to wake up early tomorrow. If he overslept, he would personally experience his mother’s loving wake-up service in the morning, a sound that could make Yan Xucheng feel twenty years younger.

Yan Xucheng knew he was dreaming, as he had never seen Lu Zhijian look so pitiful.

Lu Zhijian in front of him was like a large dog caught in the rain. Usually majestic, his fur was now wet and clumped together. This big dog was solid; even with wet fur, he was still huge. When he leaned over, Yan Xucheng felt the sky darken.

Damn it, his 183 cm height wasn’t nearly enough!

Yan Xucheng haphazardly blocked him with his arms. “W-what are you doing? This close…”

Lu Zhijian hugged him tightly, burying his head in his shoulder, like a large dog insisting on squeezing into its owner’s embrace. He looked a little pathetic. “Do you dislike me?”

He sounded pathetic too…

Yan Xucheng wasn’t completely swayed, but his movements softened slightly. “Of course not! You, you let go first.”

He was hugging him so tightly.

Lu Zhijian proved with action that he could actually hug tighter. “But I always feel like you don’t want to talk to me. I wanted to have dinner with you, and you refused before I even mentioned the time.”

Yan Xucheng pulled himself out of the embrace and retrieved the hair that had been attracted to Lu Zhijian due to static electricity. “It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you. It’s just, it’s because Jiang Mingyi and Yan Zhu are still going through the divorce process, you understand?”

Lu Zhijian shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“Oh, how should I explain this?” Yan Xucheng scratched his forehead. “Jiang Mingyi and I are friends, and you and Yan Zhu are friends. Now that they are going through a messy time, we should also keep our distance, understand?”

Logically speaking, they didn’t need to keep their distance. Jiang Mingyi’s divorce had nothing to do with Yan Xucheng. But he was Jiang Mingyi’s best friend, the Eldest Daughter!

A good Eldest Daughter must consciously take sides and always stand on the same front as her best friend.

Yan Xucheng didn’t know if Lu Zhijian understood, but he could tell Lu Zhijian was unwilling.

Even though he was unwilling, Lu Zhijian didn’t do anything else to him. He just stood there, looking sad by himself.

This…

Yan Xucheng couldn’t handle it. If Lu Zhijian had been forceful, like throwing a tantrum—though Lu Zhijian’s personality wouldn’t allow for that—Yan Xucheng would have firmly told him, “No.”

But Lu Zhijian’s pitiful look of silently accepting everything without making a fuss hit the mark. Yan Xucheng also felt bad for Lu Zhijian. He could tell Lu Zhijian was an introverted person who wouldn’t refuse others, which was why he hadn’t proactively asked for Lu Zhijian’s contact information back in Country F.

But thinking about how Lu Zhijian proactively asked for his WeChat and tried hard to find topics to talk about, Yan Xucheng suddenly felt a pang of sympathy. An ‘I’ person had gone that far. He opened his mouth. “After their business is sorted out, can we hang out together?”

“Yes, please.” Lu Zhijian’s eyes instantly lit up.

Yan Xucheng suddenly opened his eyes. He stiffly turned his head. Where was he? These curtains… Oh, he was sleeping at home.

After waking up, he rolled over and buried his head in the pillow. The soft pillow was pressed into a large indentation by his face.

No, how could he have such a dream? Even if he did, why would he randomly add settings to the person? Where did that final “Yes, please” come from?

While he was battling in his mind, the alarm he set went off. As soon as he heard the sound, Yan Xucheng’s heart instinctively jumped. His mind instantly cleared. He didn’t have time to think about anything else, quickly reaching for the phone on the bedside table to turn the thing off. It wasn’t good for his heart.

When Lan Lan was drawing her eyebrows in the small mirror, she caught sight of a fully dressed Yan Xucheng from the edge of the mirror. Her hand trembled, and the tail of her eyebrow immediately flew out, straight into her temple. “Why are you so early today?”

Usually, Yan Xucheng came out when she finished her full makeup, sometimes when breakfast started. Today, the sun must have risen from the west.

Yan Xucheng was unhappy, his cheeks puffed out like a little steamed bun. “Can’t I be diligent and motivated?”

Lan Lan answered him directly. “No. You weren’t even like this during your college entrance exams, let alone for work.”

“Hmph.” Yan Xucheng didn’t want to talk and turned to run to the kitchen. “Dad, what are we eating today? Why haven’t you finished cooking? You’re so slow—”

Yan Hong calmly flipped the egg pancake in the pan, completely undisturbed by Yan Xucheng. “Slow? I’ve been cooking at this speed for years. It’ll be ready just as your mother finishes her makeup. Sometimes, you should look for the reason yourself. Did you wake up too early?”

“Hmph.” Yan Xucheng ran out and sat at the dining table, holding his phone and agonizing alone.

He was debating whether to explain things to Lu Zhijian. Although last night was just a dream, the dream, excluding some actions and dialogue, was surprisingly reasonable. For someone like Lu Zhijian, who overthinks things, he might genuinely be sad because of his refusal. However, since their relationship wasn’t close enough to be completely open, he wouldn’t feel comfortable asking. Thinking this way, it was better to explain, lest Lu Zhijian misunderstand.

But wouldn’t it be strange if he suddenly went up and explained a whole bunch of things out of the blue?

What should he do?