The Ceo Of The Company Next Door Seems To Have A Crush On Me Chapter 18

Special Friends and Heyi

Lu Zhijian was greatly anticipating this day. To prepare, he specifically finished all his sudden work on Saturday. Although the appointment with Yan Xucheng was nominally for lunch, no one said what they would do after lunch. What if there were other activities? Wouldn’t it be a shame if work interrupted them?

Lu Zhijian was currently overly excited.

Although he had friends and went out with them, these friendships had formed naturally. They spent time together, and eventually, they automatically became friends. Lu Zhijian had never actively sought out a friend like this before.

Moreover, Lu Zhijian’s friends were all closely tied to his family. Some were neighbors, like Yan Zhu, while others had business dealings with the Lu family, and some were classmates.

Their family backgrounds were similar to Lu Zhijian’s. Of course, Lu Zhijian didn’t think they were befriending him for any ulterior motive, but besides being Lu Zhijian’s friends, they had another identity—friends of the Lu family. Perhaps “allies” was a more fitting term.

Therefore, in every sense, Yan Xucheng was Lu Zhijian’s most special friend.

Lu Zhijian didn’t know if he counted as Yan Xucheng’s friend. He really wanted to know but wasn’t sure how to get the answer. Should he ask directly?

He knew that was impossible. Someone as considerate as Yan Xucheng would definitely say, “Of course you are my friend,” because if he didn’t, Lu Zhijian would surely be sad.

The feeling of anticipation had begun to appear in Lu Zhijian’s mind a long time ago. That sensation was both familiar and strange.

The last time it appeared was during Lu Zhijian’s first spring outing after arriving in Jingji. He remembered that Lu Zhiyu had already learned to speak then, chattering nonstop at home, like the nest of little birds living in the tree directly outside Lu Zhijian’s window. The entire family of five birds couldn’t talk as much as Lu Zhiyu alone, and Lu Zhiyu always clung to his leg, calling him Gege (Older Brother).

Going back further, it must have been when he was still with his grandfather in their hometown, Haicheng. Every time he heard his parents were coming home, he couldn’t sleep the night before, then woke up early, moved a stool, and sat up high to watch for their arrival.

Having worked late into the night yesterday, Lu Zhijian woke up a little later than usual today.

A white paper bag that looked high-quality was placed on the entryway table next to his car keys. The bag had no creases, showing that its owner had handled it very carefully.

Calculating the time to leave, Lu Zhijian picked up the white paper bag. Inside was the gift he had prepared for Yan Xucheng.

Lu Zhijian was lucky, or perhaps it was because the High-Net-Worth Individuals in this building were all grinding away in their cubicles. The elevator was unused. He pressed the down button, and the elevator, which was stopped on the 14th floor, quickly ascended to the 16th floor and opened its doors to him.

Yan Xucheng stepped out of his house almost simultaneously. He held his keys and was fiddling with the map navigation on his phone, muttering, “This damn network…”

Yan Xucheng walked irritably to the elevator. Unfortunately, the elevator had just descended to the 15th floor. If he had come out a moment earlier, he would have caught it. Now he had to wait for ages.

Yan Xucheng leaned weakly against the wall, drawing out his voice: “So unlucky—”

“Ding~” The elevator arrived. At the exact same moment, the map automatically calculated the best driving route.

Good fortune turning around only takes a moment. Yan Xucheng always had a good attitude, and he immediately threw his earlier gloom to the wind, skipping into the elevator.

He didn’t notice anything at first, until he got closer to the restaurant and the surrounding buildings started looking increasingly familiar.

Wait a minute!

Wasn’t that cluster of gray buildings to the east the residential area where he lived during university?!

Zooming out and scrolling up and down the map, several green areas quickly appeared on the screen. Yan Xucheng twitched his mouth as he looked at the four large characters: wasn’t this his alma mater, Jing University? It was only a fifteen-minute drive away.

If that was the case, driving a little further would lead to Redwood Academy, wouldn’t it?

Good heavens, he was back at the base camp.

It was the place where he grew up, yet he had no impression of the restaurant Lu Zhijian had chosen. Very well, restaurant, you have successfully aroused my competitive spirit.

The storefront wasn’t very large and was tucked away in a winding alley. Of course, opening a shop in Jingji, especially near the university district where land was precious, was no easy feat. Having a foothold here was already impressive. If it were any bigger, a street wanderer like Yan Xucheng would surely have discovered it.

Yan Xucheng stood at the entrance, looking for Lu Zhijian. The sunlight hit his head from behind, giving his flame-like hair a translucent, ruby-like quality. This, combined with Yan Xucheng’s stunning face, created a unique dazzle.

There weren’t many people in the shop, but quite a few noticed the scene. Both the red hair and the face were attractive enough, and when combined, they became a natural focal point. Many people were secretly watching the doorway.

Lu Zhijian stood up and walked toward Yan Xucheng. His height was enough to make him stand out. Yan Xucheng’s eyes lit up, and he quickened his pace toward him: “Where are we sitting?”

They instantly became the focus of many people’s attention. For some reason, Lu Zhijian usually disliked receiving excessive attention. Despite being the CEO of a media company, he didn’t expose himself to the spotlight like his peers. Mo Hui had often lamented the waste of his excellent looks.

But the current situation was different. Lu Zhijian felt the usual aversion, wanting to avoid it, yet he strangely didn’t want to move. A hidden emotion arose in his heart, somewhat like happiness, but Lu Zhijian knew it wasn’t.

He didn’t have time to figure it out. Being lost in thought in front of others was impolite. Even if he couldn’t leave a good impression on Yan Xucheng, he couldn’t leave a bad one either: “Let’s go, I’ll take you over.”

Lu Zhijian had chosen a spot by the window on the second floor. From here, they could see several stalks of bamboo in the backyard. It was spring, and new bamboo shoots were breaking through the soil every day, while half-grown bamboo stalks were striving to reach the sky. To curb the bamboo’s growth, the owner had to cut some down, resulting in the current staggered appearance.

Yan Xucheng rested his chin on his hand and looked out: “So there’s a place like this here.”

Lu Zhijian was pouring water from a sky-blue teapot into a teacup. The clear tea liquid in the cup looked calming. He placed the teacup in front of Yan Xucheng, then looked up at the comment: “You sound like you know this area well.”

In this relaxed atmosphere, he unconsciously started using interjections again.

Noticing this, Lu Zhijian suddenly felt embarrassed. He wanted to compensate, but he really didn’t know how. Maybe Yan Xucheng hadn’t noticed, and trying to cover it up would only draw attention.

Whether Yan Xucheng noticed or not, his attention shifted from the bamboo to Lu Zhijian. He smiled brightly, and the rose-gold earring near his ear flashed with fragmented light, making his earlobe look like a piece of high-quality white jade: “My home is nearby!”

He thought for a moment and added: “My parents’ house. I grew up here, but I never discovered this place. Even though I probably ran around everywhere when I was little.”

He hadn’t yet adapted to the change in the location of “my home.”

“So that’s it,” Lu Zhijian said. Just by looking, one could guess that Yan Xucheng was restless as a child, the exact opposite of Lu Zhijian. “I only found this place when I got lost.”

Yan Xucheng became interested and pressed for the story: “What happened? What happened?”

His smoky-blue eyes were like the sparkling lake surface on a clear day in Haicheng. Lu Zhijian didn’t want to spoil his fun: “I had just arrived in Jingji then and wasn’t familiar with the area. The driver who was supposed to pick me up never showed up that day. I originally wanted to look for him nearby, but I didn’t find him, and instead, I wound up in a winding alley, where I discovered this restaurant.

Because I had always been in Haicheng, I wasn’t really used to Jingji cuisine. This restaurant’s taste happened to be similar to mine, leaning toward the Haicheng style. After that, I started coming often.”

Just as he finished speaking, the waiter arrived late with the menu.

People who eat here are usually regulars with fixed tastes and don’t need a menu. Based on Lu Zhijian’s understanding of the owner, he had probably been looking for the menu all this time.

Lu Zhijian didn’t look at it. He took it from the waiter and handed it directly to Yan Xucheng: “You choose.”

Yan Xucheng didn’t stand on ceremony, ordering a few dishes that looked delicious: “Just these, and for the rest, how about you order your usual favorites?”

“Okay.” Lu Zhijian paused, then told the waiter, “Follow the previous order.”

Yan Xucheng asked, “You come here often?”

“Yes, I come whenever I miss home.” Lu Zhijian didn’t say much. His voice carried a hint of melancholy, but more so the calm that comes after accepting everything. Anyone who heard it knew his “home” didn’t refer to Jingji.

Yan Xucheng didn’t press further. Instead, as if he hadn’t noticed anything, he casually brought up something else: “Speaking of which, which school were you at back then? To get lost all the way here.”

“Heyi Middle School.”

“Oh, Heyi!” Yan Xucheng said in an ‘I see’ tone.

His familiar tone easily gave Lu Zhijian a signal. Lu Zhijian was pleasantly surprised: “Were you at Heyi too?”