Chapter 154: Chapter 153: Can I Eat Soft Rice?

Lin Chu took a sip of his drink, casually picked up the bouquet of white roses, pulled out a single stalk, and began tearing it apart, petal by petal.

Liao Meili’s heart ached watching him.

’What did the flowers ever do to you?’

’Why are you ripping them apart?’

"Lin Chu, why don’t you tell me about your past relationships?"

She couldn’t help but change the subject. She figured if they just kept talking, he might snap out of it.

Lin Chu glanced at her. "Didn’t you see it with your own two eyes? You were even there for it. What’s there to talk about? Want to twist the knife some more? Forget it. There’s no point."

He took another gulp of his drink.

And continued to shred the flower.

"If you want to talk so badly, tell me about your past. Let’s see what kind of relationship history it takes to forge a woman with a heart of stone."

Lin Chu said this with an air of utter indifference, looking as if he’d given up on everything.

"I don’t have a heart of stone! I... I was actually moved. It’s just that... you were being such a scumbag before, weren’t you?"

She said with a pout, her eyes glancing upward as she wrestled with her thoughts.

One moment, she thought Lin Chu had brought this all on himself and it was none of her business. The next, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the poor guy, an instinctual wave of sympathy washing over her.

And, to be fair, the way he’d decisively broken up with his girlfriend just to pursue her... it was a ballsy move. A very manly one, even. It had the air of a ruthless conqueror.

It was pretty damn captivating.

But...

He could dump his girlfriend on the spot today. If he got tired of her tomorrow, he’d dump her just as easily. There was absolutely no sense of security with him.

’Will I be the exception?’

She had the confidence to believe she could be, but she was still deeply hesitant.

"Me, a scumbag? Am I a bigger scumbag than you?"

"You have no right to speak without an investigation. That’s slander."

"Besides, look at me now. This is the price I pay for trying not to be a scumbag. I offer my heart to the moon, but the moon shines on the gutter."

Lin Chu said with a heavy, regretful sigh.

He wasn’t just sighing over her, but also over Li Yaoyao.

The past was the past. There was nothing more to say.

Just then, someone hurried over. It was Zhang Peng. He glanced at the scene, unsure what was happening, and sat down next to Lin Chu with a smile.

"Brother Chu, what’s wrong?"

"You’re this drunk?"

Lin Chu patted his shoulder. "Don’t ask. Just drink with me. Call the waiter and get two more bottles of the same."

Zhang Peng nodded.

"Sure thing."

Only then did he look across the table and recognize the "girl in the white swimsuit" from that fleeting glimpse earlier. Taking in the scene, his brow furrowed. "Well, well. So it was you. I should’ve known. What’s your deal, miss? You don’t have to love him, but don’t hurt him. What did you do to my Brother Chu?"

As his brother, Zhang Peng was naturally on Lin Chu’s side. He had no idea Lin Chu was still acting. He just assumed his friend’s attempt to woo the girl had failed and he was genuinely heartbroken—after all, Lin Chu had been obsessing over this "girl in the white swimsuit" for a while.

He’d never seen Brother Chu in such a state.

Liao Meili took a deep breath. ’How did I hurt him?’

But she didn’t argue.

"Alright, since your friend is here, I’ll be going."

Liao Meili felt uncomfortable again. If Lin Chu had been alone, she would have wanted to keep talking, but now that his friend was here, she figured she’d just leave. At least someone was here to look after him.

"Wait a second."

"Here. Go see what I’ve prepared for you."

"You can leave after you see it. Go by yourself. We won’t go up."

Lin Chu handed her a key card. She froze for a second, then hesitated before taking it, realizing he must have prepared a gift for her in one of the suites upstairs.

She gave Lin Chu a long, searching look, then nodded slightly and headed for the elevator.

She rode it all the way up.

Following the floor number on the key card, she arrived at the presidential suite on the top floor. The moment she pushed open the door and looked inside, Liao Meili was utterly stunned.

Flowers.

The room was full of flowers.

Red, passionate red roses. There weren’t just 999 of them; there might have been as many as 9,999. They covered nearly every inch of the hundred-square-meter living room, leaving only a narrow path of petals that led deeper inside.

She froze in place, feeling a tremor deep in her soul.

It was so extravagant, so intense. It was like standing before a volcano of roiling magma. Goosebumps erupted all over her skin.

’Was this... all for me?’

She couldn’t help but follow the floral path, taking one step after another, as if she were entering a secret, hidden realm. Her heart was a whirlwind of shock and emotion.

Deeper inside was the master bedroom, the large bed still surrounded by a sea of flowers. An envelope rested on the pristine white sheets. Taking a deep breath, she picked it up and looked at it.

—I’m not a good man. I’m a wanderer. But I’m willing to pay the price for every impulse of my heart, bear any consequence, and live without regret.

—Lin Chu.

The flamboyant calligraphy and signature had clearly been prepared in advance.

Whether he succeeded or failed, this had been written for her.

Holding the letter, Liao Meili sat on the edge of the bed. Her breathing was ragged, her heart pounded in her chest, and intense palpitations washed over her in waves, like an incoming tide.

She felt herself about to give in.

Who could withstand such a fanatical, ardent display of affection? And who could bear to turn it away?

Besides, her reason for resisting him had never been a lack of charm. It was because he was a womanizer.

A moment of indescribable clarity washed over her. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

’What if... what if I miss this opportunity?’

BEEP.

Just then, the door to the room opened. Lin Chu had used a spare key card.

Zhang Peng hadn’t followed him.

Hearing the door, Liao Meili shot to her feet and looked toward the entrance. She saw Lin Chu stumbling slightly as he walked toward her.

She hesitated for just a moment before he pulled her into a tight embrace.

It felt like being bound by an immortal’s rope; the more she struggled, the tighter his grip became. A rain of wet kisses fell upon her.

"Lin Chu, don’t! Let go!"

she murmured, but her resistance wasn’t particularly strong—it was more an instinctual display of modesty.

Her entire body was still tingling. In this dreamlike haze, emotion had triumphed over reason.

Lin Chu didn’t say a word, focusing solely on the task at hand.

’Now that you’re here, you’re not leaving.’

...

「A little after midnight.」

No matter how resistant a woman might be, at a time like this she becomes as docile as a kitten. Liao Meili rested her head on Lin Chu’s arm and murmured softly, "I never expected our first... uh, date, would end up like this... But, I feel so blissful."

She was shy and hesitant, yet her voice was laced with a sweetness—the kind of dependence that comes after being completely conquered.

"I didn’t expect it either."

Lin Chu said, completely sober now, his tone flippant and self-indulgent as he played with a lock of her hair.

Tonight, he had truly put his philosophy into practice.

To be honest, a girl like Liao Meili was a tough nut to crack. She might have been his most difficult conquest ever.

"I’ve decided."

She suddenly turned her head to look him in the eye.

"Hm?"

Lin Chu asked, surprised.

"I’ve decided not to take the job rotation. I’m staying right here in Peng City. I need to keep a close eye on you, to make sure no other woman lures you away."

Lin Chu: ?

’Holy shit!’

’What kind of ridiculous demand is that?’

"So you can’t leave me already? What happened to ’I’ll be going’ from earlier?"

Lin Chu’s heart skipped a beat, but he just smiled and teased her to deflect. ’Damn it,’ he thought, ’the aftermath is always the biggest pain in the ass.’

’Moving a girl with a grand display of love only to reveal you just wanted to get in her pants would totally ruin my image.’

’I haven’t sunk that low just yet.’

His teasing made her blush. "Well, what else am I supposed to do? I know your type. You’re just high on the chase right now. We can work on our relationship, but if I get transferred for work, you’ll definitely just find someone else."

He had to admit, her assessment was pretty accurate.

"Here, you can cut it off and take it with you."

Lin Chu said with a laugh.

Her: ?

She was a little shocked, a little amused, and even a little touched. ’What a madman,’ she thought, though of course she knew he was only joking.

"This job transfer... can you really just not go?"

Lin Chu asked casually.

"Why not? I’ll just talk to my mom. Oh, let me tell you, my mother is the General Manager of the Wanhao South China Region... and also the Vice President of the Asia-Pacific Region. My father is a shareholder at headquarters—the seventh-largest. He’s Chinese-American."

At this, her gaze suddenly turned serious. "Lin Chu, I am worthy of you, in terms of looks and family background. And I’m an only child."

Lin Chu: ...

His prominent Adam’s apple bobbed.

’And here I was thinking she looked nothing like her mother. Goddamn, it’s really her!’

"Alright, alright, I’m the one reaching above my station. Wait, so why are you working a normal job then?"

Lin Chu took a deep breath. Spending time with her, he’d already gotten the sense from her aura and conversation that she wasn’t from an ordinary family. Now he had solid proof.

"I have to work my way up from the bottom... Ever consider that it’s a public corporation, not a family business?"

she countered gently.

Lin Chu thought for a moment. "Alright, well, you keep at it. Hey, if I decided to live off you, would you despise me?"

She pursed her lips into a smile. "Then you can be my househusband. You can cook, do the laundry, clean the house, and wash my feet for me."

She even looked a little smug about it.

Lin Chu: "Nope, not doing it! We’re breaking up. Right now!"

He said it with a laugh, of course.

"You wouldn’t dare! I forbid it! And don’t you ever say that again! Or I’ll get angry!"

"Mmph... you want to go again?"

...

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