“Are you kidding me???? You two made up??”

“It’s only been such a short time, and you two already made up??”

“Was it him who brought it up, or you? What exactly happened? I feel like I only went out to have fun for a few days, and when I came back, everything had changed.”

During the ten-minute class break, Xu Linda was on the other end of the phone, utterly shocked and unable to stop exclaiming.

Outside the office, the hallway buzzed with noise.

Zhu Yunque typed student grades into the keyboard with one hand, and hearing this, she couldn’t help but curl the corner of her lips upward.

In truth, she couldn’t blame Xu Linda for being shocked.

Even she herself, lying in bed last night, had found it unbelievable — unbelievable that she and Lu Rangchen had simply made up like that.

It felt like a dream.

Not only had they patched things up, but there was also a very fresh and wonderful feeling to it.

Like re-experiencing the taste of first love — that uneasy, fluttering feeling, with emotions rising and falling unpredictably. Something she had only gone through in her girlhood years.

Even now, in the midst of her busy work, Zhu Yunque would find her mind wandering involuntarily, wondering what Lu Rangchen was doing at that moment.

There had been some dispute at the club. He had dealt with it late into the night, and afterward had taken a few team members out for a meal — these were things Lu Rangchen had briefly mentioned over WeChat.

Later, Lu Rangchen must have finished and called her, but Zhu Yunque had fallen asleep by then and didn’t pick up.

She hadn’t answered, and so he hadn’t called again.

By the time Lu Rangchen woke up, Zhu Yunque had already overslept and rushed off to school by taxi.

Once at school, the two of them kept in touch only through sporadic text messages.

She knew he had gone out again for a business negotiation; he reminded her to eat a proper meal during her lunch break. The chat looked rather ordinary on the surface.

Thinking about all of this, Zhu Yunque said, “Honestly, it’s not as dramatic as you’re imagining. We’ve only been back together for less than a day.”

The words carried a faint trace of uncertainty.

Xu Linda laughed at this and said, “What — are you having second thoughts?”

Zhu Yunque said, “I’m not the one having second thoughts.”

She pressed her lips together. “I won’t change my mind. It’s him.”

Xu Linda was briefly surprised. “Zhu Yunque, when did you become so lacking in confidence? The fact that you managed to get that guy to come around in such a short time proves that he never let go of you in the first place. What is there to be afraid of him regretting?”

“……”

Perhaps it was because she had lost him once before, and now that she had him again, she couldn’t help but fear losing what she had; or perhaps it was because the obstacles from before had never truly been removed or resolved.

There was always a faint thread of insecurity in Zhu Yunque.

She couldn’t put a name to that feeling, but she also thought that what Xu Linda said made sense — maybe she was just over-thinking things, and maybe Lu Rangchen was simply very busy today.

Holding onto that thought, Zhu Yunque felt herself relax without realizing it, and she chatted with Xu Linda for a while longer. It wasn’t until Xu Linda had gotten the full picture of how the two of them had made up that they finally ended the call.

Xu Linda had to go back to editing her videos.

She couldn’t talk for too long, but she still left a WeChat message that read: 【Don’t worry, sweetheart. From what you’ve described, that guy Lu Rangchen was already hoping to make up with you a long time ago. Today he’s probably just busy and hasn’t had the chance to pay attention to you — or maybe he’s doing it on purpose, dangling you on a hook to keep you hooked.】

Zhu Yunque couldn’t help asking: 【Why would he dangle me on a hook?】

Xu Linda replied instantly: 【Didn’t you dangle him on a hook too?】

“……”

Zhu Yunque was genuinely struck by a pang of guilt for a moment.

Xu Linda continued: 【Think about what things were like between you two before — the way you kept getting close then pulling away. Only someone like Lu Rangchen would put up with that. If it were me, I would have hated you for life and never gotten back together with you.】

The words were childish, but they rang true.

Zhu Yunque couldn’t help but laugh, replying: 【Alright, I know. I was wrong.】

Xu Linda sent a rolling-eyes emoji and said: 【What’s the point of telling me? Go tell your Lu Rangchen.】

Then she paused and added: 【I guarantee he’ll love you to bits, smother you with kisses, hugs, and shower you with affection.】

With that, Xu Linda really did go back to work.

Zhu Yunque should have gone back to work too — she still had two classes coming up — but for some reason, her gaze kept settling on that last message of Xu Linda’s, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t bring herself to look away.

She couldn’t quite say what was going through her mind in that moment.

But she really did, against all expectation, take the initiative for once, and sent Lu Rangchen two messages.

One was: 【What are you up to?】

The other was: 【Lu Rangchen, I miss you.】

……

That day, Lu Rangchen spent the entire day handling contract matters for the club.

A few of the team members — those with strong prospects — had been scouted by other clubs and wanted to break their contracts and leave; those with weaker prospects had families who didn’t want them to continue training, saying there was no money in it.

Truthfully, the club’s manager could have handled this matter.

But the club had been built from scratch by Lu Rangchen himself, and those team members had been discovered and recruited one by one through his own efforts. There was no reason for him to pretend he didn’t know about it, so he went back to deal with it himself.

He was the type of person who never dragged things out, and who never wanted to force anything that wasn’t meant to be.

There were so many people pursuing professional careers in esports; he would never hold anyone back against their will.

If they wanted to leave, they could go. He wouldn’t cling to anyone, and he wouldn’t cause them any trouble — he’d follow the proper procedures, and once that was done, he’d let them go.

The only one he couldn’t help speaking to at greater length was the team member with the weaker prospects.

As he spoke, a whole room of team members listened. The young player who had wanted to leave was crying, tears and snot streaming down his face.

Lu Rangchen still had that same languid, nonchalant air as ever, mixed with the maturity and wisdom of someone who had been through it all.

He propped one long leg on the floor, posture loose and relaxed as he sat perched on the office desk, and said, “If you want to leave, that’s fine. We’ll dissolve the contract today. But have you thought about this — if you walk out the door today, for the rest of your life, you’ll never have the courage to step foot in a place like this again.”

“I don’t have any great words of encouragement for you, because I haven’t been through what you’re going through, and this little operation of mine isn’t big enough to shelter everyone from the wind and rain. I just want to say: life is long. It’s not only about getting by. There are things you truly love, things you truly want to do.”

“While you’re still young, go and take chances. That’s never the wrong call.”

“Of course, I’m not that much of a hypocrite either,” Lu Rangchen dropped his easygoing act and spoke with straightforward seriousness. “I’ve already talked it over with the finance department. Starting this month, everyone’s base salary will be raised by one thousand yuan, and on top of that, all other performance bonuses and incentives will also go up by ten percent.”

When they heard this, everyone froze — including Deng Zhe, who was over to the side getting water and listening in on the conversation.

Deng Zhe’s eyes went wide and he hadn’t quite wrapped his head around what had just happened when those rowdy young players erupted in excitement, one after another crying out “Long live the boss!” — all of them absolutely giddy.

Even the player who had wanted to leave was struck speechless.

His tear-blurred eyes gazed at Lu Rangchen.

Lu Rangchen looked back at him, then smiled.

That afternoon, in the end, the only one who actually chose to leave was the team’s top-performing player. The sky is wide for the bird to fly — Lu Rangchen never stood in anyone’s way.

As for the player with the weaker prospects, he ultimately decided to stay. He wanted to give it another shot.

The whole group clattered downstairs noisily together to find their coach and get back to training.

Left behind in the office were Deng Zhe and Lu Rangchen. Deng Zhe was baffled — he said, Lu Rangchen, what’s gotten into you? Didn’t you already raise everyone’s wages last year? If you keep raising them like this, those rowdy kids will be lounging around eating and drinking without any fear of going hungry.

He said it out of genuine concern for Lu Rangchen.

But Lu Rangchen’s mood was exceptionally good — more than just a little.

He leaned back lazily in his chair, tilted an eyebrow at Deng Zhe, and said, “What’s the matter — jealous? If you want, come in here and do something useful, and I’ll put you on payroll.”

Deng Zhe was a proud, high-minded sort, and upon hearing this he laughed with anger, telling him to get lost.

Lu Rangchen heard it and seemed not to have heard it, the faint curve of his lips lazily persistent, and finally found a moment to glance at his phone.

Over the years, he had met a great many people, and there were always many people reaching out to him. His phone notifications were perpetually piled up in a heap.

He genuinely hadn’t expected Zhu Yunque’s messages to be tucked in among them.

He had been thinking he’d send this girl a message, asking if she’d finished her work yet.

After all, the two of them had made plans the night before — today was a date, and he’d wait for her to get off work and go pick her up from school. And knowing her temperament, Lu Rangchen figured she’d wait until the time was closer before reaching out to him, so he hadn’t been in any hurry.

As it turned out, he wasn’t in a hurry, but she was.

She had even sent him two WeChat messages.

When he saw the one that said “I miss you,” Lu Rangchen’s eyebrow rose, and the next moment, a brilliantly clear smile spread across his lips.

He was normally the composed, reserved type, and rarely smiled like that.

And yet here it was — that kind of smile that was entirely wholehearted.

He truly hadn’t expected that when this girl decided to take initiative, she would take it this far.

Hmm, not bad. She’d said she missed him.

But his expression — it seemed that the delight was showing a little too obviously.

To the point that when Deng Zhe saw him like this, he actually froze.

After piecing together roughly what must be going on, he gave a sudden bark of laughter and said, “Lu Rangchen, can you have some dignity? You got one WeChat message and you’re grinning like that.”

Perhaps buoyed by this “tremendous good fortune” of his, Lu Rangchen gave him a languid sidelong glance and said, “If you’re jealous, just say so.”

“……”

“Otherwise I can also organize a gathering tonight, and have my girlfriend invite Xu Linda so we can all go have a meal together.”

Upon hearing this, Deng Zhe felt a headache coming on so severe he nearly groaned out loud.

On one hand, the word “girlfriend” that Lu Rangchen had dropped hit him like sour plum juice to the teeth. On the other hand, the name “Xu Linda” gave him such a fright that he repeated twice over, “Please don’t, spare me.”

Lu Rangchen clicked his tongue and said, “Deng Zhe, I’ve realized you’re quite heartless.”

“Heartless my ass,” Deng Zhe was at a loss for words. “You think I dislike her? Why would I dislike her? It’s her who dislikes me, that’s more like it. And the way I am right now, I——”

At that point, Deng Zhe let out a deflated sigh.

Then he laughed softly and said, “She’s doing pretty well for herself — she’s a wealthy second-generation heir and a social media influencer. Me, I run a supermarket. There’s no need for me to show up in front of her and make her day worse by embarrassing myself.”

The words carried a few notes of heartache and helplessness.

Lu Rangchen’s expression stilled for a moment, then he heard Deng Zhe tease him by saying, “Besides, you think everyone is like you — a hopeless romantic?”

He chuckled and said, “Xu Linda is living very well these days. How could she possibly still think about me?”

A few words like that, and even the fish in the tank went silent.

In the end, Lu Rangchen raised an eyebrow and said, “Alright. I won’t bother worrying on your behalf then.”

With that, he let his gaze drift, rather fondly, back to his phone.

There, Zhu Yunque’s two messages still lay quietly on the screen, like a treasure within reach.

He silently curved his lips.

Lu Rangchen lowered his eyes and sent Zhu Yunque a few voice messages in reply.

Just for her alone.

After replying, he even pinned her messages to the top of his chat list.

Glancing over, he saw that there was still more than forty minutes before she got off work. He grabbed his car keys, stood up, said a quick goodbye to Deng Zhe, and left.

At this time, Zhu Yunque had just finished the last class of the day and was heading back to the office.

The moment she stepped in, she heard Zhang Yanlai chatting with another young female teacher.

That teacher taught the first-year classes; her office was normally on the floor below, but because she and Zhang Yanlai were close friends, she came up often.

Zhu Yunque didn’t know her well and had nothing particular to say to her, so she went straight back to her own seat.

Perhaps because Zhu Yunque’s footsteps were very quiet, or perhaps because the two of them were deep in conversation, either way, neither of them noticed she had returned.

Zhang Yanlai said with a disgruntled air, “Make a move? Ha. We all went there together that day, and he wasn’t even there. I didn’t so much as catch a glimpse of him.”

The other teacher gave a soft sound of surprise. “Did you call him then? Didn’t you ask him why he wasn’t there?”

“Of course I called,” Zhang Yanlai said, irritated. “I called right then and there. I asked him why he wasn’t there. And you know what he said? He said, ‘Who are you?'”

That was not the response anyone expected.

The other teacher froze for a moment, and then couldn’t hold back a burst of laughter.

She laughed so hard her shoulders shook.

Zhang Yanlai scowled at her laughter and let out an exasperated sound, asking if it was really that funny.

Hearing the displeasure in her tone, the other teacher reined herself in and apologized.

Zhang Yanlai shot her a flat look and said, “Anyway, it doesn’t matter anymore. He’s not single now.”

She was just about to continue when, the next second, she noticed Zhu Yunque sitting quietly at her desk, marking papers.

Still that same perfect posture — whether standing or sitting — that calm, serene air, like someone who could never be distracted from her composure, always cool yet gentle.

It was unexpected to find her there at this hour. Zhang Yanlai felt a sudden lurch of awkwardness, unsure how much of her humiliating story Zhu Yunque had overheard.

But then, on second thought, she wasn’t the only one who had made a fool of herself.

What did she have to feel embarrassed about? If it was going to be awkward, they could all be awkward together.

So she simply steered the conversation toward Zhu Yunque outright, raising her voice to say, “Oh, Zhu Yunque, you’re here too! Did you hear what I just said?”

At being called out like that, Zhu Yunque’s pen tip paused slightly, and she finally lifted her head.

In truth, she had heard everything Zhang Yanlai had been saying, but she was too lazy to acknowledge it, so she had simply pretended not to have heard.

Her gaze was quite composed. She said, “What is it?”

Seeing that Zhu Yunque seemed to know nothing, Zhang Yanlai immediately brightened. Drawn in by the gossip of it, she stood up and drifted over to Zhu Yunque’s desk, leaning against it and saying, “Have you heard about what’s been happening lately with your ex-boyfriend?”

Perhaps because the phrasing was too blunt.

Even the first-year teacher who had followed over winced slightly at this.

She was just about to subtly hint to Zhang Yanlai to tread carefully.

But to her surprise, Zhu Yunque was perfectly unruffled. She simply said, “What about him?”

Zhang Yanlai, her enthusiasm surging, said, “That he’s in a relationship now — have you heard? Though, right, you two probably haven’t been in contact recently.”

“……”

At this point, Zhu Yunque knew the topic had nowhere useful to go.

She lowered her gaze, and her eyes settled back on the exam papers in front of her.

But this reaction only made Zhang Yanlai more excited. In her mind, the enemy of her enemy was a friend; she was convinced Zhu Yunque must be feeling downcast, and that made her all the more eager to say more.

So she said, “Honestly, I didn’t think he’d find someone so soon. If I’d known things would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have said those things to you before — it put a rift between us for nothing——”

At that, Zhu Yunque looked up at her and said, “Who told you he’s in a relationship?”

Zhang Yanlai’s eyes steadied slightly. “He said so himself, on the phone. That day when we went to hang out at the club, we waited forever and he still didn’t show up, so I called him.”

She glossed over the part where Lu Rangchen had asked “Who are you?” and pursed her lips, saying, “I asked him when he was coming back to the club, since I was about to leave, and he just said: Oh, I’m taking my girlfriend home.”

Upon hearing those words.

Zhu Yunque felt a sudden swell of emotion.

She remembered clearly — that day, there had been no sign at all that the two of them were about to make up. So had Lu Rangchen already been prepared for it even then?

At this thought, a subtle, rippling feeling stirred in her heart.

Zhu Yunque pressed her lips together.

Then her phone chimed twice in succession — both WeChat voice messages from Lu Rangchen.

At this moment, Zhang Yanlai was putting on a performance of consoling her, saying, “Anyway, just stop thinking about him. With his kind of conditions, there’ll never be a shortage of women around him. He’s probably the playboy type too — one model today, an influencer tomorrow. Someone like us, a proper, upstanding, honest-to-goodness teacher — he’d probably find us boring. Even if you did manage to win him over, what then? He’d still end up being unfaithful——”

The rest of the supposed words of comfort hadn’t even come out yet.

On this side, Zhu Yunque had already instinctively tapped open Lu Rangchen’s voice messages — and in the very second the audio played, Zhang Yanlai was so shocked she nearly swallowed her own tongue.

— It was Lu Rangchen’s voice coming out of Zhu Yunque’s phone.

The first message: the man’s voice was warm and suggestive. “Zhu Yunque, I’ve discovered that when you act coy, you’re really quite good at it.”

The second message: his magnetic voice came with a low, amused hum. “Miss me? What did you miss about me? Did you miss how I kiss you?”

She truly hadn’t expected him to send voice messages this shameless.

The moment Zhu Yunque heard it, the string in her mind snapped taut, and she immediately cut off the playback.

But it was already too late.

The man’s characteristically lazy, unhurried tone and scattered, languid voice had been exposed for all to hear.

Zhang Yanlai stared at Zhu Yunque as though she’d had half the life scared out of her. Both cheeks blazed as though someone had slapped her across the face in public. She gasped, “You — you — you and Lu Rangchen got back together??”

By now.

There was nothing left for Zhu Yunque to conceal.

A vague warmth shimmered in the depths of her eyes. She pressed her lips together, and with a touch of deliberate stubbornness, she circled back to the thread of Zhang Yanlai’s earlier remarks: “Lu Rangchen doesn’t like models or influencers.”

“……”

She returned her gaze to the exam papers, her voice carrying a faint and barely-concealed pride. “He only likes me.”