Chapter 8: Offering oneself in marriage vs. love at first sight is like a very solemn...

[Waaaaah, this is such a beautiful love story! I can't take it anymore, I'm going to cry! The devastation of that catastrophe back then was so immense, I believe no one in the entire country could remain unmoved! This shows just how important and special the movie star is to President Lu! This can't be humiliated by some vague, unspoken rule!]

[Let's see who dares to question their relationship now! This is a life-saving favor! No one could stand idly by when their savior is caught in a media storm!]

So, Mr. Lu offered himself to me, right? (doge)

[Seriously, I'd be willing to offer myself in return! After all, she's my ideal woman! Who could resist?]

[President Lu really endured a lot of hardship to climb to this position. Just hearing those few words makes my heart ache. President Lu was only 17 years old back then, still a child! All I can say is that everything he has now is truly deserved!]

Lu Huaijin never complained about suffering, but he would never glorify it either. He raised his eyebrows slightly, and his starry eyes shone with confidence and composure. This was his self-award ceremony: "Although that disaster almost cost me my life, it also taught me a profound lesson."

Wen Yinhe couldn't help but turn his head and kiss Lu Huaijin's raised brow, the movement as natural as if he had done it thousands of times: "What is it?"

Lu Huaijin's sharp brows were almost instantly smoothed by his lover's soft lips, but the corners of his mouth curled up, revealing a sharp edge, and a cold, bone-deep lesson flashed in his eyes: "From then on, I knew that a policy of appeasement can only be implemented in the face of absolute military power. Without absolute strength, how can you talk about appeasement? As a manager, flattery and showing weakness are the most foolish behaviors. This will not make others obedient to you, but will only make them more unscrupulous. Only by slapping them first can the sweet dates that follow be appreciated and remembered."

Only the person carrying the weight on their chest can truly understand its magnitude; others may see your trembling eyelashes, but they cannot hear the lament of your soul.

Wen Yinhe may never be able to truly understand the suffering Lu Huaijin endured in the past, but he was not a person who was born with special privileges either. Although the thorny paths he walked were different, he and Lu Huaijin still ended up at the same destination.

Lu Huaijin doesn't often talk about the past, but every time he reveals even a little bit like this, it's enough to make Wen Yinhe's heart ache beyond measure.

Wen Yinhe couldn't help but lean forward again and kiss Lu Huaijin's lips.

Lu Huaijin looked over with a smile, his eyes and brows full of indulgence and doting on his lover, revealing not a trace of the shadows of the past: "What are you doing?"

Wen Yinhe said bluntly, "I feel sorry for you."

As he spoke, he gave her another kiss.

It was a light touch, yet it unexpectedly made the usually straightforward Lu Huaijin blush.

The man's eyelashes trembled slightly, as if he was quite unaccustomed to his shy appearance, but a smile uncontrollably rippled from the corner of his mouth, which had been kissed by his lover, all the way to his eyes.

He couldn't help but raise his finger and scratch Wen Yinhe's chin, deliberately trying to get back at him, and muttered under his breath, "I'll give you a kiss."

[Ahhhhhh, what a joyous occasion! Congratulations on Ali's first kiss on screen in Season 2! (The kiss in the pilot episode and the previous plate kiss don't count, I didn't see them!)]

[Hahahaha, no plate to block you this time, right? Hurry up and stick out your tongue!!!!]

[I declare! Blushing is a man's best dowry! Hahaha, only an actor could make CEO Lu blush like that! Who's having the time of their life? I'm having the time of my life!]

【Oh my~ Who's over 30 and still clinging to their partner all the time, kissing and cuddling? I'm not telling~】

[President Lu was ecstatic; his upturned lips practically lifted the earth! But who knew President Lu was into the innocent type? Considering the movie star's personality, it makes sense. No wonder the movie star could have President Lu so easily captivated, hehehe. When it comes to the innocent type, our ancestor has never lost!]

[Yes, yes, that's it! A kiss on the lips! Although it was a little crooked, it's okay! Next time, please be sure to aim directly at the center of Mr. Lu's mouth! Thank you, thank you! I'm extremely grateful! (Hands clasped together)]

[Netizen: All I want is to see my favorite couple kiss, why is it so hard? I reasonably suspect the actor is a hooker (?)]

[Speaking of hookers, isn't CEO Lu the real hooker? Don't forget who made this gentle movie star lose control and ask for a kiss in public! (covers face and runs away)]

[Okay, I know who to ask if I want to see them kiss! Keep it up, Mr. Lu! Keep fishing! Keep fishing hard! I believe in you, Mr. Lu!!!]

Xiao had already experienced a shock while eating breakfast, so he was relatively calm this time.

The other two couples, having never witnessed Wen Yinhe and Lu Huaijin's interactions, were quite surprised.

Just like online, they all think that President Lu and the movie star have a relationship based on unspoken rules. Even if it's not, the movie star should be the one who invests more in the relationship. But now it seems that the movie star has a knack for manipulating men.

Du Ruopu, who had been practically invisible since the show started airing, was surprisingly interested in the love story between Wen Yinhe and Lu Huaijin. He spoke cautiously and slowly, "Mr. Lu, so you fell in love with the movie star at first sight back then?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Huaijin suddenly gave Wen Yinhe a strange look with a hidden meaning, then smiled slightly, which could be considered as tacit agreement.

Let those people on the internet think that way.

In this way, even if he and Yinhe had a whirlwind marriage, there would be a reasonable explanation.

After all, he had a crush on Wen Yinhe since he was 17.

When Wen Yinhe met Lu Huaijin's meaningful and teasing gaze, his eyelashes trembled slightly, but a smile he couldn't hide appeared on his lips, carrying a sense of complete acceptance and helplessness.

He certainly understood that Huai Jin's performance was meant to hint at something to the audience, but he also knew perfectly well that this was not the case.

The powerful and arrogant CEO Lu would never do something as innocent as having a crush.

So before the night they officially started interacting, President Lu really just regarded him as a savior.

So, when did this feeling begin to change?

He once asked Huai Jin out of curiosity when he had fallen in love with him.

Huai Jin maliciously lured him all night, using it as leverage to force him to do many unspeakable things. Finally, under his unbearable "resistance," he embarrassingly revealed the truth.

Huai Jin said that the moment he truly fell in love with him was when he sat alone on the bridge, like a dark shadow, blowing in the cold wind, his black eyes turning back to look at him with a lifeless and empty gaze.

It was that one look from him, when he was determined to die, that instantly gave him the idea to take him home.

At that moment, Lu Huaijin was certain that he had seen someone who could completely belong to him, body and soul.

Seven years later, Wen Yinhe still clearly remembers that night, every subtle expression of Lu Huaijin, every word he said, and... every deep and burning look in his eyes when he looked at him.

...

Faced with a person who was about to commit suicide, the debonair CEO showed no sign of urgency or unease.

He leaned lazily against the railing five meters away from Wen Yinhe, pushed the lighter open with his thumb, and lit a cigarette for himself.

The wisps of smoke curled slowly and silently in the darkness before dissipating one by one.

Lu Huaijin tilted his head back slightly, squinted, and scrutinized the handsome but down-on-his-luck man in front of him through the smoke.

It's like assessing the value of a world-renowned treasure.

Wen Yinhe sat on the bridge railing, head down, his slightly long hair covering his beautiful brow bone, his figure so thin that he seemed like a piece of remnant at the bridgehead that was about to be corroded by the long passage of time.

He heard a strange man's hoarse, low voice, tinged with smoke, not far away: "I said, do you want to come home with me?"

A chilling wind blew up from the river, ruffling Wen Yinhe's clothes. The river water beneath his feet was dark, like a monster's gaping maw, greedily swallowing up the city's mottled reflections and shimmering light, filled with an indescribable allure.

It was a silent invitation to him.

He asked, "Whose house?"

Lu Huaijin took a deep drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled it towards Wen Yinhe's figure. His voice grew increasingly hoarse and rough, as if it contained grit and soot, grinding into Wen Yinhe's ear: "Our home."

Wen Yinhe couldn't help but laugh out loud.

His uncle and aunt, whom he had admired for over a decade, abandoned him; his senior brother, whom he treated like a brother, betrayed him; and his most respected mentor in this life abandoned him.

Now, a complete stranger, at the very moment he is about to die, suddenly runs up to him and says, "Come home with me."

It's so absurd it's laughable.

At this moment, Lu Huaijin suddenly stubbed out his cigarette.

As if he had thoroughly assessed the man's worth, or perhaps his patience had run out, Lu Huaijin straightened his back, strolled over to Wen Yinhe, and met his gaze calmly and equally.

The man's eyes were darker than the night, yet brighter than a lone star in the cold night. Every second he looked at Wen Yinhe felt like he was weaving an invisible cage, making it almost impossible for Wen Yinhe to breathe.

“I’m not joking with you, Wen Yinhe. I’ll only ask you once: are you going down to feed the fish now, or are you going to come home with me obediently?”

These words were both domineering and unreasonable, yet coming from the mouth of this noble and arrogant man, they seemed so perfectly natural.

Looking at the man's posture, his slightly raised chin exuded confidence and composure. He elegantly extended one hand towards him, his narrowed eyes filled with urging, as if he was certain that the man would not refuse.

Going...home?

Does he still have a home?

Wen Yinhe stared intently at the pale, thin hand with his deep black eyes. Almost as if bewitched, or as if grasping at the last piece of driftwood before death, he gently placed his almost frozen hand on it.

He was already desperate, so what difference would it make if he walked right into their trap?

The man couldn't help but smile, and decisively tightened his grip on his five fingers, as if locking them both together.

Wen Yinhe then realized that there was not only him in the cage, but also the man himself.

This person actually used himself as bait to lure him in.

"You've thought it through. If you come with me, you'll never be able to leave again."

That being said, the man's grip on Wen Yinhe's hand was surprisingly strong, almost crushing their bones together, leaving Wen Yinhe no room to back down.

The clasped hands were raised, and the man's long eyelashes drooped in Wen Yinhe's indifferent and dim eyes. A warm, slightly itchy breeze gently brushed against Wen Yinhe's pale, cold skin, almost burning him.

A kiss landed, gentle yet solemn, like dew clinging to the tip of a blade of grass, or like a solemn and dignified pilgrimage ceremony.

After the kiss, the man raised his head, his gaze meeting Wen Yinhe's again.

A satisfied smile played on his lips, like a child who had received the most precious gift in the world.

Their innocence is touching, yet their obsession is terrifying.

"From now on, we are a family. We can only rely on each other. As long as you don't leave me, I will never betray you. I will protect our home."

...

Hmm... how can this not be considered love at first sight?

Huai Jin wasn't exactly lying.

However, this process is somewhat beyond the scope of what ordinary people can accept, so it will not be explained to outsiders.