Tender
Tang Yizhuo kept his promise and drove her back to Lin'an City after finishing the milk tea, without any hesitation.
It seemed as if they had reached some unspoken understanding, and even their farewell kiss became exceptionally sweet.
Tang Yizhuo had a meeting the next day and had to drive back to S City.
When they parted downstairs, Xu Luoluo leaned against his warm embrace and said in a muffled voice, "What should I do? I think I'll be a little reluctant to let you go back."
"Then I'll stay?" Tang Yizhuo whispered in her ear with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Xu Luoluo saw that he was still teasing her even though he couldn't keep her, so she punched him hard and turned to run away, saying, "I'm not keeping you anymore, hurry up and go! Drive carefully on the road."
The sound disappeared behind the building entrance as she ran away.
Tang Yizhuo stood there and laughed as she fled in panic.
Only after seeing the light in Xu Luoluo's room turn on, and her opening the window and waving to him with a smile, did he wave back and leisurely walk back to the parking lot to drive away.
Xu Luoluo watched his car drive away before closing the window, washing up, changing into warm coral fleece pajamas, and snuggling into the soft bed to think.
She felt warm and at peace inside.
The betrayal of her ex-boyfriend brought more than just a momentary hurt; it brought the desolation of seeing him disappear every time she turned away, and the chilling coldness of being betrayed every time hope arose. The end of that relationship taught her to protect herself, to not place hope in anyone, not to expect anyone to be waiting for her when she turned around, and to not to expect anyone to catch her in her darkest moments.
I'm enough on my own.
She always tells herself this, and that's how she's gotten to where she is today.
But she suddenly realized that Tang Yizhuo's appearance made her feel like she could always be caught, whether it was joy, sorrow, or hardship and pain.
He always managed to catch her steadily, just like just now. She knew he would wait until she came upstairs and saw him before leaving, just like before, she subconsciously and without hesitation decided that he could be her emergency contact.
Even though she had worked hard to build her own safety net to be sure that she could always catch herself.
But he was like a warmer piece of that cold, hard net, turning it into soft wings.
Her heart was no longer filled with solid ice, but slowly melted into the warmth of spring.
Her phone vibrated, snapping her out of her thoughts. She picked it up and saw that Tang Yizhuo had already arrived home and let her know he was safe. She realized she'd been thinking about this for so long, it was already past midnight.
Xu Luoluo replied with a smiley face, and the other party replied instantly: "Why aren't you asleep yet? I didn't even want to call you, afraid of waking you up. Go to sleep!"
Xu Luoluo chuckled, replied "okay," put her phone aside, turned off the light, and went to sleep.
Unexpectedly, although I went to bed late, I slept soundly and woke up early without any dreams. This was the first time in a long time that I had such a good night's sleep.
Feeling great, Xu Luoluo decided to take her laptop to a nearby coffee shop to write.
Lin'an has many artsy young people, so there are also many cafes that are friendly to writers. There is an open-air cafe near Xu Luoluo's rented apartment. The wooden structure has a classic feel, and the natural wood color makes it feel relaxed. She comes here to write when she wants a change of scenery after staying at home for too long.
There are usually fewer people here in the morning. Xu Luoluo ordered a jasmine milk tea, turned on her computer, put on her headphones, and began to immerse herself in writing.
As she was typing, another person appeared across from her. Xu Luoluo frowned, surprised that there were already so many people that she had to share a table. She had a bad habit of needing a relatively private space to type, and now that there were so many people, she decided to go home and continue, so she prepared to pack up and leave.
She packed up her laptop and stood up, only to feel the person opposite her also get up. She glanced up and then froze.
The person opposite was actually Su Ze.
Perhaps it had been too long since they last met, Xu Luoluo didn't know what to say, she just nodded awkwardly and prepared to leave.
"Lolo." Su Ze's voice was as clear and crisp as ever. He walked over to stand beside her and said in a low voice, "Let's talk."
Xu Luoluo paused for a moment before nodding and pointing in a direction: "Let's go to the park over there."
It was past the time for morning exercise, and the park was lush and green, full of natural charm, but not crowded at all, making it a perfect place for chatting.
Seeing Xu Luoluo preparing to pick up her laptop bag, Su Ze reached out and said, "Let me help you carry it."
"Thank you, but no need." Xu Luoluo slung her bag over her shoulder without hesitation. "Let's go."
Su Ze withdrew his empty hand, feeling a small emptiness in his heart.
The two remained silent the whole way. After entering the park, Su Ze spoke first.
How have you been lately?
"fine."
Xu Luoluo answered quickly, and Su Ze couldn't help but glance at her, realizing that she wasn't forcing a smile; on the contrary, he was the one stammering. He stopped in his tracks.
Xu Luoluo took a few steps and realized he wasn't following, so she turned back to look at him in confusion.
Su Ze looked at her and said, "Deng Lingling told me everything."
“It was expected.” Xu Luoluo wasn’t very surprised. From the first day she met Deng Lingling, she knew this day would come sooner or later. She just felt a little apologetic towards Su Ze and took a few steps closer, saying, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have dragged you into this. I was too naive back then.”
"So how are you going to make it up to me?"
Hearing this, Xu Luoluo looked up at Su Ze in surprise. She thought he would scold her and despise her, but she didn't expect this.
Su Ze looked at her intently, his eyes gleaming with an unfathomable light: "What? You dragged me into this, haven't you thought about taking responsibility?"
“I…” Xu Luoluo bit her lower lip, frowned and smiled bitterly, “I can’t… take responsibility. I’m really sorry.”
"I don't want an apology." Su Ze took a step closer, grabbed her waist with one hand and pulled her into his arms. "I only want you. Don't give me that nonsense about being hurt by your ex-boyfriend and being unable to love anyone. That's what you owe me."
No.
"What?" Xu Luoluo's voice was too soft for Su Ze to hear clearly. He leaned closer to her and softened his voice, saying, "You're not without feelings for me, are you? We can start over."
The atmosphere had become ambiguous and romantic at some point, and Su Ze stroked her face, gently moving closer.
Xu Luoluo felt his unfamiliar yet familiar aura, suddenly struggled free from his embrace, took a step back and said, "We're over."
Seeing the sadness in Su Ze's eyes for a moment, she couldn't help but look away, but she still steeled herself and added, "Besides, I already have someone I like."
After saying that, she left in a hurry without even looking at Su Ze's expression.
"We're not a good match, so... let's just call it quits." Those were her last words to Su Ze.
Su Ze didn't chase after her. Xu Luoluo's meaning was clear: he wanted to use her as a bargaining chip in a desperate gamble, and her guilt couldn't soften her heart. She had made her decision, and there was no going back.
She was the one who flirted with him first, and now he's fallen for her, but she says "it's not right" and "I already have someone I like." The things in this world are truly laughable, absurd, and utterly illogical.
Su Ze lowered his head and slowly walked back, his cool demeanor now shrouded in confusion and dejection.
Xu Luoluo watched his retreating figure from a distance, feeling quite uneasy.
She also thought she would fall in love with Su Ze. He was tall, handsome, and successful. Although he was aloof, he was very considerate to her and her parents.
But it just doesn't fit.
When did you start to feel that it was inappropriate?
Perhaps from the very beginning, when he encountered problems, he refused to listen to her explanations and unilaterally decided to be cold towards her. She felt like a child who had made a mistake, locked out.
Perhaps by discussing her career development, he fundamentally underestimated her. She seemed to be subject to his control, rather than being seen as an independent individual.
Through repeated verification, before she could make a rational decision, her subconscious had already distanced herself from him.
I am truly not worthy of his kindness.
However, seeing Su Ze's distress, she felt genuinely apologetic.
If he hadn't caused the problem, he wouldn't have been caught up in the consequences.
But when it comes to matters of the heart, no one can force it. The only thing I can do now is to stay away from him, to let him suffer a short, sharp pain rather than a long, drawn-out one, and to forget him.
Before she could even lament how bad she'd been, Xu Luoluo received a voice call. She hadn't contacted this person in ages; why the sudden voice call?
Xu Luoluo answered the call with a puzzled look, and heard Gu Jia's magnetic and cheerful voice: "Hi, Luoluo, long time no see. I heard that my cousin confessed to you but was rejected, and now he's hiding and too ashamed to show his face, so from now on, I, the behind-the-scenes boss, will handle things with you directly."
"Your cousin?" Xu Luoluo was baffled. She only knew that Gu Jia's brother was President Gu, so where did this cousin come from? But, confessing her feelings? Making contact? Xu Luoluo's mind raced for a while before she asked in surprise, "Gu Sinian, is he your cousin? You're the boss of Wenyou Company?"
"Smart!" Gu Jia praised him readily, then added gossipy, "He said he'd introduce a screenwriter to my company and even offered to help me find work, which I found completely baffling. But it turned out to be you, so of course I was happy to see it happen. I never expected that he wouldn't get his own job sorted out, but he did find me a great screenwriter, hahaha."
Xu Luoluo was a little embarrassed by her teasing. But as expected of family, Gu Jia was ruthless when she teased her cousin, exposing his little schemes directly.
After gossiping for a while, the two returned to the main topic and talked about the script that Xu Luoluo was currently writing.
Xu Luoluo doesn't shy away from the fact that the game script she's currently writing has a similar rhythm to a short drama, and she's also planning to see if there's a chance to turn it into a short drama later.
"So you're planning to sell it to another short drama company?" Gu Jia asked thoughtfully.
“I have a friend who directs short dramas, and I know his abilities, so I plan to work with him,” Xu Luoluo confessed. “However, we don’t have enough funds yet, so we are still looking for a solution.”
Gu Jia became quite interested: "Could you send me a copy of that friend's information as well? Let's schedule a time to talk."
Seeing how interested she was, Xu Luoluo suddenly had an idea.
"Great minds think alike!" The two met at a nearby restaurant, and Gu Jia applauded after hearing Xu Luoluo's idea.
Gu Jia watched Wang Haoran's drama and recognized his talent. Having worked with him for so long, she also trusted Xu Luoluo's abilities and credibility, so she decided to invest in Xu Luoluo's company and work together.
This first drama can use the current script to directly create a short-form game, leveraging the strengths of both sides to explore new markets.
Xu Luoluo didn't expect things to go so smoothly, so she immediately sent the good news to Wang Haoran, who had already celebrated remotely with champagne overnight.
While busy with the various registration procedures for starting a company, Xu Luoluo continued writing her script. Several months passed by in a blur of activity.
She finally finished writing the script and came out of seclusion!
Tang Yizhuo drove to Lin'an with her favorite milk tea to surprise her, only to be forcefully pushed down onto the sofa by her.
Tang Yizhuo carefully placed the milk tea on the coffee table before crossing his arms and saying, "Are you trying to eat me up with all this enthusiasm? I'm so scared."
But the smile in his peach blossom eyes was too obvious, and Xu Luolu couldn't help but bite his arm and roll her eyes at him: "You can't even pretend properly."
"Then I won't pretend anymore." Tang Yizhuo sat up straight, reached out and pulled her into his arms, saying seriously, "Do you like it, woman?"
"I love it so much!" Xu Luoluo couldn't resist and collapsed into his arms with laughter.
The two of them bickered for a while before finally getting down to business.
Xu Luoluo officially announced: "From today onwards, I am the boss."
The short drama company was registered, and she also discussed with Tang Yizhuo that if they won the screenwriting competition, the company's management could decide whether to collaborate with her small company to develop the game adaptation drama.
"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Xu. I hope your business will prosper in the future and that we can cooperate more often."
After Tang Yizhuo finished speaking, he extended his hand. Xu Luoluo also reached out and shook his hand: "No problem, no problem. Anyone who is sincere has the opportunity to become my partner. We can all make money together."
Tang Yizhuo couldn't help but pinch her cheek: "Still business partners?"
“In business, we’re naturally business partners.” Seeing Tang Yizhuo frown, Xu Luoluo couldn’t help but laugh. “At home, we’re boyfriends.”
As she finished speaking, Tang Yizhuo's eyes shone like stars: "You admitted it yourself, you can't deny it now."
He placed his hand behind her head, gently pulled her closer, and kissed the corner of her slightly upturned lips, his kiss lingering and deepening, filling the room with tenderness.
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