Yao Jingjing felt that the farthest distance in the world wasn’t between life and death, nor between the North and South Poles, but between her and Lu Ze when they were engaged in their playful banter—only for an annoying woman labeled as an "ex-girlfriend" to suddenly barge in.
She stared at the girl in front of her, who was (well, sort of) decent-looking (if you squinted), with nostrils positioned slightly higher than average and a gaze that swept over her with challenge and disdain. Yao Jingjing could already feel a dull ache forming in her head.
This girl, Fang Lulu (or Fang 66, corresponding to the numbers ○66—yeah, you get the joke), introduced herself to everyone in a way that made it seem like she was Lu Ze’s "girlfriend."
The first time Yao Jingjing saw Fang Lulu make such an entrance, she nearly cursed Lu Ze in her heart as a complete scumbag.
—Having a girlfriend while still playing around with her? What a beast!
But later, one of Lu Ze’s senior subordinates, who had come with them from Beijing, suddenly developed an inexplicable urge for gossip. On the third day of Fang Lulu’s appearance, he awkwardly dragged Yao Jingjing into a forced gossip session. After discussing the weather, lunch, and how extraordinarily stylish their outfits were that day, the colleague finally made a clunky transition to the next topic:
"Assistant Yao, did you know? Fang Lulu isn’t actually President Lu’s girlfriend!"
After saying this, his face bore the expression of someone who had finally unburdened himself—like, "Damn, I finally got that out."
Yao Jingjing looked at him, her throat tightening at his painfully forced segue. "Huh? Oh, really?"
The senior subordinate nodded vigorously.
Yao Jingjing asked, "Then what’s her relationship with President Lu?"
With utmost seriousness, the subordinate replied, "She’s just his ex-girlfriend!"
Yao Jingjing felt her throat tighten even more.
Ex-girlfriend still contained the word "girlfriend," after all—and she hadn’t even gotten close to those three letters yet. TT●︶3︶●
When the senior subordinate returned to report to Lu Ze, the latter asked, "Did you make everything clear?"
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, the subordinate replied, "Crystal clear." After catching his breath, he bravely added, "President Lu, if you ever have a task like this again, just send me to Africa to expand the market instead! I’m really not cut out for spreading gossip—it nearly killed me!"
Lu Ze ignored his plea and simply asked, "What exactly did you say to Assistant Yao?"
The subordinate answered, "I told her that Miss Fang isn’t your girlfriend—she’s just your ex-girlfriend!"
After a moment of silence, Lu Ze’s expression darkened. "I’ve decided to grant your wish. Starting next month, you’ll be assigned to develop the African market."
The subordinate froze, then burst into tears, wailing, "President Lu, no! From now on, I swear I’ll work hard to master the art of gossip! Please don’t abandon me! I heard the broadband there is thinner than a telephone line—I can’t live with less than 10 Mbps!"
Lu Ze raised an eyebrow. "One last chance. Tomorrow, go talk to Assistant Yao again. This time, make sure to clearly convey the following message: Although Fang Lulu is my ex-girlfriend, we have absolutely no connection now. Fail again, and you’ll be packing for Africa the day after."
●︶3︶●Before the poor colleague who wasn't good at gossip could steel themselves to continue digging for information from Yao Jingjing, Yao Jingjing herself had already stormed up to Lu Ze.
She got straight to the point: "I heard Fang Lulu was your ex-girlfriend?"
Lu Ze's expression remained impassive, though his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly before he nodded.
Yao Jingjing stared directly into his eyes and asked, "Is there any chance you two could rekindle things?"
A slight twitch appeared at the corner of Lu Ze's eye. "What if we could? What if we couldn't?"
Still staring intently, Yao Jingjing continued, "If you two could get back together, just give me a heads-up. I won't meddle in your affairs then—I'll go back to Beijing and find someone else to play with!"
Lu Ze's gaze darkened. "Meddle? Play?" After a pause, he said, "We won't get back together. But if you want to return to Beijing to 'play' with someone else, feel free to go back."
Yao Jingjing burst out laughing, her laughter bold and unapologetic. "If you're not planning to rekindle anything, why would I go back to Beijing? It's much more fun sticking around and pestering you!"
Lu Ze looked at her, and after a moment, unexpectedly smiled too. He really had no way to deal with this bold, unyielding woman.
Yao Jingjing froze.
This was the first time she had seen Lu Ze smile at her like this—both corners of his mouth lifted, his eyes clear and bright, his face no longer expressionless. His smile was like the first sunlight after a heavy snowfall, dazzling her so much it unsettled her heart.
Her heart pounded wildly. Listening to her own heartbeat, she thought nervously: Oh no... I think I've really fallen for this guy...
●︶3︶●
On Christmas Day, Lu Ze called Yao Jingjing's office and told her not to make any other plans for the evening—they would have dinner together.
Yao Jingjing asked, "Should I dress up nicely?"
She had only meant it as a joke, but to her surprise, Lu Ze answered seriously, "Yes, dress nicely. The gown you wore last month when I took you to the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the partner company was perfect."
After hanging up, Yao Jingjing marveled at Lu Ze's memory—he actually remembered what she had worn a month ago, while she herself had to think hard to recall that dress. It was a V-neck gown.
But in this season, wouldn't she freeze to death wearing a V-neck gown?
As she stood at home staring blankly at the dress, the doorbell rang.
She opened the door to find a delivery person from a luxury brand boutique at a department store, holding a coat for her.
After signing for it, her phone rang.
The "tycoon" on the other end asked, "Does the coat fit?"
As she tried it on and looked in the mirror, she said, "This counts as a work expense, right? Don't make me pay for this myself—I saw the price tag, and I'd rather freeze my shoulders off than pay that much!"
The tycoon's voice carried a hint of amused huskiness through the receiver. "It's not a work expense, but I won't ask you to pay for it either." He paused, then added in a low, deep voice, "Consider it a personal gift from me."
Yao Jingjing laughed. "A gift from you? Is this the most expensive item in the store? If not, I demand an exchange!"
His voice seemed to hold suppressed laughter. "It's the most expensive. No need to exchange."
Yao Jingjing giggled wildly at her reflection in the mirror.
●︶3︶●Yao Jingjing's cheerful mood didn't last long. Because for some unknown reason, the wealthy Lu Ze was actually late.
She waited in the restaurant for a full two hours, yet Lu Ze still hadn't shown up.
She called his phone, but it was always turned off.
At first, she was angry—angry that she couldn't reach him. But gradually, that anger turned into worry.
Had something happened to him? Why wasn't his phone on? Had something gone wrong while he was driving? Had he lost his phone?...
Her mind raced with wild thoughts, and the more she thought, the more worried she became. The initial frustration that made her want to storm out was completely overtaken by concern.
Just as she was so anxious she was about to call the police, he finally appeared.
At that moment, seeing him unharmed, her grievances and anger surged to the top of her head. She really wanted to get up and leave right then.
But then he sat down across from her, apologized, and casually said, "You look really beautiful today."
And just like that, her legs went weak, and she couldn't bring herself to stand up anymore.
●︶3︶●
Yao Jingjing glared at Lu Ze, trying her best not to let her gaze lose its ferocity due to hunger: "You're late, your phone's off, and now you're hitting me with sweet talk—explain yourself, and make it good!"
Lu Ze apologized again, then said, "About the phone being off, I only realized it on the way here. You must be starving after waiting so long, right?"
Yao Jingjing kept glaring, trying to maintain her imposing aura. But the moment she heard the word "starving," all her fierceness evaporated. She pouted and said pitifully, "Yeah, I'm so hungry I'm practically on death's doorstep!"
Lu Ze looked at her expression and couldn't help but smirk. With a mix of affection (and awkwardness), he reached out and patted her head. "Order whatever you want—I'll make sure you're stuffed in no time," he said before calling over the waiter.
As he placed their order, he didn’t notice Yao Jingjing sitting beside him, mouth slightly agape, utterly stunned.
—The wealthy guy had just patted her head! Sure, it felt more like a light smack, but still! He’d done something straight out of a cheesy romance novel! Why?! Why?!
After the waiter left, Yao Jingjing looked at Lu Ze and asked faintly, "Why did you pat my head?"
Lu Ze met her gaze directly, not shying away, and answered plainly, "Because I thought you were cute."
Yao Jingjing felt a wave of heat rush straight to her head.
She grabbed her water glass and gulped down the entire thing, then slammed it down and demanded angrily, "What’s with this sudden flirtatious act? What are you up to?!"
Then she saw Lu Ze pull out a small square box from seemingly nowhere. He opened it, took out a necklace, stood up, walked behind her, and fastened it around her neck.
The pendant was two interlocking rings, hanging shyly just above the hint of her cleavage.
Yao Jingjing stared down at the pendant, dumbfounded.
But what stunned her even more was the sensation of something warm and soft brushing against the back of her neck.
It took her a second to realize—Lu Ze had just kissed her there.
As his lips left her skin, his hands rested on her shoulders, and he leaned in close to her ear, whispering, "I thought this necklace would look perfect with your dress. And I was right."
Yao Jingjing froze completely, unable to move a muscle.
●︶3︶●After Christmas, Yao Jingjing noticed a subtle change in Lu Ze's gaze when he looked at her.
His eyes seemed to carry the warmth of a man looking at his girlfriend.
She thought gleefully to herself that she might finally be moving up in his heart.
But two days before New Year's, Fang Lulu sent her a multimedia message.
The message contained a photo taken on Christmas night, showing Lu Ze and Fang Lulu having dinner together.
Beneath the photo was a line of text: "See? We're the real couple here. Yao Jingjing, stop being the third wheel!"
After reading the message, Yao Jingjing felt a storm of emotions churning inside her.
After a meeting that afternoon, she couldn’t help but ask Lu Ze, "Why were you late on Christmas?"
Lu Ze raised an eyebrow at her. "You're bringing this up now, after so many days? That’s not a good habit."
Yao Jingjing forced a smile. "Alright, forget I asked."
That night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
He didn’t like her bringing up old issues. Fine. As he wished, she wouldn’t bring up anything with him ever again.
The next morning, she arrived at the office early. She typed up a resignation letter and placed it on her desk. She took off the necklace he had given her and left it on top of the letter. She booked a flight and left without any luggage, flying back to Beijing alone.
If she was leaving, she might as well leave everything behind in Dalian. Because no matter what she took with her, it would only be a burden.
●︶3︶●
Back in Beijing, Yao Jingjing crashed at her best friend Qian Fei’s place.
Feeling suffocated, she drank some beer with Qian Fei during dinner and then insisted, despite her dizziness, on dragging Qian Fei to Candy KTV.
Unable to refuse, Qian Fei reluctantly took her there.
While they were singing their hearts out, they ran into some troublemakers.
By the time Qian Fei tried to lead her out, Yao Jingjing was already completely out of it, seeing everything in blurry multiples. She vaguely remembered someone grabbing her, trying to pull her somewhere.
But for some reason, the person suddenly let go of her and face-planted onto the ground.
After that, her memory became patchy. She only faintly recalled hugging Qian Fei by the roadside and crying. She asked, "Feifei, what should I do? I keep seeing Lu Ze in my head! Why can’t I just forget him?"
Then she thought she saw Qian Fei roll her eyes at her.
When she finally sobered up a little, she found herself clinging affectionately to Qian Fei’s toilet.
Qian Fei stood nearby, pleading desperately, "Can you please let go, sis? Once you’re done puking, rinse your mouth and go to bed! Let me flush the toilet, will you? If we wait any longer, your vomit will harden and clog my pipes!"
So, graciously, she got up, rinsed her mouth, and stumbled into the bedroom.
After Qian Fei finished cleaning the bathroom, she came in and said, "Lu Ze is here."
●︶3︶●
Qian Fei relayed Lu Ze’s words to Yao Jingjing.
After a long silence, Yao Jingjing said, "Feifei, call him in. I need to talk to him."
With an expression that screamed exhaustion, Qian Fei went out and ushered Lu Ze into the room.
The door closed. Yao Jingjing and Lu Ze stared at each other. And stared. And stared.The poker face remained a poker face, yet the longer Yao Jingjing met Lu Ze's gaze, the gentler his eyes became. Startled and losing her momentum, she soon faltered in their staring contest.
She averted her eyes and asked stiffly, "What are you doing here?"
Lu Ze pulled out the item she had left in Dalian from his pocket, moving closer to her as he said softly, "Returning your necklace."
Yao Jingjing turned her head away. "What am I to you? Why should I accept a necklace from you? Besides, it's ugly—I don’t want it!"
Lu Ze sat beside her, turned her shoulders to face him, and then slowly began loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt collar.
Yao Jingjing shrieked, "What are you doing?! Let me tell you, your pretty-boy tactics won’t work on me! Even if you have the best physique and the most toned skin, it won’t work! Even if you have a perfect V-line, it still won’t work!" Despite her loud protests, her eyes remained stubbornly fixed on the deepening gap of his loosened collar.
Ooh, such a nice neckline…
Ooh, such a sexy complexion…
Ooh, his Adam’s apple bobbing so enticingly…
Ooh, what’s that around his neck? A necklace? Holy crap, it really is a necklace! Ugh, it’s so ugly—it looks exactly like hers!
Wait… exactly like hers?
Could it be… matching couple necklaces?!
Yao Jingjing’s jaw dropped open again, forming a perfect "tea egg" shape.
●︶3︶●
Lu Ze pulled out the necklace hidden beneath his collar, looking at Yao Jingjing with a faint, complicated smile. "Can you imagine me doing something this lame? Wearing matching necklaces with a girl. I can’t even believe it myself."
Yao Jingjing stared at his usually expressionless face, now twisted with a mix of embarrassment and forced composure. Unable to maintain her anger, she burst out laughing.
She truly couldn’t imagine it.
Lu Ze patted her head. "Stop laughing!" Then he stood up and fastened her necklace back around her neck from behind.
"The next time you wonder what you mean to me," he murmured, gently kissing the nape of her neck, "just look down at the necklace around your neck. I’m not like other men—I won’t say many cheesy things. I’ll just turn those words into actions."
Yao Jingjing shivered, her heart trembling. She turned around, locking eyes with Lu Ze, and demanded, "Tell me straight—do you like me or not?"
Lu Ze met her gaze. "Not 'like.'"
Yao Jingjing frowned. "What do you mean, 'not like'?"
The corners of his lips curled up into that smile that always left her dazed. "Not 'like'—it's 'love.'"
As expected, under the dual assault of his smile and his words, Yao Jingjing froze completely. ●︶3︶●
Yao Jingjing stared blankly at Lu Ze, and kept staring, and staring…
Until her eyes started to ache.
She couldn’t take it anymore. "Hey, didn’t you say you were a man of action?! Shouldn’t you be kissing me right now instead of making me crane my neck like this?! Are you trying to fix my cervical spine or something, making me stare at you like a cross-eyed fool?! Mmm—"
Her noisy complaints were swallowed by Lu Ze’s sudden, fierce kiss.
They kissed desperately, as if they were starved lovers reunited after centuries apart.Their kiss was too intense, too consuming, their limbs tangled like a messy knot. In their fervor, they accidentally knocked over a stack of books on the table.
With a loud "thud," the books crashed to the floor.
They couldn’t be bothered to care, stepping around the scattered books to continue their passionate embrace in another area.
Another "thud" sounded as Qian Fei burst through the door.
She shouted, "Hey, you two, talk it out properly, don’t fight—" only to realize they weren’t fighting but were instead enthusiastically devouring each other. Silently and tactfully, she backed out of the room...
Meanwhile, Lu Ze—a man with an undeniable shameless streak—quickly locked the door the moment Qian Fei stepped out, then returned to resume their feverish kissing.
As Yao Jingjing was being kissed breathless, she suddenly realized her clothes had somehow been completely unbuttoned by Lu Ze.
His large hands were kneading her soft curves in every possible way.
A jolt of clarity hit her.
"No! I can’t do something this shameless on Feifei’s bedsheets! It’s the New Year—we can’t ruin her like this!" She pushed his hands away and hastily buttoned up her clothes.
Lu Ze, panting heavily, asked, "If we’re not doing this, then what should we do?"
Yao Jingjing thought seriously for a moment before declaring, "We can only make out!"
Lu Ze nodded, pulling her back into his arms, and the two resumed their fiery, chaotic kissing...
And so, they spent most of the night like that.
The next morning, when Yao Jingjing stepped out of the room, she found Qian Fei staring at her in shock.
She couldn’t help but ask, "Feifei, what’s with that look?"
Qian Fei replied, "That’s the look of someone who just saw two plump sausages!"
●︶3︶●
After breakfast, Lu Ze took Yao Jingjing back to Dalian.
Qian Fei saw them off at the airport.
Before boarding, Lu Ze mentioned to Yao Jingjing that Li Yifei bore a striking resemblance to the chairman of Qiansheng Group.
Unfortunately, the silly girl didn’t grasp the meaning behind his words.
He thought to himself that this silly girl and that Qian Fei were quite possibly the most clueless humans he’d ever met.
But perhaps there was one more person who wasn’t much better.
That Li Yifei—he had probably already fallen for his landlady. For such a spoiled young master to lower himself to defend a woman like that, what else could it be but love? Yet he stubbornly refused to define his actions as "love." If that wasn’t foolish, what was?
Lu Ze was absolutely certain that on the road of love ahead, this arrogant young master of the Li family was in for a world of suffering.
In this world, there was always someone who could tame another—just as Yao Jingjing had tamed him, and Qian Fei had tamed that spoiled young master Li.
●︶3︶●
A year after Yao Jingjing returned to Dalian with Lu Ze, the branch office’s operations were fully on track. Lu Ze brought her back to Beijing.
Upon their return, they registered their marriage.
Yao Jingjing had originally promised Qian Fei they’d have a joint wedding. But she ended up breaking that promise—during Qian Fei’s post-restructuring vacation abroad, Yao Jingjing discovered she was pregnant.
So Lu Ze declared they couldn’t wait any longer—their wedding had to be moved up.
As the wedding preparations neared completion, Qian Fei returned.
Yao Jingjing told her about the pregnancy and invited her to be the maid of honor.At the wedding, Yao Jingjing noticed Li Yifei hovering around Qian Fei nonstop, stuck in a state of high tension.
She couldn't resist teasing Qian Fei when she got a chance: "The best man isn't even as handsome as your boyfriend. Why is he as nervous as if he's about to take the college entrance exam?"
Qian Fei smiled faintly and whispered to her: "He's afraid I might fall because... I'm pregnant too!"
Yao Jingjing looked at her closest best friend, first stunned, then overjoyed as she linked arms with her and laughed together.
They didn’t know that the sight of them happily laughing arm-in-arm had their loved ones staring in awe.
That version of them was truly, truly beautiful—
[Extra Story of Yao Jingjing – End]
[Little Buns Theater Snippet:
The moment four-year-old Lu Yao returned home from kindergarten, he tugged at Yao Jingjing and asked in his childish voice, “Mommy, mommy, when can I inherit Daddy’s money?”
Yao Jingjing wanted to say, “Probably after your dad dies,” but then thought discussing life and death with a four-year-old was a bit harsh. So she replied, “That’s up to your dad. But son, why are you asking this?”
Little Lu Yao’s face was full of innocent enthusiasm as he declared, “Li Yiyi said if I want to marry Li Yixin as my wife, I have to give their family a dowry!” He shook Yao Jingjing’s arm back and forth. “Mommy, mommy, tell Daddy to give me money so I can get a wife! I want Li Yixin to stay at our house and play only with me every day!”
Yao Jingjing stared at her son’s delicate little face, which was practically screaming, “Hurry up and give me money, quick, quick, I need to go trade for a wife!” She felt tears welling up in her eyes.
Oh, son, you’re so young, yet you’ve already made your mom feel like she gave birth to a money-losing burden—you’re truly amazing T_T Money Monkey, how on earth did someone as dumb as you produce two little devils like Li Yiyi and Li Yixin, who are full of schemes?! They’re going to ruin my son!!!
Author’s Note:
Yao Jingjing’s extra story is done! Thank you all for your support along the way—thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you all!!! Truly!
The online serialization will pause here for now. Once I finish the extra content for the print edition, I’ll submit the manuscript and begin the publishing process. The physical book shouldn’t take too long to be released! The print edition extras will include: the married life of the two monkeys; the little buns from all three families; and the extra story for the Great Army Minister.
This is very important!!! So important that I have to bold it—please don’t delete your bookmarks, everyone!!! Let me stay in the 10,000+ collection author circle a little longer, mwah mwah! covers my shy and vain face, hehe
You can bookmark my author page—if I start a new project, you’ll get a notification here ●︶3︶●
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Finally, a heartfelt thank you to all you generous readers for showering me with thunder, bombs, and cannons along the way. Thank you, truly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [You thunder-throwing pros have no idea—Ninth Brother sees your names and even my aunt trembles and cries!!!]
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