Gu Shengsheng waited until she heard no sound from Lu Shijing’s place before daring to take a deep breath.

She felt she had been far too bold.

It wasn’t that Lu Shijing had taken advantage of her, but rather that she had taken advantage of him. Besides, it was hard to pretend she didn’t know him well.

‘Should we not have gotten divorced? Could I take a gamble on this?’ Gu Shengsheng even found herself wondering.

‘What Lu Shijing said about starting over now… it might not be such a bad idea.’

Gu Shengsheng wanted to understand her own heart first. If she genuinely liked Lu Shijing, she would be willing to make an effort.

But after just one night, she felt herself wavering.

‘Am I just swayed by his good looks? Do I care that much about appearances?’

‘Or maybe it was because he was so close, our breaths mingling, that I got flustered for a moment? Or was it the feeling of my breath being controlled by him?’

The more she thought about it, the redder her face grew.

Gu Shengsheng felt a mess inside and had no idea what to do next.

‘If I really do like him, I wouldn’t mind taking the initiative. You have to seize the opportunity when you like someone. I never let opportunities pass me by.’

That was true for making money and for love.

‘But one thing is for sure: for a moment, I was dazzled by his smile. And his lips… they looked so soft, so kissable.’

‘My thoughts are straying again…’ She tapped her head, then rolled over and fell into a deep sleep.

—

Meanwhile, Lu Shijing returned to his apartment across the hall. The moment he closed the door, he started to laugh.

He couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He even felt a little regretful. ‘If I’d known, I would have made it last longer.’

After this incident, Lu Shijing was certain that Gu Shengsheng had feelings for him.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Shijing had to admit he had no experience in this area.

So, he called Jin Ran.

When Jin Ran received the call, he felt a pang of guilt. ‘Could he have found out about me and Linnin?’

He answered hesitantly. “Hello?”

“Jin Ran, I need to ask you something.”

The voice sounded friendly enough. ‘He probably doesn’t know,’ Jin Ran thought. ‘I can get away with it for another day.’

Relaxing, he asked in his usual glib, cheeky tone, “What’s up?”

“Did something happen between you and Sister-in-law?”

“Oh, right, not Sister-in-law anymore. You two got divorced. I can’t call her that now.”

Lu Shijing frowned. “She will be again in the future.”

“Hahaha, Lu Shijing, you’re killing me! So there’s someone even you can’t handle? Tell me, it’s definitely about your ex-wife this time. I’ll help you strategize.”

“Yours truly has passed through a thousand flowers without a single petal clinging to him. I may not be good at much else, but I’ve got a whole arsenal of dating skills.” As he said this, his charming eyes twinkled with a captivating smile.

“I have a friend,” Lu Shijing began, still struggling. The classic opening.

Jin Ran nodded nonchalantly. “Mm-hmm.”

“And? Did your ‘friend’ just get a divorce?” His tone was teasing. If Lu Shijing were there, he would’ve seen the punchable look on Jin Ran’s face.

But this time, Lu Shijing wasn’t there to ask for advice in the usual sense.

He continued, “If he wants to mend the relationship and finds out the other person might not be completely opposed to it, does that mean there’s hope?”

Jin Ran nodded. “As long as you’re persistent, there’s always hope. Just make sure she doesn’t fall for someone else.”

Lu Shijing said, “I understand.”

Seeing that he wasn’t going to say more, Jin Ran couldn’t help but ask, “Come on, spill it. What happened? What are you going to do?”

“Play hard to get,” Lu Shijing said, then asked, “How can I act like I don’t like her anymore?”

This was proving to be a bit of a headache.

He had always pursued her too intensely, which would surely annoy Shengsheng.

Jin Ran then asked curiously, “Sorry to interrupt, but are you saying you need to act aloof? Like, you’re going to be cold and indifferent to her?”

“Yes.”

Jin Ran burst out laughing. “Then you don’t need to change a thing. That’s how you already are.”

Honestly, if Lu Shijing hadn’t told him with a straight face that he liked Gu Shengsheng, Jin Ran never would have guessed.

He wore the same expression all day long. Even when supposedly expressing his feelings for Gu Shengsheng, Jin Ran sometimes thought he came across as harsh.

‘Does a guy with such low EQ really need to try to be more aloof? All he needs to do is stay the same.’

Hearing this, Lu Shijing was a bit frustrated but also relieved. The upper limit might be unattainable, but at least he had a baseline.

“Well, Lu Shijing, I wish you success!” Jin Ran said, holding back his laughter. “Anyway, I don’t think you’ll be able to win Gu Shengsheng back. Your game is way too weak.”

Lu Shijing hung up in disgust.

Then there was the issue of the three-year age gap. No matter how he calculated it, they were four years apart.

‘Does it have to be within three years? Should I go change my age? Make myself a little younger? It’s a bit obvious, but if it works, it’s not impossible.’

He stewed over it all night before finally asking his grandmother. His grandmother was adamant that according to the lunar calendar, they were exactly three years apart. She said she had done the calculations many times and was very rigorous about it.

Because of this, Lu Shijing was instantly thrilled. He even posted on Weibo and used a burner account to tag Gu Shengsheng and get her to look.

That’s right, he didn’t even use his main account to tag her. He used his burner to pretend to be a “helpful netizen.”

Who would have known that Gu Shengsheng never even saw the notification? She had too many private messages, and it got buried in her inbox.

Just as she was waking up from last night’s absurdity, a message arrived from the Da Ying Museum.

Gu Shengsheng opened the email. Yes, the interview was in a week. At the very least, they would need to get their passports and prepare the paperwork to go abroad.

Gu Shengsheng contacted Zhao Dehai while washing up.

She explained the situation, and Zhao Dehai finally said with a laugh, “Yes, yes, yes.”

“I’ll get the paperwork ready for you, and I’ll keep an eye on your museum. You just need to make arrangements for your family before you go abroad.”

“Shengsheng, having you is truly a blessing for us!”

You see, the issue with Gu Shengsheng’s museum was just a pretext used by the Da Ying Museum. They had been displeased for a while and just wanted to stir up trouble.

It had to be dealt with eventually. With so many artifacts, they couldn’t just let them be lost forever.

In any case, everyone now trusted Gu Shengsheng’s abilities. Even though she was a newcomer, she had never made a mistake.

Just as Gu Shengsheng was rushing out the door, Lu Shijing, who had been standing outside for a long time preparing to knock, still hadn’t brought himself to do it.

And because of that, the two of them ran right into each other.

Gu Shengsheng wasn’t hurt; she had collided with a human cushion. ‘He must have a really nice body.’ That was her first thought.

Then, Lu Shijing took half a step back and handed her breakfast.

“I bought too much,” he said.

Gu Shengsheng accepted it without ceremony, already used to his excuses.

“Thanks. I’m heading to the museum!” she said.

As she spoke, Lu Shijing said, “It’s on my way. Let’s go together.”

Gu Shengsheng waved her hand. “No need.”

And then she ran off even faster.

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