The next day, Chang city airport.
The early morning mist hadn’t fully dispersed, and the terminal building was already bustling with activity.
Lin Luan and Su Jin stood side by side outside the security checkpoint, watching Su Bingren push his simple suitcase.
Su Bingren turned around, his gaze lingering on the two of them for a moment.
“Dad, won’t you stay for two more days?” Su Jin asked.
“No, I still have some things to handle.” Su Bingren gave a gentle smile.
He first patted his daughter’s shoulder. “Take good care of yourself, and don’t work too hard at the company.”
“I know, Dad,” Su Jin promised.
Su Bingren looked at Lin Luan again. He didn’t speak, but simply gave his hand a firm squeeze.
“Lu An.” He paused. “I’ll leave things here in Chang city to you.”
“Don’t worry,” Lin Luan nodded solemnly.
He knew what Su Bingren meant; he likely wanted him to keep an eye on things at the auction.
“That’s good.” Su Bingren nodded and turned to walk away.
Watching her father’s figure disappear into the depths of the security channel, Su Jin let out a soft sigh of relief, and her body relaxed.
Though it had ended quickly, these two days facing her father had been a bit too nerve-wracking.
***
The two walked out of the airport lobby side by side and walked silently toward the parking lot.
The early morning sun stretched their shadows very long, and as they walked side by side, their shadows occasionally overlapped for a brief moment.
Su Jin caught a glimpse of this from the corner of her eye, and a sudden, inexplicable emotion stirred in her heart.
The nearly one month of pretending was over.
Lin Luan’s performance in front of her father could be called perfect.
In theory, her goal had been achieved, and the Rent-a-boyfriend Contract was about to expire.
But why… did her heart feel so empty instead?
She stole a glance at Lin Luan beside her.
He was still wearing the cashmere sweater she had given him yesterday, and the curve of his profile glowed in the morning light.
A thought rose in Su Jin’s mind.
Lin Luan should be… leaving soon, right?
‘Don’t leave!’
A little version of Su Jin inside her suddenly screamed.
The sudden sentence washed away Su Jin’s thoughts and even gave her a start.
Su Jin pressed her hand to her forehead, feeling frustrated by her own wild thoughts.
Since when had she, Su Jin, become so indecisive?
When they reached the car, Lin Luan naturally moved toward the driver’s seat, but Su Jin suddenly called out to him.
“Lin Luan.”
“Hmm?” Lin Luan stopped and turned to look at her.
Su Jin took a check from her handbag and handed it to Lin Luan, her fingertips pressing down slightly.
In the morning light, the numbers on the check were clearly visible.
1,000,000 yuan.
“This is your final payment,” Su Jin’s voice was deliberately calm. “The contract is ending early. This is what you deserve, so you… can go.”
Su Jin didn’t know where to look, so she involuntarily glanced elsewhere, not daring to meet Lin Luan’s eyes.
‘That’s not it, I don’t want him to go…’
‘Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go…’
Lin Luan looked at the check and then looked up at Su Jin’s feigned composure.
He didn’t take it immediately.
“General Manager Su,” he spoke slowly, “the contract doesn’t expire until tomorrow. Settling it now isn’t appropriate.”
Su Jin hadn’t expected him to refuse and was momentarily stunned. “Isn’t ending it early better for you? You won’t lose a single cent.”
“It’s not about the money.” Lin Luan shook his head, looking at her seriously. “Since I signed a contract, I should fulfill it. This is about integrity.”
“Besides… wouldn’t it be too abrupt to make your boyfriend disappear right now? Your father might still ask about it.”
After all, he still had an auction tomorrow that he needed to attend in Su Jin’s name. It wasn’t good to sever ties so early; it wouldn’t be too late to settle then. It was just tomorrow, anyway.
Su Jin’s grip on the check loosened, and the inexplicable sense of loss in her heart was instantly filled with joy, though she didn’t even realize it herself.
She put the check away, her movements appearing a bit hurried as if she were trying to hide something. “Whatever you want. Then, get in the car.”
Lin Luan sat in the driver’s seat and adjusted the rearview mirror between the driver and passenger seats, looking at Su Jin through it.
“Shall I take you home? My Su’s Eldest Miss?”
“I already said it’s up to you!” Su Jin’s face flushed as she sat in the back, hugging a small dog plushie. “You and your smooth tongue…”
***
At noon, inside Lin Luan’s rental apartment.
Lin Luan sat in his empty home, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Just a moment ago, Su Jin had transferred 1,000,000 yuan into his bank account anyway.
Not only that, she even left a note —
‘I, Su Jin, don’t need your permission for the things I decide! I’ve transferred the money to you! Although the final payment is settled, the Rent-a-boyfriend Contract hasn’t expired yet!’
‘Go on one more date with me tomorrow night, I won’t let myself be shortchanged!’
It was written quite long.
She seemed to be trying very hard to maintain her long-collapsed persona of a domineering CEO.
But…
He really had 1,000,000 yuan in hand now.
Lin Luan was stunned. He had never seen so much money in his own account.
‘Am I… rich now?’
Lin Luan still felt like he was dreaming.
‘Now that I have money… what should I do?’
‘The house needs to be renovated. The walls are leaking slightly, and the window in Wanwan’s room doesn’t close tightly, always letting in a draft in the winter… No, wait, I’m renting. Those things are the landlord’s problem.’
‘Then I’ll get Xiaowan a desk, one with an eye-protection lamp, and buy a larger bookshelf to display all the books she likes — ‘
‘No, no, no, it would be better to just rent a different house. After all, this area is far from the city center, and Xiaowan has to walk a long way to school.’
‘Should I buy Xiaowan an electric scooter?’
‘No, no, Xiaowan is only in her third year of high school; riding an electric scooter to and from school is too dangerous.’
‘But a high school senior isn’t a child anymore…’
Speaking of which, when he took that girl to the supermarket to buy groceries before, she was always secretly looking at the dresses in the shop window.
Next birthday, he would definitely take her to the mall and let her pick for herself — choose the most beautiful one, without looking at the price tag, and just buy it! He had the money!
The rest of the money would be saved for her college tuition and her future dowry…
*Knock, knock, knock.*
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door of the rental house.
Lin Luan pulled back his wandering thoughts. He got up to open the door, and it was a courier from Song Li.
It was a simple black envelope, and inside lay an auction invitation and a matte black bank card with a gold line along the edge.
Another bank card?
Lin Luan was a bit puzzled. Hadn’t Su Bingren already given him money yesterday to buy the vase at the auction? Why another one?
Lin Luan looked through the invitation. On it, the gold-embossed font read: [Chang City Autumn Treasures Auction]. The time was tomorrow night.
He picked up the Unlimited Black Card again. It felt cold and heavy in his hand. There were no bank logos on the face, only a row of tiny embossed numbers that looked like a card number.
The attached note was in Song Li’s neat handwriting: ‘Mr. Lin, here is the invitation for tomorrow’s auction. Mr. Su instructed that you must attend.’
‘In addition, Mr. Su has sent you a card as a gift for acknowledging you as his son-in-law.’
‘This card is for one-time use and requires a charitable donation of no less than 1,000,000 yuan before it can be used once. There is no price limit on a single transaction. Good luck.’
‘After all, you’re the “husband” of the CEO of Jinse Technology, so 1,000,000 should be a small sum to you. I’ll send the channel for the charitable donation to your phone in a bit.’
Lin Luan squeezed the heavy card, a complex, wry smile appearing on his lips.
That last sentence was definitely Song Li mocking him, right? After all, Song Li knew he was just a rental boyfriend.
Over 1,000,000 yuan.
To the people of the Su Group, this might really be a trivial amount. After all, they were the largest technology group in Chang city, and Su Bingren also had his own enterprises in Jingshi.
If he were truly Su Jin’s boyfriend, this would indeed be a great gift — a one-time bank card with no single-purchase limit. It really sounded like a cheat code for a game.
But only Lin Luan knew the truth in his heart.
He wasn’t Su Jin’s fiancé; he was just a rental boyfriend whose contract had one day left.
He most likely would never actually use this card in his lifetime.
Lin Luan casually tucked the invitation into the coffee table drawer. As he withdrew his fingertips, they accidentally touched a soft, velvet square box.
He paused and took the box out.
It was the watch Su Jin had given him.
It had a simple and elegant design, with a small script letter “S” engraved on the back of the dial.
Lin Luan rubbed the cold metal case.
He took the watch out of the box. The metal strap felt heavy in his hand. After adjusting the length, he put it on his left wrist.
The cold sensation pressed against his skin, gradually warming to his body temperature.
It had to be said, this watch suited him perfectly, as if it were meant to be there.
He would wear this watch to the auction tomorrow.