The main entrance of the art center.
Lin Luan stood by the slightly dim roadside, his hair a bit messy from the night wind.
The streetlights flickered over him, casting light and shadow in turns.
The dark gray Piton high-end suit he had prepared for the auction seemed out of place under the flickering streetlamps.
Song Li had gone to handle the remaining errands for the auction, while Lin Luan waited at the entrance for Su Jin to pick him up.
During his wait, he caught a scent of the mundane world.
“Sausages — authentic volcanic stone sausages — “
Lin Luan’s nose twitched.
‘So fragrant.’
A shout carrying the aroma of charred food approached from a distance. A simple roadside stall was slowly pushed toward him, the orange-yellow light reflecting off the curling steam rising from the stand.
Lin Luan’s stomach let out a traitorous growl.
Because he had to attend the auction tonight, he hadn’t managed to eat more than a few bites for dinner.
Looking at the sausages on the cart with their slightly charred, bursting skins, Lin Luan’s Adam’s apple bobbed instinctively.
The old man pushing the cart stopped near him and greeted him warmly. “Young man, would you like one? They’re delicious!”
Lin Luan felt his pockets and pulled out his phone as he walked over to the cart.
“One, please. Thank you.”
“You got it!”
Although he had just donated all the money Su Jin gave him, Auntie Liu still had a few thousand yuan, which was more than enough for a sausage.
The old man deftly picked up a sausage, skewered it, and handed it over.
Lin Luan took it, the steaming heat warming his face.
“How much?”
“5 yuan each.”
Lin Luan scanned the code to pay.
**[WeChat payment received — 5 yuan]**
Lin Luan took a bite. The outside was crispy while the inside was tender, the meat juices and spices exploding in his mouth. It was a simple, blunt deliciousness.
As he chewed, he mumbled vaguely to the old man, “Old man, are sausages 5 yuan now? I remember they were only 3 yuan 2 years ago. This price increase is too fast.”
Flipping the sausages on the grill, the old man replied cheerfully, “Oh, young man, what isn’t rising these days? Rent is rising, meat prices are rising, and with my small business, if I didn’t raise the price a bit, I’d barely make a living!”
Lin Luan didn’t say more; he just took another bite.
He felt a sense of absurdity.
***
A few hours ago, he was in that auction hall where the very air smelled of money, shouting out the astronomical sum of 600 million without blinking an eye.
And now, wearing this expensive outfit like an ordinary salaryman who had just finished overtime, he was squatting on the curb, grumbling to himself because the price of a sausage rose from 3 yuan to 5 yuan.
The contrast was so great it made him want to laugh.
He simply stopped caring about his image and squatted there, leisurely munching on the sausage while watching the cars go by.
‘This is life…’
Lin Luan swallowed the last bite and boredly folded the wooden skewer over and over again.
Just then, the piercing roar of an engine grew louder, quickly becoming clear.
A sleek Bugatti Veyron cut through the night and stopped steadily in front of him. The smooth body reflected the neon lights of the street. To put it one way… it looked like a shark.
The driver’s side window slid down silently.
Su Jin’s cold and exquisite face appeared.
She was wearing a white dress, her long curly hair pinned up to reveal her fair neck. It seemed she had changed into an outfit suitable for a date before coming.
Su Jin looked at Lin Luan in a daze.
The air remained silent for 2 seconds.
Lin Luan remained in his squatting position, holding the wooden skewer that had been broken into several pieces, looking up to meet Su Jin’s gaze.
Su Jin’s lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something.
“You… Lin Luan,” she started, “are you wearing a Piton high-end suit, squatting on the curb in front of the art center… eating a sausage?”
Lin Luan stood up slowly and tossed the skewer into a nearby trash can.
“General Manager Su, food is the most important thing to people.” He paused and added, “Besides, the price went up. It used to be only 3 yuan.”
Su Jin stared at him for 3 full seconds.
Then, she abruptly turned her head back to look straight ahead. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her speechless heart.
“Get in,” she spat out, her voice a bit stiff.
Lin Luan went around to the passenger side, opened the door, and sat inside.
The enveloping feel of the leather seat instantly pulled him from the atmosphere of the streets back into another world. The interior was filled with the cold, pleasant scent of Su Jin’s perfume and a faint hint of coffee.
The car started again and merged into traffic.
Su Jin didn’t drive fast. Her fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel as she looked ahead.
“So, you went to the art center… just to wander around? Wandering to the point where you needed to change into such formal clothes, and then squat on the roadside wondering why sausages got more expensive?”
Her intuition told her things weren’t that simple. Was there an event at the art center tonight? Had she missed something?
Lin Luan buckled his seatbelt and adjusted himself into a comfortable position, looking out at the colorful lights flashing past the window.
“Yeah, just taking a look,” Lin Luan said with a smile. “I dressed formally because I was going on a date with General Manager Su.”
He turned his head to look at Su Jin.
“General Manager Su, you were so tired from your meetings yet still remembered our date. How could I let your experience be anything less than perfect?”
Su Jin was choked up by his words, her ears turning slightly hot. Still, she refused to back down. “Who remembered it! I—I didn’t! And… I’m not tired at all!”
She stepped on the gas, and the Bugatti let out a low growl as it accelerated forward.
“I’m taking you somewhere now. I guarantee… it’ll taste better than your sausage.”
Lin Luan smiled. Seeing that she didn’t ask further about the art center, he replied softly, “Alright, I’ll be waiting for General Manager Su to show me the world.”
***
The place Su Jin took Lin Luan was a members-only restaurant on the high floors of a building by the river.
Outside the 360-degree floor-to-ceiling windows was the most dazzling night view of Chang city. The river water was like ink, reflecting the flowing river of lights from both banks.
The interior of the restaurant could be described as empty, with only a few scattered tables of guests.
Lin Luan’s performance tonight was flawless.
He remembered Su Jin’s tastes, served her food at the right moments, handed her napkins, and listened to the occasional work-related trivia she mentioned.
He was neither overly enthusiastic to the point of being intrusive nor cold and perfunctory.
Everything was impeccable. He played the role of a perfect boyfriend who could satisfy almost all female fantasies.
But as Su Jin held her cold crystal wine glass, she always felt like something was off.
Yes, something was wrong.
Everything was too perfect.
It was as perfect as a carefully rehearsed stage play. Every movement and every line was precisely in place, yet it was missing something.
It was missing… the reality that had previously made her heart race and her urge to get closer irresistible.
She didn’t like this fake emotion; it reminded her of Chen Seye’s nauseating face.
But… it didn’t matter. Maybe something unpleasant had happened to Lin Luan today. As his girlfriend, she had to be tolerant of him.
‘That’s right… girlfriend!’
Su Jin had decided. Tonight wouldn’t be the last day of Lin Luan being her rental boyfriend. She was going to renew the contract!
This Lin Luan hadn’t fallen for her in a whole month. How could she just let him go? Wouldn’t that make her look bad? Su Jin had never failed at anything!
Su Jin smiled slightly.
She planned to use money to tie Lin Luan to her side first, and then slowly let him feel her tenderness in daily life. He would fall for her and finally become her boyfriend for real!
As for what to do after he became her boyfriend…
She hadn’t thought about it yet, so she’d ignore it for now.
“Lin Luan.” Su Jin put down her silver dessert spoon and looked up, preparing to speak. “About our previous coop — “
She couldn’t finish her sentence.
Because Lin Luan, sitting across from her, made a move at almost the exact same time.
The gentle smile he had maintained all night slowly faded like a receding tide, leaving only exhaustion.
He didn’t look at Su Jin. Instead, he lowered his eyes and moved his left hand to his right wrist.
Under Su Jin’s stunned gaze, he unbuckled the clasp of the watch.
*Click.*
A soft sound.
He took the S-engraved watch off his wrist.
The watch face reflected the light under the soft lamps. The hands moved silently, showing the time: 11:59 PM.
There was less than 1 minute left before the original termination time of their “rental boyfriend” contract.
Lin Luan gently pushed the watch across the smooth table, stopping it on the tablecloth in front of Su Jin.
“General Manager Su,” Lin Luan said. “Time is almost up. This watch… is too valuable. It’s better to return it to its original owner.”
“Our cooperation is over.”
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