Chapter 532: I'll Give It to You as a Gift

Chapter 532: Chapter 351: I’ll Give It to You as a Gift

Xue Rui swallowed nervously. He had really managed to piss the girl off today, but that was exactly what he wanted to see.

‘Gu Muxue held a grudge. As long as he could make her angry, the feelings between them would heat up quickly…’

‘If it were anyone else, Gu Muxue wouldn’t even bother to get angry. That was his greatest advantage.’

“So, do you want to sleep with him?” Lin Ruoxi asked earnestly.

Gu Muxue clenched her small fists, glaring angrily at Xue Rui while secretly making a series of threatening gestures.

Lin Ruoxi’s expression was blank. ‘Xue Rui’s arrival really is a good thing,’ she thought. ‘Gu Muxue has never been this lively before.’

“Xixi, don’t ask anymore,” Xue Rui said, rubbing his nose. He was afraid if any more anger piled up, he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“Okay.” Lin Ruoxi nodded obediently. She said softly, “Boss, you used the wrong name. Today, you’re supposed to call me Xiaolin.”

At Lin Ruoxi’s correction, Xue Rui nodded in satisfaction. “Xiaolin, let’s go to your room and rest.”

“Yes, Boss.” Lin Ruoxi reached out and pulled Xue Rui up from his makeshift bed on the floor. She peeked her head out the door, then quickly dragged Xue Rui into another room…

Inside Gu Muxue’s room.

Gu Muxue watched as Lin Ruoxi gently closed the door. She mumbled quietly, “I’ve never even been in her room…”

Even though they lived in the same apartment, she would only occasionally peek inside Lin Ruoxi’s room when she wasn’t there. Yet Xue Rui had been personally invited in.

‘Lin Ruoxi has no boundaries whatsoever when it comes to Xue Rui. It seems like no matter what he says, her answer is always “Okay.”‘

‘Truthfully, she was very envious…’

Gu Muxue walked to the window and pulled open the curtains. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath of the cool air. Even though autumn had arrived, she felt an unprecedented sense of vitality.

Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi were making her world a much livelier place.

She rested her chin in her hands, watching the sun gradually rise in the east. Her almond-shaped eyes curved into crescents, as if peach blossoms were quietly blooming in their depths…

…

「Nine in the morning.」

Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi were catching up on sleep, wrapped in each other’s arms, until a knock on the door made them both open their eyes at the same time.

There was tension in Xue Rui’s eyes, while Lin Ruoxi’s held a hint of reluctance.

“Ruoxi, we’re leaving now. I’ll send you the address in a bit.”

“Oh, and remember to eat when you get up.” Gu Muxue’s voice drifted in from outside the door.

Zhao Lizhen shouted, “Muxue, has Rui called you back yet? He’s not picking up.”

Xue Rui looked helpless. ‘It’s not that I don’t want to answer…’

“Auntie, you two go on ahead. I’m Xue Rui’s secretary, and I’m going to pick him up now,” Lin Ruoxi called out in a clear voice.

“Ruoxi, no need to rush. Just join us for lunch by noon,” Zhao Lizhen said cheerfully, then muttered, “Honestly, that Rui… why is his secretary also acting as his driver?”

Once she heard the front door click shut, Lin Ruoxi took out her phone and started repeatedly refreshing a web admin page.

Xue Rui rested his chin on Lin Ruoxi’s shoulder. “So, Xiaolin, what are you looking at?”

‘Lin Ruoxi wasn’t just his secretary; she was the boss’s wife, a driver, and the head of the R&D department all rolled into one…’

Lin Ruoxi explained, “Um, Boss, I’m watching the router’s admin page. Once Muxue’s device goes offline, it’ll mean they’ve left our floor and won’t be coming back unexpectedly.”

Xue Rui tutted and pinched Lin Ruoxi’s cheek. “You’re not a qualified secretary. Too lazy.”

Lin Ruoxi snuggled down, burying her face into his stomach. “Then what would make me a qualified one?”

Xue Rui thought for a moment. “From now on, you’ll have an additional duty as my bodyguard. You’re in charge of stopping Muxue whenever she tries to beat me up.”

He had even worried before that Lin Ruoxi might expose Gu Muxue’s shortcomings. ‘How am I supposed to mediate when the two of them eventually clash?’ he had wondered.

The matter had troubled Xue Rui for a long time, and he’d burned countless brain cells thinking about it.

However, Lin Ruoxi had given him no room to display his mediating skills.

In fact, it could be said that Gu Muxue cared deeply about Lin Ruoxi’s opinion…

“Mhm, I’ll protect you,” Lin Ruoxi said, gently biting his chest.

“Huh? Is this how you protect me? I’m realizing you’ve been keeping a lot of secrets from me.”

Xue Rui said, pinching her cheek, “Like why does Muxue care so much about what you think?”

Lin Ruoxi’s voice was muffled. “Mmm, I don’t know…”

“Boss, I’ve turned into a bad woman, full of lies…”

Tears streamed from Lin Ruoxi’s eyes. She had told so many lies recently, even hiding the fact that Gu Muxue was sick. There were secrets between her and Xue Rui now.

She knew he would find out eventually. She was terrified that when he did, he would be angry, or even abandon her.

Xue Rui sighed. Gently stroking the back of her head, he soothed her, “If you’re a bad woman, then are there any good people left in this world?”

“I know you don’t mean any harm. It’s impossible to go through life without telling a lie or two. As long as your intentions are good, it’s fine.”

‘Lin Ruoxi never tried to hide her love for him, and now she was crying in his arms out of fear.’ Xue Rui was willing to trust her completely.

‘If she’s hiding something, then so be it.’

Xue Rui put on his slippers and brazenly took a lap around the room before casually sitting down to eat with Lin Ruoxi at Gu Muxue’s dining table.

“Boss, we should leave as soon as we’re done eating. It seems you’re meeting an old friend of Uncle Gu’s,” Lin Ruoxi said, straightening his clothes a little.

Xue Rui looked down at his wrinkled clothes and shook his head with a sigh.

‘Since Gu Qingshan is willing to take me out with him, it proves he’s accepted my place in the family. Even if I can’t make him look good, I can’t be an embarrassment, can I?’

Xue Rui announced, “We’re going to buy new outfits. And I’m getting you one, too.”

Lin Ruoxi blinked blankly. “I don’t need one.”

“Yes, you do. You also need to put on some makeup, look a little more professional,” Xue Rui said seriously.

‘When you’re putting on an act for an old fox like him, there can’t be any mistakes.’

“Yes, Boss.” Lin Ruoxi immediately sat up straight, listening attentively for his next instructions.

After leaving the apartment, Xue Rui took Lin Ruoxi to a nearby mall. He changed into a business casual outfit, picking out a light blue shirt for himself.

Lin Ruoxi, for her part, did the rare thing of tying her hair up, revealing her long, slender neck. Her mature makeup gave her the aura of a sophisticated, powerful woman.

Xue Rui’s eyes lingered on her for a moment. Lin Ruoxi wore a pair of mid-heel leather shoes, and although they had just picked out an inexpensive, dark-gray suit, on her it looked like a custom-tailored piece from Dior…

The mall was exceptionally crowded due to the National Day holiday, but Lin Ruoxi was a stunning sight, standing out from the crowd. Some people even raised their phones to take her picture.

Xue Rui glanced at his own reflection in a storefront window and suddenly felt he’d been completely outshone by her.

Lin Ruoxi stopped, tilting her head to meet his reflected gaze in the glass, and then gave him a sweet smile.

“Which one of us is the boss here?” Xue Rui asked, glancing sideways at her. ‘This little minx’s aura is on a whole other level today…’

Lin Ruoxi replied in a soft, sweet voice, “You are, Boss.”

“Don’t you think I look more like the male secretary?” Xue Rui shot back.

“Not at all. You look very handsome in that,” Lin Ruoxi said, her gaze lingering on him, unwilling to look away.

“Hmph. I’ll give you that, you’ve got good taste,” Xue Rui said, holding back a laugh.

Suddenly, a man in a duck-bill cap walked up to Lin Ruoxi. “Miss, which production are you filming with these days? Here’s my card.”

In two quick strides, Xue Rui stepped in front of Lin Ruoxi. “She’s my secretary. She doesn’t act.”

‘He had already heard people whispering, wondering which celebrity she was…’

‘It couldn’t be helped. The girl was truly a head-turner when she was all dressed up.’

“What future is there in being a secretary? A face and body like that, it’s a gift from the heavens! It would be a waste not to be an actress,” the man persisted.

Xue Rui couldn’t be bothered to respond. He took Lin Ruoxi’s hand, glanced at the time, and said, “It’s past eleven. We’ll be late for the meal.”

“Oh, right. Time to go eat.”

Lin Ruoxi grabbed Xue Rui’s hand and ran toward the mall exit, her heels going CLICK-CLACK-CLICK on the floor.

“Huh?” The man scratched the back of his head. ‘I haven’t even laid out my offer, and she got lured away by a meal?’

Once outside the mall, the two of them strolled slowly, hand in hand.

‘Lin Ruoxi is never short on compliments,’ Xue Rui thought, ‘but the praise she wants to hear most is mine.’

He said, “Xixi, you look so beautiful today. That man was right, it’s a gift from the heavens.”

“Mhm.” The corners of Lin Ruoxi’s eyes crinkled in a smile. ‘He praised me.’

“It’s a shame, though. The heavens play favorites. They can’t just pour all the water on one flower, can they? Couldn’t they spare a little for me?” Xue Rui said indignantly.

‘It’s truly unfair!’

‘How can someone be so beautiful and have a genius-level IQ at the same time?’

‘And the most important thing was that Lin Ruoxi’s emotional intelligence was skyrocketing, too…’

‘Games need to be balanced, but reality doesn’t…’

Lin Ruoxi squeezed Xue Rui’s hand. She could tell he seemed genuinely upset.

‘But she didn’t know what he was envious of. All she had to do was give him everything she had, and it would be alright…’

Lin Ruoxi said softly,

“What’s mine is yours. I’ll give it all to you as a gift.”