Endless Summer: The Champion's Vengeful Kiss - Chapter 13

At a famous private hot pot restaurant downtown, I found myself face to face with He Linchuan’s teammates. He stood off to the side, his face cold, clearly in a bad mood.

A line of young boys stood at attention, greeting me in unison. “Hello, boss!”

I smiled out of habit and asked gently, “What are you all doing here?”

They looked at each other, then their gazes all landed on He Linchuan. “Linchuan said he was meeting someone important. We had just finished our match review and had nothing else to do, so we tagged along. We didn’t know we were meeting the boss.”

Given the nature of their profession, these kids were all very young. The youngest, a boy named Song Xiuyu, wasn’t even an adult yet, still wearing his high school uniform. He looked exceptionally well-behaved.

“Such an act,” He Linchuan muttered coldly. He took my hand in front of them and led me towards a private room. I tried to pull away, but he only held on tighter.

“Your teammates are just kids. Is this appropriate in front of them?”

He Linchuan stared at me for a second, then said, annoyed, “There’s nothing inappropriate about it. They’re just pretending to be innocent.”

“???”

I turned my head and saw the boys standing there, glaring at He Linchuan with resentment. “Come on, we were just trying to make a good impression on our new boss. Is that so wrong?”

He Linchuan didn’t let go of my hand even after we were seated in the private room.

Song Xiuyu was the first to speak. “Boss, don’t overthink it. We might be young, but we get it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” another boy chimed in. “We a hundred percent support you and Linchuan being together. Besides, after the way that bastard Jin treated you, and how he tried to scam Linchuan at the airport, what you two are doing is just self-defense.”

Their choice of words was… unique.

Another boy, perhaps after too much soda, suddenly slammed his hand on the table. “Hic-True love is never a crime!”

As the conversation veered into increasingly absurd territory, He Linchuan tapped the table with his chopsticks. “Eat,” he said, his expression flat.

Everyone immediately fell silent and lowered their heads.

Whether I was being paraded around by my father at parties or attending gatherings with Jin Huai’s friends, I was used to being the target of malice and cold stares. For years, it felt like I was walking a tightrope, my heart always in my throat.

But now, for the first time, I felt like I was on solid ground.

After dinner, the rain outside grew heavier. The boys waved goodbye enthusiastically. “Boss, come watch us practice at the training center when you have time!”

After they left, it was just me and He Linchuan. He popped a mint into his mouth, stuffed his hands into his hoodie pockets, and looked up at the rain falling through the streetlight’s glow. Then he pulled open the car door and tugged me inside.

I stumbled and fell onto his lap. To steady myself, my hand instinctively grabbed onto something.

He Linchuan let out a muffled groan, a blush spreading from the tips of his ears down his neck. Realizing my mistake, I tried to pull my hand back, but he held it in place.

“You really know where to put your hands, don’t you?” His voice was thick with desire as he leaned in, his hot breath carrying the cool scent of mint. “Now that you’ve got it, don’t let go.”

I pressed my lips together. “…It’s hot.”

That one word seemed to make him lose all control. He barely suppressed a groan, closing his eyes for a moment before forcefully pulling me off him and into the passenger seat. He started the car.

“Zhong Ni, you’re seducing me,” he growled. “You’re done for.”