Loved By The Villain And The Male Lead

"Hey Karina, can I ask you a question?"

Allen looked apprehensive as he asked the question.

"Go ahead," Su Ning said with a small smile. "Ei, is that candy?" the girl suddenly asked when a shiny gold plastic bag in the corner of the sofa caught her eye.

"Uh yeah. It's Haribbo gummies. Did you want some?" Allen offered, holding the bag towards Su Ning who nodded enthusiastically. 

"Sorry, what was your question?" Su Ning inquired with an abashed smile as she plopped the gummies into her mouth.

"Yeah… uhm just yesterday.. in the afternoon, I saw you at the parking lot," Allen began.

Su Ning kept chewing her gummies as she listened attentively. There was no change in her expression which Allen took as a positive sign.

So the man continued, "I was about to call out to you. But uh.. you were with someone."

Allen paused and looked at Su Ning, the girl just stared back waiting for the man to continue. A few seconds of silence passed by and a look of realization crossed the girl's face. 

"Ohh… I was with my best friend! He's visiting from the UK," she explained, smiling at Allen. She assumed Allen was curious about her getting into a random car when she usually biked to and from school. Speaking of which, her bike was still parked near the International College building, she should ask Gu YuChen to come and walk it back to her apartment before they go on their Kyoto trip.

Unexpectedly, Su Ning's answer brought a happy smile to the young man's face. When Allen had seen the pair chatting at the parking garage, they appeared so intimate that he immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion. 'Best friends,' Allen thought, sighing with relief.

"Oh is that so? That's great! Good to know," he said chuckling. 'I can't believe I let it bother me this much.'

"Mhmm, I'm planning to tour him around this week and also take him with us to our Food Tasting Club activity this weekend," Su Ning explained.

"Yeah? That sounds good! I'd love to meet him," Allen agreed, looking delighted.

Su Ning chuckled at her friend's enthusiasm and suddenly recalled Allen's extreme fondness for Sun Fox's games. He particularly idolized the software developer who created the games. So she thought it would be best to tell him the real identity of her friend. 

"Hey Allen, there's another thing you should know. But don't be too shocked, okay?" Su Ning said tentatively.

"Ha ha. Alright tell me," Allen spoke goodnaturedly.

"So that friend of mine is actually the one who created that game you like so much," Su Ning said in a careful manner.

"What?!" Allen exclaimed, looking flabbergasted.

"Really?!" 

"Mhmm. Star's World, Rose Wars, and Ever Star," she answered.

"But! But… he.. looks so young," Allen sputtered, a little lost.

"He is young. He's only 21," Su Ning sympathetically confirmed. 'Wo neng li jie ni.'

Author's Note: Wo neng li jie ni means I can understand you. Our little MC is commiserating with Allen as she too is oftentimes shocked at Gu YuChen's achievements.

"He's just the same age as me," Allen blurted with an unfocused gaze.

"Well, he's what you'd call a genius. Don't feel too bad," Su Ning said as she patted her friend's back. 'There. There.'

"Unbelievable. This is amazing. Someone like that exists." Allen finally said after he snapped out of his trance. He had an uncontrollable grin on his face.

"Happy?" Su Ning asked.

"Yeah! Wait! Is this how you became a character in the game since it was made by your best friend?" he asked with an 'ah-ha' look on his face.

"Mmhmm, I believe so," she replied nodding.

"Amazing.. just amazing. Wow. This is so… amazing," the young man muttered over and over again.

"Alright, I got it. You find Chris amazing," Si Ning chuckled.

"Yeah it's my life goal to be a game engineer. I didn't think my favorite games were made by someone who's the same age as me," Allen explained. 'I can't believe it! Who would have thought the girl I like and the person I look up to are best friends.'

"Mm I see." (Su Ning)

"Your friend.. you said he was a genius. Did he go to uni early to study coding and programming?" Allen asked.

"Ermm…yes and no," Su Ning replied.

After a short pause, she explained "Chris did begin taking university level classes at an early age but he didn't study engineering in uni. He's actually a law student."

"What?!" Allen cried out.

** click ** 

Su Ning quickly took out her phone to memorialize this event.

"Wait what?!" Allen asked, looking confused.

"He he. Sorry, I had to take a photo. Your expression was hilarious," Su Ning explained, giggling. She let the man have a few moments to compose himself before she asked with a knowing tone, "Have you calmed down now?"

"Ye—yeah." Allen stuttered.

"You'll meet him this weekend. You can chat with him then," Su Ning casually commented, earning another startled look from the man. She looked down to her phone to check the time when she noticed that the bag of candies was almost empty.

"Goodness… I almost finished your gummy bears!" 

"Oh ha ha! That's alright," Allen said laughingly. He'd been observing Su Ning since she called out to him and he noticed early on that she seemed to particularly like the Haribbo Gummies. '

"I'll get you another one next time," she said looking apologetic.

"It's really alright," he said. "I have a lot of these. They're all on that drawer by the desk. Feel free to grab some if you're hungry."

"Allen… you're such a good friend," Su Ning gushed. In her simple mind, whoever offers her food is a good person. 

Finally noticing the time on her phone, Su Ning exclaimed, "Ah! Look at the time! I'll be late for class! I gotta go! Bye Allen! Talk to you later!"

"Right, see you!" Allen waved back. After he had ascertained the girl was no longer in the hallway, he once again began to listen to her rendition of 'Tempting Heart.'

......…..

Su Ning's last lecture ended at 2:30pm and immediately after, she bade goodbye to her friends before hurrying out to meet Gu YuChen who was parked by the front gate. From several meters away, Su Ning quickly recognized the white jeep and she broke into a light jog. She didn't know why, but she was particularly excited to see Gu YuChen even though they were just together a few hours prior. In a few minutes, Su Ning reached the vehicle lightly panting.

"YuChen-ge! Did you wait long?" she asked breathing heavily.

"Not long," Gu Chen replied as he handed the girl some baby wipes which she gladly accepted.

"Don't run next time, NingNing. Walk slowly so you don't trip," he cautioned.

"Aiyoh, mei guan xi lah. I won't trip plus I'm excited! Let's go play!"

"Where does NingNing want to go?"

"Osaka Castle then let's shop at Dotonbori and then grab dinner,"

Author's Note: Mei guan xi la means it doesn't matter/it's alright.(Ɔ ˘⌣˘)˘⌣˘ C)

Dotonbori is a popular tourist spot in Osaka. It's a long street filled with shops illuminated by gaudy neon lights running along a canal.(・∀・ )

"En. Sounds like a plan." Gu YuChen said before setting up the navigation in the G Class. It was a 30 minute drive to the castle.

"Gu YuChen," Su Ning suddenly piped up.

"Hmm…" the man murmured softly.

"One of my girl friends wants to meet you. Is that alright?" she asked with a tinge of hesitation in her voice. 'Please say no. Please say no,' Su Ning prayed.

However, Gu YuChen easily agreed with her request, "That's fine."

"Oh… well." 'Dammit' (Su Ning)

"Are you free tomorrow for lunch? I have a long break before my afternoon classes."

"I'm free all week. I'm on vacation, remember?" he reminded the girl with a soft chuckle.

"Ri— right," she answered. "But uhmm…"

"Hmm?" (Gu YuChen)

"I have to warn you. My friend Minshi is Chinese but she grew up in the US and she's a bit more open to casual relationships," she explained, trying to scare the man off.

"Okay?" Gu YuChen asked uncomprehendingly.

"So, actually my friend is really interested in YuChen-ge," Su Ning finally admitted but her friend still remained impassive. 'Ugh! Are you going to force me to say it outright?!' She complained in her heart.

"What I want to say is, can you stay away from Minshi? If she asks you to hangout separately, tell her you are busy!" Su Ning declared. 

But instead of agreeing with Su Ning, Gu YuChen simply asked her "Why?" with an unnatural glint in his eyes.

"Because it's not safe for you!" Su Ning insisted in a high-pitched voice before continuing to speak normally. "Minshi…. She… she… wants to eat you," she said in a whisper.

Gu YuChen was silent for a few minutes before he thoughtfully concluded, "So, NingNing wants to protect my chastity?"

**The author has something to say: do you think our little yuchen will heed ningnings warning? 

♡(.◜ω◝.)♡ **