Loved By The Villain And The Male Lead

The awkward silence was eventually broken by Minshi's continuous chattering. The girl basically made every attempt to interrogate Gu YuChen for his entire life story, only to be met by vague or succinct responses. 

Su Ning could tell that her friend was becoming frustrated. Minshi was a smart, attractive, confident and athletic woman and she wasn't used to being blatantly ignored. Well… it would be too much to say Gu YuChen was blatantly ignoring her friend. Gu YuChen was simply acting as himself. He's not the chatty type and he's also not the type to share his life story with someone whom he just met. So although Gu YuChen was being outwardly courteous, he still drew a clear line between him and Minshi. To be honest, Su Ning was relieved; she didn't want to be a bad friend but she really didn't like the sight of Gu YuChen with Minshi.

However, Su Ning knew how emotional Minshi could be when the latter was riled up and so she worried that her friend would SNAP like during the club recruiting a few months back. 'Back then, Minshi was so scary I thought she should really beat up Cody. Please don't SNAP. Please don't SNAP,' she thought. But to Su Ning's utter surprise, Minshi softly apologized for making a ruckus and asking so many questions. Su Ning turned around to look at her friend, she mouthed "Who are you?!"

"Gun dan!" Minshi mouthed back, instinctively feeling that Su Ning was making fun of her.

Author's Note: Gun dan! Means Get out of here! ┏('▀_▀')ノ♬♪

Minshi knew she was very sporty, oftentimes going to school in sweaters, jeans, and sneakers. However, she made a special effort to look pretty for their lunch appointment. She wore a v-neck sleeveless floral spaghetti strap swing dress that she paired with black sandals. Minshi looked particularly attractive. But could she draw the attention of this outstanding young man? Gu YuChen was only here for a week but Minshi already had no intention to let him go. It had been a long time since she'd felt this type of excitement for the opposite sex.

"We're here," Gu YuChen quietly announced, unaware of the thoughts running through the mind of his new acquaintance.

"Awesome!" the girl in the back excitedly cried out before alighting the vehicle.

Su Ning gave Gu YuChen a pointed look as if to say "See?! I told you so! Minshi has her eyes on you." But the young man cluelessly just shot her a tender smile causing the girl to let out an exasperated sigh. 'I have to block Minshi's overtures for my YuChen-ge's purity!' Su Ning vowed. 'Your crush will be so thankful to me later!' 

...........

Hajime was a luxurious french restaurant founded by a renowned chef Hajime Yoneda. It was Minshi's first time in such a fancy place and the awe and surprise was evident on her face. Su Ning on the other hand, have gotten somewhat inured to this kind of display of extravagance. After all, both Lin JinYan and Gu YuChen have dragged her to so many events in the past. She now prided herself for being able to conduct herself elegantly in these situations. 

The trio was seated fairly quickly and Gu YuChen chatted with the maitre'd in fluent Japanese to request the alcohol pairing for himself and Minshi and a non alcoholic pairing for Su Ning.

Author's Note: The legal age for drinking in Japan is 20 years old.

In a few minutes, they got their first serving of drinks and dishes. It was all delicious but Su Ning still lamented in her heart that she cannot partake in alcohol like Minshi and Gu YuChen.

"Ayah bu gong ping. I was able to drink alchy in C Country and the UK," the pretty girl muttered, her face scrunched up in an adorable frown.

Author's Note: Bu gong ping means not fair. ~(⊕⌢⊕)~

"Different countries have different rules, NingNing. I'll let you have some when you come to visit again," Gu YuChen said, giving Su Ning a doting smile.

"Qie," Su Ning retorted, clicking her tongue.

"Wait! When are you planning to go to the UK? I want to come too. I've never been," Minshi who sat beside Su Ning suddenly quipped.

"Uhm.. I'm not sure," Su Ning responded. 'I was hoping to earn a bit of money by working over the summer,' she mused.

"Let me know when! I wanna come with," Minshi insisted.

"En, alright. But I usually stay with YuChen-ge and another friend. I'm not sure if there's enough room at their place," Su Ning explained.

"Oh it's no biggie I can book a b&b nearby," Minshi declared.

"Er alright," Su Ning relented before turning to shoot Gu YuChen an alarmed look. On the other hand, Gu YuChen merely nodded at her in understanding.

A delightful hour and a half passed by and the trio chatted about Minshi's interest in sports. She competed at the national level for Taekwondo back in the United States. And now she has grown a genuine interest in wrestling. When asked what made her decide to study engineering abroad, Minshi merely shrugged and said that she wanted to try living away from her parents. By the time dinner ended, Minshi was thoroughly sloshed. The restaurant was quite generous with their wine pairing. 

Since Gu YuChen also had something to drink, he decided to call a cab for Minshi and another for himself and Su Ning.

"YuChen-ge, is she alright to go home alone?" Su Ning asked anxiously as she saw a taxi drive closer towards them. It was obvious Minshi was in no condition to return back to campus for afternoon classes.

"The driver will drop her off at her address," Gu YuChen responded noncommittally. "Send a text to her roommates so they know to expect her."

"Oh..alright," Su Ning nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Gu YuChen carefully helped Minshi into the taxi cab and as he was about to shut the door, the woman grabbed at his collar in a drunken stupor.

"YuChen-ge!! You want to hangout with me this weekend?" Minshi asked coquettishly.

Gu YuChen heard a sharp intake of breath from behind him. It was Su Ning who had come to check on Gu YuChen after the man had returned from sending off her friend.

'Aiyah! This girl acts so fast! She already asked YuChen-ge out on a date!' Su Ning grumbled.

"I'm sorry. I already have plans this weekend," the man said before removing Minshi's viselike grip on his collar. 'Was this girl an octopus? Why are her paws wrapped around me so tightly?'

"What about during the week?" she asked, not the least bit deterred.

"I am occupied throughout the week as well," answered Gu YuChen, he didn't appear apologetic.

"You don't even have time to grab a cup of coffee?" Minshi suddenly asked with a high pitched voice.

"Unfortunately so" he said before shutting the door on her face and tapping at the roof of the vehicle as an 'okay' gesture to the driver.

Minshi, however, wouldn't let up and began to roll down the window, "Wait but.." 

"Minshi, you're smashed. I think you should call it a night," Gu YuChen said kindly but there was a sound of finality in his voice.

"I…I.." Minshi began before the taxi took off down the road.

The remaining pair stood on the sidewalk gazing at the back of the taxi for several seconds before Gu YuChen turned to look at Su Ning.

"So? How did I do? Does NingNing think I did alright?" Gu YuChen asked with a warm smile and the girl nodded in response.

He patted the top of her head before turning her around, "Come on, I see our cab." Gu YuChen shot her a charming smile.

"En," Su Ning happily answered. 'So I didn't need to protect him after all. He should've just been this curt to the girls back at the mall as well,' Su Ning thought with a discrete smile. 

'Gu YuChen should've told me that he was planning to reject Minshi from the beginning. He made me worry for nothing. Wait a minute… Did I just say worry? Why would I be worried about girls hitting on him?! Ugh this reminds me of the texts sent by MiaoMiao, I still need to respond to her,' the young girl mused during the taxi ride back to Handai.

Gu YuChen who sat beside Su Ning in the back seat was feeling slightly tipsy from the alcohol and he rested his eyes closed for the majority of the trip. In fact, he had been feeling particularly annoyed at that girl named Minshi who kept on asking personal questions. He disliked people with no sense of boundaries. However, he did his best to remain civil to Su Ning's friend. Of course, he had no intention of seeing that other girl after this lunch.

** The author has something to say: oooooh minshi moves pretty quick! (つ✧ω✧)つ

Looks like little yuchen eventually followed our little ningning's advice!(♥‿♥)

Do you think that rejection is enough to deter Minshi? (ง'̀-'́)ง

My lovely readers~ Thank you! Thank you! For all the VOTES and COMMENTS! ٩(๑> ₃ <)۶♥

I truly appreciate all the support! ♡(.◜ω◝.)♡

For those who haven't done so already, please consider adding the story to your READING LIST. 　(◍•ᴗ•◍) **