Loved By The Villain And The Male Lead

Chapter 131: Too Close

Su Ning was preoccupied during the short 15 minute ride to Kyoto. She had made an excuse to sit beside Allen to give Minshi and Gu YuChen a chance to talk. However, a part of her was feeling quite unsettled and she was unable to pay attention to what Allen was saying.

'What could Minshi and YuChen-ge be talking about?' she wondered. 'Could she be confessing to him already!?' Su Ning thought as an unknown feeling crept up in her heart. It was an uncomfortable and unfamiliar feeling.

"Karina? Uhm… Karina?" Allen called out Su Ning's name causing her to snap back to reality.

"Oh! Sorry, Allen. What were you saying?" Su Ning asked apologetically.

"It's alright," the man said with a sheepish grin. "I just wanted to ask what project was it that you wanted to discuss. By the way, did you not get enough sleep last night? You seem out of it." Allen looked at Su Ning with a concerned expression on his face and the latter felt abashed.

"Pardon?" Su Ning asked, looking perplexed.

"Oh uhm. Earlier you said there was an assignment you wanted to talk about?" Allen reminded her.

"Oh!" Su Ning's eyes widened in understanding.

'Allen is so nice. He seems genuinely concerned about me and all I could think of is what's going on in the back rows. I really should focus on him more,' she thought.

Su Ning leaned towards the man and whispered in a conspiratorial tone, "Actually, there's no assignment. I just needed an excuse to let Minshi and Chris sit together."

'She smells so good.' This errant thought popped into Allen's mind.

Allen grew tense at Su Ning's sudden proximity and willed himself to focus on the conversation at hand. "Wait what!? Minshi and Chris!?" he asked, surprised and the girl nodded in confirmation.

"Well…. Actually, maybe. We shall see." Su Ning answered tentatively. Su Ning didn't bother to explain that Minshi intended to confess to Gu YuChen or that the latter had already been rejected previously. On the one hand, Su Ning admired Minshi's confidence and willpower but on the other hand, she couldn't imagine Gu YuChen dating Minshi. In her heart, she had an inkling that the crux of the matter was that she didn't want Gu YuChen to be stolen by her friend. 

"Is that why Minshi is all dressed up today?" Allen asked.

"Oh! You noticed?!" Su Ning exclaimed. 

"Yeah! She looks very different today. Uh… her style kind of reminded me of you actually." Allen said hesitantly before following with, "It's really nice!"

"Mm. Minshi does look pretty in this style as well," Su Ning agreed, completely missing Allen's point.

'No.. I meant the style is pretty on you. Not Minshi…' he thought to himself but he didn't bother to correct the girl. 

"I never would have guessed. Minshi and Chris," Allen said aloud.

"Mmm. I guess we can wait for the news when we arrive in Kyoto," Su Ning answered with a wry smile. 'I know he won't accept Minshi because he likes someone else but I still feel uneasy.' In fact, Su Ning also felt guilty that she couldn't wholeheartedly support her friend's romantic endeavors.

"Uhm.. actually I'm not too sure about that," Allen hesitantly spoke. He didn't want Su Ning to get her hopes up. The girl looked up at him with a questioning glance.

"Just…. The impression I get from Chris… Minshi might not be his style," Allen explained tactfully.

"Ohh…" 'Allen is so astute. He's able to tell just by meeting YuChen-ge once.'

Fearing that Su Ning's impression of him would take a hit because of his honest remarks Allen tried to backtrack and word his explanation carefully. 'Bollix, I don't want to be that bloke that talks shit about her friends.'  He knew Minshi was a good friend of Su Ning's so she didn't want to offend the girl by talking smack about her friend.

"I'm not saying she isn't attractive! It's just her personality might not be his cup of tea," Allen anxiously tried to explain. 

'To be honest, I don't know if she's anyone's cup of tea,' he continued silently. He also didn't particularly like Minshi's personality either. He found her too rough and overly aggressive. 'Abarenbou. That's the best term to describe Minshi,' Allen thought, busting out his Japanese.

Author's Note: abarenbou = rambunctious or rowdy

"I see," Su Ning said gently. "I understand."

Allen heaved a sigh of relief. 'Karina's not mad.'

"By the way, do you want to go on a quick raid?" He asked Su Ning. Allen really enjoyed playing Star's World with her and was delighted to share this hobby together.

"Sure!" Su Ning quickly nodded in agreement and the two spent the remainder of the ride engrossed in their game.

......

Soon the announcement that the train was nearing Kyoto reverberated throughout the enclosed space and the group excitedly waited by the front exit of their car. It was only after they disembarked from the train and noticed that they were missing 2 of their friends that they began to think something was wrong.

"Huh? Where is Chris and Minshi?" Su Ning asked the group.

"Did anyone see them get off?" Justin inquired and the group shook their heads.

"Maybe they're still on the train? I can go check," Allen offered.

At that moment, Su Ning's phone rang. It was that lost child, Gu YuChen.

**ring ring ring**

"YuChen-ge! Ni zai nar ah?" Su Ning asked, speaking in Chinese.

"NingNing, zai xiang wo?" Gu YuChen responded.

"Bie kai wan xiao le la. Ren zai deng ni eh," Su Ning answered, sounding miffed. She knew Gu YuChen isn't the type to make trouble for people so something must have occurred for him to suddenly disappear like this. However, she couldn't understand why he was currently making jokes instead of explaining what had happened.

Author's Note: Ni zai nar ah? Means Where are you?

Zai xiang wo? Means You're missing me?

Bie kai wan xiao le la. Ren zai deng ni eh. Means Stop kidding around. People are waiting for you.

"I went to drop off your friend at the taxi stand," Gu YuChen finally said.

"What?! What do you mean?!" Su Ning exclaimed. 

"She wasn't feeling well. She'll text you separately," Gu YuChen replied calmly.

"Oh… okay hurry and come back. You didn't tell me where you were going. I was so worried." (Su Ning)

"I'm glad." (Gu YuChen)

"En. Good, you know. Wait a minute, what did you say?!" (Su Ning)

"Ha ha ha. I'm glad NingNing worries about me. That means wo zai ni xin li…" Gu YuChen said, chuckling. Unfortunately, the loud noise from the passing trains made his words indecipherable. 

"Huh? Say that again? You're cutting off," Su Ning asked confusedly.

"Te bie de cun zai," Gu YuChen

"Wu liao. Of course you're special now hurry. Everyone is waiting," Su Ning said with a lovely smile. Though Gu YuChen's words got cut off by the noise she implicitly knew what Gu YuChen was trying to say. It was as if he was a part of her and she was a part of him. 

Author's Note: Wo zai ni xin li means The me in your heart

Te bie de cun zai means a special existence.

"En," he answered. 

Gu YuChen's voice seemed a lot closer this time causing Su Ning to instinctively turn around. Immediately, she came face to face with the handsome young man. Su Ning scrunched up her nose and tilted her head; she made a 'shame on you' gesture with her fingers. Gu YuChen looked at the beautiful girl's silly antics and chuckled out loud. His deep masuline voice sounded like honey to the ears.

"Your back," Su Ning commented.

"Mmm. Sorry I made you wait," Gu YuChen responded, patting her head.

"It's alright. I'll just decrease your allowance," Su Ning answered nonchalantly, referring to their inside joke that she would be his sugar mommy for the day. The man laughed and tapped her nose.

After Gu YuChen took a few minutes to explain that Minshi had suddenly felt ill and decided to go home, the group went off to their first food tasting location. However, a few people certainly had things on their minds.

'She was ill? She looked fine earlier. I really want to call her but I'm afraid she will just get mad,' thought the lovesick Cody.

'Karina and Chris...are really close. Somehow I feel they are too close,' thought the obviously perturbed Allen. 

** The author has something to say: oho the 3 players left on the field are allen, yuchen, and ningning! Are you guys excited to see how things will play out!? 

Allen seems to be close to making a move!

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