Chapter 619 - 357: I Absolutely Love the Way You Are Now

Chapter 619: Chapter 357: I Absolutely Love the Way You Are Now

’Is he... is he afraid of being assassinated?’

’Or is it something else?’

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Dongnya stared at Lin Chu for a while. Seeing his breathing gradually even out, she sighed softly and tiptoed out of the room.

On the dining table was a delicious and lavish spread. The steak had gone cold, and the wine had been perfectly decanted, but the man was already asleep.

Romance was dead.

Killed by self-discipline, of all things!

This was supposed to have been a wild night.

Like a long-awaited rain after a drought.

But now, all she had was a quiet, lonely late-night meal.

She had no appetite. She stared blankly at the beautiful city lights for a long time before returning to the bedroom. She lay down quietly beside Lin Chu, found his large, warm hand, and closed her eyes.

A moment later, she slowly opened her eyes again, pulled out her phone, and set alarms for 5:00, 5:05, and 5:10 a.m.

’Criminal!’

’This is absolutely criminal!’

’How has Lin Chu managed to stick to such an agonizing schedule?’

She closed her eyes, her mind racing with all sorts of thoughts as her imagination ran wild. Every so often, she would peek at Lin Chu. He was sound asleep, his breathing so steady he might as well have been "dead"... She almost laughed at her own comparison. Dongnya stifled her giggle and closed her eyes again. An unknown amount of time passed before she finally, drowsily, drifted off to sleep.

...

Five in the morning.

A biological clock can be trained, just like a high school senior or a prison inmate. Lin Chu’s was now accurate to within five minutes. Today, the very instant the alarm rang, he was wide awake.

There was an octopus wrapped around him.

’No wonder I felt a little hot last night.’ He hadn’t dreamt, though. Ever since he started his regular routine, he hadn’t dreamt at all.

Unlike before, when he could have four or five dreams in a single night.

They say frequent dreaming is a sign of kidney deficiency. Perhaps because he was young, he had never really felt it, even before. And now, he felt it even less.

Dongnya groggily fumbled for her phone and, almost unconsciously, turned off the alarm. She then rolled over, her hand naturally landing on Lin Chu’s chest. A sweet smile lingered on her lips; she must have been having a wonderful dream.

Lin Chu shook his head with a smile, gently moved her hand, and slipped out of bed. He walked into the living room.

Before the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, the entire city was still asleep. On the road below, the occasional transport truck sped by.

’Have you seen Los Angeles at 4 a.m.?’

The famous words of that basketball superstar, who supposedly did this every day of his career.

He was starting a bit late, but after so many days, he was truly experiencing the joy of "complete control over his life, body, and will."

Endorphins were far more lasting and satisfying than dopamine.

He first downed a glass of warm water. Dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, barefoot on the carpet, Lin Chu began his bodyweight workout, starting with stretches.

「In the bedroom.」

When the second wave of alarms went off, Dongnya finally jolted awake. Seeing the empty space beside her, she sat up in a panic and ran to the living room. There, framed by the window against the 5 a.m. nightscape, a man had already begun his workout, his exposed muscles defined and sexy.

"Ugh."

She ruffled her hair, now fully awake. A strange, indescribable feeling washed over her.

"You’re awake?"

"You can sleep a little longer. I’m going to work out for an hour and a half."

"I was originally going to the gym, but I was worried you’d panic if you woke up and didn’t see me, so I’m just making do here."

Lin Chu said with a gentle smile, holding a one-legged stance with his hands clasped behind his head.

Yawning, Dongnya felt a little lost.

She wanted to join him, to keep him company.

But she was genuinely sleepy.

"Go back to sleep. You were on a plane all day yesterday, so you need to catch up on rest. I’m free all day today."

"We’ll have dinner at my family’s place. My dad’s home. I’ll take you to meet him."

Hearing Lin Chu’s voice again, she bit her lip, a little shy. She walked over briskly, gave him an adorable kiss, and then went back to the room to get more sleep.

Lying in bed, she quickly fell back into a sweet dream.

’I’m going to meet his father!’

’Dinner!’

’I have to be on my A-game!’

’But for now, I need to get some good sleep!’

’A man who works out in the morning is so sexy!’

’Ugh, I think I missed the 5 a.m. "reward"... but I really couldn’t wake up!’

...

When Dongnya finally woke up for good, she glanced at her phone. It was already 10:30 a.m.

She sat up in a panic again and hurried into the living room.

In front of the window, the sky was blue with white clouds and the sun was shining brightly. Lin Chu was holding a plank while listening to an English broadcast, muttering the words along with it.

His bare upper body was flushed around his waist and abs. He was lightly sweating, and his voice sounded slightly tired.

This scene...

It shocked her all over again.

’To be honest, this is truly the most, most, most self-disciplined man I have ever seen.’ Strengthening his body while learning a language at the same time.

Lin Chu’s foreign language skills had indeed been terrible before. He also had an extremely strong sense of national pride and always felt, ’Why the hell should I learn a foreign language? Others should be learning Chinese.’

But now...

Hearing the door, Lin Chu clapped his hands and got up, grabbing a towel to wipe his sweat. "Slept well?"

"Yeah. You’re even studying English now?"

Dongnya asked, her tone complicated. She wasn’t a genius, but her grades were above average, and she studied quite hard. Yet her feelings at this moment were truly hard to put into words.

She suddenly recalled that old saying from the Chinese internet: ’People who are better than you are also working harder than you.’

"Yeah, my thinking has changed. One should be open to different things."

"Besides, for some documents and books, the original English version expresses the meaning more accurately. And I’ll need to communicate internationally in the future."

Lin Chu explained casually. He walked over, gave her a hug, and then, as if she weighed nothing, lifted her and spun her around twice. After setting her down, he looked into her eyes. "As you can see, this is how I’ve changed recently. I’ve quit smoking and drinking, I work out, sleep early and wake up early, read, learn languages, and study all sorts of interesting things that will be useful in the future... It’s all to keep my mind and body in a peak state, anytime, anywhere."

"This way, I can face any challenge at one hundred percent."

Looking into the man’s calm and determined eyes, Dongnya gently bit her lip. Compared to before, the Lin Chu of today was clearly much stronger.

Not in terms of wealth.

But in spirit, mind, and body.

Of course, that spontaneous and romantic flair of his had been somewhat suppressed, but it was like an evolution from a boy to a man.

"I absolutely love you like this!"

Her eyes seemed to be sparkling like stars.

"Haha, how many women can resist a man like me?"

Lin Chu remarked nonchalantly.

But she clearly missed the hidden meaning in his words. She leaped up lightly, like a koala, and jumped into Lin Chu’s arms, already overcome with emotion.

...

Maintaining a balance between self-discipline and indulgence is the art of living.

It’s also a fundamental part of self-cultivation.

At the same time, to be a man who loves many, one needs not only power, but also wisdom.

For dinner on the Little New Year, Yang Huixian was naturally an unavoidable presence. She lived right next door; there was no way to get around her.

In fact, Lin Chu had no intention of avoiding her.

Lay everything out clearly on the table, and then... face it head-on.

This was his deliberate choice.

He was ready to accept the fallout, even if it meant everything blew up in his face.

And to accept all unknown consequences.

And if everything went smoothly, that would be the reward for the brave.

Monogamy between one man and one woman has never been the natural order of things, but rather a public consensus reached after a certain stage of sociocultural development.

But at the same time, this consensus has never been ironclad; it is constantly being undermined, both intentionally and unintentionally.

Besides, he wasn’t even married. It wasn’t even an "illegal act."

...

「At home.」

Yang Huixian, who was sitting and chatting with Lin Haifu, heard a car outside. She glanced through the glass door and saw Lin Chu’s car had already pulled up to the entrance.

And he got out of the car with a leggy, blonde, blue-eyed foreign girl.

Her pupils contracted slightly. The smile on her face froze, and she stood rooted to the spot as if hit by a petrification spell.

And outside, the woman holding Lin Chu’s arm looked over as well.

...

...