Chapter 27 She Felt as If Falling into a Warm Vortex, Her Heart Too…

Chapter 27: She felt as if she were falling into a warm vortex, her heart…

Gao Yan’s private elevator was the same size as the standard ones, with similar decor and furnishings. The cabin walls—polished to a high shine by the cleaning staff—clearly reflected the passengers inside.

One tall and broad-shouldered, the other slender and graceful.

They stood at neither an intimate nor an overly distant distance—maintaining a perfectly normal social space.

Perhaps because the enclosed space hindered air circulation, a faint, clean scent of pine gradually filled the air, quietly permeating Lu Yingxiao’s senses.

She didn’t dislike it—in fact, she rather liked it. It reminded her of walking through a dense forest, where even the most agitated mood could be calmed by the lush greenery all around.

Instinctively, she leaned slightly toward the source of the fragrance.

Seeing her own slender figure shift in the wall’s reflection, Lu Yingxiao abruptly snapped back to reality—and immediately stepped away. Just as she began to move, the tall figure standing only seven or eight millimeters from her right arm spoke: “This elevator goes straight to my parking spot. Riding down with me won’t be seen by anyone. Would you like to come with me to the underground garage?”

Before her left foot could lift, her brain registered another urgent matter demanding immediate attention.

And this one was clearly more pressing than the last. Lu Yingxiao straightened up and replied firmly, “Not to the underground garage—I’m going to the first floor.”

Gao Yan had only pressed the basement-level button earlier.

Lu Yingxiao reached out to press the first-floor button.

At that exact moment, Gao Yan’s finger extended too—and she pressed squarely onto his fingertip, quite forcefully.

The pressure was strong enough to whiten his fingernail.

Lu Yingxiao awkwardly withdrew her hand. “Sorry.”

Gao Yan: “It’s fine—I’m the one who didn’t think it through. Where did you ask Lao Wang to pick you up?”

Lu Yingxiao: “The underground garage of the Love Sea Mall across the street.”

Perhaps out of a sense of apology, she explained why she insisted on going to the first floor: “Gao Youhe might come today too.”

Gao Yan nodded. “She really likes you—so much so that I’m a little jealous. When I just asked if you’d ride down with me to the underground garage, I’d already imagined that, if you agreed, we’d head together to the Love Sea Mall. You could stay out of sight at first—let Youhe see me first—to see whether she’d be disappointed.”

Lu Yingxiao: “Huh?”

Gao Yan looked down at her with a gentle smile. “Do you think I’m being childish?”

A little—and quite unexpectedly so.

Because his appearance and demeanor exuded a steady, intimidating aura.

Of course, those thoughts couldn’t be voiced aloud. Instead, she said, “It’s not that bad. After all, you raised Youhe yourself—it’s natural to feel a sense of disparity. Perhaps she’s grown so close to me now precisely because there’s no older woman in her life she feels truly connected to. But in her heart, you’ll always be her most important brother—no one can replace you.”

Gao Yan: “Your words do comfort me—but I still want to know whether she’ll be disappointed when she sees only me at the Love Sea Mall later.”

He gazed at Lu Yingxiao with burning eyes, silently hoping she’d agree to ride the elevator with him to the underground garage—and then share a car across the street to the Love Sea Mall.

No matter how intimidating Gao Yan’s presence might be, he remained, after all, Gao Youhe’s biological brother. And when he looked at someone, his eyes shone just as brightly and warmly as hers.

She couldn’t refuse Gao Youhe’s big, bright eyes.

As for Gao Yan’s… perhaps affection for the house extends to the crow. It seemed she couldn’t quite refuse him either.

Lu Yingxiao hesitated for a moment—then answered with quiet certainty: “I think she won’t be disappointed.”

Gao Yan understood the meaning behind her words and reached out to cancel the first-floor selection. “I hope she won’t be disappointed either—otherwise, we won’t need to buy vinegar at home anymore.”

Lu Yingxiao smiled.

The elevator soon arrived at the underground garage.

Stepping out, Lu Yingxiao felt a flicker of nervousness—and instinctively glanced around, worried colleagues might see her emerging from Gao Yan’s private elevator.

Fortunately, as Gao Yan had mentioned earlier, this dedicated elevator led directly to his parking spot—located discreetly, shielded on three sides by walls, with the open side facing another of Gao Yan’s reserved spots. Effectively, this entire area belonged exclusively to Gao Yan’s vehicle, meaning no one else would witness her stepping out of his private elevator and entering his designated car.

Gao Yan and Lu Yingxiao sat together in the rear seat.

Sensing her unease, Gao Yan said, “Relax. My gratitude to you that night wasn’t mere politeness—it was grounded in reality.”

Lu Yingxiao: “What?”

The remark came out of nowhere, leaving her momentarily baffled.

Gao Yan: “Don’t you remember? That night in the garden pavilion, I told you, ‘Given my appearance and build, I may never get the chance to visit the Civil Affairs Bureau in this lifetime—so the one who should be thanking you is me.’ I wasn’t joking. Otherwise, your colleagues in the secretarial office wouldn’t use my ‘intimidating photos’ as a secret weapon to stay alert.”

Lu Yingxiao: “You knew about that all along?”

Gao Yan: “Perhaps I have a certain self-awareness about this face of mine. So don’t be too nervous—even if someone sees us coming and going together, they won’t speculate about any ambiguity between us. They’ll only sympathize with you for having to face this intimidating face of mine both at work and after hours.”

Lu Yingxiao tried to reassure him: “There’s no need to use the word ‘sympathy.’”

Gao Yan: “Then what word would you use?”

He looked at her, eyes full of curiosity.

Lu Yingxiao paused—she’d only said it offhandedly to comfort him. “…I don’t know either. I just think your face isn’t actually that bad.”

Gao Yan pressed gently: “Not that intimidating?”

His face *was* still intimidating—but after these past two days, she knew Gao Yan’s heart wasn’t as fearsome as his exterior suggested.

Lu Yingxiao said, “At the company, you’re a boss everyone praises. Perhaps people’s awe stems not solely from your appearance.”

Gao Yan: “You just said my face isn’t actually that bad—is it because, like them, you also recognize me as a good boss?”

Lu Yingxiao: “You’re also a good brother.”

That acknowledgment came voluntarily—without prompting.

Gao Yan was satisfied.

It meant Lu Yingxiao had noticed everything he’d done.

Changing the subject, he brought up the notice about Gao Youhe’s school launching after-school services next Monday. “For your morning commute, Lao Wang can continue driving you. But for pickup after work, he may be too busy—in that case, I’ll arrange another driver to collect you.”

Lu Yingxiao: “There’s no need for such trouble—I can take a taxi home myself.”

Gao Yan: “If you prefer to take a taxi, that’s fine. But Sun Yao’s father works as a ride-hailing driver—and Sun Yao’s mother also drives passengers during her off-hours. If, by chance, you happen to hail their car…”

Then things would get complicated.

Sun Yao’s mother would certainly spread the news widely in the group chat—and say all sorts of things.

Say what you want about me, but dragging Youhe into this is absolutely not okay!

Gao Yan observed Lu Yingxiao's expression and seized the moment to suggest, "How about riding home with me? If we get off work early, we could even go together to pick Youhe up from school. She would definitely be over the moon. It would be a nice surprise for her. Ever since she was little, I've been the only family she's had, but I've been so busy with work that I rarely get to give her surprises."

Lu Yingxiao was torn.

She also wanted to give Youhe a surprise.

But...

"Occasionally sharing an elevator with you can still be explained by work, but leaving together every day after work... that's bound to make our colleagues wonder."

Even if they didn't start speculating about anything romantic, over time, they might.

Gao Yan: "Ambitious people are always working late. We could leave a few minutes after to avoid the peak rush hour."

Lu Yingxiao considered it—this could actually work.

Gao Yan: "So, it's settled then?"

Lu Yingxiao: "Okay, let's try it first."

The partition in the back seat wasn't raised, so the driver, Little Hu, heard the entire conversation between Gao Yan and Lu Yingxiao.

He had been driving for Gao Yan for five or six years. Usually, once Gao Yan got in the car and told him the destination, he usually wouldn't say another word, either reading documents or resting. He never expected Mr. Gao to be so talkative in front of his wife, constantly steering the chat. Little Hu, being a man of the world, understood that Mr. Gao was deliberately making conversation with his wife to bring them closer.

Aihai Mall was right across from Shengzao Construction Company.

It was a five or six-minute walk, or even quicker by car.

To give Gao Yan a few more minutes to chat with Lu Yingxiao, Little Hu intentionally eased off the gas.

However, no matter how much he slowed down, the trip was just too short, and the car soon arrived at the underground parking garage of Aihai Mall. Fortunately, Gao Yan had said what he needed to say to Lu Yingxiao.

"Little Hu, Youhe's van is here."

Aihai Mall was a large shopping center with a lot of customers every day, so the underground garage naturally had many parked cars.

Lao Wang didn't rent a parking spot, so the car's parking location wasn't fixed; he parked wherever there was space.

Once parked, Lao Wang immediately sent Lu Yingxiao the location.

Little Hu drove into the underground garage of Aihai Mall according to the location and soon found Gao Youhe's van. Following Gao Yan's instructions, he parked right next to it.

As drivers hired by the Gao family, both Little Hu and Lao Wang naturally knew exactly how many cars the family owned and their respective license plates.

When Little Hu drove the Maybach over from a distance, Lao Wang thought it looked like Mr. Gao's car. As it got closer and he saw Little Hu in the driver's seat, he was sure—this Maybach was indeed Mr. Gao's car. However, the privacy partition was up, so he couldn't see the situation inside. He mentioned this to Gao Youhe.

Gao Youhe was surprised, "Brother's car? What's his car doing here?"

When Lao Wang told her that the Maybach had already parked next to the van, Gao Youhe immediately got out of the car.

She knocked on the Maybach's rear window. Seeing Gao Yan sitting inside, she asked, "Brother, why are you here?"

Gao Yan: "What, aren't you happy to see me?"

Gao Youhe: "That's not it, I'm just curious. Why did you come?"

Gao Yan didn't answer her question. Instead, he turned his head to Lu Yingxiao, who was blocked by his tall frame, and said, "See, Youhe still likes you the most."

Lu Yingxiao: "But she wasn't disappointed to see you either. She was still pleasantly surprised."

Gao Yan: "Surprised, yes. Pleased? I didn't feel that."

Standing outside the car and hearing the conversation inside, Gao Youhe curiously leaned her head into the car, "Why do I hear Sister-in-law's voice?"

Seeing it really was Lu Yingxiao, Gao Youhe immediately cheered with joy, "It really is Sister-in-law!"

Worried Gao Youhe might bump her head, Lu Yingxiao quickly reached out, "Be careful, watch out for bumps."

At the same moment, Gao Yan, also concerned Gao Youhe might hit the car roof, reached out his hand.

Lu Yingxiao's hand directly cupped Gao Youhe's head.

As for Gao Yan, he pressed the back of his hand firmly against the car roof.

"Sister-in-law, I'm not that clumsy, I won't bump into it." Knowing Lu Yingxiao was also in Gao Yan's car, Gao Youhe excitedly pulled her head back, planning to walk around to the left side of the Maybach's back seat to sit right next to Lu Yingxiao. Perhaps she was too excited. Right after saying those reassuring words to Lu Yingxiao, as she straightened up, her head slammed hard towards the car roof.

Fortunately, Lu Yingxiao's hand was cupping her head, and Gao Yan's hand was on the roof.

Gao Youhe didn't feel any pain from the impact, but her head caused the two hands, which had been at a distance, to collide forcefully together.

A fair, soft, delicate right hand pressed tightly into the palm of a large, masculine, powerful hand.

Lu Yingxiao didn't feel any pain. She only felt as if her hand had fallen into a warm vortex, and simultaneously, her heart trembled violently from the impact.