MY - 33

Jiang Xi looked at him.

Lu Nandu’s mind was full of improper thoughts, but under Jiang Xi’s gaze, all the words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back.

He knew Jiang Xi couldn’t agree.

After several turns of thought, he finally said, “Let’s have a meal together sometime.”

Jiang Xi watched his expression change from hopeful to disappointed, a pitiful look that he couldn’t hide.

She pretended not to notice: “Okay, find a time when you’re free.”

Seeing Lu Nandu about to open his mouth again, Jiang Xi interrupted: “Not now.”

Lu Nandu: “...”

It was getting late. She said to Lu Nandu, “Go back.”

“Are you tired?”

This implied that if she said she wasn’t tired, he would stay with her all night. Jiang Xi was indeed at the time she should be sleeping, so she hummed: “I’m quite tired.”

Seeing that the person in front of her clearly didn’t want to move, Jiang Xi said, “You should go back too.”

Even though Jiang Xi’s attitude towards him had improved significantly, there was still some unfamiliarity. She didn’t reject him but also didn’t draw closer to him.

Finally, their relationship had eased a bit. Lu Nandu was afraid of annoying her: “Then I’ll go back.”

Jiang Xi nodded.

She had only stood downstairs for a few minutes, feeling the cold seep into her ankles. “I’m leaving,” she said, giving him a glance before walking away.

Lu Nandu stood still, her back gradually receding.

He kind of wanted to go back with her.

But it was only a thought. Jiang Xi quickly disappeared through the community gate, never once looking back.

________________________________________

Until her back was out of sight, Lu Nandu lowered his head and let out a sarcastic chuckle.

So heartless.

But everything was also within expectation. The current improvement in their relationship was already beyond Lu Nandu’s expectation; he had even prepared for Jiang Xi to ignore him for the rest of his life.

At least now she was talking to him, which was already a rare thing.

He had to slowly coax her back.

Lu Nandu didn’t linger and soon drove away.

________________________________________

The next day, Jiang Xi woke up close to noon.

Jiang Xi slowly sat up in bed, the quilt slipping from her shoulders, revealing half of her.

Very beautiful.

She hadn’t drawn the curtains before going to sleep last night. Even without the sun out, the light outside was still blindingly bright. Her eyes hurt from the light. Jiang Xi slightly raised a hand to block it, then pushed aside the quilt and got out of bed.

She walked towards the window, about to draw the curtains, when she suddenly remembered yesterday’s events upon touching them.

In the year after the incident, she was just like this, resistant to light and crowds. Her room was always dark, and she didn’t socialize with anyone.

Later, although she overcame it, her dislike for drawing curtains remained unchanged.

Jiang Xi’s fingertips rested on the curtain fabric. After a few seconds, she pulled them back.

Forget it, it’s time for a change.

She turned and entered the bathroom to wash up. When she came out, her phone on the bedside table was buzzing.

Jiang Xi’s fine hair by her cheeks was slightly damp, and a few drops of water still clung to her fair skin. She sat on the bed, saw the incoming call from Ji Yuanzhou on the screen, and answered.

Ji Yuanzhou’s side was a bit noisy, a mix of human voices and speaker sounds.

Before she could answer, Ji Yuanzhou already asked, “What do you want for lunch?”

Jiang Xi: “Are you at the supermarket?”

“Sharp ears, aren’t you?”

Jiang Xi asked, “Are you coming over?”

Ji Yuanzhou nonchalantly hummed in agreement. She seemed to be picking ingredients, asking Jiang Xi: “Do you eat beef?”

Ji Yuanzhou wasn’t the domestic type and certainly didn’t cook. Buying groceries at the supermarket was somewhat at odds with her personality.

Jiang Xi asked, “Why the sudden urge to cook today?”

Ji Yuanzhou chuckled from her end: “I never said I was cooking it myself.”

Her next sentence was: “You cook.”

Although Jiang Xi wasn’t like Ji Yuanzhou, who had never stepped into a kitchen, she rarely cooked and wasn’t very good at it, only skilled at a few dishes.

She chuckled: “You really trust me, aren’t you afraid of getting a stomach ache?”

Ji Yuanzhou said from her end, “Being able to talk and laugh, you seem to be in good spirits.”

Only then did Jiang Xi realize Ji Yuanzhou was testing her.

Ji Yuanzhou seemed to have left the produce section. The supermarket’s loudspeaker cycled through discount announcements.

“I remember you don’t even have a frying pan at home, so I won’t buy groceries to bring back,” Ji Yuanzhou said, “but if you ever get kitchenware, it wouldn’t be out of the question for you to make me a meal that’ll give me diarrhea.”

Jiang Xi chuckled: “Would you eat it?”

Ji Yuanzhou: “Yeah, I would.”

“When are you coming over?”

“Soon.”

________________________________________

The mall was not far from Jiang Xi’s home. Twenty minutes later, Ji Yuanzhou arrived at Jiang Xi’s place.

Ji Yuanzhou bought many small dishes, a bottle of red wine, and conveniently, two wine glasses.

They sat on the floor around the low table in the living room, with several small dishes on it.

Jiang Xi held the red wine bottle, her fingers slender and pale. She tilted her hand slightly, and the red wine poured into the glass.

Jiang Xi pushed a glass towards Ji Yuanzhou. Usually, Ji Yuanzhou was always rushing to work. She asked, “Are you going back to work this afternoon?”

Ji Yuanzhou propped both hands behind her, freed one to take the wine glass, and lazily nodded: “Mhm.”

Jiang Xi chuckled, raising her glass: “What a hard worker you are. I wish Director Ji continued success every day.”

Ji Yuanzhou clinked her glass against hers: “Then I wish our Miss Jiang never encounters villains.”

Ji Yuanzhou basically knew everything that had happened to Jiang Xi, so she also knew best what kind of blessing was most suitable for Jiang Xi.

She took a small sip of red wine and added, “And meet more good people.”

Jiang Xi put down her wine glass, somewhat uncertain: “Will I?”

Ji Yuanzhou looked at her: “I don’t know if you will, but I’ll give you a bit of my good luck.”

Jiang Xi chuckled: “Forget it, keep your good luck for yourself. Find a good person in the future.”

The two ate and chatted intermittently. Jiang Xi knew Ji Yuanzhou was worried about her state over the past two days and had specifically come to talk to her.

“By the way,” Ji Yuanzhou said, “was it Lu Nandu who helped again this time?”

Jiang Xi looked up at her.

Ji Yuanzhou didn’t even need her confirmation. Before she could speak, she chuckled: “How far along are things now?”

These things could never be hidden from Ji Yuanzhou; she was like a thousand-year-old fox who saw through all the world’s ways.

Jiang Xi propped her chin with one hand, answering candidly: “It hasn’t started.”

Ji Yuanzhou wasn’t too surprised: “So you’re not driving him away anymore.”

Jiang Xi chuckled: “Not necessarily.”

Her feelings for Lu Nandu were very complex. After breaking off their relationship so decisively last time, she knew upon looking back that everything was futile.

She was very certain that something had definitely happened to Lu Nandu back then.

But at the same time, a knot in her heart remained. She cared about their breakup back then and wasn’t sure if Lu Nandu’s interest was just a fleeting fancy.

Ji Yuanzhou let out a scoff, teasing her: “You’re just too soft-hearted. How many times have the rules been broken for him?”

She’s quite hard-hearted towards others though.

Jiang Xi couldn’t be bothered with her.

________________________________________

Ji Yuanzhou had work in the afternoon, so she left quickly after dinner.

As soon as Ji Yuanzhou left, Jiang Xi picked up her phone and saw a text message from Lu Nandu.

She glanced at the time; Lu Nandu had probably sent it shortly after getting into the car in the early hours of the morning. Jiang Xi hadn’t looked at her phone at all after returning home and didn’t realize he had sent a text message.

Lu Nandu had to go on a business trip for a few days, returning in three days, and made plans with Jiang Xi for lunch on the day he returned.

Having already promised to repay the favor, Jiang Xi replied to his message.

However, she still didn’t save his number in her phone book.

The temperature had dropped a bit more recently.

________________________________________

Jiang Xi went to the company that day. Tong Yun had a few things to discuss with her.

In the elevator, Jiang Xi received a text message from Lu Nandu, saying he was already outside her residential complex.

Jiang Xi didn’t know he’d arrive so early, so she texted him back.

-Maybe reschedule. I’m not home right now.

The person on the other end seemed to misunderstand her meaning, thinking she was intentionally ignoring him, and called her directly.

Jiang Xi answered. Before she could speak, Lu Nandu asked her, “Where are you now?”

His forceful question carried a hint of anxiety.

Normally, Lu Nandu was well-behaved and obedient in front of her. In the past, when Jiang Xi saw him being forceful, it was usually when she had upset him or during moments of intimacy.

Jiang Xi was momentarily dazed. After a few seconds, she replied, “I haven’t run off.”

Lu Nandu’s side instantly seemed to have been placated.

Jiang Xi said, “Something came up at the company, but it shouldn’t take long.”

It was quiet on his end for a few seconds, then his voice returned to normal: “Then I’ll come pick you up.”

After hanging up, Jiang Xi went straight to Tong Yun’s office.

Tong Yun had an urgent matter, so Jiang Xi waited in her office for a while.

Midway, she received a text from Lu Nandu saying he was already downstairs.

After a while, Tong Yun returned to the office. Tong Yun was always efficient, and even when speaking to people, she didn’t waste a single word. In less than ten minutes, Jiang Xi came out of her office.

Jiang Xi walked out of the company building, and a Maybach was parked by the roadside.

Her gaze swept over the car body that had been scratched initially; it was now shiny and smooth.

It was a cloudy day, the sky was gray, and the wind felt like a knife on her face.

Jiang Xi walked towards the car when suddenly, someone rushed out from the side.

By the time Jiang Xi saw the person swinging a painting towards her, it was too late to react.

The next second, a hand reached out from beside her and abruptly pulled her into an embrace.

She heard the words “plagiarizing dog.”

At the same time, the sound of wood breaking rang out, and a muffled grunt came from the man above her.