After a Contract Marriage with a Cold and Older Person - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Drunk

“Bro Xu, our family recently cleared out a private jet, and we’ve already filed for the international flight route.” Chen Yilan suddenly spoke up, before they had even taken many bites of food.

Ji Wenxu laughed: “Why? I can’t fly it without a license.”

Ding Sheng knew Ji Wenxu was teasing, so he quickly said, “That’s not exactly what we meant.”

After a moment.

The smile on Ji Wenxu’s face slowly faded, as he sensed the seriousness in his friends’ expressions.

He asked, “What’s wrong with you guys?”

Ding Sheng lowered his head and said, “We thought about it. The forced marriage thing is somewhat tied to us. It’s our fault. We know you don’t want to get married, and we know that Song Tingyun is not your type, so we decided to help you run away from the marriage. As long as you flee abroad, they won’t be able to do anything to you.”

“Right! Bro Xu, don’t worry. I have friends in the UK who will agree to host you after you arrive.”

“When this whole thing blows over, you can come back home!” Wei Zhang added.

Ji Wenxu was somewhat touched and asked, “What about when your parents blame you?”

“Worst case, we’ll be grounded or get a few whippings. We’ve accepted it. If it weren’t for us, you wouldn’t have been injured and forced to marry,” Ding Sheng said with a martyr-like expression.

“As for Song Tingyun, we’ll go apologize to him.”

Ji Wenxu chuckled: “Alright, I know you’re thinking of me, and thank you for putting so much thought into this. But I’m willing to marry Song Tingyun. He’s a good person, and I quite admire him.”

“And after some interaction with him these past few days, I feel our personalities are actually quite compatible.” Ji Wenxu felt like he was telling a blatant lie.

He just prayed that Song Tingyun wouldn’t find out about the lie he’d just concocted, or the man would surely tease him endlessly.

However, even if he didn’t have the agreement with Song Tingyun, he hadn’t planned on running away.

That would be disrespectful to Song Tingyun as a person.

He knew his friends wouldn’t have thought of such an unethical plan unless they felt they had absolutely no other choice.

The fact that they offered to apologize to Song Tingyun showed that they weren’t the type of people who would hurt others just for their own gain.

Thinking of this, Ji Wenxu felt very moved.

“Bro Xu… are you just saying this to make us feel better, trying to trick us?” Ding Sheng looked unconvinced.

Ji Wenxu quickly said, “Why would I lie to you? I’ve already moved in with him. If there was anything truly unbearable, given my personality, I would have protested to my parents a hundred times by now, right?”

“What?! You… you’re living together!?”

Ji Wenxu’s ears hurt from the shouting. He raised his hand and rubbed his ear with his pinky finger. “Of course. I’m not the type to tolerate discomfort. You guys can relax. If I truly disagreed, this marriage would absolutely never happen.”

Hearing Ji Wenxu’s words, the few friends finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Yilan patted his chest: “If you ever need anything in the future, just come to us!”

Ji Wenxu quickly nodded: “I know, I know. Hurry up and eat.”

“Stop worrying about my affairs from now on. And don’t let anyone know about your plan to help me run away, or your families might lecture you again.”

“Okay.”

…

After dinner.

The group drove together to Changle Han.

Ji Wenxu looked at the auction items. He wasn’t interested in any of them, but watching them bid was a good way to kill time.

They left only when the auction was nearing its end.

It was already 9:30 PM.

Ji Wenxu drove back home.

He opened the apartment door and walked in.

The room was surprisingly dark.

It looked like Song Tingyun hadn’t returned yet.

It made sense; those kind of dinner engagements probably wouldn’t end until late at night.

He walked to the study and sat down at his spot, picking up a document from Song Tingyun’s side of the desk.

Dense pages of text. A quick glance was enough to make him drowsy.

But perhaps the documents he had read the previous two days had made Ji Wenxu slightly more accustomed to them. He managed to calm down and absorb the content of the file.

It seemed Song Tingyun was troubled by the land plot in Cheng Nan.

Ji Wenxu looked at the information about the land plot and realized he knew the owner: Chen Benshan.

This person was the father of one of his university classmates.

However, Ji Wenxu figured his connection to the owner was merely through a classmate, and that relationship probably wouldn’t be enough to negotiate this business deal.

Ji Wenxu silently flipped a page and saw the importance of this land plot to Song Tingyun’s current business in Cheng Nan.

He lowered his eyelashes, his brows furrowed, and he clicked his tongue softly.

Just as he was about to continue reading, he heard the sound of the front door opening. Ji Wenxu quickly put the document back and walked toward the living room.

At the entrance, Song Tingyun was steadying himself with one hand on the shoe cabinet, using the other to change into slippers.

His jacket was draped over his arm. Song Tingyun had a good physique; his shirt was tucked into his trousers, highlighting his slender waist and long legs. His back looked thin. His usually slicked-back hair was down, adding a touch of softness in the warm yellow light.

But a couple of steps exposed the truth.

How much had he been drinking?

Ji Wenxu didn’t intend to get involved, but when he saw Song Tingyun stumble and almost fall after bumping his knee on a chair, he still walked over and supported him. “Hmph, I told you not to drink so much. You can’t even walk straight, can you?”

Fortunately, Song Tingyun was only physically clumsy; his mind was relatively clear. At least he understood what Ji Wenxu was saying. He gave a wry smile: “It couldn’t be helped without drinking.”

“I just don’t get it,” Ji Wenxu said. He genuinely didn’t understand why someone had to drink so much to discuss business.

He helped Song Tingyun back to his room and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of warm water, only to find the person who was lying on the bed had disappeared.

Upon closer look, Song Tingyun was making a phone call on the balcony.

Ji Wenxu leaned against the wardrobe, arms crossed, listening to Song Tingyun’s conversation with the person on the phone.

“Mr. Chen, did you arrive home safely?”

“…”

“Yes, yes, you should rest well too. Regarding tomorrow…”

“…”

“You don’t have time tomorrow? Then the contract you promised…”

“…”

“Okay.” Ji Wenxu thought he heard a slight catch in Song Tingyun’s voice. Then Song Tingyun said with a forced laugh, “Alright, you tend to your business first. Ours isn’t urgent.”

The call ended.

Song Tingyun leaned against the wall, raised his hand to rub his temples, looking completely exhausted.

Ji Wenxu walked over with the water, offering the cup to him. He asked, “Isn’t it just a piece of land? I see other spots in Cheng Nan that would suit your business, right? If he won’t deal, just find someone else.”

“…” Song Tingyun paused, then asked, “You read my document?”

“Yeah, I read it. If it was some kind of confidential file, I wouldn’t know…” It was placed so conspicuously, and Ji Wenxu was a curious person. It would be unlike him not to pick it up.

Fortunately, Song Tingyun didn’t take offense. “It’s not that simple. In the business world, sometimes one small decision affects everything. If we can secure that piece of land, the subsequent processes will save a lot of capital.”

Ji Wenxu watched him quietly.

The moonlight was cold, falling on Song Tingyun.

Ji Wenxu saw the loneliness and fatigue in his expression.

He had thought Song Tingyun was amazing, that everything he did was smooth sailing…

“Ahem, if it absolutely has to be that piece of land, I might be able to help you out.” Ji Wenxu’s tone became slightly more formal as he spoke. He crossed his arms, chin slightly raised, glancing at Song Tingyun’s expression out of the corner of his eye.

Song Tingyun immediately looked up at him after hearing this. “You have a way?”

“I don’t know, but Chen Benshan’s son was a university classmate of mine. Although I didn’t interact much with him, one of my friends is very close to him. I was thinking of having my friend make an introduction,” Ji Wenxu laid out his plan. “But as you can see, I can only approach the son, and the real decision-maker is still Mr. Chen, so I can only try for you.”

Ji Wenxu’s willingness to even try was a surprise to Song Tingyun.

He knew that Ji Wenxu was essentially a kind-hearted person.

Regardless of the reason, Ji Wenxu was always willing to consider those around him.

For instance, after Ji Wenxu had said some unpleasant things to him about the arranged marriage, Ji Wenxu would often apologize when they were alone.

Thinking of this, Song Tingyun smiled slightly. Though no sound escaped his lips, Ji Wenxu still saw the corners of his mouth lift.

Song Tingyun said, “No need. I don’t only have this one option. I was just hoping to minimize the process and simplify things. You did give me an idea, though.”

“I’m going to see your father tomorrow. Do you want to come?”

Ji Wenxu’s ears twitched. “Why are you seeing him?”

“You might not know this, but you have business interests in the Cheng Nan area as well. I want to trouble your father with something…”

Ji Wenxu grumbled: “Then why didn’t you trouble him earlier? You had to drink so much with that Mr. Chen…”

Song Tingyun smiled again, patiently explaining, “I have my reasons.”

“In any case, I know, and thank you for the warm water. Will you come with me tomorrow?”

Ji Wenxu thought about it. “To my house?”

Song Tingyun nodded: “Mm. Tomorrow is Saturday, isn’t it a holiday?”

Remembering that he hadn’t seen or spoken to his mother and grandfather in days, Ji Wenxu finally nodded: “Alright, I’ll go with you.”

Song Tingyun turned and took a small step forward. Perhaps the alcohol was kicking in, as he stumbled and nearly fell. Fortunately, Ji Wenxu quickly grabbed him, and the two took half a step backward together.

Song Tingyun’s glasses slipped to the floor and were stepped on by Ji Wenxu, making a crisp sound.

The noise made Ji Wenxu’s hair stand on end.

He quickly stabilized Song Tingyun and looked down. “Your glasses… they broke.”

Song Tingyun fumbled and sat down on the edge of the bed. He didn’t seem bothered. Ji Wenxu picked up the broken glasses and brought them closer to Song Tingyun.

Song Tingyun rubbed his temples and pointed to the drawer on the bedside table. He said, “I can’t see clearly without my glasses. Hand me the frameless pair on the far side from inside.”

Ji Wenxu quickly complied.

He opened the drawer, which contained over a dozen pairs of neatly arranged glasses. It was clear they were organized by usage time, as the innermost pairs were styles from years ago.

He picked up the frameless pair Song Tingyun mentioned, but his attention was caught by a pair of very thick, black-rimmed glasses in the deepest corner, the kind modern middle schoolers often wear.

Out of curiosity, Ji Wenxu picked up both pairs.

But he handed the scholarly-looking black-rimmed glasses to Song Tingyun.

When Song Tingyun put them on, his vision was still blurry. He took them off to look. “Not this pair.”

Ji Wenxu then grinned and handed the other frameless pair to Song Tingyun, saying, “I know.”

“I was just curious that someone like you actually wore glasses like these.”

Thinking of the appearance he’d just seen, Ji Wenxu smiled again and said, “Wearing these, you don’t look like yourself at all. If you put your hair down too, you’d definitely be the smartest top student in my class back in school.”

“You’d be the type with excellent grades, but quiet, aloof, and not interested in making friends.”

Song Tingyun’s ears felt warm. He feigned composure and said, “Aren’t you relying a little too much on stereotypes…”

“Just kidding,” Ji Wenxu picked up the black-rimmed glasses and put them back in the deepest part of the drawer. He stood up and said, “I’m going back to sleep. You should rest early too.”

With that, he turned and left the room.

Watching Ji Wenxu’s retreating figure, a trace of obscure light flickered in Song Tingyun’s calm eyes.