After a Contract Marriage with a Cold and Older Person - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Going Home

After watching Ji Wenxu leave the room, Song Tingyun leaned on the edge of the bed and prepared to get up and wash. Unexpectedly, the person who had just left suddenly returned.

Ji Wenxu leaned against the door frame, looked at him, and said, “Oh, right.”

“I forgot to tell you something this morning. I met an old woman while buying groceries.”

He then told Song Tingyun what had happened that morning.

Song Tingyun listened quietly and replied, “I see.”

“She said she’d been waiting for you downstairs for several days and never got a chance to run into you. If you weren’t deliberately avoiding her, how could you not have run into her?” Ji Wenxu asked curiously.

Song Tingyun slowly walked towards the bathroom, saying as he walked, “I just find it troublesome.”

“It was just a small favor, I don’t need someone to specifically thank me.”

Ji Wenxu thought this person’s personality was even more eccentric.

But it had nothing to do with him. Ji Wenxu stretched lazily, speaking weakly, “Fine, well, I’ve passed the message along.”

With that, he turned and left the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

Song Tingyun turned around.

He stared quietly at the closed door with his calm and indifferent eyes for a long time, then took off his glasses, lowered his gaze, and went into the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Ji Wenxu returned to his room.

He raised his arm and sniffed. After just a little contact with Song Tingyun, his body had already picked up the smell of Song Tingyun’s alcohol.

Just how much had this person drunk? So much that a mere slight contact would leave such a heavy scent of alcohol on him.

Ji Wenxu walked to the bathroom, took off his jacket, and sniffed it again. Beneath the rich aroma of alcohol, he could also smell the cologne that Song Tingyun usually wore.

For some reason.

Ji Wenxu felt a little strange in his heart.

Fortunately, he didn’t think too much about it. He took off his clothes in three swift movements and went to take a shower.

Ji Wenxu slept very well that night.

He slept straight through until morning, waking up before his alarm clock went off. He picked up his phone and checked the time; it was just past six in the morning.

Normally, he would get up at six-thirty, tidy up a bit, and then go for a morning run and buy groceries.

However, he wasn’t sleepy now. After lying in bed for a few minutes, he got up, put on his tracksuit, and went out for a run.

While buying groceries at the supermarket that morning, he ran into the old woman from yesterday again.

She greeted him first.

Ji Wenxu slightly embellished Song Tingyun’s reply from last night before telling it to her.

He also told her not to take it to heart anymore; Song Tingyun simply felt it was just a small favor.

The old woman nodded and said, “Good,” then took out a box of pastries from her shopping bag and handed it to him, “I made these myself. You and Mr. Song should eat them together.”

Ji Wenxu quickly waved his hand, but before he could refuse, the pastries were slipped into his grocery bag.

The old woman was insistent, and Ji Wenxu couldn’t refuse, so he had to accept.

Back home.

Song Tingyun was uncharacteristically awake. He was sitting on a chair on the balcony, enjoying the morning breeze.

Judging by his complexion, it was clear that he hadn’t slept well after drinking last night. A faint sense of fatigue lingered between his brows, and his face didn’t look as good as usual.

He clearly hadn’t rested well.

Ji Wenxu placed the groceries he bought in the kitchen, then took out the box of pastries the old woman had given him. He walked to the balcony and placed it on the glass table next to Song Tingyun.

He told Song Tingyun what had happened that morning and then said, “This is someone’s kind gesture.”

Song Tingyun leaned back, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking utterly weary, “You eat it. I don’t like this kind of dessert.”

“It looks pretty delicious, though?” To be honest, Ji Wenxu didn’t particularly like pastries either—they were dry and sticky on the palate.

“Then you eat it,” Song Tingyun said calmly.

Staring at the box of Osmanthus Shortbread for half a minute, Ji Wenxu reached out and opened the lid, saying, “No, it’s a kind gesture from someone. It wouldn’t be right for me to eat it all. You should at least try a bite.”

He then broke off a small piece of the shortbread and insisted on giving it to Song Tingyun.

Song Tingyun grabbed his wrist, turned his head, and said, “I won’t eat it.”

“Just take a bite. We’ll split it, and if we can’t finish the rest, then so be it.” Ji Wenxu felt they shouldn’t completely disappoint the other person’s good intentions.

Song Tingyun’s strength was far less than Ji Wenxu’s. It wasn’t until the pastry touched his lips that Song Tingyun frowned and angrily said, “Ji Wenxu, I can’t eat it. I’m allergic to osmanthus.”

Ji Wenxu’s expression froze. He quickly pulled his hand back. Seeing the pastry crumbs on Song Tingyun’s lips, he reached out again and used his thumb to wipe away the crumbs near the corner of his mouth.

“I’m sorry. Why didn’t you say so earlier? Good thing I didn’t stuff it into your mouth.” Ji Wenxu retracted his hand and hid it behind his back.

He secretly rubbed his thumb and index finger together, flicking off the crumbs stuck to them. Song Tingyun glared at him with what seemed like resentment, got up, and returned to his room.

Ji Wenxu originally wanted to call out to him to apologize, but his mind drifted far away.

He slowly lowered his head, looking at the fingers of the hand he had just used to wipe Song Tingyun’s mouth. The soft, cool feeling still lingered on his fingertip, and Ji Wenxu felt a little strange.

He used his other hand to rub his own lips.

The sensation was different.

Why were Song Tingyun’s lips so soft?

After being stunned in place for a few seconds, Ji Wenxu slowly put his hand down. He looked back at Song Tingyun’s tightly closed bedroom door. Was he angry?

But if he couldn’t eat it, why didn’t he explain earlier? He waited until it was almost stuffed into his mouth before saying anything.

So, it was Song Tingyun’s fault!

Although Ji Wenxu comforted himself this way, he knew that he was the one in the wrong. He quietly walked to the kitchen and made breakfast for two.

Then he walked to Song Tingyun’s room and knocked on the door, “Song Tingyun, you’re not going back to sleep, are you?”

“Song Tingyun, I made your breakfast. Come eat some. I was wrong earlier.” Ji Wenxu had one advantage: as long as it was his fault, he wouldn’t shirk responsibility and would proactively give the other person a way out.

As soon as his voice fell, the bedroom door was opened from the inside.

A faint, clean scent drifted out.

Ji Wenxu took a half step back. Seeing that Song Tingyun’s expression was normal, he continued, “Are you alright?”

Song Tingyun frowned slightly, “Why do you ask?”

“I thought you were angry at me,” Ji Wenxu turned and walked towards the dining table in the living room.

Song Tingyun followed behind, his pace slow, “Did you think I was angry about that?”

“Yeah,” Ji Wenxu responded, then stubbornly added, “Actually, you bear some responsibility, too, right? Why didn’t you say anything earlier…”

Ji Wenxu’s expression was a little awkward, and he subtly bowed his head.

Song Tingyun’s lips curved slightly, and a subtle flicker crossed his eyes, “Yes, my responsibility is the greatest.”

It sounded like he was coaxing a child.

Yet, Ji Wenxu seemed to respond quite well to this approach.

He wagged his ‘tail’, “Never mind. Come eat quickly. Aren’t we going back to my house later?”

Song Tingyun nodded and said yes, then sat down across from him.

Ji Wenxu had cooked wontons, as well as oatmeal, fried eggs, and potstickers for breakfast.

Song Tingyun lowered his head and ate very seriously.

Ji Wenxu, however, was a little distracted. He propped his face up with one hand and stared intently at Song Tingyun.

When at home, Song Tingyun didn’t comb his hair up, letting it fall naturally over his forehead, which made him look very young. His face wasn’t big, and his features occupied the space well.

His eyes were quite attractive.

His nose was also nice.

His lips… Ji Wenxu didn’t know what he was thinking, perhaps recalling the sensation from the morning. He quickly picked up the oatmeal and gulped down several large mouthfuls.

Song Tingyun looked up at him, puzzled: ?

After breakfast.

The two simply prepared and then took a car back to the villa.

Ji Wenxu had slept well last night and spent the half-hour car ride playing games and chatting. Song Tingyun, however, had been resting with his eyes closed ever since they got in the car. Ji Wenxu secretly glanced at him several times but wasn’t noticed.

Upon arriving at the villa.

Song Tingyun and Ji Chenghua went to the study upstairs to discuss business.

Ji Wenxu didn’t want to listen to that, so he returned to the living room, sat on the sofa, and prepared to play games to pass the time.

Unexpectedly, Ji Shuyi hadn’t gone to the study either. He sat down next to Ji Wenxu, supporting himself with his cane. Ji Wenxu shifted over a bit to make room for him.

“Grandpa, how is your health?” Ji Wenxu asked with concern.

Ji Shuyi patted his shoulder, “I’m very well. How about you? How is your leg? Now that the cast is off, is there any difference compared to before?”

Ji Wenxu shook his leg, “It’s fine, no difference. The doctor said I recovered very well.”

Ji Shuyi, “That’s good. I was just worried you’d have lingering after-effects.”

Then he changed the subject and asked, “What is the situation between you two now?”

Ji Wenxu knew Grandpa was asking about him and Song Tingyun. He nodded and said, “It’s okay. Song Tingyun is quite a good person, and we don’t have any conflicts in our interaction.”

Ji Shuyi nodded repeatedly, his satisfaction undisguised, “That’s good, that’s good…”

He said it twice.

Then he added, “Xiaoxu, Grandpa has a suggestion. What do you think about me arranging for you to join the company after you and Tingyun get married?”

Ji Wenxu, “Under Dad’s supervision?”

“That’s an option, or if you don’t want to work under him, how about working at Tingyun’s company? Let him guide you and teach you some real skills.” Seeing that Ji Wenxu didn’t object, the Old Man was quite pleased.

Ji Wenxu nodded, “Okay, I’ll discuss it with Song Tingyun later.”

Perhaps Ji Wenxu was too easy to talk to, and Ji Shuyi was a little unaccustomed to it, but he wasn’t trying to force Ji Wenxu to accept these things. He only said, “I know you originally didn’t want to take over the family business, but there’s no choice. Your parents will grow old, and I will leave you, too. You must have someone who can always accompany and help you, and you also need to grow to a point where we no longer have to worry about you…”

Ji Wenxu didn’t know why Ji Shuyi suddenly brought up these things.

He didn’t want to hear about anyone growing old or leaving him, so he said, somewhat unhappily, “Grandpa, don’t keep saying things like that.”

Seeing that Ji Wenxu was unhappy, Ji Shuyi quickly changed the topic, “Let’s not talk about that, let’s not talk about that. It seems like it’s almost lunchtime. Go upstairs and see how the talk between your dad and Tingyun is going.”

Ji Wenxu stood up and said yes, then put his hands in his pants pockets and went up the stairs step by step.

When he reached the study door, Ji Wenxu raised his hand and knocked, “How’s your discussion going?”

After speaking, he pushed the door open and walked in.

But he only saw Song Tingyun sitting on the sofa seriously looking at documents. Ji Chenghua was nowhere to be seen.

Ji Wenxu walked over and plopped down next to Song Tingyun. He glanced at the document in his hand and asked, “Why are you the only one in the room? Where’s my dad?”