After a Contract Marriage with a Cold and Older Person - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Gaming

Song Tingyun pushed up his glasses, his expression as indifferent as ever, “He went out to take a call.”

Ji Wenxu spread his arm across the backrest of the sofa, leaning back against it and said, “Oh. How did your discussion go?”

“Very smoothly,” Song Tingyun said. He then pushed up his glasses, looked up at him, and asked, “Did you mention this to him before you came?”

Ji Wenxu averted his gaze, acting nonchalant: “Yeah, I just casually brought it up a couple of times this morning.”

“Didn’t you settle it with him yourself in the end?” Ji Wenxu opened his phone and scrolled through it boredly.

Song Tingyun’s eyes shifted from his profile, “Why?”

Ji Wenxu became a little impatient. He clicked his tongue and said, “What other reason could there be? I felt sorry for you. I saw you drinking and forcing smiles just for that piece of land. This young master is kind-hearted, you know?”

He had an arrogant, tsundere look about him.

Song Tingyun, however, smiled slightly upon hearing that. It was a very faint chuckle. If Ji Wenxu hadn’t been sitting so close, he might not have heard it. He looked at Song Tingyun with some surprise.

Song Tingyun raised his lips in a smile and said, “Thank you.”

Ji Wenxu’s eyes suddenly narrowed, and his ears immediately turned red. He uncomfortably looked away, “Who needs your thanks? Just make sure you help me out well in the future.”

Song Tingyun watched him and didn’t speak further.

Just then, the study door was gently pushed open. Ji Chenghua returned after finishing his call.

Seeing his son sitting closely with Song Tingyun, both looking slightly awkward, he smiled with satisfaction. He turned to the side and said, “Tingyun, Wenxu, time for lunch. The maid has prepared it.”

Ji Wenxu sprang up, “Oh, right, Grandpa asked me to call you guys down for lunch.”

He walked towards the door.

Ji Chenghua put his arm around his shoulder, then reached out and ruffled his head, chuckling, “Oops, so you forgot to tell us?”

“I didn’t forget. I was waiting for you to come back before I said anything,” Ji Wenxu removed Ji Chenghua’s hand, then complained, “Didn’t I say not to touch my head?”

“You little brat has quite a temper,” Ji Chenghua wasn’t angry. He slowed his pace and walked alongside Song Tingyun, who had caught up, “That’s his one quirk. He doesn’t like being hugged or having his head touched. Since he was little, none of us elders have ever touched his head.”

Song Tingyun smiled upon hearing this. Ji Chenghua continued, “He’s afraid it’ll stunt his growth.”

Since Ji Wenxu was old enough to remember, this rumor, heard from who knows where, had always influenced him.

The family just went along with it.

To Song Tingyun, Ji Wenxu still seemed like an overgrown child.

Only Ji Shuyi and Ji Chenghua were home; Meng Ying had gone to attend a high school classmate’s second wedding.

The matter of the Chengnan land had been settled before lunch, so soon after the meal, the two got into the car and headed home.

The time was only a little past three in the afternoon when they arrived home.

It was the peak of the sunny afternoon.

As soon as Song Tingyun got home, he went to the study to look at documents and work.

Ji Wenxu had nothing to do. He sat in the living room playing controller games for a while, but his mind was wandering.

He thought, today is the weekend, right? How could Song Tingyun have endless work?

But since Song Tingyun was clearly busy, Ji Wenxu wouldn’t disturb him.

So, he got up, used the watering can to water all the green plants on the balcony, then washed and cut the fruit that had been delivered. After arranging it nicely on a platter, he pushed open the study door.

Song Tingyun seemed to have maintained the same posture, barely moving, only getting up to the balcony when taking or making a phone call.

Ji Wenxu placed the fruit plate on the side table, within Song Tingyun’s easy reach, and sat down opposite him, “Song Tingyun, have some fruit.”

He rested his arms on the desk, hunched over, looking directly at Song Tingyun as he spoke.

Song Tingyun gently looked up at him, meeting those clean, clear eyes. He thought, like a puppy.

“Thank you,” he said. He then picked up a fork from the side of the plate, speared a peeled grape, and put it in his mouth.

It was a little too sweet.

Song Tingyun frowned slightly, but swallowed the grape without changing his expression.

Ji Wenxu asked curiously, “What did you usually do on weekends before?”

Song Tingyun answered truthfully, “Stayed at home.”

Ji Wenxu felt like he was stating the obvious, so he pressed on, “What did you do at home?”

Song Tingyun pondered seriously for a moment and finally answered earnestly, “Reviewed documents.”

Ji Wenxu: ?

He looked puzzled and casually retorted, “Song Tingyun, you really are a boring person.”

Song Tingyun wasn’t offended by the jab. Instead, he said calmly, “Indeed. It’s a pity that an interesting person like you is going to marry me.”

Ji Wenxu quickly corrected him, “It’s an agreement marriage. We’ll get divorced eventually.”

Hearing this, Song Tingyun suddenly lifted his eyelashes and looked at him, not speaking.

He lowered his head, ready to continue reading the documents, but Ji Wenxu’s large hands pressed down on them. Song Tingyun looked up at him helplessly. Ji Wenxu grinned, “Stop reading. Let’s find something to do together. You’ll get rusty if you keep sitting like that.”

Song Tingyun adjusted his glasses, “I don’t like playing with children.”

Ji Wenxu shrugged, “Who said anything about playing with children? I don’t like kids either.”

Upon hearing this, Song Tingyun slowly looked up and stared at him silently. Ji Wenxu felt a little strange under the scrutiny and scratched his head. A few seconds later, his pupils contracted, and he finally realized, raising his voice, “Ow! Song Tingyun, how dare you call me a child!!”

Song Tingyun’s ears hurt from the roar, and he was amused by Ji Wenxu’s delayed reaction. He curled his hand and covered his mouth, letting out a laugh. He then gently removed the hand pressing on the documents and said as amiably as possible, “Go play by yourself.”

Ji Wenxu seemed to have been inexplicably hit by a rebellious streak. The more Song Tingyun refused, the more he wanted his way.

So, disregarding Song Tingyun’s refusal, he pulled his wrist and walked towards the living room.

Song Tingyun was no match for him; he lacked the strength and was pulled a good distance.

He tried to steady his breathing, but the heat from Ji Wenxu’s palm was like spreading ink, creeping from his wrist to his whole body, making him feel a little weak.

He completely lost the strength to pull his hand away, allowing Ji Wenxu to drag him to the living room.

“Here, sit here.” Ji Wenxu pressed on Song Tingyun’s shoulder, making him sit on the sofa.

Song Tingyun sat neatly on the sofa as requested.

Ji Wenxu quickly pulled out two game controllers from under the coffee table, handing one to Song Tingyun, and asked, “Have you ever played controller games?”

Song Tingyun looked down and studied it, then shook his head, “No.”

He was a classic ‘child of another family’ during his school days; he did nothing extra besides studying. After adulthood, he was forced to take over the family business. Forget playing games, he barely had any athletic ability.

Sometimes, seeing Ji Wenxu wake up, exercise, and then return to make a big table of breakfast, he couldn’t understand why someone would have so much inexhaustible energy.

Ji Wenxu sat next to him, leaning his head close to Song Tingyun, “Then I’ll teach you. I’ll start with the simplest one.”

Song Tingyun didn’t refuse.

In his opinion, occasionally spending time with Ji Wenxu like this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Fortunately, the controller buttons weren’t too complicated. Ji Wenxu was an expert in gaming and explained everything in detail. Song Tingyun was able to grasp the basics quickly after hearing the explanation once.

Seeing this, Ji Wenxu quickly switched to a classic 1v1 fighting game, “I’ve never met a worthy opponent in this game. Do you want to try it?”

Song Tingyun, “Whatever.”

Ji Wenxu laughed, “I won’t go easy on you, okay!”

Since Song Tingyun was a beginner, he made many basic mistakes in the first dozen rounds. Ji Wenxu patiently guided and corrected him.

Later in the game, Ji Wenxu began to find it a bit challenging to win against him. He couldn’t help but compliment him, “Song Tingyun, I didn’t expect this! You actually have so much talent. Luckily you only started playing today. If you played for a few more months, maybe I wouldn’t be able to beat you.”

Song Tingyun, however, said, “Wait until I beat you before you praise me.”

Ji Wenxu was full of confidence, “I’m not trying to discourage you, but it’s impossible for you to win against me right now.”

Song Tingyun didn’t say anything, seemingly disagreeing with Ji Wenxu’s statement.

Ji Wenxu didn’t pour cold water on him. He glanced at Song Tingyun, raised his hand, and patted his waist, “Are you a model student? Why are you sitting so straight even at home?”

Song Tingyun was startled, like a cat whose tail had been grabbed, his fur instantly bristling. He almost immediately grabbed Ji Wenxu’s wrist and stood up.

Song Tingyun’s ruffled-cat reaction left Ji Wenxu utterly confused. He looked at the other person with a puzzled expression, “What’s wrong?”

Song Tingyun met Ji Wenxu’s innocent eyes, and even though he felt annoyed, his anger immediately dissipated. He only said, “Don’t touch my waist randomly.”

Ji Wenxu: ?

“Oh, okay.” Ji Wenxu didn’t like people touching his head, and Song Tingyun didn’t like people touching his waist. That was perfectly normal. He subconsciously said, “Sorry, I didn’t know.”

Song Tingyun adjusted his sliding glasses and sat back down on the sofa, but he deliberately created a bit of distance between himself and Ji Wenxu, saying, “It’s alright, let’s continue playing.”

Hearing this, Ji Wenxu immediately cast aside the small interruption, picked up the controller, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and said, “Come on, I’m ready.”

Song Tingyun wondered if he should envy Ji Wenxu’s thoughtless nature.

As Ji Wenxu had said.

Song Tingyun really was no match for him. Ji Wenxu could beat Song Tingyun with his eyes closed.

After a few rounds, the character controlled by Song Tingyun was killed in various creative ways more than ten times.

Ji Wenxu laughed heartily, saying confidently, “See, wasn’t I right? I told you, you can’t beat me yet!”

“But you’re already very good. I was even playing with all my strength against you.” Song Tingyun couldn’t tell if Ji Wenxu was complimenting him or being sarcastic. He couldn’t even manage that kind of talk when trying to provoke someone.

Song Tingyun lost all interest. He put down the controller, rubbed his brow with one hand, and asked, “You’ve never dated before, have you?”

Ji Wenxu was confused but answered seriously, “Uh-huh, yeah.”

Song Tingyun sneered, “I see. No wonder.”

Ji Wenxu didn’t understand, “What do you mean?”

Song Tingyun didn’t want to elaborate, only saying that he didn’t want to play anymore.

Ji Wenxu quickly glanced at his watch. It was clearly still early, and they hadn’t been playing for long. Seeing that Song Tingyun really looked disinterested, he immediately guessed, “Are you a sore loser and angry? I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. You’re so good that I forgot you’re a beginner. How about this, let’s play again, and I absolutely won’t use the same tactics I use against other people.”

Hearing this, Song Tingyun burst into angry laughter.