After a Contract Marriage with a Cold and Older Person - Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Warming Up the Relationship

The streetlights in the neighborhood suddenly went out. A faint, pearly white light spread across the horizon. The morning breeze rustled, and the sunlight crept onto the window frame.

9:00 AM.

The bedroom door was heavily knocked upon, accompanied by Ji Wenxu’s voice, “Song Tingyun, Song Tingyun.”

“Song Tingyun.” After calling a few times, a series of knocks followed.

The person in bed was finally woken up. He struggled to open his heavy eyelids, slowly reached for the phone on the bedside table, and saw it was Saturday, only a little past nine in the morning.

He had completely forgotten what happened last night.

He was filled only with the anger of having his sleep disturbed by Ji Wenxu.

He threw off the blanket, got out of bed, and walked in his slippers to forcefully open the room door.

Ji Wenxu was dressed properly, his hair slightly managed, looking as if he was about to go out.

Song Tingyun’s face was initially filled with anger.

Ji Wenxu noticed this immediately, but then the anger on Song Tingyun’s face dissipated.

Judging by his expression, he seemed to have remembered something.

His eyes became uneasy, and there even seemed to be a hint of guilt.

Ji Wenxu put his hands on his hips and tilted his chin up, “I’ll let last night’s incident go for now.”

Song Tingyun furrowed his brow. He was currently irritated because the memories of last night were flooding into his mind.

“Mm, is there something you need?”

Ji Wenxu pointed his thumb behind him and said, “You should hurry up and change your clothes.”

Song Tingyun looked confused, “Why?”

Ji Wenxu knew he hadn’t fully remembered the matter, so he thoughtfully reminded him, “The pet store just called. They said the puppy is fine, and we can go pick it up now.”

Song Tingyun: ?

This was the first time Ji Wenxu had seen Song Tingyun’s mind crash. Although he quickly recovered, a look of despair immediately followed.

This somehow made Ji Wenxu feel that the distance between them had been significantly closed.

“Go wash up. Breakfast is ready. We’ll go to the pet store after we eat,” Ji Wenxu decided to give him a little breathing room. After all, everything required a process of acceptance, especially for Song Tingyun.

He turned and went downstairs to the living room.

He began opening an express delivery that had arrived that morning near the balcony.

When Song Tingyun came downstairs, Ji Wenxu had already finished unpacking and was almost done assembling the items.

They were a complete set of pet supplies.

But Song Tingyun still didn’t want to accept this matter, so he asked knowingly, “What are these?”

“!” Ji Wenxu, sitting on the carpet, jumped in surprise at the sudden sound of his voice, “Can’t you make some noise when you walk?”

Then he replied, “The puppy’s toys, the puppy’s bed, the puppy’s food bowl. The dog food will probably arrive soon, too.”

Ji Wenxu’s expression was clearly serious.

Song Tingyun turned and walked back to the dining table, sat down, picked up the warmed milk Ji Wenxu had prepared, and took a sip.

…

After breakfast, the two went together to the pet store to bring the puppy home.

Song Tingyun insisted on not holding it. Ji Wenxu had to drive, so they temporarily put the puppy in a cage and placed it in the back seat.

Ji Wenxu saw his glum face and chuckled mockingly, “Last night, when it was dirty and smelly, you held it. Now that it’s all clean and fragrant, why are you unwilling to hold it?”

Song Tingyun said coldly, “Shut up.”

Ji Wenxu shrugged, “Since we picked it up and brought it home, let’s just keep it. It’s such a big house, can’t we keep one little dog? Right?”

Song Tingyun pursed his lips, unwilling to speak.

The puppy was a Golden Retriever. Its fur, after being washed, was soft and looked very cute, and it was exceptionally affectionate. Ji Wenxu had instantly fallen in love with it.

Ji Wenxu continued, “It almost died last night. You are its savior. Why don’t you give it an easy-to-raise name right now?!”

Song Tingyun, “No.”

He had already used his expression and tone to reject the puppy. The puppy, which was happily panting in the cage, slowly dropped its ears upon hearing this, lying motionless in the cage and staring at Song Tingyun.

Ji Wenxu glanced back during a red light, then said, “See? Because of your cold attitude, it’s already unhappy.”

Song Tingyun remained silent.

His behavior last night, constantly making stupid mistakes, was utterly unbecoming. The puppy, which appeared because of his foolishness, constantly reminded him of those blunders.

Furthermore, he was the one who had strictly forbidden keeping a dog, and he was also the one who stubbornly insisted on keeping one last night. Song Tingyun simply couldn’t accept it.

Ji Wenxu knew what he was thinking. After humming a tune twice, he said, “Then let me name it!”

“Fu Gui’er (Wealthy Noble)? How about that? Easy to raise, right?” Ji Wenxu’s expression seemed serious. He was genuinely proud of the name he’d chosen for the puppy.

Song Tingyun choked and coughed. Then, with a forced smile and strained composure, he said, “Hmm? Xiao Fu (Little Fortune)? Yes, that’s a good name.”

Ji Wenxu quickly interjected, “No, no, it’s Fu Gui’er!”

Song Tingyun pretended not to hear, “Mm, just Xiao Fu.”

Then he added coolly, “Drive properly.”

Ji Wenxu saw his resolute and indifferent attitude and knew his preferred name had been rejected. However, the fact that Song Tingyun cared so much about the dog’s name must indirectly prove that he still cared about the puppy, right?

…

Upon returning home, there were a few more toys and pet supplies for the puppy outside the front door.

Song Tingyun opened the door and walked in.

Ji Wenxu first let Xiao Fu out, allowing it to familiarize itself with the area near its dog bed. Then he ran to the door, carried all the items inside, and started unpacking by the sunlit window.

Xiao Fu was very affectionate and wasn’t shy. After circling Ji Wenxu a few times, it ran to Song Tingyun’s feet.

Song Tingyun quietly lifted his feet and placed them on the sofa.

His face clearly showed rejection.

Ji Wenxu made kissing sounds to call Xiao Fu over, then placed it in its bed to test it. The size was perfect.

“Truly worthy of being the puppy you insisted on keeping. It’s so cute and smart,” Ji Wenxu said, stroking the puppy’s head.

Song Tingyun’s face was wooden, “Send it away.”

“Who? It? You want to send it away?” Ji Wenxu was confused. His fondness for the puppy last night was definitely real, but his coldness toward it now was also genuine.

Why did his attitude change overnight?

“Yes. I’ll contact a friend; someone should be willing to adopt it,” Song Tingyun said.

Ji Wenxu immediately refused, “No. That’s terrible of you. Last night you were desperate to keep it, and today you deny it!”

“I was just drunk last night. You shouldn’t have tacitly allowed me to do that.”

Ji Wenxu indignantly said, “Wow, do you know you kept asking me to stop the car for it? You even almost tried to climb out the window! If I hadn’t gone along with you, would you be lying here peacefully now?”

Then he gently rubbed Xiao Fu’s head, covered its ears, and coaxed, “Fu Gui’er, does your Dad sound like a reasonable person? Oh no, Fu Gui’er, don’t listen; it’s too heartbreaking for a dog.”

Song Tingyun: …

“I’m not its dad.”

Ji Wenxu’s tone intensified, “Yes, you are its Dad. I am its die (daddy), we’re both its parents, each by our own title.”

Song Tingyun looked at Ji Wenxu. His expression was resolute; he was determined to keep the puppy.

It wasn’t that Song Tingyun was unwilling to keep a dog. But looking at it reminded him of a puppy he had kept before. His parents had just passed away, and a friend, worried about his loneliness, had given him a Golden Retriever as well.

But he was too busy with work and didn’t have time to accompany it, resulting in the puppy dying of depression.

This incident made him realize he was fundamentally unsuitable for keeping a dog.

Since then, he had lost the desire to keep any pets.

So his stance was firm, “Send it away.”

Ji Wenxu hugged Xiao Fu, “If you don’t keep it, I will. A puppy is so easy to raise. If you praise it or pet it, it will be happy all day. We can take it to the park for a day on the weekend, and it will be happy all week!”

Ji Wenxu looked as if he knew how to raise a puppy very well.

In reality, only Song Tingyun had experience raising a dog among the two of them.

Seeing that Ji Wenxu truly had no intention of sending Xiao Fu away, Song Tingyun no longer insisted. He slowly nodded and said, “Then let’s keep it.”

“Aww, Xiao Fu, you truly have a home now,” Ji Wenxu lifted the puppy and gently bounced it a couple of times. Xiao Fu whimpered and barked twice.

Song Tingyun watched the man and the dog by the window. He was momentarily lost in a daze. Everything seemed to be progressing towards a wonderful future.

…

Afterward, their daily interactions became more lively with the addition of Xiao Fu.

During the week, Song Tingyun couldn’t get up early, so Ji Wenxu would take Xiao Fu along for his morning run. In the evenings after dinner, the two would occasionally walk the dog together in the park.

On weekends, Song Tingyun still couldn’t manage to wake up early. Ji Wenxu was already used to it. He would make breakfast, take Xiao Fu out for a walk, and by the time they returned, Song Tingyun would have usually finished breakfast.

When Ji Wenxu cooked lunch, Song Tingyun would play with Xiao Fu in the living room.

Xiao Fu was very smart and learned commands almost instantly. It could shake hands, jump up, squat… all the basic tricks a puppy knows.

Their lives weren’t significantly different from before, but Xiao Fu’s appearance simply drew them closer.

Oh.

There was one more thing that Song Tingyun couldn’t figure out.

Ji Wenxu’s abilities were now fully capable of handling most of the work assigned to him. Compared to before, the current Ji Wenxu seemed “dumber” now.

He spent most of his time at the company in Song Tingyun’s office, humbly asking for advice on work issues.

Yet, some of those problems were clearly ones Ji Wenxu could handle.

Sometimes, watching Xiao Fu act silly, he couldn’t help but wonder, had Xiao Fu’s silliness infected Ji Wenxu?

Also, the person who previously insisted on arriving at the company at a different time now waited to ride to work with him every day.

When asked, he would complain that his hand hurt, his foot hurt, or he simply didn’t want to drive.

Even the straight-A student Song Tingyun couldn’t figure it out.

…

It was Wednesday.

Because there was a temporary early meeting at the company, Song Tingyun took the car to work first.

Ji Wenxu stayed home to prepare breakfast for the two of them.

He was talking to Song Tingyun on the phone while wrapping the sandwich breakfast, “Besides the sandwich, what else do you want to eat? Salad? Or vegetable juice?”

Song Tingyun was dealing with work on his computer while also dividing his attention to talk to Ji Wenxu, “Whatever, you prepare what you think is best.”

“Are you sure you don’t have any ideas? I have plenty of time right now. I can prepare anything you want,” Ji Wenxu failed to notice his inexplicably affectionate tone.

Song Tingyun was about to say no.

The car, driving steadily on the road, suddenly received a huge push from behind, followed by a loud crash and the screech of brakes. His phone slipped out of his hand and arced out of the car window. At the same time, his head hit the back of the seat.

Ji Wenxu only heard a huge commotion over the phone.

Then, no matter how much he called Song Tingyun, he received no answer.

Ji Wenxu’s hand shook. The unwrapped breakfast in his hand spilled onto the floor. He anticipated something terrible had happened and immediately called the driver.