After a Contract Marriage with a Cold and Older Person - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: I Like Him

The phone rang twice before being answered.

But the person who answered wasn’t the driver who usually took Song Tingyun to and from work. “Hello, the owner of this phone is currently not very conscious…”

“What happened?” Ji Wenxu quickly took off his apron, grabbed his jacket, and rushed out the door.

“It was a chain collision. The driver of this car suffered a head injury.”

Ji Wenxu’s hand hovered in front of the elevator floor buttons, his mind buzzing. It took him a long time to figure out which floor to press.

His feet felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

He quickly pressed, “What about the other person in the car?”

There was a rustling sound on the other end, followed by a familiar voice, “I’m fine.”

“Just a minor scrape on my leg. The ambulance is on the way.” Song Tingyun glanced at the damaged car. The rear was completely smashed. There were at least five or six accident vehicles at the scene, completely blocking the road.

Their car sustained the least damage. The more serious ones had rolled over several times, and the people inside hadn’t been rescued yet.

“Send me the location. I’m driving over now.” Hearing the news that both of them were mostly okay, Ji Wenxu let out a huge sigh of relief.

He didn’t notice his voice was trembling, but Song Tingyun did. He said, “You go to the company first. I have a very important meeting this morning. Go represent me to smooth things over, and we’ll have an online meeting this afternoon.”

Ji Wenxu was annoyed, “Are you crazy? You were just in a car accident! You’re still thinking about your darn work!”

Song Tingyun had also bumped his forehead slightly and felt very groggy. He didn’t want to argue with Ji Wenxu, so he said calmly, “Ji Wenxu, you can handle it, right?”

Ji Wenxu couldn’t resist Song Tingyun’s tone of expectation. He bared his teeth and grumbled, “I know, I’ll handle it.”

“How are you feeling now?”

“I’m fine. The car damage isn’t severe, and the ambulance will be here soon,” Song Tingyun said. “My phone was knocked out the window and run over by a passing car, so I might not be able to contact you immediately.”

“What’s the address of the accident?”

“Jiaoli Bridge. That section of the road is blocked now. Take Xingjiang North Road to the company.”

“I have a friend who lives nearby. I’m calling him to rush over. You can use his phone to communicate with me then.” Ji Wenxu’s tone had become completely calm.

Song Tingyun sensed a mature and steady presence.

This person, who had seemed immature like an adolescent when they first met, now had the ability to stand on his own.

Song Tingyun felt inexplicably relieved.

“Okay,” he agreed. “I’m hanging up now. I need to contact Old Zhou’s family.”

Ji Wenxu said okay.

After hanging up, he immediately called Ding Sheng.

Ding Sheng was asleep, but when he heard what Ji Wenxu said, he instantly sobered up, quickly climbed out of bed, got dressed, and headed downstairs. “Fine, Brother Xu, don’t worry. I have an extra phone at home; I’ll take it to him.”

“I’ll let you know about any situation.”

Ji Wenxu thanked him and hung up, then drove to the company.

Most of the board members had already arrived. The news of Song Tingyun’s accident hadn’t reached them yet.

Many of the people attending the meeting had also been at his and Song Tingyun’s wedding banquet, so Ji Wenxu carried some weight when he spoke.

He first announced the cancellation of today’s morning meeting, then explained Song Tingyun’s current situation, and mentioned that an online meeting would be held after Song Tingyun was settled, assuring them not to worry.

“A car accident? How is President Song doing now?”

“The current situation is unclear, but when I spoke to him, he said it wasn’t too serious,” Ji Wenxu said.

“The meeting isn’t urgent. We just hope President Song is alright.”

The people in the conference room expressed their concerns.

After briefly explaining the situation, Ji Wenxu handed the remaining follow-up work to Song Tingyun’s secretary. Just as he was preparing to leave for the hospital.

He saw the documents the secretary had organized to be processed by Song Tingyun, which needed to be handled that morning.

He had no choice but to temporarily put aside the idea of going to the hospital.

He helped process most of the work he could handle, then organized the remaining tasks.

Before he knew it, it was past ten in the morning.

Song Tingyun hadn’t contacted him since arriving at the hospital.

Instead, Ding Sheng had been updating him on the situation.

Song Tingyun truly wasn’t seriously injured, but he needed a few days of observation, as his head seemed to have been slightly injured.

Ji Wenxu’s heart leaped when he heard the news.

After all the work was handled and accounted for, Ji Wenxu quickly drove to the hospital.

Ding Sheng was sitting on the long bench in front of the ward. Seeing Ji Wenxu approach, he quickly stood up and said, “Brother Xu, all the checkups are done. He’s mostly fine. The doctor said he seems to have bumped his head and needs to be observed closely.”

Ji Wenxu nodded, then asked, “Where is he now?”

“Asleep, since he hit his head,” Ding Sheng said.

“What about the driver with him?” Ji Wenxu asked out of concern.

“The driver is also fine, but his foot was injured. His family is guarding the ward,” although Ding Sheng was a bit chubby, he spoke very smoothly and clearly, explaining things clearly in just a few sentences.

Ji Wenxu sighed in relief again. He carefully opened the ward door and walked in.

Song Tingyun was sleeping soundly.

The air in the ward smelled of disinfectant and medicine. Song Tingyun was on an IV drip, and there was a bandage wrapped around his forehead.

Seeing Song Tingyun’s peaceful sleeping face, Ji Wenxu felt completely at ease at this moment. His legs went weak, and he sank onto the sofa.

Ding Sheng quickly helped him, asking with concern, “Brother Xu, are you okay?”

“No, it was just very scary…” When Song Tingyun suddenly went silent on the phone, followed by loud noises and braking sounds, Ji Wenxu was truly frozen in fear.

Having been in a racing accident himself, he was overly sensitive to those sounds.

“It was indeed scary,” Ding Sheng nodded in agreement. “When I arrived, the scene was a seven-car pileup. Song Tingyun’s car had the least damage because it was far from the cars in the back…”

“The driver in the car with the most severe damage was already dead,” Ding Sheng said.

“Stop talking,” Ji Wenxu couldn’t bear to hear the word “dead” anymore.

Ding Sheng quickly covered his mouth.

“Thank you, I appreciate your effort.” Ji Wenxu first thanked him for being called so early to help deal with his personal matters.

Ding Sheng quickly waved his hands, “Brother Xu, this is nothing.”

“Oh right, I also called Auntie and them about this. They should be arriving soon,” as he was close to Ji Wenxu, it wasn’t surprising that he had Meng Ying’s contact information.

Ji Wenxu said okay, then asked, “Have you eaten breakfast? You should go eat. I’ve got this.”

“Brother Xu, you haven’t eaten either, right? Everything is fine at the hospital now. Should we go eat together?” Ding Sheng suggested.

Ji Wenxu shook his head, “I’m not very hungry right now. You go ahead.”

Ding Sheng was very good at reading people. He could tell that Ji Wenxu wanted to be alone for a bit, so he didn’t insist. He stood up and said, “Then I’ll go check on your driver. If you need anything, just call me.”

Ji Wenxu, “Mm, thank you.”

Ding Sheng slowly left the ward.

After Ding Sheng left, the ward became completely quiet. Only the dripping sound of the IV could be heard.

Ji Wenxu stood up and sat in the chair by the bedside. He stared at Song Tingyun’s pale face, poured a cup of water, then took a medical cotton swab from the cabinet, dipped it in water, and moistened Song Tingyun’s dry, peeling lips.

Song Tingyun’s tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.

The ward door opened again, and Meng Ying rushed in, clicking her heels. “My dear boy…”

“How is Tingyun doing now?” Meng Ying frowned, looking worriedly at the person on the bed.

Ji Wenxu said, “He’s fine. The doctor said he just needs to be observed in the hospital for two days.”

“That’s good, that’s good,” Meng Ying patted her chest. She said, “I asked your father to check on Old Zhou first. As for Tingyun’s accident, we haven’t told your grandfather.”

The last time Ji Wenxu had a car accident, it scared the old man once. They absolutely couldn’t let the old man know this time.

Ji Wenxu said okay.

He lowered his gaze, staring calmly at Song Tingyun.

He had been thinking about one thing since earlier: Song Tingyun’s car accident had left him utterly flustered. Was his family the same way when he had his car accident?

He seemed to finally understand them.

He had always thought his family was making a huge fuss. Even though he had a car accident, nothing major happened later, right?

Now he no longer thought his family was making a fuss, because he had become a person who could empathize.

Due to recent personnel adjustments in the company, Meng Ying and Ji Chenghua couldn’t stay away for too long.

So, after confirming that Song Tingyun was fine, they had to leave before he woke up.

Ji Chenghua left first to drive the car, and Ji Wenxu followed to send Meng Ying into the elevator.

“Mom will come back to the hospital this afternoon to see Tingyun. If Tingyun wakes up, you must report to Mom immediately, okay?” Meng Ying instructed.

Ji Wenxu was somewhat distracted. He asked, “Mom, when I had my car accident, were you worried sick too?”

“How could I not be worried sick! When you went into the operating room, I was outside praying to the Buddha, saying I would trade the rest of my life for your safety.”

“It’s a good thing nothing happened to you, or Mom would have followed you,” Meng Ying’s face turned pale recalling the details of that time.

Ji Wenxu gasped, as if he finally understood something. “Because you like me, right?”

“Isn’t that obvious? If Mom doesn’t like you, am I supposed to like someone else’s son?” Meng Ying thought Ji Wenxu had been scared silly by Song Tingyun’s car accident.

But if they had to compare, Ji Wenxu’s accident was the more serious one.

However, she was indeed startled when she heard about Song Tingyun’s accident.

“Oh, I see,” Ji Wenxu stepped back a bit. “Please drive slowly on your way to the company, and be careful.”

“I know. Remember to send our regards to Tingyun,” Meng Ying patted Ji Wenxu’s shoulder, intending to comfort him.

This boy was clearly affected by the sudden events.

As a mother who couldn’t stay by his side now, Meng Ying wished she could quickly finish her tasks and come back to be with both of them.

After the elevator doors closed.

Ji Wenxu carefully replayed his entire conversation with Meng Ying.

Oh.

He might like Song Tingyun.

He likes Song Tingyun.

Ji Wenxu was genuinely startled when he reached this conclusion.

He didn’t dare return to the ward, sitting on the long bench in front of it to calm down for a while. It wasn’t until he heard a cough from inside the ward that Ji Wenxu quickly rose from the bench, opened the door, and walked in.

“You’re awake?” Ji Wenxu walked to his side.

Song Tingyun squinted at him, then asked, “Where are my glasses?”

Ji Wenxu opened the drawer and took out Song Tingyun’s glasses. Song Tingyun reached out to take them, but Ji Wenxu leaned forward and actively helped him put them on.

Song Tingyun was stunned.

He quickly said, “My hand isn’t injured. You don’t need to wait on me like this.”

Ji Wenxu wanted to say, I just like waiting on you, but he was too embarrassed to say it out loud. He grumbled back, “Oh.”

Song Tingyun noticed his low spirits and naturally asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Ji Wenxu said. “My parents came to see you just now, but you were still unconscious then. They had company business and left early. They’ll come back later to see you.”

Song Tingyun nodded, “I’ve troubled them again.”

Ji Wenxu was very unhappy, “You’re injured, how can you still think of it as troubling others?”

Song Tingyun didn’t know why he was suddenly so angry, but he didn’t want to argue with Ji Wenxu, so he compromised, “Fine, I apologize.”

Only then did Ji Wenxu realize what it felt like to punch cotton.

He angrily poured Song Tingyun a cup of warm water and handed it to him, “Drink some water.”

Song Tingyun reached out to take it.

Ji Wenxu immediately noticed the bandage on his wrist. He quickly drew his hand back, “Your hand is injured?!”

Song Tingyun looked down at the gauze on his wrist under Ji Wenxu’s gaze, then rotated his wrist and said, “It doesn’t seem very serious, and it doesn’t hurt. It’s probably just a scrape.”

Ji Wenxu tightly pressed his lips together. He brought the water cup to Song Tingyun’s lips, “I’ll feed you.”

Song Tingyun, “You don’t have to…”

Ji Wenxu was unmoved and his attitude was persistent. With no other choice, Song Tingyun had to go along with him, opening his lips to drink most of the water in the cup.

“How is Old Zhou?” After drinking the water, Song Tingyun asked about the driver’s condition.

Ji Wenxu said, “He’s also fine, but his foot was injured. He probably won’t be able to drive for you for the next few months.”

Song Tingyun nodded, “It’s good that he’s fine. As for the driver, I’ll have the assistant hire a temporary one.”

“No!” Ji Wenxu rejected the idea without thinking.

Song Tingyun frowned, staring at him as he asked, “Why?”

Ji Wenxu looked away without changing his expression, “I’ll drive you to work from now on. I drive myself to work anyway.”

Song Tingyun: ?

“What are you talking about?”

Ji Wenxu crossed his arms, not angry at being scolded, and maintained a serious expression, saying, “Don’t you trust my driving skills? I even have a racing license.”

Song Tingyun’s concern wasn’t about his driving skills. “What I mean is, didn’t you insist on staggering your commute to avoid our employees noticing our relationship before?”

Ji Wenxu, “What misunderstanding? We’re married, aren’t we? We have a marriage certificate. Why should a real couple be afraid of rumors?”

Song Tingyun: ?

He began to suspect that Ji Wenxu might have bumped his head when rushing out the door. These were definitely not the things Ji Wenxu would normally say.

“Are you okay? You’re acting very strangely today…” Song Tingyun asked.

Ji Wenxu didn’t look at him, giving him the back of his head. “What could be wrong with me?”

Clearly, his attitude was firm.

Song Tingyun didn’t want to argue with him. He figured Ji Wenxu was probably acting on a whim, or perhaps under pressure from Meng Ying, and would be fine in a few days.

“Alright, have it your way,” Song Tingyun compromised.

Ji Wenxu’s back suddenly straightened significantly. He turned back to Song Tingyun and said, “The doctor said you need to stay in the hospital for two days for observation.”

“So, don’t worry about the company for now.”

“As for the afternoon meeting, I discussed it with them, and everyone decided to wait until you return to the company to hold it. I’ve handled the urgent work that needed your attention. Just rest assured in the hospital.”

Song Tingyun nodded, “Okay.”

“So obedient?” Ji Wenxu hadn’t expected Song Tingyun to agree so readily.

Song Tingyun smiled, “How could I dare contradict you?”

“Stop being sarcastic. Have you rarely contradicted me?” Ji Wenxu was angry, yet amused.

Song Tingyun smiled and didn’t argue with him.

“I’m going to buy you lunch. Call me if you need anything. The IV will be finished in about half an hour, so keep an eye on it yourself.”

Song Tingyun said, “Mm.”

Ji Wenxu poured him another glass of water, made him drink most of it, and then left the ward.

Ji Wenxu returned in less than twenty minutes.

Besides lunch, he was holding a new phone.

“You use this for now. You can get a replacement SIM card after you’re discharged,” Ji Wenxu handed the phone to Song Tingyun.

Song Tingyun hadn’t expected him to be so thoughtful. “Thank you.”

Ji Wenxu set up the meal tray across the hospital bed, then arranged the food he bought on it one by one. “I didn’t do it just for a thank you…”

“Hurry up and eat.” Ji Wenxu broke open a pair of chopsticks and handed them to him, and placed a spoon in his bowl of porridge.

After lunch.

Song Tingyun fell asleep again.

Company matters had mysteriously piled up this past week.

Song Tingyun had been working late in his study until the early hours almost every night. Now, being in the hospital and unable to work, he was finally catching up on his sleep.

During his two days in the hospital, Ji Wenxu handled work at the company every morning and came to the hospital to accompany Song Tingyun in the afternoon.

And Meng Ying guarded Song Tingyun in the hospital during the mornings.

On the day of discharge, Meng Ying and Ji Chenghua both came, and Ji Wenxu drove them all home together.