After a Contract Marriage with a Cold and Older Person - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Clingy Puppy

Song Tingyun was quite embarrassed about this. He felt that such a minor incident had taken up the time of both elders.

“If my mom knew you were thinking that, you’d be subjected to a round of nagging from her,” Ji Wenxu said, helping him sit on the sofa while pouring him water.

Song Tingyun was left speechless by the retort.

Meng Ying and her husband left after having dinner with them, once they had seen them home.

Now, only the two of them and Xiao Fu were left in the house.

Xiao Fu lay by Song Tingyun’s feet. Seeing Song Tingyun’s injured foot, it made whimpering sounds.

Ji Wenxu handed him the glass of water, then sat beside him and said, “First my foot was injured, and now your foot is injured. Is our house under some kind of curse?”

Song Tingyun took a sip of water before saying, “What curse are you talking about? I just had a minor scrape, and it doesn’t affect my walking now.”

“Then do you mean I still need to help you up the stairs?” Ji Wenxu asked.

Song Tingyun snorted coldly, feeling Ji Wenxu was trying to needle him about the matter, so he said with a cold voice, “If you don’t help me, I can walk up myself.”

Ji Wenxu heard his displeasure and immediately conceded, “That’s not what I meant. It’s my fault for being clumsy with words and saying the wrong thing.”

He stared at Song Tingyun’s face with a strange, goofy smile.

Song Tingyun found Ji Wenxu even more bizarre. He looked down at his clothes, then instinctively touched his cheek, and only after confirming nothing was amiss did he ask, “Why are you staring at me?”

Ji Wenxu slowly shifted his gaze after being called out, then said, “Who’s staring at you?”

Song Tingyun: ?

Not wanting to argue with Ji Wenxu, he changed the subject, “I’m going back to the company tomorrow.”

“Oh, I’ve already told them,” Ji Wenxu put on an expression waiting for praise.

Knowing that if he went to deal with work now, Ji Wenxu would surely lecture him, Song Tingyun decided, “Then I’m going to sleep now.”

“Now?” Ji Wenxu checked his watch. It was not even eight in the evening, completely unlike the usual Song Tingyun who stayed up past eleven.

Song Tingyun adjusted his glasses, “Yes.”

“Are you tired?” Ji Wenxu leaned closer to him, staring into his eyes.

Faced with the person who suddenly leaned in, Song Tingyun instinctively leaned back a little, then said, “Not tired, but are we just going to sit here idle?”

Ji Wenxu immediately kicked off his shoes, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and pulled the remote control from behind the cushion. He said, “Who said we’re just sitting here? We finally have a chance to sit here. How about watching a movie?”

Song Tingyun didn’t decline. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, “What should we watch?”

“Let me see if there’s anything suitable. Do you watch American films?” Ji Wenxu turned on the TV and flipped through channels with the remote.

“Anything is fine,” Song Tingyun leaned back against the sofa cushion. Xiao Fu also jumped onto the sofa and naturally settled on his lap.

Song Tingyun stroked its head and didn’t shoo it away.

Ji Wenxu sighed deeply, thinking how lucky Xiao Fu was.

He found a relatively old American film about love. He had specifically looked into it before and knew it was suitable for couples.

“Let’s change it,” Song Tingyun suddenly said.

Ji Wenxu thought he didn’t like it. “You don’t like it?”

Song Tingyun’s tone was calm, “I’ve seen this one.”

Ji Wenxu immediately grew alert. He straightened up, leaned his head closer to him, and asked, “You’ve seen it? Who did you watch it with?”

“A friend.” Song Tingyun had watched this film with a college friend a long time ago. He was his only friend, but since the friend lived in another province, they hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

Ji Wenxu understood. He gasped, “Your ex-boyfriend?”

Song Tingyun was about to argue that he had no ex-boyfriend, but seeing Ji Wenxu’s face, he remembered he had casually lied to him before.

So Song Tingyun nodded along, “Yes.”

Ji Wenxu’s head instantly buzzed with anger. He stubbornly clicked on the movie, “No! I want to watch this movie, and you have to watch it with me!”

Not knowing what he had said wrong to anger him this time, Song Tingyun didn’t want to argue and simply nodded, “Alright. I’ll watch it again. I’ve forgotten most of it anyway.”

He felt he was being quite emotionally supportive.

Ji Wenxu was even more furious, wanting to shout. To his ears, Song Tingyun’s meaning was that he was using watching the movie with him to recall the blurry past.

The movie began.

The slightly fuzzy picture somehow made the scenes feel more authentic.

The movie revolved around two protagonists and a little dog. Ji Wenxu felt secretly pleased, sensing that the scene was quite similar to their current situation.

Halfway through the movie, the protagonists, who were forced to break up for various reasons, made Ji Wenxu feel very empathetic. He continuously wiped his tears with the handkerchief Song Tingyun handed him.

Song Tingyun saw that his emotions were genuine, so he gently reminded him, “They won’t be separated for long. They get back together in the end.”

But to Ji Wenxu, this had a completely different meaning.

Didn’t that mean Song Tingyun and his ex-boyfriend would eventually get back together?

Ji Wenxu refused without thinking, “No!”

Song Tingyun’s expression was confused: ?

“I mean you’re not allowed to get back together with your ex-boyfriend!” Ji Wenxu said.

Song Tingyun didn’t know how he connected the movie to his so-called “ex-boyfriend,” but seeing Ji Wenxu’s serious expression, he reached out and touched his head, “Get back together? I told you, once I break up or divorce, I won’t have any ties with them.”

This sentence both comforted Ji Wenxu and delivered a heavy blow.

He had really wanted a divorce before.

But now, he didn’t want it at all.

Wouldn’t getting divorced mean he had no connection to Song Tingyun anymore?!

He didn’t want a divorce.

…

During a moment of quiet, the phone on the table suddenly rang. It was Song Tingyun’s phone.

Ji Wenxu reached out and handed it to him. There was still no name saved.

He had noticed earlier that Song Tingyun was smart enough to remember phone numbers at a glance, so he hadn’t saved any contacts on his phone.

Song Tingyun answered the call.

Ji Wenxu immediately perked up his ears and listened, subtly lowering the TV volume.

It turned out to be his secretary calling.

“Boss, I’ve sent you the profiles of these drivers. Please review them briefly. If there’s a suitable one, I’ll process the onboarding immediately.” The female secretary’s voice was soft and quick, but her articulation was very clear.

Ji Wenxu was instantly annoyed when he heard this.

He snatched the phone out of Song Tingyun’s hand and told the secretary, “Your boss doesn’t need a driver now. You don’t need to worry about it. Go home early today!”

With that, he hung up the phone.

Song Tingyun didn’t know what kind of fit he was having and reached out to grab the phone, only to have both of his wrists easily restrained by Ji Wenxu’s single hand.

“Ji Wenxu, stop messing around,” Song Tingyun said, frowning.

Ji Wenxu shouted angrily, “What do you mean, stop messing around?! Didn’t I tell you? I’ll be your driver now. I’ll drive you to and from work. Doesn’t that save you money?!”

Song Tingyun pulled his wrists free from his grip and said, “It’s not money I absolutely need to save.”

He continued, “And are you really not joking? You’re already an airborne executive, and if you commute with me, aren’t you worried about the company staff knowing about our relationship?”

“Didn’t I also say, why should a real couple be afraid of rumors?” Ji Wenxu hid the phone under the cushion behind him.

Song Tingyun was completely helpless against him.

“Give me back my phone,” Song Tingyun held out his right hand to him.

Ji Wenxu immediately extended his hand and grasped Song Tingyun’s hand, “I’ll give it back after the movie.”

Seeing Ji Wenxu’s serious expression, Song Tingyun knew nothing he said would change his mind. He resignedly turned his head to the TV and simultaneously tried to pull his hand away from Ji Wenxu’s grasp.

But Ji Wenxu held it tightly.

Song Tingyun said expressionlessly, “Let go.”

Ji Wenxu, “No. What if you secretly take the phone?”

Song Tingyun: …

He had never thought this little scoundrel could be so shameless.

The movie continued.

Song Tingyun actually couldn’t recall many of the later plot points, so he slowly got engrossed in watching. However, the person beside him, who was initially watching intently, became distracted.

He looked down at the hand in his palm, which was much smaller than his own.

The fingers were long and slender, and the nails were neatly trimmed. Because of his fair skin, the veins on the back of his hand were very distinct, and there was a pin-sized blood mole on the joint of his little finger.

“Song Tingyun, your hand is so small,” Ji Wenxu tried comparing their hands.

For some reason, Song Tingyun felt this line was very familiar.

He moved his hand, but Ji Wenxu immediately grabbed his wrist tightly, “Watch the movie properly…”

Ji Wenxu ignored him and continued, “I just noticed you have a mole on your little finger.”

“I know,” Song Tingyun lifted his other hand to adjust his slipping glasses.

“If you knew, why didn’t you tell me?” At this moment, Ji Wenxu seemed like someone looking for a fight for no reason.

Song Tingyun looked at him with disbelief, “Why should I tell you that I have a mole on my hand?”

Ji Wenxu, “Didn’t we get married…”

Song Tingyun rolled his eyes in exasperation, “Then why didn’t you tell me how many moles you have on your body?”

Ji Wenxu, however, nodded readily, then said, “No problem. I have a mole on my waist, one here on my chest, and my mom says I have one on my butt, but I don’t know if that’s true…”

“Stop,” Song Tingyun held his forehead, amused but not fully laughing at Ji Wenxu’s actions. “I have no interest in knowing how many moles you have. Let go of my hand, I’m going upstairs to sleep.”

Ji Wenxu glanced at the TV screen. The movie was about to end, and he wasn’t really focused on it anymore. So he released his hand, retrieved the phone from behind him, and handed it to Song Tingyun.

Song Tingyun took the phone, stood up, and planned to leave the living room and go back to his room.

Behind him, Ji Wenxu suddenly reached out and wrapped his arms around his waist. Before Song Tingyun could react, he hoisted him onto his shoulder.

Song Tingyun put his hands on Ji Wenxu’s back, utterly shocked, “Ji Wenxu! What are you doing?”

Ji Wenxu held his waist with one hand, picked up the remote with the other to turn off the TV, and then casually patted his lower back, “Taking you upstairs! You’re an injured patient right now.”

Song Tingyun was so angry his head spun. He raised his hands and hit Ji Wenxu’s back, “Put me down! I don’t need you to take me back to my room!”

“Can’t hear you,” Ji Wenxu said shamelessly.

He walked up the stairs. Song Tingyun slowly moved upward with the jostling. Fearing he would fall, he had to tightly grip Ji Wenxu’s clothes.

He was currently seething with anger.

Ji Wenxu was strong and had great stamina. He carried Song Tingyun upstairs and returned to the room without even taking a deep breath.

As soon as he carefully put Song Tingyun down, Song Tingyun grabbed his collar and fiercely pounded his chest, “Ji Wenxu, you scoundrel!”

Ji Wenxu raised his hands, allowing him to vent his anger, a smile on his face, because Song Tingyun’s blows were completely ineffective on him.

After Song Tingyun stopped, Ji Wenxu finally spoke:

“Done hitting? Time to sleep. I’ll wake you up tomorrow morning, and we’ll go to the company together.” Ji Wenxu was in a wonderful mood. He felt great just thinking that he and Song Tingyun lived under the same roof and had a marriage certificate.

Song Tingyun could tell.

Ji Wenxu tonight was indistinguishable from someone possessed.

After Ji Wenxu left, Song Tingyun finally had time to check the WeChat messages from his secretary. Ji Wenxu’s angry outburst had cut off the call, but fortunately, the secretary hadn’t listened to him and still sent the information for the drivers.

【Secretary: Boss, is Mr. Ji’s statement true? Do you temporarily not need a driver?】

Song Tingyun actually wanted one, but he could imagine Ji Wenxu’s angry expression tomorrow if he found out. He would likely start shouting again until his head hurt, so he reluctantly replied: 【Just listen to him】

【Secretary: Okay…】

【Secretary: Mr. Ji is really strange】

【Song Tingyun: There’s nothing strange about it】

The elementary school student is just experiencing the first stirrings of love.

If Song Tingyun didn’t understand that, he would have wasted those few years he lived longer than Ji Wenxu.