After A Secret Marriage Agreement With A Rival Omega - Chapter 48

Chapter 48

◎ You’d better be a coward forever and never fall in love. ◎

Jian Jixing looked at Sheng Ruxi’s sleeping face and guessed that she was in a deep sleep. When Sheng Ruxi woke up, she wouldn’t know what she had been mumbling or what had happened.

But Jian Jixing’s actions paused the moment she heard Sheng Ruxi say Chu Wu’s name.

She waited for a while, hoping to hear Sheng Ruxi say something else. But Sheng Ruxi seemed to have fallen into a deeper sleep, and her mumbling stopped.

The stove in the room was burning fiercely. Sheng Ruxi must have added another log when she came back. Jian Jixing’s gaze remained on Sheng Ruxi’s lips. Her bottomless black eyes showed no emotion.

After a long while, Jian Jixing propped herself up and sat down again. She let out a light laugh: “Falling for someone under specific circumstances.”

How powerful. She couldn’t help but fall for it. In a short time, her heart had been stirred by Sheng Ruxi’s teasing. She had selectively ignored what Sheng Ruxi had said herself: feelings are fluid.

Today, Sheng Ruxi could project all her thoughts onto her, and tomorrow she could withdraw them with ease. It seemed that she was the one being liked, but in reality, the initiative was all in Sheng Ruxi’s hands.

She could stop liking her whenever she wanted.

But if she fell in love with her, it would be difficult to withdraw her feelings.

Jian Jixing didn’t know what she was waiting for. She just stared at Sheng Ruxi’s face without saying a word. Outside the wooden house, night had fallen, and the stars were twinkling. The Milky Way was faintly visible, flowing like a tapestry woven with broken stars.

People were gathering outside, watching excitedly. The crew had been here for a while, but they had never seen the Milky Way so clearly. Sheng Ruxi’s head was slightly tilted. Her beautiful silhouette was outlined by the soft light.

She was about to wake up.

Jian Jixing lowered her gaze, letting her eyes wander. She should wake up soon, too.

Jian Jixing adjusted her state, pretending she had just woken up. She reached out and gently pinched Sheng Ruxi’s nose.

Sheng Ruxi quickly frowned, grunted twice, and opened her eyes. She was visibly annoyed at being woken up from her sleep, but when she saw Jian Jixing in front of her, she suppressed it and said groggily, “You’re awake. Why didn’t you turn on the light?”

Jian Jixing motioned for her to look outside: “Look outside. The Milky Way.”

Sheng Ruxi turned her head and was stunned for a moment.

She had never seen it so up close in her own country. The brilliant Milky Way was like a flowing ribbon, winding its way across the dark night sky. Below, the people looking up talked and laughed, and bright stars fell into everyone’s eyes.

At this moment, she felt very small, like the tiniest grain of dust in the vast star river. Nothing seemed to matter anymore, and her emotions became calm.

Against the backdrop of the starry night, it seemed like the world only had her and Jian Jixing left.

There were no arguments, no barriers. They were just leaning against each other, warming themselves by the fire, and watching the beautiful Milky Way under the snowy mountain.

The peace lasted only for a moment. Sheng Ruxi’s heart began to pound again. She was wide awake and happily turned to look at Jian Jixing.

Jian Jixing said softly, “I’ve thought about our relationship.”

“Hmm?”

Sheng Ruxi only heard that Jian Jixing’s voice was gentle. She didn’t see Jian Jixing’s expression clearly. “You’re so strange. You were arguing with me the day before yesterday, and today you’ve figured it out.”

Sheng Ruxi was a little happy and felt that she and Jian Jixing really needed a good bottle of wine to celebrate, but there was none here. So Sheng Ruxi decided to use tea instead of wine. She opened the hot water pot and poured two cups of hot milk tea.

Jian Jixing just held the cup and didn’t drink: “I think we’re not a good match. Your feelings for me must be fleeting.”

Sheng Ruxi’s smile froze on her face. A moment later, she resisted the urge to throw the cup of milk tea in her hand at Jian Jixing’s face.

“What do you mean?”

Jian Jixing said, “That’s what I mean. Our marriage and agreement are still in place. We’ve already marked each other three times. You should think carefully about whether this is a good feeling brought about by the marking.”

Jian Jixing tried her best to sound calm and objective. She thought she could do it. Jian Yanchuan had taught her more than once to not act on impulse and to look at things from a calm, third-person perspective.

But with Sheng Ruxi, Jian Jixing had never used this approach before.

“What are you doing now, Jian Jixing? Are you trying to settle a score with me?”

Sheng Ruxi stood up immediately and turned on all the lights in the room. The stars and the Milky Way outside were all overshadowed, only illuminating her rage.

Before Jian Jixing could say anything, Sheng Ruxi said, “You’re a heartless scoundrel. I finished work early to watch over you while you slept, and this is how you repay me?”

Sheng Ruxi was so angry she wanted to laugh and faint. She knew whether she liked her or not. She wasn’t an idiot who couldn’t tell her own feelings apart!

Even the dumbest person would understand the difference after comparing it with others.

Jian Jixing’s gaze fell on Sheng Ruxi’s body. “You were mumbling Chu Wu’s name in your sleep. Will you ever mumble my name in the future?”

“You’re unbelievable…” Sheng Ruxi frowned, only now realizing that Jian Jixing had been awake for a while. “I was just having a dream. What’s wrong with mumbling her name? Did I whisper in your ear that I like Wu Wu?”

“What did you dream about?”

Sheng Ruxi’s words stopped.

What did she dream about?

It was just that one thing. For the past two days, she had been thinking about the same thing, so in her dream, Chu Wu asked her if she had found the answer yet.

This time, Sheng Ruxi was so excited that she shouted out her answer.

She knew what liking was.

Looking at Jian Jixing’s calm expression, Sheng Ruxi didn’t want to tell her a single word. She had woken up and immediately drew a line between them. Was there no trust at all?

“It’s none of your business.”

“You’re right. I have no right to ask, so I just wanted to say that it’s more convenient for us to go back to how we were before, right?” Jian Jixing laughed uncharacteristically. “You liked Chu Wu for a long time. My feelings for you might just be a fleeting novelty, and they’ll pass.”

Sheng Ruxi’s first reaction was to slap Jian Jixing again. Why was she taking her kindness for granted and not taking her feelings seriously?

Sheng Ruxi was so angry she wanted to cry. She felt so wronged. But when she heard the second half of Jian Jixing’s sentence, she suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Why was Jian Jixing treating her this way?

She was someone who would agree to all her demands even when they were arguing. Why was she so abrupt this time? Sheng Ruxi stared at Jian Jixing, quickly searching for possible answers in her mind.

A moment later, Sheng Ruxi’s eyes turned red. She shouted at Jian Jixing, “You’re a coward!”

Jian Jixing smiled slightly, her gaze no longer on Sheng Ruxi but lowered. “Yes, but cowards never get hurt.”

Sheng Ruxi picked up the untouched cup of milk tea.

But she didn’t throw it at Jian Jixing. She threw it on the rug, and a puddle of light brown stains spread out.

“Coward! You’re a coward! Get out of here. Don’t be here.” Sheng Ruxi opened the door, and the cold wind immediately rushed in. Her words were colder than the wind. “You’re right. It’s not like I like you that much anyway. I don’t feel like I’m going to die without you. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Jian Jixing stood up slowly without a word and walked out. At the door, she turned to look at Sheng Ruxi, carefully examining her appearance. She said softly, “Don’t cry later. It’s not like you like me that much, so don’t cry for me.”

“Who’s crying for you? I’m crying for myself,” Sheng Ruxi’s throat was clogged up. She felt that Jian Jixing had made her lose all sense of reason. “What you’re saying is so annoying. Don’t come looking for me again.”

Jian Jixing pursed her lips with difficulty. The hand she had behind her back finally resisted the urge to make a move. She went back to her original room.

If she didn’t see Sheng Ruxi’s reddened eyes, she wouldn’t feel soft-hearted.

She didn’t expect Sheng Ruxi to lean on the door frame, completely unafraid of others knowing they had fought. She shouted, “From now on, you are not allowed to come near my room! Don’t come near me! You bastard, I hate you so much.”

With a loud bang, Sheng Ruxi grabbed her own hair and slammed the door shut.

Everyone outside was dumbfounded, looking at Jian Jixing and then at the closed door.

Gu Shengci rushed over to help Jian Jixing but was pushed away. “No need.”

Aiyetala and Yan Fuzheng exchanged glances and went toward Sheng Ruxi.

Xiao Ge looked left and right, not knowing who to help. Gu Shengci had no choice but to follow Jian Jixing, carefully looking at her sullen face: “Are you okay?”

Jian Jixing didn’t even turn her head: “Can you be quiet? Go get some oxygen.”

When she got to her room, Jian Jixing sat back on the bed she hadn’t slept in for two days. She suddenly felt that the room and the bed were so cold.

She lowered her head to turn on the electric blanket and then touched the blanket. “Didn’t you light the stove? Why is it so cold?”

Gu Shengci took off his jacket as soon as he entered the room. He didn’t know what was cold. “I think your heart is cold. What did you do? You’re still limping. Isn’t Sheng Ruxi abusing a patient?”

Jian Jixing said, “It’s not her problem.”

“You were fine yesterday. Why are you fighting so much today? Sheng Ruxi was very cooperative during the filming on the mountain today and said she was coming back to see you,” Gu Shengci asked. “Did you make her angry?”

Jian Jixing didn’t say anything, clearly refusing to talk about the issue. Gu Shengci had no choice.

After a long while, Gu Shengci occasionally looked at the messages on his phone and then at Jian Jixing’s state.

A moment later, Jian Jixing said, “The blanket in her room is dirty. It needs to be replaced.”

“Yan Fuzheng said your wife is throwing a tantrum and won’t let her change it. If she does, she doesn’t want a blanket from here,” Gu Shengci said, shrinking his neck. “I don’t have to go, do I?”

That night, Jian Jixing couldn’t sleep well, and her phone was quiet all night.

She woke up early the next morning and surprisingly saw Wang Renqing, who shouldn’t have been there.

She was carrying something on her back. She got off the horse and said in surprise, “Jixing, aren’t you injured? Why are you up so early?”

Wang Renqing looked at Jian Jixing from top to bottom and frowned: “It’s a good thing you didn’t break any bones. Don’t push yourself.”

“What are you here for?”

“Here. To deliver a blanket. Miss Sheng said she had to change to this blanket.”

Wang Renqing opened it to show her. It was the Eight Treasures blanket she had received at the campsite, their wedding gift.

“I heard from Tata that you two had a fight. Did you apologize?” Wang Renqing advised her, “Miss Sheng brought your Eight Treasures blanket all the way here. She has you in her heart.”

Seeing that Jian Jixing didn’t say anything, Wang Renqing sighed softly: “Don’t be like this. You were getting along so well. Why are you making things so difficult for yourself?”

Jian Jixing finally spoke: “You came too early. She probably isn’t up yet.”

As soon as she said that, Sheng Ruxi’s door, which had been closed all night, opened.

Jian Jixing subconsciously looked up and met her gaze, but Sheng Ruxi just ignored her and looked at Wang Renqing: “Renqing, please come in.”

Wang Renqing laughed awkwardly and took the blanket inside. Jian Jixing also took a few steps toward the door but then stopped. Sheng Ruxi was standing at the door with her back to her. Jian Jixing saw that the dirty blanket hadn’t been taken out yet.

She said to Wang Renqing, “Renqing, please help me take out the dark blue blanket. Yes, the one by your feet.”

Wang Renqing just said “okay” when she heard Sheng Ruxi say, “Renqing, tell her no. This is not your job. You came here early in the morning. Have a cup of milk tea to warm yourself up.”

Sheng Ruxi skillfully poured milk tea and handed it to Wang Renqing. Wang Renqing held the milk tea, her palms a little sweaty. She looked at Sheng Ruxi, then at Jian Jixing, and could only smile: “It’s no trouble. I’ll leave after I finish.”

Jian Jixing stood at the door, a little distance away, and said, “Renqing, then ask her whose job it is to take the blanket away.”

Wang Renqing was speechless. Sheng Ruxi said, “Renqing, tell her not to worry about it. Please close the door behind you so you don’t get cold.”

Jian Jixing smiled faintly and stepped back. Before Wang Renqing could close the door, she closed it herself.

Inside the room, Wang Renqing didn’t care that the tea was hot. She drank it all in three gulps, said goodbye to Sheng Ruxi, and rushed out to catch up with Jian Jixing.

“Stop messing around, you two. How old are you?”

Jian Jixing looked at her empty hands: “You didn’t take the blanket out.”

Wang Renqing said, “Didn’t you hear Miss Sheng say it wasn’t my job?” After a pause, she looked at Jian Jixing’s expression and felt a sense of frustration and disappointment. “She’s already given you an opening. Can’t you see it?”

Jian Jixing pulled her horse over and put the reins in Wang Renqing’s hand: “I’ll handle it myself. You can go back.”

Wang Renqing couldn’t do anything about it. The most important thing was that it was a matter between the couple.

At eight in the morning, the crew was going up the mountain to film again. But today, they were just reshooting some footage that might not have a good effect, so the task wasn’t heavy.

The filming on Snow Goat Peak was nearing its end. Jian Jixing didn’t go to the set today and stayed in the village to review the footage.

After Sheng Ruxi finished her makeup and hair and came out of the room, she didn’t talk to Jian Jixing and didn’t even look at her.

Jian Jixing only went to go over the process with Xie Ruizhang, avoiding Sheng Ruxi the whole time.

Xie Ruizhang didn’t dare to say much. The argument between Jian Jixing and Sheng Ruxi last night was so loud that even if some crew members didn’t know about it, they all knew after a night.

At noon, half of the crew came back, including Sheng Ruxi. Jian Jixing learned from the villagers that the first thing Sheng Ruxi did when she came back was to ask Xiao Ge to take out the dirty blanket.

Jian Jixing’s phone was still quiet. She opened it twice, once to look at the chat log and once to look at her notes. In the notes where she had recorded the number of times she had marked Sheng Ruxi, she saw the note she had made about the ring.

[It has to be big, beautiful, and unique.]

Special. That was Sheng Ruxi’s favorite style. It had to be special and one of a kind.

Who would be the one she considered one of a kind? Jian Jixing couldn’t figure out the answer to that question, but she didn’t think she was that person.

Before evening, Xiao Ge came running to tell Jian Jixing that Sheng Ruxi wasn’t going out with the crew either and was staying in her room. Zou Xinjie went in to bring her something to eat but was kicked out in a few minutes.

Jian Jixing asked, “Did she do anything else?”

“Nothing much.” Xiao Ge guessed what Jian Jixing wanted to ask. “When she was drinking milk tea, Miss Sheng did mention your name, but she said that the milk tea was brewed too bitter in the afternoon, just like you, unlikable.”

Jian Jixing was silent for a moment and said, “What did you say?”

Xiao Ge said, “I said you were the one who brewed the milk tea.”

“…”

Before Jian Jixing could say anything, Xiao Ge ran away and said at the door, “Sister Jixing, it’s not good to be stubborn. I won’t pass messages for you anymore. Go find Miss Sheng yourself.”

Jian Jixing didn’t go.

Gu Shengci came in that night and saw Jian Jixing still sitting in her room. He gasped and sat down to watch Jian Jixing work for a while. He couldn’t help himself anymore: “You and Sheng Ruxi can’t keep this up. What’s the misunderstanding?”

They had been avoiding each other all day, and they had to rely on people to pass messages. She didn’t know what they were being difficult about. They were arguing seriously like children, but everyone around them could see that they cared about each other.

Jian Jixing shifted her attention from the computer screen. A phone call from Cen Jing suddenly came in.

On the other end, Cen Jing’s voice had recovered its vitality. She told her that she could take over the rest of the filming and that Jian Jixing could continue her vacation now.

After hanging up, Jian Jixing closed her laptop. She calculated the time. The second half of the filming was a return trip to West City. She only needed to follow them back to the camp tomorrow and wouldn’t go to the next destination.

After thinking for a long while, even though she knew Sheng Ruxi didn’t want to see her, Jian Jixing still walked to Sheng Ruxi’s door. She didn’t knock but instead sent a message to Sheng Ruxi, telling her that she was at the door.

“Sheng Ruxi,” Jian Jixing waited for a moment and called out, “I have something to tell you.”

No one answered her, but when Jian Jixing was about to turn around, Sheng Ruxi’s phone called her from the chat.

“Go on. What else do you have to say?” Sheng Ruxi’s voice was very clear, and it was not hard to hear the resentment in it. She hadn’t calmed down at all.

Jian Jixing said, “Have you eaten?”

“Yes, the disgusting stuff Zou Xinjie brought me,” Sheng Ruxi suddenly realized and said, “If you’re just calling me to say that, then you’d better hang up now, or I’ll really want to scold you.”

Jian Jixing: “I think you should just scold me instead of scolding the bitter milk tea I brewed?”

Sheng Ruxi scoffed. She stared at her phone and turned on the speaker. She could not only hear Jian Jixing’s breathing but also the sound of the wind on Jian Jixing’s end.

Jian Jixing no longer played those annoying jokes with her. She wasn’t sloppy or lazy.

She was calm, annoyingly so. She was also composed, which was also annoying. She had become gentle, but Sheng Ruxi would rather not have this kind of cold gentleness.

Sheng Ruxi vaguely felt that this might be the real Jian Jixing. She knew Jian Jixing wasn’t the way she appeared.

Sheng Ruxi was so angry that Jian Jixing seemed completely unaffected, while she had been thinking about it all day! But the moment she heard Jian Jixing’s voice, the first thing she wanted to ask was if Jian Jixing’s wounds were better.

Now she didn’t know if she was angry at Jian Jixing or at herself. She really wanted to call Chu Wu, but this time, she genuinely wanted to complain about how Jian Jixing had bullied her.

Sheng Ruxi: “I didn’t even drink it, and I don’t like it.”

Jian Jixing said in a deep voice: “You don’t have to force yourself to like things you don’t. I’ll have someone get you some hot water tomorrow.”

Sheng Ruxi walked to the door, her fingers on the lock: “Is it that simple? I can change what I don’t like, but what about the people I don’t like?”

Jian Jixing lowered her gaze, the corners of her mouth bitter. The soundproofing of the house was not good, so Jian Jixing could hear the faint sound inside. She said, “You can change them, and you won’t even have to see them.”

In the past, Jian Jixing would have only answered: “You don’t like me? Well, there’s nothing I can do. You don’t like me, but we’re still on the same household registration.”

But at this moment, she couldn’t say it.

It was quiet for a while. Just when Jian Jixing thought Sheng Ruxi wouldn’t say anything, she heard: “You and Wu Wu were good friends back then, right? You’re alike in some ways, you know?”

Jian Jixing frowned. She didn’t know what these two things had to do with each other.

Sheng Ruxi continued: “And Zou Xinjie, you’re also alike in some ways, you know? And Jin Yue, you all have one thing in common.”

Jian Jixing didn’t expect Sheng Ruxi to be so direct, looking for traits in another person, a replacement? Jian Jixing wanted to say something, but she opened her mouth, and nothing came out. She just let out a self-deprecating laugh.

Sheng Ruxi: “The similarity between Jin Yue and Zou Xinjie is that, like you, they’re both good-looking, popular, and polite alphas in front of others. To put it simply, they’re alphas just like you.”

Jian Jixing didn’t really listen to the second half of the sentence. Her mind was filled with thoughts of a replacement and traits.

Then she heard Sheng Ruxi say: “We used to fight and bicker so much that the whole school knew about it. Wu Wu took the opportunity to go abroad and left. You confessed to her, and she avoided us. The most obvious similarity between you and Wu Wu is that—I told you I like you a little, and now you’re avoiding me. You’re all cowards.”

Jian Jixing’s heart was rebutting. She knew it was different. She had no intention of confessing to Chu Wu at the time. But she couldn’t argue. And Sheng Ruxi knew that she and Chu Wu were good friends, so why was she saying something like this?

She stood outside the door, unconsciously clenching her phone. Her body didn’t feel the cold outside. It was just frozen.

It took Jian Jixing a long time to find her voice: “So, I’m a replacement for Chu Wu, or a transfer of affection.”

“Never. You know that if there were two identical gems in the world, I wouldn’t choose the second one,” Sheng Ruxi said, suppressing her anger. She had never been this dramatic, but some things had to be made clear.

“You’re the coward. I’m not. You’re right, I used to hate you, but… you’re not a replacement. You’re the person I like right now.”

Jian Jixing, standing outside the door, heard this and her fingers curled up. She didn’t know whether to knock.

Sheng Ruxi said, “Jian Jixing, you know, right? My feelings are very precious. I gave them to you, but you didn’t want them. It’s okay. Our agreement is still in place. I’ll still go to see Dr. Tang with you next week.”

Sheng Ruxi’s emotions were surprisingly stable. She thought she would cry from being wronged when she said these things, but in reality, her eyes were just a little red.

“You once told me that I’d better hate you forever. Now I’m giving that back to you,” Sheng Ruxi paused for a few seconds. Her hand on the doorknob dropped. She said, “Coward, you’d better be a coward forever and never fall in love.”