One Year After Her Sister-In-Law Was Widowed - Chapter 28

Xiao Shuangyu’s already poor tolerance for alcohol seemed to have worsened.

If it hadn’t, why would she feel this belated intoxication after just one small sip? Her head was spinning, and hallucinations seemed to be ringing in her ears.

Her mind went blank. Ignoring whether it was a hallucination or not, she immediately seized the opportunity and climbed onto Ji Zhuozhou’s bed.

Without needing any instructions, she lay down right at the edge of the bed. She was terrified of taking up too much space and making Ji Zhuozhou regret the invitation.

She carefully lifted her eyes to look at Ji Zhuozhou. Those ink-like depths held no light; they were as dark as a bottomless, placid abyss.

Ji Zhuozhou had not lain down yet. Her gaze drifted down from above, landing on Xiao Shuangyu, her expression unreadable.

Ji Zhuozhou said, “Come here.”

Xiao Shuangyu hesitated for a moment, then cautiously propped herself up and moved a little closer to Ji Zhuozhou.

Ji Zhuozhou continued to watch her. “A little closer.”

Xiao Shuangyu lowered her head, looking at the wrinkles, her palms made in the bedsheets, and made a significant move over until she was pressed tightly against Ji Zhuozhou.

She stiffly reached out her arm and wrapped it around Ji Zhuozhou’s waist, her heart beating in a chaotic rhythm.

That waist was soft, slender, and warm. Yielding to her embrace, Ji Zhuozhou gently lay down beside her.

Those deep green eyes were very close now, as clear as gemstones.

Xiao Shuangyu heard Ji Zhuozhou’s voice, felt her breath, and inhaled her scent.

Ji Zhuozhou asked her, “What does LianLian want more of?”

Xiao Shuangyu instinctively wanted to dodge the question. Avoiding Ji Zhuozhou’s gaze, she whispered, “Encouragement.”

She only needed Ji Zhuozhou’s share. She only wanted Ji Zhuozhou to give her more “Jiayou” (encouragement).

“And what else?”

Ji Zhuozhou’s breath spread like a misty rain. “Is it only encouragement?”

The wildly waving tentacles in Xiao Shuangyu’s mind suddenly went limp and fell amidst the mist, only to crawl and wriggle back up with stubborn persistence. Every single one of them pointed toward Ji Zhuozhou.

Xiao Shuangyu couldn’t help but tighten her arms, pulling the Ji Zhuozhou in her embrace closer, greedily drinking in her scent and body heat.

Her gaze drifted downward, falling on their two bodies pressed together.

It wasn’t just encouragement.

She wanted Ji Zhuozhou to stop thinking about Xiao Mingyi. She wanted Ji Zhuozhou to look only at her. And… she wanted to sleep together. She wanted to sleep together more often. She wanted to sleep with her every single day.

She greedily wanted to monopolize Ji Zhuozhou; she greedily wanted to see her every single moment.

She looked up, meeting Ji Zhuozhou’s eyes, and said, “Sister, don’t close the door.”

Whether it was the bedroom door or the study door, she didn’t want to be shut out anymore.

Before her eyes, Ji Zhuozhou blinked slowly. Suddenly, she reached out and ruffled the top of Xiao Shuangyu’s head, making a mess of her hair.

Xiao Shuangyu closed her eyes, remaining motionless and letting Ji Zhuozhou do as she pleased.

Soon, Ji Zhuozhou stopped and pulled her into a tight embrace against her back. “Go to sleep.”

It seemed… like a rejection.

Xiao Shuangyu opened her eyes, and after a long while, closed them again.

Silence fell.

The next day, when Ji Zhuozhou entered the study, she closed the door as usual but left a crack.

Standing before the door, Xiao Shuangyu stared at that gap, her body momentarily frozen.

A buzz came from her phone. She looked down and saw a small sailboat icon.

Sailboat: Knock before you come in.

Xiao Shuangyu snapped her head up.

It wasn’t a rejection. There was no rejection. This was Ji Zhuozhou’s response to her.

Ji Zhuozhou had not shut the door completely. Ji Zhuozhou had granted her request.

She gripped the message from Ji Zhuozhou tightly. She didn’t reply, and she didn’t knock, acting as if she had already left.

After a long time, she quietly extended her fingertip and gently pushed the gap Ji Zhuozhou had left for her.

The narrow crack widened silently. Throughout the opening, she saw Ji Zhuozhou at her desk.

Her lustrous, beautiful long hair was pinned back. Ji Zhuozhou had changed into a simple, professional set of loungewear. Her gentle and exquisite features were lowered as she focused on something.

She was completely unaware of Xiao Shuangyu’s presence, oblivious to her gaze.

Xiao Shuangyu’s breathing suddenly grew heavy.

The next day was Monday, August 10th.

On her first day back at work, Xiao Shuangyu followed the Huarui internal transfer process she had looked up the day before. She first informed Wang Ran of her intention to transfer.

The first step of the transfer was to notify your department head. In the security team, Wang Ran was the highest-ranking captain.

The news came abruptly, and Wang Ran was somewhat shocked. However, beyond the shock, she wore an expression that suggested she had expected this eventually.

“It makes sense. You should try new things while you’re young. Regardless of whether it works out, let me know if you need anything.”

Wang Ran carefully read her application and patted her on the shoulder as she spoke.

Wang Ran had a heavy hand. In her slight sadness, she failed to control her strength; when she hit Xiao Shuangyu’s shoulder, her entire chest seemed to vibrate with the impact.

Xiao Shuangyu stood firm, trying her best not to budge. “Thank you, Sister Ran.”

She felt as if dust was being shaken out of her lungs.

Wang Ran realized her mistake, gave an embarrassed laugh, retracted her hand, and sighed. “No need for thanks. It’s just that once Lian-Lian leaves, there won’t be any little youngsters left in the security team.”

Truth be told, Xiao Shuangyu had become something of a mascot for the team.

Everyone in the security team got along well with her. Although she looked a bit gloomy, Xiao Shuangyu was young and lacked guile, and she worked efficiently. Everyone liked her.

The “mascot” herself was unaware of this. She wasn’t used to the feeling of being cherished; she always felt she was only there by chance and would be the first to be replaced if someone had better come along.

However, during this month or so in the security team, she felt she had lived well.

So, she tried her best to comfort Wang Ran. “HR will hire more people.”

Wang Ran stared blankly for a second, then couldn’t help but laugh. “Forget it, let’s head to HR now.”

Since the security team wasn’t exactly an independent department, personnel changes had to be handled through the HR department.

The two of them went upstairs.

Internal transfers were handled by Manager Wei, rather than the two HR staff Xiao Shuangyu had dealt with before.

Because Xiao Shuangyu often greeted him alongside Wang Ran, Manager Wei recognized her immediately. After asking a few routine questions with a kind smile, he told her he would check with the Marketing Department to see if they needed extra hands.

Technically, it was the Data Platform within the Marketing Department.

Because she was transferring from the security team, the job descriptions were vastly different. Even though Xiao Shuangyu had the right major and a decent resume, she still needed to go through a fresh round of interviews.

Manager Wei told her this the following day at the office.

Xiao Shuangyu had expected this and nodded in agreement.

On the morning of the third day, she and Ji Zhuozhou arrived at the company early, and she participated in the first round of interviews with HR.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, she attended the second round of interviews with the Data Platform.

Manager Wei told her the results would be out within three working days and that she should just wait patiently.

That evening at home, Ji Zhuozhou looked at her with smiling eyes. “Don’t worry, I believe LianLian can do it. Let’s go out and relax this weekend.”

This was the encouragement Ji Zhuozhou gave her. It contained that “extra bit” of encouragement.

Xiao Shuangyu looked up. She didn’t ask what they were going to do; she just nodded. Mimicking Ji Zhuozhou, she curved her eyes and offered a slightly gloomy-looking smile.

She said, “Okay.”

The “recharged” Xiao Shuangyu didn’t even have to wait until the following week. At 4:00 PM on Friday, shortly after starting her shift, she received a notification from Manager Wei.

It was followed by “Congratulations.”

She had passed the interview.

From start to finish, it had been much faster than expected.

Xiao Shuangyu was still in a daze. Her hands moved faster than her brain, switching screens to find the pinned “Small Sailboat.”

She sent: Sister, I passed

She also sent: It’s all thanks for your encouragement

Ji Zhuozhou replied with “Good” and sent a sticker of a rabbit holding a “Congratulations” banner.

She exited the interface with a smile. Below the yellow smiley face was another contact who had sent a “Got it.”

Don’t overthink it; she respected Xiao Shuangyu’s wishes and hadn’t done anything. She had just… followed up on the progress a little.

Ji Zhuozhou stood up and stretched, drawing a glance from her assistant nearby.

She looked out the window and said, “The weather is so nice.”

Such good weather was perfect for going out.

She heard her assistant give a crisp reply of agreement.

Although the results were out, the formal transfer paperwork wouldn’t be processed until next week.

Wang Ran looked at Xiao Shuangyu and shook her head. “I didn’t expect LianLian wouldn’t even be able to pull one last night shift with me.”

Today was the 15th. Next Monday was the 17th. The 16th, which happened over the weekend, was the first day of the security team’s new rotation.

In fact, because the rotation was for the night shift—midnight to 8:00 AM—Xiao Shuangyu probably wouldn’t see Wang Ran for the next month.

Xiao Shuangyu suddenly remembered how confidently she had said the night shift wouldn’t be a problem. She felt a strange sense of having let Wang Ran down.

She lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Wang Ran laughed. “Why are you saying sorry after saying thank you? I haven’t even praised you for finishing your afternoon shifts so steadily.”

Because of Wang Ran’s words, Xiao Shuangyu didn’t take the night off at 8:00 PM. Instead, she called out of her gig with the bar band.

Walking out of the Huarui building at midnight, Xiao Shuangyu felt a strange sense of displacement.

I’ve really transferred.

That feeling vanished the moment she returned to Ji Zhuozhou’s home.

Just as she was about to enter the passcode, the door opened from the inside, and Ji Zhuozhou thrust a bath towel into her hands.

Xiao Shuangyu took it blankly, looking down at it in confusion.

Ji Zhuozhou’s voice sounded in front of her, her tone soft. “LianLian, go take a bath first.”

Just like that, Xiao Shuangyu was moved from the front door straight to the bathroom.

Ji Zhuozhou had prepared everything: the water was drawn, bath salts were added, and clean pajamas were set out.

Ji Zhuozhou closed the door for her.

Xiao Shuangyu stared at the closed door in a daze for a moment before washing up. She soaked in the tub but stood up again very quickly.

She reappeared in Ji Zhuozhou’s line of sight.

She was obviously too fast. Ji Zhuozhou looked puzzled. “Did you not soak? Did you not like it?”

Xiao Shuangyu shook her head and moved close to Ji Zhuozhou, pretending to accidentally sit very near her. She mumbled, “I soaked.”

She stole a glance at Ji Zhuozhou. “It was very comfortable.”

Her deep green eyes curved slightly, and Ji Zhuozhou’s voice carried a hint of a smile. “That’s good. Lian-Lian has worked hard these past few days. Get a good night’s sleep.”

It seemed this, too, was part of the encouragement.

Xiao Shuangyu didn’t answer. She spoke somewhat bashfully, “Our weekend…”

She didn’t finish.

Ji Zhuozhou waited, and when the rest didn’t come, she spoke up. “Yes, we’re going out tomorrow.”

Xiao Shuangyu didn’t press for details. She didn’t care where they were going and replied, “Okay.”

Xiao Shuangyu obediently went back to her room to sleep. If she was going out with Ji Zhuozhou, she couldn’t be lacking energy.

She closed her eyes and tried her best to sleep.

Then she was startled awake by a boom of thunder.

Her dark eyes snapped open. In the stark contrast of black and white, her breathing was hurried and chaotic.

Dull, leaden clouds weighed down the sky, though a stubborn hint of morning light managed to peek through.

It was dawn.

It wasn’t early anymore. She didn’t try to go back to sleep. She stood up and went to Ji Zhuozhou’s door.

There was a narrow gap in the door, the one Ji Zhuozhou had left specifically for her.

Her thick, lingering gaze fell on the crack. She silently widened the gap, staring intently at the large bed as it was revealed, her eyes landing on the slender figure upon it.

Thunder rumbled.

As if the sound hadn’t reached her dreams at all, Ji Zhuozhou slept peacefully.

A few minutes later, massive raindrops began to hammer against the glass.

It was raining. The rain was heavy, accompanied by bouts of thunder.

They were eating breakfast.

Another flash of white light seemed to tear through the heavens, followed by an immense roar of thunder.

Xiao Shuangyu gave an imperceptible flinch, which Ji Zhuozhou noticed.

Ji Zhuozhou sighed softly. “I didn’t expect this weather. I wonder when it will stop.”

She looked at Xiao Shuangyu. “I was planning to take LianLian for a drive by the river, but it looks like we can’t go.”

Besides, after a rainstorm, the river would swell, and the clear water would turn a muddy, fishy yellow. It wouldn’t be pretty.

“If we can’t go out…”

Xiao Shuangyu looked up. “We can.”

Ji Zhuozhou was slightly stunned.

Xiao Shuangyu hurriedly looked away. “I mean…”

“Okay.”

Ji Zhuozhou interrupted her, then added, “Let’s just rest at home. Do you want to watch a movie?”

Xiao Shuangyu blinked, then nodded after a moment.

The rain poured down.

Xiao Shuangyu sat beside Ji Zhuozhou, watching Ji Zhuozhou select a suspense film.

Ji Zhuozhou looked at her. “Tell me if you’re scared.”

Xiao Shuangyu instinctively shook her head. “I’m not scared.”

As the movie progressed, Xiao Shuangyu realized that suspense often went together with horror.

Her shoulders began to tremble again, but this time it wasn’t because of the thunder outside.

Suddenly, a scent like misty rain lightly brushed her shoulder. Ji Zhuozhou leaned her shoulder against Xiao Shuangyu’s, her voice soft. “Won’t you hold me?”

Xiao Shuangyu turned her head. Her dark gaze finally broke away from the screen, but her tension didn’t fade.

She suppressed her shiver and reached out, carefully pulling Ji Zhuozhou into her arms. A wave of warmth was instantly transferred to her.

She said, “Sister, don’t be afraid.”

Ji Zhuozhou let out a light laugh, tilted her head back, and kissed the corner of her lips.