One Year After Her Sister-In-Law Was Widowed - Chapter 38

Monday, the last day of August.

Tuesday, the first day of September.

The working hours remained the same, but something seemed to have changed.

In the stairwell between the eighth and ninth floors, Xiao Shuangyu was dryly holding Ji Zhuozhou’s hand, her head feeling somewhat dizzy.

It was Ji Zhuozhou who had asked her to come to the stairwell. The moment she received the message, she rushed from the sixth floor to the eighth-and-a-half landing and saw Ji Zhuozhou, who was about to head downstairs.

And so, they stayed there, leaning against the wall together, holding hands.

Ji Zhuozhou’s voice carried a hint of a smile, light and soft. “LianLian is really fast.”

From the moment she sent the message before entering the stairs to seeing Xiao Shuangyu, she hadn’t even taken a few steps.

Ji Zhuozhou had originally intended to meet Xiao Shuangyu on the sixth-floor landing and said she was heading down, but she didn’t expect that Xiao Shuangyu wouldn’t even reply to the message before appearing right in front of her.

Xiao Shuangyu couldn’t help but quietly scratch her cheek.

Today was not the first time the two of them had met in the stairwell.

Yesterday, at the start of the work week, Ji Zhuozhou had held her hand in the stairwell just like this, saying it was a break and that she had rested well.

When Ji Zhuozhou said it was time to go back to work, it was Xiao Shuangyu who pulled her hand back and asked if there could be a next time.

The hands held together now were the answer.

Huarui had pantry rooms and smoking rooms on every floor, so the stairwells were usually empty, but it wasn’t guaranteed that someone wouldn’t walk in to make a phone call or something similar.

Voices drifted up from several floors below, and Xiao Shuangyu instinctively gripped Ji Zhuozhou tighter.

She was afraid Ji Zhuozhou would let go; she didn’t want to be apart from her yet.

Ji Zhuozhou tickled her palm and lowered her voice. “What’s wrong?”

Xiao Shuangyu shook her head rapidly.

As she heard the voices approaching from below, she tensed up, ready to lead Ji Zhuozhou away at a moment’s notice, never once considering that she could simply let go of her hand.

Fortunately, the voices did not continue upward and soon left the stairwell.

Xiao Shuangyu breathed a sigh of relief and said inexplicably, also in a whisper, “It feels like we’re having an affair.”

Ji Zhuozhou let out a laugh, her deep green eyes curving slightly. She pulled Xiao Shuangyu’s increasingly stiff hand toward her and lightly pecked the corner of her lips.

The contact was fleeting.

Yet she did not move far away.

Her beautiful eyes sought out Xiao Shuangyu’s gaze. Ji Zhuozhou said softly, “It would have to be at least like this to count, wouldn’t it?”

Heat quickly rose to Xiao Shuangyu’s face, and her ink-black pupils suddenly darted to the side—a gloomy display of shyness.

Ji Zhuozhou retreated with a smile and squeezed her fingers. “Alright, time to go back to work.”

As she spoke, Ji Zhuozhou began to release her hand.

Xiao Shuangyu was very reluctant, but there was nothing she could do.

It was working hours; a three or five-minute break wouldn’t be noticed by anyone, but if it dragged on for too long, it would draw attention.

Her hand slowly slid from Ji Zhuozhou’s palm to her fingertips. Right before the contact broke, she said, “Sister, call me next time too.”

Ji Zhuozhou looked at her, and a playful urge suddenly arose. “For the affair?”

Xiao Shuangyu was startled, and her thick gaze began to fly around again, but after a moment, she forced it back and leaned forward to kiss Ji Zhuozhou’s lips.

She said, “For the affair.”

Those overly dark eyes coiled around her like tentacles, wrapping themselves in the dense misty rain.

Her expression was gloomy yet serious.

Ji Zhuozhou’s eyes curved. “Then let’s have an affair.”

Wednesday, the meeting with Ji Zhuozhou in the stairwell began with a peck, continued with hand-holding, and ended with another peck.

On Wednesday, Mingyi appeared before Xiao Shuangyu’s eyes.

She wasn’t there to find her, but rather to find Bian Ya and Yang Shanhe, who was beside her.

Because of Mingyi’s mistake last week, Yang Shanhe’s work had been paused. Mingyi was there to restart it and needed Yang Shanhe to pull up and archive the parts he had already done, as a report needed to be written afterward.

Not only did Mingyi have to write it, but Yang Shanhe did as well.

This undoubtedly increased Yang Shanhe’s workload, and Mingyi apologized over and over again with great embarrassment.

No one is happy when their workload is increased for no reason, but Yang Shanhe was helpless; it was part of the job.

The two of them spoke intermittently beside Xiao Shuangyu, who stood by and watched the entire process without looking away for even a second.

This was the first time she had matched the name Mingyi to the face: tall, clean-cut, humble, and ordinary—nothing like Xiao Mingyi.

Xiao Shuangyu had seen her when she was a security guard, but Mingyi had nothing remarkable about her other than her name. There was no gossip about her, she wasn’t a leader, and Xiao Shuangyu had never heard her name mentioned.

Perhaps Wang Ran knew, but Wang Ran knew about her sister’s affairs and had never brought it up.

Her dark stare landed on Mingyi, as if she wanted to pierce through her.

When Mingyi finished the handover with Yang Shanhe and looked up, she ran straight into that gaze. She was startled for a moment and then instinctively gave a small smile.

Yang Shanhe looked over, assuming Xiao Shuangyu was just curious about the post-accident handling process. After all, her expression always looked sour, regardless of her actual mood.

So Yang Shanhe didn’t pay it much mind, though he did think about how she was always following Ji Zhuozhou and introduced Mingyi to her.

“LianLian, this is Mingyi, she is Teacher Ji’s assistant. I’m not sure if you’ve met, but if you’re in charge of the perfume group later, you might have to coordinate with Mingyi.”

The news that a new employee had transferred from security to the Data Analysis Group and that this new employee had a great fondness for Ji Zhuozhou had already spread as gossip within Huarui. Mingyi was not unaware of this.

However, Mingyi didn’t often come to the Data Analysis Group; most of their work coordination was done online. This was the first time she had seen Xiao Shuangyu in the department.

Xiao Shuangyu had been a guard for about two months, so Mingyi found her face familiar. She immediately nodded and said, “I look forward to your guidance in the future, LianLian.”

Xiao Shuangyu blinked and muttered, “Okay.”

She felt inexplicably uncomfortable. Perhaps it was still because of the name; hearing “LianLian” called out by someone with that name made her dislike it.

What’s more, this name was kept by Ji Zhuozhou’s side.

Mingyi left.

Xiao Shuangyu watched her back as she walked away, thinking that Mingyi was going upstairs to return to Ji Zhuozhou’s side, which made her feel even more uncomfortable.

With this turn of events, her heart began to feel restless again; she wanted to see Ji Zhuozhou.

But she had already seen Ji Zhuozhou today, and Ji Zhuozhou might not be free.

She bit her lip. Earlier, Ji Zhuozhou’s beautifully shaped red lips had been pressed against her mouth. Regardless of whether Mingyi’s name was a coincidence, the person having the “affair” with her sister was her.

She felt a little better.

Thursday, Xiao Shuangyu was called to the ninth floor to run an errand.

After delivering the documents, she hesitated but sent a message to Ji Zhuozhou and waited in the stairwell.

Lunch break had just ended, and Ji Zhuozhou was no longer on the sixth floor; she should have come up by now.

Xiao Shuangyu sneakily messaged saying she was on the ninth floor to deliver documents and asked if Ji Zhuozhou was already working—she practically pasted her desire to see her sister onto the screen.

Ji Zhuozhou did not reply quickly.

After waiting for a few minutes, Xiao Shuangyu felt that Ji Zhuozhou must be busy, so she sent another message saying she was leaving.

After sending it, she lingered for a while longer before resignedly putting away her phone and heading downstairs.

Just as she reached the sixth floor, Ji Zhuozhou’s message arrived.

With a buzz, seeing that familiar small sailboat, Xiao Shuangyu instinctively wanted to turn around and run back up, but she froze the moment she saw the content.

Sailboat: I’m not in the office right now. I’ve taken some time off for something. See you tonight at home, I’ll bring you something delicious.

She had taken time off.

It wasn’t a company matter.

Several different scenarios flashed through her mind, and her fingers were already tapping on the keyboard to send a message.

Why did you take time off, Sister? What is it?

Xiao Shuangyu did not leave the stairwell after all; she waited there for Ji Zhuozhou’s reply.

Ji Zhuozhou’s answer would determine whether she should take leave to follow her. However, to follow her, she had to know where Ji Zhuozhou was, so she waited.

Under the contact’s name, it showed “the other party is typing.” It flickered several times before finally sending.

Sailboat: Going to see someone.

The atmosphere around Xiao Shuangyu sank.

See who?

Secretary Yu Zhen?

Or one of the mothers?

Or perhaps a lawyer?

Because of Xiao Mingyi’s sudden death, Ji Zhuozhou had been surrounded by many troubles over the past year.

The ownership of Xingshan Technology’s shares, the distribution of Xiao Mingyi’s estate, and the harassment from the family of the lover who died in the car crash with Xiao Mingyi—every single one of them weighed heavily on Ji Zhuozhou.

Ji Zhuozhou and Xiao Mingyi had been legally married, but after only one month, she was suddenly allocated more than half of Xiao Mingyi’s estate as the spouse, which drew the dissatisfaction of the mothers.

The mothers placed extraordinary importance on Xiao Mingyi and the technology company he had started with two friends.

They were only a branch of the wealthy Xiao family; the few traditional manufacturing companies they held were nothing in the eyes of the main Xiao family, and the genius Xiao Mingyi was their hope.

He was the hope of gaining the favor of the main Xiao family, the hope of squeezing into the core of the clan.

Then, hope was buried in the earth, and more than half the seeds of hope were given to Ji Zhuozhou. The mothers were both sharp and frenzied.

Ji Zhuozhou didn’t want to take anything, but if she didn’t want it, the shares had to go through a public transfer process and could not be prioritized for transfer to the mothers, and she was stopped by the mothers again.

It had not been finaly resolved even after a year.

Xiao Shuangyu had once seen Ji Zhuozhou meet with Secretary Yu Zhen. As the personal secretary who had been by Xiao Mingyi’s side since he was abroad, Yu Zhen remained at Xing Shan Technology.

The inherited shares did not include management rights, but Yu Zhen would still ask to meet Ji Zhuozhou from time to time. She always seemed to be acting strictly for business, likely reporting the recent situation of Xing Shan to Ji Zhuozhou.

As for lawyers, the mothers would find them, the lover’s family would find them, and Ji Zhuozhou would find them too; it wasn’t certain what the situation would be.

Xiao Shuangyu went to take leave.

Even though Ji Zhuozhou said it was nothing and she didn’t need her company, she was still worried.

But she looked in several places where Ji Zhuozhou often went to meet people and couldn’t find her.

Had she changed the location?

Or was it already over?

Xiao Shuangyu returned home. The house was empty. The auntie had already left after preparing the food, and the warm scent was slowly growing cold.

She sat in the entryway waiting for the door to open. It grew dark.

The moment footsteps were heard; she stood up abruptly and opened the door. Piercing light fell on her eyes. Ji Zhuozhou was standing in the light.

Ji Zhuozhou, standing in the light, smiled at her. “LianLian, why didn’t you turn on the light?”

Xiao Shuangyu was dazed for a moment before she finally turned it on.

The lights came on, and she and Ji Zhuozhou stood together in the light.

A bottle of honeydew melon milk was handed to her. Ji Zhuozhou’s voice carried an apology. “Sorry, I’m back late. Can I take you out for something delicious tomorrow instead?”

The honeydew milk was still warm.

Xiao Shuangyu looked up, a bright light flickering in her dark eyes. “Sister still remembers that I like this.”

Ji Zhuozhou was startled, instinctively averted her gaze, and gave a vague response.