One Year After Her Sister-In-Law Was Widowed - Chapter 43

On Sunday morning, Xiao Shuangyu stood outside Ji Zhuozhou’s door.

The door was tightly closed. Xiao Shuangyu pressed down on the door handle with a heavy gaze, stubbornly pushing the door open just a narrow crack. She wanted to squeeze her lingering gaze through that gap, letting it fall into the room to search for Ji Zhuozhou.

The gap that Ji Zhuozhou used to leave for her would occasionally close on its own during the night, but since that Thursday, Ji Zhuozhou had stopped leaving a crack for her altogether.

The bedroom door and the study door—two doors had once again partitioned her and Ji Zhuozhou into separate worlds.

This change left her feeling utterly dejected, yet Ji Zhuozhou seemed completely oblivious and unresponsive. Xiao Shuangyu couldn’t tell if she had simply forgotten or if it was something else.

She was also afraid—afraid that if she brought it up, she would hear Ji Zhuozhou say that she would never let her push the door open again.

So, Xiao Shuangyu timidly maintained the status quo.

The scent of rain and mist quickly spilled out from the opening door crack. As her heavy heart soaked in it, Xiao Shuangyu felt a bit better.

The crack in the door silently widened until her line of sight reached the bed, where she saw no slight bulge beneath the covers.

Just as Xiao Shuangyu began to feel suspicious, she suddenly locked eyes with Ji Zhuozhou, who was sitting by the bed.

Ji Zhuozhou was already awake.

She sat quietly on the edge of the bed, holding her phone in her hand.

Clearly having heard the movement, she turned her gaze toward the door, her deep green eyes carrying a faint question.

Startled, Xiao Shuangyu instantly became flustered. She instinctively pulled back on the door; the lock cylinder pressed against the door frame, and she didn’t dare pull it back any further.

Soon, a counter-force pulled from the other side, and Xiao Shuangyu let go.

She lowered her head and murmured, “Good morning, Sister.”

Ji Zhuozhou responded to her, “Good morning, Lianlian. Do you have to work overtime today? I’ll give you a ride.”

Xiao Shuangyu shook her head. “Not today.”

She looked up. “I want to go with Sister.”

Ji Zhuozhou instantly understood what she was referring to. “But…”

Xiao Shuangyu spoke quickly, “I won’t go inside. I’ll wait for Sister outside.”

Today, Ji Zhuozhou was going to Star-Flash for a meeting.

A shareholders’ meeting.

Her mothers would also be attending.

If everything went smoothly, Ji Zhuozhou would sign the equity transfer agreement with two of Xiao Mingyi’s friends at the meeting, and then sign a tripartite gift agreement for the capital with the mothers. When the final settlement was handled, that money would no longer pass through Ji Zhuozhou’s hands.

On the mothers’ side, Xiao Mingyi’s friends had negotiated several times. The fact that they agreed to attend the shareholders’ meeting suggested there was likely a definitive result.

But if everything truly went according to plan, Star-Flash would no longer have any connection to the Xiao family.

The mothers, who had once viewed it as their hope and were unwilling to even see their equity diluted, would they truly agree?

If the mothers had other ideas, would they make things difficult for Ji Zhuozhou?

No matter how one looked at it, Star-Flash Technology had absolutely nothing to do with Xiao Shuangyu. The only reason the mothers were attending was because there was an agreement that needed to be signed; it was impossible for Xiao Shuangyu to participate.

In fact, if she appeared by Ji Zhuozhou’s side in front of the mothers, it might actually provoke them into an outburst.

Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to wait at home.

Therefore, even if it was just a little bit, she wanted to wait in a place that was closer.

She said, “I want to go.”

She wanted to go; she had to go.

Even if Ji Zhuozhou didn’t take her, she would follow secretly.

But she still wanted to go with Ji Zhuozhou. She wanted to stand behind her. She wanted Ji Zhuozhou to know that she was waiting for her.

If things developed beyond expectations, if Ji Zhuozhou suffered any grievance, she could take her away immediately.

Her dark gaze fell upon Ji Zhuozhou’s eyes, carrying a clear sense of urgency.

After a moment, Ji Zhuozhou lowered her eyes slightly, then looked up again with a faint, curving smile. “Let’s go together.”

Xiao Shuangyu nodded vigorously.

Xiao Shuangyu was nervous.

It was obvious she had been nervous since they got into the car.

Her dark eyes would peek at Ji Zhuozhou from her peripheral vision, look away, and then peek at her again, occasionally glancing out the window during the intervals.

It seemed no different from usual, but the frequency of her glances was markedly different from other days.

Ji Zhuozhou noticed this but kept her eyes straight ahead. “Lianlian, have you ever been to Star-Flash?”

Xiao Shuangyu instantly became carefully quiet and shook her head. “No.”

Actually, she had.

When Star-Flash was first established abroad, her mother’s went but didn’t tell her. She only found out later and didn’t go.

When Star-Flash returned to the country, her mother’s went again and didn’t tell her. Again, she found out later and didn’t go.

Later, when she encountered Xiao Mingyi at home, Xiao Mingyi had smugly asked her if Star-Flash was beautiful and hypocritically invited her to visit anytime, but she still never went.

After Xiao Mingyi’s accident, she heard her mother’s angrily mention that Ji Zhuozhou had inherited all of Xiao Mingyi’s equity. She had quietly gone to Star-Flash and waited from morning until night, but she never managed to see Ji Zhuozhou.

Instead, she spent the whole day staring at the Star-Flash sign.

That was the only time she had gone.

The light turned red, and Ji Zhuozhou slowed down.

Ji Zhuozhou didn’t press for more details. She had heard how much Xiao Shuangyu disliked Xiao Mingyi; pressing would be meaningless.

However, Ji Zhuozhou still spoke up. “Lianlian, do you miss your sister?”

Xiao Shuangyu was stunned.

Before she could react, Ji Zhuozhou’s voice continued, “Do you blame me, Lianlian? Blame me for taking your sister’s Star-Flash? If it weren’t for me…”

Xiao Shuangyu finally reacted, shaking her head rapidly and hurriedly interrupting Ji Zhuozhou. “It’s not like that.”

She said, “It should belong to Sister. Sister can do whatever she wants with it.”

Xiao Shuangyu thought of the lover who was by Xiao Mingyi’s side during the car accident. She wanted to say that such an unfaithful woman wasn’t worth pining for, but she couldn’t say it to Ji Zhuozhou, who still seemed to cherish the memory of Xiao Mingyi.

Her tone slowed down. “I can’t be without Sister.”

She reached out, carefully hooking her finger onto Ji Zhuozhou’s seatbelt, her voice very soft. “I didn’t think about her. I was worried about Sister. I want things to go smoothly for Sister.”

Ji Zhuozhou lowered her eyes, reached down to grasp her hand firmly, and said softly, “Mhm.”

Xiao Shuangyu blinked, and Ji Zhuozhou’s hand left hers.

She took a deep breath, intentionally changing the subject. “I wonder if there’s anything good to eat nearby. If Sister finishes early, let’s go eat.”

Ji Zhuozhou said OKAY.

The atmosphere in the car gradually lightened. Before long, the Star-Flash sign entered their field of vision.

Ji Zhuozhou parked the car in a parking lot a short distance away from Star-Flash.

From here, she could see the main entrance of Star-Flash, but it wasn’t too close. Xiao Shuangyu could get out for a walk or sit nearby if she wanted, and she wouldn’t be discovered by Star-Flash staff or the mothers.

But Ji Zhuozhou was still a bit uneasy. “Lianlian, are you okay here?”

Xiao Shuangyu was twisting her body toward Ji Zhuozhou to unbuckle her seatbelt. Hearing this, she looked up and nodded.

She pointed out the window. “I’ll be nearby.”

With her movement, the collar of her hoodie pulled open slightly, revealing the blurred kiss mark on her collarbone.

Ji Zhuozhou’s gaze fell upon it. “It’s faded.”

Xiao Shuangyu was startled. Seeing Ji Zhuozhou’s lowered eyelashes, she couldn’t help but glance down toward where the gaze landed, feeling an inexplicable sense of daze.

This kiss mark was left by Ji Zhuozhou on Friday morning. That day, she had hidden it vaguely under the collar of her hoodie and taken it to the company.

She was so embarrassed by Wang Ran seeing through everything that she had intentionally tightened her clothes to avoid her, but she failed to avoid Yang Shanhe.

Despite the data analysis group being incredibly busy on Friday and Saturday, with several people in the office barely having time to speak, that mark was still discovered by Yang Shanhe.

Yang Shanhe had insisted on finding a moment to ask her in surprise if she had a girlfriend, and even mentioned that he thought she was pursuing Ji Zhuozhou.

Xiao Shuangyu had only smiled—a smile that was shy yet faintly excited.

Girlfriend? Ji Zhuozhou?

Ji Zhuozhou is her girlfriend, she thought.

That day, her work efficiency was extraordinarily high, and she was happy, feeling no sadness at all about having to work overtime until midnight and missing the band’s performance once again.

Just thinking about it made Xiao Shuangyu feel like her heart was starting to float.

She looked from her own collar to Ji Zhuozhou’s collar.

The mark on Ji Zhuozhou’s collarbone was deeper than hers. Although it had also faded a lot, it was still visible. When Ji Zhuozhou wore her camisole nightgown in the morning, she had seen it clearly.

It was just that on Friday, Ji Zhuozhou wore a halter dress, on Saturday she was at home, and now, as Ji Zhuozhou was going to attend the shareholders’ meeting, she naturally wouldn’t let that faint mark has a chance to show.

Ji Zhuozhou was wearing a small stand-up collar shirt and trousers, looking plain and elegant, hiding that kiss mark completely.

By the time work started again tomorrow, it would probably be unnoticeable. That kiss mark would likely never be discovered by anyone.

Xiao Shuangyu felt an inexplicable sense of regret, yet she felt she couldn’t let her own selfishness interfere with Ji Zhuozhou’s official business. She raised her lingering gaze.

Ji Zhuozhou was looking at her. As those deep green eyes crashed into her vision, her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Ji Zhuozhou said, “I’m leaving.”

Xiao Shuangyu was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly moved to unbuckle her seatbelt.

She wanted to get out of the car to see Ji Zhuozhou off.

She just wasn’t going close to Star-Flash; it didn’t mean she could only stay in the car and watch Ji Zhuozhou from afar.

With a click, the seatbelt unbuckled and retracted. Xiao Shuangyu reached for the door handle, but it wouldn’t open.

She looked back and saw Ji Zhuozhou’s hand resting on the central locking button.

Ji Zhuozhou had locked the doors.

Xiao Shuangyu was instantly puzzled. Ji Zhuozhou parted her lips; those rosy lips opened and closed gently, producing a soft voice.

Ji Zhuozhou said, “Come here.”

Xiao Shuangyu obeyed and slowly moved closer.

Ji Zhuozhou also leaned forward until the distance between them was barely the width of a fist.

The scent of rain and mist approached. Ji Zhuozhou’s deep green eyes were like a deep pond, firmly capturing her gaze.

But suddenly, she leaned down, hooked her arm around Xiao Shuangyu’s neck, and sucked at her collarbone.

That blurred kiss mark became vivid once again.

Ji Zhuozhou let go with satisfaction, looked up at the dazed Xiao Shuangyu, and said, “Wait for me to come back.”

Xiao Shuangyu nodded. She watched Ji Zhuozhou open the car door, get out, and walk away, even forgetting to get out herself.

It wasn’t until Ji Zhuozhou had walked far away and the slender figure in the center of her vision became blurred that Xiao Shuangyu raised her hand to touch the side of her neck.

That… was so sudden.

But… it felt really good.

Xiao Shuangyu couldn’t help but swing her feet.

She stayed in the car for a long while. Seeing that the time for the shareholders’ meeting had already passed, she got out and wandered into a nearby shop. From a clearer distance, she kept a close eye on the Star-Flash building.

There were no signs of anything unusual at Star-Flash, and she hadn’t received any messages from Ji Zhuozhou on her phone. She felt a bit anxious, yet she also felt that no news was good news.

It wasn’t until after 12:30 that she received a message from Ji Zhuozhou saying, “It’s over, I’ll be down soon.” Not long after, she saw the mothers walking out of the Star-Flash building with several other people.

Behind them was Ji Zhuozhou.

Xiao Shuangyu stood up.

As the mothers and the others went their separate ways, and Ji Zhuozhou walked toward her direction alone, Xiao Shuangyu rushed out of the shop.

Ji Zhuozhou saw her. Before she could speak, Ji Zhuozhou offered a faint smile. “Everything went smoothly. Let’s go eat.”

Xiao Shuangyu followed suit with a curved smile and nodded quickly.

It was just that… the scent lingering on Ji Zhuozhou seemed a bit different from last time.

Was it because there were so many people this time?