If It’s Wrong, Then It’s Wrong - Chapter 13
Chapter 13: The Fourth Day
Last night, after Cheng Liu had ordered a taxi to send her sentimental, drunken chief assistant home, she had spent another two hours studying romantic phrases before finally going to bed. Yet, she woke up bright and early at 6 am.
Usually, the first thing CEO Cheng did upon waking was to check her phone for work messages. But this morning, the first thing she did was to greet her boyfriend.
After studying last night, she realized she hadn’t been proactive and attentive enough, so she was determined to change, starting this morning.
Number Six: [Good morning. Are you working today?]
Cheng Liu got up to wash up, nervously waiting for her boyfriend’s reply, but then she suddenly realized something.
6:15 am. Was this too early?
Young people these days seemed to like sleeping in.
Cheng Liu regretfully put away her phone, figuring her boyfriend wouldn’t see the message until after 8 am.
She grabbed a jacket from her closet and decided to drive over with breakfast. If he was working, she could take him there directly.
Wasn't that what the boys in university did? Buying breakfast and waiting downstairs at the girls’ dormitories every morning.
Cheng Liu was quite pleased with her adaptability.
As expected of her, she could quickly grasp the essence of anything, even dating!
As Cheng Liu walked towards the parking garage, she scrolled through Li Dong’s Moments.
She remembered Li Dong posting about his wife’s favorite breakfast place, praising it for being healthy and nutritious.
Li Dong's wife was a celebrity and also needed to maintain her figure. If she liked something, her model boyfriend should be able to eat it too.
There it was.
To express her gratitude to Li Dong, she sent him a thank you message and liked the post.
Mr. Li, sound asleep, was suddenly jolted awake by the notification sound from his phone. He groped for it on the nightstand, rubbing his eyes with his other hand as he squinted at the screen.
He was instantly wide awake.
Li Dong was furious: “Is Cheng Liu crazy? Sending a random thank you message and liking a year-old post at this hour?”
Didn't she know that middle-aged people had trouble sleeping? Once woken up, they couldn’t fall back asleep!
“Shut up!” Yang Fanyu, jolted awake by his outburst, grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.
“Yes, dear!” Li Dong clutched the pillow, quickly ducking under the covers, silent as a mouse, inwardly cursing Cheng Liu.
Unaware that she had disturbed someone’s peaceful sleep, CEO Cheng, mistakenly assuming that every CEO was as energetic as she was, had already located the breakfast place and was driving over.
She arrived at 7 am, just as they were opening.
Cheng Liu ordered the classic set meal, which consisted of a fruit smoothie, salad, and other such things.
“Is this really healthy and nutritious?” Cheng Liu was skeptical.
“Of course! The smoothie contains several fruits rich in anthocyanins, which are excellent for your eyes and skin,” the server explained enthusiastically.
Cheng Liu carefully noted the server’s words.
Just then, her boyfriend finally replied to her message: [Pick me up at 8:30 am and take me to the Ranshan R&D building.]
Cheng Liu, determined to be a perfect girlfriend, immediately replied: [Okay.]
“Your order is ready.” The server handed Cheng Liu the packaged smoothie and salad.
“Thank you.” Cheng Liu took the bag.
…
Cheng Liu arrived at the Wenxing Residential Complex before 8 am. After a moment of thought, she decided to take the breakfast upstairs.
The complex was old, the buildings low-rise with no elevators, and the stairwells plastered with flyers. However, her boyfriend’s door was exceptionally clean, without a single flyer on it.
Cheng Liu glanced at the first-floor stairwell, where a long extension cord hung down from above.
She looked at the marks on the floor and slowly walked up to the second floor, knocking on her boyfriend's door. Looking up, she figured the extension cord must belong to a resident on the fourth floor.
“Come in,” Ji Chaozhou said, opening the door and stepping aside.
Cheng Liu walked in, placed the breakfast on the dining table, and turned to him: “I bought you breakfast. The server said it’s very healthy.”
Ji Chaozhou glanced at the two exquisitely packaged boxes, then looked at Number Six: “Take back the gift from last night.”
Cheng Liu was taken aback: “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t like it,” Ji Chaozhou said simply. He didn't want this gift from Ji Mushan.
Cheng Liu recovered: “I’ll take it back later. Have your breakfast first.”
Since her boyfriend didn’t like the Jade Lily-of-the-Valley Deer Planter, she would prepare another gift next time.
Cheng Liu wasn’t disappointed, only slightly surprised by his bluntness.
Ji Chaozhou wasn’t hungry, but he recalled the message the bodyguard had sent at 6 am. She seemed to have been waiting for him since early morning.
He walked to the dining table and sat down.
Seeing this, Cheng Liu immediately reached out to open the packaging for him. This was what a thoughtful partner should do.
Ji Chaozhou had barely touched the bag when she snatched it back. His fingers brushed against the back of her hand.
He quickly withdrew his hand, but the warmth of her skin lingered.
Ji Chaozhou’s left hand, hanging at his side, curled slightly. He disliked this feeling of contact, unfamiliar and intrusive, as if his fingers had been instantly warmed by a stranger's touch.
“Here you go.” Cheng Liu placed the smoothie and salad in front of her boyfriend. “Eat first. I’ll take the jade planter back to the car.”
Ji Chaozhou didn’t say anything, simply nodding in acknowledgement.
Cheng Liu went to the corner, picked up the wooden crate, and went downstairs, gently closing the door behind her. She walked to her car, opened the trunk, and placed the crate inside.
Just as she was about to close the trunk, she paused, opened the crate again, and took out the planter.
—The letter was gone.
So, although her boyfriend didn't like the gift, he had kept the letter she had written.
Cheng Liu felt a surge of emotion. Her boyfriend clearly still liked her; he was just putting on a cold and indifferent act because he was still angry.
Wasn’t this a classic case of being tsundere?
However, Cheng Liu didn't intend to expose his little act.
She liked him regardless of how cold he was.
This was just a little tactic he was using in their relationship.
Cheng Liu closed the trunk and went back upstairs.
As she entered the living room, she saw her boyfriend’s profile. He was holding the smoothie cup in both hands, his long eyelashes lowered as he tilted his head back to take a sip, his Adam’s apple bobbing with each swallow.
Too much!
Cheng Liu quickly turned her head to look elsewhere, trying to distract herself.
Perhaps her movement was too abrupt, because Ji Chaozhou, sitting at the dining table, turned to look at her: “What’s wrong?”
Cheng Liu turned back and saw a smudge of red smoothie on his lips. His lips were naturally a light pink, naturally red without the need for lipstick. Now, with the deeper red smudge, it looked as if someone had applied rouge.
“Nothing.” Cheng Liu forced herself to calm down, averting her gaze as she walked over to her boyfriend, took out a tissue packet from her pocket, and handed him one: “You have some smoothie on your mouth.”
Ji Chaozhou paused, took the tissue, and wiped his mouth.
Cheng Liu quickly glanced at his lips, then pointed to his lower lip: “You have a small black spot here.”
Ji Chaozhou continued wiping, then looked up at her: “Is it gone?”
“…” Cheng Liu looked again and said sheepishly, “My mistake. It’s a mole.”
It was a small mole on the right side of his lower lip, close to the inside, easily missed if one wasn’t paying attention.
Ji Chaozhou lost his appetite. He pushed the smoothie away: “Let’s go to Ranshan.”
“Okay.” Cheng Liu cleared the table and followed him downstairs in a daze.
Even his mole was beautiful. How was that possible?
After throwing away the trash, Cheng Liu returned to see her boyfriend, as pristine and elegant as a handful of snow on an iceberg, and inwardly berated herself for being a pervert, even coveting his mole.
However…it really did look very kissable.
At that moment, CEO Cheng’s mind was filled with impure thoughts.
“What time do you finish work at noon? Want to have lunch together?” Cheng Liu asked her boyfriend on the way, wanting to create more opportunities to spend time together.
“Pick me up at 9 pm,” Ji Chaozhou said, looking out the window.
Cheng Liu was a little disappointed but understood that her boyfriend might not have time for lunch while filming a commercial.
Work was important. As a former workaholic herself, Cheng Liu was very understanding.
After dropping her boyfriend off at the Ranshan building, Cheng Liu went to work. Smelling the faint sandalwood fragrance lingering in the car, she was already missing him.
However, before going to the company, Cheng Liu had one more thing to do.
She drove back to the Wenxing Residential Complex.
“Sir, where’s the property management office?” Cheng Liu parked outside the complex and walked to the security booth. The security guard inside was dozing off, cradling a teacup.
“What?” The security guard was startled awake by the knocking on the window. He turned to Cheng Liu and asked loudly, “What do you want?”
“I’m looking for the property management office of Wenxing Residential Complex,” Cheng Liu repeated.
The security guard took a long sip of his hot tea before saying, “Go straight down to the end of the road, then turn right. It’s on the first floor.”
“Thank you.” Cheng Liu quickly walked into the complex.
Ten minutes later, she found the office with the “Wenxing Property Management” sign.
“Can I help you?” A middle-aged man was sitting inside, watching a TV drama.
“I’m looking for property management,” Cheng Liu said.
The man pressed pause and looked up: “That’s me.”
“I’m reporting illegal electricity usage in the stairwell of Building Five,” Cheng Liu said directly.
The man looked her up and down: “Which unit in Building Five are you from? I haven’t seen you around before.”
Cheng Liu looked at him: “I’m the girlfriend of the resident in unit 202.”
The man leaned forward, placing his hands on the desk, and said dismissively, “Since you’re not a resident of Wenxing Residential Complex, you don’t need to concern yourself with such matters.”
Cheng Liu stared at the man and said with an impassive expression, “This complex is densely populated. The fire escape is constantly blocked by vehicles, and there’s illegal electricity usage in the stairwell. If a fire breaks out, the consequences…needless to say. If you can’t handle this, I can report it to the fire department and have them conduct a full inspection.”
The property manager had no choice but to put away his phone and say with a sigh, “They’re all long-term residents here. We can’t be too forceful. I’ll go and talk to them later.”
He took out a notebook and pen from a drawer, made a note, then stood up and said to Cheng Liu, “I’ve made a record of it. This matter will be reported, and we should receive a response within a few days. We’ll conduct our own inspection then, and we’ll clear the fire escape as well.”
Cheng Liu checked the time and said to the property manager, “Do it quickly. If something really happens, it won’t be good for your property management company either.”
“Certainly, certainly,” the property manager said repeatedly.
After Cheng Liu left, he breathed a sigh of relief.
That young person’s gaze had suddenly become incredibly intimidating. He had almost thought a superior was conducting an inspection.
…
Before leaving the Wenxing Residential Complex, Cheng Liu looked back at the buildings.
Although the complex had a lively atmosphere, there were significant safety hazards. She would have to find an opportunity to get her boyfriend to move out.
Of course, it would be best if he moved in with her.
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