If It’s Wrong, Then It’s Wrong - Chapter 21
Chapter 21: The Sixth Day
Ji Mushan looked at Cheng Liu, who was carrying several shopping bags of men’s clothing and a new flowerpot, and belatedly realized that the items in her hands probably belonged to his son.
So…the woman with short hair had thought she was dating the man named Wang Hongyang on the gold plaque, but Wang Hongyang was actually Cheng Liu’s boyfriend, and Cheng Liu had just bought men’s underwear for someone else, and the four of them had just happened to run into each other at the mall?
But why did Cheng Liu have a gold plaque engraved with her and Wang Hongyang’s names in her trunk?
Even CEO Ji, a man who had weathered countless storms, was baffled by the illogical situation.
—But the most crucial point was that the “someone else” was his son.
He had always thought Chaozhou wouldn’t be interested in relationships, but now he had apparently interfered in someone else’s relationship?
In Ji Mushan’s mind, Ji Chaozhou and Cheng Liu were two people whose lives should never intersect.
No, wait.
Ji Mushan remembered Cheng Liu’s WeChat Moments post from the night of the 2nd. She had posted a photo of Ranshan Midu, claiming it was a gift from her boyfriend.
Ji Mushan immediately asked Wang Hongyang, “Did you buy any Ranshan Midu recently?”
“Ranshan Midu? I never buy domestic perfumes,” Wang Hongyang said disdainfully.
Since Wang Hongyang hadn’t bought it, the Midu must have been a gift from Chaozhou.
Ji Mushan glared at Cheng Liu: “CEO Cheng, I don’t care how many people you’re stringing along, but don’t you dare deceive my son.”
All these years, he had been carefully trying to treat Chaozhou well, attempting to repair their relationship. How could he not be angry to find out that his son’s feelings had been toyed with?
Cheng Liu: “…”
Ji Chaozhou frowned: “She…”
“Chaozhou, was that perfume a gift from you?” Ji Mushan interrupted his son, suppressing his anger and pointing at Cheng Liu. “She clearly already has a boyfriend, yet on the 2nd, she posted on Moments saying her boyfriend gave her Ranshan Midu.”
“A Moments post on the 2nd, about Wang Hongyang? Your girlfriend cheated on you first!” the woman with short hair said, a mix of triumph and anger in her voice. “Serves you right!”
Feeling vindicated, she grabbed Wang Hongyang's hand and snatched the watch back: “Give it back!”
Wang Hongyang watched in dismay as she stormed off, the watch he had just received ripped from his wrist. He felt like all his efforts these past few days had been wasted.
But he still had Cheng Liu, a much bigger prize, and he now had the moral high ground.
So, he turned to Cheng Liu and accused her: “You posted about another man on Moments? Cheng Liu, you even blocked me, didn’t you?”
Cheng Liu instinctively explained: “I didn’t block you. I left my personal phone in G City. You added me on my personal WeChat account.”
Wang Hongyang: “…” Was there a difference?
Under the bright sunlight, CEO Cheng’s absurd behavior of the past few days was exposed for all to see.
“She mistook me for someone else,” Ji Chaozhou said, glancing at Cheng Liu. “We’re not in a relationship.”
Wang Hongyang scoffed, clearly not believing him: “Mistook you for someone else? Couldn’t you come up with a better excuse?”
Cheng Liu, meeting Ji Chaozhou’s beautiful amber eyes, felt her heart flutter. She quickly looked away, trying to regain her composure.
“CEO Ji, it’s all a misunderstanding.” Cheng Liu regained her usual demeanor, as if the earlier embarrassment had been a dream. She looked at the black SUV parked nearby and said calmly, “Is that your car, CEO Ji? I’ll give you a ride. He…Chaozhou needs to apply for a new ID card and bank card this afternoon.”
When it came to Ji Chaozhou, Ji Mushan couldn’t remain calm, especially now that he didn’t want his son anywhere near Cheng Liu.
So, Ji Mushan took the shopping bags from Cheng Liu's hands and said coldly, “Don’t bother, CEO Cheng.”
He turned to Ji Chaozhou, his expression softening, a hint of nervousness in his eyes: “Chaozhou, where do you need to go? I’ll take you.”
Ji Chaozhou’s gaze lingered on Cheng Liu for a moment, then he walked towards Ji Mushan’s car.
Ji Mushan placed the shopping bags in the trunk of the SUV, then got in the back seat with Ji Chaozhou.
Ji Chaozhou looked out the window, lost in thought: Had she been making him sit in the passenger seat these past few days because she had mistaken him for her boyfriend?
“Chaozhou,” Ji Mushan said, rarely being this close to his son. There were some things he had to say. “Cheng Liu is indeed capable, but her character is questionable. She knew I wanted to give you the Lily-of-the-Valley Deer Planter, yet she still competed with me, ending up spending 5.2 million to buy it for her boyfriend.”
At the mention of this, Ji Mushan’s stern face hardened. He shouldn't have given in.
“…I received the Lily-of-the-Valley Deer Planter,” Ji Chaozhou said, feeling the need to clarify.
He recalled the letter in the crate, the one he had initially misunderstood.
Had that awkwardly worded letter been a love letter from her?
It was probably burned in the fire now. He couldn’t return it to her.
“What?” Ji Mushan was momentarily confused.
“Cheng Liu mistook me for someone else at the airport,” Ji Chaozhou said, looking down at his hands. “She thought I was Wang Hongyang.”
Ji Mushan frowned. He had spoken to Yun Se on the night of the 1st and knew that Chaozhou had been to the airport: “Cheng Liu mistook you for someone else, and you?”
“…I thought she was the bodyguard you hired,” Ji Chaozhou said slowly, watching the trees pass by.
Ji Mushan: “?”
The fact that they had misunderstood each other for almost six days without realizing it was truly absurd.
…
By the roadside.
Cheng Liu and Wang Hongyang stood facing each other.
“Let’s forget about the past,” Wang Hongyang said, looking at the gold plaque and bars in the trunk. “I know you still have feelings for me.”
Cheng Liu turned and closed the trunk with a numb expression. She didn’t think so.
Wang Hongyang, still thinking about what Ji Mushan had said earlier, asked Cheng Liu hesitantly, “What gift did you buy for me?”
“That gift isn’t suitable for you,” Cheng Liu said, feeling exhausted. Here it was again, that familiar, exasperating feeling from months ago.
How could she have mistaken him for someone else? Their personalities were completely different.
However…Ji Chaozhou…what a beautiful name.
CEO Cheng was distracted.
“I haven’t even seen it. How can you say it’s not suitable?” Wang Hongyang said, having just lost a watch worth over a hundred thousand yuan and desperate to recoup his losses.
Cheng Liu stared at Wang Hongyang's face for a long time before finally saying, “Let’s just break up.”
Wang Hongyang was stunned: “Why? What’s wrong with me?”
Cheng Liu told him the truth: “You cheated on me.”
“Didn't you cheat on me too?” Wang Hongyang retorted angrily. “You even bought underwear for another man!”
Cheng Liu hesitated, then said, “So…we’re breaking up?”
Wang Hongyang refused: “No! You were the one who said you fell in love with me at first sight! Now you want to break up just like that? What about my feelings?” He hadn't even gotten anything out of this relationship!
“It’s my fault,” Cheng Liu said sincerely. “I did fall in love with you at first sight, but now that I think about it, that kind of feeling is too fleeting, too unreliable. So, let’s just end things amicably.”
They looked at each other, both knowing the other was lying.
After a long standoff.
Wang Hongyang looked at the trunk and said, “Fine, we can break up. But since that gold plaque was a gift for me, give it to me as a keepsake.” He had not only lost an expensive watch today but also a potentially lucrative relationship. He had to get something out of this.
Cheng Liu instinctively refused: “No.” She had originally planned to hang it in their future home.
Now, seeing the real Wang Hongyang, she suddenly didn't want to get married anymore.
Wang Hongyang was shocked: “My name is already engraved on it!”
Cheng Liu said without hesitation, “I’ll have it melted down this afternoon.”
Wang Hongyang finally exploded, shouting, “Cheng Liu, I’ve never met anyone as stingy as you! You wouldn't even spend a penny on your boyfriend!”
Cheng Liu pushed away his hand, which was almost poking her in the nose, and said earnestly, “Relationships shouldn’t be measured by money. That’s too materialistic.”
“…You’re so noble!” Wang Hongyang turned and stormed off, shouting as he left, “Cheng Liu, someone like you will never find a boyfriend!”
The chaotic scene finally ended, everyone gone.
Cheng Liu touched her back; her clothes were damp with cold sweat.
She got into her car, feeling somewhat disoriented.
Cheng Liu placed her hand over her heart. It would pound whenever she thought of Ji Chaozhou, but she no longer felt anything for Wang Hongyang.
Just six months ago, she had fallen in love with Wang Hongyang at first sight, although the feeling had faded after their second meeting.
CEO Cheng’s relatively sound moral compass was severely shaken. She, Cheng Liu—might actually be a fickle-hearted scumbag.
…
Cheng Liu couldn't focus on work and didn't want to go to the Dongchu Hotel, so she went home.
“Ms. Cheng, your package.”
As soon as she entered the lobby, the concierge called out to Cheng Liu, handing her a package.
Looking at the return address, Cheng Liu realized it was the phone from the G City hotel, the one with her real boyfriend’s WeChat contact: “…”
She returned to her apartment on the 26th floor and took out the phone, which had automatically turned off.
Cheng Liu plugged it in to charge and sat on the sofa, lost in thought, still struggling with her conscience.
A few minutes later, the phone turned on automatically after being charged.
Cheng Liu opened WeChat and saw several messages from “Wang Haiyang,” along with missed voice calls.
His name was Wang Hongyang, not Wang Haiyang.
Feeling a pang of guilt, Cheng Liu clicked on his profile, intending to correct his name in her contacts.
Even though they had broken up, she still wanted to keep accurate records.
Then she suddenly noticed that Wang Hongyang’s WeChat username was “King.”
CEO Cheng thought numbly: So, it wasn't Tom, and it wasn't Jerry.
Just then, her work phone rang. It was Li Dong.
As soon as she answered, Li Dong’s voice, filled with regret, came through the phone: “CEO Cheng, your boyfriend checked out so early? Why didn’t he stay a few more days? Was our hotel not to his liking?”
Li Dong was at the Dongchu Hotel. He had just arrived under the pretense of an inspection, only to be informed by the hotel manager that Cheng Liu’s boyfriend had already checked out.
“CEO Cheng, why don’t we schedule a dinner together? As your wedding witness, I should get to know the groom,” Li Dong continued chattering.
Cheng Liu: “…” No, her imagined wedding had already crumbled.
Everything she had done, every promise she had made these past few days, was now coming back to haunt her.
Cheng Liu’s rationality struggled against her conscience for a moment, then, unable to resist the temptation, she decided to abandon her morals.
“Mr. Li,” Cheng Liu cleared her throat and asked, “Do you know Ji Chaozhou?”
“Ji Chaozhou? Ji Mushan’s son?” Li Dong clearly remembered him. “Of course. Putting everything else aside, he's incredibly handsome.”
Cheng Liu: She knew he was handsome.
“By the way, that Ranshan Midu you bought at the mall was created by him. My wife says he’s a genius perfumer,” Li Dong said, puzzled. “Why are you asking about him? Are you really considering collaborating with Ranshan?”
Cheng Liu: “…It’s not entirely out of the question.”
Just then, a WeChat message popped up on her phone, the sender still listed as “Boyfriend”: [I’ll reimburse you for the expenses of these past few days.]
Comments
Post a Comment