If It’s Wrong, Then It’s Wrong - Chapter 23
Chapter 23: The Seventh Day
Ji Chaozhou returned to the Ji family home.
He thought he had maintained his composure well. From the moment he entered until the end of dinner, he hadn't shown any excessive emotional fluctuations, even exchanging a few words with Ji Mushan.
However, as soon as he returned to his room and closed the door, dizziness overwhelmed him.
Ji Chaozhou lowered his head slightly, his face pale and cold, his hand braced against the wall, his knuckles white and tense.
But after a few minutes, he rushed into the bathroom and threw up everything he had eaten.
…
Ji Chaozhou stood at the sink, rinsing his mouth, the icy water washing over his hands. He looked down as the water in the sink gradually turned red.
The bloody water overflowed the sink, staining the white tiles red. His vision was filled with a bloody haze.
He could even smell the metallic scent of blood.
He looked up, trying to escape the sight, but the thick, bloody water on the floor began to creep up the walls, gradually covering the entire ceiling.
Ji Chaozhou knew it was a hallucination, but he was trapped, unable to break free.
In the bathroom, the young man collapsed onto the floor, his thin frame slumped against the wall, his Adam's apple prominent as he tilted his head back slightly. The warm yellow light from the ceiling cast a faint glow on him, making him appear fragile and lonely, like the most delicate piece of jade.
Ji Chaozhou covered his eyes with his hand, the despair in his eyes so intense it was almost palpable, as if he was about to fall into an endless abyss, unable to escape.
“Buzz—”
The sudden vibration of his phone broke the silence, pulling him back from the brink.
Ji Chaozhou fumbled for his phone, wanting to end the call, but his fingers trembled, and the phone slipped from his grasp, accidentally answering the call.
A somewhat familiar voice came from the other end: “Sorry to have bothered you these past few days. Consider those expenses as an apology from me. You don’t have to repay me.”
Ji Chaozhou couldn’t hear what she was saying. For a while, he wasn't even aware that he had answered the call.
After returning home, Cheng Liu had thought for a long time about how to reply to his message but couldn't decide. In the end, she had called him directly, telling him he didn’t have to repay her, hoping to gain his favor.
However, after talking for a while, she realized he wasn't responding, only hearing his faint, erratic breathing.
Cheng Liu immediately asked, concerned, “What’s wrong? Are you still sick?”
She still hadn't heard his voice.
“Are you…Chaozhou? Ji Chaozhou?” Cheng Liu called his name several times.
Someone was calling his name.
The voice persisted, gradually becoming clearer.
The bloody red haze in Ji Chaozhou’s vision began to recede like a tide, and he slowly came back to his senses, looking at the phone on the floor, the source of the voice.
He picked up the phone and instinctively put it to his ear.
“Ji Chaozhou,” Cheng Liu called again.
“…Yes,” Ji Chaozhou murmured, his expression still dazed.
Hearing his response, Cheng Liu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he was conscious.
“Is there anyone else with you?” Cheng Liu asked. “If you’re feeling unwell, go to the hospital immediately.”
Ji Chaozhou listened quietly to Cheng Liu’s voice, which was firm and left no room for argument.
He disliked being told what to do, but her voice had come at just the right moment…dispelling the bloody haze and the metallic scent.
Ji Chaozhou lowered his gaze, looking at his other hand, which was stained with blood.
It wasn't a hallucination. He had scratched his hand against the wall earlier.
All signs indicated that he had returned to reality.
“I’m not sick,” Ji Chaozhou said, slowly standing up. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, his face pale, his forehead damp with sweat.
—He looked a mess.
Cheng Liu, hearing his breathing gradually even out, suddenly felt her earlier concern and sternness replaced by guilt.
Had she been too harsh?
Cheng Liu’s heart sank. Would she ever experience the joys of love?
As expected, he said goodbye and hung up.
Cheng Liu: “…”
CEO Cheng didn't sleep well that night.
She woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't resist spending another hour studying and organizing her romantic phrase handbook, finally calming down somewhat.
She, Cheng Liu, never went into battle unprepared.
When the opportunity arose, she would be ready to deploy her romantic arsenal and win over her future boyfriend!
…
The next day, Cheng Liu arrived at the company early, waiting for Zhou Shengyan from Yale to come and sign the contract, and to give her a tour of Shenyin Technology’s headquarters.
“Collaborating with Shenyin Technology will undoubtedly be the best decision Yale has ever made,” Zhou Shengyan said sincerely.
No wonder Shenyin Technology had grown so rapidly in just a few years. Their technology and vision were far ahead of the curve.
Cheng Liu, having heard countless praises, remained unmoved, saying calmly, “I’m glad you’re satisfied, CEO Zhou.”
As the head of a company, Zhou Shengyan was naturally adept at reading people. She quickly changed the subject: “CEO Cheng, shall we go to the furniture store now?”
Cheng Liu readily agreed, turning to He Bai: “You stay at the company. I’m going to choose some furniture.”
He Bai nodded.
Having learned last night that Cheng Liu and Wang Hongyang had broken up, He Bai felt a weight lift from his shoulders, his expression relaxed.
Cheng Liu went to the furniture store with Zhou Shengyan.
As Zhou Shengyan had said, the furniture from this particular Yale brand was indeed designed for couples. Everything came in pairs.
Cheng Liu was overwhelmed by the choices. Everything designed for couples seemed appealing.
“CEO Cheng, if you can’t decide, you can ask your boyfriend,” Zhou Shengyan said tentatively. Information about Cheng Liu’s personal life had always been difficult to obtain, practically non-existent.
“I’ll choose myself first,” Cheng Liu said, not wanting to deny having a boyfriend, even though there wasn’t one on the horizon yet.
The bed had to be big enough for two people to lie down comfortably, even roll around a bit. The lounge chairs and stools also had to come in pairs.
And the sofa had to be large and long!
Based on the wisdom she had gleaned from various business partners over the years, the sofa would be their most important territory in the event of being banished from the bedroom.
Cheng Liu chose a variety of furniture and hired movers to transport everything to the villa.
After saying goodbye to Zhou Shengyan, she followed the moving truck.
…
Ji Mushan knew that Ji Chaozhou didn't like staying at the Ji family home. After just one night, dark circles had appeared under his eyes, a clear sign that he hadn’t slept well.
So, early that morning, he accompanied Ji Chaozhou to the property management office to complete the transfer procedures with Li Dong.
Yun Se had also come; otherwise, Ji Chaozhou wouldn't have agreed so readily to let Ji Mushan handle the matter.
“Only one unit?” Ji Mushan asked Li Dong. Duplex villas were semi-detached, sharing a wall. He wanted to buy both units.
That way, Chaozhou could enjoy more privacy.
“The adjacent unit, Number Six, was sold yesterday afternoon,” Li Dong said, scratching his head. “You only said you wanted to buy one, CEO Ji, not both.”
Yun Se, sitting in her wheelchair, patted Ji Chaozhou’s hand: “I’ve been to that villa complex before. One unit is fine.”
Within the city center, there were few places with only two floors above ground and such a pleasant environment.
Good location, spacious, and with a sense of community.
Yun Se hoped her nephew would live there.
“Okay,” Ji Chaozhou agreed quietly, pushing Aunt Yun's wheelchair.
“Don’t worry about noise,” Li Dong said reassuringly. “The person next door travels frequently for work. A real workaholic. You probably won't see them for weeks at a time. She bought the villa because she wanted to try living in a place with a courtyard.”
Li Dong was about to make a joke, but seeing the expressions on their faces, he swallowed his words, “You know her too, CEO Ji.”
This father and son were too cold and aloof.
Cheng Liu was much more pleasant to deal with, Li Dong thought. He could joke around with her.
Since the villas were unoccupied, Li Dong handed over the keys and access codes after the paperwork was completed.
“Chaozhou, let’s go take a look,” Yun Se said. “We can have anything you need delivered.”
“Okay.” Ji Chaozhou pushed her to the car, carefully helped her inside, folded the wheelchair, and then got in himself.
Yun Se, forcing herself to stay alert, wanted to chat with Ji Chaozhou. She suddenly remembered something: “Where’s that bodyguard who was with you the other day?”
Ji Chaozhou paused: “She…”
“I dismissed that bodyguard,” Ji Mushan, sitting in the front, suddenly said.
The situation was too complicated to explain, so Ji Mushan decided to take the blame. Besides, Cheng Liu wouldn't know what he had said.
“Was she incompetent?” Yun Se frowned. “Well, it’s fine that she’s gone.”
At that moment, the “dismissed” bodyguard Cheng was watching as the furniture she had personally chosen was carried into the villa next door.
She walked around, quite satisfied with the proximity of the two villas.
They were just a wall apart.
Practically family!
As the moving truck was leaving, Ji Chaozhou arrived. Cheng Liu, standing on the second-floor balcony, saw him and quickly ducked back inside.
If her boyfriend—no, if Ji Chaozhou saw her next door, he might not want to live here anymore, and all her efforts would be wasted.
It was better to wait until he had settled in before “accidentally” running into him.
Ji Chaozhou helped Yun Se out of the car. He looked up and saw a familiar figure disappear from the balcony next door.
“It seems someone has already moved in next door,” Yun Se said, looking at the tire tracks.
Ji Mushan walked beside them: “Let’s go inside and see what you need.”
Ji Chaozhou looked away and pushed Yun Se inside.
The villa, regularly cleaned, wasn’t messy. The front yard had a neat lawn, but the interior was sparsely furnished.
The villa only had two floors above ground, but the staircase was open and suspended in the middle.
“Chaozhou, should I have someone rebuild the staircase tomorrow?” Ji Mushan asked, glancing at it.
“No need,” Ji Chaozhou said, looking down. “I want to move in today.”
There was a bedroom on the first floor. He didn’t need a lot of space, nor did he need many belongings.
Ji Mushan was about to say something when Yun Se coughed and said, “Your father and I will go back now. We’ll have someone send over clean bedding later.”
“…Okay,” Ji Chaozhou agreed.
Yun Se smiled at her nephew: “You stay here and see what else you need.”
Ji Mushan pushed Yun Se’s wheelchair towards the exit.
As they reached the door, the smile on Yun Se’s face faded: “You knew…yet you still took Chaozhou back to the Ji family home?”
Ji Mushan opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t bring himself to say that Chaozhou had been the one who wanted to return last night.
“I won’t live much longer,” Yun Se said, looking down at her increasingly frail body. “I don’t want Chaozhou to be left without any family in this world.”
“Brother-in-law,” Yun Se said coldly, smoothing the wrinkles on her cheongsam, “you’ve wronged Chaozhou.”
“I know,” Ji Mushan said, his handsome face etched with guilt and regret.
They got into the car and quickly drove away.
Cheng Liu, who had been about to sneak away, emerged from behind the wall, stood quietly for a moment, looked at the villa next door, and then went back inside.
She had decided to stay next door to him for the night.
However, Cheng Liu hadn't expected Ji Chaozhou to discover her presence before nightfall.
She was replying to company emails on her phone when a message from “Boyfriend” popped up: [Are you next door?]
CEO Cheng, usually unflappable in any situation, almost dropped her phone in surprise.
Comments
Post a Comment