If It’s Wrong, Then It’s Wrong - Chapter 24
Chapter 24: The Seventh Day
Around 7 pm, Ji Mushan delivered clean bedding. Ji Chaozhou went out to retrieve it.
“Chaozhou,” Ji Mushan called out to his son, taking several bags out of the car. “These are the clothes and shoes you bought at the mall yesterday.”
He used this as an opportunity to enter the villa with his son.
“I’ll see you out,” Ji Chaozhou said after placing the items in his bedroom.
Ji Mushan’s face lit up, a smile appearing on his usually stern face: “Alright.”
They walked out of the villa together. Ji Chaozhou remained silent, while Ji Mushan, unusually talkative, said, “You can plant some of your favorite flowers in the front yard once it’s tidied up. But it’s too dark out here. Remember to install some lights.”
The path to the gate wasn’t long, and Ji Mushan didn’t have much time to say more.
Ji Chaozhou said, “You should go back now.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll go.” Ji Mushan wanted to pat his son, who was now taller than him, on the shoulder, but he awkwardly withdrew his hand. “Chaozhou, let me know if you need anything.”
Ji Chaozhou didn’t reply, simply watching as Ji Mushan got into the car and drove away.
The taillights disappeared into the distance, the two dim streetlights not reaching the front yard.
Ji Chaozhou stood at the entrance of the villa, almost swallowed by the darkness, his long eyelashes lowered.
After a moment, he turned his head and looked towards the villa next door. There was a light on the second floor, and the balcony door was slightly ajar, the curtains billowing inwards with the breeze.
Ji Chaozhou hadn’t heard any noise from next door since arriving at the villa that afternoon.
The vaguely familiar figure he had seen earlier that day appeared in his mind, and he suddenly realized who his neighbor was.
Ji Chaozhou stood there for a moment, then opened his phone, clicked on the contact he had renamed, and sent a message: [Are you next door?]
As soon as he sent the message, a loud crash, like a chair falling over, came from the second floor next door.
Ji Chaozhou frowned slightly, surprised by her reaction. He looked down at his phone. The “typing…” indicator appeared and remained for a long time, but no message came through.
Cheng Liu, who had knocked over her chair in her haste to grab her phone, was pacing anxiously.
How did he know she was next door?
Cheng Liu had parked her car in the garage. He shouldn't have been able to see her.
Had Li Dong told him?
Cheng Liu felt extremely guilty. They had both been mistaken about each other yesterday, and while the bodyguard misunderstanding had been somewhat resolved, she had now deliberately become his neighbor.
It all seemed very suspicious!
Cheng Liu held her phone, trying to come up with a casual reply, pretending she didn't know he was next door, but she deleted everything she typed.
After much deliberation, she took a deep breath, opened the curtains, and stepped onto the balcony.
Ji Chaozhou, sensing something, looked up towards the balcony next door.
Their eyes met.
Ji Chaozhou stood by his front door, almost blending into the darkness, while Cheng Liu stood on the second-floor balcony next door, bathed in the light from the overhead lamp, bright and eye-catching.
They seemed to be standing on opposite sides, their worlds distinct and separate.
Then Cheng Liu stepped forward and waved at Ji Chaozhou: “Good evening.”
The boundary between light and darkness blurred.
The light from the second floor spilled over towards the first.
Ji Chaozhou instinctively looked away. She always seemed to be smiling.
On the balcony, Cheng Liu, despite her calm greeting, was nervously fidgeting.
She had thought her boyfriend was handsome, had wanted to hold his hand, kiss him, and had even planned their wedding!
Oh, she had even invited several wedding witnesses.
Now that she realized he wasn’t her boyfriend, it was all a dream. Thinking back on the past few days, Cheng Liu was just glad she hadn’t acted on her impulses.
If she had actually kissed him…he would have probably hit her, right?
Cheng Liu instinctively touched her face. Her skin was quite thick; she could probably take a few punches.
“I heard from Li Dong that someone bought the villa next door. It’s you?” Cheng Liu said, feigning surprise. “What a coincidence.”
“Cheng Liu,” Ji Chaozhou said, looking back at the person on the balcony. After the series of misunderstandings and coincidences these past few days, it didn't seem so strange that they had become neighbors.
Hearing Ji Chaozhou say her name, Cheng Liu felt her heart flutter.
She suspected that if this continued, her heart might actually explode.
“I’ll reimburse you for the expenses of these past few days,” Ji Chaozhou repeated the message he had sent earlier.
He remembered answering Cheng Liu’s call last night, but he couldn't remember what she had said before that.
“No need,” Cheng Liu said generously. “CEO Ji and I know each other. We’re friends. And you’re his son, so consider it a gift.”
As soon as she said it, Cheng Liu realized something was wrong.
She was friends with CEO Ji, and Ji Chaozhou was CEO Ji's son. That meant there was a generational gap between them!
No, absolutely not!
CEO Ji would never be her friend!
Cheng Liu immediately corrected herself: “If you insist on repaying me, you can just pay for it directly.”
“What?” Ji Chaozhou didn't understand.
Cheng Liu turned and went back inside. A minute later, she reappeared in front of Ji Chaozhou: “I moved in rather hastily today and didn’t bring many daily necessities.”
It wasn't just “many” daily necessities; she hadn't even brought any bedding.
She hadn't planned on staying here tonight.
“Let’s go to the supermarket,” Cheng Liu said, taking Ji Chaozhou’s arm and pulling him out of the darkness and onto the street.
This scene was reminiscent of the airport, where she had similarly led him away without a word.
The warm yellow streetlights illuminated their figures.
After walking for a while, Ji Chaozhou finally reacted and pulled his arm away, but he only slowed down slightly, eventually following behind Cheng Liu.
There was a large supermarket nearby. They arrived after a ten-minute walk.
Since they both needed daily necessities and weren’t very familiar with each other, they each took a shopping cart.
They walked towards the household goods section together.
Ji Chaozhou was very particular about toiletries and fragrances, anything with a scent. Before he could even choose anything, Cheng Liu had already quickly filled her cart.
Toothbrushes, cups, towels, slippers…everything came in pairs.
Ji Chaozhou even saw her put a pair of large, red, double happiness stickers into her cart.
Was she planning to use that villa as their wedding home?
It seemed it truly was a coincidence that they had met.
However, even though Cheng Liu was at the stage of planning a wedding, she hadn’t recognized her boyfriend, and her boyfriend seemed to be involved with other women.
Ji Chaozhou couldn’t understand their relationship and looked away, focusing on choosing the items he needed.
Cheng Liu, pushing her shopping cart, discovered for the first time how much fun the household goods section could be. It felt like she had returned to her happy place.
Every pair of items seemed to be beckoning her.
So, as long as it came in a pair, Cheng Liu had to buy it!
“I want that pair,” Cheng Liu said to the supermarket employee standing nearby.
The employee looked at the two straw dolls displayed on the shelf, then looked at Cheng Liu: “What do you need those for? They’re not for sale!”
Cheng Liu tried to make an offer: “I’ll pay any price.”
The employee said ruthlessly, “They’re not for sale at any price!”
Cheng Liu could only leave, disappointed.
…
Half an hour later, Ji Chaozhou finished choosing his items and turned around to see Cheng Liu pushing her cart behind him.
“Finished?” Cheng Liu asked. “Let’s go back then.”
As they went to check out, they saw the supermarket manager talking on the phone anxiously at another checkout counter.
“If you can’t come and fix it now, how are we supposed to sort the goods tonight?” the supermarket manager said angrily into the phone. “The system is frozen. Rebooting didn't work.”
Cheng Liu listened for a moment, then turned to Ji Chaozhou: “I’ll go take a look. They seem to be using our company’s system.”
Ji Chaozhou finished paying and looked at Cheng Liu, who was talking to the supermarket manager. After a while, they walked towards the back of the supermarket.
Cheng Liu took a few steps, then stopped, turned back to look at Ji Chaozhou, said something to the supermarket manager, and walked over to him: “It might take a while. Do you want to wait outside, or come with me?”
Ji Chaozhou looked at the supermarket manager beside her, then said, “I’ll come with you.”
They left their shopping carts at the front desk and followed the manager towards the warehouse.
“We just upgraded to this new system last month, spent a fortune on these machines,” the supermarket manager said, shaking his head. “Now the system is down, and the machines are paralyzed. We don’t have time to hire people to sort everything manually.”
“Let me take a look,” Cheng Liu said.
“It’s a good thing I ran into you today,” the supermarket manager said gratefully. Although she hadn’t started fixing anything yet, her willingness to help suggested she knew what she was doing. He asked casually, “Are you a repair technician?”
“Me? No, I don’t do repairs,” Cheng Liu said, shaking her head.
“You don’t work in repairs?” the supermarket manager asked hesitantly. What if she wasn’t qualified and damaged the machines…
Sensing his doubt, Cheng Liu smiled faintly: “I developed that system.”
The supermarket manager was shocked: “Huh?”
They arrived at the warehouse, and Cheng Liu went straight to the control room. Ji Chaozhou didn't follow her inside but waited outside.
He couldn't hear what she was saying, but he could see her actions.
Unlike her usual smiling demeanor, Cheng Liu’s expression was now serious and focused as her fingers flew across the keyboard.
Even though she was just standing there, she exuded an air of control and competence.
The supermarket manager, initially skeptical, now watched Cheng Liu with a look of awe.
In just twenty minutes, she seemed to have resolved the issue. She spoke briefly to the supermarket manager, and then they came out.
As they were walking back, Cheng Liu said to Ji Chaozhou, “I’m going to get something with the manager.”
Since they were already inside the supermarket, surrounded by people, Ji Chaozhou nodded: “I’ll wait for you outside.”
A while later, Cheng Liu returned.
“You…” Ji Chaozhou looked at the straw dolls in her hands, his usually indifferent eyes filled with surprise. “What are these?”
Cheng Liu smiled proudly: “The supermarket manager gave them to me.”
These two straw dolls were decorations in the supermarket. The employee had refused to sell them earlier, but now the supermarket manager had given them to her!
Actually, the supermarket manager had wanted to give her a gift card, but Cheng Liu had refused, saying she only wanted the pair of straw dolls.
Although surprised and confused, the supermarket manager had agreed.
Cheng Liu held one straw doll and thrust the other one at Ji Chaozhou: “This is for you.”
Ji Chaozhou: “…”
He couldn’t keep up with her train of thought.
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