If It’s Wrong, Then It’s Wrong - Chapter 28
Chapter 28: The Eighth Day
Cheng Liu felt she was beyond redemption.
Ji Chaozhou was being cold and distant, clearly trying to distance himself from her, his expression guarded.
Yet, all she could think was: He’s so handsome.
Ji Chaozhou looked at the stunned Cheng Liu. He rarely expressed his feelings directly, even when Yun Fei had tried to manipulate him, he had simply ignored her.
But no one had ever crossed his boundaries as persistently and thoughtlessly as Cheng Liu.
Ji Chaozhou turned around, holding the lily-of-the-valley, and ignored her. He left the door open so she could leave.
He thought he had made his feelings clear enough.
Yet, Cheng Liu still followed him. She turned to face him, walking backwards with her hands raised: “I won’t touch you. Don't be angry. Anger is bad for your health.”
Ji Chaozhou abruptly stopped and looked up at Cheng Liu: “…”
A flicker of emotion, a hint of anger, appeared on his usually pale and indifferent face, bringing a touch of life to his beautiful eyes.
He suddenly seemed more animated, like a figure in a painting, previously untouchable, now brought to life with vibrant colors.
Cheng Liu mentally chastised herself for her perversity, then, raising her hands, said seriously, “I was tidying up my house today and noticed a problem with the electrical panel. You should have yours checked too, especially the circuit breaker. Otherwise, you might have power outages.”
Although the villas had regular cleaning services, since Li Dong didn't live there, many things hadn’t been properly maintained, and problems would inevitably arise.
“Thank you,” Ji Chaozhou said coldly, quickly walking around Cheng Liu.
He would have the villa renovated, and the first thing he would do was raise the height of the wall.
This time, Cheng Liu didn’t follow, restraining herself slightly and keeping her distance.
She reached the wall, climbed back over, and thought to herself: Once we’re closer, I should have a door installed here.
…
Since Cheng Liu wasn't at the company again, He Bai, after leaving work at 8 pm, went straight to her home.
Because he was her chief assistant, often needing to deliver documents, Cheng Liu had given him her fingerprint access.
Cheng Liu was a workaholic, and her home was filled with work-related items. Over time, He Bai had practically become a co-owner of the place.
He opened the door and walked in. The jade planter in the living room was gone.
She must have put it away, He Bai thought, looking around. Ever since he learned about Cheng Liu and Wang Hongyang’s breakup, he had been in a great mood.
However, Cheng Liu had been rather lax lately, skipping work again today.
But that night at Yese Restaurant, she hadn't seemed particularly heartbroken.
Perhaps she was working on some new project. She always seemed to be one step ahead.
He Bai, a smile on his face, walked towards the study, casually knocking on the door. There was no response, so he pushed it open.
And the smile on He Bai’s face froze.
The study was completely empty, as if it had been ransacked, not even a single piece of paper in sight.
He Bai stood there for a moment, then went to Cheng Liu’s bedroom and opened the door. It was also empty.
Her study and bedroom were usually filled with signs of her presence.
He Bai took out his phone and called Cheng Liu. As soon as she answered, he asked, “Senior, where are you?”
Cheng Liu was studying her romantic phrase handbook, phone in one hand, pen in the other: “At home.”
“…I don’t see you,” He Bai said, looking around the empty living room. “You’re not home.”
“Oh,” Cheng Liu said, suddenly remembering. “Did I not tell you I moved?”
He Bai was stunned: “You moved today? Instead of coming to work?”
“Pretty much,” Cheng Liu said, putting down her pen and twirling it between her fingers. “Is there something you need?”
“Just worried about you, senior,” He Bai said tentatively. “Did you move because of what happened with Wang Hongyang?”
“Wang Hongyang? No. I just wanted a change of scenery,” Cheng Liu said, walking towards the balcony and looking next door. Both the first and second floors were dark. She walked to the other side of the balcony and finally saw a faint light in one of the first-floor windows.
He Bai relaxed: “We’ll have to have a housewarming party, senior.”
“Definitely,” Cheng Liu said, unable to hide a hint of smugness. “Chief Assistant He, you’re not young anymore. Don't you have a nightlife?”
Unlike him, she was on the right track in her pursuit of love and was sure to have a very exciting nightlife in the near future.
Thinking of this, Cheng Liu felt a slight pang of sympathy for her chief assistant.
At the same time, she finally understood how those business partners had felt when they boasted about their wives.
He Bai had never discussed such things with Cheng Liu. Gripping his phone, thinking their relationship might be evolving, he said with a smile, “My nightlife belongs to Shenyin.”
He had wanted to say something more suggestive, but he held back, afraid of upsetting Cheng Liu.
“Then I’ll give you more time off,” Cheng Liu said, leaning against the balcony railing, looking down absently. “I have to go now.”
She hung up the phone, looked up at the moon in the night sky, and remembered a romantic phrase she had just read: You are my moon.
Ji Chaozhou could definitely not be her moon!
The moon was untouchable, miles away. What a ridiculous romantic phrase!
She wanted to be with Ji Chaozhou. Calling him her moon sounded like a curse.
Cheng Liu thought for a moment and decided she needed to study those romantic phrases more carefully, just in case.
She opened a document and was immediately struck by the phrases inside.
CEO Cheng felt they were written just for her!
Phrases like, “I want to live in your heart, without any neighbors,” and “You’re so mean, I love it.”
Cheng Liu didn't just want to live in Ji Chaozhou’s heart; she wanted to live in his house!
She copied all these phrases into her notebook. As she was writing, a heavy downpour started outside, accompanied by thunder and lightning.
Cheng Liu was indifferent to the weather, only glancing outside once before returning to her task.
Until Wang Hongyang called.
“Cheng Liu, is it raining over there too?” Wang Hongyang’s eager voice came through the phone.
“Yes, it is. Why?” Cheng Liu asked, writing down the last phrase and closing her notebook.
Wang Hongyang, awakened by the thunder, thought of his gold plaque and had a brilliant idea: “This is your chance! Aren’t you neighbors? Just tell him there’s a power outage at your place and ask to stay at his!”
“I just had the electrical panel fixed today. There’s no way there’s a power outage,” Cheng Liu said confidently.
Wang Hongyang was exasperated: “Just pretend there’s a power outage and ask to stay the night! A man and a woman alone together…the perfect opportunity to heat things up.”
Cheng Liu, needing proof for everything, asked Wang Hongyang, “Have you ever done this before?”
Wang Hongyang paused, then said, “I saw it on TV. It always works.”
After all, Cheng Liu was reasonably attractive, and he had even briefly been attracted to her, too bad she was such a terrible person.
Of course, Wang Hongyang also admitted that he wasn't a good person either.
Cheng Liu went to the balcony and looked next door: “He seems to be asleep. I don’t want to disturb him.”
Just then, a loud clap of thunder shook the city, and the lights on the first floor next door suddenly turned on, as if Ji Chaozhou had been woken up.
Cheng Liu saw a tall figure pass by the curtains. She could even picture him walking towards the living room.
“Do you even want to be with him or not?” Wang Hongyang said angrily. If they didn’t get together, how would he get paid? “Just go over there and tell him you’re afraid of the dark and want to stay the night. Even the sofa will do.”
Who could refuse a drenched and pitiful woman? Wang Hongyang certainly couldn't.
Cheng Liu, hearing this, immediately turned off all the lights, hung up the phone, transferred the money to Wang Hongyang, packed a bag, and hurried downstairs.
She ran next door with an umbrella and rang the doorbell.
…
Ji Chaozhou was a light sleeper. The thunderstorm outside was too loud, chasing away his sleepiness. He turned on the light and went to the living room.
Several silver boxes were on the floor, containing essential oils and tools he had had delivered from Ranshan that afternoon.
He opened a box, his hand hovering over the grapefruit essential oils before selecting the freesia and sweet orange oils.
Ji Chaozhou carefully added drops of essential oil from a dropper into a beaker, relying solely on his sense of smell to measure the precise amounts.
This was a sweet fragrance, with no hint of bitterness, no matter how it developed.
Ji Chaozhou took out the fixative. Just as he was about to add it, the doorbell rang.
At this hour…Ji Mushan?
Ji Chaozhou put down the fixative and checked the security monitor. It was Cheng Liu.
She was wearing pajamas, a large black bag tucked under her arm, her umbrella struggling against the wind, but her expression was bright, her eyes shining.
Cheng Liu looked up at the security camera and waved: “There’s a power outage at my place. Can I stay here for the night? I’m afraid of the dark.”
Afraid of the dark?
She looked more like she could take on a ghost.
Ji Chaozhou turned off the monitor without a word and returned to his worktable.
A few minutes later, he checked the monitor again. Cheng Liu was still standing there, her umbrella now completely turned inside out, the tree behind her swaying wildly in the wind, but she seemed oblivious, still looking expectantly at the camera.
Ji Chaozhou silently pressed the button to open the gate, then went back to his worktable and added the fixative.
She had helped him after the fire, so this was him repaying the favor.
Cheng Liu, still wondering about the effectiveness of Wang Hongyang’s plan, was surprised when the gate suddenly opened.
She walked through the front yard, placed her umbrella by the door, and entered.
Ji Chaozhou was in the living room, his long eyelashes lowered, his elegant fingers holding a dropper, adding something to a glass beaker.
“Are you blending perfume?” Cheng Liu asked, noticing the fragrance, remembering that he was a perfumer.
Ji Chaozhou added a preserving agent to the beaker without replying.
However, Cheng Liu, entering with a gust of wind and rain and approaching him, carried a scent so strong he couldn’t ignore it.
“There’s a spare room on the left side of the first floor,” Ji Chaozhou said slowly, still not looking at her, as he added a solvent to the beaker.
He hadn't been upstairs yet; no one had cleaned it.
“Okay,” Cheng Liu said, touching the phone in her pocket. She had forgotten to ask Wang Hongyang what to do after she got inside to further their relationship.
She would have to improvise.
Cheng Liu went to the spare room and put down her bag, which contained her romantic phrase handbook.
CEO Cheng quickly opened it, reviewed it diligently, and then, brimming with confidence, walked back out.
Ji Chaozhou was still blending perfume. The beakers and test tubes in his hands seemed to transform into works of art, each drop measured precisely, occasionally lowering his head to sniff the fragrance.
Cheng Liu’s heart pounded as she stood beside him.
She stood slightly behind him, her gaze lingering on his profile before drifting down to his long, slender fingers. The bandages were gone, but the wounds on his fingertips were still visible.
The rain outside intensified, as if the sky was being torn apart. The wind buffeted the trees, and thunder rumbled.
This impromptu perfume blending didn’t take long. Soon, Ji Chaozhou was finished. He poured the perfume into a bottle and placed it in a small refrigerator. Before he could move his hand away, a flash of lightning illuminated the room.
Almost as bright as daylight, they both instinctively looked towards the floor-to-ceiling windows.
A deafening clap of thunder followed, as if striking right beside them.
At the same time, the wind howled, and the open second-floor window finally gave way, crashing down.
The aluminum-framed glass window shattered on the ground with a loud crash.
Ji Chaozhou’s hand trembled violently, knocking over a box of essential oils, most of the bottles shattering on the floor.
Cheng Liu instinctively looked at him and saw him staring at the broken window, his face pale, his freshly bandaged fingers clenching tightly.
“Don’t look,” Cheng Liu said, quickly stepping behind him, covering his eyes with one hand and gently prying his clenched fist open with the other.
The exploding redness in his vision was suddenly blocked, and Ji Chaozhou’s eyelashes brushed against the warmth of her palm, forcing him to close his eyes.
His senses were dulled, the complex mix of fragrances around him replaced by the strong, clear, bitter scent of grapefruit, just like the person behind him.
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