If It’s Wrong, Then It’s Wrong - Chapter 30
Chapter 30: The Tenth Day
—Your hands are very fair.
Ji Chaozhou had never heard such a frivolous comment in his life.
A flicker of anger appeared in his usually indifferent eyes, quickly suppressed, but a subtle change came over him, like the first thaw of spring.
“No, I mean, the freesia in your hand is very white,” Cheng Liu said, realizing she had spoken her mind, and quickly corrected herself.
The newly planted freesias were indeed white, with a hint of pale yellow inside the petals.
Ji Chaozhou glanced coldly at Cheng Liu, pretending he hadn’t heard her earlier comment, and continued watering the flowers.
Cheng Liu stood there, clearly sensing his displeasure, but he didn't ask her to leave.
So, CEO Cheng continued to linger nearby. She walked over and sat down on the steps, watching Ji Chaozhou, thinking to herself: Even when he’s angry, he’s still handsome.
Just then, her phone vibrated. Cheng Liu reluctantly tore her gaze away and picked up her phone.
Wang Hongyang: [How did it go last night?]
Seeing Wang Hongyang's message, Cheng Liu replied smugly: [Your method worked quite well. I spent the night at his place.]
After replying, she sent him a red envelope of 666 yuan: [Keep the ideas coming, and there’s more where that came from.]
Wang Hongyang, still in bed, immediately accepted the red envelope. Although the amount was small, he felt a sense of accomplishment.
The Cheng Liu who had previously ignored him was now replying to all his messages.
Wang Hongyang felt a surge of self-importance.
Cheng Liu: [But I just made him angry. Do you have any tips on how to appease someone?]
Wang Hongyang, now full of energy: [What happened? Tell me everything.]
Cheng Liu: [I was trying to say something romantic, but I think I messed it up.]
She recounted everything she had done and said earlier.
Wang Hongyang: […]
Wang Hongyang: [You call that romantic? That was just cheesy!]
Cheng Liu glanced at Ji Chaozhou, who was almost finished watering the flowers, and asked Wang Hongyang, [Then what should I have said?]
This was a bit difficult for Wang Hongyang. He usually let women do the chasing and the sweet-talking; he had never said anything remotely romantic himself.
Cheng Liu was even better than him; she could at least come up with cheesy lines!
However, thinking of the gold plaque, Wang Hongyang pondered for a few seconds before replying cryptically: [Speak from the heart.]
Cheng Liu was confused. She had been speaking from the heart. Before she could figure it out, Ji Chaozhou had finished watering the flowers, and she stood up.
“You can put the straw dolls here,” Cheng Liu suggested. “To scare away birds.”
Ji Chaozhou put down the watering can, paused, then looked at her: “I’m not growing fruit trees. There’s no need to scare away birds.”
“Oh,” Cheng Liu said, slightly disappointed. “It’s nice to have fruit trees in the yard.”
Ji Chaozhou looked away: “You can plant some in your own yard.” The layouts of the two villas were identical.
“What kind of fruit do you like?” Cheng Liu asked instinctively.
The tall, elegant young man in the front yard frowned slightly, a look of forbearance on his handsome face. He didn’t reply, simply walking past Cheng Liu and into the living room.
Cheng Liu watched him go, suspecting he had just glared at her, but she had no proof.
However, Cheng Liu didn't mind; she even felt a secret thrill.
She squatted down on the steps, took out her phone, and immediately ordered a variety of fruit saplings, even paying extra for express delivery, guaranteeing they would arrive within two hours.
After placing her order, Cheng Liu lingered in Ji Chaozhou’s front yard before slowly entering the house.
The living room layout had been changed, now filled with large cabinets containing various essential oils and fragrance materials that Cheng Liu didn't recognize.
The cleaning and maintenance crew, as well as the Ranshan staff, finished their tasks around the same time and left, leaving only Ji Chaozhou at the table, preparing incense.
“I’ll treat you to lunch,” Cheng Liu said, approaching the table and racking her brains for an excuse. “Consider it a thank you for letting me stay last night.”
Somehow, every word she uttered seemed to hit a nerve.
Ji Chaozhou paused, the incense tool in his hand still, not looking at her, and said coldly, “There’s no need. You helped me after the fire.”
“Then we’re friends now,” Cheng Liu said, moving closer, now standing directly across from him, watching his actions.
Ji Chaozhou stood at the table, carefully leveling the incense ash in the burner with a bronze tool, placing the incense mold inside, then filling it with incense powder using a small spoon, removing any excess with a spatula, and finally lighting it with a thin stick of incense, releasing a wisp of fragrant smoke.
His movements were fluid and graceful. The swirling smoke blurred Cheng Liu’s vision, and as she looked at his elegant, cool face, he seemed like a nobleman from an ancient painting.
“The maintenance crew haven’t gone far yet,” Ji Chaozhou suddenly said, looking up at Cheng Liu.
Cheng Liu was puzzled: What did the maintenance crew have to do with lunch?
Ji Chaozhou put away the incense box and said coldly, “They can fix the electricity at your villa.”
Cheng Liu felt a pang of guilt. The electricity at her villa was perfectly fine: “No need. I already fixed it this morning.”
In the end, they didn't have lunch together. Cheng Liu returned to her own villa and ordered two takeouts, sending one over to Ji Chaozhou.
An hour later, the fruit saplings Cheng Liu had ordered arrived.
Cheng Liu looked at the saplings filling her yard, then, seemingly remembering something, she retrieved a ladder, placed it against the wall, and tested it. Perfect for climbing over.
The ladder remained there.
CEO Cheng spent the afternoon diligently planting the saplings, her mind not on work, nor on bothering her neighbor.
Her once pristine lawn was now covered in holes, an eyesore.
…
Ji Chaozhou only stayed on the first floor. The staircase leading to the second floor hadn’t been changed, and he hadn’t gone up there.
As he sat in the living room, reading, he could hear various noises coming from next door.
Ji Chaozhou didn’t realize that his attention was now mostly focused on the sounds from next door, the ancient incense book in his hands forgotten.
—The fresh scent of soil wafted over, not from his own yard.
Ji Chaozhou looked down at his right hand resting on the page, his thoughts drifting: Is she planting something?
…
He found out what Cheng Liu was planting the next morning.
Ji Chaozhou had just stepped into his front yard to check on his newly transplanted flowers.
Cheng Liu suddenly popped her head over the wall, her face pale, and asked anxiously, “I think the saplings I planted yesterday are all dying.”
Ji Chaozhou: “…”
Cheng Liu stood on the ladder, holding onto the wall, looking at Ji Chaozhou with pleading eyes: “Can you save them?”
He seemed to be good at growing flowers, so he must know how to plant trees as well.
CEO Cheng’s logic seemed sound to her.
Ji Chaozhou didn't want to get too involved with Cheng Liu, but judging by the noise yesterday afternoon, she must have planted quite a few saplings. It would be a waste if they all died.
Ji Chaozhou looked at Cheng Liu and said, his voice as cold as ever, “I’ll only take a look.” Despite his tone, he had agreed.
Cheng Liu immediately climbed down the ladder and went to open the gate.
Ji Chaozhou, entering her front yard for the first time, stared at the ravaged lawn in silence: “…”
He couldn't understand what she was thinking.
Various saplings were planted haphazardly, their roots seemingly waterlogged, none of them pruned, crammed together due to lack of space.
Unsurprisingly, the saplings were drooping, looking sickly.
Cheng Liu's aesthetic sense and talent were probably all channeled into her company’s AI products.
Ji Chaozhou turned to look at Cheng Liu, his expression unchanged: “They need to be pruned and replanted.”
He went back to his villa to get his tools.
…
“So you have to prune the roots? Why do you have to cut off the healthy branches?” Cheng Liu squatted beside Ji Chaozhou, bombarding him with questions. “What if they’re in the wild? No one would be there to prune them.”
Ji Chaozhou’s brow twitched. He stopped what he was doing and looked at Cheng Liu coldly.
Cheng Liu immediately fell silent, miming zipping her lips and quietly assisting him.
Ji Chaozhou focused on the saplings in his hands. Everything he touched seemed to acquire a certain elegance.
Cheng Liu watched him, readily offering help.
He didn't seem to notice how close she was, much closer than usual.
The morning sun shone on them in the courtyard, creating a strangely intimate atmosphere.
Cheng Liu had bought too many saplings. Ji Chaozhou helped her replant most of them, but there were still two left with nowhere to go.
“Can I borrow a small patch of your yard to plant these?” Cheng Liu asked.
—No.
Ji Chaozhou thought. He had just finished tidying up his front yard.
Cheng Liu also felt that these two saplings would ruin the aesthetic of his yard and was about to give up.
Then Ji Chaozhou said slowly, “The corner is fine.”
“I’ll take them over then,” Cheng Liu said, picking up the two saplings and walking beside Ji Chaozhou.
Cheng Liu planted the two saplings in the left corner of Ji Chaozhou's front yard, her mind suddenly sharp.
She said with utmost sincerity, “Although they’re planted in your yard, I’ll definitely come over every day to water them.” And to see him, of course.
Ji Chaozhou frowned slightly, meeting Cheng Liu's bright eyes, and turned away, saying indifferently, “Do as you please.”
“I’ll treat you to dinner tonight,” Cheng Liu said.
She still had to go to the company later.
Ji Chaozhou went to the bathroom and washed his hands, staring at his right fingertips. The water stung the still-healing wounds.
After a while, he came out.
Ji Chaozhou stood in the living room, looking out at the front yard. Cheng Liu was gone, leaving only the two extra saplings.
The two saplings, abruptly inserted into his carefully arranged yard, seemed out of place, a touch of wildness amidst the order.
Somewhat like the woman next door.
Ji Chaozhou looked away, lowered his gaze, dried his hands, and walked towards the table.
He opened the incense burner, smelled the familiar sandalwood incense powder, and felt a flicker of annoyance.
He extinguished the burning incense, the cold, deep sandalwood scent slowly dissipating.
Ji Chaozhou walked over to the glass cabinet, opened it, his hand hovering over the various bottles of fragrance materials, finally stopping at a small, brown glass bottle.
His fingertips lightly touched the bottle, then withdrew several times, as if hesitating, before finally picking it up.
Ji Chaozhou stood there, his long eyelashes lowered, hiding his emotions.
After a while, the fading sandalwood scent in the living room was replaced by a clear, bitter fragrance, lingering in the air.
🏃♀️💨💨💨 translation speed is too good
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