If It’s Wrong, Then It’s Wrong - Chapter 45
Chapter 45: The Sixteenth Day
In the living room, Ji Chaozhou poured another glass of water. When Cheng Liu wasn't speaking, the villa was completely silent.
He looked down at the glass, the ripples on the surface of the water finally settling.
Ji Chaozhou watched it for a moment, then reached for the glass.
The person behind him suddenly spoke: “You’re like lily-of-the-valley.”
“Crash!”
The glass slipped from his hand, shattering on the floor.
Cheng Liu, sitting on the sofa, immediately stood up and rushed over, pulling Ji Chaozhou away from the broken glass: “I’ll get the broom.”
Ji Chaozhou looked at Cheng Liu: “Why did you say that?”
“What?” Cheng Liu, looking at the broken glass, took a moment to process his question. “Oh, I mean, although lily-of-the-valley always hangs its head, it can’t hide its pure, clean beauty.”
Just like Ji Chaozhou, always trying to hide himself, yet his brilliance couldn’t be ignored.
And most importantly, lily-of-the-valley was fragrant, and so was he!
But CEO Cheng only dared to think these words, not say them aloud.
Ji Chaozhou looked at Cheng Liu for a long time, then walked over to a cabinet, opened a drawer, and took out a dark red velvet box.
He opened the box and took out a perfume bottle.
The red, square bottle with a gold-plated cap was exquisite and luxurious, its vibrant color like fire.
Cheng Liu, not knowing what he was doing, watched as he opened the bottle, took out a scent strip, and sprayed the perfume on it.
Ji Chaozhou put the perfume bottle back in the box, then back in the drawer, and closed it.
This perfume was special.
Cheng Liu glanced at the other perfume bottles in the living room. Unlike this one, they weren’t in boxes, all displayed on glass shelves.
Ji Chaozhou walked towards her, handing her the scent strip, a hint of something unreadable in his eyes.
Cheng Liu took it and sniffed.
She didn’t understand perfume, but she could smell the intensity of the fragrance, filling the air around them, lingering and refusing to dissipate.
“It smells nice,” Cheng Liu said earnestly. The scent was strong, but not overpowering, enveloping her like a beautiful dream.
Cheng Liu looked at Ji Chaozhou: “What is it?”
Ji Chaozhou didn’t answer, taking the scent strip from her and waving it a few times to disperse the fragrance.
After a while, Cheng Liu frowned.
The scent seemed wrong now.
The initial intensity, the lingering heat, had transformed into something bitter and foul, like a flower that had bloomed too brightly, now wilting and decaying, a scent of death.
—Unpleasant and disturbing.
Ji Chaozhou gripped the scent strip tightly, his voice cold and indifferent: “Without the lily-of-the-valley, the scent becomes too strong, even after it dissipates.” Instead of a lingering fragrance, it was the stench of decay.
Cheng Liu paused, then, snapping back to reality, she pried his fingers open, took the scent strip, and threw it in the trash.
“I don’t understand perfume, but different essences blended together should create different effects. It has nothing to do with the lily-of-the-valley itself,” she said, looking at Ji Chaozhou earnestly. “To me, lily-of-the-valley represents purity and innocence.”
Cheng Liu’s dark eyes were filled with sincerity, her gaze intense, her words carrying a hidden meaning.
At that moment, her words resonated deeply within him.
Ji Chaozhou looked away, avoiding her gaze, feeling a sense of vulnerability and unease, his heart pounding uncontrollably, as if gripped tightly, a painful, almost suffocating feeling.
“Your trousers are wet,” Cheng Liu suddenly said, breaking the tense silence.
She looked down at the broken glass: “Go change. I’ll clean this up.”
Ji Chaozhou’s racing heart calmed slightly, and he composed himself, turning to go to his bedroom and into the bathroom.
He took off his shirt, his reflection staring back at him from the mirror.
His skin was an almost sickly pale, his collarbones prominent, his shoulders broad, his waist narrow. The only flaw was the network of raised scars on his left arm.
Ji Chaozhou put on a clean shirt, buttoning it halfway, then paused, Cheng Liu’s words echoing in his mind. His long, slender fingers moved upwards, resting on his chest, feeling the rapid beating of his heart.
…
Cheng Liu had already swept up the broken glass, bagged it, and taken it outside.
On her way back, she was still thinking about the cloying, decaying scent of the perfume, a truly depressing fragrance.
Cheng Liu raised her hand and sniffed her sleeve, the familiar scent of bitter coffee, the same as Ji Chaozhou’s, finally calming her unease.
When she returned to the living room, Ji Chaozhou hadn’t come out yet.
Cheng Liu sat on the sofa and waited. A while later, he emerged from his bedroom, but he didn’t come into the living room, simply standing at the entrance, his cold, elegant face expressionless: “I’m going to bed.”
“Now?” Cheng Liu asked, standing up. “Goodnight.”
Ji Chaozhou turned to go back to his room, then paused at the doorway, looking back. Cheng Liu wasn’t going to bed.
He stood there for a moment, then opened his bedroom door and went inside.
Cheng Liu sat on the single-seater sofa in the living room, staring at her laptop, wishing she hadn’t mentioned lily-of-the-valley.
Was he angry?
It didn’t seem like it.
CEO Cheng was worried, fluctuating between thinking Ji Chaozhou liked her and thinking he was annoyed with her.
After careful consideration, she concluded that it must have been her poor execution of romantic phrases, her lack of practice.
She had to increase her reading tonight.
…
Having stayed up past 2 am, Cheng Liu wasn’t woken by her alarm the next morning. She was jolted awake by the heat.
The April weather was unpredictable. Just two days ago, she had needed a light jacket, but this morning, the temperature had suddenly soared, feeling like summer.
Cheng Liu sat up abruptly, wiping the sweat from her forehead, threw off her covers, and went to wash up, glancing at the time – 5:45 am.
By the time she left the guest room, it was 6 am.
She looked at the closed door of the master bedroom and quietly tiptoed back to her villa, packed a bag of clothes, brought them back to the guest room, and then went out to buy breakfast.
When she returned, Ji Chaozhou had just emerged from his bedroom.
He seemed to have just woken up, still groggy, not fully alert.
Ji Chaozhou stood at the end of the hallway, his hand resting on the wall, a sheen of sweat on his forehead, his lips unusually red, his shirt collar slightly open, a warm, almost intimate scent surrounding him.
Cheng Liu, who had been about to greet him, fell silent, simply standing there, holding the breakfast she had bought.
Ji Chaozhou, sensing her gaze, looked up, his amber eyes fixed on Cheng Liu for a long moment, then he smiled.
It was a faint smile, so fleeting Cheng Liu almost thought she had imagined it.
But that subtle curve of his lips was so captivating, so alluring, she couldn't ignore it.
Cheng Liu stood there, frozen, staring at Ji Chaozhou, a thought flashing through her mind.
That smile jolted Ji Chaozhou awake, and his initially relaxed posture stiffened.
He had a long period of disorientation after waking up and had forgotten that Cheng Liu was staying in the guest room, his emotions unguarded.
“I bought breakfast,” Cheng Liu said, quickly turning away, placing the two breakfast sets on the dining table. She didn’t ask anything, simply saying, “Go wash up first.”
…She probably hadn't noticed.
Ji Chaozhou went back to his room. When he returned, he was once again the cold, aloof young man, his emotions perfectly masked.
They sat facing each other at the dining table, the wide table creating some distance between them, yet it still felt too close, close enough to hear each other’s breath.
Ji Chaozhou suddenly stood up and turned on the air conditioning.
“The staircase won’t take long to fix, just seven or eight days,” Cheng Liu said, looking up at him. “I can go back home then.”
Ji Chaozhou paused, then, as if nothing had happened, sat back down: “As you wish.”
“Okay,” Cheng Liu said, subtly looking away.
Half an hour later, Cheng Liu picked up her bag and, before leaving, said to Ji Chaozhou, “I’m going to work now.”
Ji Chaozhou nodded in response.
As her footsteps faded away, he looked down at his almost empty plate, his appetite suddenly gone, and put down his spoon.
…
Cheng Liu drove to work, her day proceeding as usual, attending meetings and discussing projects, her demeanor giving nothing away.
But as soon as she returned to her office, she sat at her desk, lost in thought, twirling a pen between her fingers.
He had smiled at her!
Cheng Liu, her memory impeccable, replayed the morning’s events in her mind, each scene clear as day.
That morning, Ji Chaozhou, seeing her, had smiled at her!
He had smiled!
CEO Cheng felt there had to be a reason.
Was it possible…that he…liked her, even just a little?
Cheng Liu pondered for a long time, still unable to figure it out.
Just then, He Bai knocked on her door and entered.
“Assistant He, I have a question for you,” Cheng Liu said, snapping back to reality, her expression serious.
He Bai placed the documents he was carrying on her desk: “Ask away.”
“What does it mean when someone suddenly smiles at you?” Cheng Liu asked, clicking her pen nervously, anticipating the answer.
“Suddenly?” He Bai’s eyes darkened. He thought for a moment. “Probably just being polite and friendly.”
A polite smile?
Cheng Liu didn't believe it.
She put down her pen and stood up: “Leave the documents here. I’ll look at them later.”
“CEO Cheng, are you going out?” He Bai asked, watching her.
“No, just going up to the roof,” Cheng Liu said, stopping him from following. “I need some time alone.”
He Bai stayed in the office, his expression thoughtful: Was the person who smiled at her that Ji Chaozhou?
…
On the rooftop, Cheng Liu, feeling the warm breeze, sat down and took out her phone, calling Wang Hongyang.
“What does it mean when Ji Chaozhou suddenly smiles at me?”
Wang Hongyang, still half-asleep in his air-conditioned room, grumbled, “He probably thinks you’re funny.”
Cheng Liu: “Who’s funny?”
Wang Hongyang, remembering his gold plaque, instantly corrected himself: “No, I didn’t hear you clearly. I think it’s a sign of friendliness, a symbol of progress in your relationship.”
“Just friendliness? Don’t you think there could be other meanings?” Cheng Liu asked, having pondered this for a while, a feeling growing in her heart. “Is it possible…that he likes me?”
Wang Hongyang silently rolled his eyes. A smile meant he liked her? Cheng Liu was incredibly confident. But he said aloud, “It’s possible.”
Cheng Liu, having received the answer she wanted, immediately hung up.
Wang Hongyang: “…”
On the rooftop, Cheng Liu made another call.
“CEO Cheng?” Li Dong answered nervously. “I wasn’t the one who spread those memes of you.”
Cheng Liu: “…I have a question for you, Mr. Li.”
Li Dong, relieved, quickly said, “Ask away.”
“If someone suddenly smiles at another person, is it possible that they like that person?” Cheng Liu asked, rephrasing her question.
Li Dong pondered for a moment: “Suddenly? Was this person usually cold and distant?”
“Not really…” Cheng Liu corrected herself. “But you could say that.”
Li Dong slapped his thigh excitedly: “I’m an expert on this! My wife used to ignore me completely, then one day, she suddenly smiled at me, and soon after, we were together.”
“I see,” Cheng Liu said, hanging up immediately.
Li Dong, who had been about to launch into a detailed recounting of his love story, was abruptly cut off.
CEO Cheng, having asked three people and finally received the answers she wanted, stood up, energized, and concluded:
He smiled at her. That meant he was falling for her!
If only I had her confidence, then I’d be invincible!!
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