If It’s Wrong, Then It’s Wrong - Chapter 56
Chapter 56: The Twentieth Day
Cheng Liu stood at the gate of Villa Number Six, watching Ji Chaozhou walk away, her mind still foggy.
Feng Shi could really hold his liquor. To outdrink him, Cheng Liu had gotten drunk herself.
So, hearing Ji Chaozhou’s curt dismissal, Cheng Liu actually felt a sense of relief. He wouldn’t smell the alcohol on her breath.
Her muddled mind only registered that Ji Chaozhou was a perfumer, and she didn't want him to smell anything unpleasant.
“Senior, let me help you inside,” He Bai said, raising his voice so that Ji Chaozhou, walking away, could hear him, a sense of triumph rising within him as he heard Cheng Liu decline Ji Chaozhou's invitation.
Ji Chaozhou, already in his front yard, turned around: “Remember to bring the watch tomorrow.”
Cheng Liu's foggy mind cleared for a moment, a pang of disappointment hitting her: “Oh.” She had to return it so soon? She had wanted to show it off for a few more days.
He Bai's face changed slightly. The watch on Cheng Liu’s wrist belonged to Ji Chaozhou?
So, Cheng Liu had been meeting with Ji Chaozhou during the time she was delayed outside the press conference venue?
Ji Chaozhou was quite resourceful, managing to intercept Cheng Liu before the press conference.
It was obvious they were involved.
Had he deliberately given her the watch to mark his territory?
He Bai clenched his jaw, trying to control his emotions. He had been with Cheng Liu for years. If there was something going on between her and Ji Chaozhou, she would have made it public.
It was just an ambiguous connection. He could do that too.
“Mr. Ji, I’ll take the watch off Senior’s wrist and give it to you,” He Bai said loudly, deliberately moving closer to Cheng Liu, reaching out to put his arm around her shoulder.
By the time he finished speaking, Ji Chaozhou had already closed his gate, not seeing He Bai's actions. Cheng Liu, instinctively, darted into her own villa.
He Bai’s hand, reaching for her shoulder, landed on empty air.
CEO Cheng, inside her villa, her mind still foggy, felt a surge of anger.
She had said she would return it tomorrow! How dare He Bai try to take her watch now?! It was practically an attack on her person!
Cheng Liu’s muddled mind focused on a single thought: She would deduct his bonus tomorrow, for jeopardizing her happiness.
“Senior!” He Bai called out, ignoring Ji Chaozhou, who had already closed his gate, and followed Cheng Liu inside.
Even drunk, CEO Cheng was still agile, quickly running upstairs to her bedroom, locking the door, and collapsing onto the bed, pulling the covers over her head.
He Bai reached the second floor, but the bedroom door was locked.
He sighed, walked around the second floor, found the hangover relief pills in the study, poured a glass of water, and returned to the bedroom door.
“Senior, open the door and take these,” he said.
Cheng Liu, lying in bed, her right hand protectively covering the watch on her left wrist, was annoyed by the knocking: “Just leave them there. Go home.”
He Bai, having witnessed Cheng Liu’s drinking capacity before, wasn’t overly concerned. He listened for a moment, making sure there were no unusual sounds from inside, then placed the glass and pills by the door: “Senior, the water and pills are here. Remember to take them when you wake up.”
He went downstairs, his expression gradually hardening.
He Bai was accustomed to following Cheng Liu's instructions; he would never have taken the initiative to put a watch on her wrist.
Or rather, he wouldn't dare, unless she asked.
He was jealous of Ji Chaozhou’s watch on Cheng Liu’s wrist.
But it seemed…they hadn't defined their relationship yet.
He Bai walked into the living room, then stopped, looking up at the second floor, at the woman he had silently admired for years, the woman who now had someone she liked.
…
The sound of He Bai’s car driving away reached the living room of Villa Number Five.
Ji Chaozhou sat on the single-seater sofa, looking down at the time on his phone: 11:30 pm.
He had been standing at a distance from Cheng Liu at the gate earlier. She had seemed normal, but he had smelled the alcohol on her breath.
That strong scent wasn't from just a few drinks. He had expected the assistant to stay much longer.
Wasn't she drunk?
Ji Chaozhou looked at the plaid jacket on the sofa. After a few days, the scent clinging to it had faded.
He leaned back against the sofa, his cheek resting against the fabric, his long legs curled up beneath him.
Ji Chaozhou reached out and touched the jacket, the rough fabric a stark contrast to the smooth, cool skin he had touched earlier.
News stories about people dying in their sleep after drinking flashed through his mind.
Ji Chaozhou gripped his phone, then, after a long while, he called Cheng Liu. He just wanted…to make sure she was okay.
The phone rang and rang, and just as he was about to give up, it connected.
Ji Chaozhou heard her slightly erratic breathing. She was indeed drunk.
“Cheng Liu,” he said.
Cheng Liu, having answered the call in her drunken stupor, heard a clear, pleasant voice, a voice she knew well, and mumbled, “Mm.”
Ji Chaozhou, sitting on the sofa, his hand retracting from the jacket, pressed it against his chest, trying to calm his racing heart.
He lowered his gaze, his amber eyes unreadable, his long eyelashes casting shadows on his face, like the first thaw of winter, silently listening to her uneven breathing, until it gradually deepened, then he whispered, “Cheng Liu, do…do you like…me?”
His voice was so low, even if someone had been standing right beside him, they might not have heard it.
And Cheng Liu, fast asleep, didn’t hear him at all.
Only the sound of her breathing filled the silence.
There was no response, but he didn’t seem to mind, a smile suddenly appearing on his face, the usual coldness melting away, revealing a hidden warmth.
Ji Chaozhou didn't hang up, leaning back against the jacket on the sofa, listening to her breathing, reassured that she was safe.
Connected by the phone, their breaths mingling, as if they were lying side by side, asleep in each other’s arms.
…
Cheng Liu woke up to the strong smell of alcohol on her clothes and immediately sat up.
She looked down at her jacket, touching it gently. This was the one Ji Chaozhou had chosen for her!
Cheng Liu hurried out of bed, ready to wash the jacket, dry it, and put it away safely!
As soon as she opened the door, she saw the glass of water and hangover relief pills. The memories of last night slowly returned.
She remembered Ji Chaozhou asking for his watch back!!!
Cheng Liu took the water and pills, placed them on her bedside table, grabbed some clean clothes, and went to take a shower, her mind still on deducting He Bai's bonus.
He had almost taken her watch! Luckily, she had escaped in time.
Cheng Liu shuddered at the thought.
The smell of alcohol was overwhelming. She used extra shower gel, the scent of grapefruit and lemon filling the air, and she suddenly missed the shower gel at Ji Chaozhou’s villa.
The one he had blended himself!
She had only used it for a day or two? It was all the renovation team’s fault, for not following the unspoken rules of their profession, for working too efficiently.
Cheng Liu finished her shower, still fuming.
She dried her hair haphazardly, then, as she picked up the watch, a memory suddenly surfaced.
Had…Ji Chaozhou called her last night?
Impossible. Why would he call?
Cheng Liu finished drying her hair, then stopped, hurrying back to her bedroom, grabbing her phone from the bed.
She checked WeChat first, several messages from business partners waiting for her.
Cheng Liu ignored them all, looking only at the pinned contact at the top. There were no new messages, still just the "okay" he had sent earlier.
She exited WeChat and checked her recent calls. The top entry was Ji Chaozhou.
Cheng Liu clicked on the call details, staring at the screen, stunned.
How long had the call lasted?
Cheng Liu rubbed her eyes, looked again, and confirmed the duration: over six hours.
She, Cheng Liu, had been on the phone with Ji Chaozhou for over six hours! And she had absolutely no memory of it!!!
CEO Cheng felt like she had missed out on a fortune.
She stood by the bed, trying to remember, to recall what they had talked about.
The only thing she could remember was Ji Chaozhou saying her name.
Cheng Liu’s heart started to race. She hoped she hadn’t revealed her elaborate plan to move next door to him.
CEO Cheng rarely got drunk and had no idea how she behaved when she did.
But what kind of conversation could possibly last for six hours? Was she that much of a chatterbox? Would Ji Chaozhou find her annoying?
Cheng Liu checked the time: 7:30 am.
…
After pacing around for a while, Cheng Liu finally took the watch and went next door.
She felt slightly guilty as she opened the gate and walked in.
Ji Chaozhou was in the front yard, wearing gardening gloves, pruning the branches, his back to her. He didn't turn around when he heard the gate open.
Cheng Liu cleared her throat: “Good morning.”
Ji Chaozhou finally turned around, his beautiful amber eyes still calm and indifferent: “Your jacket is on the sofa.”
Cheng Liu slowly walked over and handed him the watch: “Thank you for lending it to me.”
Ji Chaozhou looked at the watch, took off his gardening gloves, and took it from her. The titanium case, usually cool to the touch, was warm, as if she had been holding it for a long time.
“I’ll go get my jacket,” Cheng Liu said, hurrying inside and grabbing it from the sofa. A fleeting thought crossed her mind, but she couldn’t grasp it.
Ji Chaozhou followed her inside, placing the watch on the coffee table.
“About last night…that phone call…” Cheng Liu, usually eloquent in front of countless cameras, now stammered, avoiding his gaze. “If I said anything…it was all nonsense.”
Ji Chaozhou looked at her: “What would you say?”
“Just…nonsense about the renovations,” Cheng Liu said, feeling guilty, then quickly changing the subject. “Why did you call last night?”
“Your assistant left without you. No one was there to take care of you,” Ji Chaozhou said calmly, his expression unchanged. “I heard that people can suffocate in their sleep if they’re drunk, so I called to make sure you were okay.”
Cheng Liu, after a long pause, asked hesitantly, “Were you…worried about me?”
“Mm,” Ji Chaozhou said, walking over to the kitchen island and pouring himself a glass of water. “Aren’t we friends? I wouldn’t want anything to happen to my neighbor.”
Cheng Liu immediately nodded: “We’re friends.”
He had been worried about her!
Friends were practically boyfriend and girlfriend material!
Cheng Liu felt a surge of joy. He was already worried about her. Surely other feelings would follow.
Ji Chaozhou took a sip of water, his Adam’s apple bobbing, then put down the glass, his lips now moist. He looked at Cheng Liu, his voice low and calm: “If you have any other belongings in the guest room, take them with you.”
“…Okay,” Cheng Liu said, the joy draining from her, the opportunity for cohabitation gone.
She didn’t have many belongings in the guest room, just her handwritten book of romantic phrases.
Ji Chaozhou hadn’t been inside the guest room and didn’t know about the book.
Cheng Liu retrieved the book, then, after a moment’s thought, went back to the bathroom and grabbed the shower gel Ji Chaozhou had blended for her. He had given it to her; it was hers now.
When Cheng Liu returned to the living room, book and shower gel in hand, Ji Chaozhou was still standing at the kitchen island, his long fingers swirling the water in his glass, a seemingly idle gesture.
But his fingers, so long and pale, the blue veins subtly visible, the swirling motion, created an inexplicable sense of intimacy.
He seemed too pure, too innocent, for such a gesture.
Cheng Liu, drawn to his hand, watched him, until he looked up, meeting her gaze, and she quickly looked away: “I’m leaving.”
Cheng Liu, clutching the book and shower gel, her jacket draped over her arm, hurried out, back to her own villa.
As she walked into her yard, she suddenly stopped, looking down at the jacket in her hand, a fleeting memory finally resurfacing.
—The faint, familiar, warm, sweet scent clinging to the fabric.
Whoop whoop! Finally caught up with the previous translator’s updates yayyyy
ReplyDelete