If It’s Wrong, Then It’s Wrong - Chapter 60
Chapter 60: The Twenty-First Day
Silence fell over the dining table.
He Bai was speechless, Cheng Liu still lost in the afterglow of being called "senior," only Ji Chaozhou, across from them, seemed unaffected, picking up his wine glass and taking a sip.
His features, already far more handsome than average, as if meticulously sculpted, now held a touch of casual elegance as he held the glass, his amber eyes, like polished gems, glancing over, a subtle warmth in their depths.
Cheng Liu, sitting opposite him, captivated by that single glance, her usually sharp mind reduced to mush.
“I remember seeing a photo of Senior’s university diploma on her Moments. Didn’t you see it, Mr. Ji?” He Bai asked, a slight smile on his face, exposing Ji Chaozhou’s lie.
“Did she?” Ji Chaozhou asked, putting down his glass, his fingers tracing the rim, feigning ignorance. “I don’t look at Moments.”
Cheng Liu nodded in agreement: “He doesn't look at Moments.”
If Ji Chaozhou looked at Moments, he would have seen her post from April 2nd, the one about her boyfriend giving her perfume, and their misunderstanding wouldn't have lasted for days.
He Bai, exasperated, almost pointed at Ji Chaozhou, ready to reveal that he had liked his post last night.
But that would also expose his own carefully crafted, strategically targeted Moments post, visible only to Ji Chaozhou. He Bai sighed, placing his hand on his forehead, trying to control his emotions.
This Ji Chaozhou…was a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Ji Chaozhou picked up his phone, looking at Cheng Liu: “Senior, then I’ll take a look now.”
“Haha…there’s nothing interesting on my feed,” Cheng Liu said, her mind not on the endearment this time. She quickly took out her phone, placing it on her lap, and frantically opened her Moments, trying to distract Ji Chaozhou. “There aren’t many posts anyway.”
The post from April 2nd was still there!
“I just wanted to know more about Senior,” Ji Chaozhou said, looking at He Bai. “So I don’t ask questions everyone already knows the answer to.”
“…” It took all of He Bai’s self-control not to roll his eyes.
Cheng Liu silently cursed He Bai. What was wrong with him today? He was trying to sabotage her!
Cheng Liu quickly located the April 2nd post. Her finger hovered over the delete button, then she hesitated, not willing to delete it. Instead, she changed the visibility settings to "Only Me."
Luckily, she managed to do it before Ji Chaozhou picked up his phone to look at her Moments.
Apart from the April posts, Cheng Liu rarely updated her Moments. Ji Chaozhou scrolled through them, noticing the missing post, but he pretended not to.
“Senior,” Ji Chaozhou said, putting down his phone and looking up at Cheng Liu. “You didn't post your middle school diploma.”
“Oh, I didn’t have a phone in middle school,” Cheng Liu said, relieved to have hidden the incriminating post. “If you want to see it, I can show you.”
Ji Chaozhou hesitated: “Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?”
“Not at all. It’s in the drawer next door,” Cheng Liu said, her heart racing. Ji Chaozhou seemed unusually agreeable today, not his usual cold and distant self.
Perhaps she should invite friends over more often?
CEO Cheng felt a sudden epiphany.
“I’d like to see it too,” He Bai interjected. “I’ve never heard Senior talk about her past.”
Remembering that this dinner was because of He Bai, and seeing Ji Chaozhou’s unusually agreeable demeanor, Cheng Liu decided to be nice to her usually obstructive chief assistant.
“Okay,” Cheng Liu said, standing up. “I’ll go get it. Wait here.”
She pushed back her chair and hurried out.
Only the two young men remained at the table.
As soon as Cheng Liu left, the polite façade they had been maintaining crumbled.
“If you don’t look at Moments, how did you like my post? Did someone hack your account?” He Bai asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm, unable to hold back any longer.
Ji Chaozhou flicked his finger against his wine glass, the clear ring echoing in the sudden silence, his expression unchanged: “What if I did?”
He Bai was speechless, then he scoffed: “You probably don’t know Cheng Liu very well. She likes conquering new things. She pursued Wang Hongyang, her ex-boyfriend, then got bored after they started dating.”
“Actually, now that I think about it, your profile looks a bit like Wang Hongyang,” He Bai added, unaware of the incident at the airport, or that Ji Chaozhou had seen Wang Hongyang.
He Bai simply wanted Ji Chaozhou to know that Cheng Liu had an ex-boyfriend, and that this ex-boyfriend looked somewhat like him.
Ji Chaozhou looked down at his hands. The fact that Cheng Liu could mistake another man for her boyfriend for days proved she hadn’t cared much about Wang Hongyang, and they had broken up soon after.
He couldn’t deny his indifference towards this information.
“You can tell Cheng Liu yourself. Advise her not to be so fickle,” Ji Chaozhou said, looking up at He Bai, his voice cold. “Or I can relay the message for you.”
“You!” He Bai’s eye twitched. He took a deep breath. “I was just…making conversation.”
“Why have you all stopped eating?” Cheng Liu asked, walking back in, her middle school diploma in hand, seeing the two men sitting silently at the table.
“We were waiting for you,” Ji Chaozhou said softly, picking up his chopsticks again.
Cheng Liu’s ears felt warm. Every word Ji Chaozhou uttered tonight seemed to carry a hidden meaning, sending her mind racing.
“This is my middle school diploma,” Cheng Liu said, placing the green-covered document on the table. “I didn’t get one for elementary school.”
Before Ji Chaozhou could reach for it, He Bai had already grabbed it, raising an eyebrow at Ji Chaozhou.
The diploma was small, about A7 size, the green cover worn and faded, encased in yellowed plastic.
He Bai opened it. The contents were simple, the graduation date written in black ink, stamped with an official seal.
What caught his attention was the photo.
The photo looked very different from the current Cheng Liu, but the facial features were similar.
“Senior, how old were you in this photo?” He Bai asked, still holding onto the diploma, not showing it to Ji Chaozhou.
“Twelve,” Cheng Liu said, after a moment’s thought. “It was taken just before graduation, in ninth grade.”
She took the diploma from He Bai and handed it to Ji Chaozhou: “Here.”
Ji Chaozhou took it, but his gaze shifted to He Bai.
Their eyes met. Both knew who had lost this round.
Cheng Liu in the photo was young, her face tanned and freckled, but her eyes, as always, were bright.
Ji Chaozhou’s finger lightly touched Cheng Liu’s face in the photo, as if, through the image, he could reach across time and touch the twelve-year-old Cheng Liu.
“Senior, I’ve always wanted to ask, why did you only skip a grade in middle school?” He Bai asked.
Ji Chaozhou also looked up, waiting for Cheng Liu’s answer.
“I…I don't like skipping grades,” Cheng Liu said, scratching her cheek.
He Bai nodded, understanding: “Many students who skip grades often struggle to connect with their classmates.”
Ji Chaozhou looked at Cheng Liu. He didn’t think she would have trouble fitting in.
…
The dinner lasted a long time, finally ending at 3:30 pm. By the time they finished clearing the table, it was already 4 pm.
Cheng Liu had eaten the most, while the bottle of wine had been shared between He Bai and Ji Chaozhou.
He Bai, wanting to feign drunkenness, couldn't. Ji Chaozhou had drunk even more than he had.
“I called a designated driver earlier. He should be waiting outside,” Ji Chaozhou said, his movements slightly slower than usual from the alcohol, but still composed, not forgetting to see He Bai off.
He Bai: “…”
Cheng Liu, not a fan of alcohol, had only had one glass. She stood up to walk He Bai out.
“…Senior,” He Bai said, standing at the door, looking at Cheng Liu. Perhaps it was the rising intoxication, the suppressed feelings bubbling to the surface, but he suddenly turned and tried to hug her.
Cheng Liu pushed him away, frowning: “Stand up straight. You’ll fall.”
He Bai, his arms halfway around her: “…”
Nothing had gone his way today!
He Bai, defeated, walked towards the car.
“He Bai,” Cheng Liu called out suddenly.
“Senior?” He Bai turned around, his heart racing as he saw Cheng Liu walking towards him, a hopeful look in his eyes.
Cheng Liu stopped in front of him and said seriously, “Don’t say things like that again, or I’ll deduct your bonus.”
She felt he was constantly sabotaging her efforts.
He Bai blinked rapidly: “Did Ji Chaozhou say something?”
Cheng Liu, puzzled: “Why would he say anything to you? You barely know each other.”
“Then why did you say that?” He Bai asked.
Cheng Liu coughed, looking around, making sure Ji Chaozhou wasn’t nearby, then leaned in and whispered, “I like Ji Chaozhou. I’m trying to…get closer to him.”
He Bai’s face paled. Hearing those words from Cheng Liu herself was more painful than anything.
“You like him that much?” He Bai asked, taking a step back, looking at Cheng Liu. “You were just infatuated with Wang Hongyang.”
Cheng Liu felt a pang of guilt. She had been infatuated with Wang Hongyang, but now, after spending time with Ji Chaozhou, she knew she truly liked him.
The last glimmer of hope in He Bai’s heart vanished. He opened the car door, got in, and slammed it shut, not wanting to stay any longer.
“Sir, please drive slowly,” Cheng Liu said to the designated driver.
“Certainly,” the driver replied.
After the car drove away, Cheng Liu went back inside. Ji Chaozhou was sitting on the sofa. Hearing her footsteps, he suddenly asked, “Why did you skip a grade?”
The abrupt change of topic caught Cheng Liu off guard: “What?”
Ji Chaozhou looked up. He was probably a bit drunk, a faint blush coloring his usually pale face, like peach blossoms blooming on a mountainside, a captivating sight.
He asked again, slowly, deliberately, “Why did you skip a grade?”
Cheng Liu wasn’t someone who liked skipping grades. She preferred taking things step by step. She hadn’t skipped a grade in elementary school. Why had she suddenly skipped one in middle school?
Cheng Liu smiled: “I just wanted to try it.”
Ji Chaozhou looked at her for a long time before finally asking, “Cheng Liu, are you lying to me?”
Hearing him say her name like that sent shivers down Cheng Liu's spine.
She suddenly remembered Li Dong saying that whenever his wife addressed him formally, it meant he had done something wrong, and the best course of action was to immediately apologize and beg for forgiveness.
CEO Cheng’s gaze darted around, wondering if kneeling here would be too much.
Instead, she shuffled over to the sofa, sat beside Ji Chaozhou, straightened her back, placed her hands neatly on her lap, and said earnestly, “I’m not lying. If you want to know, I’ll tell you everything.”
Ji Chaozhou turned to her, silently waiting for her explanation.
Cheng Liu sighed: “I skipped a grade because my school was about to close down. Transferring was too much trouble, so I just took the middle school entrance exam.”
“Your school…closed down?” Ji Chaozhou asked, unable to comprehend.
Cheng Liu nodded: “There weren’t many students, only a dozen or so in the entire school, just two teachers. All grades were taught in the same classroom. The school closed down after I graduated.”
Ji Chaozhou paused: “How did all grades attend class in the same room?”
“There were two blackboards, one at the front, one at the back. The teacher would teach the seventh and eighth graders at the front, then turn around and teach the ninth graders at the back,” Cheng Liu explained. “I had already finished the eighth and ninth-grade curriculum, so I just took the entrance exam.”
“And I got the highest score, so I was accepted into a school in the city,” Cheng Liu added proudly. “Free tuition, and a scholarship.”
Ji Chaozhou looked at her: “You said transferring was too much trouble, so you took the entrance exam.”
Cheng Liu, slowly turning to meet Ji Chaozhou’s cool gaze, raised her hand: “I can explain!”
Her school had been waiting for its one ninth-grade student to finish the entrance exam before closing down, the other students having transferred elsewhere. Cheng Liu had taken her transcripts to several middle schools in the county, but none had accepted her.
They had all dismissed her school’s academic standards, given its small size.
Cheng Liu had offered to take placement tests, but they had all refused.
“We’ve heard of your school. Apparently, you don’t even have an English teacher. All self-taught. Your students’ foundation is too weak. It would affect our school’s overall performance. You should try other schools.”
Cheng Liu had heard similar responses at every school she had visited.
The only way in would have been through connections or a hefty transfer fee, a significant amount at the time, equivalent to two years of high school tuition.
Cheng Liu’s family didn’t have any connections, and the transfer fee was too expensive, so she had simply taken the entrance exam and gotten the highest score.
She had already finished the middle school curriculum. Her English, though not strong, was sufficient for the exam.
“I heard the principals of those schools were furious,” Cheng Liu said, a smug smile on her face. “I became a local legend.”
“The high school in the city had excellent resources. I caught up in a year,” Cheng Liu boasted, continuing her story. “I finished the entire high school curriculum in my second year, then spent most of my time in the computer lab. That's why I chose computer science in university.”
Ji Chaozhou looked at Cheng Liu. She never seemed to have any negative emotions, even recounting this challenging period as if it were an amusing anecdote.
He reached out and gently touched her cheek, the skin beneath his fingers cool and soft.
Cheng Liu, turning instinctively, met Ji Chaozhou’s deep, complex gaze, and froze.
She felt him leaning closer, her body stiffening.
Ji Chaozhou slowly moved towards her, his nose touching hers, gently nuzzling against it.
Cheng Liu could smell the faint, sweet scent of wine on his breath, her heart pounding.
Their breaths mingled, hers now carrying a hint of wine, an intoxicating intimacy.
Ji Chaozhou, his eyes lowered, hiding his emotions, his lips brushing against hers, suddenly turned his head, resting it on her shoulder, as if he had lost consciousness from the alcohol.
Cheng Liu’s shoulder dipped under his weight, the warm breath on her neck, her eyes fixed on the distance, a sense of déjà vu washing over her.
Why did this scene feel so familiar?
I wonder why🙈🙈
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