Chapter 59

Ji Xi said, "Didn't you tell me yourself? Large red waves, about the same height as you."

This remark did not make Shu Shiran feel any more at ease.

She said, "She doesn't have wavy hair anymore."

Her hair color hadn't changed, but she had straightened it.

Ji Xi replied, "I'll remember her now that I've seen her."

Shu Shiran retorted, "It's not like you ever pay attention to anyone else."

Ji Xi raised an eyebrow slightly. "I almost went to a dinner party where she was present last time, and you gave me the cold shoulder just for that. How could I not remember?"

His bantering tone annoyed Shu Shiran a little. "...Who gave you the cold shoulder? I didn't stop you from going."

Ji Xi let out a chuckle. "Miss Shu, let's be reasonable here. When did I ever say I was going?"

Shu Shiran paused and said, "You didn't say you weren't going either."

Ji Xi explained, "After hearing you say your relationship with her was bad, I hadn't planned on going in the first place. It was you who tried to provoke me by telling me to get closer to her. Didn't I end up not going?"

Shu Shiran was satisfied with the outcome of that incident.

She curved her lips slightly and let out an "oh."

Ji Xi raised his eyelids. "What does that 'oh' mean? Shu Shiran, you wronged me and all I get is a single 'oh'?"

Shu Shiran had no choice but to say, "You didn't go."

Ji Xi said slowly, "How could I not remember something like this? What if I ran into her and didn't remember, and you ended up giving me the cold shoulder again?"

Shu Shiran: "..."

Ji Xi pulled her closer to him, wrapped his arm around her waist, and pinched her chin with the hand resting on her shoulder.

Shu Shiran asked, "What are you doing?"

A hint of provocation laced Ji Xi's tone. "Since our relationship with her isn't good, let's show her just how good our relationship is."

Shu Shiran: "..."

He was teasing her again.

Clearly, they had already walked quite a distance away.

It was uncertain whether Zhao Siling could even see them or not.

Once inside the car, Ji Xi looked at Shu Shiran and asked, "Still minding it?"

Shu Shiran did not deny it.

Anyone else would have been fine. But she and Zhao Siling had too much bad blood between them, and Zhao Siling had genuinely liked him once, completely confident she would win him over.

The last time she posted a photo of yellow roses on her moments, Zheng Tingyan told her that Zhao Siling and her clique claimed she was just trying to show off unilaterally, while also bringing up the girl Ji Xi liked in high school. They argued that he had a white moonlight in his heart and could never harbor genuine feelings for her.

On the way back, Shu Shiran complained about Zhao Siling spreading rumors about his high school female classmate.

Arriving at the basement garage, the two of them got out of the car.

Ji Xi held Shu Shiran's hand with one hand and his phone with the other.

Thinking he had some work matter to handle, Shu Shiran was surprised when Ji Xi suddenly tilted the phone screen toward her.

"This one?" he asked.

Shu Shiran looked at the photo on the screen and froze. "Is this a picture of me from high school?"

Ji Xi answered with a soft "Mhm."

Then, Shu Shiran watched as he opened his moments, selected the photo, and added a caption: The female classmate I liked in high school.

The photo was thus posted to his moments.

Shu Shiran pulled down the hand holding the phone and tapped on the photo again on his screen.

Ji Xi simply handed the phone to her and pulled her into the elevator.

The photo captured Shu Shiran's profile with the classroom in the background, and it was actually taken quite nicely.

Shu Shiran had no recollection of this very ordinary scene. Judging by the school uniform she was wearing, it must have been during high school.

"Where did you get this photo?" she asked.

Ji Xi was pressing the elevator buttons, but he didn't press the one for her floor.

"Want to come up to my place for a bit?"

Shu Shiran raised her eyes to look at him.

Ji Xi said, "I don't want the date to end just yet."

Truth be told, Shu Shiran didn't want it to end either.

***

This photo was taken on a very ordinary evening during their second year of high school.

It was the final break between classes.

Inside the classroom, some students were chatting while others were messing around, when someone suddenly said, "Look at the sky outside."

One by one, the students became captivated by the sunset outside.

The sunset that day was a breathtaking blend of orange and purple.

Many students took out their phones to take pictures of the sky beyond the windows.

While almost everyone's attention was fixed on the sky, Ji Xi, sitting in the corner, was looking at Shu Shiran.

The young girl's profile seemed bathed in a halo under the setting sun, captivating his gaze far more than the evening clouds.

He also took out his phone, blending in inconspicuously with the crowd holding theirs. His camera lens appeared to be pointed outside the window, but it was actually focused on her.

He captured this photograph.

Even after listening to him finish, Shu Shiran could not recall that evening.

Perhaps it was simply too ordinary.

By now, they had arrived at Ji Xi's apartment.

Ji Xi held her close, his fingers lazily winding through her hair with the hand resting on her shoulder.

"It's enough that I remember."

Shu Shiran was still holding his phone. "Are there any others?"

Ji Xi replied, "No, just this one."

That was the only time he had ever taken a picture of her under the cover of a crowd.

More than ten minutes had passed since that post went live on his moments.

Shu Shiran saw numerous new notifications on Ji Xi's moments.

"Can I take a look?" she asked.

Ji Xi drew her tighter into his embrace. "Go ahead."

Shu Shiran tapped on the notifications at the top of her moments.

Among the sea of likes and comments, she finally spotted a familiar name.

Zhou Junfeng: ???

Zhou Junfeng: And yet you lied to me back in high school and said you didn't like her!

Shu Shiran showed Zhou Junfeng's comment to Ji Xi and asked, "So what was that about? Why did you tell him you liked someone else?"

Ji Xi glanced at Zhou Junfeng's comment, met her eyes, and told her the story of that scrap of draft paper.

After listening, Shu Shiran paused for several seconds before asking, "What about my test paper? Is it still around?"

Ji Xi answered, "I was in too much of a rush when packing to move to America and left it behind. Later on, everything I left behind was thrown out by Du Lan."

Shu Shiran felt a slight pang of regret upon hearing this, but then added, "It wasn't anything important anyway."

Ji Xi hummed in agreement.

Now, she was his wife anyway.

Shu Shiran said, "Even if you were found out, you didn't have to deny it so thoroughly and claim you liked someone else."

A subtle flash crossed Ji Xi's eyes as he pinched her earlobe. "You didn't like me back then. Wouldn't I have lost all my pride if people found out?"

Shu Shiran: "..."

That was true as well.

Because of Ji Xi's post, Shu Shiran started receiving messages on WeChat as well.

She handed the phone back to Ji Xi and replied to a few messages of her own.

After finishing, she checked the time and realized it was getting late.

Ji Xi asked, "Staying over at my place tonight?"

His tone sounded as casual as inviting her over for a meal, yet it made Shu Shiran tense up.

She couldn't help recalling the night before last at Lu Bei.

The previous evening, her father had hosted a dinner for the uncles who were flying back to Hong Kong this morning, and they had attended. Upon returning, Dai Jiao had called her regarding some work matters, keeping her on the phone the entire drive back, so she had simply gone straight to her own place.

Actually, staying wasn't out of the question. They had already slept together anyway.

At that moment, Ji Xi added in a gentle tone, "We'll just sleep. I still have a meeting with the New York office."

Shu Shiran nodded. "Then I'll head downstairs to take a shower first."

Still holding her, Ji Xi seemed to think this was just an excuse. "Can't you shower here?"

"..."

Shu Shiran replied, "My things are still downstairs."

Ji Xi pressed a kiss to her forehead and released her.

"Alright."

Shu Shiran took forty to fifty minutes to shower, adding a light cardigan over her pajamas when she came back upstairs.

Ji Xi was in the study, and hearing her footsteps, he walked out.

"Going to sleep now?"

It wasn't even eleven o'clock yet.

Shu Shiran said, "I still need to reply to a few emails."

Ji Xi suggested, "Then come keep me company in the study?"

Shu Shiran followed Ji Xi into the study.

Two monitors in the study displayed market interfaces; at this hour, the New York Stock Exchange had just opened.

Investment was always like this—timeless, requiring one to monitor overseas trading markets at night. Besides New York, there were also London, Tokyo, and others. Due to time zones, trading hours varied across different markets.

After settling Shu Shiran in, the two of them busied themselves with their respective tasks.

Shu Shiran curled up on a small sofa, reviewing designs on her tablet.

Before long, Ji Xi started his meeting.

Most of the time he simply listened, speaking only occasionally in a voice that was calm and composed, tinged with a hint of roguish arrogance.

As the clock neared midnight, Shu Shiran put down her tablet and let out a yawn.

Ji Xi turned his head to look at her. "Ready for bed?"

Shu Shiran nodded.

Ji Xi stood up and walked over.

Thinking he was going to help her up, Shu Shiran reached out a hand.

Instead, her arm was caught, and the next moment, her feet left the ground as he swept her up into a bridal carry.

Caught off guard, Shu Shiran let out a startled gasp and grabbed his clothes. "What are you doing?"

Ji Xi replied, "Taking you to bed."

Shu Shiran said, "My phone."

Ji Xi bent down slightly, letting her reach for the phone left on the sofa.

Retrieving her phone, Shu Shiran wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her toward the bedroom, her long hair swaying in the air with his movements.

Entering the bedroom, Ji Xi laid her gently onto the bed.

Shu Shiran unclasped her arms from his neck, propping herself up on the bed behind her, her bare feet looking dazzlingly white against the dark bedsheets.

After setting her down, Ji Xi did not straighten up immediately; instead, he leaned in with his hands braced against the mattress and kissed her lips.

Shu Shiran's eyelashes fluttered.

Ji Xi said, "You go to sleep first."

Shu Shiran murmured an acknowledgment.

Ji Xi helped her pull back the duvet, and she slid beneath the covers.

"Go ahead and do your meeting."

Ji Xi asked, "Do you want me to turn off the light?"

Shu Shiran answered, "No need, I'll turn it off myself."

After Ji Xi left, Shu Shiran leaned against the headboard and browsed her phone for another ten minutes before shedding her cardigan, turning off the light, and lying down.

When Ji Xi left, he had pulled the bedroom door closed without latching it completely, leaving a narrow gap.

Once the light was off, illumination from the hallway streamed through the crack, casting a warm yellow vertical stripe across the floor.

This was Ji Xi's bed.

Shu Shiran was enveloped by his familiar scent all around her, bringing a sense of softness and deep reassurance.

She thought that spending every night together like this, and being carried off to sleep by him afterward, was rather nice.

Not long after lying down, Shu Shiran drifted off to sleep.

At some point in the middle of the night, she woke up to a tickling sensation against her neck.

She shifted slightly.

"Did I wake you?"

Ji Xi's voice drifted from her neck, accompanied by his warm, damp breath.

Shu Shiran blinked her eyes open.

The dim room came into view, with the door still ajar and light filtering in from outside.

Overcome with exhaustion, she closed her eyes again almost immediately.

"What time is it?"

Ji Xi pressed a kiss to her neck. "A little past three."

His short hair brushed against Shu Shiran's neck, causing her to let out a soft murmur of ticklish protest as she asked sleepily, "Are you getting ready for bed now?"

Ji Xi hummed a reply, burying his face back into the crook of her neck.