Chapter 60 Delicate Crybaby

Shu Shiran's arms wrapped around his neck felt slightly weak.

"It's too late today," she said in a soft voice, adopting a tone of negotiation and reassurance.

Ji Xi gave a hum of acknowledgment and kissed her ear again. "I can't bear to disturb you so late either."

Shu Shiran retorted with a touch of annoyance, "Then why did you wake me up?"

Ji Xi chuckled. "Because I was a little happy."

Whenever he won a game of chess, beyond the excitement, he would always experience a sense of nihilism—as if the world were merely a game of numbers, and nothing was real.

In the past, he loved racing, seeking the adrenaline rush at the extreme edges of speed and danger before returning to reality.

Later on, whenever he turned back and saw her standing there, he would feel deeply grounded and at peace.

He got up from her.

"Go to sleep."

The weight lifted from Shu Shiran's body instantly, and drowsiness washed over her again.

"Goodnight."

The next morning, Shu Shiran woke up to the sound of her alarm.

Her body shifted slightly, and the arm draped around her waist tightened.

Ji Xi asked, "Time to get up?"

Shu Shiran gave a soft hum, suddenly remembering being kissed awake by him in the middle of the night, when he had asked her what she wanted, and whether she wanted to buy a private jet.

Then, recalling the conversation that followed, her face grew warm.

She lingered in bed for five minutes before getting up from his embrace. "I have to go to work."

Ji Xi originally intended to drive her, but Shu Shiran didn't let him, wanting him to sleep a little longer.

She put on her coat, grabbed her things, went downstairs, and washed up.

As soon as she arrived at the firm today, Xiaoyu at the front desk looked at her with a beaming smile.

"Morning, Sharon."

Shu Shiran replied, "Morning."

The morning started with a project team meeting.

Shortly after the meeting ended and Shu Shiran returned to her office, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

It was Wu Tianqi.

After handing over the drawings, he didn't rush to leave.

Shu Shiran glanced at him. "Is there something else?"

Wu Tianqi smiled and asked, "Sister Ran, did Ji Xi really like you since high school?"

Wu Tianqi hadn't been working overtime last night, enjoying a rare, peaceful evening, only for Feng Kuan to keep him on the phone for over an hour because of a post Ji Xi made on WeChat Moments.

In fact, ever since Shu Shiran posted on her Moments previously, Feng Kuan had pretty much given up.

However, seeing Ji Xi's post left him filled with regret, asking Wu Tianqi why they hadn't gone to Chongjia High School back then—perhaps things would have been different if they had.

Wu Tianqi bluntly pointed out that they were two grades apart, so even if he had gone to Chongjia, he wouldn't have stood a chance.

Feng Kuan protested, "Xiao Wu, whose side are you on anyway?"

By the end of the conversation, Wu Tianqi was getting sleepy, while Feng Kuan was still sighing, "She was so pretty back then, even in high school..."

"... "

Unable to bear it any longer, Wu Tianqi simply hung up.

Hearing Wu Tianqi ask this, Shu Shiran finally understood why everyone's expression towards her had been so strange today.

Because some people at the firm had Ji Xi on WeChat from working on the Jinhe Mansion project, they must have seen that post.

And gossip at their firm always spread fast.

Actually, it had been even earlier than high school.

However, Shu Shiran didn't elaborate to Wu Tianqi.

"By the way, you've been here for about half a year now, haven't you?" Shu Shiran asked.

Wu Tianqi nodded.

He had arrived last October, which was right at the six-month mark.

Shu Shiran asked, "What are your plans going forward?"

When she originally made the promise to his parents, she hadn't expected him to last this long at Chunxiang.

Taken aback by the question, Wu Tianqi looked blank. "Huh? The projects I'm on aren't finished yet."

Shu Shiran said, "Then go get back to work."

As Wu Tianqi walked out of the office, he suddenly realized that it had been a long time since he last thought about becoming a monk.

Yuanyuan walked past him carrying a stack of documents and asked, "What are you daydreaming about?"

Wu Tianqi replied, "Nothing."

He looked at his busy colleagues in the office and decided that completing the tasks at hand was much more important.

***

In the evening, Shu Shiran, Zheng Tingyan, and Xu Ying met up for dinner.

During dinner, Xu Ying mentioned that she had already brought up the subject of divorce with Cheng Yexiu.

Shu Shiran paused. "What did Cheng Yexiu say?"

Xu Ying sighed. "He doesn't agree."

Zheng Tingyan asked, "Does that mean he actually has some feelings for you?"

Xu Ying replied, "He just doesn't like changes."

"He thinks life is fine right now and doesn't understand what I'm unsatisfied with."

Zheng Tingyan suggested, "I've thought about it carefully. Why don't you just come right out and tell him that you like him?"

Xu Ying shook her head.

Zheng Tingyan asked, "Why?"

Xu Ying answered, "I know he doesn't like me. Saying it won't change anything."

Zheng Tingyan persisted, "What if you say it, and he realizes he likes you too?"

Xu Ying said, "Cheng Yexiu isn't that kind of person."

Zheng Tingyan argued, "Then if he says he doesn't like you, the two of you can get a clear-cut divorce."

Xu Ying still shook her head.

If she said it first, she would be putting herself at a disadvantage.

The result would be the same either way.

Zheng Tingyan still thought it was better to lay everything out in the open.

She asked Shu Shiran, "Ranran, what do you think?"

Actually, Shu Shiran felt that both sides had their own valid points, mainly stemming from different personalities.

Just as she was about to speak, her phone rang.

"I'll take this call."

The call was from Ji Xi. She stepped out of the private dining room.

Ji Xi asked, "When will it end?"

Shu Shiran replied, "Probably another hour or so."

Noticing a slight difference in her voice, Ji Xi asked, "Were you drinking?"

Shu Shiran answered, "Mhm, had a little with them. Are you finishing up on your end?"

Ji Xi had a business dinner tonight as well.

Ji Xi said, "Not yet. I'm just using picking up my wife as an excuse to leave early."

After hanging up, Shu Shiran returned to the private room just in time to hear Zheng Tingyan sighing to Xu Ying, "You really are a sealed jar."

Xu Ying retorted, "Little loudspeaker."

Zheng Tingyan: "..."

Zheng Tingyan's childhood nickname had been "Little Loudspeaker." Both of them had a bit too much to drink, and due to their disagreement, they had resorted to using their childhood nicknames for each other.

"Ranran, come over here," Zheng Tingyan called out to her.

Xu Ying probably had a lot of pent-up sorrow in her heart and had drunk quite a bit. Shu Shiran and Zheng Tingyan kept her company.

An hour later, they broke up the gathering, and Ji Xi arrived right on time.

Seeing the three of them walk out, Ji Xi got out of the car.

Zheng Tingyan and Xu Ying were still calling each other "Little Loudspeaker" and "Sealed Jar."

Zheng Tingyan was just as drunk as Xu Ying.

Seeing Ji Xi, she said to him, "I only have two childhood best friends—one is already getting a divorce, and the other can't. You better treat our Ranran well."

Hearing the word "divorce," Ji Xi raised his eyebrows slightly. He glanced at Xu Ying, then looked at Shu Shiran, and said, "As long as your Ranran doesn't divorce me."

Zheng Tingyan looked very satisfied with this answer.

Shu Shiran sighed. "...They've had too much to drink."

Both Zheng Tingyan and Xu Ying had called their drivers to pick them up.

Once they both got into their cars and left, Shu Shiran and Ji Xi got into his car.

Ji Xi hadn't drunk anything tonight and was driving himself.

"Xu Ying and Cheng Yexiu are getting a divorce?" he asked.

This matter was no longer a secret, so Shu Shiran nodded. "A-Ying wants to, but Cheng Yexiu won't agree."

Ji Xi asked, "Why?"

Shu Shiran replied, "A-Ying hasn't been very happy."

Since it was a matter between a married couple, Ji Xi didn't pry further.

He asked instead, "What are 'Little Loudspeaker' and 'Sealed Jar'?"

Shu Shiran explained, "Their nicknames."

Xu Ying spoke very little when she was a child, so Zheng Tingyan called her "Sealed Jar." Zheng Tingyan talked a lot as a child and couldn't keep secrets, earning her the nickname "Little Loudspeaker" from Xu Ying.

Ji Xi listened with great interest and asked, "One was called 'Sealed Jar' and the other 'Little Loudspeaker'—what were you called?"

"I—"

Shu Shiran paused. "I didn't have a nickname."

Ji Xi gave her a sideways glance. "The three of you are childhood friends, and only the two of them had nicknames, but you didn't?"

Shu Shiran insisted, "I really didn't."

Seeing his expression clearly showed he didn't believe her, Shu Shiran lowered her eyelashes and said, "I'm feeling a bit dizzy. I'm going to sleep for a bit."

Ji Xi raised an eyelid. "Drank too much?"

Shu Shiran let out a soft "Mhm."

Ji Xi remarked, "Don't you usually become a chatterbox when you're drunk?"

"... "

Busted, Shu Shiran was left momentarily speechless.

Who was a chatterbox?

"I'm just dizzy, anyway."

With that, she closed her eyes.

They soon arrived at Chuansong No. 1.

After the car stopped, Ji Xi unbuckled his seatbelt and asked, "Can you get out of the car on your own?"

He knew very well that she wasn't truly drunk.

Shu Shiran: "...I can."

After getting out, she was pulled into Ji Xi's embrace, as if she really were thoroughly intoxicated.

Shu Shiran had no choice but to keep up the act, leaning against his chest.

When they entered the elevator, Ji Xi pressed the floor where he lived.

Shu Shiran said, "I'm going back to take a shower."

She had accidentally spilled some wine on herself during dinner and felt like she reeked of alcohol.

Ji Xi pressed her floor instead.

When they reached her floor, the two of them stepped out of the elevator together.

Once inside her apartment, Shu Shiran set her things down and made a move toward the bathroom.

Ji Xi grabbed her hand.

Shu Shiran looked back at him.

Ji Xi asked, "Can you take a shower like this? What if you slip and fall? Should I help you in?"

Shu Shiran: "...I'm not dizzy anymore."

"Is that so?" Ji Xi curved his lips and slowly let go of her.

He was clearly doing it on purpose.

***

After taking a shower, Shu Shiran emerged from the master bedroom to find Ji Xi sitting on the sofa looking at his phone.

Seeing her come out, he raised his head. "All done?"

Shu Shiran was about to answer when she heard him finish the sentence with three more words.

Her steps faltered, and her face instantly heated up. "How do you know?"

Ji Xi replied, "Your phone was here. Zheng Tingyan called you twice in a row, and I answered the second one and casually asked her."

A drunk Zheng Tingyan answered every question without the slightest hesitation.

Shu Shiran: "..."

She really was a little loudspeaker.

Shu Shiran walked over, picked up her phone, and asked, "Did she say why she was looking for me?"

Ji Xi answered, "She said it was nothing important."

Shu Shiran unlocked her phone and saw that there indeed was a missed call.

She called back, but the other end just rang without anyone picking up.

Ji Xi pulled her down to sit beside him. While she waited for Zheng Tingyan to answer, he gently combed the strands of hair curled around her neck back behind her shoulder one by one.

Zheng Tingyan didn't answer, and the call automatically disconnected.

She was probably taking a shower herself.

Shu Shiran put her phone down, turned her head, and saw Ji Xi looking at her with a smile in his eyes.

His hand, which had been resting on her shoulder, gently stroked the tip of her chin as he addressed her: "Crybaby?"

Shu Shiran: "..."

That nickname was something Zheng Tingyan had blurted out.

For a period when she was little, Shu Shiran truly had been a crybaby. If she bumped herself even slightly or things didn't go her way, she would throw a tantrum. Whenever she went out, she insisted on riding in her family's car, and the driver had to be a specific designated person. If her clothes had even the slightest flaw, she refused to wear them, and the moment they got stained—no matter where she was—she demanded a change of clothes immediately.