Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Xia Yinxi slowly turned his head, and Li Yili "whipped" around to pretend nothing happened, while a girl nearly his height grinned at him.

Song Baichuan opened his mouth with the same sarcastic tone: "Xia Xiaoxi, you're something, huh? Actually flaunting your relationship in public now."

What happened to the guy who'd turn into a mushroom the second there's a crowd?!

Xia Yinxi looked confused: "What's got you so cranky lately? Who ticked you off now?"

Ji Yunzhuo's smile remained perfectly polite: "Probably salty about losing the West Suburb bid to Ming Ji."

Xia Yinxi: "..."

Xia Yinxi: "Quit smiling, it's kinda OOC."

Ji Yunzhuo tilted his head: "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Heh." Song Baichuan let out a cold laugh. What's there to laugh about? What's with the head tilt? Can't quit copying Xia Xiaoxi, huh?

Since when was Ji Yunzhuo this lovesick idiot!

And Xia Xiaoxi's just as bad!

The girl, almost six feet tall, laughed with her eyes crinkling as she waved at Xia Yinxi: "My aunt said you and CEO Ji are a thing, and I didn't quite believe it, but it turns out to be true."

You two are perfect together.

Xia Yinxi suddenly realized—this must be his cousin Meng Jing from the original body's family.

"What happened to your neck?" Meng Jing had sharp eyes and immediately spotted a faint red mark, but she caught herself and quickly covered her mouth, "Forget I asked."

Song Baichuan glanced over too, let out another cold laugh, and walked off to get away from the sight.

Xia Yinxi: "?"

What's with everyone acting so weird?

Meng Jing had only ever crossed paths with Ji Yunzhuo in business, and their few conversations were always polite. Now that she knew his connection to Xia Xiaoxi, she automatically put him in the "little brother" category.

She casually scanned the other end of the hall and lowered her voice to ask Ji Yunzhuo: "Your uncles have been stirring things up lately. Don't they know who Xiaoxi is?"

Ji Yunzhuo: "Xiaoxi doesn't wanna tell 'em."

His tone even had a hint of whine to it.

Meng Jing frowned in confusion: "Worried about getting targeted? Xiaoxi, don't worry. Times have changed. Nobody's dumb enough to try anything."

Xia Yinxi took a sec to process that. He'd heard that when his parents got married, the whole Ducheng business scene was rocked. Two huge powers merging could've crushed a ton of small businesses.

People with grudges or shady agendas against both families had joined forces to ostracize and suppress the Xia and Meng families for years. Even with all their money, Xia Yucheng and Meng Shuxue had a rough patch.

Now throw the Ji family in, and it'd definitely stir up old drama.

Xia Yinxi shot her a grateful look—perfect, he'd use that excuse when his dad asks.

Meng Jing: "What's that look for?"

"Nothing, sis. There's some seafood pie over there."

Meng Jing's attention instantly shifted: "I'll go try some!"

"Gonna use that excuse to brush off your in-laws?" Ji Yunzhuo saw right through him. "You didn't seem to want Grandpa meeting your folks today either."

Xia Yinxi took a sip of tea: "No need. We're getting divorced eventually anyway. Too much contact would just be a hassle."

Ji Yunzhuo was speechless.

That's the fourth time.

"Is hiding who you are from everyone also to make the divorce easier?" Ji Yunzhuo's chest tightened, and his voice went stiff.

Xia Yinxi didn't catch it and nodded: "If you hadn't blurted it out before, even Cheng Hao and the rest wouldn't have had to know."

His casual attitude left Ji Yunzhuo choked up with frustration. Remembering how Xia Yinxi hid their relationship at work only made it worse. He took a deep breath before saying: "Why'd you even marry me?"

Xia Yinxi glanced at him. Why bring this up again?

Didn't they silently agree yesterday to drop it?

But Ji Yunzhuo broke character, staring him down as if he had to have an answer.

"You..." Xia Yinxi stepped closer, blocking some of the view, and said earnestly, "Didn't you come asking to marry me? I said yes, and now you're mad."

He suddenly got why Ji Yunzhuo had been acting weird—he was probably missing the real heir. Guys, busy with work, tend to think of their first love when they've got downtime. Normal.

"If you want a divorce, you can say so anytime... but I'd say wait two years." Till he finished his mission and got his payout. "Don't worry, I won't get in the way of you finding your true love. I can even cover for you with my folks and Grandpa."

Xia Yinxi thought he was being super considerate and gave Ji Yunzhuo's shoulder a satisfied pat: "How about that? Quit with the sour face. Grandpa's gonna be here soon."

Ji Yunzhuo's face went black as a pot bottom, his jaw quivering slightly. After a long moment, his wine glass clinked onto the table, and he grabbed Xia Yinxi's wrist and dragged him to the bathroom.

The guests in the hall had been eyeing them. Seeing Ji Yunzhuo's dark expression, they whispered, wondering if the couple had fought.

Li Yili was eating a pastry, stopped mid-chew, and swallowed it whole: "Why's my brother look so pissed? He's not gonna hit Xia Xiaoxi, is he?"

Song Baichuan sipped his tea slowly, and he and Meng Jing, who was mixing her own drink, said at the same time: "He'd probably lose."

Li Yili relaxed and grabbed another cherry.

The bathroom was nearly empty. Ji Yunzhuo pushed Xia Yinxi into a stall, and the door slammed shut with a bang.

"..."

Xia Yinxi was confused, but Ji Yunzhuo's dark face made him instinctively back up a few steps. Luckily, the stall was roomy—five or six steps from the door to the toilet. There was some faint citrus incense burning, with a hint of smoke.

"Your family's bathroom's pretty roomy," Xia Yinxi tried to ease the tension. "Why'd you drag me here to pee..."

Ji Yunzhuo locked the door behind them: "Let's talk. What're you after?"

"..." Xia Yinxi hesitated. "Money."

Ji Yunzhuo: "Give me something real to work with."

"..."

If I tell the truth, you won't believe me.

The two stared at each other in silence, the quiet was almost suffocating. Faint sounds came from outside. Xia Yinxi looked away from Ji Yunzhuo and let out a barely audible sigh: "Do you have to ask so bluntly? I'm not some corporate spy."

Suddenly, Xia Yinxi felt the system flicker a few times in his head, silent but somehow tense. Confused, he hesitated, then tested the waters: "What if I really do like you?"

The flickering stopped.

Xia Yinxi: "Fine, I really don't like you."

It started flickering again.

Xia Yinxi blinked, still avoiding Ji Yunzhuo's gaze: "Hmm... actually, I kinda like you."

The flickering stopped again.

Xia Yinxi smirked.

He knew there was something wrong with the system.

The man in front of him was thrown into turmoil by his teasing, his heart going up and down, then up again. Seeing that smile, he took it as him being deliberately provocative, and, embarrassed and angry, stepped forward, lifted Xia Yinxi's chin, and forced him to look up.

Long lashes half-covered his glistening eyes as he stared straight at him. Ji Yunzhuo's throat tightened, and he suddenly couldn't speak.

Looking at that face, all his accusations died on his lips.

It was his fault—he'd gone to the Xia family with ulterior motives to propose, and Xia Yinxi had just gone along with it.

Mutual benefit was an unspoken agreement; he was the one who broke the rules by falling for Xia Yinxi.

He was too greedy, wanting to be real husbands with Xia Yinxi.

"CEO Ji?" Those beautiful eyes blinked. "I've come up with an excuse. You still wanna hear it?"

Xia Yinxi thought he was being unreasonable, speaking slowly like he was coaxing a kid, with a hint of sarcasm: "If you're not happy, I'll keep making them up until you are."

Ji Yunzhuo suddenly realized his whole palm could cover Xia Yinxi's face.

Such a small face, such thin wrists, such a slim waist—though his butt wasn't exactly small, it looked soft... Wait.

Clearing the junk from his mind, Ji Yunzhuo composed himself, looked down to avoid Xia Yinxi's eyes, and pressed his thumb against his lower lip.

"Tsk." Xia Yinxi frowned and smacked his hand away. "You done?"

He'd already touched his lips outside, and they were still numb.

"Everyone just saw us walk into the bathroom together," Ji Yunzhuo said, staring at his lips. That slap was a bit hard, making them visibly redder. "If we go out like this, people will think we're not on good terms."

Xia Yinxi didn't follow his logic: "Holding hands and going to the same bathroom, and that means we're not on good terms?"

Ji Yunzhuo laughed: "We didn't kiss."

"..."

Xia Yinxi pursed his lips, muttering something that could've been a complaint or a curse, then rubbed his mouth hard with the back of his hand. Now it was not just red but also a little swollen. "There, good enough?"

Ji Yunzhuo hid a smile and nodded: "That'll do. Did you hurt yourself going that hard?"

Xia Yinxi rolled his eyes at him, thinking 'crocodile tears.'

He moved to leave, but just as his hand touched the door handle, he paused and turned around.

Beside him was a mirror. Xia Yinxi saw his own eyes red-rimmed and glistening, his lips swollen, like he'd been ravaged.

He turned back. The stall had a warm yellow light, cozy. Ji Yunzhuo stood there, cool and composed, looking calm.

Xia Yinxi got angry: "Why didn't you use yours?!"

"I don't need to," Ji Yunzhuo said, looking at him. "You can try—see if I'd end up looking like you after kissing."

Xia Yinxi felt provoked. He rolled up his sleeves and looked around: "Where's the toilet brush?"

Ji Yunzhuo knew when to back down: "I was wrong."

"Heh."

In the end, Xia Yinxi grabbed Ji Yunzhuo's shoulders, pinched his lips, and rubbed them hard a few times. Satisfied with his revenge, he clapped his hands: "Let's go."

Ji Yunzhuo let out a long breath.

Xia Yinxi had been too close, the sweet floral scent of him swirling around. In those few seconds, Ji Yunzhuo felt like he had counted every one of his lashes.

They returned to the hall. The chattering crowd fell silent for a strange moment, then burst into noise again, as if that second had been an illusion.

Meng Jing held a seafood pie in both hands, eyes wide, shock written all over her face. Song Baichuan rolled his eyes in exasperation, wanting to scold Xia Yinxi but not knowing what to say, so he just took a deep breath to keep from being infuriated.

Li Yili: "Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, I..."

"Shut up!" Song Baichuan, now familiar enough with Li Yili to boss him around, pointed at him. "Don't you dare call him sister-in-law!"

Li Yili muttered: "I haven't even said it yet."

Meng Jing: "Wow, wow, wow, wow, so intense. Your brother's lip looks like it's bleeding."

Li Yili squinted hard to look, only seeing Xia Yinxi's flushed face: "You've got good eyesight?"

As the two approached, everyone saw the wound on Ji Yunzhuo's lower lip. The three of them exchanged glances, and Meng Jing handed him a tissue, struggling to suppress a smile as she gave Xia Yinxi some elder-sisterly advice: "How could you be so rough? What if the elders saw?"

Xia Yinxi was confused. Only when Ji Yunzhuo took the tissue did he follow his hand to the wound on his lip—probably caused by his own teeth. He froze: "Are you trying to frame me?"

Ji Yunzhuo looked at him innocently: "You were too rough."

Xia Yinxi: "?"

He admitted he had wanted to get back at Ji Yunzhuo a bit and might not have been careful, but why did that sound so weird!

Meng Jing patted Xia Yinxi's shoulder: "And that hickey on your neck—cover it up better."

Xia Yinxi: "????"

"That's not..."

"My fault," Ji Yunzhuo said, reaching out to adjust Xia Yinxi's collar again, his tone light, tinged with helplessness and indulgence. "You bit me back too, so don't be mad anymore."

Xia Yinxi: "..."

I'll kill you.