Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Ji Yunzhuo snorted. Claiming he wasn’t interested in gossip, he’d just grilled Cheng Hao about his being cheated on, digging into every detail until the guy was almost in tears.

Xia Yinxi, of course, wasn’t about to admit he’d deliberately targeted Cheng Hao for disturbing his sleep. After a long, silent standoff, Ji Yunzhuo stepped closer, threw back the covers, and leaned in out of nowhere.

The space between them suddenly shrank, so close their breaths brushed each other’s faces. Ji Yunzhuo held Xia Yinxi’s gaze, then let his eyes drop to his pink lips.

Feeling Xia Yinxi’s breath catch, Ji Yunzhuo let out a low chuckle: “Nervous? You had the nerve to reach into my pants, so you should’ve seen this coming…”

Xia Yinxi snapped out of it, shoving his palm against Ji Yunzhuo’s shoulder: “We’re both guys, what’s the big deal? I didn’t even see anything… You… don’t get that close.”

Lie. He’d seen it perfectly. It was huge.

“You’re just taking advantage of the fact that I’m into you.” So you’re getting bolder and bolder, spoiled by my feelings.

The blunt confession landed on Xia Yinxi, and he didn’t know how to react, keeping his eyes down, too afraid to look at him: “Should I… button it up for you?”

“Would buttoning it up make it like it never happened?”

“…”

Ji Yunzhuo found it funny, and also found Xia Yinxi adorable. When they first met, and he knocked over the old man’s urn, he’d chosen to fix it, planning to go back to the crematorium to refill the urn.

How could Xia Xiaoxi be this adorable?

Xia Yinxi was pinned to the bed by Ji Yunzhuo, unable to move. He shoved at his chest and shoulders with both hands, sounding all righteous: “Then what do you want? You’re poking me, you should be the one saying sorry!”

Ji Yunzhuo let out an exasperated laugh, but he knew he couldn’t kiss Xia Yinxi while he was awake, or his already slow-moving pursuit would likely go back to square one.

“Fine, I apologize.” Ji Yunzhuo pinched Xia Yinxi’s cheek, finally letting go. Before leaving, he couldn’t help but stroke his hair again.

“…You’re treating me like a cat. Get out.”

Once he was gone, Xia Yinxi couldn’t fall back asleep.

So there really is a white moonlight in his heart.

But something didn’t add up. For a family like the Ji family, someone who knew Ji Yunzhuo shouldn’t be an ordinary person.

Yet Bai Yiheng and the others didn’t know him.

Who could it be, someone who knew Ji Yunzhuo but not the rest? And what kind of family would swap Xia Yucheng and Meng Shuxue’s baby?

Xia Yinxi’s mind was already spinning a dramatic business-war plot about a swapped prince: the Xia-Meng alliance made a lot of people jealous, so someone went after their child, raising the biological son as their biggest rival for a face-off twenty years later…

He was completely awake now.

The next day, Xia Yinxi came downstairs with faint bags under his eyes. Li Yili and Cheng Hao were huddled together, whispering secretively. From a distance, he could catch bits like “you and your loud mouth,” “made Xia Xiaoxi mad,” “didn’t come downstairs with my brother,” and “gonna kill me to shut me up?”

A while later, Ji Yunzhuo also came out, looking pissed. Cheng Hao’s legs went weak just from sitting there, and he leaned on Li Yili, muttering, “I’m never drinking again in my life.”

Li Yili: “I’ve made that promise too.”

“?”

But Ji Yunzhuo didn’t mess with him. After breakfast, he took Xia Yinxi home.

“President Ji,” Xia Yinxi said as they entered the house, “I want to use a little privilege.”

Ji Yunzhuo turned around: “What privilege?”

“I don’t want to go to work today.”

Ji Yunzhuo chuckled: “Leave granted.”

Xia Yinxi climbed upstairs and slept until 3:30 PM. The curtains blocked out all light, and when he groggily woke up, he thought it was already the next morning.

There was a faint noise downstairs. Xia Yinxi assumed it was the housekeeper cleaning and didn’t pay it any mind.

Ji Yunzhuo never liked having people around. Before, there were only two or three servants, and after Xia Yinxi moved in, he’d given them all time off, letting them schedule shifts to clean every so often.

Meals were arranged by notifying the auntie in advance, but they rarely ate at home. The kitchen had been used only a handful of times in a month.

Maybe because of that lack of domestic warmth, Xia Yinxi always felt Ji Yunzhuo’s house didn’t have a “home” feel.

Everything here was neat and orderly, just like his impression of the man before Ji Yunzhuo started liking him.

…He really didn’t know what had gotten into Ji Yunzhuo, liking him of all people.

Xia Yinxi opened a shopping app, browsed for a while, bought a few plush toys, and ordered several Lego sets.

After scrolling, he saw a giant two-meter-tall plushie, fluffy and cute, but too big to keep in the bedroom. He could send it home, so he’d see it when he occasionally visited.

He set the recipient as Xia Yucheng first; his dad would take care of it.

The recommendations page showed a pig-shaped transparent piggy bank, with a promotional image full of gold beans and the slogan: “Save gold, save fortune, one bean a month.”

Xia Yinxi thought saving money that way wasn’t bad. He bought one piggy bank and a 1-gram gold bean.

But then he reconsidered: one bean a month would take forever to fill the jar. Why not one bean a day?

Xia Yinxi tapped away and bought two months’ worth first.

Two hours later, he’d placed over fifty new orders. Ji Yunzhuo hadn’t messaged all afternoon, so Xia Yinxi assumed he had another social engagement and got up to find food.

He hadn’t been home in days—wondered if there was anything in the fridge…

Thinking this, he locked eyes with the person on the sofa.

Xia Yinxi’s mouth moved faster than his brain: “What are you doing here?”

Ji Yunzhuo choked: “This is my home.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Xia Yinxi gave a dry laugh. “You’re off work early.”

“I came back at noon. Checked on you at twelve, you were still asleep.” Ji Yunzhuo got up and went into the kitchen. “Did you skip lunch?”

He pulled out a warm lunchbox from the insulated container: “Brought it back from the company cafeteria.”

Ming Ji’s cafeteria suited Xia Yinxi’s taste. He said “thanks” and sat down at the table.

Ji Yunzhuo, eyes lowered, helped arrange the lunchboxes, then went to add cat food for Little Orange. Out of the blue, he asked: “Would you say ‘thanks’ to Song Baichuan?”

Xia Yinxi: “?”

Ji Yunzhuo paused: “We’re legally married. You don’t have to be so polite with me.”

He’d said this when they first got the certificate, but Xia Yinxi had always kept his distance. Now, though he often gave him attitude, at least it showed they were getting closer.

Besides... it's kind of cute when he throws a tantrum. His face has all these expressions I've never seen before—so vivid, bright, and full of life.

Xia Yinxi just thought he was being weird. Why couldn't he just talk normally? Did he really need to be all sarcastic to feel good?

And why the hell bring up Donghai out of nowhere? I mean, the original him had known Donghai for over twenty years. That's totally different.

He didn't answer, but Ji Yunzhuo kept talking anyway: "The financial summit next month—you coming?"

Xia Yinxi knew about it. His parents had mentioned it. Since it's super confidential, no outside contact is allowed during the meeting. Sounded boring, so he wasn't going.

When he shook his head, Ji Yunzhuo didn't push it. "Then I'll take Gao Qian."

Xia Yinxi found it amusing. "Is being a special assistant something I can even do? Gao Qian's your second choice?"

"If you go, I don't need to."

There was no joking in Ji Yunzhuo's tone. Even though he always seemed to be slacking off as an assistant, he could spot problems in plans and decisions with just a glance.

Sometimes Ji Yunzhuo would miss things, and Xia Yinxi would casually point them out. When Ji Yunzhuo hesitated, Xia Yinxi could offer advice.

He was like a secret master playing dumb.

Only now did Ji Yunzhuo get why Xia Yucheng and Meng Shuxue doted on Xia Yinxi so much—because he could handle everything, they never worried about his future.

Xia Yinxi's ears perked up suspiciously. "Don't think you can make me work for free."

Ji Yunzhuo shook his head. "I wouldn't dare to. But I'll need you to watch things during those few days."

Xia Yinxi ignored the first half of the sentence. "Watch what?"

"I think Ji Wenjiang is in contact with them. The summit days are a chance for them to pull something."

Xia Yinxi swallowed a spoonful of soup. "If they're up to something, I can't decide either."

"You're a shareholder, too."

Ji Yunzhuo watched him eat, his lips all glossy from the food, and suddenly felt an urge to taste whatever dish that was. Then Xia Yinxi suddenly pointed at him. "Stop right there."

"..." Ji Yunzhuo chuckled. "How'd you know what I was thinking?"

He hadn't even started thinking about it yet.

"Hmph."

His eyes were practically putting on a whole show!

Little Orange jumped from behind onto Ji Yunzhuo's shoulder. Two heads—one big, one small—stared at Xia Yinxi as he ate, making him so uncomfortable that he reached out, grabbed the cat, and flicked it on the forehead.

Don't get too close to Ji Yunzhuo. If they divorce later and the cat doesn't go with him, he'll have to take it out on the kid.

"Meow..."

Xia Yinxi rubbed Little Orange's head vigorously, but it still burrowed into his arms, being unusually good. Ji Yunzhuo reached out, using the excuse of petting the cat to brush Xia Yinxi's cheek.

"..."

Xia Yinxi frowned at him. "Can you not be creepy?"

Did he think his move was so subtle nobody would notice?

Was he blind or just numb?!

Ji Yunzhuo wasn't embarrassed at being caught. Instead, he boldly touched him again. Xia Yinxi had a habit of puffing out his cheek when he was angry, and Ji Yunzhuo had wanted to poke it for a long time.

It felt just like he imagined—soft, bouncy, and smooth.

Xia Yinxi slapped his hand away and warned, "I'll really smack you."

Ji Yunzhuo would love that.

But he couldn't say that to Xia Yinxi. He was already having trouble winning him over; no need to make it harder.

-

Over the next while, Ji Yunzhuo grew bolder. At the company, he stopped pretending to just be Xia Yinxi's boss. At meal times, he'd call him to the small cafeteria, watching him eat like no one else existed.

Xia Yinxi couldn't say no, and he didn't know where to run. Luckily, the small cafeteria was just the two of them, so no one would see Ji Yunzhuo insisting on wiping his mouth.

But even so, the employees kept giving him probing looks, along with knowing smiles and phone-checking gestures. Clearly, they had a group chat dedicated to gossiping about the boss, and now Xia Yinxi was on the gossip list.

Sometimes, watching Ji Yunzhuo's back, Xia Yinxi couldn't help wondering if kicking him in the ass right now would hurt the CEO's image and affect Ming Ji's stock price.

But last time, when Ms. Meng was caught pulling Xia Yucheng's ear, it trended for three days straight, and the stock price actually went up.

...Forget it. Too embarrassing.

Another strange thing: Xia Yinxi noticed Gao Qian checking his phone more often.

Had the special assistant finally seen the light and realized the benefits of slacking off?

"Assistant Gao, the CEO wants you to bring the contract from the day before yesterday with Yuanhang, and also ask Assistant Xia if he eats Japanese food..." An intern from the business department knocked on the door of the chairman's office, her voice trailing off. She didn't know what the CEO's instructions meant, but Assistant Xia didn't look happy.

Xia Yinxi smiled at her. "It's fine, I'll talk to the CEO."

The phone keyboard was too small for him to properly curse Ji Yunzhuo: Why are you making an intern deliver messages? Can't you just text me?

Ji Yunzhuo replied: Phone is screen-sharing.

Xia Yinxi: Bullshit! You don't bring a laptop to meetings?!

Ji Yunzhuo: So hard to fool.

Xia Yinxi didn't bother replying and put his phone aside. He'd already said Ji Yunzhuo had been acting weird lately!

During this time, Xia Yinxi, relying on Ji Yunzhuo being his only direct supervisor, would leave work twenty minutes early every day. Since Ji Yunzhuo was usually busy and often didn't return until after hours, Xia Yinxi would send him a check-in message at quitting time, exploiting the loophole without getting caught.

But today, for some reason, Ji Yunzhuo ended the meeting early and caught him red-handed trying to slip away.

"..."

They stared at each other in awkward silence. Xia Yinxi cursed the cooling weather that made him wear a jacket today, or he could have pretended he wasn't trying to leave.

Ji Yunzhuo glanced at his watch, a smile in his eyes. "Want to go eat?"

He'd tried to invite him to dinner for days without success. Xia Yinxi just wouldn't give in. Ji Yunzhuo had no choice but to soften his tone, a hint of resignation in it. "How about Cantonese food?"

Xia Yinxi sat back at his desk. "It's not off work yet."

Another excuse to refuse him.

Ji Yunzhuo didn't call him out. He sat down and signed a few documents. Due to his selfishness, the two desks were now much closer than when Xia Yinxi first arrived, close enough to vaguely see the documents on the other side. After a moment, he heard Xia Yinxi ask, "Do you have a jade mine at home?"

"Yes." Ji Yunzhuo was reviewing the details of a document, not looking up. "A few, why?"

Xia Yinxi swallowed the question "Is that legal?" and deliberately started a quarrel: "So you can also identify rough stones? Why didn't you stop me that day when I wanted to buy that stone?"

His stone had turned out to be a winner, but it looked like an ordinary rock on the outside—otherwise, neither Xia Yucheng nor Song Baichuan would have been impressed. When he bought it, Ji Yunzhuo didn't warn him. Was he planning to watch him make a fool of himself?

"I don't know how," Ji Yunzhuo looked up at him. "And your happiness matters more. Why would I rain on my own wife's parade?"

That remark was clearly a cheap shot, and Xia Yinxi didn't know which part to argue first.

"You run a jade mine but don't recognize rough jade? Who are you kidding?"

"Just messing with my wife."

"..." Xia Yinxi blew him off, looking down to scroll through his phone.

Ji Yunzhuo finished signing all the documents, stood up, and sat on the armrest of Xia Yinxi's chair, pressing down on his shoulder as he tried to dodge. Smiling, he said, "I really don't know. Professionals handle professional matters."

That was half-true, half-false. While he wasn't an expert, he could make basic judgments. That day, he didn't tell Xia Yinxi because he didn't want to spoil his fun, but he also wanted to see his disappointed expression when he found out it was just an ordinary stone.

But that stone had truly been surprising. Xia Yinxi didn't seem to know much about jade either; that day was pure luck.

What incredible luck? Ji Yunzhuo now looked at Xia Yinxi like he was a little mascot.

The little mascot hadn't yet come up with a reason to refuse his dinner invitation. Seeing that it was already past quitting time, Xia Yinxi was eager to get home and receive his packages—the plush toys and gold beans he'd ordered had arrived.

But Ji Yunzhuo was sitting right next to him, perched awkwardly and without manners on the armrest of the chair, one arm stretched across the back of the chair, making it look like he had him wrapped up.

Their scents slowly mingled. Ji Yunzhuo looked at the watch on Xia Yinxi's wrist and suddenly smiled: "I got you a car."

"Huh?" Xia Yinxi didn't react for a moment.

"A new Aston Martin model. Mom said you liked it."

Did the original owner know how to drive?

When Xia Yinxi first arrived, he had searched the entire bedroom and hadn't found a driver's license.

He'd been out of it back then, but thinking about it now, how could a rich kid not know how to drive? Besides, the license was probably in the car he drove, so it made sense not to find it in the bedroom.

Xia Yinxi's mind raced, and he smiled: "Oh, Mom didn't tell you I'm over it now?"

Ji Yunzhuo was taken aback: "What?"

"Didn't she tell you that I've always been a person with a short attention span?" Xia Yinxi stood up, his slender fingers lightly tapping on Ji Yunzhuo's chest. The gemstone watchband reflected a crystalline light as a reasonable lie took shape.

"Instruments, oil painting, horseback riding, shooting, motorcycles, sports cars—I've tried every one when I was into it, and none of them lasted more than six months."

"You're no different."

A faint smile hung on Xia Yinxi's striking face: "CEO Ji, I admit I said yes to the marriage because I liked your face, but now, I've lost interest in you."

The atmosphere suddenly turned ice-cold. Ji Yunzhuo's dark eyes brimmed with an unreadable emotion as he stared straight at Xia Yinxi, his deep gaze traced every inch of that cold face, finally settling on his eyes.

Xia Yinxi stared back without flinching. The office went quiet, save for their breathing and the thunderous heartbeat only they could hear.

"Not even played with, and already lost interest?"

Ji Yunzhuo's voice was low, completely different from his usual tone when speaking to Xia Yinxi, leaving Xia Yinxi unable to tell whether this was mockery or sincerity.

He could only watch motionlessly as Ji Yunzhuo lowered his head, leaned in, letting his scorching breath fall on his earlobe and neck.

"With those things, you got tired of them only after learning and playing enough, right?"

Ji Yunzhuo lowered his eyes, looking at Xia Yinxi's pale earlobe. Suddenly, he leaned in, bit it gently, and felt his stiffness and trembling before letting go with satisfaction: "Never kissed, never slept together—that's enough for you?"