After completing a project, it was a habit for Xu Ji not to seamlessly transition into the next one. After all, to him at this moment, making money was only for buying better equipment and going snowboarding at more magnificent places.
During this period, his parents called several times, all of which were about him staying out all night and leaving his wife behind.
Xu Ji just let those go in one ear and out the other.
He and Ji Fangchi went to the ski resort for several days in a row, enjoying themselves to the fullest. There were very few people there during weekdays, and they didn’t encounter any torpedoes nor run into Li Ting.
Whenever Li Ting was mentioned, the words and sweet smile from that day would appear in his mind, impossible to get rid of.
I’m yours now.
I’m yours.
Yours.
Xu Ji’s snowboard hit a bump and he fell hard.
Ji Fangchi slid in front of him and said, “Ge, it seems like your skills have dropped. Why are you leaning back so much?”
Xu Ji got up, brushed off the snow, and thought to himself that Li Ting had succeeded in disgusting him once again.
Fortunately, time healed all wounds, and he soon forgot about the incident amid busyness. It was already half a month later when he saw Li Ting again.
That day, he got out of his car carrying his snowboard and saw something blocking his front door from afar.
Ji Fangchi had just woken up from a nap in the car and hadn’t even opened his eyes yet. He stretched lazily and followed behind Xu Ji, then bumped into Xu Ji’s back.
He exclaimed in pain, feeling like he had just hit a lamppost. He held his forehead and complained, “Ge, did you work out your back muscles again?”
But soon, Ji Fangchi realized that it wasn’t Xu Ji improving himself in secret, but that his back muscles were all tensed up.
His new house was located in a villa area, with small villas every few blocks along the way. There were flower beds on both sides of the entrance, and behind the house was a large area of grassland.
And at this moment, Li Ting was sitting on a suitcase, leaning against the door with his head tilted to one side, sleeping.
His hair wasn’t tied up, some of it sticking to his face, some falling on his chest, the dark color contrasting with his fair face made him even more beautiful.
After several months, his hair had grown quite a bit, it almost grew past his chest.
The suitcase was very short, and Li Ting’s long legs bent with nowhere to place. His brows furrowed from the restless sleep, his pale pink lips slightly parted as he breathed, and his eyelashes were just as if they were thick ink on white paper, everything just perfectly placed.
Ji Fangchi was mesmerized, he believed that as long as one was human, no one would be willing to destroy this fragile and beautiful picture-perfect scene.
“Hey,” Xu Ji came up to Li Ting at some time, “get up.”
Ji Fangchi’s eyes turned as lifeless as a dead fish. Of course, with the exception of his Xu Ji-ge.
Li Ting suddenly opened his eyes, and the figure in front of him gradually came into focus. His expression softened, “You’re back.”
Ji Fangchi watched the entire process of the other’s change of expressions and could only think of one thing: He loves him so much.
Xu Ji was impervious, “Why are you here?”
Xu Ji was literally splitting headaches. That house was bought by his parents after he got into university and was naturally under their name. He had been living there because he was too lazy to move. Recently, he had to move out because he had no other choice since Li Ting moved in.
However, for Xu Chengyue to find the address of his new house was as easy as pie, he can just have someone search for it.
This was undoubtedly his parents’ way of punishing him for not going home. Xu Ji could even imagine his father’s indignant expression, “Fine! He doesn’t want to come home? Let his wife go find him then!”
Li Ting waited quietly for Xu Ji to make a decision.
Xu Ji opened his mouth and after a while, he squeezed out, “You don’t have a house, right?”
Li Ting lowered his eyes and looked very pitiful, “No, I have no money. I’m really poor.”
Xu Ji didn’t believe him. Although the Li family had gone bankrupt, they weren’t a small company before. They say a camel is still bigger than a horse even when it’s starved. How could the son of the Li family have no savings or a house?
But he didn’t feel like arguing over these personal issues, “So what do you want?”
Li Ting glanced at the door, then at Xu Ji, and said, “I…”
“No way in hell.” Xu Ji cut him off bluntly.
Li Ting dishearteningly fell silent. When his line of sight fell on Ji Fangchi, who was behind his husband, he changed to a sorrowful yet aggrieved expression.
Ji Fangchi was startled, his hair standing on ends like a rabbit being hunted by a predator.
Xu Ji noticed his gaze and raised an eyebrow, “What are you looking at him for?”
Seeing that he was about to get caught up in the chaos, Ji Fangchi quickly said, “Haha, I haven’t been inside! I just came here to get my motorcycle!”
With that, he ran into the garage, pushed out a motorcycle, swung his leg over it, and turned to the two of them with a grin. “Haha, I’ll be off then! Ge, sister-in-law, see you later!”
The loud sound of the motorcycle’s engine grew farther and farther as it sped away, leaving Xu Ji and Li Ting looking at each other in silence.
No matter what, Xu Ji would not allow Li Ting to enter this door.
And after more than a decade of confrontation with his parents, he undoubtedly understood their mindset.
“Just stay here,” Xu Ji entered the password, and his tall figure blocked the lock completely. “You can even act more pitifully.”
Li Ting, “What do you mean?”
Xu Ji asked, “Do you attract mosquitoes?”
Li Ting didn’t understand, so he answered truthfully, “No.”
“Mn,” Xu Ji nodded and opened the door. “They will let you go back.”
There was no room for negotiation and the door closed in front of Li Ting. He didn’t say anything, but his fingers gripping the handle of his suitcase turned white from the exerting force. It took a while before he finally relaxed.
Meanwhile, Xu Ji went to take a shower. He came out of the bathroom shirtless, a towel draped over his shoulders, with a few drops of water sliding down his back muscles along the smooth but not overly exaggerated lines. These weren’t the muscles developed from simply eating protein powder in the gym, but rather the well-toned and flexible muscles that formed from tearing and stretching through years of continuous exercise.
Even while he did nothing but stand there, his masculine hormones permeated the entire room. Chu Qi calling him a “heavenly dish for the circle of bottoms” wasn’t an exaggeration at all.
He lifted the curtain and glanced down at Li Ting, who was still sitting on the flower bed, but he couldn’t see his expression clearly. Xu Ji raised an eyebrow slightly, he thought Li Ting would just walk away. New chapters come out on NovelPing first.
The phone just happened to ring, and he answered it, “Mn, yeah, just give it to the person at the door.”
In no time, a small delivery vehicle arrived. Li Ting took the food with a puzzled look, then he unconsciously glanced up at the tightly drawn curtains.
Soon, Xu Ji heard a knock on the door. He opened it.
Despite being locked out for over an hour, Li Ting’s good temper remained. He shook the bag of food and asked, “Did you order this?”
“Mn.” Xu Ji replied.
Li Ting glanced into the room and asked innocently, “But there’s no table, can I come in…?”
“No.” Xu Ji said without hesitation. “I ordered fried rice, there’s no soup. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it.”
Li Ting finished his meal while crouching on the steps. Perhaps due to his appearance and demeanor, he didn’t look like a beggar at all.
About an hour later, Xu Ji heard another knock on the door.
Li Ting still had a slight smile on his face as he asked, “Um, I want to use the bathroom.”
Xu Ji had already planned it out for him. “Go straight ahead for about 100 meters and then turn left. There’s a public restroom there.”
Hearing this, the smile on Li Ting’s face finally faded a bit. He said, “Is it really that difficult to let me in for just a moment?”
Xu Ji laughed, “Then can I ask why should I let a stranger into my home?”
It was the first time Li Ting saw Xu Ji laugh, he noticed his sharp features softened when his mouth raised. He said, “Are we still strangers? I’m your wife.”
Xu Ji replied, “Did I ask you to be my wife? Before you became my wife, I didn’t even know who you were.”
Li Ting closed his mouth, his face now had an aggressive tone without a hint of a smile.
“Do I know you well?” Xu Ji asked, “Or do you know me well?”
With his back to the light, Li Ting’s originally brown pupils became dark and gloomy as he remained silent, staring only at the black mole on Xu Ji’s nose bridge.
Xu Ji continued, “Do I not understand why you insisted on coming to me? Do I not know the reason why you must enter my house?”
It seemed like everyone, both with good and bad intentions, had always thrown themselves at him since he was a child, especially because he was the only son of the Xu family.
He even experienced a kidnapping incident when he was in elementary school. The kidnapper was his family’s driver who had stayed with them for five years. He would buy cupcakes for him while waiting for him after school, would worry more than his parents would when he fell, and would take revenge for him when he was bullied. They saw each other every day without fail, for five years.
Having also been exposed to society for five years, Xu Ji was particularly good at distinguishing whether the smiles of those around him were genuine or not.
After a long while, Li Ting finally curved his eyes again, and the hostile atmosphere dissipated immediately. “Alright alright, I was just too lazy to walk, don’t get mad at me.”
Xu Ji remained silent. Just like now, very fake, the muscles on his face pulled each feature into a similar arc.
Perhaps it wasn’t to the point of “very” fake, at least not enough for the Ji brothers to notice.
But the reason he didn’t push Li Ting away completely was that, despite the fakeness, there wasn’t a strong purpose directed at himself.
Compared to his previous resistance, now, more than ever, Xu Ji wanted to understand what Li Ting’s motives were for approaching him.