On Sunday morning, Jiang Xizhi woke up at nine o’clock. After washing up, she tried on the three outfits she had bought the day before, one by one.
Yesterday, to avoid making Ji Han Zhuo wait too long, she hadn’t tried on the clothes in the store. After purchasing them, she immediately went to find Ji Han Zhuo. This morning, after confirming they fit perfectly, she put them away with satisfaction.
She spent the entire morning with Ji Han Zhuo in the study. While he handled work, she contacted Yueyue, asking her to help find the books she had left in the dormitory and to bring them to her tomorrow morning. They agreed to meet at the small square in front of the teaching building, where Jiang Xizhi would bring her breakfast.
Lunch was later than usual. After the meal, Ji Han Zhuo, as usual, accompanied Jiang Xizhi for her afternoon nap. In fact, whenever Ji Han Zhuo was home and not too busy with work, he would always spend some time napping with her.
When Jiang Xizhi woke up, an hour had already passed. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the man beside her propping his head up, watching her with amusement. When he noticed she was awake, he gently poked her cheek with his finger.
Jiang Xizhi actually had small dimples—shallow ones that weren’t very noticeable even when she smiled. Aside from Father Jiang and Wen Luoyue, Ji Han Zhuo was the first to discover them. The spot he was poking now was precisely one of her dimples.
As he gently prodded her cheek, he said, “Smile for me.”
Still groggy from sleep, Jiang Xizhi was a bit confused. Her only thought at his sudden request was: This man is crazy.
“No, I’m not your little pet, smiling on command just because you say so.”
Ji Han Zhuo pulled her closer into his embrace, his warm breath brushing against her neck. Then, a low, magnetic voice sounded in her ear, “Of course you’re not a little pet. You’re my little ancestor. Can my little ancestor give me a smile? I want to see your dimples.”
Little ancestor? She couldn’t possibly live up to that title. Jiang Xizhi pursed her lips, but inexplicably, she felt quite pleased inside.
“But I can’t smile right now. I don’t feel like smiling.”
The implied meaning: Make me happy, and I might reluctantly give you a smile.
Ji Han Zhuo’s eyes flickered mischievously. Under the velvet blanket, his large hand grew restless, finding the ticklish spot under the girl’s armpit and teasing her mercilessly. “How about now? Do you feel like smiling?”
Jiang Xizhi was naturally ticklish, and she couldn’t help squirming uncontrollably, instinctively trying to evade his mischievous hand.
Her face flushed bright red as she gasped breathlessly, “Haha… you… you’re playing dirty! Let go, ah… haha.”
The man paid no attention to her protests and continued his teasing, even taking the opportunity to poke the dimple that had appeared on her cheek.
Jiang Xizhi laughed until she was almost out of breath, the corners of her eyes turning slightly red. Feigning anger, she said, “Ji Han Zhuo, let go now, or I’ll ignore you.”
Ji Han Zhuo had only wanted to see her dimples in the first place. Now that he had seen and touched them, he released her, pulling her tightly into his arms. Pressing his cheek against hers, he mused, “I wonder if our future child will have dimples. If we have a daughter who inherits your dimples, she’d surely be very beautiful.”
At his words, Jiang Xizhi’s body stiffened slightly. A shadow of something unclear flickered in her beautiful eyes as she replied absentmindedly, “There won’t be a daughter.”
After saying this, she covered her face with the blanket.
Ji Han Zhuo sensed her change in mood and pulled the blanket away, gazing intently at her. His expression was tense, tinged with a hint of scrutiny. “You don’t like daughters? A son is fine too. I’ll love any child of ours.”
Jiang Xizhi immediately snapped back to reality, blinking her slightly moist eyes and evasively saying, “No, either a son or daughter is fine. These things should be left to fate.”
“You’re right. Anyway, I can afford to raise them.”
Only after Ji Han Zhuo finished speaking did Jiang Xizhi let out a sigh of relief. She was almost scared to death—she had nearly given herself away.
But they wouldn’t have children in this lifetime. If she had known from the very beginning that he couldn’t be born safely, she wouldn’t have let him appear in her womb. This was better for both of them.
After their afternoon nap, Ji Han Zhuo went to attend a video conference, and Jiang Xizhi seized the opportunity to slip out. She ran to the greenhouse in the backyard to check on the purple eggplant flowers she had planted.
If it weren’t for what had just happened, she would have almost forgotten about them.
The greenhouse was filled with all kinds of rare and exotic flowers and plants, each vying for beauty in a dazzling array of colors. Jiang Xizhi bent down and searched for a long time among the collection of precious plants before finally finding her purple eggplant flowers. They had already sprouted small purple buds and would likely bloom before long.
After watering and de-bugging the flowers according to the online method, Jiang Xizhi left the greenhouse.
Since she had to wake up early for school the next day, Jiang Xizhi went to bed very early that night. By the time Ji Han Zhuo returned from the study, the person in bed was already fast asleep.
After washing up, he lifted the covers and got into bed, pulling the girl into his arms as usual. He tugged her spaghetti-strap nightgown downward and pressed a heavy kiss just below her collarbone, sucking hard before moving to another spot and continuing until several distinct red marks appeared. Only then did he stop.
With his mark on her, no one else could covet her.
7 a.m.
Jiang Xizhi was awakened by her alarm clock. Unlike before, she didn’t linger in bed this time. As soon as the first alarm rang, she opened her eyes and got up to wash up.
Without the warm, soft little figure in his arms, Ji Han Zhuo couldn’t sleep either, so he simply got up and washed up alongside Jiang Xizhi.
By the time they finished breakfast, it was already 7:40. At 8 o’clock, Ji Han Zhuo dropped Jiang Xizhi off at a secluded small intersection one street away from Jing University. After confirming her dismissal time for the afternoon and grabbing her for a few fierce kisses, he finally left.
Watching the shadow of the man’s car disappear, Jiang Xizhi still couldn’t quite believe it. Had he really just left like that? It didn’t seem like his usual style.
Oh well, never mind. It was a good thing he was giving her freedom. Now, she could start her own plans.
Since it was Jiang Xizhi’s first day back on campus, she had deliberately worn the new blue floral-print dress with a cinched waist that she had bought the day before yesterday. She carried a small white crossbody bag without any logos, inside which was the breakfast she had brought for Wen Luoyue.
The girl’s skin was fair and translucent, her features delicate and refined, with an ethereal beauty. The sunlight shining on her added a touch of radiance, making her extremely eye-catching as she walked across campus.
Just from the school gate to the small square, she attracted many glances. However, due to her long absence from campus and the change in her demeanor, almost no one recognized her.
As soon as Jiang Xizhi reached the small square, she spotted Wen Luoyue holding two books and wearing a spaghetti-strap dress that revealed her calves. Seeing that Wen Luoyue was looking down and not in her direction, Jiang Xizhi circled around behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Yueyue!”
Upon seeing her, Wen Luoyue immediately gave her a bear hug, exclaiming excitedly, “Ah, Zhizhi, you’re finally back!”
The books she had been holding in her arms scattered all over the ground.
Jiang Xizhi almost collapsed under her weight. “Alright, alright. If you don’t get down soon, tomorrow’s campus forum headline will be about the two of us.”
Too many people around were watching them.
After Wen Luoyue released Jiang Xizhi, Jiang Xizhi immediately crouched down to pick up the books. Only after standing up did she realize Wen Luoyue had been sizing her up, even circling around her.
With a serious expression, Wen Luoyue said, “Confess honestly, where have you been fooling around all this time, and even taking a leave of absence? Tsk tsk tsk, look at this face, this figure—it’s all different.”
As she spoke, she casually patted Jiang Xizhi’s butt, acting like an old rogue.
Jiang Xizhi felt a bit embarrassed. After handing the breakfast from her bag to Wen Luoyue, she took her hand and led her toward a nearby grove of trees. “Hurry up and eat, it’ll get cold soon.”
“Don’t think you can easily change the subject. If you don’t make it clear today, don’t even think about leaving,” Wen Luoyue said, unceremoniously opening the bag and taking a bite of the bun.