Song Qingchi’s smile was gentle, his voice carrying a hint of allure. “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to touch?”
Ji Xingzhu grumbled inwardly, but her gaze uncontrollably drifted to his chest.
Song Qingchi had broad shoulders and a firm chest. His tall, slender build meant that just him standing there exuded an undeniable sense of pressure.
He was still wearing a shirt, the fabric across his chest stretched tight. It was like a little hook, firmly capturing Ji Xingzhu’s attention.
Ji Xingzhu’s eyes flickered slightly, then she said to 999 with a hint of guilt, “999, I think I’m sick. Every time I see the dog male lead, I think about his 108-pack…”
The cannon fodder system replied, “…So you’ve contracted a lust sickness, is that it? : )”
Forcing herself to look away, Ji Xingzhu’s expression turned resolute as she declared virtuously, “Touch what? I’m not that kind of person!”
Finished speaking, she quickly brushed past Song Qingchi—as if afraid she might change her mind.
After sitting down, Ji Xingzhu couldn’t help but sneak another peek at Song Qingchi’s ‘well-endowed’ chest, thinking absently: Well… if he insisted she touch it… ahem, she could be persuaded to do it…
Unfortunately, Song Qingchi didn’t extend another ‘invitation’.
Song Qingchi’s gaze had been following Ji Xingzhu, tender and smiling. He gave a helpless, amused shake of his head and, basking in the pleasant mood from teasing his fiancée, gracefully sat down beside her.
Ji Xingzhu turned her head and glared at him. “What are you sitting here for?”
Song Qingchi casually picked up a magazine to read, replying calmly, “This is my seat.”
Ji Xingzhu instinctively retorted sarcastically, “You’re a pauper whose family went bankrupt. Can you even afford first class?”
Song Qingchi raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at her leisurely. “This pauper,” he said, “since he can swipe his card to buy haute couture for his fiancée, he can naturally afford a first-class ticket too.”
Remembering the pile of beautiful clothes she’d swindled from Song Qingchi a couple of days ago, Ji Xingzhu was momentarily speechless. But she wasn’t about to back down, stubbornly retorting, “Hmph, if you’re so capable, keep spending money on me from now on. Let’s see if you can afford to support this fiancée of yours.”
Song Qingchi curled his lips into a smile, looking thoroughly intrigued. “My utmost pleasure.”
Ji Xingzhu: “…” You’d better mean that! : )
Ji Xingzhu closed her eyes to pretend to sleep, deciding that out of sight was out of mind. But Song Qingchi had no intention of letting her be.
“Xingzhu, want some coffee?” His clear, magnetic voice rang out, which only annoyed Ji Xingzhu.
She snapped her eyes open and glared at him crossly, warning, “Don’t call me Xingzhu. We’re not close!”
Song Qingchi raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone indifferent as he said, “But you explicitly agreed before, allowing me to call you ‘Xingzhu’.”
“Xingzhu, you might not like me anymore now, but you haven’t lost your memory of that day, have you?” Song Qingchi curled his lips, looking at her with a faint, knowing smile.
Ji Xingzhu: “…”
For once, Ji Xingzhu felt she had nothing to say. But she absolutely couldn’t let herself be bested verbally, so she shot him an annoyed glance and warned, “You talk too much. I’m going to sleep now. Don’t disturb me.”
Song Qingchi felt a bit helpless, but could only indulge her and watch her close her eyes.
However, shortly after closing her eyes, Ji Xingzhu suddenly remembered a question—one that had bothered her for a while, something she really wanted to ask Song Qingchi.
So, despite being the one who had disdainfully warned him not to talk to her, it wasn’t long before she contradicted herself and took the initiative to speak to him.
“Hey, hey,” Ji Xingzhu had lost the will to pretend to sleep. She leaned in slightly and lowered her voice to ask, “What did you whisper to Shao Rui last night? How did you scare him off so easily?”
Her curiosity had been gnawing at her, and she couldn’t help but press for details. Her intuition told her there was a huge secret hidden in this!
Song Qingchi looked like he was trying hard not to laugh. He cleared his throat softly, and instead of answering, brought up another matter. “Xingzhu, you could just call me by my name too. There’s no need to be so distant.”
Ji Xingzhu found him a bit annoying. Why did he keep fixating on how they addressed each other? She couldn’t help but roll her eyes and retort impatiently, “Cut the nonsense and answer my question!”
However, Song Qingchi just looked at her with a smile and said evasively, “Nothing much.”
The more Song Qingchi concealed it, the more Ji Xingzhu was itching to know. But no matter how she tried to coerce or cajole him, Song Qingchi remained tight-lipped about the matter, always calmly steering the conversation elsewhere.
In the end, Ji Xingzhu still failed to get the gossip. She glared at him resentfully, put on her sunglasses (not caring what anyone thought), and simply started pretending to sleep, refusing to say another word to him.
Song Qingchi turned his head and quietly studied her angry profile. His hand resting on his knee unconsciously rubbed against the fabric. Strangely, he found himself wanting to pinch this arrogant young lady’s cheek.
However, if he actually dared to make such a rude move, Ji Xingzhu would probably freak out.
Song Qingchi propped his chin on one hand, a hint of an intrigued smile at the corner of his mouth, and quietly fell into thought: Was there any way to pinch the face of the young lady Ji…
Just as Song Qingchi was lost in thought, a sudden mechanical voice in his mind interrupted his train of thought.
“Host, good morning!”
Song Qingchi raised an eyebrow in surprise, glanced discreetly at Ji Xingzhu beside him, and then responded in his mind, “Good morning, Xiao Ba.”
Ji Xingzhu: “…I’m not called Xiao Ba!”
Song Qingchi chuckled, “But you personally told me your code name before.”
Ji Xingzhu: “I…”
Ji Xingzhu hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed weakly, “Forget it.”
From now on, Song Qingchi could call her whatever he wanted; she was done stressing over it. No matter how many times she corrected him, this dog male lead would just do as he pleased anyway.
Ji Xingzhu started with some polite small talk, then suddenly revealed her true intent: “Ahem, it’s like this, host. To ensure you achieve the world’s richest man ending, I need to clarify every action you take and the reasons behind them.”
“Now, I’d like you to explain how you calmed Shao Rui down last night? In other words—what exactly did you whisper in his ear?”
The moment Ji Xingzhu finished speaking, Song Qingchi couldn’t help but let out a low laugh. He rested his head on his hand, his shoulders shaking slightly with laughter. Deep, magnetic laughs escaped his throat, somewhat muffled—clearly trying to suppress them but failing completely.
Ji Xingzhu’s skin crawled from his laughter, and she demanded angrily out of embarrassment, “What are you laughing at?!”
Ji Xingzhu grumbled to 999, “9! Look at him! I’m trying to discuss serious business with him, and he’s just laughing away! That dog male lead respects me less and less!”
The cannon fodder system chuckled, “Are you sure you were discussing serious business with him?”
Ji Xingzhu: “…Just tell me, whose side are you on?!”
The cannon fodder system: “The middle ground!”
Ji Xingzhu: “!@#$%…”
In an instant, her mind became lively, filled with the bickering of the two ‘systems’. Song Qingchi took a couple of deep breaths to calm down, even wiping a tear of laughter from the corner of his eye.
He listened to the conversation in his mind with amusement, the corners of his mouth curling up uncontrollably.
He knew it—his fiancée’s curiosity wouldn’t fade so easily. Sure enough, when she couldn’t get the information she wanted using Ji Xingzhu’s identity, she switched to using the system’s identity to trick him.
Did the young lady Ji use all her cunning just to mess with him, her fiancé?
Song Qingchi shook his head helplessly. Then he cleared his throat, deliberately pretending not to hear the chaotic conversation in his mind, and asked seriously, “You want to know what I said to Shao Rui? Is this matter very important to you?”
Hearing this, Ji Xingzhu immediately abandoned 999 and used all her might to deal with Song Qingchi, “Of course it’s important! I need to know what you said to Shao Rui!”
Otherwise, she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, hmph!
Song Qingchi tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers, producing a rhythmic, soft sound—a subconscious habit of his when thinking. After a long moment, he said leisurely, “It’s not impossible to tell you…”
Ji Xingzhu’s spirits lifted, and she held her breath, waiting for the big gossip that was about to come.
Then, Song Qingchi smiled slightly and proposed to her, “But you’ll need to exchange it for some kind of reward.”
Ji Xingzhu suddenly became alert: “What kind of reward do you want?”
Song Qingchi slowed his speech: “Well… for instance, how about getting my fiancée to fall for me again?”
Ji Xingzhu: “…”
Ji Xingzhu: “Get lost!!!”
Ji Xingzhu yelled at him angrily, then logged off in a huff, not even wanting to discuss it with him.
Back in her body, she abruptly turned her head and glared at Song Qingchi, grinding her teeth secretly, very much wanting to slap him hard.
Just as Ji Xingzhu was trying to kill him with her eyes, Song Qingchi, who had been pretending to read a magazine, suddenly turned his head to look at her. Their eyes met unexpectedly.
Song Qingchi frowned slightly, feigning confusion, and asked politely with concern, “Xingzhu, is something wrong? Why is your face so red?”
Red face? From being angered by you! Ji Xingzhu’s eyes were practically spitting fire. She hesitated for a moment, then finally shot Song Qingchi a fierce glare but said nothing.
Watching Ji Xingzhu sulk, a smile crept into Song Qingchi’s eyes.