Chapter 20

Chapter 20 Rose x Kiss

Ji Mingzhu stared at the screen for a while.

So the “discussing business” Jiang Ji mentioned was with Zhao Lan…?

Ji Mingzhu steadied herself and continued recording calmly, but after a while, many scenes popped into her mind again.

What were the two talking about, or what could they talk about?

Were they discussing the lipstick mark from before, or the details of the interview collaboration?

Thinking back to what Lian Tang had told her about Zhao Lan’s past, no matter how quietly obedient she pretended to be, those details couldn’t be hidden. They were laid out openly, everything displayed clearly.

And Ji Mingzhu only needed that one glance outside the office back then to see Zhao Lan’s barely concealed little intentions.

Was Jiang Ji truly unaware, or pretending not to understand?

Thinking of this, Ji Mingzhu suddenly felt like the Hulk.

She immediately turned off the recording and directly called Jiang Ji—if he wanted to put a green hat on her, he was dreaming!

But contrary to what she expected, after dialing, the other side picked up quickly after only a few rings.

She lowered her head and listened carefully, trying to catch any female voice that might accidentally come from his side. But she waited and waited, until Jiang Ji spoke, “What’s wrong?”

His voice was low, with no sign of guilty abnormality.

Ji Mingzhu cleared her throat. “Where are you, Jiang Ji?”

“North of the city.”

Good. Still in the north—matched up.

That meant everything just now wasn’t an illusion!

“What are you doing now?”

“Nothing.”

Eh—why wasn’t this going as expected?

“Then when are you coming back?” After blurting it out, Ji Mingzhu realized her tone might have been a bit quick, so she immediately explained, “I’m just asking.”

Usually when such a question was asked, a suspicious man would reply, “I still have things to do, very late, or I won’t return.”

While Ji Mingzhu waited for that template answer, his voice came from the receiver.

“You want me to come back faster?” Jiang Ji agreed. “Wait for me.”

“……”

Wait—

Did Jiang Ji misunderstand something?

Did she ask him to come back quickly?

Was that what she meant?!

Ji Mingzhu hung up first. She didn’t even bother filming anymore, didn’t continue the route, and directly took the sightseeing bus back from a fixed stop.

…

Night fell quickly. Just moments ago it had been dusk with lingering glow, but soon streetlights lit up one by one.

After Jiang Ji left the Zhao residence, Zhao Lan followed closely behind him. But she couldn’t match his pace, so she hurried forward in small runs and stopped him.

“Jiang Ji, wait a moment.”

Jiang Ji opened the car door and turned slightly to look at her, a very faint glance.

Today Jiang Ji had discussed previous cooperation with Old Master Zhao at the Zhao Corporation. After finishing, he was warmly invited to the Zhao home for casual conversation.

When Zhao Lan returned, Jiang Ji had already put on his coat and was preparing to leave. She didn’t even bother changing her shoes and rushed up directly.

“I won’t beat around the bush, I’ll just say it directly.” Zhao Lan took a deep breath, as if going all out. “I really want to secure the interview with Jiang Corporation. Last time my grandfather asked you, you said it wasn’t convenient, but I can guarantee I won’t disclose too much about Jiang Corporation. The interview program is about the person, not your company. Do you understand what I mean?”

“When I communicated with your assistants before, they didn’t really understand my column either. We were classmates—won’t you even do such a small favor?”

Zhao Lan added, “And when I was communicating back then, I had already released the news online.”

“Before cooperation was confirmed, Miss Zhao could already release the news. In that case, should Jiang Corporation be blamed?” Jiang Ji asked calmly.

“…Of course I don’t mean to blame Jiang Corporation!” Zhao Lan became a little anxious. After speaking, she stared fixedly at Jiang Ji. “So Jiang Ji, are you willing to help? I can guarantee that everything I just said, I can do.”

She meant not revealing even the slightest information about Jiang Corporation.

Jiang Ji cast a casual glance, clearly intending to get into the car. “My answer is still the same as last time.”

Hearing this, Zhao Lan froze for a moment, then pulled up a flawless smile. “I respect your decision. Since we can’t cooperate, I won’t force it.”

Jiang Ji’s expression remained cold and indifferent; it was unclear whether he was even listening.

Suddenly—

His phone rang.

Jiang Ji lowered his eyes and answered. Zhao Lan could vaguely hear phrases like “What’s wrong,” “north of the city,” “want me to come back quickly,” “wait for me.”

Thinking of the person on the other end, Zhao Lan decided to try one more time.

She had originally had a vague line in her heart, unsure whether to grasp it. This phone call made her make up her mind.

Seeing Jiang Ji about to get into the car, Zhao Lan hurried forward a couple of steps and spoke again. “Let’s not talk about cooperation now. I just want to say—Jiang Ji, you’ve been back in the country so long, and we don’t even have each other’s contact information. Can we add WeChat? Scanning the code is quick; it shouldn’t trouble you.”

Jiang Ji glanced at her.

How to describe it—just an ordinary, calm glance.

When he looked at her, it was no different from how he looked at other people, or even any flowers, plants, or trees.

“This kind of thing indeed wouldn’t trouble me. But to me, you are trouble.” Jiang Ji said flatly, then got into the car neatly.

Zhao Lan froze in place, Jiang Ji’s final words echoing in her ears.

She couldn’t believe those words had come from Jiang Ji’s mouth.

…

As Jiang Ji drove through the north of the city, he turned directly toward the city center.

Before reaching the Baiyue area, his gaze swept past a shop and lingered for a moment.

After parking, Jiang Ji walked slowly into a store, the wind chime at the entrance ringing.

This was a delicately decorated cubicle-style shop, moderate in size but with a very distinct style.

Every item displayed on the shelves without exception was in cute cartoon designs.

Jiang Ji glanced over them one by one, his gaze stopping at one section.

The styles there were very uniform—every product was printed with bright yellow little chicks.

The shop owner saw this tall young man lingering there, seemingly having difficulty choosing.

The cold and distant man had an extraordinary temperament, completely out of place in this shop.

She walked directly up. “Young man, picking a gift for your girlfriend?”

Jiang Ji paused when he heard this and looked at her.

Though the shop owner was already in her forties or fifties, she still blanked for a moment after seeing Jiang Ji’s face.

Not to mention, this young man was quite handsome—enough to make her old face blush.

“Not a gift. Do you have medicine for sprains?” After speaking, Jiang Ji slowly added, “With packaging in this style.”

“Oh, not a gift, buying medicine.” The shop owner nodded. “Yes, we do. The style you mentioned is a collaboration with Sally Chick across various products. We have many here. This kind of cute and popular brand—girls especially like it.”

The shop owner was also enthusiastic. “Did your girlfriend sprain herself?”

She said this while rummaging around and took out the medicine. “Here, take it. Actually, it’s not just these—band-aids, bandages, those also have the same style. They’re all quite cute.”

Jiang Ji politely refused. “Thank you, the medicine is enough.”

It wasn’t just his appearance—even his voice sounded pleasant.

The shop owner, holding a devout attitude toward appreciating beauty, watched him for a while. When Jiang Ji paid, she deliberately gave him a membership discount he shouldn’t have had.

Jiang Ji took the packaged bag, left the store, and then got into the car.

According to the time he had promised earlier, he should have already arrived at Baiyue by now.

But being sidetracked by that store along the way made him a little late when heading back.

Jiang Ji didn’t know when Ji Mingzhu would return. Seeing that store, he simply used it to pass some time.

Unexpectedly, when he entered the foyer, the lights inside were brightly on.

Normally, the lights at Baiyue had several brightness levels, either automatically adjusted or manually controlled. Usually, the automatic mode was used.

For it to be this bright tonight, it must have been manually turned up.

When he took off his coat and went in, Ji Mingzhu was sitting upright on the sofa, her back very straight, her graceful swan-like neck snow white.

Her legs were casually crossed, and beneath her long wavy hair was a charming profile.

As if hearing him enter the foyer,

Ji Mingzhu’s gaze shot directly toward him, sharp as a torch.

Seeing her set up such a grand formation, Jiang Ji raised an eyebrow.

…

Ji Mingzhu had indeed come back to wait and interrogate him—commonly known as an avoidant-style “catching cheating.”

However, when she returned, she carefully looked around once, making sure she wouldn’t be startled like before, before entering at ease.

Although Jiang Ji had verbally agreed to come back quickly, in reality, she still arrived first.

Could he really be driving slower than a sightseeing bus?

Maybe he wasn’t driving a Bentley, but a turtle. :)

In Ji Mingzhu’s dictionary, the words “green hat” didn’t exist.

Today, Jiang Ji wouldn’t escape her hands!

Thinking of this, Ji Mingzhu spoke first, striking preemptively, putting on a proper act.

“You’re back?”

Jiang Ji responded with a sound.

“You came back really early.” Ji Mingzhu said, smiling at him.

“I was delayed on the road.” Jiang Ji rarely gave a patient explanation. He meant that store.

“You’re sure it was a delay, not a romantic encounter?”

Hearing his words, Ji Mingzhu suddenly said this.

Jiang Ji looked up at her, his expression unreadable.

If the shop owner counted as a romantic encounter…

“Didn’t you eat dinner?” Jiang Ji didn’t answer her and directly changed the topic.

“Huh?” Ji Mingzhu looked confused. “I didn’t.”

His guess confirmed, Jiang Ji said indifferently, “If it weren’t because you were hungry, you wouldn’t have told me to come back quickly.”

“I’ll go change clothes first, then cook.”

Jiang Ji said this and was about to walk toward his room.

After a couple of steps, he stopped, turned back, and handed the thing in his hand to her.

“Don’t refuse to apply medicine just because it doesn’t hurt. This is new.”

After Jiang Ji finished speaking, he left. Ji Mingzhu looked at the pink packaging bag in her hand and blinked.

She slowly opened the pink bag. Inside was a spray medicine for sprains.

However, it was different from the ones Ji Mingzhu had seen before.

It was bright yellow, the bottle covered with cute little chicks, looking simple and adorable, very cute.

Author’s Note:

[Mini Theater]:

Piggy: This man is quite capable :)

Chicken: I’m even more capable in other aspects.

Piggy: No need to verify this time! I raise the white flag!

There’s a red packet for twenty-five words, helping Congcong, everyone work hard!!

By the way, recommending a nice novel by Yuyu! “Delicate Beauty in the Palm” by Sweet Vinegar Fish

Refined scoundrel elegant CEO × fair-skinned beautiful little peacock

[1]

When Chen Die was sixteen, she first met Wen Liang on the street. The young man was playing with a hat in his hand, his eyes pitch black, standing in front of her from above.

After a while, he leaned down, his dark eyes meeting her gaze.

“Will you come with me?” the boy said.

Chen Die really went with him, and that following lasted six years.

[2]

Everyone knew Wen Liang was unruly and cynical, but it was rumored he had a beauty at home, the campus belle of the film academy—bright and gorgeous, ethereal and lively, her temperament spoiled and willful by him.

The two each took what they needed, knowing it clearly, loving each other deeply for years. Then Chen Die graduated from university and waved gracefully, saying “Goodbye.”

Even more decisive than when she nodded and went with him back then.

Wen Liang lit a cigarette. Amid pale smoke, he raised his eyes and curled his lips, coldly praising her: “Very good.”

After Chen Die left, Wen Liang still lived flourishingly, unaffected.

Everyone sighed that Young Master Wen was cold-blooded and heartless—even after so many years together, it was nothing more than that.

But in some gossip news one day, the two appeared—

Late at night on the street, the popular rising actress Chen Die fiercely slapped the biggest investor of her new film, leaving him stunned.

After the slap, Chen Die casually gathered her long hair, charming and graceful, and said gently, “President Wen, I think we broke up long ago.”

The man wasn’t angry. Instead, he leaned against the car, licked his lips, and praised, “My little leopard, even your hits are so fierce.”

Chen Die looked at him distantly, saying nothing.

Wen Liang, who always seemed carefree in others’ eyes, fell silent for a moment, his eyes gradually reddening.

His hands trembling slightly, he carefully pulled her into his arms, murmuring the nickname only he knew: “Lingling, be good, come with me.”

#I won’t try to pick the moon; I want the moon to come to me#

Thanks to the little angels who threw overlord tickets or irrigated nutrient solution during 2020-02-01 23:02:22~2020-02-02 02:11:39~

Thanks to the little angels who threw landmines: Cheng Xi, Xingyue Sales 1 each;

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Want Lots of Money 39 bottles; I’m So Hard 10 bottles; Zhen Ying, Xi Xi Xi Xi Xi Xi, wadhl 5 bottles; Just Want to Be a Salted Fish, Wutong Qiao Tree 3 bottles; Yue Ying Zhi Hua 1 bottle;

Thank you very much for everyone’s support, I will continue to work hard!