Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Rose x Kiss

The moment their gazes met, Ji Mingzhu made a sound, her voice pausing. “Still… still okay.”

No, not okay—

She was already about to faint. Her eyes didn’t dare drift downward at all. The air around her felt scorching; she didn’t dare settle her gaze anywhere.

If someone asked Ji Mingzhu to list the most embarrassing scenes of her life, what had just happened could easily rank in the top three—tied for second place with the period in childhood when she lost teeth and spoke with a lisp.

“Still okay?”

Jiang Ji repeated her words, then leaned against the doorframe, looking completely at ease.

His gaze locked onto her, clearly intending to hear a detailed explanation.

“…Why did you come over today?” Ji Mingzhu cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject.

“I’m relatively free these days.”

Ji Mingzhu nodded, then began subtly urging him to leave. “I still need to keep organizing my things.”

“Mm.” Jiang Ji lowered his eyes and responded.

As his voice fell, Jiang Ji straightened up, then slowly crouched down, picking up the black stockings that had fallen in front of him.

Ji Mingzhu stood rooted, watching his well-defined, slender fingers grasp the thin-as-cicada-wing garment and hang it on the door handle.

It drooped naturally, swaying lightly.

The garment suddenly re-entered her sight, hanging on the handle—exceptionally conspicuous.

“Put your things away properly,” Jiang Ji said before leaving her bedroom. “Don’t forget this.”

Ji Mingzhu: ………

…

When she could finally close the door, Ji Mingzhu quickly grabbed the black stockings hanging on the handle and stuffed them back into the original box in one motion.

Staring at the messy package, her thoughts gradually returned.

The scene that had just happened replayed like a movie, frame by frame.

Why had Jiang Ji come to Park Hyatt? Why had he opened the door with a “click” and walked straight in?

And how had the black stockings flown out of control, landing right at his feet?

Would he misunderstand and think she wanted to obtain some kind of happiness with him through this?

Heaven bear witness… she absolutely did not mean that!

All these coincidences together broke the original calm of the house.

Like a still lake with no ripples having a stone thrown into it—no matter how small the sound, the spreading ripples couldn’t be stopped.

Thinking of Jiang Ji’s earlier glance, the surge of anger that had rushed to Ji Mingzhu’s head instantly leaked away, leaving nothing.

Her momentum immediately shrank.

Ji Mingzhu opened the message interface and directly tapped into her chat with Lian Tang.

Jiang Ji’s voice was easy to recognize—especially cool and clear.

When he spoke just now, Lian Tang on the other end of the call had of course recognized him too. She made an “ah-oh—” sound.

As soon as Jiang Ji said his first sentence, Lian Tang decisively hung up.

Not the slightest intention of helping.

Ji Mingzhu: This is killing me.

Ji Mingzhu: You even dare hang up on me? Your wings have hardened—give you a cannon and you’ll shoot into the sky, huh!

Lian Tang: ……Don’t get excited, don’t get excited!

Lian Tang: You can’t really blame me. I was making space for you two.

Lian Tang: So… was it effective?!

Ji Mingzhu: ?

Ji Mingzhu: What effect? The effect of him possibly misunderstanding me?

Lian Tang had never seen Ji Mingzhu this anxious before. Her tone was also different from usual, so she immediately voiced her doubts.

Lian Tang: Something’s off.

Lian Tang: What exactly happened… he could even misunderstand?

Lian Tang: Quick—tell me!!

The naive Lian Tang only thought the conversation had been overheard; she knew nothing else and was completely confused.

Seeing that she was still missing the point at this moment, Ji Mingzhu took a deep breath.

Ji Mingzhu: Didn’t you want the ace boy group’s autographed signatures before?

Lian Tang: Yeah.

Lian Tang: What, you already got them?!

Lian Tang: Hehehehe, love you, Little Eight!

This time Ji Mingzhu was especially cold and merciless—

Ji Mingzhu: No.

Ji Mingzhu: I just want to tell you.

Ji Mingzhu: Not a chance—at all!

Lian Tang: ?

…

Because of this small incident, Ji Mingzhu didn’t step out of her room much afterward.

Outside was quiet, with no sign of movement.

But—sometimes when she carried things from the living room to her bedroom, or went out to pour herself a glass of water, she would always coincidentally run into Jiang Ji stepping out of the study.

A feeling similar to guilty conscience surfaced from time to time.

And whenever she secretly began to size him up, she would always be caught by Jiang Ji, meeting his calm gaze.

It was already past noon.

The winter sunlight was warm and gentle.

The white-edged light pierced through the floor-to-ceiling windows, slanting down, revealing floating dust particles in the air.

Just like her mood.

Ji Mingzhu watched the sunlight fall on Jiang Ji’s face—skin like cold jade, pupils pitch black.

As if possessed, she spoke first. “Are you staying here tonight?”

Ji Mingzhu had reason to ask this.

Previously, whenever she came here, she had never encountered him. Today she met him, and he had said he wasn’t busy these days.

Appearing here at this time, he really did seem quite free.

Jiang Ji, tall with long legs, stood by the kitchen counter, slowly grinding coffee.

Hearing Ji Mingzhu’s question, he showed little change in expression, only asking in return, “You’re not staying?”

Ji Mingzhu froze for two seconds, then nodded. “I’ve mostly finished organizing my things.”

Originally she wanted to delay a few more days, but the deadline for updating her video was approaching, and she hadn’t finished editing yet. Most of the electronic equipment she used for editing had already been moved here.

This way, going back to the Ji residence would instead be inconvenient.

Previously, Ji Shaoyan had already arranged for Sister Li to come over to tidy and clean. The bedding here had all been newly replaced, the scent identical to the one at home.

Ji Mingzhu had high requirements for her environment, and Ji Shaoyan had arranged everything early so she could feel comfortable.

…

Although her room at Park Hyatt Mansion had been carefully decorated by Sister Li, in any case, Ji Mingzhu’s personal and important belongings still had to be organized by herself.

Her bedroom faced the sun. On the right, past the dressing table, it connected to a walk-in closet and bathroom. The large study in the split-level apartment was allocated to Jiang Ji. No matter how busy she was, overall she was still not as busy as Jiang Ji.

Therefore, the small attic another half level above the second floor was proactively taken by Ji Mingzhu. She renovated it in her preferred style, giving herself a small space to keep to her own world.

Usually she could edit videos here or do miscellaneous things.

Most importantly, when editing videos she required relatively free space and didn’t like being disturbed when concentrating.

And ever since she had known Jiang Ji, she knew he had a cold temperament and liked quiet.

He had always been like this since childhood, never changing.

This arrangement couldn’t be better.

After settling everything, Ji Mingzhu went straight to the attic and began working. She had just recorded a new episode documenting her experiences after returning to the country. Editing was mentally taxing, but she liked it.

Ji Mingzhu was born into a prominent family. Among the collateral branches neighboring the Ji family, all the younger generation this time were boys except her.

Though she was doted on immensely, when it came to academics she couldn’t resist the family’s arrangements and studied finance.

As for what she liked, only when recording her daily life did her mood become particularly good.

Having traveled alone through so many countries and seen so many landscapes, she wanted to record them and share this joy with others.

Ji Mingzhu had a strong ability to accept new things since childhood. Before vlogs became popular domestically, she had already started on major video platforms. When the trend later rose in the country, Ji Mingzhu had already gained some fame, standing out among many bloggers and becoming popular both domestically and abroad.

Immersed in editing, time passed quickly.

After washing up and changing into pajamas, Ji Mingzhu went to the attic again, turned off the screen, checked everything, and only then went downstairs at ease.

Most of the video stitching and editing was done; subtitles and scene transitions later would be easy for her.

The weight on her mind lightened, and her mood became more relaxed than usual.

There were still some miscellaneous little items piled in the living room, and she wasn’t in a hurry to place them.

Ji Mingzhu simply crouched down and poked at them.

One of them, a music box, was said to have been given by her mother when she was young, with her exclusive name engraved underneath.

The music box was dark brown wood, fine in texture, faintly scented with sandalwood.

Ji Mingzhu had always kept it by her side. She didn’t forget to bring it when she went abroad; it had always followed her.

She opened the mechanism, and a hollow, gentle low melody slowly flowed out.

At that moment—

Unhurried footsteps came from the stairs.

But Ji Mingzhu seemed not to hear. The sound of descending steps was faint, covered by the music box.

Jiang Ji also hadn’t expected to see Ji Mingzhu at this moment.

The girl stood in the corner of the living room, eyelashes lowered, listening to something.

Though the pajamas weren’t tight-fitting, her crouched posture faintly outlined her good figure.

Her slender waist curved inward, and above it was a half glimpse of dazzlingly fair skin.

Jiang Ji paused, withdrawing his gaze.

Beside him on the stairway was a large, clear glass mirror spanning the two floors.

Capturing every movement of the person within it.

In the refracted light, his jawline was tense.