Chapter 44

Chapter 44 Rose x Kiss

With Jiang Ji’s movements, Mingzhu felt as if all the sparks in her body ignited right at her chest.

Then, she realized her throat felt sticky, as if filled with sugar syrup.

The man before her was strikingly handsome, and in the evening glow, his jet-black eyes shimmered brilliantly.

Jiang Ji was suddenly so assertive, his attitude clear.

He asked her if, in her heart, there could be a place for him.

This unfathomable man.

The same dog of a man who not long ago claimed he wasn’t attracted to her.

Not only had he chased her to Switzerland, he had now acted with both hands and mouth!

Listening to his last words, all her swirling thoughts condensed into one question.

When… did she ever have anything with Jiang Mo?!

“…Me and Jiang Mo?” Ji Mingzhu’s eyes widened, not understanding where Jiang Ji got the idea of “you don’t feel anything now.”

So, in his eyes, she used to have feelings for Jiang Mo?

Was it divine confidence, or just reckless nonsense?!

“What could I possibly have with Jiang Ji—” Ji Mingzhu started, only to be sharply interrupted by Jiang Ji.

His brows darkened, “Don’t ever mention him again. I won’t allow it.”

He won’t allow it…

Who does he think he is to forbid that?!

Ji Mingzhu refused to yield to Jiang Ji, “No! What kind of relationship could I possibly have with him? We don’t even know each other! And you—aren’t you my—so you’re putting words in my mouth, you dog of a man!”

Saying that, Ji Mingzhu swiftly bent her leg, her knee thrusting forward, striking the vital spot.

Jiang Ji was completely unprepared, grunting, his hand’s strength paused for a moment, the grip slightly loosening.

Ji Mingzhu took the opportunity to escape from his arm, covering her chest with both hands.

Her face was flushed, her clothes and hair disheveled, “Jiang Ji… I really never realized you were this kind of person!”

He had been placing his palm there, pressing with his fingers at the end.

Each press went through her clothes, sparks igniting and colliding with the ones crackling up.

…

Once calm, the two occupied opposite corners of the bed, back to back, neither looking at the other.

“You…”

“I…”

Both spoke at the same time, then both fell silent.

“You go first.” Ji Mingzhu insisted.

Jiang Ji slowly spoke, “What do you mean you’re not familiar with Jiang Mo?”

Even someone like him began to doubt himself at this moment.

Ji Mingzhu rubbed her neck through her hands, “I don’t think someone I’ve spoken to no more than three times in a year is very familiar to me.”

Besides, during the years she studied in Australia,

she hadn’t exchanged a single word with him, nor did she have Jiang Mo’s contact information.

“Jiang Ji, where did you hear these rumors that made you think I had feelings for him?” Ji Mingzhu thought, remembering that just kicking him once earlier seemed almost merciful.

At this moment, Jiang Ji had once again returned to his previous calm demeanor.

Every time faced with this topic, he restrained himself from overthinking.

Ji Mingzhu said they weren’t close.

But what he had seen back then was concrete.

Perhaps because it hadn’t worked out.

Ji Mingzhu and Jiang Mo never ended up together, so they weren’t close.

After thinking for a long while, Jiang Ji slowly spoke, “That time before you went abroad, at my birthday party, you and Jiang Mo were in the back garden, and I was standing right there.”

“I heard everything you said to him.”

Even now, in moments like this, deep down he didn’t want to dredge it all up again.

Actually, it wasn’t even really a conversation.

It was a confession, proper and straightforward.

At that time, Ji Mingzhu probably wouldn’t have thought that he had been searching all over the Ji residence for her.

She also wouldn’t have imagined that, in the back garden, he eventually found her and witnessed something he had never anticipated.

From then on, their relationship was never the same again, shattered like broken ice, starting a long period of years separated by oceans.

From then until now, several years had passed.

Jiang Ji had lingered in the shadows beside the garden rockery, watching Ji Mingzhu slowly express her feelings, only to be rejected by Jiang Mo.

At that time, part of him was angry that Jiang Mo dared to reject her, and part of him selfishly thought, “Good thing Jiang Mo rejected her.”

After Jiang Ji said this, Ji Mingzhu fell silent.

Memories from long ago, many details she couldn’t recall clearly.

But that night alone was etched onto the “pillory of shame”—one of the rare moments of utter humiliation in all her highlights in life.

She had been mercilessly crushed, her teenage heart shattered completely, utterly and thoroughly.

It felt like falling from the clouds.

She still remembered that night, the full moon bright and clear.

Though it was winter and the wind bitter, her heart’s excitement made it feel not so cold.

She only felt bold and trembling at the thought of executing her plan.

How brave she had been then.

But the braver she was, the harder she fell.

Jiang Ji’s birthday party had been lively; Ji Mingzhu and Lian Tang wore little dresses, whispering in a corner of the long table.

Before she succeeded, Ji Mingzhu hadn’t revealed a hint of her plan, only repeatedly emphasizing that she was going to do something big.

Lian Tang suggested that since it was such a big deal, she should drink some wine to boost her courage.

After a few sips, Ji Mingzhu felt every cell in her body boiling.

After returning from the restroom, she rounded the corner in the back garden and spotted the figure she had always coveted.

A young girl’s feelings are always poetic. Jiang Ji’s face was cold, but he treated her well.

This boy, ice-cold and handsome, was the white moonlight of all the school girls—like the clear moon, like the bright glow.

She looked up at him, and because she had secretly drunk a little wine, the aftereffects surged, giving her slight hesitation a push, a solid backing.

Ji Mingzhu took a deep breath, a hint of hope in her tone, full of expectation: “Um… I think you’re really great… I also quite like you. So just go along with me!”

In the past, when she spoke to Jiang Ji in this tone,

he would reply with a single-word response—but even that was agreement.

However, the words that followed felt like she had fallen into an ice pit.

Then, the emotions filling her heart were nothing but embarrassment and shame.

Half of his face was hidden in the shadows, making it hard to see clearly.

She only remembered the icy gaze and the calm, cold tone: “Sorry, I don’t like you.”

The memory resurfaced sharply. Ji Mingzhu realized that after all these years, she could still recall every detail, every dialogue vividly.

But now Jiang Ji said that back then, he had seen her with Jiang Mo in the back garden.

She was stunned for a long time, unable to recover her senses.

It turned out she had been mistaken.

Not only had she misidentified someone, that scene had also been seen by Jiang Ji.

What did this mean?

Ji Mingzhu’s mind was unusually complicated; it was the first time she had doubted herself.

Back then, her vision had been blurry, and in the darkness, she hadn’t thought too much.

Seeing her remain silent for so long, Jiang Ji stood up, walked around the foot of the bed, and slowly half-squatted by her side, bringing his eyes level with hers.

“You were young and naive then, without much affection,” he added. “I won’t hold this against you in the future. I want to ask, how do you feel about me now?”

Jiang Ji’s tone was gentle, yet it successfully made Ji Mingzhu lift her head.

She met his gaze directly and snorted, “Young and naive? Without much affection?”

Ji Mingzhu looked into his deep, ink-black eyes, shining like stars scattered across the night sky.

“Jiang Ji, that night… I thought it was you.”

Those words struck like a bolt from the blue, waking the slow-to-realize person in this game of chase and pursuit.

......

At dinner, Jiang Ji finally caught up with Ji Mingzhu.

Earlier, he had almost been forced out.

Only the luggage at the door had been his companion.

From the suite across, the young man of Chinese descent had peeked out, stealthily looking this way, but Jiang Ji’s glance sent him retreating.

The three of them sat at the table. The young Chinese man kept fawning over Ji Mingzhu.

She smiled politely and thanked him.

But she paid little attention to Jiang Ji.

Even so, Jiang Ji didn’t mind at all.

The feeling of clearing away the thorns, of opening up the space, the relief of finally seeing the moon through parting clouds, the restless stir of spring sunlight brushing against the face—all of it reminded him that spring had truly arrived.

In his youth, there had been a girl who moved all his emotions. Though there had been confusion and misunderstanding, anger and resentment, hesitation and longing, at this moment, God covered all past hardships with every bit of happiness.

She said that night she had thought it was him.

In other words, the person she meant when she said she liked him and wanted him to be her partner—was him.

No matter what caused her to make a mistake, she had been mistaken about the person.

In short, the original object of her confession—was him. Always him.

Jiang Ji stared at Ji Mingzhu, momentarily forgetting himself, barely touching his food.

The landlady first noticed Jiang Ji’s distraction. Concerned, she asked, “Young man, why aren’t you eating? Are you unwell?”

Jiang Ji looked over and replied lightly in English, “I’m sick.”

Even that didn’t make Ji Mingzhu lift her head.

Sick, indeed…

He held her down, nibbled her neck, and even touched her chest.

This! Is! Called! Sick?!

Ji Mingzhu rolled her eyes internally.

Even though she had misidentified someone and recalled all the years Jiang Ji had misunderstood her, at this moment, she didn’t want to pay him any mind.

What Ji Mingzhu didn’t know was that if this wasn’t really clarified, Jiang Ji would probably continue tormenting himself for years.

Hearing Jiang Ji’s response, the landlady exclaimed, “Do you need me to get some medicine for you?”

“Thanks, no need. I just caught a sickness called missing someone.”

Her words fell, and the dinner table went silent.

Then the elderly couple burst into laughter.

The atmosphere instantly became lively.

Ji Mingzhu had been drinking juice. Hearing Jiang Ji’s words, her hand wobbled and nearly spilled it.

Is this really Jiang Ji…?

She raised her head in confusion and met Jiang Ji’s burning gaze.

Ji Mingzhu: “.........”

After dinner, there were no more activities; the elderly couple went to bed early.

The Chinese-American young man kept hovering around Ji Mingzhu, but seeing her with a faint smile and keeping him at a measured distance, he felt it was pointless and returned to his room.

Jiang Ji and his luggage silently stayed outside Ji Mingzhu’s room.

He persisted, his defined fingers interlaced as he tapped slowly on the wooden door.

Unhurried, very patient.

As if he would never stop until he achieved his goal, exuding a fearsome persistence.

Finally, the person inside couldn’t take it anymore.

Ji Mingzhu stepped forward, opening the door a crack, revealing her peach-blossom eyes. “Jiang Ji… when will you stop… if you break into my room again tonight… do you think I won’t tell the landlady?”

“I have nowhere to stay.” Jiang Ji lowered his gaze, expression unreadable. “I came in a rush, didn’t prepare anything.”

“Then why does your lack of a place to stay concern me?” Ji Mingzhu snapped, teasing him. “There’s a small living room over there with a sofa. Go there.”

“It’s cold at night, and there are no blankets.”

“Is there no floor heating here at night?”

“Only in the suite.”

“.........”

Ji Mingzhu fell silent for a moment. “Then what do you want?”

“I want to sleep with you tonight,” he said.