Chapter 60

Chapter 60 Rose x Kiss

Ji Mingzhu was forced to kneel and collapse into Jiang Ji’s arms; in this way, she clearly heard what Jiang Ji had just said.

She pressed her hands against his shoulders, lifting herself slightly. “You did it on purpose!”

After speaking, Ji Mingzhu applied a little force and pressed herself closer to Jiang Ji.

He had originally been sitting cross-legged on the carpet, and when Ji Mingzhu pushed against him, his body leaned backward, one hand pressing onto the floor behind him.

“Clumsy as ever.” Jiang Ji used his other hand to protect Ji Mingzhu as she sprawled in front of him, keeping her steady.

“You’re the one talking! You almost knocked over the Lego.” Ji Mingzhu shot back directly.

Who knows who was really clumsy!

Jiang Ji pulled her closer, making their bodies stick even more.

So close that Ji Mingzhu could see his long eyelashes clearly.

His pupils were very dark, like whirlpools in the deep sea, bright in the midst of darkness, a perfect illustration of stars in the eyes.

Jiang Ji’s appearance was extremely handsome; elegant yet unpretentious, with an innate nobility. His looks were sharp and captivating, naturally exuding a chilling allure.

Sometimes Ji Mingzhu wondered why, back in high school, she had been so deeply moved.

Looking back now, a large part of it came from his alluring appearance.

Only a small part came from his subtle care and the invisible tether that drew them together and kept them from separating.

But now it was different. She had grown a lot since then, experienced many things, and her mindset had drastically changed. Jiang Ji’s subtle movements and the gentle undertones hidden in his words left no place for her heart to hide.

She felt it more deeply than when she was younger.

Ji Mingzhu stared at him in a daze, unaware, but Jiang Ji met her gaze and took her hand into his palm to play with it.

His posture was casual, but he had no intention of letting go.

“The Lego can be rebuilt if it falls, but a person once caught...” Jiang Ji paused, his voice flowing from above, making Ji Mingzhu’s body soften slightly.

“What’s the big deal if you catch me?”

Jiang Ji lightly brushed her cheek and added slowly, “Once caught, you can’t let go.”

There would be no second chance.

Cards can be reshuffled, Lego can be rebuilt, but time cannot be reversed. So live in the present, try your best, struggle, and don’t leave regrets.

Because a single misjudgment back then made them part ways at the crossroads, and they wandered separately for many years.

But fate intertwined them, and this time, the heavens would not treat them poorly.

Ji Mingzhu gazed into his eyes, and somehow, the air became thinner. Once their eyes met, their kiss was wild and unrestrained.

Even the edges of the soft carpet were flipped up, wrinkled. The wool piled on top was all flattened.

Ji Mingzhu seized the opportunity to stop him, unwilling to go further. “Enough… enough, Jiang Ji!”

“I’m not done.” Jiang Ji propped himself up to look at her, clouds and mist gathering in his eyes. Seeing Ji Mingzhu in a defensive stance, he said softly, “I’ll let you off now, and make up for it later.”

……

At the hot spring winery’s bar party, not long after dinner.

Before Jiang Ji and Ji Mingzhu went, they had some disagreements.

“You don’t let me drink this, you don’t let me drink that. Why didn’t you say this when you agreed?” Ji Mingzhu crossed her arms and glared at him.

Jiang Ji looked at her for a moment. “Wouldn’t it have been better to tell you beforehand that you couldn’t go?”

“That’s still not okay!”

“You didn’t eat much at lunch or dinner, so you shouldn’t drink too much,” Jiang Ji explained lightly, taking her hand. “Let’s go.”

Hearing this, Ji Mingzhu felt a sudden warmth in her heart. She snuggled obediently against him, slipping into his thin coat, wrapping her arms around his narrow waist, and in a slightly awkward way, walked forward with him. “Jiang Ji, I checked, this bar is much livelier than the ski resort.”

“Are you saying that more men will gather around?” Jiang Ji looked as if he understood perfectly. “Then they can try.”

“...Did I mention that?” Ji Mingzhu originally meant to make him enjoy himself with her. “I just meant for you to be a little reckless.”

“Reckless...”

Once they stepped into the elevator, Jiang Ji pressed the floor button. Repeating Ji Mingzhu’s words in his mind, he secretly thought that he wouldn’t give her a chance to drift too far from him.

Ji Mingzhu said it like that, but when they arrived at the bar, it turned out that she was the one being reckless.

The bar was located on the second basement level, with dim lighting and a uniquely tasteful interior. It wasn’t too quiet, nor overly noisy.

There were indeed many people inside, so most of the noise came from conversations among them.

The bartender’s hands moved in a dazzling display, and on a nearby stage, a band was playing and singing something.

Ji Mingzhu ordered two cocktails and leaned against the bar, glancing briefly at the stage. “There’s a band here too.”

Jiang Ji didn’t even look that way. He spoke lightly to the bartender, “Change one of them to orange juice, thank you.”

“............”

Ji Mingzhu: ?

“Jiang Ji, you want to drink orange juice?”

“Not me, it’s for you.”

“Why should I get it?!”

As they pulled at each other, the bartender took the opportunity to speak, hesitating, “Um… how would you like it, exactly?”

“Two glasses of orange juice, thank you!” Ji Mingzhu answered first.

If she couldn’t drink it, Jiang Ji wouldn’t get a taste either!

Jiang Ji looked at her and sat down beside her. His thin lips brushed past her ear. “A little piggy like this is obedient.”

The dance floor music shook the bar, and amid the flickering lights and shadows, a hot, sandy atmosphere enveloped them.

Yet Jiang Ji deliberately lowered his voice, deep and husky, brushing over her in a way that sent an inexplicable ticklish shiver through her.

The two of them exchanged whispers in a dark corner for a while, very close together.

The bartender, juicing nearby, quietly shifted his gaze and sighed inwardly.

So even handsome men and beautiful women, who look like immortals, have moments of normalcy, doing the clingy gestures ordinary couples do.

When Ji Mingzhu sipped her orange juice, she noticed something and suggested, “Jiang Ji, let’s go dance later.”

After a pause, she furrowed her brows and looked at him. “It seems we skipped it at your birthday party back then.”

“You want to dance now?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll go with you.”

Before Jiang Ji could stand, two heavily made-up women approached directly. “Handsome, got your contact info?”

Jiang Ji’s gaze had been on Ji Mingzhu but was suddenly interrupted. He glanced over at them.

Just that one glance, and it was stunning enough to take one’s breath away.

“No.” His tone was very flat.

“That’s okay. We can book a room later, play a night game of Go-Moku.” The women leaned closer, smiling, their seductive perfume spreading from their ample curves.

Ji Mingzhu glanced at the nearly pressing bosoms and raised her hand to block.

Did these women think she sitting here was invisible?!

Booking a room, night game, Go-Moku?!

Could the innuendo be any more obvious?!

Ji Mingzhu forced a smile. “Big sister, you should step aside.”

That wasn’t enough. Ji Mingzhu blinked. “He likes the young ones. Tonight, the one booking a room with him is me.”

The two women had actually noticed Ji Mingzhu earlier but, driven by certain thoughts, pretended not to see her.

At this moment, being provoked first, they looked at Jiang Ji, their tone slightly broken. “Handsome, is that so?”

Jiang Ji lazily lifted his eyelids, implicitly acknowledging it.

The two women didn’t ask further and stomped away in a huff.

Jiang Ji, having watched Ji Mingzhu’s entire performance, slowly asked, “Young? Booking a room?”

Ji Mingzhu stared at him without speaking, reaching to twist his collar.

Jiang Ji’s eyes reflected the bar’s unique light, and he leaned in close. “I won’t comment on the first part, but the second part… what do you take me for?”

“You got a problem?” Ji Mingzhu lifted her chin. If anyone was going to book a room, it would be with her!

“That’s right, exactly as you imagined.” Ji Mingzhu tugged at his button and even patted it with her hand.

“Good, then I’ll be waiting for you tonight.” Jiang Ji’s response was firm and clear.

Ji Mingzhu blushed for a moment, surprised at how quickly he agreed.

She tickled him a few more times before reluctantly stopping.

As they walked toward the dance floor together, Ji Mingzhu’s shoulder was suddenly tapped.

“...Mingzhu?”

The voice made Ji Mingzhu turn her head and freeze.

The newcomer was tall and slim, with single eyelids and a sleepy look, appearing somewhat disheveled.

Ji Mingzhu raised her voice a few tones higher, her tone tinged with excitement. “Wu Yang!”

“What are you doing here?” Wu Yang said, sensing a gaze, paused, and glanced toward Ji Mingzhu.

“Oh, I’m out with Jiang Ji.” Ji Mingzhu was equally surprised at Wu Yang’s appearance. “What about you? What are you doing here?”

Back in high school, Ji Mingzhu had impulsively formed a band, and Wu Yang was in it.

But after she went abroad, the band broke up, and their contact decreased. After she returned to the country, they hadn’t met again.

Wu Yang was the type who appeared and disappeared unpredictably. Over these years of friendship, Ji Mingzhu had come to understand him.

She hadn’t expected to run into him here.

It was purely coincidental.

Wu Yang wasn’t part of Ji Mingzhu and Jiang Ji’s circle. At this moment, seeing Jiang Ji’s reaction, he found it amusing and withdrew his gaze.

Hearing Ji Mingzhu’s question, he raised the microphone in his hand. “I came to return a favor—singing as the lead vocalist in the band here.”

“You’re still in a band?”

Mentioning the band made Ji Mingzhu a little wistful. After all these years since the first one disbanded, she hadn’t formed a new one. The first band of youth still held sentimental value.

“Yeah, for some time now.” Wu Yang seemed busy; a phone rang briefly. He looked down. “I have something to do, gotta go. We’ll meet again later.”

“Alright.”

Their conversation was brief. When Ji Mingzhu came back to her senses, she accidentally met Jiang Ji’s cold, dark gaze.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, puzzled.

Jiang Ji glanced at her lightly. “Nothing.”

But after so long with Jiang Ji,

Ji Mingzhu understood some of the emotions he subtly hid behind his words.

Usually when someone says “nothing,” it means there’s definitely something!!

Just like now—while dancing, he tightly clamped her waist, not letting go even for a moment.

Ji Mingzhu wanted to strike some soft, graceful dance poses, but she had no room to stretch, unable to fully enjoy moving in the dance floor.

This situation continued until the two of them returned to the room.

Jiang Ji entered, neatly took off his coat, and went straight into the bathroom.

Although he was usually taciturn, most of the time in front of her, he wasn’t like this.

Those fiery love words, that deep and heavy force, the restraint that wouldn’t let go even to death.

All of it.

...Anyway, it was all different from Jiang Ji tonight.

Ji Mingzhu changed into a bathrobe and then pushed open the bathroom door. Jiang Ji was reclining in the large bathtub, his eyes half-closed.

Warm water flowed over his half-hidden chest, making him look utterly seductive.

Ji Mingzhu stepped into the steamy bathroom, took a few strides forward, found a suitable spot in the tub, and nestled beside him.

“President Jiang... what’s wrong with you today?”

Jiang Ji didn’t respond, looking like he didn’t want to bother with her.

The girl scratched him. “Hey, aren’t you going too far? You’re not even talking to me, Jiang Ji!”

After quite a while, Jiang Ji finally spoke slowly.

“So, are you still going to meet him?”

Ji Mingzhu: ?

She thought for a long time before realizing that Jiang Ji’s sudden, seemingly unrelated question was referring to something.

He was talking about the “we’ll meet later” between her and Wu Yang.

“That was just polite talk. Are you silly?” Ji Mingzhu found it funny.

Her slender, fair legs slipped into the bathtub, and she let out a comfortable “mm.”

Jiang Ji seemed to snort lightly through his nose; it was faint and quickly disappeared among the sound of running water.

“Oh... the air smells so sour.” Ji Mingzhu smiled, propping herself on his shoulder, her chin resting there as she rubbed against him.

But Jiang Ji ignored her and still didn’t speak.

Ji Mingzhu pressed her soft body against him and breathed lightly by his ear. “Don’t play dead. Now it’s my turn to ask you—if anyone like those two women earlier tries to hit on you again, you have to act especially cold and ruthless.”

After a pause, she emphasized, “I’m your official partner!”

Layers of heat swept through Jiang Ji’s heart. Opening his eyes, he saw her proud smiling face, and all his emotions turned into helplessness.

“Mm.” He reached out and pulled her over. “Me too.”

Me too...?

Me too what?

He’s also her official partner?!

After sorting through the thought, Ji Mingzhu finally understood Jiang Ji’s meaning.

Mutually claiming each other like that.

It actually sounded... kind of nice.

The water in the bathtub continued to flow quietly, two young bodies leaning together.

“Anyway... he and I are just ordinary fri—” Ji Mingzhu was interrupted halfway.

“I know.” Jiang Ji hugged her, letting her legs part as she straddled his lap. “But now, we need to discuss the topic of ‘being reckless.’”

“............”

Ji Mingzhu: ?

“I started thinking about it from the moment you brought it up,” Jiang Ji added.

And the so-called line where Ji Mingzhu told him to be reckless—since entering the bar, it had instead fallen on herself. Not to mention that Wu-something person afterward.

The night breeze brushed past the white curtains by the bed, slipping inside toward the bathroom behind the frosted glass. The steam was humid and hot, the water in the tub rippling, gradually stirring up large waves.

The girl was held, faint marks left on her waist. Then she was turned over, pressed down instead.

In the huge suite, all the atmosphere condensed into that single room. The pursuit, the torment, and some low murmured words were locked in one place. As the gaze lifted, her legs were folded, bent into various angles.

In the end, Ji Mingzhu began to sob softly, “Jiang Ji... you bastard!”

“Mm, I’m a bastard.”

The drenched figure was scooped up and rolled again into the white bed curtains. A gust of wind lifted them slightly, faintly revealing overlapping silhouettes inside.

In the latter half of the night, the shaking of the bed frame finally stopped. In her murmuring, Ji Mingzhu still remembered to scratch him.

Jiang Ji held her, in a very good mood, repeatedly pecking at her fingers.

Ji Mingzhu was originally drowsy, but suddenly thought of something. She abruptly opened her eyes, fully awake, and called him, “Jiang Ji.”

“Mm.”

“Where did you buy that thing?”

His tone carried post-event laziness. “What thing?”

Ji Mingzhu punched him fiercely. This time she wasn’t joking, putting real force into it.

Jiang Ji only laughed softly, then leaned to her ear and whispered something.

“...So you already planned it?!”

After hearing the answer she wanted, Ji Mingzhu suddenly felt she had suffered a loss.

At first she thought she was being considerate of his discomfort, but it turned out Jiang Ji had planned it before they even went.

Thinking of this, Ji Mingzhu once again felt what it meant to be “a pig entering a chicken’s mouth”...

It meant being completely eaten up!

“You’re mine anyway,” Jiang Ji said calmly, then asked, “Don’t you want me?”

Ji Mingzhu hummed vaguely for a while, not really wanting to answer the question.

“You just said you were the official one, and now you’ve got nothing to say?” As he spoke, he flicked her. “Don’t sleep.”

That slightly arrogant air, as if he were her possession.

“...Do you think I want to talk to you!” Ji Mingzhu said resentfully. “I think you did it on purpose just now.”

“Yes, I did.” Jiang Ji answered naturally, not feeling anything wrong with it. “So, do you still dare to be reckless?”

Author’s note:

Ji Ji: I’m jealous but I won’t say it :)

Sorry it’s so late, my typing speed has been terribly slow lately. There’ll be an extra update tonight as compensation! Thanks to the little angels who cast overlord tickets or irrigated nutrient solution between 2020-03-08 12:51:17 and 2020-03-09 14:01:30~

Thanks to the little angel who threw a grenade: Ge Ge Xiao Si 1;

Thanks to the little angels who threw landmines: Ke Da Bu Da Ya 4; Kai Bao Tu, Super Cute Yan Yan, 41782980 1 each;

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: l?l 12 bottles; sehun, lay le, 41607065 10 bottles; gardenia, Xiao Guo Wants to Lose Weight, Ying Xue, Ju Mei’er, ygkgzdcmll, Kun Kun, Kai Bao Tu 5 bottles; fei123 3 bottles; Li Jiu, Qiao Qiao Qiao Qiao Qiao Qiao, Little Potato, Ah Yan Too Salty, Xiao Meng Meng, Li Yang Yang mio, Shan p’s Wife, Xi Xi, Wang Zai Zai Zai 2 bottles; Jing Jing Jing Jing, Li Shuang Ma, 21246194, Your Little Sweetie, Lu Jing, Pu Pu Pu, 41189419, Wen Jing, ellana, Lollipop, Pi Xi Wai’s Tao Tao, Xiao Zi Nv 1 bottle;

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