Chapter 88: Don’t Do This Again
Li Qi busied himself in the kitchen for an hour. Looking at the three dishes and one soup on the table, Chen Jiamu excitedly gave him a thumbs up.
“Just look at this presentation! You could be a professional chef.”
“I just wonder how it tastes.”
Once they were seated, Chen Jiamu picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a piece of meat, and popped it into his mouth without hesitation. A second later, his eyes lit up and he grabbed another piece. “Mmm! It’s delicious!”
“If you like it, eat more.”
Seeing the validation of his cooking, Li Qi happily moved some food into the other’s bowl.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the injured left hand. His gaze darkened, but he quietly suppressed his emotions.
Outside, a torrential rain began to fall. The pitter-patter of the rain lashed against the ground, and the scent of damp earth filled the air.
Inside the room, the two ate in peace, completely undisturbed by the commotion outside.
After dinner, they sat on the sofa, quietly watching the glass windows. The rain showed no signs of stopping; pea-sized droplets hammered against the ground before splashing onto the glass.
The rhythmic drip-drop of the rain continued unabated. The small trees in the courtyard swayed wildly in the wind and rain. Chen Jiamu watched it all lazily, a faint smile playing on his lips.
If everything went smoothly, then this kind of atmosphere would be the daily life of him and Li Qi.
He wanted to spend a lifetime like this with Li Qi—staring blankly out of floor-to-ceiling windows after dinner, watching the sun rise and set.
“What are you thinking about? You look quite happy.”
Li Qi leaned his head on the other’s shoulder, his large hand naturally taking Chen Jiamu’s and playing with it.
Chen Jiamu turned his head to plant a kiss on Li Qi’s forehead, his voice tender as he looked out the window. “I want to keep doing this with you forever.”
“An afternoon that belongs only to us.”
“Okay.”
Li Qi didn’t pause for even a second; he nodded his agreement instantly. As he did, he began to unwrap the gauze on Chen Jiamu’s hand.
With just one look, Li Qi’s heart throbbed with a sharp pain. It wasn’t the back of the hand that was injured at all. The skin over the knuckles was a mangled mess of flesh and blood. Perhaps because medicine had been applied, the entire wound was a dark, bruised red, looking quite gruesome.
“You!”
Feeling the cool air on the back of his hand, Chen Jiamu instinctively tried to pull away. But seeing the look in Li Qi’s eyes, the words he was about to say got stuck in his throat.
“Does it hurt?” Li Qi’s fingertips carefully brushed near the wound, his eyes stinging with moisture.
“That bloodstain by the gate was yours, wasn’t it?”
“Why did you punch the wall?”
Faced with Li Qi’s interrogation, Chen Jiamu sighed helplessly. He leaned his head against Li Qi’s, staring at the window in front of them.
“I went to the Song house. I wanted to go in at first, but then I realized I had no identity there, so I gave up.”
“Why didn’t you talk back when Li Ru was insulting you? You just stood there and took it?” Chen Jiamu hadn’t heard a single response from Li Qi while he was outside the door.
Hearing the answer, Li Qi hugged him tightly, his voice incredibly raspy. “You punched a wall just because of that?”
Chen Jiamu gave him a guilty side-glance and didn’t dare make a sound. Seeing this, Li Qi let out a long, weary sigh. “You… if he wants to curse, let him curse. It’s not like he’s taking a chunk of flesh out of me.”
“Besides, I don’t care at all. So please, don’t hurt yourself ever again.”
Li Qi’s heart ached as he gingerly began to re-wrap the gauze.
Chen Jiamu looked at him with heartache, leaning his head quietly against him without a word.
Afterward, he huddled with Li Qi on the sofa, watching as the sky grew darker and darker until it was finally swallowed by the night.
Compared to the tranquility of Li Qi and Chen Jiamu, things over on Chen Cheng’s side were much more chaotic.
She hadn’t expected An Yiyi to suddenly drag her to see a horror movie, especially since An Yiyi was scared out of her wits.
If she was so scared, why did she want to watch it in the first place?
Looking at An Yiyi, who was halfway buried in her arms, Chen Cheng habitually placed a hand over the girl’s eyes. “Don’t be afraid.”
“Jie-jie, it’s so scary.”
“Jie-jie, aren’t you scared?”
An Yiyi’s voice was timid. That little appearance of hers truly could evoke a protective instinct in anyone.
Chen Cheng was no exception to feeling a bit of “tender pity for the fair sex.” She glanced at the female ghost on the big screen and shook her head calmly. “No, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“If you’re too scared, should we head out?”
Chen Cheng thoughtfully used her arm to block the girl’s line of sight, whispering her inquiry.
“Okay.”
After hesitating for a long while, An Yiyi mustered the courage to bite her lip and nod. Having received the answer, Chen Cheng didn’t linger. She took the girl’s hand and hurriedly led her out of the theater.
As a result, when they got outside, they found a light drizzle was falling. Chen Cheng immediately felt frustrated with herself for not bringing an umbrella.
“Jie-jie, wait a moment. I’ll go buy an umbrella!”
Because An Yiyi didn’t want a third person interrupting this date, she had purposely told the driver not to come. She hadn’t brought an umbrella either, and she didn’t want to trouble Chen Cheng.
She would just go buy one herself.
Looking at the umbrellas displayed, An Yiyi hesitated for a moment before picking one. After paying, she hurried back.
Meanwhile, Chen Cheng stood under the eaves, bored and scrolling through her phone. Suddenly, a familiar male voice sounded above her head. “Sister Chen, what are you doing here?”
Chen Cheng looked up and saw Bai Jing standing before her, dressed in a black trench coat. A young physique really was handsome; even Bai Jing’s casual outfit radiated a youthful aura.
The clean, refreshing look immediately made Chen Cheng’s eyes brighten. She tucked her phone away and nodded casually. “I’m here seeing a movie with a friend.”
“What about you? Are you with a girlfriend?”
A handsome and capable guy like Bai Jing was likely already taken. Furthermore, running into someone in a place like a cinema usually meant they were on a date.
“Huh?”
“I… I don’t have a girlfriend! I came with a friend! He went to the restroom!”
Hearing the word “girlfriend,” Bai Jing’s reaction was surprisingly large as he scrambled to explain himself.
Chen Cheng found it a bit funny. She curled her lips into a smile, but just as she straightened her body, she felt a sudden, powerful shove from behind. Caught off guard, she lost her balance and pitched forward.
“Careful!”
Without a second thought, Bai Jing reached out. Chen Cheng slammed directly into his sturdy chest.
Hmm? Peppermint cologne?
That was the first thing that flashed through Chen Cheng’s mind upon smelling Bai Jing’s scent. But before she could get a better whiff, a sharp scream erupted from behind them.
“Jie-jie!”
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