Chapter 5: You’re Only Taking Me Home?

Ji Wushan’s analysis wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

Although, in her memory, Xue Erbai was still a university student, and they had never had much interaction before.

But she had lost her memory and learned that they were married.

She had even seen the marriage certificate.

Xue Erbai had no reason to lie to her.

The environment Ji Wushan had grown up in had given her a strangely strong ability to accept things.

Of course, she also had a rebellious streak.

Just not much of one. Very little.

She was confused about this stage of her life and had lost her memories, but that didn’t mean she had no judgment of her own.

A marriage of alliance.

She had thought about it since she was young; in the future, she would most likely have to go this route, and most likely not to climb higher, but to preserve something.

So when Xue Erbai mentioned gambling debts, she didn’t doubt it at all.

Clean, beautiful, bright as sunlight; Xue Erbai was very likely her best choice.

Much better than those messy men, or completely unfamiliar women.

But the most important thing was this.

Xue Erbai, who was like sunlight, wasn’t someone only one person could see.

So after the kiss, the sour words she had been holding back slipped out.

Especially after Xue Erbai denied kissing her often, yet still looked so practiced.

The question in her heart came out before she could stop it.

“So you’re just naturally gifted!” Xue Erbai answered just as quickly, in almost 0.0001 seconds.

Ji Wushan’s gaze dimmed.

The overly pressed softness didn’t fade as she pulled back; instead, she braced herself on her left hand and slowly sat up.

Once she’d settled, she parted her lips and asked, “You didn’t—mmph…!”

Xue Erbai leaned in quickly and covered her mouth.

Her eyes were a little stubborn as she said, “I’ve only kissed you!”

Ji Wushan felt something inside her soften.

Her left hand touched Xue Erbai’s wrist; she pinched the bone there and gave a light nod.

Only then did Xue Erbai let her go. She exhaled and lay down on the other side.

The somewhat flirtatious kiss changed its tone.

The emotions didn’t spread further; at some point in the middle of the night, they both fell asleep.

----

The next morning, when Xue Erbai woke groggy and exhausted, Ji Wushan was already gone. Her brow twitched, and she got out of bed in a flurry of panic.

There was no one on the third floor.

By the time she reached the second floor, she heard a faint noise coming from the kitchen downstairs.

She hurried down and finally relaxed when she saw Ji Wushan in the kitchen.

She was chatting with Cao Yuan, the housekeeper in charge of daily life at Xue Yanhe’s home.

The two of them were both startled by her voice. Ji Wushan looked innocent, while Cao Yuan was a little nervous. “Miss Xue, you’re awake.”

“Mrs. Xue and Xiao Wu already had breakfast and went out. Xiao Wu left the menu behind; I stayed to look after you and Miss Ji and handle the cooking.”

“Miss Ji seemed interested in watching me make breakfast, so…”

“Then I’ll watch too!”

Xue Erbai didn’t really care about her nervousness. In her slightly hoarse just-woken voice, she said that and took a couple of steps to squeeze in between the two of them.

More precisely, to Ji Wushan’s side.

Cao Yuan was somewhat surprised. After all, every time Xue Erbai came back to stay, she mostly discussed work with Xue Yanhe. Breakfast was also made by Cao Yuan, and Xue Erbai almost never ate it.

She came and went in a hurry.

Not like now; her slightly messy brown curls stuck to her cheeks, her skirt swayed lightly, and she looked very at ease.

Especially the way she looked at Ji Wushan.

Sweet enough to draw silk.

Cao Yuan secretly pressed her lips together and smiled.

She was only a little over ten years older than Xue Erbai. She had originally been a neighbor of another nutritionist, Wu Qing. The mother and daughter of the Wu family had once been housekeepers for the Xue family. Wu Qing studied nutrition; after graduating and working outside for a few years, around the age of thirty she began to take care of Xue Yanhe’s health. Later, when Wu’s mother grew older, the work of tending to daily life was handed over to Cao Yuan instead.

She had worked for the Xue family for five years now, but she only handled meals and cleaning.

She lived in one of the old residential buildings in Songfeng Courtyard and commuted by electric bike every day; she didn’t live here.

But because Ji Wushan had been discharged from the hospital, Xue Yanhe had specifically told her to stay here for these past few days and go out for groceries after breakfast.

“If Miss Xue and Miss Ji have anything they like, just tell me.”

“Madam said I must take good care of both your meals and daily life.”

“Mm, buy more vegetables. Wushan likes vegetables.”

“For meat, she doesn’t like red meat.”

“Shredded chicken, no spice!”

“And also…”

Xue Erbai rattled off everything Ji Wushan liked and disliked.

After breakfast, when Ji Wushan was about to clear the dishes, she froze slightly.

Cao Yuan took them away at once. “How could I let Miss Ji do that…”

Her hands were empty.

Very soon, Cao Yuan left as well.

At the dining table, only Ji Wushan and Xue Erbai remained, looking at each other.

Ji Wushan’s emotions were surging.

She felt a little guilty about her own “suspicion” last night.

And more than that, she was delighted that Xue Erbai knew her so well.

She turned her head discreetly to look at Cao Yuan, who had mounted her electric bike and put on her helmet to leave.

Biting her lip, she said very softly, “Wouldn’t this be too much trouble?”

“Then after lunch, we’ll go home.”

Xue Erbai didn’t ask about her discomfort; she simply made the decision.

Then she added, “My mom likes to take a walk with Sister Wu every morning. Sometimes they climb the mountain behind the house, but they’ll be back by eleven at the latest.”

“We’ll have lunch together, then go home.”

To some extent, Xue Yanhe’s concern was also a burden.

For Ji Wushan, who had already lost her memory, it was an even greater burden.

So those words gave Ji Wushan a little sense of security.

At lunch, she even ate a little more.

The dishes were all to her liking, and they carried Xue Erbai’s concern.

The atmosphere at the table was also very harmonious.

Only when they heard that the two of them were staying just one night did Xue Yanhe seem a little surprised; but very quickly, she said, as if she understood, “There are too many people here. It really isn’t a good place to recuperate.”

“It’s just that Wushan was only just discharged from the hospital. I won’t feel at ease if I don’t check on her.”

“Thank you… Mom, for your concern.”

Facing Xue Erbai and Xue Yanhe, Ji Wushan felt different kinds of tension. After all, they were elders; she was a little greedy, and a little envious.

Greedy for Xue Yanhe’s concern, envious of how at ease Xue Erbai was in front of her.

She couldn’t do that very well.

Especially now, when she was a few years younger than Xue Erbai in her mind, she was completely being led by her.

She still had her own thoughts, but she couldn’t help relying on her.

Because of the connection between them, she unconsciously wanted to get closer.

And toward Xue Erbai’s mother, she also developed the same mixture of closeness and tension.

Fortunately, Xue Erbai could tell. After the meal, the two of them left Songfeng Courtyard and returned to their own home.

This apartment had been bought by Xue Erbai before marriage.

Coincidentally, Ji Wushan lived right upstairs from her.

It was the same large flat.

Xue Erbai paid in full; Ji Wushan bought hers with a mortgage.

After they got their marriage certificate, when they stood outside the civil affairs office and took out their keys to exchange them, neither of them thought much of it. After telling each other where they lived,

both of them looked a little strange.

To this day, Xue Erbai still couldn’t figure out what Ji Wushan’s strange look had meant. She was curious, but she couldn’t ask the Ji Wushan from back then.

Now she could tell that Ji Wushan relied on her a little.

But she still couldn’t get an answer out of her.

Xue Erbai parked the car in the underground garage and wrapped her hand around Ji Wushan’s wrist as they entered the elevator. Before she could press the floor button, Ji Wushan had already pressed the thirteenth floor.

“Uh.”

Xue Erbai made a sound and frowned.

Imagining her own expression now, it must also be very, very strange.

“What’s wrong?”

Ji Wushan’s cool voice sounded in the elevator, carrying a hint of confusion. But when she followed Xue Erbai’s gaze and looked over, that confusion turned to alarm.

All the way back with Xue Erbai, she had been very quiet.

Watching, comparing, seeing just how much the city she once knew had changed over the past seven years.

How much Xue Erbai in her memory had changed.

Aside from last night, Xue Erbai had been dressed in something close to office wear. Even now that she was home, she was still in a loose suit, her figure not especially outlined; instead, she looked somewhat relaxed.

Her driving was skillful; all traces of childishness had faded.

The life she’d been at a loss over was waving to her again.

But as soon as they entered the neighborhood and then the underground garage, she somehow felt a strange sense of familiarity; pressing the floor button had almost happened by instinct.

Xue Erbai’s voice came out haltingly. “N-no, nothing.” As she spoke, the elevator also came to a stop.

The entrance door on the thirteenth floor came into view for both of them.

But neither of them moved.

The elevator doors closed and opened, opened and closed.

Only then did Ji Wushan seem to react. “Did I press the wrong floor?”

“Not exactly.”

“This really is your apartment.”

“You mean… we don’t live together?”

Ji Wushan’s follow-up question carried a clear tremor; her voice floated faintly. Xue Erbai glanced sideways and saw that her face had gone slightly pale, yet she still couldn’t hide the shame and indignation underneath.

When she stepped out of the elevator, her whole body swayed. In a soft voice, she asked, “So, you’re only taking me home?”

Author’s Note:

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