Chapter 68: Apology

“Something to tell me?” Lin Qiao paused her writing and looked up at the man. “Is it about what you’ve been hiding from me?”

Ji Duo responded with a simple “Hmm.”

“And it involves Xiao Ze?”

Another “Hmm” from Ji Duo.

“Is it the same thing that made him avoid my gaze, and you told me it wasn’t the right time to talk about?”

Ji Duo didn’t respond this time, and Lin Qiao leaned back in her chair. “It’s been a long time, half a year.”

She couldn’t think of what it could be, especially since it involved Ji Ze and dated back to the Mid-Autumn Festival six months ago.

Ji Duo didn’t continue the conversation and glanced out the window. “The weather will be bad tomorrow. Let’s not go to the cafeteria; I’ll bring food back.”

“That’s not necessary,” Lin Qiao unexpectedly said.

Ji Duo paused as he was about to sit back at the table, then looked at her. Lin Qiao continued, “I have a social practice class tomorrow.”

She had been consistently attending this class once a month. Last semester, she only missed the final month. With the college entrance exam coming up this semester, she expected to miss the last two months, so she had scheduled the classes in advance and couldn’t skip them due to bad weather.

Ji Duo understood. “Then, in the evening, I’ll bring food back.”

Lin Qiao couldn’t help but sense a hint of guilt in his calm expression.

Could it be that what he wanted to say was serious, and he was trying to soften the blow?

This thought was confirmed the next morning when Ji Duo didn’t let her go to the cafeteria for breakfast but brought it back himself: noodles, buns, pickles, and boiled eggs.

Some were for breakfast, and some were packed in an aluminum lunchbox for her to take for lunch.

Lin Qiao took the lunchbox, giving him a half-smile. “So thoughtful, but it’s a pity their teacher’s wife didn’t make it.”

Ji Duo said nothing, watching as Xiao Fang drove her to the school gate and waited until she opened her umbrella and went inside before leaving.

Fortunately, the heavy rain in the morning cleared up by the afternoon, leaving only puddles reflecting the sunlight like mirrors.

Lin Qiao held a long-handled umbrella in one hand and a bag in the other, carefully avoiding puddles as she walked out of the school gate while discussing the answers to the chemistry competition with a few students from her class.

Just as she stepped outside, she saw a familiar jeep waiting by the roadside. It seemed he had seen her as the back door opened, revealing half of the man’s handsome profile.

Lin Qiao walked over, “This time, there’s nothing else, right?”

“No, I just bought food on the way,” Ji Duo said, taking the umbrella from her hand and glancing behind her.

Lin Qiao noticed and, after getting into the car, looked back as well.

It was Song Jing, who was still interning at the middle school. She was carrying a small bag and clearly just coming out of the school. As soon as she appeared, a young man approached her.

The man was of average height, well-dressed, and polite, though his appearance was somewhat ordinary. Standing next to the young and beautiful Song Jing, he immediately became a background figure.

Lin Qiao watched as he handed Song Jing something—a bag of fruit and a hot water bottle. They exchanged a few words and walked away together, looking very close.

Were they dating? Wasn’t Ye Minshu trying to match Song Jing with Xiao Ze? She always talked about it as if Song Jing was already her daughter-in-law, and Song Jing seemed quite enthusiastic before…

Lin Qiao couldn’t help but glance at Ji Duo, who had already looked away. “That’s Yu Jin from the Yu family.”

“Yu Jin?” Lin Qiao was genuinely surprised. “Xiao Ze’s childhood friend?”

“Yes.” Ji Duo’s tone was emotionless, but that single word was enough to shock.

Regardless of whether Ji Ze had any intentions, Ye Minshu had made her feelings clear. Wasn’t this development a bit dramatic?

Who knew if Ye Minshu was aware of this, and if she was, how would she react?

Lin Qiao had already gotten some gossip before dinner. When she got home and entered the kitchen, she found tonight’s dinner was particularly sumptuous. There was steamed fish, stir-fried pork, and her favorite braised prawns, all looking different from usual.

“This wasn’t made in the cafeteria, was it?” she turned to ask Ji Duo.

Ji Duo was taking out bowls and chopsticks from the rack when he heard her and responded, “Hmm. A new private restaurant opened in Yandu.”

That was quite far; Yandu was at least an hour’s drive away.

If it was just to make a good impression and seek leniency, this seemed a bit too much. Lin Qiao felt something was off. She thought about his recent actions, and just as she had a hunch, Ji Duo took out a box from under the living room coffee table and handed it to her, “Happy birthday.”

So it was for her birthday. She had wondered why he bought her two boiled eggs this morning instead of the usual one. Was that why he said it wasn’t the right time yesterday?

Usually, when someone in the family had a birthday, they would celebrate at the old house with the old man and Xu Li. This time, because of Ji Jun, the old couple had to avoid the situation.

Lin Qiao didn’t mind much. In boarding school, she celebrated birthdays with teachers and classmates, receiving at most a phone call or a gift from home. She gently shook the box, “What’s inside?”

“A camera.” Ji Duo came over to help her open it. It was an old-fashioned film camera, a brand imported from Japan.

Lin Qiao didn’t have a habit or interest in photography, so she looked at it curiously, “Why did you think of giving me this?”

“In the future, I’ll take a picture of you for birthdays, New Year, and college exams.” Ji Duo took out a few batteries from his pocket.

When their wedding photos were developed and put into an album, he noticed that Lin Qiao had very few photos, only three in eighteen years compared to Ji Ze, Ji Ling, and even himself. At that time, he just thought this girl had a tough life. He felt some pity but admired her optimistic spirit and resilient nature even more.

Before the New Year, while cleaning the house and organizing things, he found that album again. Looking at those three photos, he suddenly felt a bit regretful.

When you care about someone, you want to know their past, to see what they were like, as if you were part of their life.

Lin Qiao had too few photos from before. He didn’t want it to be the same in the future. When they grew old and reminisced, there would be nothing to trigger those memories. Buying a camera to record her important moments would also make up for what she lacked before.

Ji Duo installed the batteries, recalled what he had learned before, picked up the camera, and took a picture of Lin Qiao.

The flash went off, capturing Lin Qiao’s completely unprepared face on the film.

No pose, no change in expression, and from a top-down angle…

Lin Qiao almost jumped up, quickly taking the camera from him, “Don’t take random pictures. If you’re going to leave blackmail material, it’s better not to take any.”

She wasn’t obsessed with beautiful photos and didn’t take selfies all the time, but she didn’t want to leave ugly photos either.

Ji Duo hadn’t expected this reaction. He pondered what she meant by “blackmail material” and looked directly at her face, “Not ugly.”

Even without deliberate grooming, the young girl looked bright and attractive. Her hair had some curls at the ends, done by Xu Li during the New Year, making her small face look even whiter, with lively upturned eyes.

Ji Duo looked down at her, unable to resist reaching out, his thumb gently brushing the small mole at the corner of her eye.

His touch was so light that if her skin weren’t sensitive and his fingertips rough, Lin Qiao might not have felt it at all. She instinctively lifted her head, and his fingers slid from the corner of her eye to her cheek.

Ji Duo’s hand remained still, gently cupping her face as he met her gaze and softly repeated, “Not ugly.”

His gaze was very focused, and the places he touched also felt slightly itch.

Lin Qiao fluttered her long eyelashes and surprisingly read more intimacy from this little physical contact than their passionate entanglement at night. However, she still pressed the camera against the man’s chest, “Then you can’t take random photos.”

No matter how close they were, it couldn’t change the fact that he took photos like a straight guy. Besides, there was something he hadn’t explained yet.

Feeling a bump on his chest, Ji Duo withdrew his hand and looked down at the camera pressed against him, frowning, “Why didn’t you call out for random shots?”

Lin Qiao wasn’t very good at it either, “How about you wait for Xiao Ze to come and ask him?”

Ji Duo: “…”

Of course, this man wasn’t completely clueless. When she received another birthday gift in the evening, Lin Qiao almost cried. He used all his patience with her, making her feel it was too slow at times and too fast at others. It wasn’t until the morning that she realized two clips on the curtains had fallen off.

“You did it, so you fix it.” Lin Qiao looked back at the man while pulling the curtains.

Ji Duo was fastening his cufflinks, thinking about the few marks on his chest that still faintly ached. Rationally, he didn’t say that it wasn’t his pulling; he just replied with a “Hmm.”

Maybe it was because of the birthday feast, but the following days were filled with good news.

First, the preliminary results of the physics competition came out, and Li Xiaoqiu successfully entered the finals with a high score.

The vice principal, who taught physics privately, told Lin Qiao that with her score, as long as she didn’t perform abnormally in the finals, she had a good chance of winning an award.

Next was chemistry. This time, the school had two students make it to the finals: Qi Huaiwen from Lin Qiao’s class and a boy from the second class led by Group Leader Gao.

“This year is great. We didn’t have anyone make it in previous years, but this year we have three.” Group Leader Gao knocked on the desk, crossing his legs.

“Didn’t they give us a chance in previous years?”

This year, the school’s performance was indeed good. Lin Qiao was very happy, especially with Qi Huaiwen, who pleasantly surprised her.

Last year, the boy was in the top twenty of his grade at the end of the term. This year, his performance improved again in the first monthly exam. It could be said that the more rebellious he was before, the more diligent he is now.

The sun was perfect that Sunday. Without having to go back to the old house, the couple got up in the morning and washed the bed sheets and covers in the washing machine. They dried them in the sun until the afternoon, starched, and hung them out again.

Just as they were hanging them on the wire in the yard, Ji Ze arrived, carrying a bottle of Maotai in one hand and a bag on his back. However, he didn’t look very spirited.

Saying he wasn’t spirited was an understatement. He had lost a lot of weight since the last time they saw him in Ye Minshu’s hospital room. His eye sockets were sunken, his chin sharp, but his eyes were steady. Because of this weight loss, the youthful flesh on his face had completely disappeared, revealing distinct contours. He looked more mature than when Lin Qiao first saw him in the hospital.

“Uncle, Aunt.” As soon as he entered the yard, he greeted the two of them. Seeing Ji Duo hanging things, he quickly put down the bottle, “Let me do it.”

He took over and hung the items on the wire. Just as he was about to ask if there was anything else, he noticed his uncle looking at him with a deep gaze.

Only then did he notice Lin Qiao standing to the side with the starched items. His eagerness to help had placed him right between the two, standing next to Lin Qiao.

This was a bit awkward. Ji Ze’s survival instincts kicked in, and he immediately seemed to remember something, “Oh, right, there’s also some food.”

He grabbed his bag and started to run inside, but halfway there, he turned back to pick up the two bottles of Maotai from the ground.

Just when Lin Qiao thought he had matured a bit, he became flustered again, making her chuckle, “Your big nephew is quite filial, huh.”

Ji Duo didn’t say anything, continuing to hang the items from the basin. Only after finishing did he take the empty basin from Lin Qiao and go inside to wash his hands.

Ji Ze had already put the Maotai away and taken out a lunch box from his bag, “I remember you like this, Aunt. See if it suits your taste.”

He was good at making an impression. Just as Lin Qiao was about to reach out, Ji Duo took it from her. Opening it, he saw it was a serving of braised prawns.

Ji Duo glanced at his nephew, while Lin Qiao found the dish strangely familiar, “Where did you buy this?”

“Yuebin Restaurant,” Ji Ze said, “It’s the new one in Cuihua Alley, the first privately run restaurant in Yandu.”

He seemed eager to make a good impression, explaining in detail, “This place only has four tables. Many foreigners go there to eat, and reporters come to take photos and interview. The reservations are booked up for two months. I couldn’t get a reservation, so I paid ten yuan to someone who had a table to order this for me. I don’t know how it turned out.”

A serving of braised prawns cost only two yuan, which was quite expensive in those days. He spent ten yuan, meaning the other person got a free meal and still had some left over.

Lin Qiao couldn’t help but turn to Ji Duo, “Did you also buy from this place that day?”

“Uncle also bought from this place?” Ji Ze was equally surprised, “Did you also pay someone to buy it?”

“No, I reserved it in advance.” Ji Duo didn’t deny it and had already placed the opened lunch box on the dining table.

This was even more unexpected. Needing to reserve two months in advance, didn’t that mean he had already booked it before the New Year?

Not just Lin Qiao, even Ji Ze widened his eyes, looking at Lin Qiao and then at his uncle, feeling incredulous.

Ji Duo, however, remained calm, “You guys chat. I’ll go to the canteen to buy two more dishes.”

“No need, no need.” Ji Ze quickly returned to his senses and took a few lunch boxes from his bag, “I’ve bought everything; just sit down and eat.”

Lin Qiao then rinsed a wine glass for each of them. Ji Ze opened a bottle, poured some for himself and Ji Duo, and then asked Lin Qiao.

“I don’t like this.” Lin Qiao went to get herself a bottle of soda, and the three of them sat alone at the dining table again.

Compared to last time, Ji Ze was much more at ease this time. However, thinking about what he was going to say next, he still raised his glass, “This glass is to apologize to Aunt.”

Lin Qiao hadn’t even had time to ask what he was apologizing for when he had downed it in one gulp and took a notebook from his bag for Lin Qiao.

Lin Qiao took it with a puzzled look, “What’s this?”

“All the accounts for the liquid soap from the beginning until now.”

Ji Ze had come today to explain everything. As he spoke, he took out several bundles of money from his bag, “This is this month’s share.”

There were three full bundles of ten-yuan notes, all tied with leather strips, and one bundle that was only half full, with the rest being smaller bills.

He wouldn’t say these things for no reason, let alone hand over more than three thousand yuan. Thinking about his purpose for coming today, Lin Qiao looked at Ji Duo beside her.

Being stared at by those bright, dark phoenix eyes, Ji Duo tightened his grip on the wine glass for some reason and took a sip subconsciously, “The friend I mentioned to you before…”

“That’s me,” Ji Ze interrupted, “I didn’t plan to do it for long at first, and I was too embarrassed to tell you, so I asked my uncle to help me keep it from you.”

He had already failed to take responsibility once. If he had taken responsibility back then, accepted the arranged marriage, or directly explained things to Lin Qiao, the engagement wouldn’t have been pushed onto his uncle.

What was he thinking at that time?

Although he was reluctant to admit it, he indeed planned to drag it out, using silent resistance to make the elders understand and help him push off the engagement.

Just like his uncle said, he was selfish, arrogant, and self-righteous. Clearly, he was unwilling, yet he wanted the elders to step in for him.

Ji Ze picked up the wine bottle and poured himself another glass, “I don’t mind if you laugh at me. At first, I thought about taking out a loan to buy a production line from abroad and make electrical appliances, borrowing tens of millions.” He glanced at Lin Qiao and took another big gulp, “My uncle and grandfather disagreed, telling me to earn my first pot of gold on my own. That’s when I thought of your liquid soap.”

He didn’t realize it then, but now that the business has grown and expanded and he has experienced more, he realizes how unrealistic his initial thoughts were.

“I wanted everything but didn’t dare to face my mom directly, so I kept hiding things, dragging you and my uncle into it.”

Even when his mom first learned about it, he thought she would eventually give up by not compromising and standing up to her. But what happened? His uncle told her Lin Qiao was reported to the school, saying the liquid soap factory was hers.

Only then did he make up his mind, stabilizing his mom on one hand and applying for a transfer from the military on the other. When his mom found out, it was already a done deal.

Ji Ze showed self-mockery: “If I had taken a bit of responsibility, things wouldn’t have turned out this way. I asked my uncle to keep it a secret for me, so don’t blame him.”

“It was also my fault for not considering things thoroughly at the time,” Ji Duo didn’t intend to let his nephew bear it alone, “Sorry for keeping it from you for so long.”

He raised his glass to Lin Qiao, but she didn’t move. She looked at one and then the other, feeling like some information was crashing around in her mind.

“So, the one who initially wanted to cooperate with me to sell liquid soap was Xiao Ze?”

Both uncle and nephew responded with a “Hmm.”

“Has it always been Xiao Ze who wanted to go into business?”

The question was odd, but Ji Duo and Ji Ze responded with another “Hmm.”

What about the arranged marriage with the original person?

Lin Qiao wanted to blurt it out, but she hadn’t been drinking, so she still had her wits about her. Asking that question might yield an unexpected answer, and she would first have to explain how she went from thinking about business to thinking about the arranged marriage.

But Ji Ze’s words still felt like a bomb dropped in her heart, shattering her long-held understanding into pieces.

Lin Qiao instinctively reached for a cup and lifted it to drink, but someone held the rim. She then realized she had picked up Ji Duo’s wine glass. The man’s large, well-defined hand hovered above the cup, seemingly able to completely cover her small hand under the light.

Lin Qiao’s gaze moved from the man’s hand to his handsome profile, “What about you? Have you ever thought about doing business?”

“Why ask this all of a sudden?” Ji Duo glanced at her and pulled the cup from her hand.

Lin Qiao didn’t reach for it again, but her gaze remained on his face, “Just asking. You seem to know a lot about these things.”

Because he never showed any ignorance, she never had any doubts.

“I just know a bit.” Seeing her genuine curiosity, Ji Duo picked up a shrimp and peeled it for her, “I’ve never thought about doing business.”

He never thought about doing business, so did she mistake him from the beginning?

In an instant, Ye Minshu’s hostility when they first met, Ji Ze’s evasiveness, and Ji Jun’s awkwardness all seemed to have an explanation.

But if the original engagement was with Ji Ze, why was it changed to Ji Duo, and why did Ji Duo agree?

His direct superior’s partner introduced him to potential matches, and he didn’t even look. This man was never one to compromise easily, nor could he be blackmailed.

The only ones who could make him compromise were probably his closest people, and there might be other reasons.

And Old Mr. Ji and Xu Li would never change the marriage partner from grandson to son just because the grandson was unwilling, so she never thought in that direction.

At such moments, Lin Qiao became even calmer. She got up, rinsed another cup, and poured herself half a glass of wine.

“This matter is understandable.” She clinked her glass with Ji Duo’s, “After all, we had just gotten married at that time. Compared to a wife, a nephew is naturally more important.”

Saying it was understandable, but it hit the nail on the head, pointing out why Ji Duo agreed to Ji Ze’s request.

They weren’t a union of love with no emotional foundation. Ji Duo took care of her out of a strong sense of responsibility. But he had spent over twenty years with Ji Ze, and even if he was angry at his nephew’s lack of progress when the nephew came asking for help and didn’t plan to do it for long, he still agreed.

He just didn’t expect Ji Ze to change his mind later, and his feelings for Lin Qiao also changed. Some things were easy to agree to initially but difficult to undo later.

These words left Ji Duo speechless. Listening from across the table, Ji Ze showed some urgency on his face: “No, it’s not Uncle, it’s…”

“This has nothing to do with you,” Lin Qiao interrupted him with a smile, adding more wine to his glass. “He was the one who got engaged to me, and he was the one who married me. If he didn’t want to, he could have said so directly. Why go through with the marriage and then help the family keep it from me, treating me like an outsider?”

Her smile hid a sharpness that she rarely showed.

Ji Duo couldn’t help but look at her and softly called, “Qiao Qiao…”

Before he could finish, Ji Ze couldn’t hold back any longer, “How can you blame Uncle for this? It was clearly my fault!”

When he entered, he had already punished himself with a drink, and now, with the apology to Lin Qiao, the pressure, guilt, and regret he had been feeling all came rushing up, making him lose his composure completely. “It was my fault for pushing the arranged marriage onto Uncle, and now I’m dragging him down with me…”

Ji Duo stopped peeling the shrimp and cast a cold glance over.

Ji Ze shivered from the chill, suddenly realizing that he had let slip the most inappropriate thing in his drunken state.

He quickly looked at Lin Qiao, hoping she hadn’t heard clearly due to his drunken tongue.

However, Lin Qiao had already put down her wine glass, her voice icy, “Let him speak! Why not let him speak?”