Chapter 33

Zhu Xinyue absentmindedly finished her meal.

As she ate, she kept recalling how real that dream felt. But if it wasn’t a dream…

Ji Linyu noticed her flushed face but didn’t interrupt her thoughts, figuring she should sort it out on her own. After all, he couldn’t be the only one who cared so much about that kiss.

“I’ll wash the dishes. Don’t touch cold water during your period.” Ji Linyu pushed Zhu Xinyue back into her seat, took her dishes, and started cleaning the kitchen.

Zhu Xinyue wiped the table where they had just eaten with a wet tissue.

This scene… felt very familiar.

Zhu Xinyue recalled that time before the audition for “Peach Blossom Spring” when she and Ji Linyu had a late-night snack, and he also did the dishes then.

At that moment, she thought this man had reached a new level of attractiveness.

Watching Ji Linyu’s busy figure, Zhu Xinyue gradually calmed down.

She had always been preoccupied with survival, never considering building a family or dating someone. Even if she did think about it, it was usually during times of extreme pressure, hoping to rely on someone else to make her life easier. However, she knew this could bring greater risks.

But if that someone was Ji Linyu, she felt being with him wouldn’t be bad. He could give her enough security, both economically and emotionally.

Zhu Xinyue was actually a pessimist. When she started thinking about being with Ji Linyu, she worried about what would happen if he went bankrupt someday. What if he couldn’t provide her the financial security she needed?

Ji Linyu had no idea his potential girlfriend was contemplating the possibility of his multi-billion-dollar empire collapsing. After tidying up the kitchen, he washed his hands again with soap and dried them with a paper towel. When he turned around, he saw Zhu Xinyue still lost in thought.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

Zhu Xinyue replied, “Something very offensive.”

“Hmm?”

Zhu Xinyue looked at him seriously and said, “How much money would it take to support President Ji, even for just one day?”

Ji Linyu was taken aback, feeling angry and amused at the same time. He reached across the table and gently pinched her cheek.

Zhu Xinyue grabbed his hand, slightly tilting her head as she looked at him. With a serious expression, she said, “I’m serious. People need to plan for the future. You work so hard, there will be a day when you get tired. If someday you don’t want to work anymore, I could righteously ask you to stay for a day, throwing out a card and buying you for a day.”

Ji Linyu felt his heart skip a beat. Her hair brushed against his hand, tickling, her fingertips warm and soft, making him crave her warmth.

It was the first time someone told him he would have a day when he felt tired.

The first time someone offered to buy him for a day.

Such a cute thought.

“I don’t have a lot of money, maybe I can’t afford you for many days, but one or two days should be okay…” Before Zhu Xinyue could finish her sentence, Ji Linyu’s thumb pressed against her lips.

Zhu Xinyue stared at him, dazed. Ji Linyu leaned closer, his hand under her chin forcing her to lift her head and face his dark eyes.

In his eyes, she saw turbulent waves, far from calm.

“A kiss for one hour. How’s that rate?” Ji Linyu asked with a smile, his gaze sliding from her eyes to her lips, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

Too close!

Her heart was about to explode!

Zhu Xinyue sprang up like a spring and dashed into the bathroom.

She moved so fast, like a startled little animal.

Ji Linyu rubbed the lingering softness on his thumb, like cotton candy.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom.

Ji Linyu wondered if he was too straightforward, but he couldn’t help it. She was too cute. It was hard to hold back when she babbled strange things with her small mouth.

If anyone was being offensive, it was him, with thoughts full of ways to tease her.

Her guard was too low.

The bathroom door opened again.

Ji Linyu looked over and saw her hair tips damp, water droplets falling from her chin as if she had washed her face to calm down.

He sat on the high stool she had occupied earlier, waiting for her leisurely. “Was the price too high?”

His smile was infuriating. Zhu Xinyue saw a different side of Ji Linyu, mischievous and teasing.

Summoning her courage, Zhu Xinyue walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

Ji Linyu’s heart skipped a beat, realizing this was her conscious choice. His ears turned red, his heart pounding.

He tasted her lips, detecting a hint of cool strawberry flavor, slightly sweet. He instinctively bit down.

“Ow…” Why was he biting?

Just as Zhu Xinyue was about to pull away, Ji Linyu seized the opportunity, holding her head, deepening the strawberry-flavored kiss.

Very sweet.

As their breaths intertwined, Zhu Xinyue felt she was suffocating and pushed Ji Linyu away. Her skin turned pink.

Seeing her lips, red from his kisses, Ji Linyu felt he might have gone too far, but he didn’t regret it, only smiling.

“Did you eat candy? So sweet.”

Zhu Xinyue’s breath hitched.

He found out! She had brushed her teeth and eaten a strawberry mint. Was it too obvious?

Ji Linyu, noticing her guilty expression, deepened his smile.

“So, what is our relationship now?” Having kissed, she should give him a proper title, right?

Zhu Xinyue coughed lightly, testing the waters:

“A kept relationship?”

Ji Linyu was exasperated, tapping his fingers on the table, seemingly holding back something.

“Can’t you have a bit more ambition?”

Zhu Xinyue blinked, pretending not to understand.

Ji Linyu couldn’t help it, took her hand, and pulled her closer.

His hand naturally interlocked with hers, his palm’s warmth transmitting through their contact. The touch felt electric, like drinking sparkling water, fizzing on her tongue, not painful but stimulating.

“The Zhu Xinyue I know said she wanted to give me a home when we first met.” Ji Linyu’s first sentence made Zhu Xinyue want to find a hole to hide in. But her hand was held tightly by him, unable to escape. Because she showed signs of retreat, he locked her more firmly by his side.

“At that time, I thought, ‘Who is this little girl, so bold as to say such things to me? Does she know who I am? Can she give me the home I want?'” Ji Linyu’s tone carried a smile as he stared at Zhu Xinyue.

Zhu Xinyue bit her lower lip, recalling how Zhu Shilang had told her she couldn’t repay him, her gaze dropped, and her heart sank.

Ji Linyu seemed to understand her thoughts completely. He cupped her face, lifting her head to make her look at him.

In his calm and determined eyes, Zhu Xinyue found a sense of stability, like steering a small boat on the ocean. She didn’t know the destination, but she trusted that this vast sea would give her enough security.

“You can afford it,” he repeated solemnly. “No one else can give it like you can.”

This vast sea would carry her to the shore.

“The Zhu Xinyue I know can see others’ vulnerabilities, their grievances, and the kindness they show her. She sees everything in others but fails to see herself.

“She’s strong yet fragile, crying alone to avoid troubling others. But I want her to trouble me. I want to see her vulnerability, I want her to vent her grievances to me, not hide them away, not cry alone.

“I want to be someone she relies on, not just another ‘nice guy’ she can describe to anyone.”

In a way, they were alike yet different.

Like that night at the wedding banquet, Zhu Xinyue could see his sadness, so she stayed by his side, walking with him through the night, accompanying him down the long stairs.

Ji Linyu thought it was his illusion. How could she appear so perfectly just when he thought of her?

When he caught that flower petal, when he saw her, he realized it was real. She stood there, then walked down towards him.

Because she was Zhu Xinyue, who would see him, who would cheer him up when he was sad, who would stay by his side.

To be liked by her, to be firmly chosen by her, was a great fortune.

But she was a fool, not knowing how good she was.

Zhu Xinyue’s eyes turned red as she threw herself into Ji Linyu’s arms, hugging his neck and saying in the fiercest tone, choking back tears, “Ji Linyu, you’re done for. You’re stuck with me for life.”

Ji Linyu chuckled, gently stroking her back. “More than happy to.”

Despite wanting to continue their romantic moment, Zhu Xinyue quickly pushed him out of the cabin, watching the time.

“They’ll be back soon. If the crew comes back, it will be hard to explain,” Zhu Xinyue said, urging him to change his shoes.

Ji Linyu leaned against the door frame, frowning. “Why would it be hard to explain?”

“…?” Zhu Xinyue thought, why would he ask that? Didn’t he avoid the crew and turn off all the cameras to avoid being seen together?

Ji Linyu squinted his eyes, asking, “You don’t want to make our relationship public?”

Sensing the danger in her boyfriend’s eyes, Zhu Xinyue realized this might be a trick question.

“It’s a bit too soon to go public right after getting together,” she said. It wouldn’t hurt to wait until their relationship was more stable.

Ji Linyu clenched his fists.

He indeed wanted to go public, but for her career, keeping it private might be better. At least her contract was only for three years.

Zhu Xinyue waited for his response, looking at him expectantly.

Ji Linyu glanced around the empty cabin, thinking about others being able to stay with her, spending time together, while he, the newly promoted boyfriend, was being pushed out. And she wanted him to agree to a secret relationship.

Tsk.

Unhappy.

Seeing Ji Linyu’s displeasure, Zhu Xinyue grabbed his collar and tiptoed to kiss his lips.

“Okay?” She looked at him with sparkling eyes.

Ji Linyu pursed his lips, staring at her bright eyes, and tapped his lips with his finger. “Another kiss.”

Zhu Xinyue tiptoed again, approaching him.

Ji Linyu wrapped his arm around her waist, deepening the kiss until she was breathless and had to lean on his chest to catch her breath.

Ji Linyu’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He held his girlfriend with one arm and answered the call.

Zhu Xinyue, close enough to hear the director’s voice.

“President Ji, can we turn on the cameras now? We’re almost back.”

Zhu Xinyue tightened her grip on Ji Linyu’s clothes, looking up at him.

“Ten minutes,” Ji Linyu said.

“Alright,” the director hung up.

Zhu Xinyue sighed in relief, just about to step back when Ji Linyu pulled her into his arms again, whispering in her ear with a low, hoarse voice.

“Hug for ten minutes or kiss for ten minutes, choose one.”

No one told her Ji Linyu was this clingy in a relationship!

Zhu Xinyue felt her whole body turn red.