Chapter 18

Half an hour later, Qin Qingzhuo and Dr. Xie walked out of the corridor, both wearing masks.

Noticing Qin Qingzhuo scanning the area with his eyes, Jiang Ji took off his earphones and stood up from his seat, walking towards them.

“…After you go back, make sure to rest well. Don’t overexert yourself, especially during the change of seasons. Be sure to avoid catching a cold or getting a fever again,” Jiang Ji heard the doctor advising Qin Qingzhuo like this.

Seeing Jiang Ji approaching, Dr. Xie quickly stopped talking, only adding, “In any case, make sure to adjust your condition well,” with a somewhat worried tone.

“Yeah, I got it,” Qin Qingzhuo responded, still lacking energy, but his voice didn’t seem as hoarse as before.

Dr. Xie patted Qin Qingzhuo’s shoulder. “Well, Qingzhuo, I’ll head back first. If you need anything, contact me anytime.”

“Thanks, Cheng Yun,” Qin Qingzhuo nodded. “You go ahead and get busy.”

After saying this, he looked at Jiang Ji. “Let’s go.”

As they walked out of the hospital, Jiang Ji saw Qin Qingzhuo’s car parked at the entrance.

The driver got out of the car and opened the rear door for Qin Qingzhuo.

Jiang Ji stopped in his tracks. “Then I’ll leave first.”

“Come with me for a bit,” before Jiang Ji could step away, Qin Qingzhuo spoke, “You have something at my place.”

Jiang Ji glanced at him. “What something?”

“Sheet music.”

Sheet music? Jiang Ji didn’t remember having any sheet music at Qin Qingzhuo’s place.

“I found it at your doorstep,” Qin Qingzhuo said lightly, “I guess it’s something important to you.”

Jiang Ji was slightly taken aback.

Judging from his reaction, he seemed to have guessed which sheet music it was. Qin Qingzhuo thought. And indeed, that sheet music seemed to be important to Jiang Ji, otherwise, he wouldn’t have readily agreed to get into the car with him.

The interior of the car had good sound insulation, and the outside sounds were almost inaudible. Occasionally, there would be slight tire noises from inside the car.

The car smoothly traveled on the road, with Qin Qingzhuo and Jiang Ji sitting in the back.

At first, neither of them spoke. After a while, Qin Qingzhuo looked out the window and asked in a hoarse voice, “Where did the photos come from?”

Of course, Jiang Ji knew he was asking about the photos of Ji Chi and his assistant. With the spacious rear space, he leaned against the back seat, stretched his legs slightly forward, and calmly said, “Stolen.”

Qin Qingzhuo turned his head to look directly at him, but Jiang Ji kept his eyes on the front seat, ignoring his gaze.

“Why did you send it to me?” Qin Qingzhuo asked again.

“Because I don’t like you,” Jiang Ji said bluntly.

Qin Qingzhuo’s gaze lingered on his face for a few seconds before turning away. “Do you dislike me a lot?”

Jiang Ji remained silent.

In fact, he wasn’t entirely sure of the answer to that question. Did he dislike Qin Qingzhuo? It didn’t seem so.

But Qin Qingzhuo seemed to interpret his silence as agreement and asked again, “Why?”

Jiang Ji still didn’t speak.

Qin Qingzhuo looked out the window again, this time the silence lasted longer. When he spoke again, his voice sounded even hoarser, “Anyway, thank you. You prevented me from being too foolish for too long.”

The rest of the journey was silent between them.

The car entered the villa area and stopped in front of Qin Qingzhuo’s villa.

Jiang Ji opened the car door and got out, following behind Qin Qingzhuo and up the steps in front of the villa.

He hadn’t intended to go in with Qin Qingzhuo. He had planned to wait at the door until Qin Qingzhuo brought the sheet music and then leave. However, Qin Qingzhuo raised his hand to scan his fingerprint, pushed the door open, and there was a man sitting on the sofa in the living room.

The man was wearing a gray shirt and suit pants, seemingly talking on the phone with his mobile phone. He looked up at the sound and glanced at the door.

He first looked at Qin Qingzhuo and then made eye contact with Jiang Ji behind him.

The scene of him kissing Qin Qingzhuo’s cheek while sitting in the driver’s seat was vivid in Jiang Ji’s memory—it was Ji Chi.

“Qingzhuo,” Ji Chi stood up from the sofa.

Jiang Ji stood behind Qin Qingzhuo and noticed that his back seemed to stiffen.

“Why are you here?” Qin Qingzhuo cleared his throat. In fact, he knew Ji Chi would come sooner or later, just didn’t expect him to come so soon.

“What happened to your throat?” Ji Chi walked over, asking worriedly, “Are you sick?”

Qin Qingzhuo didn’t speak. After a moment of silence, he said, “You’ve come to explain about the photos, right? Go ahead, I’m listening.”

“I called you all night last night, and you didn’t answer. Your phone has been off today too. I was worried about you, so I asked for leave from the crew and came back.” Ji Chi said, glancing hesitantly at Jiang Ji behind Qin Qingzhuo, then reached out to grab Qin Qingzhuo’s wrist, “Qingzhuo, let’s go inside and talk privately, okay?”

Qin Qingzhuo avoided Ji Chi’s outstretched hand, looking at him. “I think explaining shouldn’t take too long. Let’s just talk here.”

Ji Chi’s hand froze in midair, slowly lowered, and remained silent for a while before he spoke again, “Qingzhuo, I’m sorry.”

Jiang Ji heard Qin Qingzhuo exhale softly.

Then Qin Qingzhuo nodded and said softly, “That’s enough, Jichi. Go back to filming.”

Seeing that Qin Qingzhuo was disheartened, Ji Chi panicked. Ignoring Jiang Ji still standing behind, he took a step forward, attempting to shake hands with Qin Qingzhuo. “I… I was confused for a moment. I’m an idiot, and I don’t know how I could do such a thing. I deeply regret it, regret it to the core… Qingzhuo, I can’t expect you to forgive me, but let me stay and take care of you for a few days, okay? Your current condition… really worries me.”

Leaning against the door frame, Jiang Ji coldly watched Ji Chi tremblingly confess, as if he was about to cry. He hadn’t seen Ji Chi act before, but if this scene was staged, the man’s acting skills could indeed contend for the Best Actor award.

Qin Qingzhuo remained silent, but Jiang Ji, standing behind him, spoke up, “Spineless fool.”

“What did you say?” Ji Chi looked up at Jiang Ji, finding it hard to believe what he had just heard.

“I said,” Jiang Ji enunciated each word clearly, “spineless fool.”

“Who are you?” Ji Chi furrowed his brows, his remorseful expression turning into anger. “Why are you standing here? Get out!”

Jiang Ji sneered, “Keep going with your act. Aren’t melodramas like yours quite entertaining? Without an audience, who will appreciate your acting skills?”

“Qingzhuo, who is this person?” Ji Chi looked at Qin Qingzhuo.

Qin Qingzhuo didn’t answer. To be precise, he didn’t want to say anything right now. The soreness that had slightly improved earlier now felt like coarse sand had filled his throat, and a piercing pain accompanied it.

“Think you’re very sentimental, huh?” Jiang Ji continued, “Stabbed someone in the back, then turned around and said you’re worried about him. Not only are you a spineless fool, but you’re also a hypocritical one.”

Ji Chi looked at Jiang Ji, his face stern. He scolded, “Get out!”

“Aren’t you curious who I am?” Jiang Ji leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, unmoved. “Your boyfriend is wearing my clothes. Who do you think I am?”

Ji Chi obviously didn’t believe it. However, Qin Qingzhuo’s clothes were indeed a size larger, and they weren’t his usual style. Ji Chi found it hard to believe, remained silent for a moment, and then looked at Qin Qingzhuo, “Qingzhuo, do you know this thug?”

Qin Qingzhuo wanted to put an end to this farce, but his throat hurt too much to say a word.

“Having your lover stolen by a thug, don’t you think you’re too pathetic, even worse than a thug?” Jiang Ji looked at Ji Chi coldly.

Only men knew what words to say to make another man feel humiliated. For example, now, Jiang Ji was quite interested in watching Ji Chi’s face gradually turn red. A civilized person is someone who maintains basic dignity even when showered with insults, like Ji Chi was at the moment.

As expected, Ji Chi was provoked, taking a step forward, reaching out to grab Jiang Ji’s collar, “What are you saying?!”

“What I said, you know in your heart,” Jiang Ji’s tone remained unchanged. “How about it? Didn’t expect that while you were putting a green hat on someone else, someone would also steal your lover?”

“You…” Ji Chi threw a punch.

Jiang Ji dodged it by tilting his head and then opened Ji Chi’s hand that was grabbing his collar with a crisp sound. He also clenched his fist and struck back.

In a one-on-one fight, he had never lost.

When he fought, he had a reckless demeanor, and Ji Chi, a civilized man used to a comfortable life, was not his match.

After taking a few punches, Ji Chi decided not to entangle with this hoodlum. He took a few steps back somewhat embarrassedly and looked at Qin Qingzhuo. “Qingzhuo, let him go. We’ll handle our own affairs.” After saying this, he waited for Qin Qingzhuo’s response.

But Jiang Ji evidently was not ready to give up. “How do you plan to resolve this? Kick your assistant out with a single kick? A few days ago, you were all lovey-dovey with him. Look closely,” he took out his phone, found a photo of Ji Chi and the assistant together, and turned the screen towards Ji Chi. “Carefully observe. This person looks good too. You, being so sentimental, surely can’t let go of either. Why not make it public and let the four of us live together?”

Ji Chi obviously hadn’t expected Jiang Ji to have a photo of him and Yuan Yu. Coupled with Jiang Ji’s sarcastic remarks, Ji Chi felt a mix of embarrassment and anger. Unable to completely lose his temper with Jiang Ji, he could only look at Jiang Ji with a face full of anger.

Qin Qingzhuo had a severe headache, and as he watched this farce come to an end, he finally spoke, “Ji Chi, leave.”

Ji Chi turned around, finding it hard to believe this was Qin Qingzhuo’s response.

He obviously was unwilling to leave just like this and remained standing in place without moving.

“Or, you can stay, and I’ll leave,” Qin Qingzhuo said, trying to push the door and walk outside. At this moment, he truly wanted to be alone.

“Don’t,” Ji Chi raised his hand to stop him. “You’re not feeling well. Rest properly. I’ll leave, and I’ll come back when you’re better.”

After saying this, Ji Chi adjusted his clothes, opened the door, and walked towards the car parked at the door.

Once the door closed, only Qin Qingzhuo and Jiang Ji were left in the room.

Qin Qingzhuo looked at Jiang Ji, and Jiang Ji looked at him.

Qin Qingzhuo’s expression was evidently calm.

He had just enjoyed himself by mocking Ji Chi, and the fighting spirit within Jiang Ji was still strong. If Qin Qingzhuo intended to speak up for Ji Chi, he didn’t mind unleashing his skills to continue mocking Qin Qingzhuo.

Qin Qingzhuo sighed, “Jiang Ji, violence is not the solution.”

Jiang Ji remained silent, ready to defend himself against any confrontation.

Qin Qingzhuo continued, “If you injure Ji Chi, and he takes it seriously, you won’t gain anything from it.”

Jiang Ji turned his head slightly with a “tsk”, showing no interest in listening to Qin Qingzhuo’s sermon.

“But,” Qin Qingzhuo paused, looking at him, “to be honest, I feel somewhat relieved now.”

Jiang Ji turned his face to look at him, observing Qin Qingzhuo. The expression on his face changed. It shifted from mockery to somewhat surprised. One corner of his eyebrow raised slightly, evidently not expecting Qin Qingzhuo to say this—was Qin Qingzhuo… affirming his actions just now?

“You gave him a good retort,” Qin Qingzhuo looked at him earnestly. “Thank you.”

From last night until now, Qin Qingzhuo had imagined various scenarios of meeting Ji Chi, all of which were painful, frustrating, heart-rending scenes that left him feeling choked up. But he hadn’t anticipated that, because of Jiang Ji’s presence, and also because of Jiang Ji’s unpredictable counterattack just now, he would actually feel quite relieved—a sense of satisfaction from being betrayed yet avenged.

He felt some of the pent-up emotions dissipating. Perhaps what he needed wasn’t an explanation from Ji Chi after all.

The deed had been done, and no matter how moving, logical, or reasonable an explanation Ji Chi provided, it wouldn’t change the outcome in the slightest.

Jiang Ji looked at Qin Qingzhuo with interest. “So, when I was hitting him just now, you deliberately didn’t stop me? Even though you clearly know that violence is wrong?”

Qin Qingzhuo didn’t say anything, calmly walking to the water dispenser in the living room and pouring himself a glass of water.

“Even though you clearly know that if Ji Chi takes it seriously, I won’t gain anything from it?” Jiang Ji repeated Qin Qingzhuo’s words, leaning against the wall by the entrance.

As the lukewarm water flowed down his throat, Qin Qingzhuo felt somewhat relieved. He placed the glass down. “You spoke up for me, so naturally, I wouldn’t let you suffer.”

Not wanting to continue the emotional conversation with Jiang Ji, Qin Qingzhuo walked to the coffee table, picked up the two sheets of music, and approached Jiang Ji, handing them over. “If you have time, I’d like to talk to you about this song.”

Jiang Ji took the sheet music, glanced at its contents, paused for a moment, and said, “I don’t want to.”

With that, he uttered a brief “goodbye,” pushed open the door, and strode out.

TN:

Okay…I don’t dislike you as much now JJ. But you’re still in the RED!