Chapter 33

When Ji Jing kissed her, holding her chin firmly, Tang Ruan was completely stunned for a few seconds.

In that fleeting moment, he leaned down and kissed her, one hand gripping her waist while the other clasped her chin, preventing her from moving.

It was their first kiss, and neither of them was particularly skilled.

Ji Jing even bit Tang Ruan’s lip, as if in a desperate frenzy. Tang Ruan struggled for a couple of seconds, pounding on Ji Jing’s shoulders, but it was all in vain.

When she let out a small sound of pain, Ji Jing seemed to realize and softened his actions, kissing her more gently.

The room was brightly lit—so bright that it was almost glaring. Tang Ruan instinctively closed her eyes, feeling the shift in Ji Jing’s touch as the intensity transitioned into something softer, gentler, as if he were savoring her, trying to devour her entirely.

…

Ji Jing didn’t kiss her for long before he let her go.

Tang Ruan’s eyes snapped open, her gaze wet and dazed. Her lips were swollen from the kiss. Though her skin wasn’t broken, the redness made the aftermath obvious.

Ji Jing’s eyes were dark, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly as he stared at her lips. Neither of them spoke, and the fleeting intimacy in the room dissipated quickly.

Tang Ruan wiped her mouth with her sleeve and glared at Ji Jing. She tried to push him aside to leave, but before she could get away, Ji Jing grabbed her.

“Don’t go yet,” Ji Jing said, his voice low and husky as he leaned closer to her ear. He spoke softly, “Tang Ruan, let’s talk.”

“I don’t want to talk,” Tang Ruan replied curtly.

Ji Jing: “…”

He froze for a moment before laughing in frustration. Ji Jing moved closer to Tang Ruan, his voice soothing. “Just for a moment?”

Tang Ruan lifted her head to meet his gaze. Then, seeing that Ji Jing was momentarily distracted, she shoved him hard and darted out of the room.

With a loud “bang,” she slammed the door shut.

Ji Jing stared at the closed door, smirking faintly. He ran his fingers over his lips, as though savoring the lingering warmth left behind.

–

Tang Ruan was genuinely angry.

Very angry.

But beyond the anger, there was also an inexplicable emotion she couldn’t quite describe or understand.

By all rights, if she followed the original owner’s thoughts, she should have stayed and worked to maintain this marriage. However, when she had first arrived here, Tang Ruan was adamant about getting a divorce. She had read the novel and knew that Ji Jing didn’t have feelings for her. A loveless marriage—even with a wealthy man—was not a life she wanted to live forever.

Spending a lifetime in someone else’s shadow was unbearable. If Ji Jing ever found someone he truly loved, she’d likely be humiliated. So, from the beginning, she had been determined to provoke him into divorcing her.

She’d rather be a woman abandoned by a man than compromise and live with someone who didn’t love her.

But over time, she realized that Ji Jing was, in fact, a decent man. Of course, only “decent”—Ji Jing was admirable, but he didn’t love her, and that didn’t concern her much. Tang Ruan was pragmatic and never overly demanding in such matters.

Yet, as they spent more time together, she noticed subtle changes.

Ji Jing seemed to treat her differently. She could sense it, even though he wasn’t overt about it. She didn’t dwell on it, chalking it up to a man’s possessiveness. After all, no man could tolerate his wife complimenting other men as handsome, even if he didn’t love her.

When she teased him earlier by asking if he was jealous, she hadn’t expected him to deny it outright. But he didn’t confirm it either. She had quickly laughed it off, claiming she was just joking.

Now, lying in bed, Tang Ruan rubbed her still-warm lips, a realization dawning on her.

Did Ji Jing… like her?

The answer seemed almost certain, yet she wasn’t sure if it was just fleeting interest or something deeper. When it came to matters like this, she lacked confidence.

Frustrated, she let out an exasperated groan and ruffled her hair.

After some thought, she got up to remove her makeup and shower. Only after cooling her body and face in the bathroom did she return to bed. But as soon as she closed her eyes, the image of Ji Jing leaning down to kiss her replayed vividly in her mind.

His lips had been slightly cool, soft… like jelly.

Tang Ruan buried her face in the blanket, stifling a muffled groan, before yanking it off to take deep breaths.

Annoying.

–

The next morning, Tang Ruan was still sound asleep in her room.

Downstairs in the dining room, the butler, Mr. Li, hesitated as he looked at Ji Jing. “Sir, why hasn’t the young madam come down yet?”

Ji Jing was slightly taken aback. He glanced back and said, “She’s probably still sleeping. Make her breakfast later when she wakes up.”

“Understood.”

Butler Li sighed and asked, “Young Master, did you have an argument with the Young Madam?”

Ji Jing hesitated briefly before smiling faintly. “No.”

He suspected, though, that given Tang Ruan’s personality, she’d likely avoid him for a few days until she felt it was sufficient.

As it turned out, Ji Jing’s guess was correct. After spending time with Tang Ruan recently, he had come to understand her behavior quite well.

After breakfast, Ji Jing gave a few instructions before heading to work.

As soon as he arrived at the company, he dove into a mountain of work, not even sparing time for a sip of water. The tasks he had left unfinished the previous night still needed his attention.

At around ten o’clock, Ji Jing found a moment to text Tang Ruan, but received no reply.

He stared at his phone for a moment, frowning slightly.

“President Ji,” Ning Ming called out from nearby. “President Ji?”

Ji Jing snapped out of his thoughts and looked up. “What’s the matter?”

Ning Ming pointed at a document and said, “This file needs immediate attention. Also, there’s an event in two days in a neighboring city.”

Ji Jing glanced at him and, after signing the document in front of him, asked, “A ribbon-cutting ceremony?”

“Yes.”

The event was for a new development on a plot of land they had recently invested in. It was part of Ji Group’s strategic expansion into the area. The city was one of the group’s key target locations for the next few years, particularly for real estate development. Acquiring the land during the bidding phase had been no small feat.

Ji Jing pondered for a moment, twirling his pen in his fingers, then asked, “If I remember correctly, that’s a tourist city, isn’t it?”

“Yes, a developing tourist city.”

Ji Jing nodded. “Book the tickets later.”

“Understood.”

Ning Ming turned to leave but was stopped just as he reached the door.

“Wait.”

“Anything else, President Ji?”

Ji Jing hesitated briefly, cleared his throat, and looked up at him. “I need some personal advice.”

Ning Ming chuckled softly, nodding. “Go ahead, President Ji.”

“If your girlfriend is upset, how do you cheer her up?”

Ning Ming: “…”

He did have a girlfriend of several years, though he wasn’t sure how Ji Jing had learned of it. Regardless, Ning Ming answered honestly, “It depends on the situation. Sometimes a small gift does the trick, but other times it’s more complicated.”

He glanced at Ji Jing and added with a smile, “Did the Young Madam get upset?”

Ji Jing gave him a sideways glance but said nothing.

Ning Ming laughed and added, “Women can be easy to placate and difficult at the same time. It really depends on what made her upset. Usually, saying something sweet works.”

…

Even after Ning Ming left, Ji Jing still couldn’t figure out how to mend things with Tang Ruan.

–

Tang Ruan had deliberately waited until Ji Jing left for work before getting out of bed. Dark circles loomed under her eyes from a sleepless night. She was the type who couldn’t sleep once her mind got stuck on something unresolved or troubling.

It hadn’t been a problem in the past because her job left her too exhausted to overthink. But now, with her days much more relaxed, even minor issues kept her awake.

She glanced at herself in the mirror, cringing at the sight of her dark circles.

After a quick wash, Tang Ruan headed downstairs.

“Good morning, Young Madam. Did you sleep well?” Butler Li greeted her warmly, his tone as gentle as a kind elder’s.

Tang Ruan smiled lightly and nodded. “I slept fine.”

“What would you like to eat? I’ll prepare it for you.”

“No need,” Tang Ruan waved her hand and replied softly, “I’m not eating at home. I plan to go out for a walk.”

“Shall I arrange for a driver?”

“No, thank you.” Tang Ruan declined. “I’ll just wander around on my own.”

“Very well. If you need anything, feel free to call, and we’ll send the driver to pick you up.”

Tang Ruan nodded. “Got it.”

She arranged to have lunch with Cheng Mushi. Tang Ruan didn’t have many friends she could confide in here. She couldn’t just vent about her personal matters to anyone. The only people she was somewhat familiar with were Cheng Mushi and Ji Ling. Ji Ling, Ji Jing’s younger sister, was busy with her university studies. After some thought, Tang Ruan decided Cheng Mushi was the best person to talk to.

Fortunately, Cheng Mushi wasn’t busy and could meet her.

–

Sitting in a café, the two women occupied a table on the second floor, gazing at the bustling streets below. Cheng Mushi glanced back at Tang Ruan and teased with a smile, “You didn’t just invite me out for lunch, did you?”

Tang Ruan sighed weakly, her tone listless. “It really is just lunch.”

Cheng Mushi chuckled, arching an eyebrow. “Come on, I’m not buying that. You’ve looked down in the dumps since you got here. What’s going on?”

Hearing this, Tang Ruan glanced at her with a melancholic gaze. “Let me ask you something.”

“Go ahead.” Cheng Mushi leaned closer, a trace of concern in her voice. “Don’t tell me—did your husband cheat on you?”

Tang Ruan: “…”

“Impossible.” She blurted out immediately, “Out of everyone in the world, my husband would be the last to cheat.”

Cheng Mushi: “…”

She raised an eyebrow, sipping her coffee. “That confident, huh? Then why are you so troubled?”

Tang Ruan reflected for a moment, realizing she might have sounded overly certain.

Her clear eyes fixed on Cheng Mushi as she said, “Let me give you a hypothetical scenario.”

“Go ahead.” Cheng Mushi shifted her posture, feigning an attentive air.

Tang Ruan hesitated for a moment but didn’t linger before speaking up, “So, my friend got married, right? Initially, her relationship with her husband wasn’t great.”

“And then?”

“She always thought her husband didn’t have feelings for her, but now she’s realizing… maybe he does. What should she do?”

Cheng Mushi gave her a scrutinizing look. “Does you have feelings for him?”

Tang Ruan frowned. “I’m talking about my friend.”

Cheng Mushi smirked, unconvinced. “Fine. Does your friend have feelings for her husband?”

Tang Ruan fell silent.

She wasn’t sure. In truth, she didn’t exactly dislike Ji Jing’s kisses or his closeness—she even felt a faint happiness. Tang Ruan interpreted this as liking him, but it wasn’t a deep kind of affection. She believed that if she wanted to leave now, she could.

Observing her expression, Cheng Mushi softly said, “You actually have feelings for your husband too, don’t you? Just not very deep ones.”

Tang Ruan snapped, “I told you, I’m talking about my friend!”

Cheng Mushi ignored her protest and continued analyzing. “So, both of them actually have feelings for each other, but it’s just not very deep yet, and they haven’t fully acknowledged it?”

“Something like that,” Tang Ruan admitted, at least from her own perspective.

“Then make those feelings deeper,” Cheng Mushi advised. “Haven’t you read novels? You should know that when you meet someone you like, you have to hold on tight, spend your life with them, and live happily ever after. Isn’t it wonderful when two people genuinely like each other? In this lifetime, if you let one person go, it’s hard to find someone else who truly shares mutual feelings.”

Cheng Mushi’s words, while not absolute, held some truth. In a way, they made sense.

“Besides, you and your husband are already married. If there are feelings, why not continue to explore them? What are you afraid of? What’s stopping you?”

Tang Ruan didn’t even bother correcting Cheng Mushi’s persistent assumption that she was talking about herself. After thinking for a while, she realized she wasn’t entirely sure what she was afraid of.

“Are you worried about him losing interest? Falling for someone else?”

Tang Ruan hesitated. “Not… really.”

“Then what’s there to be afraid of?”

“I’m just a little scared… he might be joking about all of this.”

Cheng Mushi was momentarily stunned before laughing out loud. “Tang Ruan, even if you don’t have confidence in your husband, at least have confidence in yourself. If I were a man—if I were your husband—I’d hold on to you tightly. Where else could I find such a cute, beautiful, and sweet wife?”

Tang Ruan rolled her eyes. “Too bad you’re not my husband.”

Cheng Mushi grinned. “Exactly, so I think you should go for it if you like him. There’s no need to be timid. Besides, you’re already legally married—it’s convenient to do anything you want.” She shot Tang Ruan an overly suggestive look. “Unlike me… sigh.”

Tang Ruan blushed slightly and glared at her. “Just shut up already.”

Cheng Mushi laughed again. “Wishing you and your husband a blissful and… fulfilling marriage.”Tang Ruan groaned, “I’m talking about my friend!”