cos0

cos0 – Chapter 5 – I’m Yours Now

This time, Xu Ji learned from experience. The first thing he did after entering the door was to head straight to the study and grab all the documents he could take.

When he returned at dinner time, Li Ting was eating noodles again. Xu Ji glanced at it. It seemed like instant noodles, with a smell of MSG.

Li Ting seemed to understand what he was thinking and smiled at him, “Because you weren’t coming back to eat, I just cooked something simple.”

Xu Ji said nothing and left.

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For the following month, he never returned home.

The studio took on a new project and, as the director, he naturally had to be hands-on with everything. In the first few days, Li Ting still called to ask about him, but later on, Xu Ji directly said that he wouldn’t be returning anytime soon and asked him not to call again. The calls ceased after that.

Xu Ji finally had some peace and quiet.

“That’s a wrap! Good work guys!” The production manager shouted, and everyone on set cheered.

Xu Ji moved his stiff neck and leaned back in his chair, watching the editor cut the film. He had a rare smile on his face.

The editor was a girl. Her face became all red and she didn’t dare to look up.

In order to attract attention in advertisements, you need either strong visual effects or something comedic and interesting. Xu Ji’s style was 100% the former, for a simple reason.

One word: Cool.

Originally posted at nuebibli(dot)com, please do not read elsewhere.

The early employees at Will were all people who had started working with Xu Ji since their school days, like Chu Qi, Secretary Chen, as well as the photography assistant and lighting technician.

Chu Qi could tell that Xu Ji was quite pleased just by looking at his boss’s expression. His newly done nails were sparkling and shining, enough to blind Xu Ji’s eyes. He said, “Boss, we’ve been working hard for so long, can you treat us to dinner together tonight?”

Xu Ji chuckled. “You’re always waiting for this moment to eat me out of house and home.”

Chu Qi playfully pushed him, “You rascal.”

They say that in the art industry, it’s hard to gather enough heterosexual people to play a game of mahjong together.

Chu Qi and Xu Ji were classmates in university and were very familiar with each other, so Chu Qi knew that Xu Ji wouldn’t get angry. But if it were someone else, the outcome might have been different.

Around two years ago, they hired a new production assistant, who was a little bottom. Seeing how Chu Qi treated Xu Ji, the assistant also tried to assert himself. After several warnings were ignored, Xu Ji simply broke that assistant’s hand.

Chu Qi still remembers how he looked at that little bottom in horror, then at his own hand.

Xu Ji even comforted him, “It’s okay, I won’t break yours.”

Anyone who has spent time with Xu Ji would label him as “difficult to approach.” But to his friends, he would not hesitate to stand up for them and is loyal to a fault.

The premise is that you have to be within Xu Ji’s circle of friends.

“Okay,” Xu Ji clapped his hands and said with a smile, “Let’s have a dinner gathering tonight. Thanks for your hard work, everyone!”

“Woooo!” Everyone cheered even louder.

Chu Qi winked at Xu Ji and the little ponytail on top of his head swayed back and forth, “Any plans for tonight?”

Xu Ji said, “No plans, I’lm going home after dinner.”

“Back to the home at Hanjing?” Chu Qi asked.

Hanjing was the new residence he moved into, Xu Ji let out an “Mn.”

“So what’s good about getting a wife?” Chu Qi pouted, “You can’t even go back to the house you’ve been living in for so long and had to give it away for free to someone else.”

Xu Ji still hadn’t told Chu Qi that his spouse was a man. “Getting a wife is great, but marrying someone you don’t even know is terrible.”

Plus, it was his wife who came knocking on the door first, then he was informed without any prior knowledge.

“Jeez,” Chu Qi said, holding up his pinky finger. “An arranged marriage, right? It’s already 2202, so outdated.”

Xu Ji frowned, “What?”

“Boss, you are really out of touch!” Chu Qi couldn’t stand it and shouted, destained yet unwilling to let him go. “Boss, let’s go out and have some fun after dinner?”

Xu Ji couldn’t be bothered to respond and didn’t even lift his eyes, “Not going.”

It’s not that he’s anti-social, but because Chu Qi’s social circle was full of “sisters,” which was very scary.

He still remembered the last and only time he went out with Chu Qi’s friends. It was like he had entered a spider’s web, with a bunch of flashy fingernails swirling around him and the smell of perfume overwhelming his senses.

“Wow, gege’s chest muscles look like they’ll feel so good~”

“Ah, I really like gege’s arms.”

“Gege, what do you think about me? I have a very flexible waist, let’s become friends?”

Xu Ji didn’t want to think about it anymore.

Chu Qi held up three fingers, “I swear! Last time was an accident, this time I’ll call some manly guys, okay? You’re a heavenly dish for the circle of bottoms, don’t waste your good looks like this!”

Xu Ji was already picturing himself surrounded by a bunch of beefy muscle bottoms. He was about to refuse when a ringing interrupted them. He picked up his phone and saw it was from Xu Chengyue.

He gathered up his smile and the previously good mood vanished instantly. His heart felt like it was weighed down by dozens of kilograms of stones.

Chi Qi also knew about his relationship with his family and pointed outside, signaling that he would leave first.

Xu Ji nodded and waited to answer the call on the second ring.

“Why did you answer so late?”

“I was working.” Xu Ji replied without emotion.

Xu Chengyue had always looked down on his son’s entrepreneurship, and he let out an “ha” sarcastically before saying, “Come home tonight, the Li family is also here, and we’ll have dinner together.”

“I can’t make it tonight, I have something to do.” Xu Ji said.

“Cancel it.” Xu Chengyue insisted.

Xu Ji sneered, “I’ve said it many times before, if you have something to tell me, do it a day in advance. I’m not a dog waiting for your call every moment of the day.”

Xu Chengyue was also angry, “Do I need to make an appointment for my son to come home and have dinner?”

They couldn’t reach an agreement. It was always like this no matter how many times they talked. Xu Ji sighed wearily, “I can’t make it tonight, either reschedule or forget about it.”

Although stubborn until the end, it was still postponed. Chen Lian called and asked him to return tomorrow.

Knowing that he would have to face his parents and the Li family in the evening, Xu Ji’s mood wasn’t great all day. But it’s already been so long, no matter how reluctant he was, he had already accepted the fact that he was married, then his mood became much calmer.

Forget it, even if he’s married, his life won’t change much, so he’ll just live like this.

Xu Ji pressed his fingerprint lock and the door opened with a “click” sound. The aroma of food rushed over him.

To the right of the entrance was a large open kitchen, where a man was cooking in a white apron with long hair tied behind his shoulders.

“You’re back,” Li Ting heard a sound and smiled at Xu Ji, “food’s almost ready.”

Xu Ji retracted his previous words. He still wasn’t used to having a stranger in the house and didn’t know what to say, so he just let out an “Mn”.

His parents and the Li parents were in the living room, chatting and laughing.

Chen Lian was the first to see him, “Xiao Ji, come sit here.”

This time, Xu Ji showed a lot of respect and sat down, then he listened to the Li family’s flattery. They were saying stuff like, as expected of the Xu family’s only son, tall and handsome, and is as charismatic as Xu Chengyue.

Xu Ji stood up and said, “I’m going to wash my hands.”

Li Ting didn’t lie when he said food was almost ready. After Xu Ji spent ten minutes in the bathroom, he saw that the food was already on the table.

Xu Ji couldn’t help but feel the impact of the “virtuous wife” that the Li parents had previously tried to sell.

The four elders were already seated, but Li Ting was still standing, seemingly waiting for him.

Li Ting had taken off his apron, and a small tuft of hair fell from his temple and rubbed his fair chin from time to time. He pulled out a chair and flashed Xu Ji a lovely smile, instantly bringing his cold and unfeeling face to life. “Come sit here.”

The ancient saying goes that when a beauty looks back and smiles, she receives a hundred charms. Li Ting hadn’t even looked back, and he only slightly lifted his lips, yet it was powerful enough to make a group of people fall under his apron.

Unfortunately, he smiled at the wrong person. Xu Ji was not one to appreciate such things. He didn’t even spare a second glance and said, “You go sit, I can do it myself.”

Li Ting’s smile didn’t falter, “You sit, I’ve already pulled out the chair for you.”

Xu Ji didn’t say anything and just stood there in silence, exuding an air of “I’ll stand here forever if you don’t leave.”

It was Chen Lian who mediated, “Li Ting, you sit down, don’t mind him.”

Xu Ji felt that Li Ting seemed to have given him a sad look, but he didn’t care. He pushed back the already pulled out chair, then pulled it out again before finally sitting down.

The dinner was sumptuous. It featured white sliced chicken, ginger ribs, three fried stuffed treasures, meatballs in soup, stir-fried garlic shoot with meat, and oil-splashed vegetables. Six dishes and one soup, both the plating and taste could easily rival those of high-end restaurants.

The white sliced chicken in particular, the chicken had a chickeny flavor, and the scallion ginger sauce dip for the chicken was incredibly fragrant.

If this was prepared by one person alone, it would probably take the whole afternoon. Xu Ji unconsciously glanced at Li Ting across the table, who sensed it and raised his head in confusion.

As soon as the corner of the other’s mouth lifted, Xu Ji’s eyes shifted away.

Li Ting immediately returned to his expressionless face.

In short, the parents of both families kept praising the food, and Father Li was very proud, saying, “Right? Li Ting isn’t outstanding in anything, but he can cook quite well!”

Mother Li asked, “Xiao Ji, is it good?”

When Xu Ji heard this, he swallowed his retort of “Who are you to call me Xiao Ji” and politely replied, “Mn.”

Li Ting was momentarily surprised by the answer, then he turned his head and smiled, his hand subconsciously covering his mouth while his slender and fair fingers curled up.

In Xu Ji’s eyes, this appearance was quite delicate, and it made him frown.

The whole family was happy, except for the two who stared at each other in silence.

After dinner, Li Ting voluntarily got up to do the dishes. The two wives chatted in the living room, while Xu Chengyue and Father went to the study to discuss something.

It’s impolite to leave right after eating, so Xu Ji chose to go back to his room.

After staying for about twenty minutes, he came out of the room, intending to say goodbye and leave first.

Passing by the study room at the corner, Father Li’s voice came out from inside, and he vaguely heard the words “project,” “sponsor,” and “help.”

Xu Ji couldn’t help but pause when he heard it, but when he reacted and was about to leave, the person behind him spoke up, “If I were you, I would advise your father not to waste any more money.”

Xu Ji turned his head upon hearing this. The person was standing on the steps, with sharp jaw lines and a somewhat condescending and arrogant look.

Li Ting leaned against the handrail, his gaze falling on the mole on the nose of the person in front of him. He had a faint smile on his lips, and every moment seemed to freeze like a pictorial, “After all, the Li family’s company cannot be saved no matter what.”

Xu Ji didn’t ask why, he knew the other wouldn’t tell him anyways, but he was really curious about one thing, “You don’t want to help your family?”

“What do you mean, my family?” Li Ting raised his fair face as if he heard something funny, his long eyelashes flickered once.

He hooked the falling strands of hair from his temple to behind his ear and smiled gently, “I married into this family, I’m yours now. Naturally, I have to plan for our family.”

He emphasized the three words “our family.”

–

The author has something to say:

Xu Ji: Thank you, I’m already throwing up.