novelraw Chapter 424: Careful Yet Capricious
Chapter 424: Careful Yet Capricious
Ji Rui never knew he could be so easily satisfied, nor did he know that just a gentle, fleeting kiss could bribe his self-proclaimed strong heart.Sitting in the back seat, Ji Rui was still savoring the woman’s kiss from just moments ago.
That light, green tea-scented kiss.
If he remembered correctly, this should be her first time initiating a kiss with him.
Since they became a couple, Ji Rui had indeed coaxed a few kisses from her, citing his injuries. However, a kiss of her own volition, where she had complete control—this was a first.
Once, during the time when he harbored deep prejudices against Le Tong, he thought she was a frivolous person.
But now, he was a hundred percent sure that she was not only not frivolous, but somewhat conservative.
Or rather, calling her conservative doesn’t quite fit; saying she’s careful might be more accurate. If she weren’t careful, she wouldn’t have suggested moving out of his house.
He used to think she was a vain woman, solely interested in clinging to a wealthy family. But now, even though he had essentially packaged himself and everything he owned and placed it before her, she kicked him out without hesitation.
Truly a careful and willful woman!
Watching the city scene fly past the car window, Ji Rui chuckled helplessly.
But even though she’s careful and willful, he still fell for her, and unknowingly sunk deeply into it. By the time he realized he was entangled, it was too late to extricate himself!
...
The next day, Ji Rui didn’t come to pick up Le Tong and Baobao.
Seeing Xiao Li outside the door, Le Tong’s first thought was that the man was still upset about last night.
But when he left last night, his face was clearly warm, wasn’t it?
"Brother Li, Mr. Ji he..."
Until she opened the rear car door, finding it empty, Le Tong had no choice but to acknowledge her suspicions.
"Miss Le, this is from the CEO," Xiao Li said, handing her a neatly folded note.
Le Tong took the note, puzzled. Wouldn’t it be better to make a call or send a message? Why write a note?
"The CEO said Miss Le’s phone was off," Xiao Li explained, as if reading Le Tong’s mind, while starting the car.
Le Tong assumed it was an excuse by Ji Rui, but when she retrieved her phone, she found it had indeed turned off at some point.
She turned it back on, revealing several missed calls, all from "Mr. Ji," with times showing around four in the morning.
Le Tong frowned slightly; he must have had something urgent to call her that early, right?
Feeling a bit worried, Le Tong opened the note, finding just a simple line written in a bold, flamboyant style.
"I have urgent matters to attend to on a business trip for a few days. If urgent, contact Yang Sheng."
Staring at the note, Le Tong vaguely felt something significant might have happened.
"Brother Li, where did Mr. Ji go on his trip?"
Though she asked, Le Tong didn’t expect to get a clear answer from Xiao Li.
"Miss Le, I’m not entirely sure either. Mr. Ji left on his private plane early this morning."
As Le Tong expected, Xiao Li didn’t give her a definitive answer.
Whether he truly didn’t know or was instructed by Ji Rui to keep it a secret, Le Tong couldn’t tell.
Despite her anxiety, Le Tong still carried on with her day, taking Baobao to the Ji Family. Baobao was well-behaved and began playing on his own once inside the office. Around nine, Le Tong attended a brief meeting with several executives, and upon returning, found an additional person in the reception room.
"Senior, when did you get back?"
Le Tong thought her senior had left for good, but seeing him at the Ji Family, did it mean she no longer had to bear the burden of being an assistant?
The man, who was chatting animatedly with Baobao, turned to smile at Le Tong and said, "Just got back! Your Mr. Ji was afraid you’d be bullied, so he dragged me up at daybreak, ordered me onto the first flight back, or else he would issue a nationwide search for me."
Upon hearing Yang Sheng say this, Le Tong wasn’t touched; instead, her mood grew heavier.
"Did you finish your business over there?" Though worried about Ji Rui, Le Tong was also concerned about Yang Sheng’s matters.
"Not yet..."
Yang Sheng straightened up, picked up his laptop, and walked towards the desk.
Le Tong bent down to kiss Baobao on the cheek, patting him gently for reassurance, and then followed Yang Sheng.
"Senior, where did Ji Rui go?"
Though Le Tong had repeatedly told herself not to meddle too much in Ji Rui’s affairs, she couldn’t find peace without knowing, and couldn’t focus on her work.
Yang Sheng looked at her with amusement, "Oh, even your way of addressing him has changed!"
"Senior, be serious!" Le Tong was anxious; she’d tried calling Ji Rui several times since morning, only to find his phone was off each time.
Yang Sheng stowed away his smile, "Tongtong, you’re clever; you must know where he went, right?"
Yang Sheng didn’t directly answer Le Tong. Though he didn’t agree with Ji Rui’s decision to keep things from Le Tong, he had promised to keep the secret, so he couldn’t break his word.
However, if Le Tong guessed it herself, it wouldn’t count as him telling, right?
Le Tong’s expression turned serious, "He went to Y Country?"
Yang Sheng neither nodded nor shook his head, instead opening his laptop and saying to Le Tong, "Isn’t there still some work needed on the contract with Xingning Group? Send it over for me to take a look."
Evidently, this was Ji Rui’s instruction.
Le Tong didn’t press further on Ji Rui’s whereabouts. After all, even if she worried more, she couldn’t fly to Y Country, and even if she did, what could she do to help him?
Suppressing her frustration, Le Tong compiled the documents Yang Sheng requested and sent them to his email.
"Senior..."
Not wanting to dwell on Ji Rui’s affairs any longer, Le Tong shifted the conversation to another matter she was concerned about.
"Hmm?!" Yang Sheng looked up at her.
"You really won’t leave the Ji Family again, will you?" Both professionally and personally, Le Tong hoped Yang Sheng would stay.
Yang Sheng gazed at her intently for a long while before nodding and saying, "Yes, I will leave!"
Le Tong also looked at him; she wanted to ask why, but the words stuck in her throat. She realized it was his personal matter, and she had no right or standing to pry, even though he treated her like a sister.
"I’ll wait until Rui returns, then I’ll likely leave completely."
Yang Sheng’s expression turned uncharacteristically solemn.
"You don’t need to be sad; my leaving might actually be a good thing for Rui!" Yang Sheng spoke cryptically, his expression tinged with rare helplessness.
Le Tong recalled what Ji Rui said the day he was injured... Could it be that the Yang Family was indeed involved in a less-than-honorable role in this injury?