novelraw Chapter 466 - 465: Because, I like
Chapter 466 - 465: Because, I like
Ji Rui had Xiao Li hand over the documents Mr. Huang gave him to Lawyer Fan overnight to have him follow up as soon as possible. As long as there was evidence showing that the assailant profited financially, this case would have a breakthrough.Le Tong listened to Ji Rui talk about the situation in just a few words and immediately felt much lighter.
However, Le Tong’s relief didn’t last long. She turned to the kitchen to make flower tea for Ji Rui, listening to the water bubbling on the stove, and her thoughts unwittingly drifted far away.
Ji Rui said the person negotiating with the thug was Ji Wen’s wife’s brother-in-law, and since Ji Wen and Ji Wu’s family members weren’t in the country, the biggest possible mastermind behind this was Old Madam Ji. If that’s true, then this account will ultimately have to be settled with Mr. Ji.
Thinking about the already tense relationship between Ji Rui and Mr. Ji, adding this to the mix, any hopes of reconciliation between the father and son were probably dashed.
The worried Le Tong wasn’t being saintly or felt any pity for Mr. Ji.
She was worried about Baobao and also about Ji Rui. Both father and son lacked love. They’ve always longed for familial affection from Mr. Ji, yet have been hurt mercilessly.
Baobao is still a child, his love for Mr. Ji is genuine, after all, that’s his grandfather who raised him from a young age.
If Old Madam Ji is indeed the real culprit behind this, it’s almost impossible for Baobao and Mr. Ji’s relationship to remain untarnished.
And sitting in the living room, Ji Rui’s heart was probably frozen, wasn’t it? Even though he said he hates Mr. Ji, deep down, he still held some hope for him, didn’t he? He was like Baobao once, full of anticipation for Mr. Ji, only to have that anticipation worn down by relentless reality, leaving behind nothing but repeated confrontations and struggles like now.
Whatever "blood is thicker than water" or "family ties," in the end, all were turned into foam in these struggles, leaving only hatred behind!
"Alas..."
Le Tong sighed helplessly, picked up the hot water and poured it into the teapot, let the golden flower tea flow out from the pot, added a little honey, and carried it out.
Ji Rui took the cup, said thank you, sipped it lightly by his lips, and glanced over at the book open on the sofa.
"Aren’t you tired? Still reading this!"
He was the one who wanted her to pursue further education.
But now, he wished he could go back to several months ago and strangle the version of himself who suggested she should study hard.
If he had known she would study so desperately, if he had known she had such a weak constitution, he wouldn’t have given her that kind of advice no matter what.
Now, it’s come to this, burning the midnight oil not only harmed her health but also occupied the precious time they could’ve spent together intimately.
By all accounts, since they had confirmed their relationship not too long ago, these should be their honeymoon period, when they shouldn’t get tired of each other’s company.
But look at Ji Rui and Le Tong, though they had plenty of chances to meet, besides seeing Zhou Gong in their sleep, they daily saw each other for over ten hours at both Ji Family and home.
But even then, they merely saw each other in a superficial sense, just in passing.
In the Ji Family, they were endlessly busy with work, even during mealtimes, they talked about last month’s plummeting performance of a subsidiary or the inability to meet production quotas at a foreign manufacturing plant.
At home, with Baobao being a major distraction, Ji Rui, in Le Tong’s eyes, was barely a second-class citizen; everything came after the Young Master Ji.
It wasn’t until quite late that Le Tong finished attending to the young master, and theoretically, it should finally be their golden time to be together.
Yet, he was busy, often occupied in the study until late at night, while she grabbed any free moment to bury herself in her books, leaving no room for intimacy with him.
Hearing his question laced with a hint of jealousy, Ji Rui paused.
Before he had feelings for Le Tong, he always thought being in a relationship was a time-consuming, tiresome, and boring affair. Clearly, one could lead a more carefree and unconstrained life alone, so why bother finding someone to constrain, annoy, and shackle oneself?
It wasn’t until after he had feelings for her did he realize, because she was someone he liked, nothing he did with her felt time-consuming, tedious, or boring.
Like watching her cook with agile moves for half an hour after work, not feeling it was time-consuming at all.
Like driving half the city in the middle of the night so she’d have roasted sweet potatoes, not feeling it was laborious at all.
Also, the rare times they drank tea and watched tacky soap operas after dinner, not feeling it was boring at all.
Liking someone is almost like a masochism, isn’t it?
Even if she restricted, annoyed, and shackled him, he wasn’t at all annoyed or weary; on the contrary, he thought it showed she cared about him.
While Le Tong, during her work, threw all her energy into it, and after work, spent most of her time caring for Baobao, using the rest mostly on studying and thus, she hardly had time or means to chain him with varied tactics.
Now, Ji Rui was increasingly sullen, feeling all sorts of imbalances in his heart, originally thinking that in Le Tong’s heart, there was no way to topple Baobao’s first place, but the second place should be his for sure!
However, as with everything in this world, leaving it unexamined caused no trouble, but as soon as you scrutinized, it crumbled easily under pressure. After only a few light taps of the "dumdum" hammer, it collapsed spectacularly.
Ji Rui’s mood was inexplicably frustrated, he stopped drinking tea, bent down to place his cup on the coffee table, leaned back on the sofa, raised his brows, and stared at her, waiting for her response.
Le Tong originally picked up her own cup of jujube and longan tea, slowly sipping it due to the scalding heat.
Hearing Ji Rui’s question, she initially thought he was simply concerned about her, but the tone felt off! It was clearly implicit with a sour and aggrieved tone as if having a little temper tantrum.
Le Tong lifted her eyelids to keenly observe President Ji for a while, then pursed her lips into a smile, holding her jujube tea to Ji Rui’s lips.
"Take a sip!"
The smile carried a pampering tone, much like coaxing Baobao.
Ji Rui pursed his lips, looking unperturbed as he stared at her. "This is for women."
Le Tong burst into laughter, nudging the rim of the cup closer to his lips.
"Oh, stop sulking! Just drink it, it’s quite sweet!"