Chapter 24: Chapter 24 - 24 Bedtime Story

Ji Tingyang’s fingers grazed his forehead, and, upon seeing the blood on his fingertips, he remained composed, simply telling Wen Li to rest well before leaving her bedroom.

As soon as he left the bedroom, he saw Lin Xu in the hallway, pacing back and forth with a nervous expression and occasionally stealing glances at the bedroom door.

When Lin Xu saw Ji Tingyang emerge, she instinctively averted her gaze guiltily, but upon seeing the blood on his face, she ran forward in shock.

“What happened to your forehead? Why are you bleeding?!” Lin Xu asked anxiously, reaching out to touch his forehead but hesitating, afraid that the bacteria on her hands might infect the wound, her hand freezing in mid-air.

She had heard the commotion inside and had been too scared to enter, never imagining that things had become so serious. Had they really started fighting?

Ji Tingyang took her hand that was frozen in mid-air and rested his head on her shoulder, his deep and dark eyes showing a flicker of pain where she couldn’t see.

Lin Xu, not concerned about staining her clothes with blood, gently patted his head and cooed softly, “Shall we let the doctor take a look at your wound first?”

It took a long while before Ji Tingyang responded with a muffled affirmation.

After receiving the call, the family doctor immediately rushed over. Upon seeing the wound, he inhaled sharply while fumbling with his medical kit, muttering, “This wound needs two or three stitches.”

Lin Xu stood up to make room for the doctor, but Ji Tingyang held onto her hand, leaving her no space to retreat.

“Don’t go…” His voice was hoarse, and at this moment, he looked as vulnerable as a child on the brink of collapse.

Lin Xu quickly reassured him, “I’m not going, just making some space.”

With Ji Tingyang now half-lying on the bed and Lin Xu sitting on the edge, there was hardly any room for the doctor.

Before Ji Tingyang could speak, the doctor quickly waved his hands, saying, “It’s fine, it’s fine, let him hold your hand.”

The doctor, seemingly well aware of Ji Tingyang’s stubbornness, didn’t bother attempting to persuade him, and instead took initiative to go to the other side of the bed to treat the wound.

The doctor was very skilled, administering anesthetic, stitching, and then bandaging, all in under ten minutes.

He then took out some prescriptions from his medical kit and handed them to Lin Xu, “These are anti-inflammatory medications, take them three times a day.”

“Oh, and have you finished the previous medications? Do you need a refill?” the doctor asked further.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the doctor caught Ji Tingyang’s sharp gaze. He tensed up, realizing he had misspoken, and promptly shut his mouth.

“What previous medication?” Lin Xu asked, puzzled.

The doctor shook his head and did not elaborate, simply reiterated a few care instructions for the wound and left the villa.

Lin Xu turned to look at Ji Tingyang, intending to get some answers, but found he had already leaned against the headboard, his eyes closed in rest.

He was definitely doing it on purpose.

That’s what Lin Xu thought indignantly.

“If you want to sleep, lie down properly on the bed, otherwise you’ll wake up with a stiff neck tomorrow,” she said, revealing his act without mercy.

“…” Ji Tingyang shifted his body and lay down properly on the bed.

Lin Xu laughed softly, “Alright, go to sleep. I’m going back to my room.”

“Don’t go…”

Ji Tingyang seemed particularly clingy tonight.

It seemed that in some ways, even after growing up, some things never change, Lin Xu thought with a chuckle to herself.

“Would you like a bedtime story?”

“Mhm…”

Lin Xu remembered that the day before her car accident, she had told a bedtime story to the two brothers, but that night’s story was only half-told.

She recalled the rest and began, “The big bad wolf opened its mouth to eat Little Red Riding Hood, but just then, the hunter appeared…”

Lin Xu’s voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, lightly soothing his restless heart, bringing tranquility and softness.

Hearing her voice, Ji Tingyang drifted off to sleep unconsciously.

That night, he had a dream.

He dreamed of his childhood, where he and Ji Zeqiu slept in the same bed, with Lin Xu lying between them, her arms around both of them.

Her gentle voice narrated the story, “One day, Little Red Riding Hood carried the cake her mother made for her to bring to her grandmother’s house, and on the way, she met a big, bad wolf…”

The story continued without interruption, and from that day on, Little Red Riding Hood, along with her grandmother and mother, lived happily ever after.

He was very satisfied with the ending of the story, as if their family of five shared the same happiness as the characters in the tale.

…

The next day.

Ji Tingyang woke up from a beautiful dream, he shifted his body and felt warmth in the palm of his hand.

He turned his head to look, finding that his hand was still tightly grasping her wrist, and Lin Xu had not pulled away; she had made do with sleeping on the edge of the bed.

Thinking of how he had again refused to let her go last night, insisting she tell a bedtime story, a flush of embarrassment crossed Ji Tingyang’s cheeks.

He got out of bed, reached out his hand, and carried Lin Xu onto his bed, wanting her to get a better sleep.

Lin Xu had been lying on the edge of the bed all night without proper rest, her body stiff and aching. As soon as Ji Tingyang touched her hand, she awoke with a start.

“Hmm? Is it morning?” Lin Xu rubbed her bleary eyes.

Ji Tingyang retracted his hand, “Go sleep on the bed.”

“What about you?”

“I have to go to work.”

“Oh, okay.”

Lin Xu, too drowsy to care, climbed onto the bed and quickly closed her eyes again.

Before falling asleep, she muttered, asking Ji Tingyang to cool off and to throw away Wen Li’s handcuffs.

Ji Tingyang’s lips tightened, seemingly reluctant as his agitated emotions began to fester within him.

He furrowed his brows irritably, but as his gaze landed on Lin Xu sleeping on the bed, he paused.

The restlessness had just arisen but gradually subsided.

As long as his mother was by his side, that was all that mattered…

Ji Tingyang went to Wen Li’s bedroom, Wen Li had not yet awakened, her cheeks streaked with two distinct lines of tears, as though she had cried all night.

The skin where her right hand had been cuffed was chafed red.

He rubbed his nose, feeling as if his emotions were increasingly hard to control.

He let out a deep breath, quickly unlocked the handcuffs, and left the room.

When Lin Xu woke up, it was already noon.

Still concerned about Wen Li, she had planned to check on her after getting up. No sooner had she stepped out of her room than she encountered Wen Li in the hallway.

But Wen Li looked as frightened as a mouse encountering a cat; upon seeing Lin Xu, she immediately ran back into her room and locked the door.

Well, at least Ji Tingyang had listened to her and truly thrown the handcuffs away.

Lin Xu had another matter on her mind.

Taking advantage of Ji Tingyang still working in the study, she found the butler and got straight to the point, “Butler, do you know if Ji Tingyang is taking any medicine?”

The butler had worked for the Ji Family for several years and should have heard something.

“Uh, this…” Caught off guard by her question, the butler hesitated momentarily, his expression unsure.

“If you know anything, please tell me, even if it’s a terminal illness, I will find a way to cure him!” Lin Xu covered her face with her hands, crying despondently.

“It’s not as serious as a terminal illness, Miss Lin, please don’t be sad,” the butler consoled uncertainly.

“Oh? So, you do know something?” Lin Xu looked up, her face devoid of any tears.

Butler: “…”

He had been tricked.