Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Never Saw Her Clearly

Fell into the swimming pool?

Drowned?

Ji Zeqiu’s heart skipped a beat, “Isn’t he a good swimmer? How could he possibly drown?”

“It’s all because of that Wen Li, her motives are unclear. Taking advantage of the eldest master’s distraction, she pushed him into the pool. Even a swimmer wouldn’t have been able to react in time,” the butler said angrily. “Even if she doesn’t like the eldest master, there’s no need to harm him like this. Thankfully, Miss Lin was there at the time; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable…”

The butler still felt a wave of fright when he thought about it.

Ji Zeqiu’s mind suddenly flashed back to what Lin Xu had told him—”Wen Li pushed Ji Tingyang into the swimming pool, almost killing him…”

What had he said back then?

He said he didn’t believe it, he had seen Wen Li’s kindness and couldn’t believe she would do such a thing.

Ji Zeqiu gripped his hand by his side, his throat tight as he swallowed hard, “When did this happen, how come I don’t know about it?”

The butler recalled, “It happened several months ago. The eldest master was even hospitalized for a few days. I wanted to tell you, but the eldest master disagreed, so I didn’t mention it to you.”

Ji Zeqiu took a deep breath, his complexion darkening as he stared at the drained swimming pool for a long time, remaining silent.

“Second master?” the butler peered at him cautiously, uncertain of what he was thinking, feeling uneasy.

Suddenly, there was a noise at the door.

Ji Zeqiu turned his head and saw Ji Tingyang and Lin Xu returning from outside.

Ji Tingyang was carrying a few bags filled with vegetables and snacks, looking like he had gone to the supermarket with Lin Xu.

He handed the bags to the nanny and upon seeing Ji Zeqiu inside, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, “What are you doing here?”

His tone was full of disdain, as if he wasn’t too pleased to see Ji Zeqiu’s presence.

The bit of conflict and discomfort Ji Zeqiu felt initially dissipated with that unwelcome remark, reverting back to his previous confrontational state with Ji Tingyang, “Why can’t I be here? This is also my home. I come and go as I please.”

Ji Tingyang glanced at him, “You say it’s your home now, but who was it that said they would never come back to live here when they moved out?”

“I’m not here to stay! I came to take Lin Xu with me. She’s going to live with me!”

“No way!”

“Then I’m not doing the endorsement for your project!”

“The contract has already been signed. If you don’t want to pay the penalty…”

“You!”

In no time, the two brothers were arguing again.

“Sit down! No fighting allowed!” Lin Xu, with her hands on her hips, glared fiercely at them.

Watching the two obediently sit up straight on the sofa, she nodded in satisfaction and took the fruit she had just bought from the supermarket into the kitchen, “I’ll go wash the fruit for you.”

The noisy atmosphere fell silent.

Ji Zeqiu’s hands on his knees twisted the fabric of his pants as he sneakily glanced at Ji Tingyang.

After a while, he spoke hesitantly, “You… have been alright lately, right?”

Ji Tingyang looked at him, a flash of surprise in his gaze.

Ji Zeqiu opened his mouth, the words wrestling in his throat for a long time, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them.

Feeling Ji Tingyang’s gaze, he suddenly became nervous and blurted out, “I mean, with all the work you do every day, your body must be pretty weak, right? You’re getting up there in age, and you should take better care, or no one will want you later.”

“…Sick in the head.”

Ji Tingyang rolled his eyes and leaving behind that remark, he got up and went into the kitchen.

Ji Zeqiu turned to look at his brother’s retreating figure, muttering to himself silently.

If he has the energy to insult me like that, he must have recovered a long time ago.

—-

Dark clouds were densely packed in the sky, and the gloomy weather looked as though it might rain at any moment.

Ji Zeqiu finished his work for the day, declined his agent’s offer for a ride, and drove back to his apartment by himself.

He didn’t know whether it was out of habit or something else.

Ji Zeqiu drove around the downtown area aimlessly until, before he knew it, he had arrived at the university’s gates.

In the past, whenever he felt down or really wanted to see Wen Li, he would drive here.

Even if he couldn’t see her, just being closer to her would often lift his spirits significantly.

But now…

Ji Zeqiu leaned against the car door, a cigarette burning intermittently between his fingers as smoke spilled from his mouth, his mood still heavy.

“Zeqiu?” A small, uncertain voice called out not far away.

Ji Zeqiu turned his head to look and found Wen Li staring at him in surprise.

She jogged up to him, looking somewhat flustered, “Why did you come? You’re not even wearing a mask, what if someone recognizes you?”

Fortunately, it was during class time, and there weren’t many students moving around the school gates; everyone was in a hurry and didn’t notice him.

Wen Li said worriedly, looking up at him only to meet his deep and profound eyes, which were like a bottomless cold pond that sent a chill to one’s heart.

“Why did Ji Tingyang suddenly agree to let you leave the villa?”

He suddenly spoke.

Wen Li’s heart tightened unexpectedly, not understanding the meaning behind his question. Her voice stuttered, “I, I…”

Did Ji Zeqiu know?

Was that why he had come to confront her?

Her mind was a mess, and she couldn’t utter a complete sentence for a while.

“Was it because of Lin Xu?”

“I don’t know, maybe it was,” Wen Li’s smile at the corner of her mouth was somewhat forced, “What’s wrong with you, suddenly bringing this up?”

Ji Zeqiu saw a flicker of guilt hiding behind her evasive eyes.

After knowing each other for over a decade, it felt like he had never truly seen her, suddenly sensing a wave of strangeness.

He extinguished the cigarette in his hand, expelling both the brooding feeling in his heart and the smoke from his mouth as if he was letting go of some burden, making his heavy chest feel somewhat lighter.

He chuckled softly, “It’s nothing, it’s about to rain, you should hurry back.”

After saying that, without waiting for Wen Li to respond, he opened the car door and got back inside.

The car quickly drove off.

Shortly after, a fine rain began to fall from the sky, pitter-pattering against the car windows.

The ringing of the cell phone sounded.

Ji Zeqiu answered the call on speaker.

A soft voice with a hint of coquetry echoed in the car, “You finished work, right? Why haven’t you come back yet, I’m starving.”

For some reason, hearing Lin Xu’s voice, Ji Zeqiu felt his mood unexpectedly lighten, “If you’re hungry, eat first, don’t wait for me.”

“No, I don’t want to eat a meal today, I want kebabs!”

“There are no kebabs to eat in broad daylight.”

“I don’t care, you figure it out.”

“…”

His mood was not at all lightened, it was indeed his misconception!

Ji Zeqiu was infuriated.

This woman always found new ways to torment him, and at this moment, he somewhat regretted bringing Lin Xu back home.

It would have been better to leave her at the villa to trouble Ji Tingyang.

Ji Zeqiu fumed to himself.

However, when he returned to the apartment, he resignedly brought a bag of kebabs with him.

Before entering the door, something occurred to him, and he casually changed the apartment’s entry code.