Zhong Ruanxing had never lived in such a luxurious house before. The view was so good and spacious that the bright lights of Beijing were all in sight. The sea of lights was like a light show. As she sat on the spacious balcony eating dinner and enjoying the night view, she silently cheered herself on: she must work hard to make money! She would buy such a beautiful house for her parents too!
The balcony was so big that Zhong You could plant her favorite flowers and raise her favorite pets. Ruanxing didn't ever consider occupying this villa written under her name.
After finishing work, Song JinXing pinched his nose bridge and looked up. That familiar figure was sitting alone on the empty balcony, but no longer carried the loneliness he used to have. The new soul shone as bright as the sun, making this body and the bustling world shine together.
At some point when she turned her head, the usually expressionless face revealed a vivid smile. She waved at him, "Done with work? Let's eat."
It wasn't until the microwaved warm food was placed in front of him that Song JinXing came back to his senses. Hearing her thoughtfully remind him, "Remember to eat on time. Don't miss any of the three meals or you'll get stomach problems like me."
He smelled the rich rice fragrance and suddenly felt hungry. He nodded, "Ok."
After dinner and going through today's matters, they were ready to go home separately. Zhong Ruanxing would naturally get a ride home, feeling bad for monopolizing the CEO's private driver. "Let me get Feng Ling to arrange a driver to take you home," she said.
But Song JinXing shook his head. "No need, I'll just take a taxi." Then he asked, "Do you have a driver's license?"
Zhong Ruanxing said, "Yeah, and a car too. You can drive it next time. It's parked in the basement parking space 167. The keys are hanging at the front door."
Song JinXing nodded in acknowledgment.
After Feng Ling picked Ruanxing up, JinXing tidied up and took a taxi back to Zhong's house.
It was the busiest time in the community when the sky just darkened. Groups of parents walking their babies, deafening music from the square dancing, Song JinXing wearing a mask and lowering his hat, hurried through the crowds.
Suddenly, a tender voice cut through the noise into his ears, "Sis! Sis!"
Song JinXing paused and looked back.
Sure enough, it was Zhong You, rushing over like a dirty little puppy. Song JinXing instinctively squatted down to catch her. The little girl dove into his arms. Her hand held a broken popsicle that she shoved against his neck.
Song JinXing stood up holding her and frowned. "Why are you alone?"
"I'm not!" Zhong You sucked on the popsicle, with a red ring around her mouth. "Dad and Mom are over there!"
Following her pointing finger, Song JinXing indeed saw Zhong's parents sitting at the flower bed watching others dance. Zhong You waved and shouted, "Mom, Dad, Sis is back!"
Seeing Ruanxing, Zhong's parents got up and came over. Zhong's mother had a blank and confused look until she saw her two daughters. Then her eyes gradually focused and her face squeezed out a smile.
She quickened her steps and when she got to Song JinXing's side, she pulled his hand like a child showing off her treasure, "Ruanxing, this is for you."
Carrying Zhong You with one hand, Song JinXing lowered his head to look at his open palm.
Inside was a fruit candy wrapped in colored paper.
Zhong's mother held his hand, looking very happy. "Ruanxing, come home with Mom."
Song JinXing moved his lips but still couldn't call out that word.
Like a puppet on a string, he was led home by Zhong's mother with a stiff expression. Zhong You squirmed in his arms, shoving the tattered popsicle to his mouth, "Sis, have a bite. Just a tiny bite!"
Song JinXing expressionlessly licked it once.
Zhong's father followed behind them like a silent big tree, protecting this little family.
At home, housekeeper Liu Cai had just washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Seeing Song JinXing's return, she inexplicably felt guilty. She placed the sliced fruit on the coffee table and carefully reported her work, "Miss Zhong, the house is all cleaned up."
Song JinXing was checking Zhong You's homework, "Mm, you can get off work now."
Liu Cai said nervously, "Miss Zhong, it's not time for me to get off work yet."
Song JinXing's voice was light, "I'm home now, you can leave early if there's nothing else. Just remember to be on time tomorrow."
Liu Cai hurriedly nodded, "Ok, ok."
Song JinXing snatched over the Zhong You who was playing with building blocks, "You wrote this word wrong throughout. Rewrite it."
Zhong You wailed loudly, "I won't write it! You're not my sister! Big bad guy!"
After making Zhong You write for a while, Song JinXing received a photo from Ruanxing on WeChat. He tapped to see it was of her drenched in sweat on the treadmill.
- I'm working out! Did you exercise?
- I'll go after tutoring Zhong You in writing.
- Did that little rascal write the "water" character wrong again?
Song JinXing took a photo of the paragraph with Zhong You's mistakes and sent it to her. Ruanxing replied with a furious emoji. He strangely felt that emoji was a bit funny and opened it to look twice more before calmly putting away his phone.
Zhong's house was small, barely fitting a treadmill. But Song JinXing didn't need equipment to work out. After an hour of core training, he ran on the treadmill for another hour, fulfilling Ruanxing's requirements before taking his sleepwear to the bathroom.
It was the first chaotic bath in his life.
Song JinXing came out with ears red. Ruanxing's fair skin turned red like a boiled shrimp. Over WeChat were two more messages from her:
- [Skincare Routine] Follow these steps for skincare, don't skip any.
- After skincare remember to apply body lotion, every part of the body except the face. Don't be shy, I've touched your whole body already. Very impressive [thumbs up]
Song JinXing performed a face change on the spot, gritting his teeth furiously, "Zhong Ruanxing!"
On the other side, Ruanxing came downstairs drying her hair, intending to pick a cold drink from the fridge. Unexpectedly when she opened the fridge door, besides neat rows of frozen mineral water, there was nothing else.
Ruanxing sighed and took out a bottle of mineral water. On her way back just now she had toured the CEO's home. It was big and luxurious, with a gym, swimming pool, backyard, private elevator, everything, except a homey feel.
It was like an empty, cold tomb that made her feel lonely and afraid.
Ruanxing turned on all the lights on the first floor and the TV playing A Chinese Odyssey, the noisy sounds spreading out before she finally relaxed.
She thought for a bit then called Song JinXing.
A few seconds later, the cold voice came through the phone, "What's up?"
Curled up on the sofa, Ruanxing said, "Your house is so big."
Hearing the noisy TV, Song JinXing closed his laptop and picked up his phone, "Scared?"
She was seen through and felt a little embarrassed, "Not really, just feels empty." She hesitated then tentatively asked, "Can I buy some furniture and decorate your house a bit?"
Song JinXing answered very quickly, "Okay."
Ruanxing said, "Also, your bedroom curtains and wardrobe are pitch black. I want to change the color."
Song JinXing was silent for a moment, "No pink."