Chapter 11 Waiting for him to come home

Now that the wedding date is approaching, Ji Ling suddenly asked again. She certainly can't tell Ji Ling things like "I haven't tried any of them" or "I haven't chosen yet," as that would make her seem too indifferent, and she's worried that he might misunderstand her as being deliberate.

Xia Li lowered her eyes, coughed lightly twice, and then looked up solemnly to answer, "I've made my choice."

Ji Ling raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat nervous, and asked casually, "Shall we try it now?"

Moments of tenderness are rare, and he wanted to preserve this warmth for as long as possible.

Xia Li gripped the hem of her clothes stiffly with both hands, looking somewhat embarrassed. She gave an awkward, bitter smile and came up with a reasonable, yet not quite one, reason: "Let's wait a while."

It was even somewhat perfunctory, leaving him feeling disappointed in an instant.

Xia Li noticed his odd behavior and intended to explain, but the words that came out sounded particularly strange, revealing the truth that she hadn't taken the marriage seriously at all.

Ji Ling lowered his eyes, understanding the meaning behind her words.

Xia Li blinked helplessly, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say, and could only leave in frustration.

Not long after, she went to the studio, only to find Wang Shu looking anxious and pacing back and forth like a headless fly as soon as she arrived at the door.

Xia Li looked puzzled, patted Wang Shu on the shoulder, and asked her, "What's wrong? Why do you look like this?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Shu turned around, speechless for a long time, as if he had swallowed a bitter pill. Then he opened his phone, scrolled to the top of the screen, and handed it to her.

Xia Li took it casually; the text was densely packed with images, and she immediately grasped the information.

Sheng Minyang committed indecent acts.

The post was published recently and has become extremely popular.

"What is all this?" Xia Li read through the post, clicked on the photos below, and couldn't help but complain.

She and Sheng Minyang.

The poster meant that Sheng Minyang had sexually assaulted her.

Xia Li frowned, her expression quite embarrassed.

Putting everything else aside, if a few close-up photos are defined as indecent assault without the parties' knowledge, then if their hands touch or anything else is touched, wouldn't it be interpreted as infidelity?

Cheating.

Xia Li froze, her expression dazed, her gaze fixed on the photograph, unable to focus for a long time.

Will Ji Ling misunderstand?

But what if he didn't see it at all and didn't care? The thought of such an unbalanced relationship between them made her chest ache, as if she were being crushed by a thousand boulders.

Xia Li shook her head, and after thinking it over, decided to deal with the studio and Sheng Minyang's matters first.

Due to the public outcry, the previously agreed-upon collaboration has been somewhat affected. The filming scheduled for today has been postponed repeatedly as the collaborating party is now in a wait-and-see mode.

She and Sheng Minyang made an explanation in the afternoon, which improved the situation somewhat, but many netizens still had doubts and mocked them for staging the whole thing for traffic and wasting their emotions. Many netizens also sent their concern and condolences, worried that she might have been molested.

It was already evening, and dusk was falling on the balcony. The rest of the team members in the studio had all had a close call after a long day. After finishing their tasks, they packed up and left.

Xia Li leaned against the railing on the third floor, the twilight casting a hazy golden edge on her figure, but contrary to her glamorous appearance, she looked preoccupied.

Sheng Minyang saw her from afar, clutching her phone, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the cold screen. She hadn't left work like everyone else. Seeing this, he walked over to her side and leaned against her side.

He thought Xia Li was worried about the trending post, so he comforted her, "It's okay, it's all been clarified."

Xia Li was momentarily stunned. She hadn't noticed Sheng Minyang's presence until he spoke, and only then did she come to her senses and vaguely respond.

The fragmented development of the internet and the rapid pace of information updates are overwhelming. What tops the trending topics list today may be forgotten in a few days.

Take this public opinion incident as an example. The focus of netizens isn't on Sheng Minyang, who allegedly "molested an employee," nor on Xia Li, the "victim," but rather on the event itself. They treat it as mere gossip, perhaps without even recognizing the true protagonist or understanding the cause and effect of the incident. With so many voices and preconceived notions, those who lack understanding tend to follow the crowd, blindly echoing the powerful side. Without the ability to think critically, they will simply be led by the nose.

Xia Li had already experienced this deeply at a photography award ceremony eight years ago.

But what worried her at this moment was not the online public opinion, but Ji Ling.

At first, she was worried that Ji Ling would misunderstand, so after the clarification video was released in the afternoon, she sent Ji Ling a test message. However, the test message has been ignored ever since it was sent.

Xia Li wasn't in a good mood and left after chatting briefly with Sheng Minyang.

Back at Cloud Top Garden, she finished her meal alone and sat on the sofa in the living room, idly playing with the small ornaments on the table, occasionally gazing absently at the hands of the grandfather clock beside her.

Ji Ling did not return, nor did he reply to her messages.

As she listened to the ticking of the clock, she couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Could something have gone wrong? But the thought only lingered in her mind for a second before she dismissed it.

If something happens, it has nothing to do with her. There are plenty of people who care about Ji Ling. Their relationship is only supported by a contract, and a weak foundation will eventually collapse.

The thick walls blocked the moonlight, and only a floor lamp remained in the large living room. While waiting, she suddenly thought of last night, when perhaps Ji Ling was also sitting on the sofa like this, watching time pass by.

Her expression froze instantly, a hint of annoyance in her eyes.

If nothing had happened between them, no misunderstandings, no arguments, no separation due to the cold war, or if all the silence had resolved the conflict, and it was just an ordinary, unfamiliar business relationship to appease family members' demands, would they send each other good morning and good night messages every day, would they occasionally report their whereabouts and exchange pleasantries?

Instead of what we are doing now, where our actions are controlled by an unbreakable thread, our unspoken concerns are buried deep in our hearts, and our messages go unanswered for a long time.

She was feeling sleepy, thinking about things that couldn't possibly happen, and drifted off to sleep.

As night fell, the driver rubbed the steering wheel and drove the car into the yard. Ji Ling looked out at the living room through the glass and screen window, where a dim floor lamp stood alone.

He thought that Xia Li might have already gone to bed.

From Xia Li's perspective,

She didn't need to wait for him. Judging from their interactions after their reunion, she had no love for him, and all her emotions were extremely bland. He was just a stranger in the long river of life.

An insignificant stranger.

The more he got to know her, the more he wanted to possess her. Even though the problem was with him, he still couldn't help but be narrow-minded and want to have her for himself.

He felt a pang of sadness in his heart. He deliberately ignored her messages, gritted his teeth, and went inside, but his steps faltered for a moment.

Xia Li curled up on the sofa, her hair hanging over her shoulders, her right hand covering her forehead to block out the dim light, as if she had been waiting for a long time, unable to stay up all night, and had fallen into a drowsy sleep.

Upon witnessing this scene, Ji Ling felt his blood boil.

He restrained himself and tiptoed to her side, wanting to carry her back to the bedroom, but then felt it was inappropriate, afraid of waking her from her deep sleep.

His hands, with their distinct knuckles and prominent veins, rippled and undulated with the force of his joints. In the end, he simply smoothed her hair, found a thin blanket, and gently covered her with it.

The feeling of being moved is always so simple; it's easy to be stirred up, and you can get excited by the other person's unintentional gesture.

Love roars forth, like a lit fuse, instantly casting aside all sorrow and resentment, leaving only the other person in one's eyes, the suppressed desires stirring restlessly, ready to explode in the next second.

He sat to the side, watching her all night.

A note from the author:

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