7 Chapter 7

◎The screaming chicken let out a miserable cry◎

After Xiao Ji finished tidying up the person, he glanced at the somewhat dazed baby.

"It's here. I threw it in the washing machine. It should be done soon."

Song Jinyu was speechless for a moment. Why did she even have to wash the doll's clothes?

After finishing the anime, Xiao Ji picked up the child and shook him, asking, "Is the baby hungry?"

After he finished speaking, Song Jinyu carefully considered the sensation and finally shook her head.

Xiao Ji carried the person out of the bedroom.

Although Song Jinyu couldn't speak, she could smell the aroma. As soon as she stepped outside, the smell of food wafted over, and the person who said she wasn't hungry just a second ago swallowed hard.

He turned his head to look at the kitchen and saw the back of the aunt who was cooking.

Song Jinyu froze.

Xiao Ji whispered in his ear, "Remember to disguise yourself well. If you're discovered and taken for an autopsy, I won't save you."

Song Jinyu: "..."

Enraged, he climbed onto the man's shoulder and reached out to pull his hair.

This guy definitely did it on purpose. He knew perfectly well that the man couldn't eat, yet he still brought him to the restaurant.

Hearing footsteps, the aunt opened the kitchen door and came out. Song Jinyu, who was holding Song Jinyu's hair, immediately let go and sat obediently.

The aunt's gaze suddenly stopped when it met Xiao Ji's shoulder. The greeting stuck in her throat, and she changed the subject as she spoke, "Mr. Xiao... what's that on your shoulder?"

Xiao Ji reached out and steadied the doll that was about to slip, his expression unchanged. "A doll, a gift from my cousin."

The sloppy doll wrapped in a washcloth looked particularly mismatched with the delicate Xiao Ji. The aunt couldn't help but take a second look, and the next second, the man's cold gaze swept over.

The aunt shuddered, looked away, and lowered her eyes. "The food is ready. Please wait a moment while I bring it out."

Compared to Xiao Ji's usual simple lunches, this meal was much more lavish, and it didn't look like a portion that one person could finish. The dishes weren't his favorites either.

But the aunt didn't dare to ask. After serving the dishes, she glanced at the man, but he didn't say anything, so she knew it was time for her to leave.

Song Jinyu only breathed a sigh of relief after her aunt's figure had completely disappeared from sight.

Xiao Ji took the doll off his shoulder and saw him pat his chest with lingering fear, which made him chuckle.

"So scared?"

Song Jinyu wanted to roll his eyes. It wasn't like he was turning into a doll, so of course he had nothing to be afraid of.

That scoundrel, all he ever thinks about is hurting him.

The dog-like man ladled out a bowl of soup, blew on it, his long, straight eyelashes falling down, his expression as indifferent as ever, but his voice carried a hint of nonchalance.

"Is it really inedible? Can you smell it?"

Song Jinyu, whose nose was filled with a constant fragrance: "..."

He stubbornly shook his head.

"I see..."

Xiao Ji found a low, small box from somewhere and put Song Jinyu on it to sit.

"Then I'll just have to ask you to wait until I finish eating."

He took two sips of soup, picked up the steaming rice, took a bite of beef brisket, then a bite of stir-fried pork, and finally some appetizing shredded potatoes.

Song Jinyu began to swallow the saliva that wasn't there.

Xiao Ji spoke slowly and deliberately.

"The beef brisket was the freshest beef that my aunt bought this morning. The tomato sauce coated the beef evenly, and it melted in my mouth with one bite. The shredded potatoes were crispy, and the sour and spicy flavors were perfectly balanced. I felt like I could eat it all with this..."

He lowered his head. "Song Jinyu, why did you hit me?"

Song Jinyu lifted the box she was sitting on and threw it at him.

The light box bounced against the man's chest before landing on his lap. A little bit of soup that had been accidentally spilled splattered on the back of his hand. Xiao Ji pulled out a tissue.

"Can't I even speak...?"

Song Jinyu only regretted that she couldn't speak up.

I may not know about others, but don't I know Xiao Ji well? He's usually so quiet, but he's talking so much this time because he knows Xiao Ji can't eat and is deliberately retaliating against his behavior this morning.

Some people may appear virtuous and upright on the outside, but in reality, they are as petty as a chicken.

Xiao Ji chuckled softly; if you didn't listen carefully, you wouldn't even notice he laughed.

Song Jinyu looked up suspiciously.

The man, still wearing that indifferent expression, placed the box back on his plate. "Are you waiting for me to eat?"

"Wait my ass!" Song Jinyu jumped down, stepping on his knee.

He had never been to Xiao Ji's place before, and he was filled with the joy of exploration. The tiny man walked through the spacious living room, and although he was running very hard, he only covered a meter or two.

Song Jinyu didn't feel tired; he was born with inexhaustible energy.

He circled the now-tidy sofa, lowering his perspective so that he could see the bottom of the sofa with a slight bend.

Before Xiao Ji could react, Song Jinyu had crawled under the sofa.

Five minutes later, he climbed out, holding a small ball that had somehow rolled down into the ground.

Even the small ball was a bit too big for Song Jinyu. He could barely hold it in his arms and ran happily towards Xiao Ji.

He stood at the foot of the table, stepped on Xiao Ji's instep, and held up the ball in his arms for him to see as Xiao Ji looked down.

Unfamiliar item +1.

Xiao Ji's brows furrowed slowly.

Song Jinyu sensed something was wrong and ran away with the ball in her arms.

No matter how realistic a doll is, its joints are far less flexible than a real person's. Over the past few days, although Song Jinyu has mastered how to control her temporary body, her movements are still very stiff.

He wasn't very agile to begin with, and when he got anxious, his hands and feet started to fight each other. His left foot tripped over his right foot, and even when his face was about to hit the ground, he still held onto the ball tightly.

When his face was only three centimeters off the ground, he was lifted up by the waist by a hand. The ball fell uncontrollably, bounced twice, and rolled to a farther place.

Song Jinyu stared longingly at him.

Xiao Ji: "..."

Just as Song Jinyu couldn't understand Xiao Ji's obsession with cleanliness, Xiao Ji couldn't understand Song Jinyu's excessive curiosity. She wanted to explore and touch everything she saw, only to come back covered in dust.

Xiao Ji would throw away other things if they got dirty, but when Song Jinyu got dirty, Xiao Ji could only patiently wash them clean.

The doll, which I had just cleaned in the morning, was sitting by the sink again at noon.

There was water in the pool, and small yellow balls floated on the surface. Song Jinyu raised her arm for Xiao Ji to wipe, her eyes looking into the pool, and she couldn't help but reach out and pat it.

The yellow ball wobbled and drifted further away with the ripples on the water.

Xiao Ji pressed down on his restless foot.

"Don't move."

In just a short while, he had several more scratches on his body.

Xiao Ji's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

Song Jinyu was completely unaware. He nudged Xiao Ji and tugged at his clothes, wanting to ask if he had finished washing the clothes. He never wanted to run around wrapped in a washcloth again.

Xiao Ji washed Song Jinyu's clothes meticulously, but he didn't have the same patience when it came to the little yellow ball that Song Jinyu liked. If Song Jinyu hadn't clung to his leg and wouldn't let go, the ball would have ended up in the trash can.

His cousin has a big dog that stayed here for two days recently. This ball is probably the dog's toy; it rolled under the sofa and the cleaning lady didn't clean it up.

Unexpectedly, Song Jinyu found him.

Song Jinyu sat to the side watching Xiao Ji wash the ball. He washed it three times with clean water, twice with dish soap, and finally sprayed it with disinfectant before handing it to Xiao Ji.

"..."

Song Jinyu was carried away to change clothes while holding the ball.

He chose the clothes himself—a dinosaur outfit and a small toy gun. Just thinking about wearing it on the clothes makes him feel cool and imposing.

Xiao Ji opened the washing machine, took out the dried clothes, and shook them in front of Song Jinyu, revealing a pair of orange denim overalls underneath.

He remained expressionless. "Wear this today."

Song Jinyu tilted her head back and slowly typed a "?".

No, where's my little dinosaur down jacket?

He stood on tiptoe, trying to peek inside the dryer.

Xiao Ji closed the door of the dryer.

"The deliveryman made a mistake; the one you wanted is no longer available."

Song Jinyu made a loud thud with the racket in her hand.

Xiao Ji lifted him up to change his clothes. As his gaze rose, he spotted the conspicuous green color inside the dryer.

He reached out and grabbed Xiao Ji's collar, pulling him with both hands and feet, almost speaking in his haste.

"..."

Xiao Ji said, "Ugly."

Song Jinyu climbed onto his shoulder and pulled his hair with all her might, trying to make Ji Qingqing suffer from baldness.

He thought the overalls Xiao Ji chose were ugly. He wasn't a child anymore; why would he wear overalls? It was so childish.

Men should be cool.

Song Jinyu, who wanted to look cool, absolutely refused to wear the clothes Xiao Ji had chosen for him. As soon as the other man opened his mouth, he grabbed a ball and threw it at his face, determined to die rather than submit.

"..."

Xiao Ji compromised.

Song Jinyu finally got to wear the muscular outfit she wanted.

It has a dark green tail, a yellowish-brown head, bright red spots, and a brownish-brown spear.

Xiao Ji hung the spear on his waist, feeling as if his eyes had been injured, and turned his face away with a soft sigh.

Song Jinyu also saw himself in the mirror. He touched the dinosaur's mouth that completely covered his head, then turned around to look at the tail. Although the color was a bit ugly, it was still a big dinosaur...

Who could resist a giant dinosaur?

He was about to embark on his adventure with his spear on his back, but after taking two steps, Xiao Ji pressed his head down.

"Walk slowly, don't run or jump. What will happen if you possess this doll and break it?"

As he spoke, he pulled out a mini screaming chicken from somewhere. The screaming chicken had a rope tied to it, and he draped the rope around Song Jinyu's other waist.

“You can’t speak. If anything happens, just stomp on this screaming chicken. I can hear you. And…” he warned Song Jinyu, “Don’t even think about running away.”

Song Jinyu scoffed inwardly and stepped on the screaming chicken.

A sharp crowing of a rooster rang out between the person and the puppet.

"..."

Xiao Ji loosened his grip, a slight crack appearing on his usually stern expression.

Song Jinyu had lost all interest in exploring Xiao Ji's austere house. He tugged at his clothes and pointed to the small garden outside.

Where does he want to go?

He hasn't yet experienced playing in grass taller than himself.

“It won’t work outside…” Xiao Ji refused him, “It’s going to rain.”

Okay...

Xiao Ji went to the study to handle some matters, while Song Jinyu wandered aimlessly around the room.

The house is only one story and is larger than a typical house. Its only advantage is that there is a small, separate garden at the back door.

He peered out the window and found the surroundings desolate, with only trees and grass, and only occasionally a few scattered houses in sight.

Compared to any luxurious villa area, this place is more like a deserted suburb.

If he runs away, he might not be able to get back home even if he walks his whole life.

No wonder Xiao Ji was so angry back then.

After wandering around for a while, Song Jinyu lost interest and eventually strolled back to her study.

As if knowing he would come, Xiao Ji didn't close the door.

It was definitely going to rain. It was dark outside, and the wind had started to pick up. The windows leading to the outside were tightly closed, and not a breath of wind could get in. The desk lamp was shining with an orange light.

Xiao Ji sat upright, his gaze fixed on the table. His profile was sharply defined, and even the orange light seemed unable to warm the cold indifference that had accumulated on his face over the years.

Song Jinyu stared at it for a while.

Then lift your foot.

Aww—

The screaming chicken let out a terrible cry.