Benefit
“I just haven’t thought of that yet,” Zhou Ji’an said, then grabbed the seatbelt and kept his eyes on the car in front of him. “Besides, didn’t you say that if one of us falls for someone we like, we’ll get a divorce? You’ve already made our future clear in advance, and you still have to ask me why.”
Although she tried to hide her awkward tone, Deng Yi immediately sensed that he was both happy and helpless. He sighed and said, "You were thinking about divorce when you married me. That's the only way I could tell you. I don't want you to be unhappy."
Zhou Ji'an no longer hid his emotions, snorted and said, "You told me not to believe what others say, but you immediately believed Wei Jinglin yourself."
Deng Yi said wistfully, "I'm just afraid you'll be unhappy."
Zhou Ji'an's eyebrows twitched slightly as he loosened his grip on the seatbelt.
Back home, Zhou Ji'an's tension and worry almost completely dissipated. While Deng Yi was leaning against the sofa reading the script, she was bored, so she leaned closer to him, pretending to be interested in what he was holding, "Did someone send you this script? What's it about?"
She curled up her legs, almost pressing her entire body against Deng Yi's, pressing her right palm against Deng Yi's thigh for leverage.
"It's a story about a girl who received a sum of money to study abroad. After already getting her acceptance letter, she told her parents about it, but they objected." Deng Yi brushed aside the hair that was covering her face and explained earnestly.
Zhou Ji'an nodded and asked again, "Is it pretty?"
"The storyline isn't that exciting, but it explores topics like raising children to provide for you in old age, individual independence, and severing ties with family, making it suitable for a short film." Deng Yi put down the script, pulled the person who was deliberately causing trouble into his arms, and had her straddle his lap. "Have you decided what birthday present you're going to give me?"
"No." Zhou Ji'an shook his head guiltily, awkwardly changing the subject as he lay on top of him, "Why do you like this position?"
Surprisingly, Deng Yi didn't make things difficult for her and picked up where she left off, saying, "This way, it will feel like you're taking the initiative to hug me."
Sigh, he might as well just make things difficult for her.
Zhou Ji'an cupped his face and kissed him repeatedly, interspersing her kisses with questions to avoid them veering into bed.
"Did you already know that your mother was planning to divorce Deng Wencheng?"
"Hmm, I know a little." Deng Yi reached his hand up from below.
The buttons were undone, and someone's hands began to play with squeezing.
"What will happen to Wei Jinglin and his family?" Zhou Ji'an would occasionally puff out his chest uncontrollably. "Wei Jinglin's wife didn't seem to say a word. Even when Wei Jinglin's father said she was pregnant, her expression didn't change. It's amazing."
Deng Yi grabbed her waist, pulled her forward a little, and buried his head in her waist. "How is it magical?"
His mouth was very busy, and Zhou Ji'an finally managed to spare some attention to answer his question, but he completely revealed his greed and interrupted her.
"Hmm...this is the study." Seeing that all areas had been compromised, Zhou Ji'an hurriedly reminded him, "What if the two aunties come in?"
Deng Yi stopped what he was doing and pulled her back into his arms.
Zhou Ji'an felt a little relieved and prepared to answer him again, but his hand was grabbed and he was taken to the center of desire.
"Move around a bit," Deng Yi patiently guided.
He had only used this method to teach her about it before, without making any specific demands.
The sights and touches made the atmosphere intense, so Zhou Ji'an had to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue and move his right hand haphazardly.
"If they can adapt to the shift from luxury to frugality, nothing will happen," Deng Yi said, his voice choked with suppressed gasps.
Zhou Ji'an's fingers tightened as he looked at Deng Yi's face amidst Deng Yi's hissing sound.
If the two hadn't already talked things out, Zhou Ji'an would have almost thought Deng Yi was targeting her.
“Wei Jinglin’s wife probably doesn’t care. She was still eating when Wei Jinglin lifted the chair,” Zhou Ji’an said, pausing his actions. “My hand is sore.”
Deng Yi glanced down at her slender, fair fingers and replied in a gruff voice, "Mm."
Zhou Ji'an didn't notice the change in Deng Yi's eyes, and simply withdrew his hand in a huff.
For a fleeting moment, Zhou Ji'an wondered if she should never have reached out in the first place, or if she should have stopped while she was still lucid.
She wanted to try again to see if she would get a good answer.
For example, asking: Do you love me?
For example, he should promise that he will never abandon her.
Deng Yi pulled up the phoenix tail flower granny wool blanket on the back of the sofa and completely wrapped the person in his arms.
Zhou Ji'an, who was lost in his own tragic story, was suddenly lifted into the air. Startled, his heart skipped a beat, and his legs hooked around Deng Yi's waist. "You scared me!"
Deng Yi leaned slightly forward, rubbing his face and neck against hers with a smile, and said, "You can't jump now, hold me tight, or the two aunties will see."
He actually intended to walk through the spacious living room like that!
Zhou Ji'an protested softly, "Put me down, I'll get dressed."
"Since I'll take it off anyway, why bother?" Deng Yi started moving towards the door, his hands rubbing and kneading her intermittently through the woolen blanket.
Zhou Ji'an knew he couldn't give her a chance to get dressed, so he could only try to shrink himself into the blanket.
With each step Deng Yi took, Zhou Ji'an's toes curled up tighter, and she stopped once before they even reached the bedroom.
“Both of your aunties have the day off today.” Deng Yi was driven almost mad by her reaction, and he pushed against the bedroom door, saying, “Relax… a little.”
No wonder people say that sex, like some other things, can be used to escape reality.
Zhou Ji'an quickly forgot his reality.
But Saturday soon arrived, and Zhou Ji'an had to face another reality.
Zhou Ji'an arrived at Lu Jiani's house early, intentionally or unintentionally trying to find out information about Zhao Xingran.
"Why do I feel like Zhao Xingran looks younger and younger? She doesn't seem like a college student." Zhou Ji'an patted the cushions and pillows on the sofa while trying to naturally bring up the topic of Zhao Xingran.
“She’s from the school next door. She mentioned her at the previous meeting. Have you forgotten?” Lu Jianni said.
Zhou Ji'an nodded vigorously and said, "Oh right, I remember now. I ran into her once before. She said she was with her boyfriend, but he had to go back to school."
"It was the day we bought the same ring."
"Really?" Lu Jianni picked up a stack of books from the corner and scattered them around the coffee table. "I've never met her boyfriend, but I know he seems to be quite old."
"How could a girl in her twenties like an older man? It's really hard to understand." Zhou Ji'an has always had a prejudice against couples with a large age gap, and everyone has discussed this topic together.
She thought that if she continued to delve deeper like this, she wouldn't give herself away.
“People in their twenties may come from movies, TV shows, and literature to understand themselves, others, and even the world. Maybe she's just imitating a character or person.” Lu Jianni took a sip of water, pursed her lips, and looked at the person next to her. “Aren't you not very interested in these things?”
Sigh, it seems I can't hide my true colors any longer.
Zhou Ji'an chuckled awkwardly, "I just felt that she was being taken advantage of, and I wanted to advise her not to talk to that person anymore."
“If she doesn’t feel like she’s at a disadvantage, you’d better not meddle,” Lu Jianni reminded her. “We’ve all been through our twenties, you should know how much people in their twenties believe in their own values and judgment.”
Zhou Ji'an was indeed unwilling to meddle in other people's business, but now Zhao Xingran's matter was no longer a trivial matter for her.
Zhou Ji'an, feeling increasingly uneasy, watched as only Zhao Xingran and Qin Xirang, who had made appointments for the symposium, failed to show up, and his anxiety intensified.
Those who had arrived proceeded with the usual symposium format, sharing their observations and reflections from the past week.
About half an hour later, Zhao Xingran and Qin Xirang arrived.
Zhou Ji'an turned to look at Zhao Xingran, and Zhao Xingran also looked at her.
Zhao Xingran's gaze was as cold as ice, completely unlike his usual self.
Did Qin Xirang already tell Zhao Xingran? But how did Qin Xirang find out?
When Zhou Ji'an looked away, he glanced at the photo wall next to him, which was covered with countless photos of the participants in the symposium.
Yes, photos.
Zhou Ji'an nervously swallowed. Qin Xirang's sudden departure that day was not entirely because he wanted to extricate himself from the trap set by Shen Ruoheng, but because he saw Zhao Xingran in the photos that Shen Ruoheng showed him.
Such a coincidence would shock anyone who encountered it.
"What have you two been up to this week? Xingran, do you have a lot of classes?" Lu Jianni asked casually.
Zhao Xingran said lazily, "I don't have many classes, so I'm quite free."
Lu Jianni looked at Qin Xirang again, and Qin Xirang smiled, revealing two deep dimples, "I went to my friend's wedding this week."
Marriage is always a popular topic at the symposium.
"Really? How does it feel?" someone asked.
"It feels pretty scary," Qin Xirang clicked his tongue.
Her soft click quickly convinced Zhou Ji'an of his guess.
Zhou Jijing waited for Qin Xirang's next words, because Qin Xirang's tone was exquisite and very meaningful.
"How so?" several people asked in unison.
Qin Xirang still smiled broadly, “At the wedding, the couple needs to vow to love each other forever, whether in good times or bad, in wealth or poverty, in health or sickness, in joy or sorrow. But in reality, many couples do not keep this vow.”
Lu Jianni continued, "This is a very common situation, and exchanging vows is just a procedure in Western weddings; maybe they're just going through the motions. Why do you find it scary?"
Qin Xirang wrinkled his nose and shook his head slightly, saying, "I didn't finish what I was saying. I think that many couples are actually unable to love each other like this, or even unable to love each other at all. But it's terrifying that they can still protect each other and stand firmly on the other's side when they know that the other is morally corrupt, has a bad heart, or even does all sorts of evil, and that innocent people are hurt because of the other."
"Marriage does not create love between two strangers, but it does create unbreakable interests between them."
After Qin Xirang finished speaking at length, his expression suddenly turned playful, and he asked everyone, "Perhaps it's because after the two of them got married, they earned and spent their money together, and lived in the same house? After all, financial ties are unbreakable. Don't you think so, Ji'an?"
Qin Xirang changed the subject, and everyone's attention turned to Zhou Ji'an.
Zhou Ji'an stared straight at Qin Xirang, his throat dry.
"Ah, I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that you're the only married person here, so I wanted to ask you," Qin Xirang said innocently.
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