After pondering for a few seconds, Ji Xu'an replied with a single word: okay.
Thinking of what Jiang Jiang had just said, she exited WeChat and instead opened Weibo.
Zhou Zisuo's Weibo post was still pinned on her homepage. After Ji Xu'an saw it clearly, she could not help but knit her brows deeply.
It was no wonder Jiang Jiang would overthink. Zhou Zisuo's sentence indeed carried a certain suggestive meaning, yet she had not explicitly named anyone, so Ji Xu'an had no way to make her delete that post because of it.
But it did not matter. Whether that post was deleted or not did not carry much significance.
Ji Xu'an lowered her head and typed. Secretary Zhao had probably been waiting for her message the whole time. Almost the moment she sent it, the other side replied with an okay.
After temporarily resolving this matter, Ji Xu'an carried her quilt back to Jiang Jiang's room.
In fact, Jiang Jiang was already lying on the bed. She was half leaning against the headboard, a laptop resting on her legs, her hands tapping on the keyboard intermittently.
Ji Xu'an placed the quilt on the sofa. When she turned her head again, Jiang Jiang's gaze had already shifted from the computer screen to her.
At that moment of eye contact, both of their expressions were somewhat unnatural.
Ji Xu'an moved her lips, yet in the end did not tell Jiang Jiang about her plan to meet Jiang Zhenyun. Instead she asked, "Are you still busy?"
Jiang Jiang gave a soft mm. "I received a message from an editor. She asked whether I plan to sign a contract."
Her tone was very calm. It did not sound like she was speaking about a joyful matter.
Ji Xu'an was stunned for a moment, then a smile curved on her face. "That's a good thing. Did you agree?"
As she spoke, she walked toward Jiang Jiang. She only stopped when her knees touched the edge of the bed, lowering her head to stare at Jiang Jiang without blinking.
In truth, Ji Xu'an was not standing that close. But the moment Jiang Jiang caught the familiar scent from her body, certain memories uncontrollably began surfacing in her mind again.
The atmosphere between them had become especially strange because of that kiss just now. Clearly they had already done even more intimate things, yet they still had to pretend to be proper and deliberately keep their distance.
Jiang Jiang lowered her head and gave another mm.
"I added her contact information, but she hasn't replied to me yet."
Ji Xu'an subconsciously raised her wrist, only to discover that it was empty. She silently lowered her hand again.
"It's already late. The editor has probably gotten off work. Wait and see tomorrow."
Ji Xu'an knew she was making conversation for the sake of it, but she simply wanted to say a few more words to Jiang Jiang.
Fortunately, Jiang Jiang had not looked up the whole time and had not seen that foolish moment of hers.
Ji Xu'an silently let out a breath in her heart.
In truth, Jiang Jiang was far less calm than she appeared. This was the first thing in this world that she had found interest in. Jiang Jiang had poured great enthusiasm and expectation into this book of hers.
The message from the editor was undoubtedly a reassurance.
Thinking of those readers who had always supported her, Jiang Jiang very much wanted to share this good news with them. But thinking that the matter had not yet been truly finalized, Jiang Jiang gave up on that idea.
She was very happy, yet in front of Ji Xu'an she still acted composed and indifferent.
If it had been before, Jiang Jiang would definitely have shared her joy with Ji Xu'an at the first moment. She might even have hugged Ji Xu'an and acted spoiled, thanking Ji Xu'an for her support.
But thinking about doing that now, and the consequences it might bring…
Jiang Jiang silently put away the laptop. Only then did she part her lips and reply to Ji Xu'an, "I know. Nothing can be rushed."
"Mm." Ji Xu'an once again did not know what to say.
In the past she spoke little because she felt there was nothing to say to Jiang Jiang. Now she had many things she wanted to say, yet did not know how to begin.
Jiang Jiang covered her mouth with her hand and yawned. "I'm a little sleepy. You…"
Ji Xu'an understood and stepped back two steps. "Go to sleep."
She knew Jiang Jiang might not truly be sleepy, yet she did not expose her.
Still, Ji Xu'an felt somewhat disappointed in her heart.
Sometimes she felt Jiang Jiang was very close to her, so close that she only needed to reach out gently to grasp her. Sometimes she felt Jiang Jiang was very far from her. No matter how hard she tried, she could not walk into Jiang Jiang's heart.
Ji Xu'an pressed her lips together. In the end she did not say anything more. She reached out to turn off the light in the room, then returned to lie down on the sofa.
As soon as she lay down, the phone placed beside her suddenly vibrated. Ji Xu'an picked it up to look. Her originally calm eyes suddenly widened.
[Good girl wife: Ji Xu'an, thank you for all your trust and tolerance toward me. In my heart, you will always hold the most special position.]
Ji Xu'an's heart began pounding violently. All the gloom and dejection in her heart were smoothed away by Jiang Jiang's single sentence.
The room was very quiet. Because there was some distance between them, Ji Xu'an could not hear Jiang Jiang's breathing. But she knew Jiang Jiang must be awake at this moment.
Ji Xu'an was too excited to sleep. She saved the message Jiang Jiang had sent her, took a screenshot, and stored it in a separately created album.
Wife said that in her heart she is the most special!
Ji Xu'an felt so pleased that bubbles were almost rising in her heart. No matter why Jiang Jiang had sent her this message, perhaps she had simply noticed that she was unhappy and wanted to coax her.
But at least this proved that Jiang Jiang cared about her, did it not?
After being happy for quite a while, Ji Xu'an realized she had not yet replied to Jiang Jiang. She hurriedly typed:
[Ji Xu'an: You never need to say thank you to me. This is all what I should do.]
After thinking about it, Ji Xu'an felt that this sentence was too dry, so she added a kissing emoji.
But Jiang Jiang did not reply again.
Ji Xu'an could not help but prop herself up halfway and glance toward the big bed. Jiang Jiang's side was pitch-black, without even a trace of light belonging to a phone screen.
She might already be asleep.
Ji Xu'an was not discouraged. She lay back down again, stared at the ceiling with open eyes for a while, and finally said silently in her heart:
Wife, good night.
—
Jiang Jiang had thought she would not be able to fall asleep. But unexpectedly, she slept until one minute before the alarm rang.
Ji Xu'an was already up. The sofa was empty.
Jiang Jiang first went to the bathroom to wash up. After tidying herself, she returned to the room to change clothes.
Today she would officially begin preparing for military training. Jiang Jiang tried putting on her military training uniform.
The hottest days had already passed. The recent weather was very comfortable. Neither cold nor hot.
Underneath, Jiang Jiang wore only a base layer. The military uniform was very large. After putting it on, it hung loosely. Jiang Jiang had to tighten the belt firmly.
She looked at herself in the mirror from left to right and felt quite satisfied.
Just after she finished dressing, the bedroom door was opened from outside.
"Wife, breakfast…"
Ji Xu'an's voice stopped when she clearly saw what Jiang Jiang was wearing. Jiang Jiang met her gaze. Suddenly she felt somewhat nervous.
"How is it?" she asked softly.
The corners of Ji Xu'an's lips lifted slightly. "It looks good. Very spirited."
She raised her hand to adjust Jiang Jiang's collar. Her movements were especially natural. Even when her fingers accidentally brushed Jiang Jiang's neck, Ji Xu'an's expression did not show the slightest fluster.
Instead, Jiang Jiang felt a little uncomfortable, though she was happy inside.
Ji Xu'an quickly noticed that Jiang Jiang cherished the clothes on her body especially. Even while eating, she was very careful, afraid of getting even a little grease on them.
Ji Xu'an did not ask immediately. Only when she was driving Jiang Jiang to school did she softly ask, "You really like it?"
Jiang Jiang was stunned. After noticing that Ji Xu'an's gaze had been resting on her clothes, she understood what the other woman meant.
Jiang Jiang responded very quietly, "Mm, I like it."
She hesitated, unsure whether she should tell Ji Xu'an her true thoughts. Perhaps Ji Xu'an would not be able to understand her feelings.
But meeting Ji Xu'an's gentle eyes, Jiang Jiang still chose to tell the truth.
"In the place where I used to live, people always had many demands and restraints on women. I never had this kind of experience before."
Jiang Jiang lowered her head to look at her palm. "So I like it here very much."
This world gave women more rights. That was what Jiang Jiang liked most about it.
After listening, Ji Xu'an thoughtfully withdrew her gaze.
She could actually guess some of Jiang Jiang's thoughts. Jiang Jiang was not a parasitic vine who liked to rely on others to survive. She had her own persistence and pursuits. That was why she worked hard to write novels, wanting to rely on her own efforts to achieve her goals.
Ji Xu'an thought that perhaps she should take Jiang Jiang to the western mountainous areas to have a look.
Linghai Group held many charitable activities every year, including projects supporting impoverished mountain children and impoverished women.
Ji Xu'an inexplicably felt that Jiang Jiang would be interested in such matters.
—
They arrived at school without speaking along the way.
Only after watching Jiang Jiang walk through the school gate did Ji Xu'an turn the car around and head to the company.
Her meeting with Jiang Zhenyun was arranged at the café downstairs of the company. When Ji Xu'an arrived, Jiang Zhenyun had already been seated for a while.
Ji Xu'an first saw Jiang Zhenyun. Immediately afterward she noticed that not far away sat He Qiuwan.
Jiang Zhenyun waved at her. "President Ji, over here!"
He Qiuwan did not speak. She only watched the two of them silently.
Ji Xu'an could not help but look at her a few more times.
The sense of familiarity this person gave her was not as obvious as Jiang Zhenyun's, yet the aura around her made Ji Xu'an feel inexplicably close.
She tightened her fingers. As she withdrew her gaze, she sat down opposite Jiang Zhenyun.
"Miss Jiang, hello." Ji Xu'an said calmly.
Jiang Zhenyun looked at her with a smile. "Hello, hello."
Ji Xu'an's probing gaze fell on Jiang Zhenyun. Before she could speak again, Jiang Zhenyun suddenly said unexpectedly, "You are still different from Princess Huaining."
Even though they had once been the same person, after their souls split into different worlds, their personalities had still undergone some changes.
The moment Ji Xu'an heard this sentence, her body tensed.
Jiang Zhenyun knew Princess Huaining. She really did come from the same place as Jiang Jiang!
The expression on Ji Xu'an's face did not change much, yet Jiang Zhenyun could sense the intense fluctuation in her emotions.
Jiang Zhenyun did not speak. Instead, she glanced out the window.
Ji Xu'an noticed that the direction Jiang Zhenyun looked at was precisely where she had arranged for her bodyguards to hide.
Her face remained calm, but in her heart she became even more vigilant.
Jiang Zhenyun turned back to look at Ji Xu'an again, her face still smiling. "Don't be nervous."
"What do you want to know? Xie Jiang Jiang's background?"
"Or Xie Xiao's whereabouts?"
—
Author's words:
President Ji: My wife said I'm the most special. She loves me so much!
—
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