Chapter 10: Is Your Thing Injured?
1006 Words
After work, Xiao Tongyu received a WeChat message from Zhuang Shufei:
"How’d it go, Tongtong? Did you quit successfully?"
"No. I’ll think of another way."
Zhuang Shufei: "Holy s**t! I knew it! There’s no way Ji Yunze would let you off easy!"
Xiao Tongyu put down her phone and slumped over her desk, resting her head on her arms. For some reason, she felt exhausted. She wanted to cry. She missed her parents terribly. Maybe she’d visit their graves this weekend.
During the car accident years ago, Xiao Tongyu had been in the vehicle too. If her mother hadn’t shielded her with her own body, she would have died alongside them. At eleven years old, the suffocating sensation of being crushed in her mother’s protective embrace remained vivid. Her mother had died instantly; her father lingered for days in the hospital before following his wife. This was why Xiao Tongyu hated buttoning her collars tightly—the constriction reminded her of the accident, of her parents.
Maybe it would’ve been better if I’d died with them. Then she wouldn’t have grown up dependent on relatives, endured scorn, suffered bullying at school, or become Ji Yunze’s plaything. Her life would’ve been spared so much pain, preserved in childhood joy.
A knock sounded on her desk.
"Secretary Xiao."
She looked up to see Ji Yunze standing before her. When his eyes met her tear-streaked face—cheeks flushed pink, eyes red-rimmed—he froze. His heart clenched violently.
Why is Xiao Tongyu crying? Because it hurt? Because she didn’t want to sleep with him? Or because he refused her resignation?
"CEO Ji." She hastily wiped her face.
"The itinerary for the business trip?"
"Apologies, CEO Ji. The hotel booking details changed, so I revised the schedule and emailed it to you earlier." She picked up a folder. "I’ve printed a copy for you."
"Mn." He accepted the folder.
"If there’s nothing else, I’ll clock out now." She bowed slightly.
As she turned to leave, Ji Yunze uttered words he’d never spoken to any woman in his twenty-nine years:
"Have dinner together?"
The moment the question left his lips, even he was stunned. Ji Yunze—inviting a woman to dinner?
Xiao Tongyu furrowed her brows, wondering if she’d misheard. "Pardon, CEO Ji?"
"Never mind."
Clutching the folder, Ji Yunze strode back into his office.
The Rolls-Royce glided toward the Ji family estate, Ji Yunze silent in the backseat. His fingers tapped rhythmically against the armrest as he stared out the window, icy demeanor unchanged. Uncharacteristically, he didn’t review documents during the ride.
An unfamiliar ache twisted in his chest. Was he… addicted to Xiao Tongyu after two nights together?
The black sedan entered a sprawling villa nestled in the mountains. Ten minutes passed driving from the gilded gates to the main house, past manicured lawns, towering poplars, and meticulously curated flowerbeds. Maintaining this estate in the imperial city’s prime location required astronomical resources.
Ji Yunze usually resided in downtown’s luxury villas, while his parents and grandfather occupied the family estate. He rarely visited.
Pushing open the grand doors, he entered the palatial living room where his mother Qian Xu sat sipping tea from a porcelain cup. Dressed in a black silk dress with her hair elegantly coiled, she exuded aristocratic poise without glancing up.
"Finally decided to come home?" Her voice carried refined detachment.
Qian Xu’s delicate features and fair complexion mirrored Ji Yunze’s striking eyes. "Mom." He greeted casually, sprawling on the sofa and crossing his legs.
She shot him a sidelong glance, instantly detecting his foul mood. "Sit properly."
Raised as the prized daughter of Jiangcheng’s prominent Qian family, Qian Xu had married into the Ji dynasty with substantial assets. Her aristocratic upbringing demanded strict decorum—she remained the sole woman capable of bending Ji Yunze to her will.
With a sigh, he uncrossed his legs. "Where’s Dad?"
"Golf tournament in D City."
"Grandfather?"
"Out arranging your blind dates."
Ji Yunze’s expression darkened.
Since retiring as Ji Corporation’s chairman over a decade prior, the elder Mr. Ji had devoted himself to calligraphy, gardening, bird-keeping, and—above all—finding his grandson a wife.
The doors swung open as the butler ushered in Mr. Ji Sr., silver-haired but radiating vigor. His wrinkles deepened into a beaming smile at the sight of his grandson.
"Yunze! You’re back! How went your meeting with the Qin family’s girl?"
At the mention of Qin Mengyan, Ji Yunze’s mind flashed to Xiao Tongyu’s slapped cheek. His chest tightened again. Damn it—why did he keep thinking of her?
"Grandfather, did you send her to my office?"
"Of course!"
Now it made sense—no one else would’ve dared let Qin Mengyan barge into his workspace.
"I kicked her out. She hit my secretary, so I bought a**(hot search) to teach her a lesson."
Mr. Ji Sr. nearly dropped his cane.
Qian Xu chuckled. "Father, stop meddling. This son of mine has no intention of marrying."
The patriarch’s voice boomed with outrage: "No intention?! Should our Ji legacy end with him?!"
Qian Xu remained unperturbed: "You can’t force interest where none exists. Even a blade at his throat wouldn’t help."
No interest in women? Ji Yunze mused. Perhaps not entirely true…
Fuming, Mr. Ji Sr. stormed upstairs. "Call me for dinner!"
Alone with his mother, Ji Yunze irritably peeled an orange—an odd sight, given his notorious fastidiousness. Qian Xu watched, astonished, as citrus juice stained his immaculate fingers.
Clink.
A small object tumbled from his pocket as he withdrew a handkerchief. Qian Xu picked it up, arching a brow at her son.
"Is your thing injured?"
In her hand lay Xiao Tongyu’s ointment tube, its bold red label proclaiming: GYNECOLOGICAL USE.
Ji Yunze extended his palm. "Mom. Return it."
She complied, deadpanning: "Not only injured, but you’ve also transitioned genders?"
Ignoring her, he pocketed the cream as the butler announced dinner.
Qian Xu rose, delivering a parting warning: "Don’t play games you can’t finish."
"Understood."
- Writer
