Jingxia Rose

Chapter 23: Tampering with Things

Uncle Ji's surgery was quite successful. When he was wheeled out of the operating room, the doctor and family members gave him some instructions.

The regular wards were for three people, and there was a constant stream of visitors, making a lot of noise. Moreover, there was nowhere to sleep at night while keeping watch over the patients, so Ji Xian simply took the initiative to upgrade the room to a single room.

When the nurse pushed Uncle Ji over, Aunt Ji was still in a daze, and Ji Xuan told her about changing rooms.

Her second aunt glared at her with a stern face and said, "What's wrong with a regular ward? You're just wasting money."

Ji Xian smiled faintly, letting her scold him without arguing back.

But a single room is more spacious. After Uncle Ji woke up in the afternoon, he drank some white porridge that he had bought from outside. Because he had injured his back, he could not move.

Around three or four o'clock, several relatives from the Ji family came to visit.

They didn't recognize Ji Xian at first glance. It was only after she greeted them that they exclaimed, "It's Ji Xian! Oh my, you've really changed a lot since you grew up! I almost didn't recognize you. Your uncle and aunt told me you work in Beijing. When did you come back?"

"yesterday."

"It's good to be back, it's good to be back..." The woman was her aunt. She suddenly stopped halfway through her sentence and awkwardly changed the subject, "You arranged this ward, didn't you? I knew your aunt was so stingy, how could she bear to stay in this private room?"

The other was her aunt, who smiled and agreed, "Second brother and sister-in-law are very lucky. Now that Ah Xian is making money, he can enjoy the good life with her."

It's no secret among the relatives that Ji Ershu's three-story villa was paid for by Ji Xian.

Ji Xian handled the situation with ease, but when her aunt mentioned that her eldest daughter was graduating from university and looking for a job this year, there were probing questions and various hints in her words.

Ji Xuan asked her a few questions in a seemingly serious manner, including which university she attended and what her major was.

When her aunt saw that she wasn't responding, she went straight to asking which company she worked for, what her job was, whether she had bought a house in Beijing, and almost asked about her annual salary.

Even Uncle Ji, who was lying in bed, couldn't stand it anymore.

Aunt Ji's face fell even further, and she said directly, "It's not like you know what the company in Beijing said. Didn't you say during the New Year that you would let Qiqi come back to take the civil service exam this year? You said you had already made arrangements in town."

Although taking the civil service exam is a secure job, everyone is envious of Ji Xian's achievements in Beijing.

Uncle Ji, lying on the bed, said, "Since everything has been arranged, don't ask questions you shouldn't!"

The aunt knew that Ji Xian was unhappy about helping her family, so she pouted, feeling uncomfortable, but she didn't want to say it directly.

Ji Xian wasn't too upset. She was even less affectionate towards her aunt. From childhood to adulthood, she had never eaten a single grain of rice or drunk a drop of water from her family.

On the third day after returning, Ji Xian bought paper money and incense, and went up the mountain alone to the graves of his father and grandparents.

It's truly unfilial of me to say that I haven't come back to see them all these years.

She stayed on the mountain all morning. After coming down the mountain, she quickly made lunch, ate with Ji Heng, and then took them to the hospital together.

For several days in a row, Aunt Ji didn't let her take care of the patient at the hospital, probably because she was worried about the inconvenience, so she made her responsible for the lunch and dinner meals.

On Wednesday night, Wen Qi called to ask about her second uncle's situation.

After talking for three or four minutes, both of them fell silent.

"I'm going back to Beijing tomorrow."

Ji Xian suddenly said.

She originally wanted to wait for Uncle Ji to be discharged from the hospital, but the doctor said he would have to wait until next week to be discharged. Her aunt also told her to leave. What she said wasn't very nice, but the gist of it was that she shouldn't lose her job because she took too long a leave of absence.

Ji Xian thought for a moment and said, "I'll come back to see them during the Chinese New Year."

It actually had a bit of a tentative feel to it.

Second Aunt snorted coldly, "Your legs are your own, whether you come back or not is none of my business."

Wen Qi, "What time is your flight?"

"This afternoon. I'm taking the high-speed train to the provincial capital tomorrow morning, arriving in Beijing at 9 PM."

"Okay, I'll come pick you up." "Okay."

After a few seconds of silence, they said goodnight and hung up.

Ji Xuan glanced at his phone and gave a wry smile. When the two of them were together, they rarely had anything in common except for work-related matters, let alone on their phones.

She suddenly became very curious about how long-distance couples could talk on the phone for two or three hours straight.

What did you talk about?

The next morning, she cooked a delicious meal and went to the hospital. She said a simple goodbye to her second uncle and aunt, without any sentimental or reluctant farewell. Around 8:30, Ji Heng took her to the station.

The plane arrived at Beijing Airport on time at 8:58 PM, a delay of 8:58 PM.

Ji Xian took out his luggage and saw Wen Qi standing in the crowd from afar. He was also dressed in a suit and tie, and after not seeing him for several days, his face looked even more tired.

Wen Qi took her suitcase. "Are you tired?"

"Fortunately."

After a long day of running around, she was actually quite tired, but she just didn't like to say it out loud.

Wen Qi asked again, "Have you had dinner?"

"No."

This must be mentioned, because she was really hungry. Although she is not a picky eater, she really doesn't like airplane food. Her last meal was a bowl of beef noodles at the high-speed rail station at noon.

A fleeting, unintentional sparkle crossed Ji Xian's face. Seeing this, Wen Qi's lips curved into a rare, faint smile as he took her hand.

Feeling the roughness of her knuckles, he slightly raised his hand, saw it was a band-aid, and frowned slightly, "What happened?"

"I made a cut while chopping vegetables, it's nothing serious."

Yesterday, while I was making dinner and cutting meat, the knife was too sharp, and I accidentally cut my hand. The cut wasn't deep, but it was a bit long, and I bled quite a bit.

Ji Heng was quite frightened and said he would take her to the clinic to stop the bleeding.

"Has it been disinfected?"

"I've applied iodine solution. I'll just change the bandage when I get back."

Wen Qi pursed his lips and nodded gently. When he took her hand, he deliberately avoided that finger, afraid of hurting her.

Once in the car, he started it. "Want to go back for dinner?"

"Ah."

Wen Qi knew that she loved Aunt Zhao's cooking and that she preferred to eat at home most of the time, except for occasional social engagements. So he said, "Aunt Zhao knew you were coming back tonight, so she started preparing early this morning. There's sweet and sour pork ribs, which you love."

Ji Xian smiled and agreed.

Looking at the bustling city of Beijing, she inexplicably felt as if she had stepped from a slightly rough painting into an exquisite one.

Let alone Jialing Town, even Luanying City can't keep up with Beijing.

Upon arriving at Canglan Residence and seeing the two begonia trees in the courtyard, Ruan Zheng suddenly came to mind, and he subconsciously asked, "By the way, how is Sister Ruan Zheng?"

"I was discharged from the hospital yesterday."

Wen Qi took her suitcase out of the trunk and walked over to her. "Let's see how the recovery is going."

Ji Xuan nodded. "Any news from the police?"

“The wire harness has been tampered with.” Wen Qi opened the door, stepped aside to let her go in first, and said in a somewhat somber tone, “The person has also been caught, but they haven’t made a fuss about it. That’s her intention.”

(End of this chapter)