Jingxia Rose

Chapter 76: Returning Home

On the 5th, Hall hosted Wen Qi and his entourage at his manor as a farewell party for him.

The manor's scenery is seven parts grand and three parts elegant.

Hall led them on a tour, finally arriving at the rose greenhouse.

Despite the outside temperature being several degrees below zero, or even below ten degrees below zero, the roses inside the greenhouse were blooming exceptionally beautifully.

All the rose varieties inside are red.

“My wife loves these roses. She enjoys drinking rose tea and eating rose cakes, but roses have a short blooming period, and the climate here in Russia isn’t very suitable for growing them. I’ve put a lot of effort into this rose greenhouse; money is secondary.”

Hall and his wife were childhood sweethearts, a perfect match in terms of social standing, and have been married for over twenty years, their feelings for each other remain as strong as ever.

Everyone was amazed and envious of their love.

Ji Xian gazed calmly at the roses inside, seemingly lost in thought, but Wen Qi, standing beside him, sensed a hint of melancholy in her expression.

He moved his lips, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped, and ultimately remained silent.

Ye Xueyan and her group were scheduled to return on the morning of the 6th. Because the Chinese New Year holiday was approaching, companies in China were busy with year-end project summaries.

Wen Qi originally planned to stay in Moscow for another week, but he received a call from his company saying that a project was incurring losses.

As the head of a company with hundreds of employees waiting for him to make a living, he had no choice but to go back.

On the night of the 5th, Wen Qi drove Ji Xuan home.

When they arrived outside the apartment complex, he watched her unbuckle her seatbelt and said, "I'm going back to Beijing tomorrow."

Ji Xian paused, then nodded, glancing at him with a confident smile, "Well, then I wish President Wen a safe journey and a safe landing tomorrow."

Wen Qi remained silent for a long while, then nodded slightly, unsure of what to say.

The reluctance and deep affection in his eyes were completely concealed by the cold and gloomy demeanor on the surface, revealing not a trace of it.

Ji Xuan didn't notice anything unusual. He sat silently for a while, but still didn't hear his voice, so he said, "Thank you, President Wen, for bringing me back today. I'll go inside now."

Will you go back to Beijing for the Chinese New Year?

Ji Xian had just pushed the door open a crack when Wen Qi's deep voice rang out again.

She didn't deny it, after all, she would be seeing Ruan Zheng again when she went back, so she really didn't mean to hide it.

"meeting."

"When?"

"After the New Year."

Are you going back to Luanying City for the Lunar New Year?

Ji Xian did not turn around, but only nodded slightly.

Upon receiving her answer, Wen Qi felt the gloom in his heart dissipate somewhat, and his emotions were no longer so heavy. Although he was still reluctant to part with her, he even had an impulse to pull her into his arms.

But reason prevailed, and he suppressed his wicked thoughts, whispering, "Go upstairs and rest. Goodnight."

Ji Xian didn't reply, and went straight into the residential area by pushing open the car door.

On the morning of the 6th, Wen Qi boarded a flight to Beijing, while Ji Xuan continued working methodically.

After he landed, he would proactively let her know he was safe on WeChat. Even if she didn't reply, it wouldn't stop him from saying goodnight to her that night.

Due to the time difference between the two places, Ji Xian often saw messages from him such as "What are you doing?", "Have you eaten?", "How's the weather there?", "Keep warm", and "Take good care of yourself".

The mood is very complicated.

My first impression was that this person really doesn't know how to have a conversation, and doesn't know how to find topics to talk about.

But for a whole week, similar messages kept coming in.

On the 15th, Ji Xuan began his vacation, had a meal with his colleagues, packed his luggage, and boarded a plane back to China the next day.

There are no international flights to the provincial capital, so she arrived there at 4 a.m.

After waiting for two hours, she took the high-speed train back to Luanying City. Ji Heng and Ji Nian came to pick her up and brought her breakfast.

Upon seeing Ji Xian, Ji Nian rushed over and hugged her, repeatedly saying, "Sister, sister, you're finally back."

"It's been a year since we last met, and it seems like Niannian has grown taller again?" Ji Xian smiled and poked her forehead, then gave Ji Heng a light hug.

Ji Heng took the two suitcases from her hands and couldn't help but complain, "This girl has been so excited ever since she found out you were coming back today. She was making so much noise in my room last night."

Ji Nian kicked him unhappily, "Shut up!"

The three of them chatted and laughed as they walked toward the parking lot.

Luanying City is a southern city, where it doesn't snow much in winter, and even when it does, it's just light snow or sleet.

A layer of fog filled the air in the morning. The sun hadn't fully risen yet, and the air was chilly, though not as cold as Moscow.

Ji Xuan was really hungry. She had been traveling for a day and a night, and her last meal was on the plane. Because it wasn't very tasty, she didn't eat much.

Ji Heng brought the breakfast very timely.

Two meat buns, a cup of soy milk, and sesame balls.

It was a very ordinary breakfast, but it was a taste she hadn't had in a year abroad.

While she was eating, Ji Nian kept chattering beside her, asking if Moscow was fun, what the scenery was like, and if there were any handsome guys.

When we returned to Jialing Town, my second aunt was playing mahjong with several of her neighbors.

I'd only rubbed it a couple of times.

They were all stunned to see Ji Xian return, but then greeted him warmly.

Her second aunt glanced at her, picked up a pair of tiles, and discarded a tile with the "ten thousand" symbol. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Ate."

Ji Xian pulled up a chair and sat down next to her, asking why he hadn't seen his second uncle.

Second Aunt, "I don't know where she went to visit, but she'll always be back around lunchtime."

As soon as she finished speaking, she picked up a tile from the suit, exclaiming, "Hey, all one suit, self-drawn!"

After settling the accounts, the other three families paid their money, and a new round began. The aunt on the right asked Ji Xuan, "Ji Xuan, do you know how? Tell your second aunt to come down and you can try your luck a few times."

Ji Xian smiled and shook his head, "I can only barely understand it, I can't type it."

"You'll get it after a few rounds," the others advised.

Aunt Ji snorted, "Don't even try. You just want to win some money from her? She's been on a plane all day, what's she going to do playing mahjong? You sit here for a while, then go upstairs and rest."

That last sentence was said to Ji Xian.

Ji Xian smiled and agreed.

The aunt across from Aunt Ji asked, "Ah Xuan, are you still working in Beijing?"

Knowing it was just casual conversation, Ji Xian didn't intend to explain too much and was about to nod in agreement when Ji Nian, carrying a platter of tangerines, came over and chimed in.

“My sister came back from Russia. She was transferred to work in Moscow this year.”

The others found it intriguing and asked a lot more questions.

Aunt Ji gave Ji Nian a quick glare before sending Ji Xian upstairs to rest.

The room was the same one, spotless, and the silk quilt had been aired out; it was soft and warm to lie on.

Moreover, the quilt cover looked brand new; it was obvious that Aunt Ji had put a lot of care into it.

Because Ji Xian returned, before 11 o'clock, Aunt Ji Er closed the mahjong table and went into the kitchen to prepare lunch.

Ji Xian didn't catch up on sleep. He quickly tidied up his suitcase and went downstairs to the kitchen to help his second aunt.

She finally met Uncle Ji just before lunchtime. Uncle Ji only asked her if her journey back was smooth, and then said nothing more.

After this chapter, the map will switch back to domestic maps, and the Moscow map (where the story takes place) will no longer appear.