Jingxia Rose

Chapter 84: Refusal

The Wen family is small; Wen Jingyan is an only son with no siblings, and Wen Qi is also an only son.

Wen Qi is not usually home. After moving out, the house is basically just Wen Jingyan and Sui Yi, along with these dozens of servants and bodyguards.

Over the past year, with the addition of Ruan Zheng, the old house has become somewhat deserted.

Neither of them are people who like crowds, and they are both quiet by nature.

Sui Yi's maternal family had a large population; she had two older brothers, an older sister, and a twin sister, making her a very prosperous family.

However, since the old man and woman are both still healthy and come from scholarly families, their family is harmonious.

The five people sat in the main seat, with Wen Jingyan, the head of the family, sitting next to Sui Yi, and Wen Qi naturally sitting next to Ji Xian.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was harmonious and warm. While the group was talking, Wen Qi had silently peeled several shrimp and placed them on Ji Xian's plate without making a sound.

Seeing that she seemed to really enjoy the porcini mushroom and tricolor soup, I served her another bowl.

Ji Xian looked away, glanced at his own plate and bowl, then lowered his head and ate slowly.

Soon, Wen Qi picked up another piece of sea bass for her, and carefully picked the scallion and ginger shreds off the fish back into his own bowl.

Because Ji Xian doesn't like to eat it.

Ji Xian hesitated, unaccustomed to this ambiguous and somewhat ambiguous atmosphere.

Sui Yi and Ruan Zheng on the opposite side couldn't see it, pretended not to understand, and continued their intermittent chat.

When Ji Xian felt she had eaten enough, Wen Qi put another sweet and sour pork rib on her plate.

The ribs were placed far away from her, so she didn't pick them up.

I thought it was just a piece of pork rib, nothing special, so I ate it.

Then Wen Qi kept putting food on her plate, some further away. Ji Xuan couldn't eat anymore, so she glared at him secretly, but Wen Qi didn't even look in her direction.

Ji Xian gritted her teeth and secretly kicked his shin under the table.

The beef that Wen Qi had just picked up fell into his bowl when she kicked it. He turned to look at her, leaned slightly closer, and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

She glanced at the untouched food in her bowl and asked with concern, "Don't you like it?"

The three of them, Sui Yi, looked over at the same time.

Ji Xuan looked slightly embarrassed and forced a smile, "I can't eat anymore."

Wen Qi paused for a moment, then gave a soft "oh," and said, "If you can't eat it, don't eat it. Just leave it there."

It really hurts my eyes.

Sui Yi took a breath; this attempt at currying favor had backfired spectacularly.

He really has no tact at all.

The tea served after meals was barley tea, which Sui Yi loved to drink, especially after meals, as she felt it helped cleanse her stomach and intestines.

Wen Jingyan couldn't wait to brew a cup of tea with the tea leaves Ji Xian had given him.

He's a tea enthusiast, and he even converted his study into a tea room.

Around nine o'clock, Ji Xuan saw that it was almost time, so he got up to say goodbye.

"Ah-Xian, come over to my house more often, have a meal, and chat." Sui Yi didn't try to keep her, but held her hand and said reluctantly, "Auntie isn't just being polite, she means it from the bottom of her heart."

“You said you rarely come back all year round, and it’s not easy to see each other. You must come when you have time. Auntie still says the same thing: the Wen family will always welcome you.”

Ji Xian nodded with a smile and teased, "I know, Auntie. Don't worry, I will definitely come to bother you again. Just don't find me annoying and try to get rid of me. I won't care if you can't get rid of me then."

Sui Yi laughed heartily, "I can't bear to send you away, I wish you would come every day."

"Wen Qi, why don't you take A-Xian home?" She looked at Wen Qi, who was getting his coat. "Be careful on the road, drive slowly."

Wen Qi nodded. "I'm going back to Canglan Residence today." Sui Yi agreed. "Alright."

After Ji Xuan greeted them, he got into Wen Qi's car.

When Wen Qi turned around, he saw Sui Yi winking at him. He pursed his lips, didn't respond, threw his coat on the back seat, and bent down to get into the driver's seat.

The two occasionally exchanged a few words on the way.

Ji Xian hesitated several times before speaking, but considering that it wasn't appropriate for him to talk while driving, he ultimately remained silent.

Twenty minutes passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, we arrived at her apartment complex.

"Thank you."

Ji Xuan unbuckled his seatbelt and, without waiting for a reply, pushed open the car door and got out.

After taking a few steps, Wen Qi's anxious voice came from behind, "Ji Xian."

Ji Xian stopped in her tracks, turned around and saw that he was holding her bag. She was slightly taken aback, then went back and took the bag from him.

"Angry?"

Wen Qi glanced at her and asked in a low voice.

He didn't actually know what Ji Xian was angry about, but he had a feeling that she was angry.

Ji Xian looked up, her lips slightly pink and moving slightly. "Wen Qi, let's talk."

Her eyes remained calm, her expression serious, but Wen Qi immediately understood what she wanted to say, and a bad premonition immediately arose in his heart.

"About the time you confessed your feelings to me on New Year's Day."

Ji Xuan put it bluntly, "I'm sorry for the late reply, but I felt I had to reply now. I don't like being confused or having this unresolved feeling."

"I believe you were serious about liking me and pursuing me, but... I'm sorry, I can't accept it."

She licked her slightly dry lips with her tongue. "It's enough that we've been together for two years. You don't need to waste any more time on me. Back then, I wished you all the best, but that might not have been enough. I'm changing it now."

"Wen Qi, I wish you will find a girl you truly love and who is right for you in the future, and that you will marry and have children together for a long time."

Although I had already anticipated her answer, hearing it with my own ears still caused a noticeable dull pain in my heart.

The more I listened, the more my pain receptors felt as if they were being pierced by a sharp weapon.

Especially when she heard her blessing, her breathing became erratic for a moment.

He stepped forward, his burning gaze fixed on her, his hoarse voice deep and resonant, "You think I don't truly love you?"

"I don't need any of your blessings, I just need you."

This is a statement of fact, and the last three words are filled with unwavering determination.

Surprise flashed in her eyes. Wen Qi tried to calm the turmoil in his heart and carefully took her hand. "I'll change anything I did wrong before, okay?"

Ji Xian's heart was pounding. She didn't deny that she hadn't completely let go of Wen Qi.

But she was even more afraid of whether the consequences of taking that brave step would be acceptable to her.

"Wen Qi, we're not right for each other." She tried to pull her hand away, but she couldn't. "Those four years are enough to prove that no matter how you try to change things, you can't change the ending. Let go."

His voice grew even hoarseer, "I don't want to."

"And then what? Spend another four years to wear each other down?"

Perhaps all the grievances from the past were leaking out from the cracks, Ji Xian couldn't help but raise her voice, even the end of her words trembled slightly, "Your ritualistic approach, like completing a task, no matter how many four-year periods there are, I can't accept it, and I'm even more fed up with that ambiguous feeling of working hours, only when..."

Only when they were in bed did she realize that she was his girlfriend, not his secretary.

But she couldn't say those words; four years of pent-up frustration had made her eyes misty.

This was the first time the two had spoken openly about their past relationship.