Jingxia Rose

Chapter 143: Rival Radar

On Saturday morning, Ruan Zheng asked her to go shopping, and she went as promised. They shopped until the afternoon, then went to get beauty treatments for two hours. In the evening, they went back to the old house together for dinner.

After Wen Qi took her home, he stayed with her.

The same thing happened for the next few days. He didn't go back to Canglan Residence at all until Ji Xian went to Y City on a business trip.

Their relationship entered a stable phase, becoming more natural, intimate, and romantic than before.

They were both very busy with work, and business trips were the norm. Ji Xuan was always flying between China, the UK, and France. The longest they had gone without seeing each other was a month and a half. During the few days she returned to rest, Wen Qi would make time to accompany her, go shopping, go on dates, and do everything she wanted to do.

By early June, the temperature gradually rose, and it was already quite hot.

After more than three months, the project, a collaboration between China, Britain, and France, has progressed very rapidly. Just when Ji Xuan was finally able to catch her breath after working on this project for half a month, Xiao Guxing returned from Moscow and invited her and Shi Wan to dinner.

Three months isn't a long time, but it was enough to dispel the awkward and subtle atmosphere between them.

Ji Xian had no reason not to agree.

That afternoon, she messaged Wen Qi, canceling their plans to have dinner together at Canglan Residence that evening.

Wen Qi went to Haicheng on a business trip a few days ago and took the opportunity to visit Ruan Zheng, who had already gone there to teach. He only returned today, and the two of them hadn't seen each other for about five or six days.

Upon seeing her message, it would be a lie to say Wen Qi wasn't disappointed.

So she asked: Who are you having dinner with?

Ji Xian replied five minutes later: "Wanwan and Senior."

Senior?

Xiao Guxing?!
When Wen Qi saw those two words, his rival radar immediately went off, and his eyes widened. But he couldn't very well tell her not to go and come back to eat with him, could he?
That's inappropriate, and too obvious.

The two were old friends. Xiao Guxing had been in Moscow for a long time, and it was understandable that he would like to get together with his friends after returning home.

Besides, Shi Wan is there too!
It's perfectly normal for three old friends to have a meal together!
He'd often get dragged along to eat with Yi Xu and the others!

Ok.

It's just a short get-together, nothing to worry about.

He was trying to comfort himself when, just then, Yi Xu called. "Are you back from Haicheng yet? Want to have dinner together tonight?"

Wen Qi initially wanted to refuse, but after thinking about it, he realized he would be eating alone that night, so he simply agreed.

Yi Xu was prepared to be turned away, but he still cheekily wanted to ask, and to his surprise, the man actually agreed.

What a hell.

Wen Qi: "Send the address via WeChat."

Yi Xu snapped out of his daze and chuckled, "Alright, six o'clock tonight, see you there!"

After hanging up the phone, around 5:30, Wen Qi left the company and went to the restaurant that Yi Xu and the others had booked.

It's still the same five people.

"Brother Qi, you just got back from your business trip today? Why didn't you spend time with your wife? You actually decided to come out to eat with us." Chu Feng raised his eyebrows, with an expression of 'I don't understand but I'm still surprised'.

"She has something to do," Wen Qi replied calmly.

"Why do you have to humiliate yourself? If Ji Xian had time, do you think he would even glance at us? You could call him endlessly, and he might even find you annoying."

Jiang Huaichuan's incisive and to the point.

Wen Qi glanced at him leisurely, and Lu Xuming laughed, "Come on, it's been almost two months since we last got together, shall we?"

Yi Xu and the others raised their glasses one after another. Wen Qi hesitated for about half a minute, while the other four looked at him in unison.

"Tsk, it would be really unfair of you not to drink," Yi Xu said. Jiang Huaichuan chimed in, "You're right. If you're worried about driving later, we'll call a designated driver for you. At least we'll show our appreciation."

Finally, under their barrage of glances and words, he relented and raised his glass.

As the atmosphere warmed up, the group suddenly started talking about Yi Xu's arranged marriage with Yuan Chulin, the third young lady of the Yuan family.

Yi Xu paused in his drinking, noticing that everyone was looking at him. He chuckled, his face full of mockery and indifference, "You guys seem quite interested in something that has absolutely nothing to do with you."

"This is an order from your father, how can you disobey it?" Lu Xuming raised an eyebrow, looking like he was watching a good show.

"Speaking of which, you're thirty-one this year. When your older brother was your age, your nephew was already a year old," Jiang Huaichuan thought.

"I heard that the third young lady of the Yuan family works at a top perfume research institute abroad. She's a top student. I wonder what she looks like!" Chu Feng asked gossipily. "Have you seen her? A photo or her in person?"

"Oh, really? I didn't know she worked at a perfume research institute abroad. You know more about her than I do. Or... should I call Uncle Chu and tell him about you..."

Before Yi Xu could finish speaking, Chu Feng kicked him, saying, "Get lost, I don't want to get married."

Yi Xu: "Coincidentally, I didn't plan to get married either."

Jiang Huaichuan: "You dare disobey your father's orders? Aren't you afraid of angering him to death?"

"How many orders has the old man given over the decades? Have you seen me listen to them? He's in excellent health; he could easily live another ten or twenty years. He's even more energetic than you all when he runs!"

Lu Xuming sighed, "Looks like I'll have to rely on you, Lao Wen, next time I'm attending a wedding."

Wen Qi had remained silent until he heard this. He slowly raised his head, thought for a moment, and said seriously, "The baby's full moon celebration should be sooner."

That's right.

Yin Qianran is almost six months pregnant now, and the baby will be born in four months.

And Wen Qi and Ji Xian...

He wasn't sure of the timing, but the matter certainly weighed on his mind.

Of the five, Lu Xuming's marriage was arranged by his family, while Wen Qi's was a love marriage. The other three were players, and marriage would definitely be a constraint for them.

So, they never even considered getting married.

Wen Qi unknowingly drank two glasses of wine, ate a meal, and then called a designated driver. The destination was Ji Xuan's residence.

The two drinks weren't particularly strong, but mixing them together still had a slight intoxicating effect.

During the half hour in the car, Wen Qi felt slightly dizzy, but his mind was clear and his steps were steady.

After getting out of the car, he walked into the residential area, entered the elevator, went down to his floor, looked at the closed door of Ji Xuan's house, and took out his phone to check the time.

It's already past nine o'clock.

I wonder if she's back by now.

He rang the doorbell twice, but there was no response. So he sent her a WeChat message asking if she was back yet.

I waited for seven or eight minutes, but there was still no reply.

Wen Qi stared intently at his phone and sent another message: When are you coming home?
The news seemed to have vanished without a trace.

He frowned. Why was this meal taking so long?

It's been three hours already.

Half an hour later, Wen Qi was still staring at the chat box on his phone like a statue waiting for his wife, and he still hadn't replied to the message. Around ten o'clock, he finally heard the sound of the elevator door opening, and the next second he heard the sound of high heels stepping on the floor.

The rhythm of those footsteps was unmistakably Ji Xian's.

Wen Qi put his phone away and didn't move. When he saw her figure appear at the corner of the corridor, his lips were pressed into a straight line, and his hoarse voice sounded somewhat aggrieved, "You're back."