“Let’s skip dinner,” Ji Xu said as he patted Cheng Yue’s stomach. “Go get some cake or something to fill your stomach.”
“Okay, what are you eating?” Cheng Yue laughed so hard his eyes were squinted. “It tickles…”
“Afraid of being tickled?” Ji Xu raised an eyebrow and started to tickle Cheng Yue’s waist several times.
“Hahahahahaha…” Cheng Yue tried to stop his hand, laughing so hard he almost fell, his speech becoming slurred. “No, stop it…”
Tang Jing walked in, took a look, and was momentarily stunned but quickly covered his eyes with his hand. “Sorry, I’m interrupting.”
Cheng Yue, pinned down on the desk, was still processing what was happening when the door was pushed open from the outside again.
Tang Jing, still covering his eyes and shrinking his neck, said sternly, “Lawyer Ji, come out here! I need to give you a good scolding!”
“Get out.” Ji Xu frowned, pulling Cheng Yue up and tugging down the small t-shirt that had ridden up to reveal a bit of his waistline.
The door was quickly closed again.
“Are you really that ticklish?” Ji Xu said, ruffling Cheng Yue’s tousled hair. “You need a haircut.”
“I want to dye it…” Cheng Yue’s thought about dyeing his hair was just beginning to form.
“Think about it when you’re asleep.” Ji Xu gave him a light pat on the head, effectively squashing that thought. “Go get some food.”
Cheng Yue pouted, jumped down from the desk, and left the office.
What’s wrong with dyeing hair? Dyeing hair can look good.
He had never tried green hair before. Life was about trying new things, and youth was the time to be bold.
As Cheng Yue thought about how to convince Ji Xu to let him dye his hair, he picked out several small cakes on a plate from the bar counter.
After filling the plate, Cheng Yue popped one of the cakes into his mouth and carried the plate toward Ji Xu’s office.
When he pushed open the office door, he found the office empty.
He quickly stepped back out and found Ji Xu’s assistant, Zhang Mengmeng.
“Lawyer Ji seems to have been called away by President Tang,” Zhang Mengmeng said with a smile, pointing to the leftmost office.
Cheng Yue glanced in the direction she indicated, then set a cake from the plate on Zhang Mengmeng’s desk. “This one is pretty good.”
“Thank you…” Zhang Mengmeng took the cake and felt her face warm up. She thought that this little “puppy” was so sweet it was almost overwhelming.
Cheng Yue, while heading towards Tang Jing’s office, turned the small plate in his hand, thinking he would give the pink cake to Ji Xu later.
Just as he reached the office door, he heard a voice from inside through the slightly ajar door.
It was Ji Xu’s voice.
“I don’t see any problem. You don’t need to persuade me any further.”
Cheng Yue stopped in his tracks and stayed outside, unmoving.
“I still think the issues from Liang Siwei’s side are too dangerous. Not only is he cowardly, but he’s also a mess. Look at the trouble he’s caused. If you push him too hard, he’ll retaliate,” Tang Jing said with a sigh.
“He made his fortune with those unsavory methods. Even though he’s now dressed in a suit and moving between various clubs, his essence hasn’t changed. I think…”
“It’s fine. His issues still need more investigation. The stuff we have now is only enough to keep him for three to five years at most. It’s too light,” Ji Xu said, frowning. He reached into his pocket for a cigarette but put it back, thinking about going out with Cheng Yue later.
“We’re not afraid of him being too smart, but we are worried he might be too foolish,” Tang Jing said, his concern not fading from his eyes. “What he did to his ex-wife, making her half-paralyzed, I really…”
“Alright.” Ji Xu, catching sight of a faint figure at the door, interrupted Tang Jing. “It’s no big deal. He can’t do anything to me.”
Seeing Ji Xu’s expression, Tang Jing said nothing more and opened a drawer in his desk. He pulled out a set of keys and handed them to Ji Xu. “I just had the pool cleaned, thinking of inviting someone to hang out this weekend. I didn’t expect you two to beat me to it.”
“Thanks.” Ji Xu took the keys with a smile.
“Hey, don’t go too far,” Tang Jing lowered his voice. “I’m not worried about the pool. Cheng Yue is still young; don’t be too harsh.”
Ji Xu: “…”
“What do you think I’m going to do?” Ji Xu sighed and also lowered his voice. “The treatment plan from Song Yi is to relieve stress.”
“Feeling stifled, huh?” Tang Jing’s face showed a hint of glee. “Suffering will kill you, old scoundrel. The kid’s still young… Let me calculate, since Cheng Yue’s last birthday…”
Ji Xu, uninterested in hearing the rest, turned and left the office. He glanced at the spot where Cheng Yue had been standing, frowning as he wondered how much Cheng Yue might have overheard.
Entering his office, he found Cheng Yue sitting in his chair, eating.
“Where did you go?” Cheng Yue looked at him and pushed the remaining cakes on the plate towards him. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I just picked some random ones.”
“Mm.” Ji Xu took a cake and ate it while carefully observing Cheng Yue’s expression. Not noticing anything unusual, he relaxed slightly and said, “Finish tidying up. We’ll go buy swimsuits first. By the time we’re done, the sun should be setting, which is perfect for a swim.”
“Okay.” Cheng Yue agreed happily.
But Cheng Yue’s smile faded when Ji Xu took him to a store selling women’s swimsuits.
“How about this one?” Ji Xu held up a sky blue naval-style swimsuit and then a black, schoolgirl-style skirt. “Or this separate set?”
“I just don’t like wearing these swimsuits…”
Cheng Yue blushed, unwilling to wear the pink, sky blue, or orange dresses. He took the swimsuits from Ji Xu’s hands, lowered his voice, and said, “I prefer swimming without clothes.”
Ji Xu was stunned for a moment, then his eyes darkened. He grabbed Cheng Yue and walked out of the store.
They got into the car and drove straight to Tang Jing’s villa.
Tang Jing’s villa was quite remote, but it had a large space, and the backyard featured a beautiful large swimming pool.
When Tang Jing bought the place, he had thought about asking Ji Xu to buy it together, but Ji Xu wasn’t interested in real estate and preferred to invest in more profitable ventures.
By the time they arrived, it was getting dark.
Ji Xu went straight to turn on the two large spotlights by the pool.
As the light illuminated the surface of the pool, Cheng Yue’s mouth dropped open in awe.
It was stunning.
The blue tiles at the bottom of the pool, combined with the bright lights, created a shimmering, gentle sparkle on the water’s surface.
“Where do we change clothes?” Cheng Yue looked at the large pool, clearly eager.
“Right here,” Ji Xu said, placing a large backpack on a lounge chair by the pool. He took out two towels and a swimsuit and started undressing. “This area is empty.”
Cheng Yue was stunned when he saw Ji Xu take off his shirt, and then, as Ji Xu was removing his pants, he felt a warm sensation in his nose. He quickly reached up to wipe it, only to find his hand covered in blood.
Startled, Cheng Yue used the corner of his t-shirt to press against his nose while Ji Xu changed into his swimsuit.
“Here’s a toy for you.” Ji Xu handed him an inflatable rubber duck.
Cheng Yue looked at the chubby yellow duck with some reluctance, feeling it was more suited for children, but reluctantly took it.
Before entering the water, Cheng Yue struggled for half an hour trying to remove his underwear but ended up jumping into the pool with his underwear still on, holding the duck.
Ji Xu smiled but didn’t say anything, slowly moving forward in the water with Cheng Yue.
“Relax your body and try to exhale,” Ji Xu instructed, carefully supporting Cheng Yue’s belly with one hand and holding his chin with the other. “Start kicking your legs slowly.”
After about half an hour of repetitive training, Cheng Yue’s mind was completely exhausted from the intense physical activity.
“I’m thirsty,” Cheng Yue said, licking the water droplets on his lips.
Seeing Cheng Yue’s red, licked lips, Ji Xu felt a tightening in his lower abdomen and also felt thirsty.
“Lie still and hold onto your duck,” Ji Xu instructed firmly. Once he saw Cheng Yue obediently clutching the duck and leaning against the edge of the pool, he felt relieved and went into the water.
Cheng Yue watched Ji Xu’s water-drenched back and involuntarily swallowed. He looked down at himself and noticed that his underwear hadn’t moved. His gaze was drawn to the sparkling light patterns on the bottom of the pool.
He started to tread water slowly with his feet and watched the ripples on the surface, gradually stepping onto the pool floor.
The bottom felt cold, but the gentle water flowing between his legs made it feel as if it was lifting him up.
Once Cheng Yue felt that he had reached the bottom and still had his head above water, he felt safe enough to release the duck from his arms and began to walk, holding onto the edge of the pool.
Walking in water felt very different from walking on land; he felt enveloped, and the water coming from all directions slowed his movements.
This sensation was strange. Cheng Yue curiously watched the water he had stepped on, and his hand gradually drifted away from the edge of the pool.
It wasn’t until the water reached his nose that Cheng Yue snapped back to reality. He glanced at the distant edge of the pool and then at the surrounding water, suddenly feeling anxious, and hurried back towards the edge.
In his haste, Cheng Yue moved too quickly and choked on a bit of water that was just below his nose.
The water flooding his nose caused him to lose his footing. Even though he could touch the bottom, the water made him slip.
As he fell into the water, Cheng Yue managed to laugh at himself for being so foolish, as if the water had gotten into his brain.
Once submerged, Cheng Yue became calm. He held his breath and slowly pushed his floating body down, trying to touch the bottom with his feet.
When Ji Xu brought two bottles of drinks and approached the pool, he was alarmed to find that Cheng Yue, who should have been at the pool’s edge, was missing. The yellow duck was floating in the middle of the pool.
Ji Xu’s face turned pale. He threw the drinks aside, ran towards the pool, and dove in, quickly searching for Cheng Yue’s figure.
He soon spotted Cheng Yue floating in the middle of the pool, motionless.
Ji Xu’s heart nearly stopped from fear, his mind filled with the image of Cheng Yue smiling and saying he was thirsty.
He didn’t even notice how he had managed to swim over and hold Cheng Yue in his arms, or how he had gotten Cheng Yue to the poolside.
As Ji Xu prepared to perform CPR on Cheng Yue’s chest, he noticed Cheng Yue’s eyes moving beneath his eyelids.
Ji Xu’s rationality snapped back into focus.
He then saw Cheng Yue’s rising and falling chest and his fingers twitching nervously.
While Ji Xu sighed in relief, his face gradually turned dark.
Cheng Yue had indeed felt a bit dizzy at first, but after Ji Xu pulled him up, he took a couple of deep breaths and woke up, though he kept his eyes closed, not wanting to open them.
Because generally, when someone falls into water, they get artificial respiration.
The kind where the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation might even involve extending the tongue.
Cheng Yue was daydreaming about this but didn’t see the expression on Ji Xu’s face.
