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Because of the beer she had while eating barbecue that night, Lin Xu's head was heavy and dizzy, so she slept until nearly noon before waking up.
She rubbed her head as she walked out of her room, and just as she was about to go downstairs, she heard the sound of intense and erratic arguing coming from the room at the end of the hallway.
Lin Xu's heart stirred, and she walked towards it.
The clearer sound of arguing seeped through the slightly ajar door.
Wen Li had been injured somewhere, as her arm bore a fresh and glaringly red scar, and her complexion was terribly pale.
She sat on the sofa, stubbornly biting her red lips and turning her head away, refusing to look at Ji Tingyang.
Ji Tingyang's face was as cold as ever; as he looked at the wound on her hand, he intended to say something comforting, but when he started to speak, it turned into sarcasm, "Wen Li, you really are capable, climbing walls for a man."
The wall in the backyard was very high, topped with a thorny anti-theft net. A security guard happened to spot Wen Li attempting to climb it during his patrol and called out.
Wen Li was startled, and in her carelessness, her arm was slashed with a horrifying wound, and she fell off the wall in pain, her face twisting.
But no matter how much it hurt, she was unwilling to compromise with Ji Tingyang.
At that moment, someone was tending to her wound, but she pulled her hand back, "Leave me alone."
She had the air of someone who would rather bleed to death than let Ji Tingyang dictate her actions that day.
The person withdrew their hand, skillfully stood aside, and looked up at the sky as if they were used to their quarrel and were just waiting for them to finish before, under the threat of Ji Tingyang, they would forcibly treat Wen Li's wound and then clock out for the day.
Ji Tingyang's expression turned cold, his fingers tightly gripping her chin as he stared into her eyes, "Wen Li, who gave you the courage to threaten me over a man?"
Wen Li clenched her teeth and remained silent.
"Since you don't want treatment, then as you wish. I hope you can last till the end and not beg me for mercy," Ji Tingyang let go and walked away.
As soon as he opened the door, he bumped right into Lin Xu.
He paused for a moment and then saw Lin Xu shaking her head and clicking her tongue.
"Son, where did you learn your courting skills? They are awful."
"What... what?"
"Women need to be pampered. If your dad treated me like you do, I would have dumped him long ago. You should learn more from your father."
Ji Tingyang remembered how his father was always compliant and whipped by his mother, and for a moment, he felt disdainful.
He didn't manage his facial expression well, and the disdain showed, which resulted in a slap from Lin Xu.
"Forget it, let me teach you," Lin Xu said, eager to try.
Because she had missed out on twenty years of her son's life and hadn't had the chance to guide him in many matters, not even fulfilling much of a mother's responsibilities.
Now that Ji Tingyang was all grown up, he no longer needed guidance with his studies, and the business affairs of the company were too complex for her to teach anything about.
Today, she had stumbled upon an opportunity where she could make a difference.
Possibly, with her personal supervision and guidance, she might save her son from continuing down the path of a twisted villain.
The more Lin Xu thought about it, the more excited she became.
She urged Ji Tingyang to have someone properly bandage Wen Li's wound first.
Ji Tingyang pursed his lips; he had just given the cold shoulder a moment ago, and it wasn't like him to backtrack so quickly.
He was about to refuse when the memory of Lin Xu's look of disappointment the night before flashed through his mind.
In front of his long-lost mother, where he was finally feeling a bit of maternal love, he still wanted to be a good son.
Reluctantly, Ji Tingyang had no choice but to allow the person next to him to go back in and bandage Wen Li's wound.
"That's more like it, my son is really good," Lin Xu said, especially fond of stroking his head.
Ji Tingyang didn't resist; instead, he compliantly bowed his head.
```
Inside the room.
Wen Li pulled out tissue after tissue, sobbing as she wiped away her tears.
The ringtone of the mobile phone on the bed suddenly rang, and she picked it up to see, the caller ID glaringly showing the name Xiao Yu.
She paused for a moment, and just before the ring was about to disconnect, she snapped back to reality and hurriedly answered the call.
"Xiao Yu..." Wen Li began, her voice thick with tears.
The person on the other end of the line was taken aback for a moment, then frowned, "What's happened?"
"I, I'm okay," she quickly replied.
Xiao Yu was very perceptive; thinking of her weak nature, he immediately asked, "Has someone bullied you?"
"No, it's not that." Wen Li hurried to cover up, "I accidentally fell today and can't accompany you to the movies. I'm sorry."
She secretly didn't want Xiao Yu to find out about Ji Tingyang.
"Are you hurt? How bad is it, are you still at home? I'll take you to the hospital!" Xiao Yu sounded somewhat anxious.
Feeling the concern he had for her, a touch of warmth bubbled up in Wen Li's heart, a care she couldn't find with Ji Tingyang.
"I'm fine, you don't need to come over!" She wasn't staying at home right now; if Xiao Yu came over, she would give herself away.
It took her thousands of words of persuasion to finally stop Xiao Yu from rushing over to take her to the hospital.
"Well, alright then, you must tell me if anything is wrong."
"Sure, it's just a pity I can't go to the movies with you," Wen Li said softly.
"It's okay, there will be other chances for us to go together in the future."
"Alright." Wen Li held the phone, smiling sweetly.
The call went on and on with sugary affection before it finally ended.
Xiao Yu looked at the phone which had long since disconnected; the ice cubes in his cola had melted and the condensation on the exterior of the glass wetted his left hand.
He was obviously waiting in the movie theater for quite a while, worried that something had happened to Wen Li, which made him call her.
He turned and put the cola on the trash can, crushing the two movie tickets in his pocket that had already passed showtime into a ball, and tossed them into the bin.
Ignoring the flood of WeChat messages jumping out, he made a call to his boss, canceling his leave for the day and headed back to work.
Last time, Wen Li seemed to take a liking to a necklace, she didn't say it, but he still noticed, and he needed to earn the money for it as soon as possible.
——
Early the next morning, Wen Li hurriedly headed downstairs.
Since she hadn't been able to go out yesterday, she had to set out early today to find Xiao Yu and explain.
But her luck wasn't good, for she ran into Ji Tingyang just as he was coming out of the gym.
He was wearing tight clothes suitable for working out, his muscle lines smooth and powerful beneath the fabric. His short, slightly damp hair from sweat, had water droplets sliding down from the tips, exuding a stable male scent.
Wen Li was stunned, and it took her a moment to regain her composure, quickly looking away as a suspicious blush crept onto her ear tips.
It was the first time she saw Ji Tingyang like this.
Ji Tingyang, holding a towel, casually wiped his hair, "Want to have breakfast?"
He lacked the usual sharp confrontational tone. Instead, his voice was a rare calm.
Wen Li was a bit unused to this, and declined instinctively, "No thanks, I'll eat out."
Her words hinted at her intent to go out, while she stealthily stole another glance at Ji Tingyang with a nervous heart.
Just when she thought that Ji Tingyang, like usual, would suddenly turn hostile and forbid her from going out, he merely responded with a calm expression.
Even after Wen Li left the house, she couldn't fathom what his reaction meant.