CH 46

On Sunday morning, Jian Chi thought that Ji Huaisi would leave early like last time. The driver of the car parked at the school gate opened the door ahead of time. Ji Huaisi, who was sitting in the back seat, was wearing regular clothes with a book on his lap. When he heard the movement of Jian Chi coming over, he raised his eyes and smiled slightly at him.

“Good morning, Jian Chi.”

Jian Chi felt a little nervous for no reason. He bent down and sat in the back seat, then remembered and replied, “Good morning.”

“Have you had breakfast yet?” Ji Huaisi closed the book in his hand and put it aside, “I have some food in the car, I didn’t have time to eat breakfast, do you want to join me?”

Jian Chi originally wanted to buy breakfast in advance, but when he went early, the cafeteria hadn’t opened yet, so he nodded when he heard Ji Huaisi’s words. Ji Huaisi pressed the button in the car, and the car refrigerator in the middle opened automatically, with milk and a few small cakes in it. Jian Chi had seen similar scenes on TV, where there were often wine bottles, but he thought the milk looked more suitable than wine bottles.

The car drove very smoothly. Jian Chi, who was sitting in the back row, dug a spoonful of cake, as if sitting on an ordinary seat, not feeling the movement of the tires at all. He looked at the same woods as when he came here, the branches and leaves were no longer lush.

Winter was here, and this was the first time Jian Chi had spent winter in Chuanlin. Yuncheng was warm in all seasons, and winter was unbelievably mild. Chuanlin didn’t have such a good temperament. In the past few days, when he woke up in the morning, he would shiver, but fortunately, the autumn and winter school uniforms were warmer than they looked.

“I don’t know if it will snow this winter.” Ji Huaisi seemed to be able to read Jian Chi’s thoughts, and a soft voice came from the side. Jian Chi regained his senses and looked away from the window, which made him feel a little rude. He was sitting in Ji Huaisi’s car, but his attention was always on the outside.

“I heard that it often snows in Chuanlin,” Jian Chi continued. “It should also snow this year.”

“Maybe, but when it snows, it’s already the holidays and there’s no way to enjoy the snow at school.”

Ji Huaisi had some faint regrets. Jian Chi didn’t know where this regret comes from. Wouldn’t it be better to watch the snow at home with his relatives? The scenery outside the window gradually changed from an uninhabited forest to a bustling urban area. On the weekends, the city center of Chuanlin was bustling. There were rows upon rows of high-rise buildings and the light signs advertising luxury accessories were the most conspicuous representatives. Jian Chi thought that their destination should be coming soon, but the car still drove forward smoothly until the tall buildings just now were no longer visible.

Jian Chi felt a little strange. When he wanted to ask, he felt that it was too direct and impolite. So he waited for the car to continue driving for half an hour, then when a few-person-high fountain sculptures were reflected outside the window, the iron gates in front of them slowly opened to both sides. Looking at the green plants on both sides of the driveway and the villa-style buildings in front, Jian Chi finally noticed something was wrong.

“Where are we going?”

Ji Huaisi tilted his head and smiled at him, “My house.”

The moment he heard these two words, Jian Chi suspected he had a hallucination. He replayed the conversation in his mind several times, only to be sure that Ji Huaisi was really talking about ‘his house’.

Didn’t he say he was choosing a suit? Shouldn’t he go to the malls and stores first?

Isn’t such a step too unreasonable?

Maybe it was because the confusion on Jian Chi’s face was too obvious, Ji Huaisi couldn’t help covering his lips, laughing and explaining: “I’m not used to going to the stores, I usually ask people to send clothes directly to my house, and then select them one by one. It is more convenient to choose, and there will be more choices.” After that, Ji Huaisi’s smile was mixed with a sincere apology, “Sorry, I should have told you in advance, if you think it is too abrupt, I can ask the driver to turn around and go to the CBD, it’s not too far.”

Such a step backward made Jian Chi a little embarrassed. The car had already entered the community, and it would be too much trouble to make a U-turn now. Moreover, it was going to Ji Huaisi’s house, if the owner didn’t mind, if he refused, It seemed too impolite.

“It’s okay, I was just a little surprised just now,” Jian Chi said. “Would your family mind if I didn’t give them prior notice?”

“They won’t mind,” Ji Huaisi’s eyes revealed a soothing smile, “don’t worry, they are all easy people to get along with.”

Jian Chi was inexplicably more nervous.

When he got out of the car, he saw a private courtyard surrounded by greenery. There was a clear pond in front of the door, and the carp under the rockery occasionally shook their tails and splashed water, giving Jian Chi an illusion of stepping into a spring garden. The house had four floors in total, a low-key and grand Chinese style. The housekeeper opened the door with his white-gloved hand, and the fine lines at the end of his eyes deepened with his smile, “Master, you brought a friend to play?”

Ji Huaisi replied with a smile, “His name is Jian Chi, and he is my very good friend. Jian Chi, this is Housekeeper Zhang. You can call him Uncle Zhang.”

Uncle Zhang gave Jian Chi a gentle nod, “‘Young Master Jian.”

It was the first time in his life that Jian Chi was called ‘Young Master’. He was stunned for a while, then quickly said, “Just call me Jian Chi.”

When these two words were used to address Ji Huaisi, no mistakes can be picked out, but it was a bit nondescript when used on him.

It was the first time that Jian Chi heard someone call someone ‘young master’ respectfully. It was not as embarrassing as he imagined, perhaps because Ji Huaisi could afford the title.

“You can listen to him,” Ji Huaisi curled his lips. “It’s the first time you’ve come here, so I’m sure you’re not used to it.”

Housekeeper Zhang changed his mouth and took the coat that Ji Huaisi had just taken off. Ji Huaisi loosened the top button of his shirt and asked, “Is father home?”

“Master has been staying in the study since early in the morning, and madam just left. She has an appointment for afternoon tea with the other madams.”

“I see.”

Ji Huaisi turned his head and smiled at Jian Chi who was standing at the door. He lost the estranged politeness he had when talking to the housekeeper just now, and became more close and gentle, “Let’s go, I’ll show you inside, the clothes should be delivered. If you feel tired, you can look with me later. Uncle Zhang, I’ll let the kitchen prepare some refreshments to send over. Sorry for the trouble.”

Uncle Zhang responded, hung up his clothes and walked into the kitchen.

This was the first time that Jian Chi had walked into such a large house. The residential building where he and Jian Chengchao lived in the past was not small for them, two bedrooms and one living room was more than enough; but the house in front of him, he could probably only afford a corner. Although Jian Chi knew that some rich people’s requirements for a house were not only about living, but more about aesthetics and appreciation, even so, he felt the visual shock.

When the elevator came to the third floor, Ji Huaisi took Jian Chi into the cloakroom of the bedroom. There were three transparent wardrobes that were as high as the ceiling. The mobile hangers next to them were full of rows of formal clothes of different styles. Jian Chi was already dazed by the maze-like layout, so he was not as surprised as at the beginning when he saw this picture in front of him. He sighed: “Can you really wear so many clothes?”

“Of course I can’t wear them all,” Ji Huaisi said, a little helpless, and walked over to pick out the suits hanging on the hanger, “Some of the brands that my mother worked with before will send their clothes regularly. I said I didn’t need one many times, but every time I come back, there will be a few more clothes in the closet that I haven’t seen before. I’ve kept it all until now. In fact, the clothes I actually wear only occupy half of the closet, and the rest I don’t know how to deal with it.”

If someone else said this, it might be them secretly flaunting, but Ji Huaisi wouldn’t.

His helplessness and emotions were real and natural, Jian Chi can feel his indifferent attitude towards these items. Sometimes he would be puzzled why only people like Shao Hang and Shen Shuting seemed to fit the image of high authority in the eyes of ordinary people – eccentric, arrogant and ruthless. Compared with them, Ji Huaisi was more like an ‘abnormality’ in the school. He was significantly different from the others, but he was still respected and praised by everyone. He may be a successful representative created by Saintston, known as the ‘cradle of elites’, but many people forget that politeness, humility, and courtesy are the most basic bottom lines of elite education, not the so-called rare quality.

Against the backdrop of most of the Saintston’s students, such a character had become rare.

“How about this set?”

Ji Huaisi’s voice brought Jian Chi back to reality. He took out a white suit with no complicated design, it looked very ordinary. Jian Chi recalled the scene when Ji Huaisi was playing in the Villager Music Hall, where he also wore a white tuxedo, “You seem to like white very much, why don’t you try other colors?”

“Really?” Ji Huaisi frowned a bit tangled. He looked at the white suit against his chin, laughed for a while, then put it back, “It seems like I didn’t even notice it myself. I’m used to getting light-colored clothes everytime and rarely trying dark colors.”

Jian Chi remembered his mission this time, and glanced at the dazzling suits with unprofessional eyes, his eyes were a little flowery, and then he pointed to the middle set cautiously, “Would you like to try this one?”

A three-piece dark gray suit with a black shirt inside. Ji Huaisi took it out and smiled at Jian Chi, more playful than usual, “Then let’s see your taste.”

Ji Huaisi went in to change clothes, and the maid brought two cups of scented tea and delicate cookies. Jian Chi took a sip of the scented tea, which tasted the same as the tea in Ji Huaisi’s office. Just as he was about to put down the teacup, Ji Huaisi came out of the bedroom, and Jian Chi raised his head and couldn’t help but be stunned.

He even held the cup in his hand and forgot to put it back.

The gray and black colors that were too dull for others were not reflected in Ji Huaisi. He was tall and straight, with a typical inverted triangle that did not make the person feel exaggerated. The finely cut suit fabric was snug to the waist, showing a slender and well-proportioned waistline. A button on the top revealed a small white neck and a smooth jawline, exuding the breath of maturity to the extreme.

Ji Huaisi adjusted the tie on his chest. He noticed Jian Chi’s eyes, pursed his thin lips into a smile, raised the end of his eyes slightly, and his voice was a little lower than usual.

“Does it look good?”

It was only when Jian Chi realized that Ji Huaisi had walked in front of him and they were looking at each other from a close distance did he finally remember to put the teacup back. He slowed down his breathing and said, “It’s very beautiful.”

Ji Huaisi, who laughed like this, lost some of the warm flavor he used to have, but instead seemed to reveal a trace of danger that he didn’t usually have.

Miracle Season (not)