Rebirth: Pampered by My Children and Husband

Chapter 80: Chapter 80: How did the water in the swimming pool drain?

Lin Xu looked curiously at the wound on his face, the corner of his mouth torn and tinged with bruising, not seeming like a bump, but more like it was inflicted by someone.

Xie Changyan’s eyes flickered as he felt a slight warmth where her gaze touched.

His thin lips parted, about to speak, when he saw Lin Xu’s slender, fair fingers reaching toward his wound.

Xie Changyan’s brown eyes gradually deepened, knowing that a small shift in his posture would be enough to dodge her touch, yet his body remained frozen in place…

“Ah, I’m sorry.” Lin Xu was the first to come to her senses, quickly retracting her hand just before touching him.

She picked up the coffee on the table, took a sip, and masked her embarrassment.

She had almost mistaken Xie Changyan for her husband.

And even reached out to touch him.

What if someone called the police?

Xie Changyan reigned in the emotions at the bottom of his eyes, his expression returning to normal, with a smile that was not quite a smile on his lips. He leaned back in his chair in a relaxed and casual pose, casually gesturing to the waiter to refill his cup of coffee.

Then he casually asked Lin Xu, “Miss Lin seems to be quite familiar with President Ji?”

“Yes,” Lin Xu said as if it were obvious.

“President Ji seems to care a lot about Miss Lin, not like an ordinary friend,” he commented offhandedly.

“He and I…” Lin Xu thought for a moment, then suddenly was unsure how to describe their relationship to someone else.

The thoughtful atmosphere fell silent for a long while, so long that Xie Changyan thought she wouldn’t answer, when she finally said, “We are family.”

A mother-son relationship is also a family relationship, and this description was very fitting.

Remembering Ji Tingyang’s anger the night before, and recalling that Lin Xu had mentioned she was married, Xie Changyan’s smile faded a little.

He had heard before that Ji Tingyang kept a beloved canary at the Ji Mansion.

So it was.

He tore open the sugar syrup, his face casually indifferent as he stirred the freshly served coffee. Yet the aura he exuded added a touch more distance between them, “Next time I see President Ji, I’ll convey…”

“Do you also like to add half a packet of sugar syrup to your coffee?”

Before he could finish, he heard Lin Xu’s voice, full of surprise and delight as if she had discovered something astonishingly pleasant, looking at his coffee.

Xie Changyan seized on the key word in her sentence.

Also?

Who else is like him?

Ji Tingyang?

Lin Xu continued to ask excitedly, “Do you go to eat barbecue? Do you prefer girls with long hair or short hair? What kind of music do you like? Do you have any hobbies…”

It seemed she was searching for some common ground with him.

Xie Changyan maintained his composure, but internally, he felt irritated.

…

Even during the Spring Festival, Ji Zeqiu was still busy, traveling all over for his job.

And his sister had suddenly become obsessed with something, insisting on going back to school to work hard during New Year’s, which meant that Ji Tingyang couldn’t get her to come home.

The family reunion dinner that Lin Xu had hoped for didn’t materialize.

And so the Spring Festival passed.

As soon as Ji Zeqiu finished his work, the first thing he did after getting off the plane was to rush back to his apartment.

Although Lin Xu had been messaging him during this time and they had communicated, for some reason, he felt an eagerness to get back to the apartment, knowing that Lin Xu was there.

No, that’s not right.

He wasn’t rushing back to see Lin Xu.

He was just worn out from working so much and wanted to get home and rest as soon as possible!

That’s right!

Ji Zeqiu thought so, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and feigned a calm expression as he pushed the door open and entered.

However, upon seeing Wen Li in the room, he was stunned for a long while, “What are you doing here?”

As he spoke, he looked around the room but did not find Lin Xu.

“I came back from home after the first day of the new year,” Wen Li explained.

Initially, her parents were angry because her relationship with Ji Tingyang had ended, losing such a big financial opportunity until Ji Zeqiu found a new job for her father, which finally settled things down.

During the days of the New Year’s celebration at home, her parents kept insinuating and probing about her relationship with Ji Zeqiu, warning her not to lose another wealthy man.

“With these men being so rich, why do you have to hang yourself on that poor student?!” They were furious, wanting her to bring more money home for the family.

Wen Li was annoyed by all the nagging. She left home even before the Spring Festival ended and came to stay here.

Upon hearing her words, Ji Zeqiu belatedly remembered that it was he who had told Wen Li to move in here.

He had even told her the apartment’s passcode, so it wasn’t surprising to see her here.

It’s just that he hadn’t thought of her during this time and had somehow forgotten about it.

Lin Xu didn’t like Wen Li, so of course, she wouldn’t come to the apartment to live with her.

Ji Zeqiu’s little anticipation before coming home suddenly vanished, he merely responded indifferently and pushed his suitcase into the apartment.

Then he sneakily glanced at Wen Li, feeling somewhat conflicted in his heart.

If Wen Li continued to live here, would Lin Xu never come back?

Should he ask Wen Li to leave?

While he was still indecisive, Wen Li spoke first, “Zeqiu, I plan to move back to the school today.”

“Ah?” Ji Zeqiu’s eyes lit up for a moment, and he quickly said, “Are you leaving now? Do you have a lot of luggage? Do you need my help to move it?”

His inquiry seemed gentle and considerate, but why did Wen Li feel it sounded strange, as if he was eager?

She had thought that Ji Zeqiu would at least try to persuade her to stay for a while, but he didn’t say a word.

Wen Li was stunned for a moment, “No, there’s no need, I can manage on my own.”

Since she had arrived in a hurry initially, she didn’t have much luggage and had already packed up.

“Thanks for letting me stay during this time, I….”

“No need to be polite, let me take you downstairs,” he interrupted.

Before Wen Li could finish speaking, Ji Zeqiu took her suitcase and, without another word, began pulling it out the door.

Wen Li: “…”

After watching Wen Li get into the taxi and leave, Ji Zeqiu did not return to the apartment but drove directly to the Ji Mansion.

Halfway through the journey, he found himself entangled again.

Why was he so anxious to find Lin Xu, showing no restraint at all?

In his head, another voice said that Lin Xu had already promised to go with him, so he couldn’t let her continue to stay at the Ji family’s house.

Otherwise, how could he get his revenge on Ji Tingyang?

Right!

Thinking so, he pressed the accelerator even harder.

Arriving at the mansion.

Ji Zeqiu forced himself to remain calm as he secretly searched inside the mansion but didn’t find Lin Xu.

Just as he was about to ask the butler, his attention was caught by the empty and dry pool in the backyard.

He had not noticed anything strange about the pool during the last New Year’s Eve fireworks in the backyard.

“Butler, why has all the water been drained from the pool?”

“Oh, that. The young master fell into the pool and nearly drowned last time, and Miss Lin was very scared for a while, so she asked us to drain the water. Later, the young master didn’t ask us to refill it, and it’s just been left like that.”