SIATOWITF Chapter 19
by VolareChapter 19: Jealousy Dyes the Snake Green, Reckless Past
Ji Mo An went downstairs directly to the West Fourth Hall. Perhaps it was almost lunchtime, so everyone had gone to the banquet hall. The room was empty and almost deserted.
“Xuan Bai.” He spotted Xuan Bai and Special Assistant Bai sitting in the corner at a glance.
“President Ji!” Seeing the boss return, Special Assistant Bai was overjoyed.
“How is it?” Ji Mo An nodded to him, then focused his attention on Xuan Bai.
The grumpy snake was sitting deep in the sofa, not even moving when he came over.
Could something have gone wrong? His heart sank.
“President Ji, everything went smoothly.” Special Assistant Bai was still happy. It wasn’t just smooth; he had even prepared drafts to deal with people coming over, but no one even came to chat.
He not only saved himself the trouble of talking, but also ate a lot of good food.
Satisfied, except that his Brother Xuan wasn’t too happy, everything was great.
As for why his Brother Xuan wasn’t happy… Special Assistant Bai touched his nose and tactfully excused himself to go to the restroom.
If everything went smoothly, then why the long face? Ji Mo An suppressed his doubts and casually grabbed two glasses of champagne, sitting down next to Xuan Bai.
“Want a glass?” He shook the pale yellow liquid in his hand.
Xuan Bai didn’t say anything, but Ji Mo An could feel his gaze move from his face to the glass, and finally settle on his left shoulder.
Left shoulder?
Xuan Bai suddenly leaned forward, bringing himself close to Ji Mo An’s clothes, sniffing, and then quickly retreating.
“Tea, rose, lily of the valley, sandalwood.”
“What?” Ji Mo An was taken aback.
“Brother An, long time no see,” Xuan Bai said with a hint of sarcasm.
“…” It turned out to be the scent of Meng Qingyan’s perfume. This snake’s nose was so sensitive.
“Xuan Bai, you’re not happy that Meng Qingyan and I are friends, are you?”
As soon as Ji Mo An finished speaking, he saw the man sitting in front of him, with delicate features, suddenly turn his head away and then… pout.
“Are you a child?” Ji Mo An almost laughed out loud. How could this guy look so good even when he was pouting?
“Have a glass; it’s not strong.” He pushed the glass forward.
“I don’t drink alcohol.” Xuan Bai moved closer to the glass, sniffed, and then recoiled.
“Okay, you don’t have to drink.” Ji Mo An put the glass on the table next to him and took a small sip of his own champagne.
“We have a long-standing relationship, me, Ji Cheng Yu, Meng Qingyan, and a few others. We all grew up in the same circle. Meng Xiao went abroad when she was ten, and Meng Qingyan left when she was about to graduate from high school. After returning from studying abroad, she started traveling around the world and rarely came back.”
Xuan Bai was still pouting.
What’s wrong with this kid… Ji Mo An sent a message to Special Assistant Bai, who was loitering by the door.
“That old man.” Xuan Bai suddenly spoke.
“Old man?”
“That, the old man with the long beard and white hair.” There was a lot of resentment in Xuan Bai’s voice.
“You’re talking about Professor Zhang? He’s Meng Qingyan’s mentor and came back to China specifically for the exhibition.” A figure flashed through Ji Mo An’s mind.
“Hmph.” Xuan Bai snorted.
“What did he say?” Ji Mo An frowned slightly.
Professor Zhang had been living abroad for many years and didn’t know many people in China. For Xuan Bai to be this resentful, could it be…
“I was passing by and heard him telling someone else that you and Meng Qingyan are a good match.” Xuan Bai snorted twice, the words almost squeezed out from between his teeth.
“…” Sure enough… This little old man was always trying to match people up.
“You listened to his nonsense and then started sulking? And then got angry with me?” Ji Mo An raised an eyebrow.
“No.” Xuan Bai immediately shook his head, and then, after a moment of thought…
“Cuddle~”
“Go, go, go. Who wants to cuddle with you?” Ji Mo An pushed his head away, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Xuan Bai was easy to coax.
Wait… Why was I so skilled at coaxing him?
Ji Mo An held the glass in silence, ultimately attributing the reason to Xuan Bai being too good-looking.
But Professor Zhang’s mouth really needed to be controlled.
“Xuan Bai.” Ji Mo An shook the glass, suddenly feeling a weight on his hand.
He saw Xuan Bai lower his head and bite the edge of the glass, then place it on the glass table next to him.
“…” No… This wasn’t something a human should be doing…
“Cuddle~” Xuan Bai put his fingers into Ji Mo An’s hand, which was still in the original position.
“Let’s go, I’ll take you to eat.” Ji Mo An slapped the back of his hand, then casually pulled him up.
“Professor Zhang isn’t really familiar with me. I’ll have Meng Qingyan explain it to him when we get back.”
“Not familiar?” Xuan Bai lowered his voice. “But I could feel that when he mentioned your name, he was radiating pride.”
“Surveillance cameras.” Ji Mo An pushed away Xuan Bai, who was getting closer and closer.
The place where they had been sitting was a blind spot for the surveillance cameras, but they could be seen standing up.
Xuan Bai obediently took a step back.
“It was probably when I was a junior in college, during an exchange program in the United States. There are a lot of hurricanes in the US during the summer, and Meng Qingyan and her mentor happened to be in the suburbs looking for inspiration.” Ji Mo An felt a bit dramatic as he recalled that memory.
“I was only twenty at the time, so I was… more reckless. I had just gotten my American driver’s license and bought a new car, and I really wanted to show it off, so I drove several hours to their temporary base to bring them some comfort.”
“As a result, the hurricane came the second day.”
“You didn’t race against the hurricane, did you? I’ve learned about hurricanes,” Xuan Bai interjected.
“That’s why I said I was fearless back then. I originally planned to stay until the hurricane passed, but I didn’t expect that hurricane to be so strong. Communication was cut off in the afternoon, and by the evening, the temporary accommodation started shaking back and forth.”
“Driving at night, bad weather.” Xuan Bai summarized for him.
“A fully fueled modified off-road vehicle always makes people feel confident,” Ji Mo An shrugged. “I really overspent my luck back then; it’s scary to think about now. Since then, Professor Zhang has been full of praise for me. But in reality, it was just youthful recklessness plus the blessings of my ancestors.”
It was because of this feat that he became too arrogant and lost his caution and respect for driving.
This was a fuse that laid the groundwork for the car accident that almost took his life.
Fortunately… luck stood by his side once again.
Hiss… Suddenly recalling that car accident, Ji Mo An felt as if countless silver needles were piercing through his brain.
“Careful.” Xuan Bai supported the unsteady man, raised his hand, and pressed his fingertip against Ji Mo An’s forehead along his black hair.
“You look like you have a headache.”
“It’s okay.” Ji Mo An frowned slightly. Whether it was a coincidence or not, the phantom pains disappeared the moment Xuan Bai’s fingers touched his skin.
“I have a scar here,” he said slowly. “Can you feel it?”
“It’s not obvious,” Xuan Bai said, moving his fingertip along the scar hidden in his hair.
“Yes, it’s healed very well. My attending physician called it a miracle.”
“Cuddle~” Xuan Bai suddenly ruffled his hair.
Cuddle, my foot… Ji Mo An didn’t see any flaws in Xuan Bai’s expression.
I thought I could get a few words out of him, but oh well… Can’t be too hasty.
“Let’s go. Meng Qingyan said a new high-altitude restaurant opened in the main city, and it’s supposed to be good. We won’t eat in the banquet hall,” Ji Mo An said, looking at Special Assistant Bai, who was already hiding outside the door. “Go get the car.”
“Want to go for a drive in the afternoon?”
“I saw the sign; the exhibition doesn’t end until the day after tomorrow,” Xuan Bai said, tilting his head and smoothing out his ruffled hair.
This interaction was a little too ambiguous… Recalling Meng Qingyan’s words, Ji Mo An coughed awkwardly.
“Keep your distance.” He used one finger to push Xuan Bai back a couple of steps.
“We don’t need to come to the exhibition again; my task is complete. I’m flying to Xuan An tomorrow morning; the auction is the main event.”
The reason Meng Qingyan insisted on him making the trip was simply to show his face and let the guests attending the exhibition know about her connections in China.
Especially since her twin sister was working under him.
Speaking of Meng Xiao…
—–
After getting in the car,
“Meng Xiao and Xiao Yu will probably stay here for a while, with no set return date. Bai Yan, have the HR department find someone to temporarily fill her position.”
“Huh? Sister Meng is going to live in Shan Lan?” Special Assistant Bai asked subconsciously.
“Not necessarily; it could be other cities,” Ji Mo An said, looking out the window at the luxurious buildings. “Meng Qingyan is planning to settle down in China this time. Her parents have already immigrated, and Meng Xiao, as her sister, can’t not help.”
“Besides… Meng Xiao came to me back then because Meng Qingyan was playing some kind of ‘wildfire’ persona. I think she’ll have to maintain this ‘beauty in the alley’ image for at least a year.”
Wildfire persona… The corners of Special Assistant Bai’s mouth twitched slightly. He knew about this; it was when he was on a business trip with the boss two years ago.
Five people went, and six people came back.
They even made a big detour late at night to pick up Meng Xiao, who was pitifully squatting at the airport. Apparently, her sister had set a fire in the yard for art, scaring her into buying a plane ticket back to China overnight.
It was really… a mess. He, Bai Yan, had edited and printed Meng Xiao’s resume in the secretary’s office and personally submitted the file to HR.
At that time, Meng Xiao’s Chinese wasn’t even as good as Emily’s, and she had to wear her headphones for simultaneous interpretation all the time, studying Chinese until she cried.
And now, she was already skilled at apologizing by sliding on her knees after talking back to Ji Mo An.
“President Ji, we’re here.”
After Special Assistant Bai finished reminiscing, the car drove past a towering skyscraper.
“President Ji, I’ll drop you off here. I’ll pick you up after you finish eating.” He got out of the car, opened the door, and two lines of tears streamed down his face.
Damn rich people… What’s wrong with adding one more rich person to the world?
“It’s still early; there are many restaurants around here. Keep the receipts; we’ll reimburse them together when we get back,” Ji Mo An patted his shoulder and then led Xuan Bai to the reception.
“Okay, President Ji, enjoy your meal.” Special Assistant Bai happily sat back in the car and put on some light and cheerful music.
Damn rich people, except for his boss.