Do You Have to Abstain for Seven Days?

Three hours later they arrived in Sicheng.

After exiting the highway and driving for another half hour, the car finally stopped in front of a classic Jiangnan-style courtyard.

It was already past nine at night.

Tree shadows swayed quietly.

The street was silent.

No one was waiting at the gate.

Not even a servant.

Wen Xi followed Jiang Jibai out of the car.

He went to help Zou Jiayun, whose mobility was limited.

Only then did someone run out from the antique wooden gate.

It was a young girl with an especially bright and lively voice.

“Aunt Yun! Brother Jibai! You finally arrived! I’ve been waiting outside so long I almost fell asleep!”

She ran quickly to Zou Jiayun’s side.

“Aunt Yun, your leg injury is that serious? The cast still isn’t off?”

“A broken bone takes a hundred days to heal. It hasn’t been that long,” Zou Jiayun said with a smile. “Lingling, where are your parents?”

The girl called Lingling glanced at Jiang Jibai beside her.

Her tone turned slightly awkward.

“You know how Grandma is still angry. She didn’t let my parents come out to greet you. She also said Brother Jibai shouldn’t go see her. She told me to guide you instead.”

After saying that, she looked up at Jiang Jibai.

“Brother Jibai, don’t take it to heart. Grandma’s old. She can’t let go of a lot of things.”

Jiang Jibai showed no emotion.

“Which room are we staying in? Show us the way. Your sister-in-law is tired from the trip. I’ll take her back to rest.”

Only then did the girl notice Wen Xi standing beside the Mercedes.

Her eyes lit up instantly.

“What a beautiful face! Brother Jibai, you really know how to pick a partner!”

She ran over enthusiastically and linked arms with Wen Xi.

Wen Xi smiled gently at her.

“Brother Jibai, help Aunt Yun and follow us. I’ll take you to your rooms!”

She immediately led Wen Xi inside the courtyard.

On the way Wen Xi learned the girl’s name was Ji Lingling.

She was Jiang Jibai’s grandmother’s biological granddaughter.

As for why she wasn’t surnamed Zou, it was because Jiang Jibai’s uncle and aunt had agreed to have two children—one with the father’s surname and one with the mother’s.

Ji Lingling took her mother’s surname.

The Zou family courtyard was built in a modern Jiangnan style.

It was smaller than the Jiang family estate—around two thousand square meters.

Ji Lingling led them past the main building straight to the backyard.

“Aunt Yun should stay on the first floor since it’s easier with her leg. Brother Jibai, your bedroom is upstairs. I’ll have someone bring your luggage over soon. Rest for a bit.”

Ji Lingling was about to go find someone for the luggage when Zou Jiayun stopped her.

“My legs aren’t convenient. Lingling, take me to see your grandmother first.”

Zou Jiayun knew her mother simply didn’t want to see Jiang Jibai.

But she herself could go.

Jiang Jibai had known this for years.

She didn’t hide it from him.

“Alright.”

Ji Lingling helped Zou Jiayun up.

While walking away she looked back.

“Brother Jibai, sister-in-law, I’ll come play with you later!”

Wen Xi smiled.

“Okay.”

After watching Zou Jiayun leave, Jiang Jibai turned to Wen Xi.

“Go upstairs and rest. I’ll get the luggage.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“No need.”

The man was already walking out.

“I’m going to have a cigarette outside.”

“…Oh.”

She had known him for days but had never seen him smoke.

Why was he suddenly acting so strange today?

Wen Xi climbed the stairs.

There was only one bedroom upstairs.

She pushed open the door.

The moment she saw the bed, her entire body relaxed.

After sitting in the car for more than three hours, her waist felt like it was about to break.

Wen Xi threw herself onto the bed and closed her eyes for a moment.

Soon she felt someone enter the room.

Before she even turned around, the mattress beside her dipped.

She turned her head.

It was Ji Lingling.

The girl flopped onto the bed beside her.

Seeing Wen Xi’s surprised expression, Ji Lingling propped her chin on her hand and smiled.

“Sister-in-law, how old are you? You look so young.”

“Twenty. You?”

“I’m eighteen. Still in high school. Next year is the college entrance exam.”

Ji Lingling stared at Wen Xi with wide round eyes.

“You’re really beautiful. But I’m honestly curious… are you really a couple with my brother? Are you married? Did you get the certificate? Did you bring it with you?”

“We already registered, but we didn’t bring the certificate.”

Wen Xi looked at her.

“Do you want to see it?”

“Of course! I seriously suspect my brother isn’t even married and just lied to Aunt Yun!”

Ji Lingling nodded vigorously.

“Do you have it? Let me take a look!”

“I have a photo. Wait.”

Wen Xi suddenly wondered if this girl had been sent by Jiang Jibai’s grandmother to investigate whether the marriage was real.

Thinking that, she hurried to find the photo of the marriage certificate.

“Here.”

She handed the phone over.

Ji Lingling stared at the photo for a long time.

“Not bad. My brother’s facial features really can handle any camera.”

Even when the screen went dark automatically, she hadn’t finished admiring it.

When she turned the screen back on, she suddenly shouted.

“Wait!”

“What?”

“You like Qiao Zhinian?”

“Yes.”

Her lock screen was her idol’s face, so it was obvious.

“But my brother is Qiao Zhinian’s boss, right? That means your fangirling must be super convenient!”

“In theory… yes.”

Wen Xi felt bitter inside.

Jiang Jibai never told her anything about her idol.

Ji Lingling frowned.

“That’s strange. I like a male idol under my brother’s company too—Zhang Bing. You know him, right?”

“Yes.”

“He came from a survival show. He can sing and dance.”

Ji Lingling said proudly,

“I always message my brother to get signed postcards, photocards, photos, and even holiday video messages from my idol just for me.”

“Of course my brother doesn’t personally handle it. He’s too lazy. My idol’s manager sends them. But since my brother told the manager to arrange it, it still counts as his credit!”

“Last time at my idol’s birthday fan meeting, I even got a front-row seat. It was amazing.”

She looked puzzled.

“Wait… my brother never got Qiao Zhinian to record a video for you?”

“……”

Wen Xi suddenly felt extremely unbalanced.

Ji Lingling was his cousin.

But she was his wife.

Legally speaking, both were family.

Why the difference in treatment?!

Forget holiday video messages.

She couldn’t even get a single update about her idol from his mouth.

The discrimination was too obvious!!!

Later that night Jiang Jibai returned upstairs after almost an hour outside.

Wen Xi had already showered.

She was wearing a bathrobe and rummaging through her suitcase for a slip nightdress.

Jiang Jibai went into the bathroom to shower.

He hadn’t smoked much.

When they brushed past each other earlier, she had only smelled the faintest trace of tobacco.

“Jiang Jibai, don’t sleep yet. Help me with some homework. I need to submit it tomorrow morning.”

When Jiang Jibai came out of the bathroom he heard her call.

Wen Xi was sitting at the desk with her laptop and notebook.

After wiping his hair with a towel, he walked over.

“I don’t know how to use Python. If I do it myself it’ll take three or four hours. But I want to sleep tonight. You know programming, right? You definitely know this. Help me please.”

She looked up at him pitifully.

“Get up.”

“Okay.”

She stood and gave him the chair.

“What do you need to do?”

“A static webpage.”

Wen Xi began making up fake requirements.

There was no assignment at all.

She had never even learned this tool.

She just needed an excuse to make him sit down.

“Leave your professor’s email. When I’m done I’ll package it and send it.”

“You can go to sleep now.”

His hands were already moving across the keyboard.

“I should study it too. Teaching someone to fish is better than giving them a fish, right?”

Wen Xi refused to leave.

Instead she pulled his left arm aside and sat directly in his lap.

“I can see better if I learn like this.”

Jiang Jibai lowered his eyes.

His gaze landed on the girl’s thin bare back exposed by the straps.

He didn’t make her get up.

His eyes returned to the laptop.

“If you’re learning, then learn properly. Don’t move around, Wen Xi.”

“You do your work. I’m learning.”

She leaned forward with her arms on the desk, chin resting on one hand, looking like she was studying seriously.

Five minutes later Wen Xi noticed his breathing had changed slightly.

At the same moment his cold warning sounded above her.

“Wen Xi. If your hips don’t behave, get off my lap.”

Wen Xi bit her lip.

Her face, hidden from him, was full of triumphant satisfaction.

She turned around with a pitiful expression.

“Jiang Jibai, don’t get it wrong. It’s not that my hips are misbehaving. It’s that you’re the one with too much heat. I’m just trying to avoid you.”

Jiang Jibai looked down at those lively deer-like eyes.

He didn’t argue.

Instead he removed his hands from the keyboard and grabbed her waist.

“Hey—!”

Before she could react, her feet left the ground.

Instinctively she wrapped one arm around his neck.

Jiang Jibai carried her toward the bed.

A few seconds later he unceremoniously tossed her onto it.

Wen Xi: “……”

She hadn’t had enough fun yet.

“Send me your professor’s email on WeChat.”

He walked back to the desk.

“Just finish it. I’ll send it myself tomorrow.”

Although she hadn’t had enough fun, making Jiang Jibai suffer a little had achieved her goal.

After all, he helped his cousin chase idols but not her.

After finishing the webpage, Jiang Jibai went into the bathroom again.

Wen Xi lay sideways under the blanket scrolling through her phone.

Soon a message arrived from the new contact she had added earlier.

Ji Lingling.

Ji Lingling: [Sister-in-law, I forgot to tell you. Hardly anyone stays in that building’s bedroom. Brother Jibai used to live there alone. When they prepared the room yesterday, they didn’t put condoms like usual. Do you need any? I can buy some from a nearby store.]

Wen Xi: “……”

This cousin was way too straightforward.

The couple didn’t have condoms and she was offering delivery service.

Wen Xi replied just as directly.

[No need to buy any. We’re not doing it tonight.]

Ji Lingling immediately sent a voice message.

Wen Xi pressed play just as the mattress dipped behind her.

“You’re so fair and pretty sleeping next to my brother. He can actually hold back?”

Jiang Jibai had already gotten into bed.

Naturally he heard the voice message.

He glanced at Wen Xi’s phone and saw the message she was typing.

Wen Xi: [Your cousin kept me busy all night yesterday handing over his ‘grain tax’. Now he’s completely exhausted, so he needs a day to recover.]

Jiang Jibai watched the girl fabricate nonsense with a completely straight face.

He ignored her.

But just as he was about to look away, Wen Xi suddenly turned around and looked at him seriously.

“Jiang Jibai, I just thought of something.”

Without waiting for him to respond, she continued.

“You’ll stay in Sicheng for seven days. Except for the day of your mother’s memorial…”

“For the other six days…”

“Do you need to abstain from marital relations?”