The entire night felt surreal. He slept safe and sound, as if he plunged into a bowl of soft and warm cotton. The cotton was even suffused with a familiar scent—he almost thought Ji Dongxun was sleeping beside him!
Ji Dongxun woke up naturally before sunrise, and for the next few hours, he simply stared at Zhang Jing who was sleeping like a baby on his arm. Zhang Jing’s lips held a curvature, perhaps experiencing a sweet dream. Holding his lover in such close proximity melted away all the negativity residing in Ji Dongxun’s heart. His facial features softened, and he leaned forward to kiss Zhang Jing’s smiling lips. Remembering the bruises on his own body, Ji Dongxun grinned unconcernedly at the baby wolf that continued sleeping, unaware that it just handed out another kiss for free.
Ji Dongxun sent Chen Wei a message saying that he’ll take the morning off. To that, Chen Wei responded, “Got it, Mr. Ji :)” Ji Dongxun muted his phone after receiving that confirmation.
From six-thirty to ten-thirty, all he did was look at the unguarded Zhang Jing, occasionally pecking his lips. His only other movement was to follow Zhang Jing whenever he flipped to the other side, careful to not disturb his sleep.
When Zhang Jing first showed signs of waking, he happened to face Ji Dongxun with his back. So, with a blurry vision, he saw a glowing window but didn’t think twice. As he slowly dozed back to slumber, it hit him. This isn’t my room. More importantly, why is there an arm around my waist?
He hurriedly recalled everything that happened last night, but his headache prevented him from remembering the full story. He did remember a few key moments though, such as Ji Dongxun rescuing him from the dinner table, Ji Dongxun massaging him into a tender mess, Ji Dongxun carrying him, walking around the house…
Ji Dongxun and him having……
Zhang Jing’s face paled—he believed everything to be his hallucination. He thought he “interacted” with Ji Dongxun for a long time due to his extensive consumption of alcohol.
However, his hallucinations never lasted an entire night.
Wide awake, Zhang Jing faked steady breathing, but his mind had already run a thousand laps. So, ever since last night, Ji Dongxun was actually Ji Dongxun? That’s absurd.
— “Awake?”
Zhang Jing jerked at the sudden sound. He paused his breathing before checking one last time if he was the actual Ji Dongxun.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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He failed to recognize the real Ji Dongxun, so he interacted with him as if he were the hallucination himself. Still, he failed.
“Why are you looking at me with shock? You think I’m a ghost?” Ji Dongxun chuckled at Zhang Jing’s pale face and secured his grip on Zhang Jing’s waist.
Ji Dongxun leaned forward to kiss him again, only to be pushed away forcefully.
Ji Dongxun couldn’t comprehend why. “Jing, what happened?”
Zhang Jing immediately sat up to escape his embrace. He responded with an intentional frown, “I was drunk last night.”
Ji Dongxun blinked his eyes out of confusion. “What do you mean?”
“So…” Zhang Jing felt the soreness in his body, so he added on. “I know we did it numerous times last night, and that I probably said some outrageous stuff. Perhaps, we both enjoyed it too." However, do you really think we can return to what we had back then just because we had s*x for one night?”
Ji Dongxun’s smile slowly transitioned from loving to dangerous.
“We’re both adults. I’m sure one-night stands don’t mean much to either of us.”
Ji Dongxun’s face fell. He matched Zhang Jing’s nonchalant tone and prompted, “And then?”
“Let’s pretend we were strangers who had a one-night stand. I can confidently say the past month passed without mishaps, and that my life felt normal without your presence. You can continue being the Mr. Ji everyone loves while I continue working for my studio. Oh, right, thank you for yesterday. I wouldn’t have escaped the situation if you hadn’t arrived.”
Ji Dongxun dispassionately asked, “So, for you… I’m just a ‘stranger’ you had a one-night stand with?”
Hearing those words from Ji Dongxun’s mouth nearly brought tears to his eyes. His breathing became heavy and irregular, but he had to put on an apathetic front. “Hmm, I guess you’re better than a random person. We’ve done it so many times in the past, so we both at least have some experience.”
Zhang Jing didn’t intend for the conversation to take a turn like that, yet he already lost the ability to think rationally. He was painfully aware that he could never have a wholesome relationship with Ji Dongxun again. Putting aside the four years of separation and distance, the last thing Zhang Jing wanted was for Ji Dongxun to discover that he had a mental illness.
Nothing would be more painful than that.
Ji Dongxun grabbed Zhang Jing’s wrist, his tone colder than ever. “Then, what does last night mean to you? What do I mean to you?”
Zhang Jing shook off his hand and sneered, “We were drunk, so we had s*x. Have you not done that before? Stop acting so innocent when you’re literally almost thirty.”
Ji Dongxun felt his eyes reddening, and he could no longer conceal the shake in his voice. “I’ve never done that…”
Zhang Jing turned around before Ji Dongxun could catch a glimpse of the emotions he hopelessly tried to bury. Zhang Jing took a few deep breaths and turned back to face Ji Dongxun. “Then, you must’ve had quite a stable relationship with your boyfriend. You don’t have experience? Don’t worry, I do. It may seem absurd for the first time, but trust me, it takes a couple occurrences to mentally accept it.”
Ji Dongxun didn’t respond.
Zhang Jing lifted the blanket, searching for his clothes. Ji Dongxun pointed towards the bathroom.
“Thanks.”
The first thing Zhang Jing did in the bathroom was turn on the faucet—listening to the running water might help him block out the earlier conversation. Looking at the empty bathtub, snippets of last night returned to his mind once again. He remembered Ji Dongxun standing there, massaging and wiping his entire body. He remembered Ji Dongxun folding his sleeves up, kneeling before him, and wiping the water off his legs.
Zhang Jing put his entire head under the faucet, his other hand covering his chest—his heart felt like it was dripping blood.
After he finished brushing his teeth and wearing his clothes, he saw Ji Dongxun waiting by the sofa. When he walked to the sofa to pick up his jacket, he said, “I was really drunk last night, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it with you. I hate having one-night stands with people I know… It’s quite awkward, you know? Let’s minimize our interactions in the future—better to avoid uneasiness, right?”
Zhang Jing turned towards the door, but Ji Dongxun grabbed onto his wrist again and called out, “Jing.”
Zhang Jing looked down and heard Ji Dongxun continue, “I said this last night, but I’ll repeat myself. I will not let you go, no matter what. Even if you wish to pursue a relationship with another guy, I’d hardly regard his feelings and steal you over.”
“Knock it off.” Zhang Jing laughed bitterly. “I was drunk. Don’t take it too seriously.”
After Zhang Jing left, Ji Dongxun sat on the same sofa for hours, looking at the door Zhang Jing slammed shut.
After leaving, Zhang Jing headed directly to his studio. He didn’t want to go home.
He considered scheduling another meeting with the section chief; but before he even drafted an email, he saw an incoming call. Over a brief call, he was told to pick up his studio’s permit, since his studio passed the surveillance.
Obviously, this was because of Ji Dongxun. For the first time, he directly witnessed the difference between them. Even if he drank until he died, his efforts would yield less results than a couple of words from Mr. Ji.
Sigh.
Welp, I knew the minute ZJ wakes up it would be another depressing moment for me. Lets keep him drunk shall we? On a serious note, I hope he gets the treatment he needs soon.
And that (brief summary) wasn’t horrible at all. Thanks for trying even though you were clearly uncomfortable lol. Thanks a lot for the chapter 👌🏼
I don’t think ji dongxun would love him any less after knowing about his mental condition. What i do know is he will probably feel immense guilt for being the reason of zhang jing’s hallucinations. 🤷♂️