Ji Xiangchen stiffened his neck and said somewhat awkwardly, "Well, where's my, my sister-in-law?"
Uncle Li understood now. "Oh, madam is in the backyard. Is there something you need, Second Young Master..."
Before the butler could finish, Ji Xiangchen was gone.
Butler Li was still bewildered. Less than a minute later, the bewildered Butler Li saw Ji Xiangyi too.
Ji Xiangyi had also returned to the villa. Seeing them come home one after another today, Butler Li could not have been happier. "Second Young Miss, what brings you home today too?"
Ji Xiangyi handed what she had brought to Butler Li and asked coolly, "Uncle Li, where's Fang Ning?"
Butler Li: "????"
Seeing that Butler Li had no questions, Ji Xiangyi changed how she addressed her and asked again, just as coolly, "Uncle Li, where's my sister-in-law?"
Butler Li: "..."
What was going on? Why were they all, one after another today,
looking for their sister-in-law instead of their older brother?!
Chapter 10
Ji Xiangchen found Fang Ning in the garden.
She sat in the hanging basket chair in the yard, quietly holding a script, her eyes lowered and her lashes fluttering.
Honestly, this was the first time Ji Xiangchen realized that Fang Ning was actually quite beautiful, with her long hair, delicate, lively features, and pretty white outfit.
She looked like an innocent college student.
Ji Xiangnian really was a bastard.
Perhaps because she had stood up for him last time, seeing her gave Ji Xiangchen an inexplicable sense of warmth.
After a moment's thought, Ji Xiangchen drew back his gaze and slowly walked toward Fang Ning.
Fang Ning was so absorbed in reading the script that she did not notice Ji Xiangchen approaching.
Only after quite a while did she realize someone had walked up in front of her.
Fang Ning took a closer look. It was Ji Xiangchen. He stood straight, his figure tall and slender, but his expression did not look very good.
His sudden approach gave Fang Ning a huge fright, and she nearly hurled the script in her hand at him. "Damn, how do you walk without making a sound?"
Ji Xiangchen said nothing.
Fang Ning sensed that something seemed a little off about Ji Xiangchen's mood. His brows were furrowed, and he looked as though he wanted to speak but was holding back, as if he had something to tell her.
Ji Xiangchen lowered his eyes and nudged the grass underfoot. A light breeze stirred, and the young man looked quiet and melancholy. "Do you know we're going to be filming with the same production?"
Fang Ning nodded. Of course she knew. In the show, she and Ji Xiangchen were even playing a sister and brother who fell on hard times and depended on each other for survival.
She had originally wanted to discuss the script with him and rehearse their scenes together.
But Ji Xiangchen had been nowhere to be seen these past few days.
Ji Xiangnian did not know how to talk to Fang Ning about these things. He felt he was being overly sensitive, agonizing for so long over just that one incident.
He stayed silent for a long time before finally finding the words. "I hope you won't tell anyone on set about our relationship. Also, don't get too close to me."
His baffling words left Fang Ning utterly confused. She could not make sense of them. What on earth was he talking about?
If he said he did not want others to know she was his sister-in-law, she could understand that. But what the hell was this about not getting close to him?
He made it sound as if she would eat him.
At that moment, Fang Ning remembered she still had a cheat at her disposal:
[System, System, hurry up and check what's wrong with this gloomy-looking brother-in-law.]
[Is it his time of the month again?]
System: [...]
It was pretty presumptuous to say that about a guy.
The system checked. [As a member of the main cast, Ji Xiangchen is kindhearted but sensitive inside. Since this is a novel about growth, the main cast must have miserable lives in the early stages. Those with friends must lose their friends, and those with love must lose their love.] [A girl used to be very close to him. Someone with ulterior motives posted it online, and because of that, the girl was attacked by anti-fans.] [The female lead's younger brother, who is hot-tempered on the outside but kindhearted within, probably said these things to you for that reason.]
Fang Ning had not expected this cold-looking brother-in-law to have such delicate feelings.
[He really... I'm crying my eyes out!]
[Not only does he not know how to tear up someone else's umbrella, he even CPUs himself, frying his own brain into a gloomy mess.]
[Even a sweet, innocent airhead isn't as much of a sweet, innocent airhead as he is!]
System: [...]
Fang Ning did not know where Ji Xiangchen's melancholy thoughts actually came from.
She only knew she needed to play the role of a good sister-in-law well, so that when the time came to divorce the female lead's older brother, she could get a little more cash.
Fang Ning put down the script in her hand, looked at Ji Xiangchen, and said each word distinctly, "Ji Xiangchen, are you telling me this because of what happened with that girl?"
"It's all right. When it comes to bad luck, I might be even unluckier than you."
Speaking of misfortune and bad luck, she felt no one could beat her. Even going to sleep had landed her inside a novel as the vicious supporting female character.
When it came to bad luck, she was a professional.
[Aaaah, what on earth is going on in his head!]
[Seriously, I've seen people get CPU'd by others, but never anyone CPU themselves!]
[Someone! Bring me a wooden fish drum so I can beat his depression to pieces!]
The sun had just set. The lingering sunset glow shone on half of the handsome, upright young man's body, leaving one half dark and the other bright, making his emotions hard to discern.
Ji Xiangchen lowered his eyes, his feelings complicated.
Everyone said he was a jinx, that anyone who came into contact with him suffered bad luck. As a child, he had misbehaved at home and cried for his parents, causing them to get into a car accident as they drove back. That girl had ended up like that because of him too.
He had thought that once he mentioned this, Fang Ning would walk away without a word, avoiding him like the plague.
He had never imagined Fang Ning would react this way.
Watching Ji Xiangchen's expression grow increasingly gloomy, Fang Ning could not help sighing inwardly. "Ji Xiangchen, stop CPUing yourself. It'll make your brain stupid."