Fang Ning had nothing else to do, so she took her things and headed back too.
Meanwhile, Ji Xiangzhou called a car and returned to the Ji Family's large villa. When he entered, he saw neither the twins nor Ji Xiangnian.
His slightly furrowed brow relaxed, and he walked inside at an unhurried pace.
Apart from the housekeeper and Uncle Li tidying things up, there was no one else in the villa's living room.
Even Ji Xiangnian's newlywed wife was absent.
Ji Xiangzhou sank
Yihua
into deep thought. If his memory wasn't muddled, he remembered her clearly saying she was heading back.
When Butler Li saw Ji Xiangzhou, he almost wondered whether something was wrong with his eyes. "Young Master Xiangzhou, what brings you home?"
The butler could hardly be blamed for his surprise. Ji Xiangzhou really didn't come home often. He lived at school and rarely returned, sometimes coming back only after a month, sometimes a month and a half. And it wasn't just him; all four of them seemed to have made their homes elsewhere.
The villa had practically become a home for the few old folks like them.
Yet lately, one or another of them kept coming back.
He really hadn't expected it.
Ji Xiangzhou's relationship with the butler was fairly good. In his eyes, the butler was like a loving elder. If there was anyone in this family whom Ji Xiangzhou could stand, it was probably only the butler.
But as the most aloof of the four, his personality meant that even when facing the uncle who was always kind to him, Ji Xiangzhou still spoke coldly. "Mm. It's the weekend. I came back to get my living allowance."
He didn't mention a single word about his "glorious" exploits.
The butler was already used to Ji Xiangzhou's attitude. He nodded and took Ji Xiangzhou's schoolbag. "By the way, Young Master Xiangzhou, what would you like to eat today? You haven't been home in ages. Think about what you'd like. It's been over half a month since I last saw you, and you look as though you've gotten thin from hunger."
"I'll have the kitchen make something nice, something you like..." As he spoke, the butler noticed Ji Xiangzhou's gaze slowly moving around, as though he were looking for something.
"Young Master Xiangzhou, who are you looking for? Xiangyi and Mr. Ji?" The butler instinctively assumed Ji Xiangzhou was looking for Ji Xiangyi and the others.
Ji Xiangzhou's expression instantly turned cold.
Why bring them up out of nowhere? What bad luck.
Ji Xiangzhou scuffed the floor with his foot and pretended to ask casually, "No. I wanted to ask whether that... person came back. I remember her clearly saying just now that she was coming back. Why isn't she here?"
Now the butler was a little confused. He didn't understand how children thought. "That person? Who?"
Ji Xiangzhou couldn't understand why the butler couldn't even understand what he was saying. He'd made himself so clear. Why did he still not get it?
They'd lived together for so many years, yet they had no tacit understanding at all.
Giving up, Ji Xiangzhou said, "Ji Xiangnian's wife. My sister-in-law."
The butler slapped his forehead in realization. "Oh, so you're looking for Madam! She hasn't come back yet."
"But she clearly said she was coming back first," Ji Xiangzhou muttered in a low voice. Looking thoughtful, he took his schoolbag from the butler, turned, and went upstairs to his room.
Butler Li: "?????"
Huh? What was all this about?
Watching the boy's tall, straight figure retreat, Butler Li was left baffled.
What was going on? Why was this one looking for his sister-in-law instead of his brother too?
Ah, what had happened to the world? Was he old and useless now? He really couldn't understand young people's world at all.
Butler Li's little head was full of big questions.
Actually, Fang Ning was almost home too. She had just been a little bewildered when Ji Xiangnian called midway through the trip, so she'd asked the driver to slow down, delaying her a little.
When Fang Ning received Ji Xiangnian's call, her mind was full of huge question marks.
After her last phone call with Ji Xiangnian, she had saved his name in her contacts.
Looking at the phone playing its musical ringtone, she hesitated over whether to answer.
Her first thought was that Ji Xiangnian was calling to demand an explanation for her fight with Ji Xiangchen.
In novels, there wasn't a single CEO without informants. She believed Ji Xiangnian was no different.
He definitely knew about her fight with Ji Xiangchen today.
And now he was calling to hold her accountable.
A minute later, only after Fang Ning had thought up several possible answers did she take a deep breath and press the answer button. "Hello, this is Fang Ning."
A deep voice came through the phone. "Hello, Fang Ning. This is Ji Xiangnian. I'm calling because I wanted to ask you something."
"Here's the thing. Could you keep the eighteenth free? There's a charity gala, and I'd like to take you with me. I just want you to accompany me for a round there. You won't need to do anything else."
That scared me to death. Fang Ning let out a soft breath of relief. She'd thought he was calling to demand an explanation. She composed herself.
The eighteenth was still a week away. She didn't seem to have anything to do. She should still have one scene left with Director Wang, which should be finished in the next couple of days. Her audition with Director Zhang should also be within the next two or three days.
The fourth female lead role her agent had mentioned wouldn't start until next month, and she had nothing else scheduled for next week.
Besides, it seemed she couldn't really refuse to go. After all, the original owner of this body had an agreement with him about this.
Go to some charity gala, eat and drink for free, and hold my ready-made husband's hand while putting on an act! I can do that!
Maybe I can even check out some handsome men and beautiful women there.
Fang Ning said in a calm, polite tone, "Sure. I don't have anything else to do on the eighteenth."