LRAPTC Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Substitute (2)

After Ji Yuxin finished speaking, she stood quietly, seemingly waiting to see Shen Jue refute her in a fit of anger, or leave in a huff. But Shen Jue said nothing, even maintaining his initial posture.

Shen Jue actually wanted to tell her, “I don’t like your brother, so I’m not very concerned about whether he has someone he likes, nor do I care about being treated as a substitute.” He was about to speak when he heard Ji Yuanan calling Ji Yuxin’s name.

The voice gradually approached, and Ji Yuanan finally saw them both. He was somewhat puzzled, “What are you doing?”

“Brother.” Ji Yuxin gave a proper smile, “I’m chatting with my sister-in-law.” She turned her head to Shen Jue and asked friendly, “Right, sister-in-law?”

Shen Jue, caught off guard, nodded subconsciously.

“Mom’s in the kitchen, asking you to help.” Ji Yuanan said to his sister.

“Okay. Then, Brother, Sister-in-law, I’ll go first.”

Ji Yuanan walked to Shen Jue’s side. Shen Jue stared at the plant he hadn’t finished counting, wanting to continue. He did continue, until the last number was silently spoken, and Ji Yuanan was still standing motionless beside him.

Ji Yuanan was perhaps waiting for him to speak first. Shen Jue couldn’t find a topic, and could only say dryly, “Do you remember what I said a few days ago…”

Ji Yuanan turned to look at him. Under Ji Yuanan’s confused gaze, Shen Jue reminded, “If you have someone you like, I can dissolve the marriage.”

With each word he uttered, Ji Yuanan’s expression darkened. So Shen Jue guessed that since they had only held the wedding a few days ago, bringing this up now didn’t seem appropriate, further confirming the rumors of their incompatibility. Ji Yuanan might be concerned about that. The immediate priority was to soothe Ji Yuanan’s bad mood.

Before Shen Jue could organize his thoughts, Ji Yuanan retorted, “Who told you I have someone I like?”

Shen Jue was silent. He didn’t want to answer this question. He felt that Ji Yuanan’s focus was a bit strange. Who said it wasn’t really important, but after Ji Yuanan asked, he didn’t say anything more, as if he was very persistent about the answer.

So they remained in a stalemate, neither willing to speak first, as if engaged in a silent tug-of-war, with no one willing to admit defeat.

Shen Jue surrendered. He decided not to bring up the matter again, preparing to change the subject, when his phone suddenly rang. The cheerful music inadvertently interrupted their confrontation. Shen Jue apologized and answered the phone.

Ji Yuanan watched Shen Jue skillfully handle the caller on the other end, and finally he said, “Okay.”

“I guarantee it.” Shen Jue added.

Shen Jue replied absentmindedly, making his promise seem unconvincing, but across the screen, the other person couldn’t see, and the call ended quickly.

“My mother wants to invite us back for a visit,” Shen Jue said to Ji Yuanan.

It was getting late, and Shen Jue originally wanted to return with Ji Yuanan, but Xu Jin insisted that they stay the night. Unable to refuse her kindness, Shen Jue could only return to Ji Yuanan’s bedroom. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the white wall.

He was still wearing Ji Yuanan’s clothes, a black T-shirt, which surprisingly fit him well. The sound of the hairdryer stopped, and a few seconds later, Ji Yuanan sat down next to Shen Jue. Shen Jue smelled the familiar scent of the shower gel, thinking irrelevantly that it was a good thing the bed in this room was big enough.

He had shared a bed with someone before. When he was young, he often slept with Shen Wei, but this situation was a first.

Shen Jue turned his head to look at Ji Yuanan, who was typing away on his phone. After a while, Ji Yuanan finally finished his work and turned to ask, “Do you want to sleep?”

He wasn’t really sleepy, but Shen Jue nodded anyway.

Ji Yuanan got up and turned off the light, leaving only the bedside lamp on. Shen Jue consciously turned to face the wall, trying to take up as little space as possible. He felt Ji Yuanan gently lift the covers and lie down behind him. The bedside lamp went out, and Shen Jue closed his eyes.

He originally thought he wasn’t very tired and that it would take some time to fall asleep. He didn’t expect to drift off so quickly after getting into bed. Just as he was dozing off, he seemed to hear someone whisper “Good night” in his ear. Unable to reply, he fell into a deep sleep.

Shen Jue slept soundly. He unconsciously reached out, encountering an unknown obstacle, and groggily opened his eyes. Ji Yuanan’s sleeping face was close at hand. He instinctively held his breath, stunned for several seconds before remembering to withdraw his hand from Ji Yuanan’s body.

Shen Jue considered himself a peaceful sleeper, never one to move around much, but now, he had almost rolled into Ji Yuanan’s arms. So close, he could even see the mole at the corner of Ji Yuanan’s eye.

What to do next? Shen Jue struggled. Ji Yuanan’s eyes were closed, his breathing was long and steady. It looked like he wouldn’t wake up anytime soon. Shen Jue decided to widen the gap between them before Ji Yuanan woke up.

He carefully got out of bed. Ji Yuanan showed no signs of waking up. Shen Jue breathed a sigh of relief and turned toward the bathroom. After a soft closing of the door, Ji Yuanan opened his eyes.

While washing up, Shen Jue was still grateful that Ji Yuanan hadn’t woken up in the middle. In that situation, it would have looked like Shen Jue was throwing himself at him, which would only make them both awkward.

He opened the bathroom door. Ji Yuanan was standing by the bed, his hair slightly disheveled, but he seemed to be in a good mood. Seeing Shen Jue come out, he greeted him proactively.

The two appeared at the dining table together. Ignoring their clothes, they looked like lovers who had just eloped from their wedding.

When asked if they wanted to stay longer, Ji Yuanan declined, “No, we both have some things to do this afternoon.” He kept looking in Shen Jue’s direction as he spoke.

Shen Jue and Ji Yuanan did indeed have things to do. After discussing it, they decided that going to Shen Jue’s house was inevitable. There was no difference between going sooner or later, so they might as well go earlier.

“It’s just going back for a meal anyway.” As he said this, Shen Jue was looking out the window at the large green plants, seemingly unconcerned.

After meeting Ji Yuanan’s parents, Shen Jue truly realized what love could look like, giving Ji Yuanan, who was surrounded by love, the ability to love others. This was something Shen Jue didn’t have.

They arrived around five in the afternoon. Shen Wei was pleasantly surprised to hear them, hugging Shen Jue and refusing to let go. Ji Yuanan stood aside, watching Shen Jue struggle to get Shen Wei to detach himself.

Ji Yuanan unexpectedly got along well with Shen Wei, which Shen Jue hadn’t anticipated. Shen Wei excitedly led Ji Yuanan to see where Shen Jue used to live. He talked about their childhood adventures, how they loved to sneak off together and play video games, which were their few relaxing activities under heavy pressure.

Shen Jue’s skills were so bad that he always lost. Shen Wei initially thought Shen Jue was letting him win, but later he realized that Shen Jue really wasn’t good at those kinds of games, and wasn’t deliberately throwing the game.

Shen Jue searched several rooms but couldn’t find them. Passing by Shen Wei’s room, he heard familiar music coming from inside. He knocked a few times, but no one answered, so he pushed the door open and went in. Ji Yuanan was sitting cross-legged next to Shen Wei, holding a controller and playing a video game with him. The character Shen Wei controlled was defeated by the opponent, lying motionless on the ground. Shen Wei sadly dropped the controller and muttered, “Brother Ji, you’re too good, way better than my brother.”

“Shen Wei.” Shen Jue walked behind him and said quietly, “I heard that.”

Shen Wei subconsciously covered his mouth, looked up at him, his eyes instantly crinkling into a flattering smile.

Ji Yuanan added fuel to the fire, “Want to play another round?”

Shen Wei continued to lose, but he was becoming increasingly brave, determined to have a showdown with Ji Yuanan after dinner.

Shen Jue stood on the steps of the courtyard. The conversation he’d just had with his mother had made him inexplicably tired. When Li Ying gave Shen Jue orders, she would unconsciously use a gentle tone, which sounded like a suggestion, probably a habit formed since Shen Jue was young. At that time, Shen Jue didn’t have much of a concept of it, until later he realized that it was just a necessary means for Li Ying to achieve her goals, allowing him to accept her arrangements more obediently. After that, he began to resist subtly, no longer meeting her expectations of him, until Li Ying was completely disappointed in him.

Before Ji Yuanan proposed the marriage alliance, he and Li Ying were in a subtle state of neither closeness nor distance, but all of that disappeared after the marriage was arranged. He thought that Li Ying perhaps only loved the obedient puppet Shen Jue. Fortunately, Shen Jue no longer needed to get love from others.

The electronic screen displayed “Game Over.” Shen Wei had lost several games in a row, which was a blow to his morale, and he looked depressed. Ji Yuanan put down the controller, looked at him and smiled, “Want to play again?”

The feeling of repeated failure was unpleasant, and Shen Wei finally realized the gap between them, shaking his head frantically. Ji Yuanan pretended to be regretful, got up, and casually asked, “Where do you think your brother is right now?”

“Probably in the yard, he likes to be in places where there aren’t many people.” Shen Wei opened a new game, clicked to enter, and a huge farm immediately appeared on the screen. He controlled his game character to walk towards the farmland. “Oh, right, Brother Ji, please close the door behind you when you leave, thanks.” He didn’t turn his head.

Ji Yuanan nodded, closed the door and went downstairs, making eye contact with the goldfish that were still in the fish tank. The goldfish opened its mouth and blew a bubble. He looked away and continued walking, leaving the room, and saw Shen Jue as he had hoped. Shen Jue was sitting in the gazebo with his back to him, not knowing what he was thinking.

Shen Jue didn’t notice Ji Yuanan approaching, but suddenly felt a coat draped over his shoulders, gently covering him with a warm temperature. Shen Jue turned his head. Ji Yuanan was leaning over, his hand not yet lowered. He explained, “It’s a little windy.”

Shen Jue thanked him. The wind blew Ji Yuanan’s hair. He took off his coat, revealing the shirt and vest underneath, which weren’t thick. Ji Yuanan probably felt colder than he did, Shen Jue thought.

They should go back. Before Shen Jue could open his mouth, Ji Yuanan seemed to have read his mind and asked first, “Do you want to go home?”