Burn Out - Chapter 69

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Ji Ting had painted her toenails a light color, which looked very nice when she put on her dark slippers. As she stepped onto the floor, Tan Yucheng turned off the bedside lamp. Ji Ting, with her hair tied up, walked out of the bedroom with him. His balcony was on the left, and a gentle breeze was coming in, which was quite cool. She was still a bit sleepy, yawning and sitting down on the sofa.

Tan Yucheng poured her a cup of warm water.

He then went to wash up. He was wearing a black top and pants, and after washing up, his hair was slightly damp, and his brows had a relaxed look. Ji Ting felt a tingling sensation seeing him like this so early in the morning.

She put down her cup and went to wash up as well.

The washbasin was slightly damp but not excessively so. He had squeezed toothpaste onto a silver-edged transparent cup for her. Ji Ting paused for a moment, then picked up the toothbrush and smiled as she brushed her teeth a few seconds later.

Afterward, she washed her face. There was a face towel that Xiao Xi asked the nanny to place there, which was very convenient. Ji Ting washed her face and dried it. There were a few kiss marks on her neck and collar.

Not very obvious, but vaguely noticeable.

She discarded the face towel and walked out of the bathroom.

There were sounds coming from the kitchen. Ji Ting walked over and peeked in.

Tan Yucheng was using a steamer. He was tall and seemed a bit indifferent. Ji Ting walked over to his side and tilted her head to look at the steamer. “What are you steaming?”

He rarely cooked.

It was definitely something pre-made.

Tan Yucheng glanced at her and said lazily, “Glutinous rice chicken sent by mom.”

Ji Ting responded with an “oh,” remembering and said, “Aunt Xiao’s glutinous rice chicken is really delicious.”

Tan Yucheng nodded in agreement.

He reached out and pulled her into his arms, then continued with his tasks. He cut open a milk carton and poured milk into a cup, preparing to make Ji Ting some hot milk. With Ji Ting in his arms, he had her tucked between him and the counter. His hands were quite adept as he worked. Tan Yucheng took out the glutinous rice chicken and used tongs to place it onto a plate. His voice came from above her head.

“Your senior brother, did he stay in Beijing after graduation?”

Ji Ting was staring at him absentmindedly when she suddenly heard him speak. She was taken aback for a second but soon realized he was asking about Zhou Hui. She responded, “Yes, he stayed at Fengxing Holdings through a connection from our advisor.”

Ji Ting majored in finance in college. She met Zhou Hui when she first entered school. They were in the same major, and he was a senior two years ahead of her. Their interactions increased due to project work.

Tan Yucheng responded, “Is that so? Why didn’t he come back to Li City with you? He’s willing to be apart from you?”

That tone.

The sarcastic tone was back.

Ji Ting turned her head to look at him. Tan Yucheng’s eyes were dark as they met hers. Ji Ting glared at him, “What’s your problem now?”

Tan Yucheng raised an eyebrow.

Ji Ting instinctively tried to move out of his embrace, but Tan Yucheng pulled her back with one hand. His tone was low and somewhat cold, “If it doesn’t matter, why are you avoiding it?”

Ji Ting was held around the waist and had no choice but to stay in his embrace. She turned to face him.

Tan Yucheng turned off the steamer and then looked at her. Their gazes locked, and Tan Yucheng asked, “I have just one question. Was the person you liked, him?”

Ji Ting, locked in a stare with him, heard this question.

Looking at his handsome features and the face so close to hers, Ji Ting realized he had misunderstood and was still thinking about it. As they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Ji Ting had once seen his childhood photos at Xiao Xi’s place. He was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, sitting on the edge of a flower bed with his hands propped up. Even at that young age, he had an unreadable expression and looked quite unapproachable.

The first time she saw him at the south wall of the school was the year he got into the first high school. He was leaning against the wall, chewing on a piece of dry grass and pressing his phone, with no one around. From his appearance, he seemed like someone not easily dealt with.

She was very familiar with this face after all these years.

After a few moments of silence, she said, “It’s not him.”

“Not him?”

Tan Yucheng’s tone was slightly surprising. If it hadn’t been for the phone call today, he might have almost forgotten about this person. The two major schools in Beijing often shared information. Their forums were interconnected, and it was easy to switch between them with a button. One of the CP posts listed rumors about couples from both schools, including a photo of Ji Ting and Zhou Hui, which had received quite a few likes.

When Long Kong sent it to Tan Yucheng.

Tan Yucheng was in the computer lab working on programming assignments and glanced at it.

Later, during a basketball friendly match, Zhou Hui was the forward for their team and faced Tan Yucheng. Ji Ting and some classmates were distributing water to the referees and players. She first gave water to Tan Yucheng, even though there was already quite a lot on his side. Then she gave some to Zhou Hui, and at that moment, Ji Ting’s schoolmates made ambiguous and teasing remarks.

Tan Yucheng was standing opposite Zhou Hui and heard it all clearly.

He glanced at Ji Ting and Zhou Hui with a casual demeanor.

Tan Yucheng snapped back to attention.

Ji Ting’s eyes were clear and beautiful. From Tan Yucheng’s angle, he could see the faint kiss marks on her collar. He looked at her for a few seconds, and the hand holding her waist tightened a little.

“Let me ask you,”

“While being with me, did you have any feelings for me? Even just a little.”

He believed Ji Ting had feelings for him, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so entangled with him, but whether it rose to liking him, he wasn’t sure.

Ji Ting looked at his handsome features.

She found it amusing in her heart.

But there was also a bit of excitement.

She spoke softly and gently, “Just a little.”

Hearing this, Tan Yucheng’s mood improved slightly from the anger he felt in the morning due to Zhou Hui and the memories. He buried his face in her neck, held her tighter, and said softly, “Let’s have breakfast.”

Ji Ting replied, “Okay.”

Tan Yucheng lifted his head, turned off the steamer, which had been steaming the milk. Ji Ting went out with a plate of sticky rice chicken. The milk in the steamer was quickly warmed up.

Tan Yucheng placed the milk next to her.

He poured himself a cup of warm water.

The sticky rice chicken made by Xiao Xi was large and needed to be eaten with chopsticks.

Ji Ting asked while eating, “When did Aunt Xiao send this?”

“Yesterday. She asked me to bring it to you.”

Ji Ting replied, “Oh.”

After breakfast, Ji Ting needed to change out of the clothes she wore yesterday. Tan Yucheng drove her to Zhuoyue’s apartment for a change, and then he drove back to the office. After changing and tidying up a bit, Ji Ting went to the store.

She arrived a bit late today as well.

Zhang Yang and Xiao Zhou were at the door, one in Hong Pei’s room and the other at the counter. Xiao Zhou, wiping the counter with a cloth, smiled when he saw Ji Ting, especially considering how late she had been coming in these past two days.

They probably figured that Ji Ting and Tan Yucheng were together now.

Ji Ting knew she was late. She called Zhang Yang out and rearranged the work schedule. Since she wasn’t sure if she could be on time later, she added an extra allowance for early mornings.

Xiao Zhou clicked his tongue and said, “So nice. Where can you find a boss as good as our Sister Ting?”

Zhang Yang nodded in agreement.

This way, everyone was less resentful about the early mornings.

Ji Ting saw they accepted the changes and breathed a sigh of relief.

For lunch, Ji Ting treated everyone to a big meal. Meanwhile, Tan Yucheng had ordered four servings of lobster noodles, which they had along with their meal. Ji Ting sipped her soup while casually browsing her social media.

After a short while of scrolling,

She saw a post from Meng Jia.

Meng Jia: One extra ticket, who wants it?

The image was a promotional poster for Eason’s concert in Li City.

There were quite a few likes and comments since tickets were harder to get at this point, and the prices were highly inflated. The comments showed many people were interested.

At that moment,

A message from a black avatar popped up.

Ji Ting clicked on it and took a look.

It’s a link to a brand’s home products.

Tan: Pick one.

Ji Ting looked at the link, it contained various home items like towels, bath towels, slippers, hangers, and more.

She replied to him with a question mark: ?

Tan: Buy some and leave them at my place.

Ji Ting: …..

She felt a flush of warmth in her ears.

Is he planning to live together?

Tan: Hmm? Not picking? Then I’ll choose.

Tan: Get two of each. Your apartment needs them too.

Ji Ting sent him a meme:

[Go away]

Tan Yucheng laughed at the response and continued typing. He also sent her a link to a skincare brand, buying her the skincare products she normally used.

Eason’s concert was approaching quickly, and the Central stadium was packed with people. Early in the morning, they had set up barriers. Ji Ting’s store was not far from the stadium, and she could feel the massive flow of people. Trucks had stopped entering the area, and only a few cars were moving slowly. Business at the store was booming, so Ji Ting had transferred two staff members from her branch to help out.

The number of part-time workers was increased to four.

Not only were the stores around her busy, but there were also many fans who had come from other cities. Zhuoyue had many new faces, including people wearing support T-shirts, with ribbons tied at the sleeves, wearing support ears, and holding fan signs. The store was filled with young boys and girls. Ji Ting finished handing over the work and went back to her apartment to change clothes.

The weather was slightly warm at the end of spring.

Ji Ting chose a dress that cinched at the waist. The dress was white on top and black on the bottom. She let her hair fall loose, slightly curled at her shoulders. Tonight was not just about the concert.

It was also about her relationship with Tan Yucheng.

Ji Ting applied a clear makeup look, picked up her small bag, and opened the door. Tan Yucheng was leaning against the wall in a white shirt and black trousers, waiting for her while looking at his phone. As soon as the door opened, their eyes met.

Ji Ting stepped out in high heels and a dress, standing gracefully and beautifully, making it hard to look away.

Tan Yucheng’s gaze was fixed on her.

Ji Ting closed the door behind her. Tan Yucheng straightened up, put away his phone, rolled up his sleeves to reveal his well-defined arms. As Ji Ting finished locking the door and turned around, Tan Yucheng took her hand.

Ji Ting glanced at him and followed him to the elevator.

Tan Yucheng looked at her and smiled slightly, “You look really beautiful.”

Ji Ting felt her ears warm up and gave him a quick glance.

He looked handsome today as well, with the white shirt adding a touch of freshness.

Tan Yucheng drove an SUV today. They got into the car, and Tan Yucheng fastened her seatbelt, then drove toward the Central stadium. The area around the stadium was already restricted, with many traffic police directing vehicles. There were no parking spaces left in the stadium, so they had to find an intelligent parking spot on a nearby street. After parking, Tan Yucheng wrapped his arm around Ji Ting’s waist and led her inside. The crowd was at its peak, with a dense, dark mass of people. Tan Yucheng held Ji Ting close as they navigated through the crowd, with various scents of perfume in the air.

The entrance to the seating area was also organized for better flow.

The VIP seats were crowded as well, but the entry was quicker. Ji Ting and Tan Yucheng walked toward the front seats and finally settled down.

As soon as they sat down, Ji Ting saw Yu Xi and Meng Jia coming towards them, arm in arm. They were seated in the third row from the back. Yu Xi saw Ji Ting and waved immediately, while Meng Jia, in several-centimeter high heels, a fitted black top, and a black knee-length skirt, with sunglasses hanging from her neckline, also looked over and nodded.

Ji Ting smiled and waved back at them.

She glanced at Tan Yucheng beside her, who was sitting with his long legs crossed, responding to messages on his phone.

Meng Jia and Yu Xi walked over, greeting Ji Ting. Yu Xi wanted to hug Ji Ting, and as they embraced, she said, “Tingting, you smell so nice! What perfume are you wearing?”

Ji Ting paused for a moment and smiled, “Just bought Floats of Dream.”

“Wow, it really smells good.”

“Tan Yucheng.” After Yu Xi and Ji Ting finished talking, she called out to the man who was replying to messages. Tan Yucheng looked up and gave a faint nod. Meng Jia, standing next to Yu Xi, noticed the subtle fragrance of ebony on the man, along with a hint of Floats of Dream. She asked, “Where are we going for drinks later?”

Tan Yucheng’s voice was low and lazy as he replied, “Lowkey.”

“Oh, sounds good.” Meng Jia responded.

Yu Xi’s eyes brightened, “Looking forward to it.”

They chatted for a while, and then Long Kong arrived, squeezing through to his seat in the fourth row. He greeted them with a smile, and behind him was Shu Xiao, wearing a beige dress and carrying a light-colored small bag. She looked around and found her seat. Meng Jia glanced at Long Kong and asked, “Did you come with her?”

Long Kong immediately coughed and instinctively looked at Ji Ting.

Ji Ting also noticed Shu Xiao. Shu Xiao’s hair fell over her shoulders, and her delicate features resembled a porcelain doll. She didn’t come over but sat there with a slightly pale face, nodding to Ji Ting in greeting.

Ji Ting nodded back and glanced instinctively at Tan Yucheng.

Tan Yucheng had his arm draped over the back of the chair and was still on his phone. When Long Kong arrived, he looked up briefly at him. Long Kong called out, “Brother Cheng.”

Long Kong paused and explained to Meng Jia, “I ran into her at the entrance. Didn’t she get her ticket from you?”

Meng Jia shrugged, “Yes, she paid more, so I sold it.”

Long Kong looked skeptical, “Do you need that money?”

Meng Jia clicked her tongue.

She was just curious to see her awkwardness.

Yu Xi looked over at Shu Xiao.

She seemed much more fragile than last time, pitifully so.

“Alright, it’s about to start,” Ji Ting said as she sat down. She heard the music beginning, and more people continued to come in and take their seats. With them stuck in their spots, they each returned to their seats. Long Kong sat next to Shu Xiao, his ticket was with hers. His strong build made Shu Xiao look as though she might be blown away by the wind.

Shu Xiao quietly watched the man in the white shirt on stage, saying nothing.

Her favorite singer was someone else, and she had only a limited understanding of Cantonese, so her presence here tonight was purely because of Tan Yucheng.

Once the venue was full,

The concert officially began.

The first song was “King of Karaoke.”

As the music played, it brought back endless memories. Ji Ting listened, turning her head to glance at Tan Yucheng beside her. He was leaning against his chair, their eyes meeting for a moment with a hint of a smile in his eyes.

Next was a grand musical feast.

Eason’s figure was very close to Ji Ting on stage.

Screams.

Cheers.

Waving glow sticks and support signs, pretty ribbons fluttering in the wind. Ji Ting also gently waved her glow stick.

“Single Bicycle”

“Red Rose”

“Best Loser”

“Your Backpack”

“Love Transfer”

“Exaggeration”

“Ten Years”

When the song “Ten Years” started, Ji Ting listened to the lyrics and glanced at Tan Yucheng beside her. He leaned in and said, “What are you looking at? Our ten years have just begun.”

Ji Ting looked at him with a bright smile in her eyes.

She averted her gaze and listened intently to the song.

For someone like Ji Ting, who loved the concert, she didn’t want it to end, but eventually, it would come to a close. Listening to the final song, she felt a bit melancholic but also very satisfied. She had finally seen her favorite singer in concert during her lifetime, and it was with Tan Yucheng. Tan Yucheng occasionally reached out to hold her hand.

At that moment, Ji Ting’s phone rang.

It was a call from Zhou Hui.

The phone vibrated in her hand, and when Ji Ting looked down, Tan Yucheng also glanced at it. Seeing the number, his gaze darkened. Ji Ting felt it was too noisy here to answer, so she hung up and opened WeChat, clicking on Zhou Hui’s profile. Tan Yucheng noticed several messages in the chat, indicating that Ji Ting and Zhou Hui had been chatting recently.

He quickly took Ji Ting’s phone from her hand.

Ji Ting was momentarily stunned and turned to look at him.

Tan Yucheng lifted his gaze and said, “Reply later, the concert isn’t over yet, is it?”

The concert was getting ready to end.

Ji Ting noticed some people were starting to get up. She paused and said, “Senior Brother must have something important to discuss. I need to reply.”

Tan Yucheng’s eyebrows lifted slightly. Without responding to her, he grabbed her wrist and stood up, his voice a bit cold, “Anything important can wait until tomorrow.”

He was clearly jealous.

Ji Ting felt Tan Yucheng grip her wrist and pull her a few times. He turned to look at her and asked, “You’ve been in contact with him these past few days?”

Ji Ting met his gaze and replied, “Just chatting a bit. What’s the matter?”

She was a bit provocative.

Tan Yucheng’s jaw tightened slightly. They moved through the crowd and arrived at a corner of the sports arena. Tan Yucheng leaned against the wall while Ji Ting stood in front of him. They stared at each other, locking eyes. After a few seconds, Tan Yucheng handed her the phone, a sign of compromise. Ji Ting took the phone, and Tan Yucheng put his hands in his pockets and watched her.

“Give me a kiss.”

Ji Ting had just received the phone and was considering waiting to reply to Zhou Hui later. She put the phone in her bag and heard him speak. She looked up, and Tan Yucheng said nothing, only watching her.

They stared at each other.

He did look very handsome tonight, his features sharp, and the songs brought back faint memories of him from high school.

Ji Ting pressed her lips together.

After a few seconds, she closed her eyes and leaned in to kiss his thin lips.

Tan Yucheng slightly lowered his head, his hands still in his pockets, and kissed her red lips.

They kissed silently.

“Ji Ting! What are you two doing here…?” Yu Xi and the others arrived, and as they spoke, they stepped into the corner and saw the two kissing.

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