Chapter 174: Sleepless Night

“Mom, I already said that it was a coincidence. We only coincidentally met CEO Ji while Dr. Chen and I were having our dinner date.”

Pei Ge walked into the living room. The remains of the meal they had had earlier were already cleaned up by Zhang Manhua.

“Nonsense. How is such a coincidence possible? I have a feeling that Xiao Ji knew that you were going on a blind date there and followed you on purpose!” Her mother’s eyes twinkled when she said this.

Pei Ge had the strong urge to roll her eyes at that.

Ji Ziming met her on purpose? Forget that thought! How could he have so much free time to stage a coincidental meet-up with her? It was more believable to say that he wanted to mess with her and make her life miserable.

“Mom, you’ve watched too many dramas at home.” She shook her head in resignation. “Alright, Mom. It’s pretty late already and I still have work tomorrow. I will go wash up and sleep now. Remember to rest early, too.”

Zhang Manhua, who still wanted to continue gossiping with her daughter, could only rest that idea at the latter’s mention of work.

“Yes, yes, yes. Quickly wash up and go to sleep.” She nodded her head and said this regretfully.

However, seeing her daughter go to the washroom, she could not help but mutter, “I have never seen Dr. Chen, but this Xiao Ji is not bad, too. Of course, Mom is fine with whoever you choose.”

The moment she said this, as if she regretted it, she added, “But Mom still thinks it is better for you to be with that Xiao Ji from your company. After all, you understand him better and will be able to sense immediately if anything is up with him.”

“… Mom!” She turned to cast her mother a defeated look.

Her mom only met Ji Ziming this once, and he even had a poker face the whole time, so why did her dearest mother like that annoying fellow a lot?

Could it be because of his face?

Zhang Manhua smiled and laughed a little stiffly toward her daughter and said, “Go wash up; go wash up. I won’t speak further about this matter and will go back to watching TV.”

When she saw that Zhang Manhua was still watching TV even after she was done washing up, she bid her mother good night and reminded her to sleep early before going to her room in frustration.

“Sigh…” She sighed upon closing the door. For some unknown reason, she felt more than a little tired.

Just as she lay in the bed and was about to switch off the light, Chen Zhengchu’s text message came in.

[Good night. See you tomorrow.]

These five words instantly brightened up her mood.

This man… I should really hold on to him, as I really am not young anymore just like what Sister Xinlei said….

[Yes, good night. See you tomorrow.]

Replying with that, she switched off the light.

Within the darkness of the room and despite already closing her eyes, sleep still eluded her.

Every time she closed her eyes, Ji Ziming’s sunny smile would immediately drift into her mind.

Warm, hot, beautiful, unrestrained….

Pound, pound! She could feel her heart thumping fast.

Pak! She sat up from the bed and turned on the light, instantly flooding her small bedroom with light.

“Pei Ge, get a hold of yourself! He is only handsome!” she reasoned to herself.

She really could not stand how his face would appear in her mind the moment she closed her eyes. It made her feel uncomfortable.

“Ge Ge, what are you yelling for? Aren’t you going to sleep?” Zhang Manhua heard the ruckus Pei Ge was making in her bedroom and asked this in confusion from the living room.

Hearing her mother’s question, she quickly switched off the light again and casually replied, “I’m going to sleep now.”

Lying in her bed once more, she counted a hundred sheep before sleep came to her.

While Pei Ge finally drifted off to dreamland, Ji Ziming was still wide awake.

Arriving to his apartment, he quickly took a bath, wore a black bathrobe, and entered the wine cellar.

However, instead of doing his usual routine of pouring himself a glass of red wine before going to bed, he picked up Absolut Vodka – the alcohol’s pristine, white bottle had a simple yet midsummer night’s vibe – and poured it into a transparent, square-shaped glass with an elegant swish.

Following this, Ji Ziming held up the glass, brought it up to his nose and sniffed at the alcohol’s clean and pure fragrance.

Although he was clearly taking a whiff of this alcohol, the woman’s body fragrance back in that narrow corridor was what assailed his nose.

Only then did he realize that he was thinking of that woman again. Tightening his hold around the glass, he drank a mouthful of vodka.

The vodka’s smooth yet burning taste made him momentarily lose his train of thought.

The anxiety in his eyes only dissipated when he downed the rest of the vodka in the glass.

Shwah! Ji Ziming, who seldom drank alcohol, generously poured himself another glass of vodka.

One glass after another, he continued drinking vodka until the whole bottle was emptied. He only put the glass down when he started to sway.

With halting steps, he returned to his bedroom.

Nonetheless, despite him comfortably lying in bed and feeling tipsy, sleep still eluded him. He hazily stared at the clean and white ceiling, and the woman’s plain yet appealing face appeared before his eyes.

“Annoying.” He raised his hand and placed it over his eyes to remove the image of that irksome and stupid woman.

However, this act of his only made her features become more distinct in his mind.

Irritation, happiness, laughter, anger… innocence, and smugness….

Her different facial expressions endlessly flitted through his mind.

As he ‘watched’ these vivid faces, he unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

He seemed to be dreaming of something sweet and pleasant.

It was unknown what he was dreaming of, but his brows creased first before relaxing. His lips then curved upward.

“Pei Ge….”

In the dark-yellow hued bedroom, a murmur echoed about softly. The voice seemed to be calling for a lover as it was filled with happiness and contentedness.