Chapter 408: Chapter 408 Let’s Be Together! (First Update)
In the end, Le Tong didn’t succeed in leaving the ward. She thought it was all because Ji Rui had a face that looked just like Baobao’s.
That kind of face with a pitiful expression always reminded her of Baobao.
And thus, she couldn’t harden her heart whatsoever.
Ji Rui could only eat some liquid food temporarily, so as Le Tong ate the soup dumplings delivered by Xiao Li, he could only lie in bed, utterly bored, staring at Le Tong, lost in thought.
Le Tong was quite annoyed at herself for being unable to harden her heart against Ji Rui. Hence, while eating the juice-filled, delicious dumplings in front of him, she felt a subtle sense of revenge.
Le Tong focused on eating, savoring each bite, while Ji Rui’s two burning eyes remained fixed on her.
"Le Tong..."
After Le Tong finished most of the dumplings, the silent Ji Rui finally couldn’t help but speak.
"Hmm?!" Le Tong looked up at him, with half a dumpling just stuffed in her mouth, her pouting cheeks looking amusing and cute.
"Let’s be together!"
Just a moment ago, Ji Rui had reminded himself not to rush and give Le Tong time to adjust, but those anxious words escaped uncontrollably from his mouth.
"Cough, cough..."
Le Tong choked, coughing violently for a while, before regaining her breath and glaring at him.
"What did you say?" Le Tong’s tone was a bit sharp.
She admitted she liked him, but being together shouldn’t be the same concept, right?!
"I said, let’s be together!" Ji Rui didn’t shrink back because of Le Tong’s question; since the words had been spoken, Ji Rui didn’t plan to take them back, because that was his true feeling.
He wanted to be with her, openly and rightfully.
Le Tong frowned, stared at him for a long time, and finally said, "Mr. Ji, are you trying to take a giant leap?"
She had finally come to her senses and had prepared herself mentally to slowly try interacting with this man as lovers.
But even so, she still couldn’t keep up with his pace.
Together?
If she understood correctly, his "together" probably meant living together or even directly getting married?
"Mr. Ji, do you think two people originally incompatible without any adjustment can be happy together?"
For Le Tong now, she could accept dating Ji Rui, but she felt that both emotionally and in familiarity, they hadn’t reached the level of "being together."
Ji Rui was stunned, he indeed hadn’t considered this issue.
Their incompatible state seemed like a distant past; during this period, as long as he was with her, no matter what they did, he felt happy. So he hadn’t thought they needed adjustment.
He never thought that, even now, Le Tong still felt they were incompatible!
"Are you unhappy being with me?" Ji Rui’s words carried a slight questioning tone.
This left Le Tong speechless. All along, in their interactions, he was always in the dominant, proactive position, while she was in the passive, weaker position.
It’s not that she was accustomed to accepting everything, but as his subordinate, she inevitably adopted a tolerant and accommodating attitude towards him.
"Ji Rui, put it this way, until yesterday, you were still my boss in my eyes."
Boss and boyfriend are entirely different concepts.
"To a boss, I must obey; even if I know it’s wrong, I must endure. But to a boyfriend, I might become very willful, even act irrationally sometimes. Have you thought about how to deal with this version of me?"
Le Tong’s words made Ji Rui fall into deep thought.
Indeed, for so long, he had been enjoying Le Tong’s meticulous care. Even if she lost temper occasionally, or retaliated severely from being bullied, overall, he was the one being tolerated.
She was only twenty-five years old, a time when many women are cherished dearly by their parents and boyfriends. She seemed not to enjoy much warmth and love from him.
"Le Tong, I am sorry, I have been too presumptuous, and too complacent." Ji Rui looked at Le Tong full of apology.
One cannot deny that, to Ji Rui now, Le Tong was the image of a good woman. She was always attentive to Baobao and thoughtful to him. He hadn’t considered that she might also want to be occasionally willful like a child, to be occasionally weak, to sometimes want to lean on a broad shoulder...
Thinking about this, Ji Rui couldn’t help but feel ashamed for his selfishness and complacency.
"How about we try dating for a while? In the future, let’s both try to forget the boss-subordinate relationship, okay?"
Ji Rui wasn’t someone who spoke sweet words, nor did he say anything pleasing.
But these two sentences were more soothing than any sweet talk.
Le Tong looked at the man lying in the ward, his face turned sideways, looking at her earnestly, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to respond.
Seeing her silence, the man’s eyes darkened, "Le Tong?!"
The handsome face was full of nervousness and unease.
Le Tong felt a surge of emotion inside her, she hadn’t anticipated that this proud, arrogant, cold, rigid man would quickly adjust his mindset to respond to her.
"Okay, let’s give it a try first," Le Tong nodded.
Ji Rui, lying on the bed, let out a long breath.
Although the dating relationship was still a certain distance from the "being together" relationship he hoped for, it was overall a good start.
As long as she was willing to give him a chance, he had confidence in changing her perspective about him.
"Le Tong, can I apply for a little benefit first?"
The man who had just secured the relationship quickly began to feel restless again.
Le Tong had finished breakfast and was sitting on the sofa drinking water, hearing the man say that, she looked up at him confusedly.
"What benefit?"
The man raised his hand and beckoned her.
Le Tong, full of confusion, put down the cup and walked to the bedside in a few steps, "What’s wrong? Is the wound hurting?"
After asking, she directly uncovered the quilt, without waiting for him to say anything, she lifted his clothes to check the wound and after seeing the wound area was dry and clean, she reassuredly tucked him back in.
Watching her being overly concerned like a mother, Ji Rui’s mood improved even more. Once she pressed the quilt to his underarm, he caught her hand.
"Le Tong, I want to ask you something." Ji Rui once again beckoned her.
Le Tong, not understanding, leaned her face closer, before she could react, the man’s hand reached and held the back of her head, pulling forcefully, causing her to kiss his lips directly.
