Chapter 42: Chapter 39: Meeting Qi Xingzhou Chapter 42: Chapter 39: Meeting Qi Xingzhou Ji Shuang usually had a personal driver whenever she went out, but seeing that Jiang Ning had driven herself, Ji Shuang hitched a ride with her back to the Qi Family Villa.
The Qi Family Villa was situated in the renowned wealthy district of Capital City—Lixiang Garden.
Not only were the land prices astronomical here, but even the annual property management fees reached six figures.
Jiang Ning, unfazed, parked her newly bought, budget-friendly car under Ji Shuang’s guidance amidst a fleet of luxury cars.
Wealthy neighborhoods featured exclusive and separate homes, and the Qi Family Villa had a particularly beautiful garden in the front courtyard.
Many flowers were cultivated in the garden, blooming in vivid colors, a sign of the excellent care they received on a regular basis.
As they entered the villa and were changing shoes in the vestibule, Ji Shuang took out a pair of off-white slippers from the shoe cabinet and said, “It might be more comfortable to put on these slippers. They’re brand new and have never been worn.”
Jiang Ning quietly thanked her.
After changing shoes, Ji Shuang put down her handbag, brewed a cup of floral tea for Jiang Ning, told her to make herself comfortable, then went into the kitchen. She fetched some fruit from the refrigerator and started to wash them.
To be honest, Jiang Ning was somewhat startled.
Even the Huo family had five or six household maids, cooks, and butlers who looked after the Huo family members’ meals and the villa’s cleanliness, or any other requirements the Huo family members might have throughout the day.
And yet the Qi Family, with their superior social standing, seemed not to have a single household maid?
Seemingly aware of Jiang Ning’s confusion, Ji Shuang placed the freshly washed fruit on the coffee table and smiled at Jiang Ning, “Are you wondering why you haven’t seen anyone else? Xingzhou doesn’t really like having other people in the house, and neither do we like having outsiders moving around the house too often. So the cooks and housekeepers usually live in the small Western-style building at the back.
The cook comes over to prepare meals three times a day, and the housekeepers come twice a day for cleaning. The rest of the time is their own. Unless we have many guests and I’m too busy, I would ask them to come over and help.”
Jiang Ning nodded, her impression of the Qi family deepening.
From the very start of their meeting today, Jiang Ning found Ji Shuang to be approachable and amiable, elegant and refined but not arrogant.
Not only Ji Shuang, but even Qi Jingshan and Qi Chen who had just had dinner together gave off a similar vibe of being reserved and gentle despite not speaking much.
She couldn’t help but recall her previous times at the Huo Family, where they carried an air of arrogance, as if being wealthy made them superior.
Before, she didn’t see any problem, but now, after meeting the Qi family members, the stark contrast was glaringly obvious.
Ji Shuang turned on the TV, watched it casually, and chatted with Jiang Ning.
The two of them had been chatting during the meal, and Ji Shuang had gotten a fair understanding of Jiang Ning.
Before her marriage, Ji Shuang was a tycoon’s daughter skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. After marriage, she became a pampered wife of a wealthy family.
It could be said that Ji Shuang had a wide range of knowledge reserves, providing her with numerous topics to discuss with Jiang Ning.
Gradually, Ji Shuang discovered that although Jiang Ning was young, she could provide fluent responses to many topics and had her own unique insights, especially in the area of local customs and knowledge. Jiang Ning was even well-versed in some foreign countries.
Ji Shuang asked curiously, “Ning Ning, do you like to travel?”
“I do, but I haven’t really traveled much,” Jiang Ning took a sip of the floral tea on the table, “A lot of my knowledge comes from reading books.”
Ji Shuang sighed with admiration, “It’s rare to see young girls who like to read nowadays. What did you major in at university, Ning Ning?”
Jiang Ning: “Minor languages.”
Ji Shuang gave Jiang Ning a thumbs up, “No wonder you seem so cultured. Ning Ning must have been outstanding during your school days!”
Jiang Ning modestly smiled, “Not at all, not at all.”
The two of them sat on the couch and chatted for a while when Jiang Ning took the initiative, “Where is Second Young Master Qi? Can we go see him?”
Seeing Jiang Ning bring up the topic, Ji Shuang was overjoyed, stood up from the sofa and replied, “He’s upstairs. Qi Xingzhou is the same age as you, so you can just call him by his name. Also, if you don’t mind, you can call me Auntie Ji. I’ll look after you here in Capital City.”
Making a good connection with the Qi family members was also a kind of social resource. Not to mention whether she would need it in the future, having one more friend is always better than having one more enemy.
Plus, so far, her impression of the Qi family members had been quite favorable.
Jiang Ning smiled and changed her address, “Auntie Ji.”
Ji Shuang happily responded, then took Jiang Ning upstairs, “Come on, let’s go to Xingzhou’s room.”
As they went up the stairs, Ji Shuang reassured Jiang Ning, “Don’t be scared. Xingzhou has a tendency towards autism, but his emotions are very stable, and he never throws tantrums or gets angry.”
Jiang Ning nodded and shared her own thoughts, “If Qi Xingzhou sees me and shows the kind of aversion to strangers, I will leave immediately.”
Ji Shuang hurriedly said, “It’s fine, it’s fine. Just helping me by coming to our house is something I’m very grateful for.”
Truth be told, Ji Shuang was also somewhat uncertain.
Qi Xingzhou’s behavior these past few days had been abnormal, with his daily stakeouts at the hotel unknown to others besides himself.
To say he was waiting there for Jiang Ning was merely a guess by the three members of the Qi family.
Ji Shuang only hoped that after meeting Jiang Ning today, Qi Xingzhou would stop going to the hotel.
Squatting by the elevator doors for hours every day, any mother would feel heartache.
Qi Xingzhou’s room was on the second floor. Standing in front of the closed door, Ji Shuang raised her hand and knocked, “Xingzhou, open the door; I’ve brought you some fruit.”
Soon, there was some movement inside the room.
The door was pulled open from the inside, and Qi Xingzhou’s figure appeared behind it.
Jiang Ning looked up slightly, her gaze lifting to once again see the stunning visage she had glimpsed that night in the elevator. He stood there, tall and over six feet, with a handsome and expressionless face naturally exuding a sense of refinement and aloofness.
His strikingly distinctive appearance was deceptive. If one didn’t know about his autistic tendencies, at first glance, it would be very difficult to tell that he was different from ordinary people. However, upon closer inspection, one could notice that the expression on his face was a bit rigid, not as animated and flexible as that of a typical person.
Moreover, within Qi Xingzhou’s beautiful eyes, there was an overabundance of clarity, completely devoid of emotion.
After Qi Xingzhou opened the door, the first person he saw was Ji Shuang standing at the doorstep.
He looked down, his ink-black eyelashes drooped, his gaze dull as he fixated on Ji Shuang’s empty hands.
“The fruit is here,” said Ji Shuang with a smile, stepping aside to reveal Jiang Ning a short distance behind her, holding a small plate of fruit Ji Shuang had just washed.
Qi Xingzhou’s gaze inadvertently fell on Ji Shuang.
Ji Shuang watched nervously. Usually, at this point, if Qi Xingzhou saw another person at home, he would retreat to his room without a word and wouldn’t come out no matter who called him.
Although Jiang Ning knew that Qi Xingzhou was averse to strangers, she didn’t know exactly how he would react.
Seeing Qi Xingzhou standing by the door, unmoving and looking at her, Jiang Ning stepped forward tentatively and offered the plate of fruit, “Would you like some?”
Then, the ever-anxious Ji Shuang watched as her son, who had never shown emotional responses or made contact with any stranger before, not only kept his gaze on Jiang Ning after she approached but also reached out cautiously to receive the fruit from her hands.
Although he didn’t speak, Ji Shuang could sense a hint of awkwardness and restraint in his actions.