Rebirth: Pampered by My Children and Husband

Chapter 275: Chapter 275: Back to 20 Years Ago (10)

Twelve years had passed.

Ji Tingyang had started working at Ji’s.

Ji Yanli had nearly dumped all the work on his son to handle, claiming it was to train his abilities, while he himself enjoyed a leisurely life at home with Lin Xu, occasionally going on sweet trips, leading a very idyllic life.

Every time Ji Tingyang came back from working overtime at the company, seeing Ji Yanli and his mother’s sweet appearances, as an overworked office drone, his frustrations would intensify.

Sitting in the car on his way home, Ji Tingyang tugged at his tie, his fingertips irritably pinched the bridge of his nose, and he looked out of the car window, hoping to relax his eyes, but he saw a shopping mall they were passing.

“Stop at the intersection ahead,” Ji Tingyang suddenly said.

He remembered that the custom jewelry he had ordered for his mother should’ve arrived, so he decided to pick it up.

However, just as Ji Tingyang entered the shopping mall, a hurried figure ran into him, even spilling some milk tea on his clothes.

“Ah, I’m so sorry, so sorry…” Wen Li nervously took out a tissue from her bag and offered it to him.

Ji Tingyang took the tissue and wiped it off casually, “It’s fine.”

“I didn’t mean to, how much does your suit cost? I’ll compensate you for it,” Wen Li said, her face losing some color in her rush.

Ji Tingyang’s voice was low and cool, yet gentle, “It’s just a suit, it doesn’t matter.”

“But…” Wen Li bit her lip, her expression hesitant.

“Don’t worry about it, I have to go now,” Ji Tingyang gave her a nod and then proceeded to the store ahead.

Wen Li turned around, giving a deep look to the retreating figure of Ji Tingyang.

Strange.

He looked somewhat familiar, but she was sure she didn’t know him.

“Wen Li, what’s wrong?” A voice from behind snapped her wandering thoughts back to reality.

Wen Li turned around and upon seeing Xiao Yu, a smile suddenly bloomed on her face, and she ran towards him, “I just accidentally bumped into someone and dirtied his clothes.”

“Are you okay, though? Nothing happened, right?” Xiao Yu’s eyes held a hint of concern.

“I’m fine; his clothes looked really expensive, but thankfully he was nice and didn’t ask for compensation,” Wen Li said thankfully as she walked out of the mall with Xiao Yu.

“That’s good. By the way, I saw a restaurant hiring part-time workers a few days ago, do you want to try it out?” Xiao Yu suggested.

“Sure, my classes are light lately. I need to save up some more money, then move out from my family’s place.”

Both chatted casually as they boarded a bus.

This encounter in the shopping mall was just a trivial matter in the course of their day, neither of them dwelling on it much.

However, neither of them anticipated that they would meet again.

Ji Tingyang was having dinner at Flaming Lily Restaurant with a client when he stepped out into the corridor to take a phone call from Ji Lanyue.

“You must remember, on your way back, buy me some crème brûlée puddings, Mom said she wants some,” Ji Lanyue instructed on the phone.

Ji Tingyang let out a light laugh, “Is it you who wants them?”

His mother would only ask him to bring back barbecued skewers.

Ji Lanyue coughed, “Not at all, Mom said she didn’t want skewers today, she feels like having pudding. If you don’t believe me, I’ll get her to tell you.”

Ji Tingyang: “Alright.”

Ji Lanyue: “…She went to the restroom, can’t listen, just remember to buy it on your way back, I’m hanging up.”

Watching as the call was promptly ended, Ji Tingyang silently laughed to himself.

He put away his phone, and just as he was about to head back to the private room, he heard a child’s crying nearby.

Following the sound, Ji Tingyang saw a little girl, about five or six years old, crying while holding a toy.

The toy seemed to have been snagged by something, tearing a gash in it and revealing the cotton stuffing inside.

The little girl cried pitifully, which suddenly brought to his mind the memory of a young Ji Lanyue hugging her toy and crying her eyes out.

Moved, he had already started walking towards the little girl.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Tingyang squatted down, and patted her head gently.

“My teddy bear is hurt.” The little girl pointed to a protruding nail on the wall as tears uncontrollably spilled from her eyes.

Ji Tingyang’s fingertip wiped away the tear from the corner of her eye, and he said softly, “How about I buy you a new one?”

“No, Mommy gave me the teddy bear.” As she spoke, the little girl broke into even more violent sobs.

Ji Tingyang stiffened for a moment, at a loss for what to do.

“Ouch, the teddy bear is injured? How about sister performs a surgery and stitches up his wound?” A young woman approached and squatted down in front of the child.

“Yes, please help teddy bear have surgery quickly,” the little girl urged as she handed her toy over haste.

“Wipe your tears first, and after you stop crying, we’ll perform surgery on teddy bear,” the young woman handed her a tissue.

The little girl grabbed the tissue and smeared her face with it.

The young woman looked at her smeared face, smiled, and carefully wiped her face with another tissue.

Watching their interaction, Ji Tingyang’s mind momentarily wandered.

It reminded him of his childhood when his sister’s toy had accidentally been snagged, and his mother had comforted her with similar tenderness.

Inexplicably.

A wave of nostalgia and warmth surged in his heart, and he looked at the young woman unconsciously.

The young woman looked back at him, a flash of surprise in her eyes, “Is it you?”

“Do you know me?” Ji Tingyang asked.

“Last time in the mall, I accidentally bumped into you and stained your clothes…” Wen Li’s face still held a tinge of embarrassment as she brought up the memory again.

Ji Tingyang thought for a moment and realized there indeed had been such an incident.

“I’m really sorry about last time,” Wen Li apologized again.

“It’s okay,” Ji Tingyang responded.

Wen Li wanted to say something else, but a man hurried over, interrupting her.

“President Ji, what happened, do you need my help?” The manager glanced at Ji Tingyang, and then at Wen Li and the little girl with tear-stained cheeks.

He was afraid that Ji Tingyang had encountered some scam.

“It’s nothing, this girl’s doll is broken, find someone to sew it up for her,” Ji Tingyang finished, then paused, “and check the safety in the restaurant, make sure there are no protruding nails like this that can hurt someone.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll have someone check it right away,” the manager nodded repeatedly, “Is there anything else you need, President Ji?”

“That’s all, I have to leave now, tell the people in the private room I said goodbye.” After speaking, Ji Tingyang promptly headed for the restaurant’s exit.

For some reason, he felt a sense of panic inside.

He knew his mother was at home, yet he felt an urgent need to go back and confirm her presence.

He wanted to go home to see his mother as soon as possible.

Right, he thought, why not also pick up some grilled skewers on the way?

Wen Li watched his hurried departure, scratching her head.

This President Ji seemed like a nice person, but also a bit odd.

Every time she saw him, he appeared to be in a great hurry, always rushed.