Home/ The Selfish Gene/ Chapter 28
Walking out of the bedroom in a bathrobe, I saw Ji Chenfeng taking off his coat and rolling up his sleeves to feed the kitten. Compared to me who could barely keep them alive, he was skilled enough to receive the “Golden Daddy” award.
After feeding the kittens, he carefully patted the kitten’s back. I sat next to him and asked him what he’s doing. He said he was burping the cat.
I nodded perfunctorily, not understanding what he was saying at all.
“Right now, they are too small, so they need to be fed more frequently. Once they grow up a bit, you won’t have to feed them at such small intervals.”
Ji Chenfeng seems to have not rested well these days. His eyes were very red and bloodshot, and the smell of tobacco on his body was so strong that it seemed to have blended into his bones. Even his voice exudes a strong sense of exhaustion.
“What’s wrong?” Still gently stroking the kitten’s back, he turned his head to look at me.
Probably because I’ve been staring too intently at his side profile, it made him feel a bit weird.
“What have you been doing these days? Why are you so busy?”
“It’s just… submitting resumes everywhere and then going for interviews.” He looked away and didn’t tell the truth.
I deliberately asked again: “Is it so difficult to find a job now?”
He didn’t say anything this time, just let out a soft “hmm”.
It seems that my little puppy still wants to retain his meaningless stubbornness and has not learned to completely rely on me.
“If you’re hungry, just order room service. I’ll go to bed first.”
After taking a shower to briefly recharge my energy, my body was invaded by an even stronger drowsiness. Standing up, I yawned and left him alone, walking towards the bedroom.
I slept for ten hours until the next morning. After washing up, I walked out of the bedroom, and the living room was very quiet, without any sound.
I thought Ji Chenfeng had left, but then I saw him sleeping on the sofa with his coat on. His tall body was curled up in an awkward posture, and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed, wondering if he slept uncomfortably.
The curtains weren’t drawn, so the interior was very bright. I rested my elbows on the back of the sofa, propped up my chin, and looked down at Ji Chenfeng’s sleeping face.
From the heroic eyebrows, straight nose, to the light-coloured lips…
Probably because he hasn’t rested well in the past few days, even the color of his lips looks ugly. Just tell me about Yan Shanhua’s illness. Besides money, I can also help you in more ways, so why don’t you tell me?
Is it great to resist on your own? Now that you have already accepted my favor, what does it matter if there is more? I really don’t understand him. At times like this, he still has to maintain unnecessary self-esteem in front of me.
Only when you feel like trash can I rest assured…
Thinking this way, I fiddled with Ji Chenfeng’s hair with my fingers, but I didn’t expect him to wake up.
His eyelids trembled slightly, and his eyebrows furrowed even tighter. After a moment, he struggled to open his eyes, looking confused.
I simply patted his cheek to wake him up completely.
“Get up, Dr. Ji, the sun is shining on your buttocks.”
His pupils slowly became focused. He kneaded his temples and sat up, taking a look at the time on the phone placed at the coffee table.
Turning on the capsule coffee machine, I stuffed a random capsule in and then called the room service to order a western style breakfast.
During this period, Ji Chenfeng got up and went to the bathroom to wash up, and soon there was the sound of water coming from inside.
Just as breakfast was delivered, he also came out after washing up.
“It’s good to have you, otherwise I don’t know what I would do on my own.” I glanced at the mess on the coffee table and sighed.
Ji Chenfeng used the table knife flexibly like a scalpel to cut the sausages and eggs into small pieces.
“Later, I will call my former colleagues to see if they have any female cats that have given birth to kittens recently.”
After picking up the coffee, I asked, “Do you want to send them away?”
Ji Chenfeng lowered his eyes and said, “I may not be able to take care of them all the time.”
“Because you’re looking for a job?” I took a sip of coffee and put the cup back into its holder, making a distinct clinking sound.
“If I can’t find a job, I won’t be able to pay you back. I don’t want that.” He sent the food into his mouth and chewed it slowly. His eating appearance was completely different from the way he used to eat before, treating everything as delicious.
Isn’t it just 300,000 yuan? Is it necessary to not even eat a good meal?
I decided to take the initiative and said, “Dr. Ji, if it’s too hard to find a good job right now. How about you come work for me?”
Tapping the coffee cup slightly with my fingertips, I suggested, “I have cats and turtles here. You can take care of them, it should be similar to taking care of other people’s cats and dogs outside, right? I will give you a monthly salary of 20,000 yuan and you will be my personal veterinarian. This way… you won’t have to pay off the money you owe me in five years.”
At the same time, I would feel more at ease after tying him to my side. It can be said to be killing two birds with one stone.
I thought this was a good idea, but Ji Chenfeng didn’t seem to think so.
He stared at the plate in front of him. After listening to my words, he stopped chewing and his movements also stopped. His lips were tightly pursed, and from the side, he looked like a human-shaped ice sculpture that had been formed after a blizzard.
To put it simply…he seemed angry.
Looking back at what I just said, I couldn’t find anything wrong. Giving him a suitable job, opening the back door for him, and allowing him to repay my money with dignity. What is there to be dissatisfied about?
Although in the past I have been accused of being a scum by several women for disregarding their feelings, I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong this time. I’ve shown enough consideration.
“Sang Nian…” After a long silence, Ji Chenfeng sighed lightly and looked up at me, “Don’t pity me, I don’t need that kind of thing. The last thing I need is someone else’s pity and sympathy.”
When he said this, I could clearly feel that he had built a defensive ice wall between us, silently separating himself with me.
This is not just a matter of “like”, but a matter of lip service. He doesn’t like me just giving him things, nor does he like me thinking about him like this.
This is the first time since I’ve met him that he has clearly shown his “dislike”.
When he sighed, I could even figure out his subtext, saying: “We are really different, you don’t understand anything.” As if to say: “I’m very tired. Please mind your own business.”
My fingertips were tightly pressed against the cup, twitching uncontrollably. My heart and throat seemed to be stuck with an egg yolk, feeling as if I could hardly breathe.
I felt a bit unhappy— it’s a feeling similar to displeasure, but I didn’t know why I felt it. This displeasure was mixed with some pain, as if… I was stung by his words.
However, he only politely refused my kindness and asked me not to pity him. Why do I feel so hurt?
Because this is a rare kindness that I offered proactively?
Yes, that should be it. It’s rare for me to be so considerate of him, but he actually refused to accept my kindness and even said that he didn’t need it. You really don’t need it, so why did you borrow money from me?
Every time my heart beats, I feel a sense of distress. I feel a stabbing pain in my chest because of his words. How could I be… hurt by someone who lives worse than a dog?
For a moment, I couldn’t tell whether I was more angry because of Ji Chenfeng’s rude words to me, or whether I was more angry because of the pain I felt because of his words.
My head became blank all of a sudden, and when I regained my senses, I had already stood up.
“Then let’s just pretend I didn’t say anything. You can leave by yourself after eating, I won’t send you off.” After speaking in a cold voice, I turned back and went back to the bedroom without even looking at Ji Chenfeng, closing the door vigorously.
After the deafening sound, I was still not relieved and simply locked the door.
Lying on the bed, I deliberately turned up the TV volume to cover up all the sounds outside.
If he knocked on the door, I would pretend not to hear and let him know what it feels like to be ignored.
The cell phone on the bedside table suddenly rang, and when I picked it up, it was a call from Zhou Jiyu’s clinic.
I knew it was a reminder from the clinic to attend the appointment on time this afternoon, but I didn’t pick it up.
While watching some random variety show on TV, I unconsciously replayed Ji Chenfeng’s words in my mind. Every time I thought of his words, my heart became even more dull.
Don’t you regard me as your benefactor? Can a normal person speak to his benefactor with that kind of look and tone? And he still hasn’t come to apologize. Does he want me to go and apologize to him first?
Go to hell!
The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. Yan Shanhua died of illness, and Ji Chenfeng was exhausted from taking care of her. It’s all over and I am very happy.
After staying in the room for two hours, I felt a bit thirsty.
I got up from the bed, and amidst the sound of the TV in the background, held onto the bedroom doorknob with both hands, hesitating repeatedly between opening or not opening it.
Isn’t it normal to go out to get a glass of water when you are thirsty? Thinking about it this way, I pushed open the door.
After glancing around, the dinner plates on the table have been cleaned up, and all the mess on the coffee table also disappeared, including the two kittens. Instead, there were two pieces of paper placed on the coffee table.
Ji Chenfeng left. Not only did he leave, but he also took away my kittens with him.
Feeling somewhat absurd, I walked over to the coffee table and picked up the two pieces of paper to look at.
The first one said ‘I am taking the kittens away, so you don’t have to worry’, and the other one… was an IOU signed with his name. After deducting the amount that he had paid back to me over the past three years, he rounded up the figure and owed me a total of five hundred thousand yuan.
You really have some backbone. I almost laughed at him.
Crumpling the two pieces of paper into small balls, I fiercely threw them into the trash can. Afterwards, I went back to my bedroom, changed my clothes, and then headed towards Zhou Jiyu’s clinic.
“The method you taught me doesn’t work at all.” I lazily leaned onto the sofa, supported my head with one hand, and asked Zhou Jiyu through gritted teeth, “What’s going on?”
“How can it be so easy to completely control someone? First give the person a sweet jujube and let him be happy. Then it’s time to make him feel the pain. Ignore him until he takes the initiative to contact you.” Zhou Jiyu blew on the hot coffee in the cup and said calmly.
I narrowed my eyes: “What if he never takes the initiative to contact me?”
Zhou Jiyu smiled and said firmly: “Impossible. ‘He’ took the kittens away and left you an IOU. Do you think he doesn’t want to contact you anymore? On the contrary, he is afraid that you will not contact him.”
I exhaled deeply and thought that it made sense. After thinking for a moment, I nodded, “Then let’s do as you say.”
Indeed, after coaxing him for so long, it’s time to kill his spirit.
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