Pampered by My Ex's Cousin-Chapter 678 - 670: Who Donated the Cornea Again? (Part 3)

They had just passed a red light not long ago and encountered another one, lining up in a long queue.

Qi Helian stopped the car, turned his head to glance at Ji Anning in the driver’s seat. She was staring out the window, lost in thought or maybe melancholy, looking utterly distracted.

He broke her reverie by asking, "What songs do you like to listen to?"

As he asked, he picked up his phone to search for music.

"Anything," Ji Anning replied indifferently to Qi Helian, then turned her gaze back to the car window.

Beautiful violin music started playing in the car, seeping into the ears, soothing and relaxing the mood.

Ji Anning tilted her head, resting it against the car window glass, engrossed in the music when it suddenly changed.

It changed to Qi Helian’s phone ringing through the speakers, startling not just Ji Anning but Qi Helian as well; he instinctively answered it with a "Hmm."

His phone was still connected to the car’s speakers via Bluetooth.

Ms. Qi Xiaoxiao’s voice came through the speakers, "Honey, are you with Anning?"

"Haven’t you boarded your plane yet?"

The red light turned green, and Qi Helian started the car, following the line of cars slowly moving forward. The traffic was heavy, so he focused on the road ahead and continued speaking with Ms. Qi through the speaker.

"I am already on the plane," Qi Xiaoxiao replied to Qi Helian and then continued, "I just met Anning’s uncle Chicheng at the airport, and he said if you want their family’s Anning, you must offer gold assets as a dowry."

Ms. Qi Xiaoxiao’s voice emerged from the speakers, and by the time Qi Helian turned it off, she had finished speaking.

Qi Helian instinctively glanced at Ji Anning; her head was still resting on the window, her eyes closed, lips curled into a self-mocking smile.

As if knowing Qi Helian was watching her, she moved her lips and said with self-derision, "He really overestimates me, a mere me is not worth a gold asset."

Hearing her self-mockery, Qi Helian’s heart tightened and, almost without thinking, the word "Worth" slipped out.

Before this, he had never compared her to anything or anyone.

Now that the question was suddenly thrown in front of him, he suddenly felt that, apart from her, everything else seemed less important.

He was extremely surprised, looking at Ji Anning. Since when had she become so... so important to him?

Their interactions had been few, and what he remembered most about her was still from many years ago...

Ji Anning too was startled by Qi Helian’s unhesitating "Worth," staring at him with her mouth agape. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

As Qi Helian came to his senses, the atmosphere suddenly became awkward; his fair cheeks flushed with a hint of red, the first time he had ever been so shy and embarrassed in front of a woman.

He turned his head, eyes fixed on the road ahead but stealing glances at Ji Anning. She continued looking out the car window. He pursed his lips, pondered for a while, and finally spoke, "He knows well that ’Jin Ming’ was founded by my dad for my mom, and it’s not something I can give away."

As he spoke, he glanced at Ji Anning and added, "His way of expressing his thoughts is always so convoluted, I am used to it."

Hearing this, Ji Anning suddenly turned to smile at him, "Your way of comforting people is also quite roundabout."

Qi Helian was taken aback for a moment, then realized, and he also started to smile.

His eyes crinkled as he laughed, and seeing this, Ji Anning teased, "Mr. Qi, you really look beautiful when you smile."