Crossing the Line – Chapter 44

So It Turns Out She Likes Me.

Lin Ji said that Fan Qing was on a one-week vacation abroad, so today she had personally brought a professional moving company to handle the move.

The movers in uniform were grabbing boxes, pulling on gloves, getting ready to work.

            

Lin Ji was also putting on gloves, a mask, and a hat.

Jiang Siyi asked, “Which area should I handle?”

Lin Ji looked at Xueqiu, who was cowering under the table.

            

“You’re in charge of holding Xueqiu.”

Xueqiu was the classic case of all bark and no bite.

When a single visitor came, he could still act tough, barking ferociously with his owner nearby.

            

But with this whole crowd of people today, Xueqiu had ducked under the table, trembling, his little black bean eyes darting suspiciously in every direction, refusing to come out no matter what.

Jiang Siyi wanted to argue. She might not be as tall as Lin Ji, but she actually had some strength — moving a few things would be no problem. How could she just be in charge of holding the dog?

And this was her move, after all.

            

Jiang Siyi said, “How can I slack off.”

“You can slack off.”

Lin Ji gave a light tap on the forehead that was already eager to argue back.

            

She simply didn’t want her to exert herself.

With that tap from Lin Ji, Jiang Siyi’s momentum deflated by several degrees.

But it wasn’t like before, when she’d wilted out of fear.

            

The spot on her forehead where Lin Ji had touched her — that small patch of skin — the sensation was unmistakable.

A soft, ticklish feeling bloomed in her heart.

Lin Ji said, “With so many people walking in and out, and the door having to stay open, if Xueqiu gets spooked and runs out, that would be trouble.”

            

Jiang Siyi lowered her eyes. “…Mm.”

Lin Ji said, “You’re in charge of holding him. That’s the most important job. If the movers need to ask you something, just answer when you can.”

With that, Lin Ji didn’t give Jiang Siyi another chance to refuse, and went off to work.

            

On this sunlit day off, Jiang Siyi had packed up her personal and private items, then held Xueqiu, enjoying the air conditioning and sipping the iced strawberry juice Lin Ji had brought for her, watching the professional moving team do their work.

The lease on this apartment still had two months remaining. Jiang Siyi had spoken with the landlady to see if she could end it early.

If it was inconvenient, the remaining two months’ rent, already paid quarterly, didn’t need to be refunded — after all, the contract date hadn’t expired yet.

            

And the landlady was kind, often helping her out and letting her keep a dog. Going by the contract terms was acceptable to her.

She told the landlady that she was moving out first, and the electronic lock’s password and fingerprint could be changed anytime.

The landlady was also a J City local — a chubby older woman who was always smiling.

            

When they’d signed the lease and needed to photocopy the property deed, the old woman had pulled out a thick stack of property certificates, put on her reading glasses, and said:

“Hold on, let me find which one it is.”

The landlady wasn’t short on money and was very kind. She also quite liked Jiang Siyi — thought the girl was pretty and polite, and that living on her own wasn’t easy.

            

Hearing that Jiang Siyi was moving out, the landlady said over the phone with vigorous energy:

【No problem at all, just move. I’ll refund you the two months’ rent. It just so happens a relative’s child is coming to J City for work, and they were asking me to clean up one of the old apartments. Now that you’re freeing up this place, it works out nicely. Xiao Jiang, why the sudden move? You never mentioned it before. Is it a work change?】

Jiang Siyi glanced at Lin Ji, who was nearby, carefully packing utensils and placing them into a box. She answered truthfully:

            

【I got married. Moving in with my wife.】

The landlady let out an “Oh my!” 【That’s wonderful news! Congratulations, congratulations! Whoever gets to marry you is lucky—】

The landlady’s voice was so loud it was leaking from the phone. When Lin Ji heard the word “wife,” she turned to look at her.

            

Jiang Siyi pretended she hadn’t noticed her gaze at all. 【Thank you…】

The moving team, every one of them wearing gloves, carefully packed all the items from the rental apartment by zone and loaded them onto the truck.

During the move, the storage cabinet was emptied out. In the empty cabinet, all that remained was a gift bag with a pretty bow.

            

Its placement was conspicuous — it clearly didn’t belong here. It had been hidden behind other things before.

A decorative flower was attached to the gift bag, bearing an English letter—S.

Stella’s S.

            

Lin Ji picked up the gift bag and asked Jiang Siyi, “Should this be taken along too?”

Jiang Siyi was telling the movers that some of the miscellaneous items didn’t need to be moved — they could just be thrown out.

Then Lin Ji spoke up again. Caught off guard, she turned around and saw the gift she had long forgotten.

            

A birthday gift for Song Ti from before the new year that she had never given.

Back then, she’d hidden it deep in the closet, covered it with other things, thinking: out of sight, out of mind.

The consequence was that she’d completely forgotten it existed, and now it had been pulled out by the last person who should have seen it.

            

Jiang Siyi and the letter “S” stared at each other, speechless for a moment.

“Looks like garbage.” Lin Ji smiled. “Garbage should be thrown out.”

Jiang Siyi: “…Okay.”

            

She couldn’t help feeling that Lin Ji’s smile just now carried the oppressive energy of someone who might pack her up and toss her into a river the next second.

Given Lin Ji’s intelligence, she probably knew in an instant who this gift had been intended for.

Jiang Siyi didn’t dare make a sound. The movers were asking her about the balcony — which items to take — so she hesitated, then walked over to the balcony.

            

Lin Ji had been about to casually toss the gift bag into the designated trash box.

After a moment’s thought, she only tore off the decorative flower, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it away.

The gift itself, she repacked in a clean bag, placing it together with the “not very useful” daily items Jiang Siyi had mentioned.

            

She sealed the box herself.

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With all the luggage packed, Lin Ji drove personally, taking Jiang Siyi toward the villa — toward the next chapter of her life.

Just like that, she was living with Lin Ji.

            

Every character in that sentence, read carefully, still felt somewhat unreal.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Jiang Siyi gazed through the rearview mirror at the moving van following behind, counseling herself inwardly—

Even though they were living together now, she had to remember her place.

            

She knew what a well-behaved, convenient arranged-marriage wife should do.

Don’t cross the line.

Jiang Siyi had originally assumed that given Lin Ji’s personality, she would live in a quiet suburban area.

            

Like Lin Xuebo’s villa — with mountains and water and extreme privacy, like an undisturbed paradise.

It was just rather remote, which would be somewhat inconvenient for a commuter.

If it was truly some distance from the city center, Jiang Siyi had already prepared herself to buy a car for commuting.

            

Thanks to Lin Xuebo’s patronage recently, her commissions had been quite substantial. Buying a car wouldn’t be a problem.

She hadn’t expected Lin Ji’s house to be right in the city’s prime district.

Driving from the rental neighborhood, it took less than half an hour to arrive.

            

It was even closer to the auction house than her rented apartment.

Jiang Siyi stared through the car window at the understated yet exquisitely designed community name — “Linyu Shuian” — and was momentarily stunned.

“It’s right here? So close to Jiashibi.”

            

Lin Ji said, “If you walk from the back gate, it’s fifteen minutes to your company.”

Jiang Siyi fell silent.

It was hard not to form a thought in her mind—

            

Did Lin Ji buy a house here specifically to make it convenient for my commute?

The next second, she dismissed the idea.

How could that be possible.

            

Linyu Shuian was a highly sought-after new community recently. To buy a place here, beyond asset verification, you also had to win a lottery for the right to purchase.

One of Jiang Siyi’s clients had desperately wanted to buy a place here, asking around to see if they could use internal connections.

Lin Ji must have chosen this place for its convenient and comfortable living conditions. It had nothing to do with anyone else.

            

Jiang Siyi told herself: you’ve used up your narcissism quota for the day.

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The Bentley and the moving van drove into the community together, pulling into the above-ground garage of Courtyard No. 1.

The community manager had also come, helping the movers carefully unload all the packed boxes from the truck.

            

Items were brought out one by one and placed in their pre-designated spots inside the house.

The villa was large but very empty — spacious across three floors, with front and back yards.

The hard fittings were minimalist in design, and not much soft furnishing had been added — almost only the most basic furniture for daily living.

            

It could almost be described as “empty.”

As if waiting for some future day to be carefully filled.

Even Xueqiu was stunned. After climbing down from Jiang Siyi’s arms, he didn’t run — just poked his head around hesitantly in the spacious house, not daring to take a step, standing right by Jiang Siyi’s feet.

            

He tilted his head, looking around, then looked back at his owner in confusion, as if asking—

Where is this?

Lin Ji unpacked Xueqiu’s favorite cushion and toys from a box and set them by the sofa, calling him:

            

“Xueqiu.”

Xueqiu walked over, his four white legs standing on the chestnut-patterned cushion. Seeing the little toys inside, he recognized them as his own things and relaxed slightly.

After pawing at it a few times, he turned and ran back to Jiang Siyi’s feet.

            

What a mama’s boy of a dog. Jiang Siyi could only pick him up again.

Jiang Siyi said to the anxious little cotton ball in her arms:

“Don’t be afraid. Mama’s right here. This is your home from now on.”

            

Jiang Siyi’s tone as she comforted Xueqiu was so gentle, and she’d even called herself “Mama.”

Lin Ji’s gaze lingered for a few seconds before she said, “The yard is big enough. Xueqiu can play in the yard from now on. There’s also a dedicated pet park in the community.”

Jiang Siyi held a toy and took Xueqiu out to the yard for a walk, helping him adjust to the environment.

            

Xueqiu was prone to getting stressed, but once he felt safe, he quickly let his guard down.

Jiang Siyi tossed a small toy for him — he wasn’t particularly good at fetch, but he loved interacting with his owner. After Jiang Siyi played with him for a while, he could entertain himself, trotting around the yard with his favorite big fat goose plushie, exploring curiously.

Seeing he could manage on his own, Jiang Siyi went back inside. It took her half a walk across the house to find Lin Ji by following the sound — she was still busy working alongside the movers.

            

This house was truly big — bigger than the Jiang family home she remembered from when her mother was still alive.

Aside from the community manager who came to greet them, Jiang Siyi hadn’t seen any housekeeper or live-in nanny that Lin Ji might have hired.

Could it be that in such a large house, it would just be the two of them, plus one small dog?

            

Seeing Jiang Siyi approach, Lin Ji said, “You can unpack your personal clothes yourself. I’ve left space in the walk-in closet. The closet connects to the master bedroom — end of the hallway, turn left.”

Jiang Siyi said, “Okay, okay.”

Following Lin Ji’s directions, she walked down the long, blank corridor and pushed open the master bedroom’s concealed door.

            

The master bedroom continued the minimalist design. The wall paint was apricot gray — a color that easily settled the mind.

A full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows looked out onto a lush private garden.

The space was warm yet textured — the kind of atmosphere Jiang Siyi liked.

            

It was just… that spacious bed looked unmistakably like a double bed.

Images of nighttime associations surfaced in her mind, and Jiang Siyi immediately shoved those unpracticed scenarios out of her head.

Setting aside the double bed for now, she turned left into the walk-in closet.

            

Inside the three-sided walk-in closet, more than half the wardrobe space had been emptied. Soft ambient lighting was on, waiting for Jiang Siyi’s clothes to fill it piece by piece.

The other half, naturally, was all Lin Ji’s clothing.

Some of it Jiang Siyi had seen before — that trench coat she had kept for years hung in a prominent position.

            

Some she hadn’t seen.

Beyond outerwear, there were also many sets of sleepwear.

And underwear…

            

She almost caught a glimpse of something she shouldn’t have. Jiang Siyi immediately averted her eyes.

Living together, there was one thing to keep in mind — be careful and cautious, don’t accidentally intrude on Lin Ji’s privacy.

But… at home, Lin Ji would probably wear sleepwear, right…

            

Wouldn’t that mean facing a sleepwear-clad Lin Ji every single day?

Though as long as it wasn’t more provocative than the sleepwear set Auntie Lin had prepared, it would be fine.

Given Lin Ji’s reserved personality, her sleepwear should be on the conservative side.

            

Yes, that must be it.

The boxes of clothes had already been placed in the corner.

As she went to unpack them, she passed the central island display cabinet, and her attention was inadvertently drawn to it.

            

The entire cabinet contained only two pieces of jewelry.

The red diamond ring, and the earrings Jiang Siyi had given her.

The earrings looked like a blooming camellia, carefully and lovingly stored here.

            

Jiang Siyi recalled that in all their recent interactions, Lin Ji seemed to be wearing this pair of earrings every time.

Today, because of the move and the dust, she wasn’t wearing them.

Jiang Siyi had noticed this before, thinking Lin Ji wore her gift out of politeness every time they met.

            

But it turned out… in this entire display cabinet, there were only these two pieces of jewelry.

As she hung clothes in the empty spaces, Jiang Siyi’s thoughts drifted.

Piece after piece of clothing was placed in the wardrobe, merging with Lin Ji’s into one continuous space.

            

All around her was Lin Ji’s signature cold fragrance.

The feeling of stepping into Lin Ji’s life pressed genuinely against Jiang Siyi’s heart, making it tighten slightly.

Come to think of it…

            

Jiang Siyi belatedly realized — their clothes were in the same walk-in closet, which meant there was only one walk-in closet?

In other words, only one master bedroom?

One bed?

            

“I didn’t prepare dual master bedrooms.”

Lin Ji’s voice sounded behind her.

Jiang Siyi’s wandering expression in the walk-in closet had been seen right through.

            

No one had even asked, and Lin Ji had already provided the answer.

Jiang Siyi turned around, responding mechanically.

“Ah… generally, there aren’t dual master bedrooms anyway.”

            

She had just reminded herself not to cross boundaries, and now she was about to sleep in the same bed.

Jiang Siyi, who already knew how poor her own sleeping posture was, sighed inwardly.

She hoped that starting tonight, she’d still remember to keep some measure while asleep, and not do anything inappropriate.

            

Only, sharing a bed with Lin Ji — whether she could even fall asleep was the real question.

Lin Ji seemed to have completely forgotten the incident where Jiang Siyi had touched her thigh in her sleep, and said calmly:

“At my mother’s place, the lady of the house and the man of the house each have their own bedroom because their relationship has cooled and there’s some distance between them. For newlyweds to sleep separately would be strange.”

            

Jiang Siyi could only agree. “That’s true. If Auntie Lin suddenly came to visit and found that two people who just got married weren’t sleeping together, she’d probably be suspicious.”

---

The community manager and the moving company were highly efficient. By noon, everything had been put in place.

Jiang Siyi saw her shoes placed alongside Lin Ji’s in the shoe cabinet, their coats hanging side by side in the entryway.

            

The two line-art puppy cushions she’d bought on Taobao for fifty yuan — one on the left, one on the right — casually commandeered the calfskin sofa that cost ten thousand times their price.

The refrigerator had glass panels, so Jiang Siyi’s random collection of fridge magnets from her travels couldn’t be stuck to it.

Lin Ji held the small box of magnets, walked around the house, and carefully stuck them one by one onto the kitchen’s enamel panels — still a full display of memories.

            

Jiang Siyi’s presence had brazenly invaded Lin Ji’s living space.

Adding quite a bit of childlike domestic warmth to what had been a highly designed yet austere house.

Xueqiu had played in the yard until his whole self looked thoroughly disheveled. Thrilled, he came trotting back inside.

            

Jiang Siyi saw his dirty paws leaving a trail of prints on the clean floor and called out to him, but it was too late.

Xueqiu happily ran to Lin Ji’s feet, wagging his tail furiously, making urgent whimpering sounds from his throat.

He looked like he wanted her to pick him up.

            

Lin Ji froze for a moment: …

Jiang Siyi was about to come over and carry away this mama’s boy dog who demanded affection regardless of occasion.

Lin Ji thought of what Jiang Siyi had just said to Xueqiu — “Mama’s right here.”

            

The dirty little dog begging for affection in front of her… the more she looked, the more endearing he seemed.

She bent down and tried gathering Xueqiu into her arms, lifting him up.

Jiang Siyi watched Lin Ji hold Xueqiu, stroking his round little head.

            

After one stroke, Xueqiu’s tail was practically spinning like a propeller, and his whimpering grew even louder.

“Is he hungry?”

Lin Ji asked Jiang Siyi.

            

Jiang Siyi answered without thinking.

“He likes you.”

Lin Ji’s gaze shifted from Xueqiu to Jiang Siyi, her eyes shifting slightly.

            

“So it turns out he likes me.”

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The author has something to say:

Lin Ji: Step 16 of wife-pampering — cannot let wife tire even a tiny bit.

            

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