The taxi quickly reached her neighborhood and she alit from it after paying the fare .
Bang! Opening the door grill to their apartment, she spotted her mother doing yoga in the living room by copying the posture shown on TV .
“Mom, what are you doing?” She changed into her indoor slippers and entered the living room with a perplexed look .
Her mother, who continued to copy the person on TV, answered her question with an invitation .
“I’m doing yoga . Quickly change clothes and do yoga with me . ” Her mother smile warmly .
She eyed the yoga instructor on TV and then amusedly shook her head at her mother . “Forget it; I should just take a shower and sleep . I’m feeling very tired today . ”
“Huh? Tired? Hurry to bed, then . You can do this with me tomorrow . ” Her mother did not insist on her to join in .
“Mhm . Mom, you should wrap it up and get to bed early, too . ”
She proceeded to her room, wore her pajamas, and went into the washroom .
Fresh from the bath, she stood in front of the mirror and removed her makeup . She lightly sighed as she watched herself return into the average version of herself .
“Sigh…” In that instant, she felt as though she were Cinderella .
The magic disappeared when the clock struck 12, and Cinderella returned from being a princess into the average Cinderella, leaving her prince charming behind .
“Pei Ge, what nonsense are you thinking?!” Finding the thought ridiculous, she rapped her head with her knuckles . She then made her way out of the washroom .
Noting that her mother was still doing yoga, she bid her good night and retired to her bedroom .
She settled in her bed immediately after entering her room .
She then checked her phone and, seeing no message from Tang Xiaoyu, mumbled in dismay, “Sigh… Stupid Xiaoyu, where exactly did you go?!”
“CEO Ji, I didn’t manage to bring Miss Pei home myself . She was already gone when I got there . ” Du Wen quickly phoned his big boss to report his failure to complete the task .
“… Alright . I understand . ” Ji Ziming gave this reply after a long pause .
The assistant was about to let his boss end the call when his hand bumped into the item in his pocket .
Suddenly, he was reminded that he still had the film roll with his boss and that lady’s photo .
“Oh, right, CEO Ji . I still have Lily’s film roll containing your and Miss Pei’s picture . May I ask what you want me to do with it?”
“Bring it over to me . ” His boss sounded a little hurried .
Acknowledging his orders, he started the car and drove toward his boss’s apartment .
Pressing for the elevator, he promptly spotted his boss standing inside it when the doors parted open; it was as though the man had been waiting for his arrival .
“Er!” The assistant was taken aback by his presence in the elevator .
“Where’s the film roll?” The man ignored his surprise and just indifferently demanded for the item .
“O-Oh . It’s here!” The assistant repressed his surprise and quickly retrieved the film roll from his pocket and passed it over to the man respectfully .
Receiving the item, the man disregarded him altogether and just closed the elevator doors again .
Meanwhile, Du Wen was left feeling surreal . With the sequence of the elevator doors opening, closing, and then rising happening so fast, he did not have time to react at all .
“CEO Ji indeed acts oddly when it involves Miss Pei…” He muttered this as he looked at the closed elevator doors before he left the building .
Meanwhile, upon exiting the elevator and entering his house, Ji Ziming made a beeline for the darkroom in his apartment .
Luckily for him, although he was not that into photography, he had taken a crash course in film-developing at the university back then . Thus, when this penthouse was undergoing renovation, he casually had such a room be made .
After preparing all the tools required, he started developing the photo in question .
Just as developing it was almost over, his phone rang .
He knitted his brows slightly at the disturbance but did not stop his actions . It appeared that he was not going to answer the call .
The person calling seemed to have a pressing matter at hand, however, as they repeatedly redialed his number…
At the fourth ring, he annoyedly put down the photo to take the call .
When he saw the caller ID on the screen of his phone, the crease on his forehead relaxed a little as a helpless expression settled on his face .
“Hello, Mom—” Before he could get a word in edgewise, his mother’s excited voice cut in .
“Son, I heard that you have a girlfriend; is it true? They said she’s very beautiful and her family name is Pei; is that right?”
He raised his hand to rub his temple at her rapid questioning .
“Son, speak! Why aren’t you talking? Is it all true?” His silence only made Mother Ji more insistent .
“Yes,” he helplessly admitted .
“Ahhhhh!” Mother Ji gave a squeal that could bust eardrums at his admittance .
He fortunately knew his mother well and held the phone away from his ear .
“MY GOSH, SON! You really are in a relationship!” His mother was extremely excited . After all, he had never been in a relationship before – or at least not in a mutual one!
“…” His mouth twitched at her delighted scream .
A while passed before she brought up the most important topic .
“Right, son . Your dad also heard about your relationship, and he isn’t very happy about it . He said for you to make a trip home immediately . ”