Chapter 18

The moment Ji Yang entered the banquet hall, he could clearly feel gazes converging on him from every direction.

The event hadn’t officially begun yet.

The murmuring was kept to a minimum, like a fine web spreading through the air and wrapping around everything.

Zhao Yuan appeared silently beside him once again and delivered the old master’s order in a flat tone.

“Fourth Young Master, the old master would like you to greet the elders first.”

“Sure.” Ji Yang nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something and added, “But you’ll have to wait a moment.”

The old man furrowed his brows, only to have his shoulder abruptly knocked aside by a tremendous force from behind.

“Here! Your medicine!”

You Li came charging straight toward them.

He was panting, his whole body damp from the rain. A bull-head necklace hung around his neck, and with his T-shirt and jeans, he looked like a perfectly ordinary college student in his youth. He was completely out of place in this setting.

After handing over the medicine, he seemed to notice Zhao Yuan for the first time. He turned around and put on an apologetic expression.

“Oh! Butler Zhao! Sorry, sorry! I was in such a hurry that I didn’t notice you!”

Zhao Yuan’s expression darkened. “You Li, even if you’re technically part of Building Four, you should still pay attention to the occasion.”

Ji Yang leaned casually against the wall beside the doorway. “I’m the one who asked You Li to bring me my medicine.”

The old man glanced at the bag in his hand.

Ji Yang lifted it slightly. “It’s an old problem. You know that. How about letting me take a moment to recover before I go over? I’d hate to make a poor impression.”

Zhao Yuan’s gaze shifted between the two of them before he finally left.

As Ji Yang rummaged through the bag, he asked, “Do you have a grudge against Zhao Yuan?”

“It’s not that I have a grudge against him. He’s always looked down on us.” You Li didn’t mind telling the young master. “I heard Brother Lei say that Building Four wasn’t entirely under Brother Xu’s control back then. There was a lot of infighting. One particularly ruthless guy used to work on ships under that old geezer years ago. He took advantage of missions to injure quite a few of Brother Lei and the others’ men.”

Ji Yang still hadn’t found what he wanted, but he wasn’t in a hurry. “And then?”

“Then that guy disappeared. As the Ji family’s business grew bigger and bigger, Brother Xu’s power grew, too. Zhao Yuan returned to the Ji family and became a butler.”

What a tangled mess of old grudges.

Ji Yang could more or less imagine what things had been like back then. Fan Prefecture had been a hotbed of turmoil, and the Ji family had been just as chaotic.

It must have been a time when all rules and order had ceased to mean anything.

Zhao Yuan was old enough to be Nie Xu’s grandfather, wasn’t he? To force someone who had once been a trusted subordinate of Ji Yansong into the position of a mere butler… No wonder he’d been able to endure staying by the original Ji Yang’s side for two years.

Ji Yang looked up. “You deliberately bumped into him just now. Aren’t you afraid he’ll make things difficult for you later?”

“I’m not afraid of him.” You Li scoffed. “He’s just a butler. It’s not like he’s better than anyone else.”

Ji Yang had seen how almost every servant working at the Ji family estate feared Zhao Yuan. Encountering someone so recklessly bold was a refreshing change. He nodded at You Li and remarked, “You’re impressive.”

You Li wiped the sweat from his forehead and snorted.

Then he instinctively turned to look for the old geezer again.

As it turned out, Zhao Yuan had returned to the Ji family’s group. He happened to catch Ji Chengyi in conversation with someone, and Ji Chengyi seemed to ask him a couple of questions. To You Li’s surprise, Zhao Yuan behaved as though he were utterly subservient to him.

For a moment, You Li found the scene absurd.

In his understanding, the refined and upright Third Young Master Ji shouldn’t have anything to do with an old geezer like Zhao Yuan.

Yet now that he was looking at them, the two seemed to get along rather well.

Then he looked back at Ji Yang.

The young master had certainly abandoned his usual lazy manner today. But why was he still standing by the door, rummaging through a plastic bag for so long? Didn’t he realize that plenty of people at the event were sneaking glances in their direction?

You Li pulled an A4 sheet of paper from his trouser pocket. “Looking for this?”

“Why were you carrying it around?” Ji Yang took it and unfolded it, scanning the contents.

You Li could barely contain his exasperation. “Because you said it was important! You refused to ask any of the people in the Ji family and insisted that I bring it over on a Saturday. I hadn’t even had time to change my clothes this morning, and I almost got stopped outside just now.”

The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became.

The young master’s reasons for ordering him around were always straightforward and forceful.

Brother Lei had transferred him to work alongside this young master last time, and the assignment had never been revoked. As it happened, there had recently been a new transfer order. Since You Li was still in his rather nebulous position as a trainee bodyguard, he had remained where he was. The internal transfer had officially recognized this arrangement, too.

Ji Yang folded the paper again.

“Thanks.” Then he added, “Officially stamped documents are always more convincing, after all.”

That was a conclusion he’d reached after spending so much time on the internet and seeing countless arguments supported by evidence.

As for why he’d chosen You Li…

You Li had no ties to the Ji family and lived independently outside the estate. Among the people Ji Yang knew, he was probably the safest person to ask.

“You haven’t told your brother yet, have you?” Ji Yang suddenly remembered to ask.

You Li looked at him suspiciously. “Who’s this medicine for? I asked a quality inspector about it, and it contains synthetic ingredients. You can’t even get this stuff on the market. If you take too much, it can mess with your mental state.” He made sure to warn him. “The Ji family’s medicines are all tested when they come out of the hospital. You’d better not go messing around with them.”

This was yet another perfect example of a problem hiding in plain sight.

Ji Yang smiled. “It’s for me.”

He raised a hand to indicate himself.

“For the past two years.”

You Li: “…………”

Ji Yang took a tablet of ibuprofen from the bag and popped it into his mouth. Then he picked up a glass of plain water from the long table beside them, tipped his head back, and swallowed the pill.

You Li’s brain seemed to stop functioning.

“Wait. Wasn’t bringing the medicine just an excuse? Why are you actually taking it?”

“My legs really hurt,” Ji Yang replied.

Outside, the heavy rain showed no sign of stopping.

The dull, persistent ache had continued from the previous night until now. It wasn’t severe, but it was impossible to ignore.

You Li glanced at his legs. “Should I call your family doctor?”

“My previous medicine came from the family doctor.” Ji Yang’s expression remained blank as he tossed the remaining medicine back into You Li’s arms. “I’ll consider asking your brother to make you a full-time employee. Then I can replace your brother and give you the honor of being my personal bodyguard.”

You Li: “…Thank you so much.”

Ji Yang’s eyes curved into a smile. “You’re welcome.”

You Li was so irritated that he swept his gaze around the entrance. “I’m going back to school.”

“You’re not going to look for your brother and the others? They should all be here today.”

You Li hunched his shoulders. “No. I’m afraid I’ll get beaten up.”

Ji Yang nodded in agreement. “They do hit pretty hard.”

He remembered the force with which Nie Xu had dislocated Wei Qiming’s arm on the day of his arrest.

You Li immediately became defensive again and glared at him. “My brother doesn’t go around hitting people for no reason!”

Ji Yang: “…Just go already.”

There was no point arguing with someone who worshipped his older brother.

You Li’s appearance was merely a somewhat abrupt but otherwise insignificant little episode in the evening’s proceedings.

Ji Yang had no intention of joining the Ji family’s group, so he simply found a seat in the lounge area and sat down. The prosthetic he was wearing today was the same one he’d shown off online before. After practicing with it for so long, he had to admit that it was the most comfortable model he’d tried.

Once seated, Ji Yang instinctively relaxed his right leg.

“Weren’t you complaining that it was heavy? Why are you wearing it again?” Ji Mingyue came over.

Ji Yang turned to see who it was. “I need to maintain my image in public, okay?”

“I haven’t seen you caring about your image at all lately.” Ji Mingyue walked around and sat beside him. “You should’ve seen your father’s wife just now. Her expression was priceless. She was practically afraid that people wouldn’t realize she hoped you couldn’t make it.”

Ji Mingyue cursed. “No wonder she was raised outside the family. She has such a petty, small-minded attitude!”

When this young lady got annoyed, she didn’t care whether the person she was cursing was an elder. She’d let them have it all the same.

Ji Yang thought for a moment about the family’s relationships.

The novel hadn’t said much about the original Ji Yang’s mother, but after spending some time in this world, he’d learned a little about her. She was Yu Fei, the youngest daughter of a now-deceased scholarly family. According to some of the older servants at the Ji estate, Miss Yu had been rebellious in her youth. After marrying Ji Changshou, a man with such a strong patriarchal mindset, the two had never gotten along.

The Yu family had never had many members, though it had a considerable reputation. After their youngest daughter passed away, the older generation had also died one after another.

The original Ji Yang still had a maternal uncle, who was said to have gone overseas and never returned.

The second and third branches of the Ji family had also formed marriages between families of comparable standing. Although there were some messy affairs, at least they hadn’t played out so publicly, with outsiders gossiping about them as they did about the eldest branch.

Ji Mingyue certainly wasn’t the only person in the Ji family who would speak this bluntly.

“Who upset you?” Ji Yang asked as he took out his phone.

“Who else? The Qi family!” Ji Mingyue snapped. “Every single one of them seems eager for us to get married tomorrow. It’s driving me crazy.” She pointed toward the entrance. “Didn’t you notice when you came in? Apart from the reporters officially hired by the Ji family, Yao Zhaoling paid out of her own pocket to invite a bunch of media outlets. They’re all waiting for the big moment involving her son later tonight. And the Qi family is eagerly joining in on the spectacle. They’ve already been going around telling people that they’re the son-in-law of the Ji family’s third branch.”

“Your parents agree to this, too?” Ji Yang placed his phone on the table in front of him, propping it upright against a wooden tissue box.

Ji Mingyue watched his movements, puzzled, but continued speaking. “Originally, the whole thing was supposed to be called off. My parents respect my wishes, but Grandpa is determined to go through with this marriage alliance. He’s even promised the Qi family the mining rights for the Xinhai Line. My parents can’t do anything about it.”

Ji Yang recalled what Jiang Lei had mentioned at Building Four earlier.

The Qi family’s covert business dealings must be closely tied to the Ji family’s. Even Ji Zhonglin might not know the full story, let alone Ji Mingyue.

Ji Mingyue noticed him opening something on his phone. “What are you doing?”

“There are plenty of reporters here tonight,” Ji Yang said. “Those reporters Yao Zhaoling invited can’t get into the main hall. Why don’t we give them a hand?”

Ji Mingyue stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“Tonight’s livestream debut. The title will be Inside a Wealthy Family: A Gift for My Most Beloved Third Brother.” Ji Yang put his index finger to his lips. “I promised my dear stepmother a gift, remember? I guarantee it’ll be a surprise.”

Ever since the auction incident, his account had gained more than 300,000 followers.

People were still checking in every day, asking who he really was.

As soon as the livestream started, he didn’t turn on the camera immediately. The number of viewers trickled upward, one by one.

In the comment section at the bottom left:

【?????】

【I knew he was going to sell something. Sure enough, he’s started streaming.】

【Unfollowed. You shameless salesman. Don’t think you can trick me into spending my money.】

【The background sounds pretty noisy. Is that music I hear?】

【Seriously, if you’re going to livestream, just do it. Are you so ugly that you don’t even dare turn on the camera?】

【“Inside a Wealthy Family”? Is this supposed to be a record of how you’ll do absolutely anything for views? Don’t assume everyone online is an ordinary person. I know the Ji family is holding an important banquet tonight, with prominent figures from all walks of life attending. You’re just trying to capitalize on the buzz, aren’t you?】

【You’re getting too carried away pretending to be Ji Yang.】

【Why not go on a financial news channel sometime? I’d like to see that.】

Ji Mingyue was already dumbfounded. She looked at the phone in front of him, then turned to Ji Yang.

“Have you lost your mind? You’re livestreaming here? If Grandpa and your father find out, do you have any idea what the consequences will be?”

【I have to ask, why is there someone playing the straight man beside him? This whole thing feels kind of fake.】

【Hey, actress lady, what consequences are we talking about? Tell us so we can all hear!】

Ji Mingyue: “…”

Although the young lady had worked hard to build her own business from scratch, she cultivated the image of a socialite. She barely spent any time on the internet, and even after opening her café, she hadn’t done any online promotion, let alone dealt with netizens getting in her face.

She immediately shot back, “Who’s acting?”

Ji Yang picked up the conversation. “She’s the legitimate young lady of the Ji family’s third branch. Don’t mess with her. She has a terrible temper.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a slap landed on his back.

Ji Yang acted as though nothing had happened. Looking at his phone screen, he continued, “What’s so interesting about financial news? As long as you guys keep the gifts coming, why can’t I make my debut in the center spotlight?”

If he’d previously told Nie Xu that there was something wrong with his medication simply because he needed to survive, things were different now.

The moment the medication test results had actually come back, he’d felt that something inside him had become impossible to let go of. This was something the novel had never mentioned, yet it had become a very real part of his life.

This so-called wealthy family…

A place that looked glamorous on the surface but was nothing more than a cesspool of filth underneath.

Wei Qiming had suddenly gone off the rails, causing the plot to unfold earlier than expected. In the novel, this particular incident was connected to Ji Yang himself, the vicious supporting villain. To be safe, Ji Yang had deliberately chosen this moment to start the livestream.

Three hundred thousand followers was a pretty decent audience.

【And you want to make your debut in the spotlight? The story about Fourth Young Master Ji hiring someone to hold another person hostage has already spread everywhere. I’m worried you’ll end up going to prison for him.】

【Forget everything else. That voice is pretty nice.】

【Voice lovers, we’re eating well tonight!】

【Let me pour some cold water on this. People with nice voices are usually ugly.】

【Hideously ugly.】

【He doesn’t dare turn on the camera because he looks absolutely awful.】

It was at that exact moment that Ji Yang opened the camera without warning.

He was leaning rather close to the phone.

As a result, the comment feed went blank for a few seconds.

At that moment, Ji Yang’s livestream had 2,568 viewers.

In a short time, the number suddenly shot up to 5,000.

And it was still climbing.

Comments flew across the screen.

【!!!】

【Critical hit!】

【Holy crap! I’m in class for evening self-study, and I almost jumped out of my seat just now. Isn’t this the exact same person from that photo earlier?】

【So this really is Ji Yang?】

【The Ji family’s Fourth Young Master, a regular on the headlines? Unbelievable.】

【Hello, handsome pretty boy!】

【Actually, we’re not all shallow people who only care about looks. It’s mainly because the Ji family is so rich. I don’t want much. Five million would be enough, seriously.】

There were plenty of insults, too.

Some accused viewers of letting their moral standards follow a pretty face. Others called him the scum of the rich, saying he’d failed to hurt someone through despicable means and still had the nerve to show his face on the internet.

The sofa where they were sitting was tucked into a corner along the edge of the hall. Since Ji Yang had little commercial value within the Ji family and had never made any outstanding contributions, he was rarely bothered at an event like this.

No one knew what was happening in this corner.

Behind Ji Yang’s sofa stood a bird of paradise plant about half his height, tucked into the corner.

The camera couldn’t capture anyone else.

Since leaning forward the whole time was tiring, Ji Yang simply picked up his phone, tilted his head back against the sofa, and occasionally replied to comments.

“I can’t switch the camera around right now. Isn’t looking at me enough? Am I not good-looking enough? Filming other people would violate their privacy… I can’t afford to offend them. There are too many big shots here… Clear my name? I’m not clearing my name. I’ll admit to what I’ve done, but I won’t take responsibility for things I haven’t done… Other than the Ji family members, I won’t let anyone else appear on camera tonight…”

Ji Yang turned to Ji Mingyue.

“Want to see her? Should I show you? I could also tell the livestream viewers about your heartbreaking, no-choice-but-to-comply marriage alliance.”

The viewers: “…” Was that even something he could broadcast?

Ji Mingyue: “…………”

Watching how effortlessly Ji Yang handled the livestream, Ji Mingyue asked, “How do you seem so experienced at this? Didn’t you used to call netizens internet trolls and lunatics?”

“Hey, don’t put words in my mouth!” Ji Yang immediately covered his phone and denied it. “When they insult me, that means they love me. How could they be trolls?”

Ji Mingyue: “…You’re insane.”

Just then, several people appeared beside their sofa. No one knew when they had wandered over.

Ji Yang glanced at them and realized he didn’t recognize any of them.

They, however, acted as though they knew him very well. The one leading the group in particular had a sharp, rat-like face. He came right up and said, “Fourth Ji, what are you doing? You’re here and you didn’t even come find us? What are you hiding here for?”

“Fu Cheng.” The moment Ji Mingyue saw him, her expression turned sour. “What are you doing here?”

The group settled onto the sofa opposite them one after another. The man called Fu Cheng smiled and said, “Come on, Miss Ji, could you at least give us a decent expression when you see us? We’re friends with Fourth Young Master Ji, after all. Besides, we came here with proper invitations.”

Ji Mingyue retorted, “Stop trying so hard to cozy up to us. Only an idiot like Ji Yang would think you people are his friends.”

Ji Yang was insulted despite having done nothing.

He pulled his attention away from the phone screen and looked at her. “For the record, that was in the past. Next time you insult me, could you not do it right to my face? It’s embarrassing.”

Comments flooded the livestream.

【Miss Ji is saying everything I want to say. So satisfying!】

【Who are these attention-seeking clowns? Can’t they see he’s livestreaming?】

【I guarantee no one in the Ji family knows about this livestream right now. Those people across from him don’t know either.】

【The name Fu Cheng sounds familiar. Isn’t he the only son of that agricultural food-processing family? The guy who’s notorious for fooling around with women?】

【Definitely him. Ugly and promiscuous.】

【Birds of a feather, as expected.】

The people opposite them spoke again, having found what they thought was a suitable topic.

“Fourth Young Master, aren’t you going to explain things to the police about Brother Wei?”

Ji Yang asked, “Explain what?”

Fu Cheng said, “Sure, he admitted that he acted on impulse, but we’ve known each other for so long…”

An ellipsis drifted across the comments.

The question most people were thinking was: So you really weren’t the one who ordered him to hurt someone?

Having been cleared of suspicion against his will, Ji Yang was in a good enough mood to thank this walking example of a brilliant mind who’d delivered himself straight to his doorstep.

“Wei Qiming is also suspected of identity fraud and making illegal investments. Instead of wasting your time here, why don’t you think carefully about whether you have any other connections to him? If you do, turn yourselves in early and become decent people.”

The men opposite him: “…”

The viewers: “…” Your friendship really is fake, huh?

Seeing that this topic wasn’t working, Fu Cheng shifted gears. Fortunately for him, the banquet was beginning to move into its formal proceedings.

It was obvious who the center of attention tonight would be.

As though he understood Ji Yang’s feelings perfectly, Fu Cheng smiled at him and said, “Fourth Young Master, we know you must be feeling terrible tonight.”

The person beside him chimed in.

“If you’re unhappy about anything, just say it. We can all understand.”

“Exactly. The person who should be standing beside Old Master Ji tonight was supposed to be you…”

By now, the livestream had reached 20,000 viewers.

The platform probably noticed that Ji Yang was a new account whose traffic was steadily climbing, so it gave him a recommendation slot on the homepage. An endless stream of new viewers began pouring in.

Those who had just arrived had no idea what was going on and started asking in the comments.

Who is this guy?

What is he doing?

The comment feed turned into an endless cycle of explanations, questions, and questions about the explanations.

Twenty thousand people watched the man lounging on the sofa as he slowly replied to the people opposite him.

“Ah, thank you all for your heartfelt concern. Honestly, I’m actually in a pretty good mood tonight.”

“Fourth Young Master…” Fu Cheng cursed inwardly. Outwardly, however, he softened his tone a little before getting straight to the point. “I actually came to you today because I need your help with a small favor.”

“Sure. Give me fifty million yuan,” Ji Yang said suddenly.

Fu Cheng seemed to wonder if he’d misheard. “What?”

“I said, give me fifty million yuan.”

Fu Cheng’s expression changed several times before he managed to force a smile.

“Fourth Young Master, you’re joking.”

Ji Yang looked up and smiled faintly. “My memory hasn’t been very good lately, but even I know that’s not how you ask someone for help. You don’t want to spend a single cent, so why should I help you? Someone just asked me for five million.”

【Hahaha, is he talking about that viewer from earlier?】

【He just casually asked for fifty million. Have I been living in a different world?】

【He’s obviously trying to piss the other guy off.】

【I guarantee the expressions on their faces right now are priceless.】

【That doesn’t look like acting at all.】

Just then, Ji Yang received a message on his phone.

The man’s message was brief. It seemed this was also the first time he’d taken the initiative to message him.

NX: Is this the surprise you were talking about?

Ji Yang: ?

NX: You’ve single-handedly forced the entire public-opinion risk-control team to work overtime.

Ji Yang: ??? You guys handle this kind of thing, too?

NX: Mm.

You’re sure this isn’t because of that certain someone?

Ji Yang: I’m just borrowing Ji Chengyi’s name to start a livestream. It’ll boost his exposure while serving two purposes at once. I haven’t created any risks, and I haven’t said anything to manipulate public opinion. The platform hasn’t even flagged me for violating its rules.

NX: Look up.

Ji Yang instinctively raised his head.

The man was leaning against the second-floor railing, one hand pressing his earpiece as he spoke. He turned slightly to look down at Ji Yang.

It was as though, at the next second, a few men dressed in black might emerge from somewhere around him at Nie Xu’s command and rush forward to confiscate his phone.

Ji Yang immediately forwarded the test report results.

His fingers flew across the screen as he typed.

Ji Yang: I told you I’d send it to you the moment I got it.

Then he typed again.

Ji Yang: I’m already showing a lot of restraint by not completely losing it right now, okay?

Nie Xu examined the photograph of the printed test report on his phone and raised an eyebrow.

Nie Xu: You want to blow this up?

“Not necessarily.” Ji Yang tilted his head back and smiled at him.

One day, he would be the one holding the initiative, wouldn’t he?

Ji Yang thought to himself that if Nie Xu really suspected he’d started this livestream to sabotage Ji Chengyi, he wouldn’t mind turning the destined lover’s big moment into a dark scene of internal strife within the Ji family right here and now.

At the other end of the hall, the host formally began the evening’s proceedings.

Through the microphone, Ji Yansong’s voice rang out clearly. “Thank you all for joining us today. The Ji family has come this far thanks to the support of… The Lan Hai Bay project has officially begun, and today I’d like to formally introduce someone to everyone…”

Amid thunderous applause, Ji Chengyi walked onto the stage step by step.

A champagne tower stood nearly as tall as a person.

Ji Chengyi picked up the glass at the very top, clinked it against others’ glasses, and chatted with the guests, looking relaxed and charming.

Good.

No one had suddenly rushed out of nowhere to snatch the glass from his hand and announce that something had been put inside it.

Ji Yang hadn’t even finished breathing his sigh of relief when, just as the glass was emptied, he heard a sharp crack. The glass shattered.

Ji Chengyi pressed a hand to his forehead, looking deeply uncomfortable. Turning to the people gathering around him, he said, “Sorry, I’ve made a scene. I might have drunk too quickly.”

Ji Zhonglin, who was standing closest to him, immediately put an arm around him. He clearly sensed something was wrong, whispered something to the person beside him, and began helping Ji Chengyi leave.

The old master stopped them, insisting that Ji Chengyi should stay and properly handle the networking that was still to come.

Less than half a minute later, Ji Yang watched Nie Xu coming down the stairs and began to feel numb with disbelief.

See?

This really did seem like some kind of supernatural force controlling the plot.

\*

On second thought, it didn’t make sense.

If some force really were controlling the plot, Ji Chengyi should have drunk only a tiny amount of the champagne. The security arrangements were no joke, and Ji Yang should already have been branded the culprit by now.

If you can’t beat them, join them.

When someone nearby asked whether something had happened, Ji Yang began providing a live commentary on the spot.

“Actually, it’s nothing too serious. To sum it up: The Beloved Illegitimate Son of a Wealthy Family Is Suspected of Being Framed—A Grand Spectacle of Everyone Rallying Around Him…”

Half an hour later, the largest lounge on the left side of the first floor was packed with people.

Thanks to the prompt response, the incident hadn’t caused widespread repercussions.

Nevertheless, the most influential elders in Fan Prefecture were almost all present, along with the younger generation who were friends of Ji Chengyi, Ji Zhonglin, or the Ji family.

By the time Ji Yang entered, his livestream camera had been turned off. Only the audio remained.

The number of viewers online had climbed to 50,000.

【Don’t turn it off! Don’t turn it off! Let us watch the drama together!】

【What drama? Ji Yang is finished.】

【Didn’t you hear the tone of the person who came to summon him just now? He sounded as though Ji Yang were already the culprit.】

【I disagree. That young master spent the whole evening chatting with people.】

【He hasn’t even left the sofa, has he?】

【I can confirm that. He even complained that the way Director Ji from Ji Group was holding someone looked like a mother hen protecting her chicks.】

【He said his Third Brother was putting the bigger picture first. (For the record, his tone was pretty sarcastic.)】

【He said his dad’s face was as black as Guan Yu’s.】

【His stepmother’s qipao splitting at the seams was purely a result of her maternal devotion to her son.】

For Ji Yang, this was already the second time he’d faced a trial.

The auction incident had been the first. Tonight was the second.

Ji Chengyi was lying on the lounge sofa, his face and neck flushed red. A middle-aged doctor was crouching on the floor, inserting a needle into his arm.

“What exactly happened?” Ji Zhonglin stood nearby, his expression anxious and irritated.

The doctor pushed the medication into the injection site before standing up.

“It’s an aphrodisiac. Fortunately, Third Young Master drank slowly, so the drug took effect gradually and the symptoms appeared right there on the spot. This injection should take effect within ten minutes, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

As soon as they heard it was an aphrodisiac, most people in the room looked disgusted. Everyone was asking who could have resorted to such a despicable trick.

Ji Zhonglin looked at Ji Yang, who had just pushed open the door and entered.

“What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Weren’t you the ones who sent for me?” Ji Yang leaned against the doorway, looking over all the so-called members of high society gathered in the lounge. “Why are you asking me what I have to say? My answer is that I have nothing to say.”

Ji Zhonglin took two steps toward him.

Remembering what had happened before, he hesitated, then said, “Who else would have something like this except you? Grandpa has already sent people to investigate. With so many people here tonight, if you confess now, I can still try to persuade Grandpa not to punish you too harshly.”

Ji Yang found it so amusing that he actually laughed.

“Big Brother, should I thank you for not pointing your finger at me the moment I walked in and shouting, ‘Look what you’ve done!’?”

Ji Zhonglin froze. His embarrassment was unmistakable.

Two other young men in the room, apparently friends of Ji Chengyi, spoke up.

“Fourth Ji, there’s no point arguing. This isn’t the first time you’ve pulled something like this.”

“Exactly. You’ve been targeting him ever since you were kids.”

“There are so many reporters outside tonight. Once this disgraceful business gets exposed, let’s see how you’ll survive in Fan Prefecture after that.”

At that moment, Ji Chengyi regained a little more awareness. He sat up on the sofa, holding his head, and stopped the two men from speaking on his behalf.

“Enough. Nothing has been confirmed yet. Don’t make baseless accusations.”

“Third Brother really knows how to see things clearly.” Ji Yang smiled and spoke in a leisurely tone.

Everyone in the room, along with the 50,000 listeners in the livestream who were straining to hear every word, heard him say:

“Drugging someone from a distance? Even I’m impressed with myself.”

One of the people beside Ji Chengyi couldn’t resist talking back.

“Of course you had someone else do it for you!”

“Wow, thank you for that analysis!” Ji Yang continued. “Then why don’t you analyze this, too? What would someone usually want to achieve by using this kind of drug? Take photos? Humiliate the victim? Would I also have to arrange for a lover to be waiting upstairs?”

The other man was momentarily speechless.

“Who knows where the person you arranged went!”

“Fine. Let’s say I did arrange for a lover. There are so many bodyguards here tonight. Surely none of you failed to notice who Grandpa called over at the time?” Ji Yang saw the people in the room exchanging glances and trying to recall what had happened, so he continued. “You should all have heard the rumors. That’s the person I have my eye on. Drugging someone and pushing them into the arms of the person they like? A wonderful opportunity like that…”

Ji Yang looked directly at Ji Chengyi and enunciated every word.

“Why would I give it to him?”

The entire room erupted in an uproar.

At this critical moment, the lounge door was pushed open again.

The person who entered was none other than Nie Xu.

Ji Yang was leaning against the doorway. He turned his head and met Nie Xu’s gaze directly.

Ji Yang looked up at the ceiling.

Don’t look at me. I didn’t say anything.

Nie Xu was holding someone by the arm. It was a waiter.

He flung the man forward, and the waiter nearly fell face-first in front of the sofa where the elders were seated.

The waiter had clearly already been threatened or taught a lesson beforehand. He lay on the floor and blurted everything out in one breath.

“It really wasn’t me! It really wasn’t me! Mr. Qi gave me the drug and told me to put it in the glass. He said if I didn’t do it, he’d make sure I couldn’t keep working here!”

Among everyone present, there was only one person surnamed Qi who could be under suspicion.

Qi Yiming had originally been standing at the back of the crowd. When he realized everyone was looking at him, he immediately panicked.

“Why is everyone looking at me? I wasn’t the one who put the drug in Ji Chengyi’s drink!” When he saw that everyone continued staring at him, he changed his tune. “Fine! I admit that I did tell someone to put a drug in a drink, but I wasn’t targeting Ji Chengyi! How the drink ended up in his hands is none of my business! Maybe he was just unlucky and picked up the wrong glass!”

Although the culprit had been identified, the atmosphere in the room didn’t become any more relaxed.

If Qi Yiming had arranged for the drug to be used on someone other than Ji Chengyi, then who had the intended victim been?

Considering that the marriage alliance between the Qi and Ji families had been stalled for so long, the question remained hanging in the air.

Smack!

Ji Mingyue stepped forward and slapped Qi Yiming across the face.

Qi Yiming’s parents looked utterly embarrassed. All they could do was repeatedly bow their heads and apologize to the elders of the first and third branches.

The scene descended into chaos and absurdity.

On Ji Yang’s phone screen, the comments were flying.

【Amazing!】

【Absolutely spectacular!】

【Is this what life is like for you wealthy families every single day?】

【I always thought aphrodisiacs were just something made up for fiction. Turns out they really exist!】

【But shouldn’t these people apologize to Fourth Ji? He’s completely innocent in all this…】

【They probably don’t have time. They’re too busy dealing with the scumbag.】

Just then, someone’s phone rang.

Then the news spread from one person to ten, from ten to twenty. The entire lounge—and even the main hall outside—suddenly became noisy.

Another person hurried in from outside.

This time, it was a member of the management team at Ji Group, an employee who effectively served the company’s shareholders and kept a close eye on the stock price at all times.

The man was at least forty years old.

Sweat glistened on his forehead as he entered and addressed Ji Yansong and Ji Zhonglin.

“Chairman Ji, Director Ji, the group’s stock price suddenly plunged sharply over a short period just now.”

“What?” Ji Zhonglin frowned.

Ji Yansong’s expression also grew serious. “Have you found out why?”

The man surreptitiously glanced toward the doorway.

Everyone then realized that the only person standing there was Ji Yang.

Ji Zhonglin snapped irritably, “Why are you looking at him?”

The middle-aged man swallowed. “Fourth Young Master has been livestreaming all evening. The sudden drop just now happened because the news about Third Young Master being drugged made the trending searches. It was classified as negative publicity, and since Third Young Master is the person in charge of the Lan Hai Bay project, it inevitably caused panic in the stock market.”

The middle-aged man didn’t dare look at the shocked expressions of the people around him who had just learned about the livestream. He barely dared to breathe before continuing.

“But the stock price recovered very quickly. Really! It even surpassed its previous peak, and it’s still climbing.”

The man felt as though his heart had been about to leap out of his chest all evening.

As for the reason the stock price had risen…

He was simply too embarrassed to say outright that it had all started when Fourth Young Master began roasting every member of the Ji family. The project’s exposure had skyrocketed to unprecedented levels, and it was still near the top of the trending list.

No one could have predicted this bizarre turn of events.

After a brief, awkward silence, Ji Chengyi stood up and was the first to apologize to Ji Yang.

“Ji Yang, I’m sorry. Everything happened so suddenly tonight. My friends were just worried and acted in haste. They weren’t trying to target you.”

“Why are you apologizing, Third Brother?” Ji Yang replied. “You’re a victim, too.”

Ji Chengyi nodded. “As long as you don’t mind.”

Ji Chengyi turned around.