Nie Xu pushed Ji Yang all the way back to the main house.
At this hour, the main house was brightly lit.
Mo Qiu was the first to come out to greet them. The moment she saw the wound on his forehead, her eyes reddened.
“Who did this? How did you get hurt so badly? It’s been several days, and those people wouldn’t even let the young master get his wound treated. With weather like this, it could easily get infected!”
“It’s fine, Aunt Mo.” Ji Yang smiled. “It’s just a superficial wound.”
“And you still have the nerve to show your face?”
The person who spoke this time was Ji Changshou, standing behind them.
Although the Ji family had been plagued by one problem after another over the past few days, that hadn’t stopped this father, who had accomplished very little in his life, from puffing himself up with pride.
After all, Ji Zhonglin had been taken away and still hadn’t returned home. Apart from the old master, who was in charge of the Ji family, his own son was now the only one capable of handling family affairs.
One son was exceptionally outstanding, while the other did nothing but cause him trouble.
“That’s enough.” Yao Zhaoling patted the man’s arm and said gently, “As long as the child knows he’s made a mistake, that’s all that matters. Don’t be so strict with him every single time. What if you frighten him?”
Yao Zhaoling turned to Ji Yang.
“Xiao Yang, go upstairs and take a hot shower. I’ll ask the kitchen to make you something light and send it up.”
“There’s no need to trouble yourself,” Ji Yang said. “Aunt Mo will take care of it.”
Ji Yang looked at the couple standing in front of him.
“Would you mind moving aside?”
“What kind of attitude is that?” Ji Changshou said unhappily.
“Dad.” Ji Chengyi walked in behind them and interrupted him. “Please stop making trouble. Have the family doctor come over first. Ji Yang seems to have a fever.”
After arranging that, Ji Chengyi specifically stepped forward to address Nie Xu.
“Nie Xu, during the press conference this afternoon, a camera hit your arm while you were protecting me. Have the doctor examine you as well.”
“I’m fine,” Nie Xu replied.
“You still need to get it checked.” Ji Chengyi was somewhat insistent. After a two-second pause, he softened his tone. “I know you’re still upset about how I lost my composure before. But at a time like this, the Ji family needs you, and Grandpa needs you too. I…”
He suddenly stopped speaking.
Ji Yang was practically anxious on his behalf.
I need you too.
Was it really that difficult to say those words?
But thinking about it, Ji Chengyi wasn’t someone who expressed his feelings directly in the first place. The fact that he could display this kind of attitude in person was probably already the result of the crisis facing the Ji family.
Since he wasn’t going to say it, Ji Yang couldn’t be bothered to wait.
“Brother Xu.” Ji Yang kept his gaze on Ji Chengyi as he spoke. “Take me upstairs.”
In Ji Chengyi’s eyes, this probably counted as another form of provocation.
He immediately frowned.
Although Nie Xu didn’t verbally agree, he pushed Ji Yang straight past the entrance, passing directly between Ji Changshou and Yao Zhaoling before entering the main hall.
Behind them, Yao Zhaoling asked Ji Chengyi with cautious concern, “Xiao Yi, why are you back so late, too? Have you eaten?”
“I’ve eaten, Mom. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“How can I not worry? It’s only been a few days, and you’ve lost so much weight. Just do your best with the group’s affairs. When your eldest brother left, he specifically told us not to put too much pressure on you. Everything will be fine.”
“I know. I have things under control.”
Ji Changshou scolded Yao Zhaoling. “If you don’t understand anything, don’t go around giving random instructions. At a time like this, what do you mean by ‘just do your best’? Chengyi, you need to work hard and listen to your grandfather in everything. Understand?”
Ji Chengyi’s voice turned a little colder. “I understand, Dad.”
Sitting in his wheelchair, Ji Yang looked at the main branch from the perspective of an outsider, temporarily setting aside the identity of the original owner.
Ji Chengyi really did have superior genes.
Without him, the main branch wouldn’t merely have been unable to hold its head high in front of the second branch. Even among the Ji family’s collateral relatives—the aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews—there probably wouldn’t have been a single person who took the main branch seriously.
Ji Chengyi likewise disliked Ji Changshou. In fact, he hated this man for failing to take responsibility for his mother and forcing him to bear the stigma of being an illegitimate child from a young age.
But he was patient and knew how to endure humiliation and adapt to circumstances. Look at the situation now: the main branch was already under his control.
Ji Yang’s thoughts drifted a little.
After spending several days in insufficient light, returning to this lavishly decorated “palace” didn’t make him feel any sense of contrast or loss. He simply found the situation somewhat amusing.
Because he discovered that although he loved money to an extreme degree, he couldn’t bring himself to feel even the slightest regret over the Ji family’s fate.
Perhaps that was why he’d been distracted. By the time they reached his bedroom, he finally noticed that Aunt Mo was still wiping away her tears.
Ji Yang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Aunt Mo, I told you I’m fine.”
Aunt Mo choked back a sob. “I’m just heartbroken on the young master’s behalf.”
“What is there to be heartbroken about? I wasn’t even sad while I was locked up.” Ji Yang assured her, “I swear, every word of that is one hundred percent sincere.”
Mo Qiu pushed open the bedroom door and said, “I’m talking about your father! How could he treat you like this? You’re the only child the first madam left behind. Back then, the first madam had already divorced your father and left the Ji family with you. Unfortunately, she later fell ill and had no choice but to send you back to the Ji family. Your father swore at the time that he would treat you well. Who could have known that not long afterward, that woman Yao Zhaoling would enter the household, bringing along a child who was even older than you? Sigh.”
Ji Yang took it in stride. “It’s just the inherent depravity of men.”
Afraid Aunt Mo wouldn’t believe him, Ji Yang pointed at the person behind him.
“If you don’t believe me, ask him. Ninety-nine percent of men in this world are scumbags.”
Nie Xu had suddenly been dragged into the conversation. He pushed Ji Yang to the foot of the bed before glancing down at him.
“Ninety-nine percent?” he asked.
Ji Yang nodded. “Am I wrong? Don’t tell me all those men in Building Four are devoted husbands who love their wives. I don’t believe it.”
Nie Xu released the wheelchair handles, crouched behind it, and adjusted the angle of the footrests before speaking.
“Improper conduct in one’s private life constitutes a serious disciplinary violation. Depending on the severity, the punishment can be anything from a formal reprimand to immediate dismissal.”
Ji Yang turned his head in surprise.
“Which enlightened, exceptionally virtuous person came up with that rule?”
Nie Xu stood up and checked the adjusted angle casually.
“Me.”
“You?” Ji Yang wasn’t entirely convinced. “Do you even have a private life? And you’re making rules?”
Nie Xu glanced at him.
“Security companies generally operate on a six-day workweek, and employees are legally entitled to national public holidays. Building Four generally uses a rotating-shift system. It’s not some place that exploits workers illegally.”
Ji Yang: “…You could’ve just said you have a private life.”
Nie Xu asked Aunt Mo to find the first-aid kit.
Aunt Mo retrieved it from the top shelf of the wardrobe.
When she handed it to Nie Xu, she hesitated a little.
She turned back to Ji Yang and said, “Young Master, Mr. Nie has been with you for two years, after all. He’s someone the old master trusts. Please watch your tone when you speak to him, all right? Don’t be so sharp with him. I’ll go check whether the kitchen has finished cooking your porridge and hurry the doctor along while I’m at it.”
She then turned to Nie Xu and said, “The young master is different from how he used to be. His temper has genuinely improved a lot. Please be patient with him, Mr. Nie.”
Ji Yang: “…”
What did I do wrong? How was I being sharp with him?!
Nie Xu nodded. “You’re being too kind.”
After Aunt Mo left, the room fell silent for a moment.
Ji Yang watched him rummage through the first-aid kit, immediately remembering the time he’d fallen in front of Building Four and Nie Xu had treated his wound.
He spoke up. “Find me a mirror. I’ll do it myself. Or we can wait for the doctor to handle it later.”
Nie Xu returned with the supplies. As his gaze passed over the wound at Ji Yang’s temple, his brows knitted together almost imperceptibly.
He ignored both suggestions.
The moment the cotton swab approached, Ji Yang had already braced himself for the pain. But perhaps because the wound had scabbed over, he barely felt anything.
It probably also had something to do with the fact that Nie Xu wasn’t pressing down on it.
“There’s a subcutaneous infection. If you don’t want a scar, you need to clean it every day,” Nie Xu said.
Ji Yang hummed in acknowledgment, then pointed at his forehead. “Put a waterproof dressing on it. I want to take a shower.”
“Now?” Nie Xu asked.
Ji Yang nodded. “Now.”
Nie Xu’s gaze swept over the ink-like smudges running from the side of Ji Yang’s face down to his chin, then over the dusty shirt he was wearing.
“It’s best not to. You managed to endure not bathing for three days, didn’t you?”
Ji Yang tugged at the front of his shirt. “Three days is my limit. I can’t stand another minute now.”
Given Ji Yang’s upbringing, he shouldn’t have been so particular about cleanliness as to develop obsessive-compulsive tendencies.
But he’d actually been quite fussy about things since childhood.
Whenever circumstances allowed, he absolutely had to shower before bed.
Different towels had to be kept separate.
How chopsticks were arranged, how clothes were folded, how socks were washed—his gambling-addict father certainly hadn’t taught him any of that. Yet Ji Yang knew how to do all of it, and he had always stuck to his own rules.
The result of insisting on washing himself was that he nearly fainted in the bathroom.
Before showering, Ji Yang had felt pretty confident in himself. However, he hadn’t dared to take the risk of soaking himself in hot water. He merely rinsed off quickly and kept the water temperature relatively low.
Even so, when he stood up, his vision went black. His entire body felt weak, his head spun, and his ears rang.
He had no idea how Nie Xu had heard the commotion or when he had entered.
By the time he regained consciousness, he discovered that he had already been wrapped in a bathrobe and was half-lying across Nie Xu’s lap. Nie Xu was gripping his chin and stuffing something into his mouth.
“What is it?” Ji Yang mumbled, resisting vaguely.
Nie Xu’s grip on his chin tightened slightly. “Chocolate. Swallow.”
As soon as he heard it was chocolate, Ji Yang gave up resisting and obediently held it in his mouth.
The sweetness of the chocolate spread across his tongue.
Surprisingly, it eased the churning discomfort in his stomach a little.
Ji Yang was still too dizzy to think clearly. After recovering for quite a while, he finally remembered to ask, “Why did you have chocolate ready?”
His pointed canine teeth bit through the piece of chocolate.
A faint crunch sounded.
“Because you insisted on taking a shower despite having no regard for your own life,” Nie Xu replied coolly.
Only then did Ji Yang belatedly turn his head to look at him.
“Your ability to anticipate problems and act on them is impressive. It’s a waste for you to work as my bodyguard.”
He turned his head back.
“But why is the ceiling light wobbling in circles?”
Nie Xu closed his eyes briefly. “That’s because you’re dizzy.”
Ji Yang: “Oh.”
Ji Yang: “I think I’m feeling better.”
Nie Xu picked him up horizontally.
With one arm hooked around Nie Xu’s neck, Ji Yang turned his head and caught sight of himself in the mirror.
His bathrobe was wrapped around him rather carelessly, leaving half of one shoulder exposed.
His hair was wet and still dripping. One slender, pale leg dangled in the air, its toenails smooth and glossy.
Ji Yang sighed admiringly. “It’s just my complexion that’s a little poor.”
Nie Xu hooked one hand beneath the crook of his knee. With the other, he took a dry towel from the rack and casually draped it over Ji Yang’s head.
The bathroom door and the bedroom door opened at almost exactly the same time.
Ji Chengyi and the middle-aged family doctor froze in the doorway.
Nie Xu frowned. “Get out first.”
Ji Chengyi’s hand gripping the doorframe turned slightly white. His gaze fell on their position, and he looked as though he could hardly believe what he was seeing.
“Are you helping him take a bath?”
Ji Yang slowly pulled the towel off his head.
He sighed. “Third Brother, this time I’m genuinely frail. I’m not just pretending to be a manipulative little green tea.”
Come on, why don’t you let this villain explain himself?