Halfway through the drive, Ji Yang genuinely fell asleep.
Perhaps it was because he had been drinking, but he inexplicably started sweating in his sleep.
In that hazy state between dreaming and waking, he felt his palms growing damp and sweat trickling down his back.
It was as though he had returned to that dream about the swamp forest.
Only this time, he wasn’t being chased. Someone was scolding him.
Through a misty, watery haze stood the figure of a man—or rather, someone who looked like a teenage boy.
He was leaning against a moss-covered tree in the swamp forest. His face was blurred beyond recognition, yet somehow, he gave off the distinct impression of being extremely fierce.
—What kind of pampered young master are you? If you don’t want to starve to death, hurry up and eat.
He was threatening him.
—Can’t walk? Then stay here and wait for those people to catch up and riddle you with bullets.
The dream shifted.
Ji Yang was being dragged along by the boy, stumbling through the uneven terrain. They crouched behind a thick cluster of thorny bushes while the other person clamped a hand over his mouth and threatened him.
—Kid, if you don’t want to die, keep quiet! If those lunatics outside find out you have the thing on you, they’ll hang you up and feed you to the wolves. Believe it or not!
Then came another low, sharp warning.
—Don’t cry!
Ji Yang was furious.
Who the hell are you?
He could almost smell the distinctive damp, rotting stench of the rainforest. The trees towering above them seemed to blot out the entire sky.
Ji Yang began struggling wildly. The more he struggled, the more tightly bound he seemed to become, until he could barely move.
Just then, he suddenly caught sight of his own hands and feet as he struggled.
They were the tiny limbs of a child.
Ji Yang jolted awake in fright.
He sprang upright in his seat and discovered that the car was still traveling smoothly along the road.
Meanwhile, his clothes were nearly soaked through with sweat.
Ji Yang let out a long breath and knocked his head against the car window.
“Bad dream?” a voice beside him asked.
A sheet of tissue was handed over to him, while the other hand simultaneously ended a phone call.
Ji Yang nodded absentmindedly and accepted the tissue.
“Yeah. I dreamed I encountered wolves out in the wilderness.”
And they were the underage version of wolves, too.
By comparison, he had been as weak as a little chick.
Ji Yang even wondered whether the stress of transmigrating into a novel had been so overwhelming that it was causing him to have these bizarre dreams.
He took a long time to calm down. When the car finally stopped, he looked up and realized they hadn’t returned to the Ji family estate.
Instead, they were parked in front of a large building that looked like a cross between a hospital and a laboratory.
“Where are we?” Ji Yang asked, turning around.
Nie Xu had already taken his jacket and gotten out of the car.
“Get out.”
Still somewhat dazed, Ji Yang followed him into the building.
Fifteen minutes later, he was lying on an examination table fitted with medical equipment. The fluorescent light overhead was painfully bright, and the metallic walls around him gleamed with a cold, sterile sheen.
Qi Songqing was busy sticking electrodes to Ji Yang’s body and legs while monitoring the equipment.
“I recommended a proper examination last time. You’ve dragged it out for so long.” He glanced back at the person standing behind them and continued, “If he hadn’t brought you here today, were you just going to keep putting off the examination?”
Ji Yang answered honestly, “I forgot. Besides, my phantom-limb pain hasn’t acted up.”
“I know,” Qi Songqing said. “When this guy called me, his first suspicion was that you’d been drinking until you developed a perforated stomach.”
Ji Yang looked at Nie Xu.
“…I only had a few small cups.”
Nie Xu’s expression remained blank. “The designated driver saw your complexion in the car and was already preparing to call an ambulance.”
Ji Yang stared at him in shock. He hadn’t known that at all.
“You really can’t handle alcohol,” Qi Songqing remarked as he finished attaching the electrodes and straightened up. “Even putting your stomach aside, drinking during the withdrawal period from your medication could change the frequency of your episodes or even make them worse. From what I can see, the cold sweats are also a result of your body being too weak. This examination is mainly to determine whether there have been any structural abnormalities in the transmission of your nerve signals. If the medication was interfering with pain signals, stopping it may reveal compensatory changes in your neural pathways.”
Ji Yang felt a headache coming on from listening to all this.
“Can you put it more simply?”
“In simple terms, if the examination shows no problems, then psychological factors are responsible. If it does show problems, then they’re aftereffects of two years of medication abuse.”
Qi Songqing paused, then added, “The former is something you’ll have to work through yourself. The latter may require physical therapy and possibly neurosurgery. And even then, I can’t guarantee a good outcome.”
Lying on the examination table, Ji Yang thought about how the old master had already learned that there was something wrong with his medication, yet had shown no reaction whatsoever.
Ji Yang couldn’t figure out whether the old man had known about it all along or had simply chosen to remain indifferent because the truth might damage the Ji family’s interests.
There were others, too.
That family doctor, Tao Jisheng, didn’t seem like someone who would readily let anything slip.
“Brother Xu,” Ji Yang called.
Nie Xu stepped forward and stood beside the examination table, looking down at him.
“Do me a favor, will you?” Ji Yang said with a crooked smile.
“What favor?”
“Help me investigate Tao Jisheng’s background in detail.”
Nie Xu said nothing.
Ji Yang pressed his palms together. “Helping me is the same as helping yourself.”
Qi Songqing chuckled from the side. “There’s no point asking him.”
Nie Xu nodded. “Sure.”
Qi Songqing: “…Way to slap me in the face right in front of everyone.”
Ji Yang looked pleasantly surprised. “Really?”
Nie Xu gave a quiet hum, his gaze settling on Ji Yang’s face. “If you investigate Tao Jisheng, no matter who turns out to be behind this, you won’t have any way back into the Ji family.”
Ji Yang retorted, “And if I don’t investigate, do I have one?”
He’d put the Ji family on the trending charts, emailed the old master, and, at a critical moment, effectively poached the entire new media department.
From the very beginning, he’d never intended to leave himself a way back.
Having Yiyuan Media operate under Jianyuan’s umbrella and turning to Nie Xu whenever he needed help were also ways of making his position clear.
And making his position clear to Nie Xu had its advantages.
For example, twenty minutes later, when Ji Yang walked out with his examination results, he happened to see Qi Songqing talking to Nie Xu.
Qi Songqing said, “I’ve looked into everyone who was at your dinner tonight. That company belonging to Mr. Pan has records from a batch of materials three years ago where the legal representative’s signature and the actual logistics records don’t match. He doesn’t even know about it himself. There’s also a supplementary clause buried beneath that contract.”
Nie Xu replied, “Keep a close eye on their cash flow. As soon as they start auditing the old accounts, they’ll trace things back to the shell company the Ji family used for that original shipment within a week.”
Qi Songqing smiled. “Once this batch is collected, the Ji family’s books will be so clean they’ll have to lick the bottom of the bowl to find anything left.”
Ji Yang remained silent. At last, he understood that Nie Xu really had his own agenda at dinner that evening. He hadn’t simply been helping the Ji family clean up its mess.
He didn’t try to hide the fact that he’d overheard them, either. He simply waited until they had finished speaking and turned to look at him.
Nie Xu remained perfectly calm. Even Qi Songqing seemed to take it for granted that there was nothing wrong with Ji Yang hearing their conversation.
“Let me see the results.” Qi Songqing held out his hand.
Ji Yang walked over.
“The distribution of your nerve endings shows no signs of widespread necrosis,” Qi Songqing explained, his expression serious and professional. “However, since your last episode of pain lasted so long, we’ll need to strictly control your medication from now on. You’ll also need physical and psychological therapy. We can hold off on surgery for the time being.”
Ji Yang nodded. “All right.”
After all that, it was already very late by the time he returned to the Ji residence.
But tonight, no one in the Ji family had gone to bed early.
His car and Ji Zhonglin’s had arrived at the gates almost at the same time.
Ji Yang looked terrible when he got out. Ji Zhonglin wasn’t doing much better. During the period he’d been under investigation, this eldest brother’s brows had taken on a faintly weary look. He hadn’t even had time to properly groom the stubble on his chin, making him appear somewhat more mature than before.
The two of them stopped in front of the main house.
Ji Yang suddenly felt that there was something more complicated in the way Ji Zhonglin looked at him.
Ji Chengyi was also watching Ji Yang, who had only just returned. He seemed to be thinking about something as he discreetly glanced at Nie Xu standing behind Ji Yang. Then he turned back to remind Ji Zhonglin, “Big Brother, let’s go inside. Second Aunt has been very worried about you lately.”
“I know.” Hearing him, Ji Zhonglin withdrew his gaze. “The group has been fortunate to have you looking after things during this time.”
Ji Chengyi shook his head. “It was only what I should do.”
As Ji Zhonglin passed Ji Yang, he suddenly stopped again.
Without turning his head, he said, “I heard about what happened on the cruise ship. You did well.”
Ji Yang raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You really think so, Big Brother?”
“Mingyue is my sister, too.” Ji Zhonglin’s voice was calm. “No matter what happens to the Ji family, we shouldn’t sacrifice a girl’s entire life just to obtain benefits we have no right to.”
Ji Yang hadn’t expected Ji Zhonglin to be the only person in the Ji family who supported him over this matter.
But in the novel, Ji Mingyue still married Qi Yiming. That proved Ji Zhonglin didn’t yet have enough influence within the family to change the outcome of that marriage.
At that moment, Second Madam and the others rushed out of the house, peppering Ji Zhonglin with questions. They quickly surrounded him and ushered him inside.
Ji Yang remained standing quietly outside.
Then he suddenly heard a voice behind him.
“This is the first time Ji Zhonglin has truly gotten to know the Ji family.”
“Hm?” Ji Yang turned around.
Nie Xu gazed at the brightly lit main house. His expression seemed mocking, yet it also seemed as though he felt nothing at all.
“An heir who’s too clean won’t win the old master’s favor.”
Sure enough, an argument soon erupted inside.
Ji Zhonglin was actually confronting Ji Yansong about the family’s business dealings. The old master flew into a rage, scolding him for having apparently let every lesson he’d taught him over the years go in one ear and out the other.
Second Madam was crying and shouting, while Ji Chengyi tried to mediate.
Ji Yang saw Second Madam lose her temper and slap Ji Chengyi across the face.
Ji Zhonglin immediately shoved his mother aside and bent down to check on Ji Chengyi’s injury.
What a spectacular family drama.
It was still much the same as in the novel.
Ji Chengyi’s kindness, Ji Zhonglin’s heartache—all that was missing was the wicked supporting villain, himself, jumping around between them to stir up trouble.
When Ji Yang stepped inside, the room fell quiet for a moment.
Ji Zhonglin rubbed the bridge of his nose before addressing Ji Yansong directly.
“Grandfather, I’m going to convene a shareholders’ meeting. At this point, taking a step back is the only way to preserve the Ji family’s core businesses. Old Sun and the others have been with the group for years. How could you let Nie Xu and Lu Li threaten their families to force them into submission? I can’t accept that.”
Ji Yansong’s chest heaved. “You’re talking about compassion at a time like this? You’re digging your own grave!”
Ji Zhonglin blurted out, “Could it be that you’ve done so many shameful things in the past that now you see danger everywhere, even where there is none?”
“Young Master!” Butler Zhao Yuan shouted sharply.
“Big Brother!” Ji Chengyi interrupted anxiously.
Second Madam panicked and grabbed Ji Zhonglin’s arm. “Quick, quick! Apologize to your grandfather!”
Ji Yang quietly found an empty corner and sat down, perfectly content to watch.
The elders from the other branches of the family arrived one after another. Ji Mingyue was among them. She glanced around the room before choosing the seat beside him.
Ji Yang pushed a bunch of grapes from the table toward the middle. Ji Mingyue laughed softly and popped one into her mouth.
The Ji family’s Second Master was timid, while the Third Master had never cared to get involved in family affairs. Although they each managed different parts of the group, neither could make decisions on major matters.
Only Ji Changshou, thinking himself clever, spoke up.
“Dad, Zhonglin is probably just having trouble adjusting for the moment. I think Xiaoyi has done quite well lately. None of the group’s shareholders have complained. Although Zhonglin has returned, handing the group’s power back to him at this point might be a little—”
“Dad!” Ji Chengyi’s expression darkened. He turned directly to Ji Yansong and made his position clear. “Grandfather, I have no intention of inheriting the Ji family business, and I know my own limitations. The only reason the group has remained relatively stable during this period is because you’ve been here, Grandfather, and because Nie Xu has been mediating behind the scenes.”
Ji Changshou looked at him as though he were hopelessly disappointing.
“He’s just a bodyguard! How capable can he possibly be?”
“Dad, if you don’t know what you’re talking about, then please don’t say anything.” Ji Chengyi changed tack. “Nie Xu spent some time working as Ji Yang’s assistant, and Ji Yang took the group’s new media department and even started a company of his own.”
Ji Yang met Ji Chengyi’s gaze.
So he was trying to divert the trouble onto him?
He’d been waiting for this opportunity all along.
The room fell silent for several seconds.
Second Madam exclaimed, “Started a company? How could Ji Yang possibly do that?”
“Exactly, Chengyi. Are you sure you haven’t made a mistake?”
“He’s doing well if he manages not to cause trouble.”
Ji Chengyi continued, “I’m absolutely certain. We even ran into each other at dinner. Xiaoyang was getting along splendidly with Mr. Huang from Xianshi. Honestly, if Nie Xu hadn’t been there, I would’ve felt ashamed of myself in front of my younger brother, given how little I can do.”
He’d put Ji Yang on the spot in one fell swoop.
Ji Mingyue leaned closer and whispered, “What did you do to offend him?”
“Have I ever stopped offending him?” Ji Yang replied lazily.
He carefully wrapped the grape seeds from his mouth in a tissue, stood up, and threw them into the trash.
“Third Brother, you’re giving me too much credit. The company’s legal representative is Director Peng, the former executive. I’m just an extra. I invested a little money so I could earn some pocket money.”
He looked around the room before continuing, “Besides, I’m just preparing for the possibility that the Ji family might decline. A kid like me, whose father doesn’t love him and whose mother doesn’t care about him, and who can’t even walk properly, has to make plans for himself, doesn’t he?”
Ji Changshou exploded. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Has the Ji family ever mistreated you?!”
“Whoever jumps up in anger must be the one talking nonsense, then,” Ji Yang replied offhandedly. “As for whether I’ve been mistreated, if you have a clear conscience, then it shouldn’t matter whether I start a company or leave the Ji family altogether. I’ll have a clear conscience, too.”
Ji Changshou roared, “Get out! Get out of the Ji family this instant!”
“Sure thing.”
Ji Yang turned around without the slightest hesitation.
He was faster to leave than anyone else.
Ji Chengyi had gone so far out of character that he was openly trying to drag Ji Yang down with him.
If Ji Yang stayed any longer, he was genuinely afraid he’d transform into the wicked villain he was supposed to be and decide to take the entire Ji family down with him.
Because he left so decisively, he didn’t know that something else happened after his departure—something that diverged from the novel.
For once, Ji Zhonglin didn’t side with Ji Chengyi. Instead, he spoke up.
“It’s a good thing that he wants to make something of himself. Chengyi, you went too far by bringing him into this just to undermine his confidence over Nie Xu.”
Ji Chengyi’s expression changed several times. A trace of suspicion flashed through his eyes as he looked at Ji Zhonglin, but he quickly regained his composure.
“Big Brother, how could I not know that? But think about how I’ve lived since returning to the Ji family all those years ago. You want me to let go of the past without a single grudge? I’m not that magnanimous.”
He spoke with such frankness that the guilt in Ji Zhonglin’s eyes resurfaced.
Ji Chengyi continued, “I truly have no interest in inheriting the Ji family business. If you—”
“I was too hasty.” Ji Zhonglin rubbed the bridge of his nose and reassured him, “I know you have no such intentions. I won’t take Dad’s words to heart.”
Meanwhile, Ji Yang had already returned to where the cars were parked.
Only then did he remember that he didn’t have a driver at his beck and call anymore.
There were other people, too.
That family doctor, Tao Jisheng, didn’t seem like someone who would easily let anything slip.
“Brother Xu,” Ji Yang called.
Nie Xu stepped forward and stood beside the table, looking down at him.
“Do me a favor, will you?” Ji Yang said with a crooked smile.
“What favor?”
“Help me investigate Tao Jisheng’s background in detail.”
Nie Xu said nothing.
Ji Yang pressed his palms together. “Helping me is helping yourself, too.”
Qi Songqing chuckled beside them. “There’s no point asking him.”
Nie Xu nodded. “Sure.”
Qi Songqing: “…Way to slap me in the face right in front of everyone.”
Ji Yang looked pleasantly surprised. “Really?”
Nie Xu gave a quiet hum, his gaze settling on Ji Yang’s face. “If you investigate Tao Jisheng, no matter who turns out to be behind this, you won’t have any way back into the Ji family.”
Ji Yang replied, “And if I don’t investigate, do I have one?”
He’d put the Ji family on the trending charts, emailed the old master, and, at a critical moment, effectively poached the entire new media department.
From the very beginning, he’d never intended to leave himself a way back.
Having Yiyuan Media operate under Jianyuan’s umbrella and turning to Nie Xu whenever he needed help were also ways of making his position clear.
And making his position clear to Nie Xu had its advantages.
For example, twenty minutes later, when Ji Yang walked out with his examination results, he happened to see Qi Songqing talking to Nie Xu.
Qi Songqing said, “I’ve looked into everyone who was at your dinner tonight. That company belonging to Mr. Pan has records from a batch of materials three years ago where the legal representative’s signature and the actual logistics records don’t match. He doesn’t even know about it himself. There’s also a supplementary clause buried beneath that contract.”
Nie Xu replied, “Keep a close eye on their cash flow. As soon as they start auditing the old accounts, they’ll trace things back to the shell company the Ji family used for that original shipment within a week.”
Qi Songqing smiled. “Once this batch is collected, the Ji family’s books will be so clean they’ll have to lick the bottom of the bowl to find anything left.”
Ji Yang remained silent. At last, he understood that Nie Xu really had his own agenda at dinner that evening. He hadn’t simply been helping the Ji family clean up its mess.
He didn’t try to hide the fact that he’d overheard them, either. He simply waited until they had finished speaking and turned to look at him.
Nie Xu remained perfectly calm. Even Qi Songqing seemed to take it for granted that there was nothing wrong with Ji Yang hearing their conversation.
“Let me see the results.” Qi Songqing held out his hand.
Ji Yang walked over.
“The distribution of your nerve endings shows no signs of widespread necrosis,” Qi Songqing explained, his expression serious and professional. “However, since your last episode of pain lasted so long, we’ll need to strictly control your medication from now on. You’ll also need physical and psychological therapy. We can hold off on surgery for the time being.”
Ji Yang nodded. “All right.”
After all that, it was already very late by the time he returned to the Ji residence.
But tonight, no one in the Ji family had gone to bed early.
His car and Ji Zhonglin’s had arrived at the gates almost at the same time.
Ji Yang looked terrible when he got out. Ji Zhonglin wasn’t doing much better. During the period he’d been under investigation, this eldest brother’s brows had taken on a faintly weary look. He hadn’t even had time to properly groom the stubble on his chin, making him appear somewhat more mature than before.
The two of them stopped in front of the main house.
Ji Yang suddenly felt that there was something more complicated in the way Ji Zhonglin looked at him.
Ji Chengyi was also watching Ji Yang, who had only just returned. He seemed to be thinking about something as he discreetly glanced at Nie Xu standing behind Ji Yang. Then he turned back to remind Ji Zhonglin, “Big Brother, let’s go inside. Second Aunt has been very worried about you lately.”
“I know.” Hearing him, Ji Zhonglin withdrew his gaze. “The group has been fortunate to have you looking after things during this time.”
Ji Chengyi shook his head. “It was only what I should do.”
As Ji Zhonglin passed Ji Yang, he suddenly stopped again.
Without turning his head, he said, “I heard about what happened on the cruise ship. You did well.”
Ji Yang raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You really think so, Big Brother?”
“Mingyue is my sister, too.” Ji Zhonglin’s voice was calm. “No matter what happens to the Ji family, we shouldn’t sacrifice a girl’s entire life just to obtain benefits we have no right to.”
Ji Yang hadn’t expected Ji Zhonglin to be the only person in the Ji family who supported him over this matter.
But in the novel, Ji Mingyue still married Qi Yiming. That proved Ji Zhonglin didn’t yet have enough influence within the family to change the outcome of that marriage.
At that moment, Second Madam and the others rushed out of the house, peppering Ji Zhonglin with questions. They quickly surrounded him and ushered him inside.
Ji Yang remained standing quietly outside.
Then he suddenly heard a voice behind him.
“This is the first time Ji Zhonglin has truly gotten to know the Ji family.”
“Hm?” Ji Yang turned around.
Nie Xu gazed at the brightly lit main house. His expression seemed mocking, yet it also seemed as though he felt nothing at all.
“An heir who’s too clean won’t win the old master’s favor.”
Sure enough, an argument soon erupted inside.
Ji Zhonglin was actually confronting Ji Yansong about the family’s business dealings. The old master flew into a rage, scolding him for having apparently let every lesson he’d taught him over the years go in one ear and out the other.
Second Madam was crying and shouting, while Ji Chengyi tried to mediate.
Ji Yang saw Second Madam lose her temper and slap Ji Chengyi across the face.
Ji Zhonglin immediately shoved his mother aside and bent down to check on Ji Chengyi’s injury.
What a spectacular family drama.
It was still much the same as in the novel.
Ji Chengyi’s kindness, Ji Zhonglin’s heartache—all that was missing was the wicked supporting villain, himself, jumping around between them to stir up trouble.
When Ji Yang stepped inside, the room fell quiet for a moment.
Ji Zhonglin rubbed the bridge of his nose before addressing Ji Yansong directly.
“Grandfather, I’m going to convene a shareholders’ meeting. At this point, taking a step back is the only way to preserve the Ji family’s core businesses. Old Sun and the others have been with the group for years. How could you let Nie Xu and Lu Li threaten their families to force them into submission? I can’t accept that.”
Ji Yansong’s chest heaved. “You’re talking about compassion at a time like this? You’re digging your own grave!”
Ji Zhonglin blurted out, “Could it be that you’ve done so many shameful things in the past that now you see danger everywhere, even where there is none?”
“Young Master!” Butler Zhao Yuan shouted sharply.
“Big Brother!” Ji Chengyi interrupted anxiously.
Second Madam panicked and grabbed Ji Zhonglin’s arm. “Quick, quick! Apologize to your grandfather!”
Ji Yang quietly found an empty corner and sat down, perfectly content to watch.
The elders from the other branches of the family arrived one after another. Ji Mingyue was among them. She glanced around the room before choosing the seat beside him.
Ji Yang pushed a bunch of grapes from the table toward the middle. Ji Mingyue laughed softly and popped one into her mouth.
The Ji family’s Second Master was timid, while the Third Master had never cared to get involved in family affairs. Although they each managed different parts of the group, neither could make decisions on major matters.
Only Ji Changshou, thinking himself clever, spoke up.
“Dad, Zhonglin is probably just having trouble adjusting for the moment. I think Xiaoyi has done quite well lately. None of the group’s shareholders have complained. Although Zhonglin has returned, handing the group’s power back to him at this point might be a little—”
“Dad!” Ji Chengyi’s expression darkened. He turned directly to Ji Yansong and made his position clear. “Grandfather, I have no intention of inheriting the Ji family business, and I know my own limitations. The only reason the group has remained relatively stable during this period is because you’ve been here, Grandfather, and because Nie Xu has been mediating behind the scenes.”
Ji Changshou looked at him as though he were hopelessly disappointing.
“He’s just a bodyguard! How capable can he possibly be?”
“Dad, if you don’t know what you’re talking about, then please don’t say anything.” Ji Chengyi changed tack. “Nie Xu spent some time working as Ji Yang’s assistant, and Ji Yang took the group’s new media department and even started a company of his own.”
Ji Yang met Ji Chengyi’s gaze.
So he was trying to divert the trouble onto him?
He’d been waiting for this opportunity all along.
The room fell silent for several seconds.
Second Madam exclaimed, “Started a company? How could Ji Yang possibly do that?”
“Exactly, Chengyi. Are you sure you haven’t made a mistake?”
“He’s doing well if he manages not to cause trouble.”
Ji Chengyi continued, “I’m absolutely certain. We even ran into each other at dinner. Xiaoyang was getting along splendidly with Mr. Huang from Xianshi. Honestly, if Nie Xu hadn’t been there, I would’ve felt ashamed of myself in front of my younger brother, given how little I can do.”
He’d put Ji Yang on the spot in one fell swoop.
Ji Mingyue leaned closer and whispered, “What did you do to offend him?”
“Have I ever stopped offending him?” Ji Yang replied lazily.
He carefully wrapped the grape seeds from his mouth in a tissue, stood up, and threw them into the trash.
“Third Brother, you’re giving me too much credit. The company’s legal representative is Director Peng, the former executive. I’m just an extra. I invested a little money so I could earn some pocket money.”
He looked around the room before continuing, “Besides, I’m just preparing for the possibility that the Ji family might decline. A kid like me, whose father doesn’t love him and whose mother doesn’t care about him, and who can’t even walk properly, has to make plans for himself, doesn’t he?”
Ji Changshou exploded. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Has the Ji family ever mistreated you?!”
“Whoever jumps up in anger must be the one talking nonsense, then,” Ji Yang replied offhandedly. “As for whether I’ve been mistreated, if you have a clear conscience, then it shouldn’t matter whether I start a company or leave the Ji family altogether. I’ll have a clear conscience, too.”
Ji Changshou roared, “Get out! Get out of the Ji family this instant!”
“Sure thing.”
Ji Yang turned around without the slightest hesitation.
He was faster to leave than anyone else.
Ji Chengyi had gone so far out of character that he was openly trying to drag Ji Yang down with him.
If Ji Yang stayed any longer, he was genuinely afraid he’d transform into the wicked villain he was supposed to be and decide to take the entire Ji family down with him.
Because he left so decisively, he didn’t know that something else happened after his departure—something that diverged from the novel.
For once, Ji Zhonglin didn’t side with Ji Chengyi. Instead, he spoke up.
“It’s a good thing that he wants to make something of himself. Chengyi, you went too far by bringing him into this just to undermine his confidence over Nie Xu.”
Ji Chengyi’s expression changed several times. A trace of suspicion flashed through his eyes as he looked at Ji Zhonglin, but he quickly regained his composure.
“Big Brother, how could I not know that? But think about how I’ve lived since returning to the Ji family all those years ago. You want me to let go of the past without a single grudge? I’m not that magnanimous.”
He spoke with such frankness that the guilt in Ji Zhonglin’s eyes resurfaced.
Ji Chengyi continued, “I truly have no interest in inheriting the Ji family business. If you—”
“I was too hasty.” Ji Zhonglin rubbed the bridge of his nose and reassured him, “I know you have no such intentions. I won’t take Dad’s words to heart.”
Meanwhile, Ji Yang had already returned to where the cars were parked.
Only then did he remember that he didn’t have a driver at his beck and call anymore.
Ji Yang found a bodyguard standing guard outside and asked, “Where’s your boss?”
“Fourth Young Master, you mean… Brother Nie?” The man looked bewildered for a moment before answering, “He’s probably back at the dormitory by now. I heard Brother Lei say that he’s no longer responsible for security at the Ji residence. As for his exact schedule, those of us at the bottom don’t know the details.”
Ji Yang paused to think. That was true. Ordinary bodyguards really were just bodyguards for the Ji family.
The reason he’d gotten the impression that all the bodyguards knew what was going on was that, from the very beginning, the person he’d gotten to know had already been one of the elite at the very top of the security division.
Midnight.
An emergency alarm was triggered in Building Four.
A group of men, dressed in various states of disarray, stared at the person sitting cross-legged on the roof of a Hummer parked below. Their expressions visibly cracked.
“Fourth Young Master?” Jiang Lei was practically numb with disbelief. “How did you get in here?”
Ji Yang pointed at the little white dog ambling around below, limping leisurely on its short legs. “Nie Xu’s son brought me in. There wasn’t anyone guarding the entrance, so who knew there’d be an infrared alarm inside? Afraid I might lose my life, I climbed up here.”
Jiang Lei glanced at his legs.
Ji Yang said, “You should know that when people are under pressure, their potential is limitless.”
Jiang Lei was speechless. “Then what are you doing here in the middle of the night?”
“I got kicked out.”
“Got… got…” Jiang Lei choked on his words several times, momentarily at a loss for what to say.
Ji Yang explained, “I messaged Nie Xu, but he didn’t reply.”
Jiang Lei: “…He’s taking a shower.”
“Oh.”
The atmosphere became awkward for a moment.
Ten minutes later, Ji Yang followed Nie Xu, whose hair was still dripping wet, into the men’s dormitory on the third floor.
Ji Yang looked around.
The place was much better than the cramped dormitory he’d imagined. The corridor was wide, and each room seemed to be about twenty square meters. There were bunk beds for eight people, but it looked as though only the lower bunks were occupied.
Everything was arranged uniformly. The army-green blankets had been folded into neat squares and placed at the heads of the beds. At a glance, the room was tidy and spotless.
“Not bad at all,” Ji Yang remarked.
Nie Xu turned around at that. “Weren’t you kicked out of the Ji family?”
“Yep.” Ji Yang nodded.
“Building Four belongs to the Ji family, too.”
Ji Yang immediately grabbed the metal frame of a bed and slumped against it in protest. “Have you no heart? I came here to reduce your workload. Otherwise, as my bodyguard and assistant, how could you possibly escape responsibility?”
Nie Xu glanced at him. “Come here.”
Ji Yang stood up. “What for?”
“Sleep on this one.” Nie Xu pointed to the lower bunk tucked into the far corner by the window. At the same time, he took the towel off the metal frame.
Ji Yang acknowledged him and sat straight down on the edge of the bed. Looking around the dormitory, he said wistfully, “I remember someone telling me that the last bed in Building Four had been given to a stray cat who’d just arrived. Half the beds in your room are empty. You really do lie through your teeth without batting an eye.”
“What do you mean, lie through his teeth?” Jiang Lei asked as he entered the dormitory with another man Ji Yang didn’t recognize.
Ji Yang replied, “He said your dormitory was crowded.”
“Of course it’s not,” Jiang Lei said with a laugh. “This dormitory is reserved for the top four performers in each assessment. Everyone else would give their right arm to get in here. There are only four spots. The reason one bed is empty today is that Wang Weitao had to take leave to go home because his mother was hospitalized.”
“Wang Weitao?” Ji Yang paused.
Then he asked, “The bodyguard who works for my Third Brother?”
Jiang Lei nodded. “That’s right.”
Ji Yang remembered the spoilers saying that Wang Weitao was Ji Chengyi’s loyal dog, unlike that lunatic Lu Li.
So why was Ji Yang sleeping in his bed?
Ji Yang asked, “If I take his bed, won’t he object when he comes back?”
Jiang Lei looked at him. “The bed you’re sitting on belongs to Nie Xu. Since Building Four was first established, countless people have rotated through this dormitory. But that particular bed has always been occupied by just one person.”
The other man, whom Ji Yang had never met before, added with a smile, “Our boss has held the top spot in the assessments for years. Nobody has ever broken his record.”
Ji Yang glanced at the man hanging his towel on the balcony.
He couldn’t understand how Nie Xu managed it, considering how many things he had to deal with every day.
“What a freak,” Ji Yang muttered, pulling the blanket toward himself.
Unfortunately, Nie Xu heard him. He walked back into the room and frowned. “Who’s a freak?”
Ji Yang: “…I’m a freak. I’m the freak.”
As he spoke, he lay down, pulled the blanket over himself, and tucked himself in until only his eyes and the hair on top of his head were visible.
The next second, he pulled the blanket down again.
“This really is your bed. It smells just like you.”
Nie Xu stared at him without moving.
The other two men in the dormitory: “…”
“What?” Ji Yang asked, baffled.
Jiang Lei muttered under his breath, “Yeah, that’s pretty freaky.”
Nie Xu was a freak, too.
He could actually put up with this young master without grabbing him by the collar and throwing him out.