Chapter 34

That night, Ji Yang never did manage to say goodbye in the end, because Nie Xu accompanied him back once again.

The little courtyard was very quiet at night.

The You family and Ji Yang’s colleagues had all gone to bed. Their footsteps echoed faintly as they walked through the stairwell.

Ji Yang walked slowly. When he reached the second floor, something suddenly occurred to him. He leaned over the railing and glanced downstairs, only to discover that Nie Xu hadn’t left yet.

He was leaning against the persimmon tree downstairs, a tiny point of fire glowing at his fingertips.

He looked like a silent shadow, and when he raised his head, his eyes met Ji Yang’s.

Ji Yang swallowed and asked softly, “How come I never knew you had a smoking habit?”

Nie Xu replied, “Just passing the time.”

Ji Yang said, “I’m going to sleep. This is Zhouleng, and I’m not your assignment right now. If someone else sees you here later, they’ll think I’m exploiting you.”

“Get down here,” Nie Xu suddenly said with a frown.

Ji Yang was confused. “What?”

Nie Xu pushed himself away from the tree and lifted his chin toward the railing beneath Ji Yang.

“I said get down. Don’t lean over it like that.”

Ji Yang assessed his own position, with half his body hanging over the railing, then silently murmured, “Oh,” and moved away from the edge.

A few seconds later, when he looked down again, Nie Xu had indeed gotten up and left.

Ji Yang scratched his head and turned back toward his room. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the silhouette of an elderly woman standing in the doorway next to his room and nearly screamed on the spot.

The next second, he patted his chest in relief.

“Grandma? You’re still awake? You scared me to death!”

“I came to check on the pickled vegetables I made earlier and add some water to the jars.” The old woman was well into her seventies but still looked quite robust. Standing there, she asked in return, “Who were you talking to just now?”

Ji Yang instinctively tried to cover it up. “Nobody.”

“Nobody?” The old woman’s eyes were perfectly clear, not cloudy in the slightest. She continued, “Then why do you look so guilty?”

Ji Yang gave an awkward chuckle.

He didn’t even know why he had instinctively lied. He was acting as though he had done something shameful.

“I’m not guilty. What makes you think I’m guilty?” As he spoke, he stepped forward to support her. “Let me walk you back to your room. It’s late, so please be careful not to fall.”

“I’m perfectly fine,” the old woman said, but she didn’t shake off his hand.

After they had walked a few steps, she spoke again.

“I heard from You Li that your own legs aren’t in good shape. I also know what kind of family the Ji family is. Coming to a little place like ours, you must feel as though you’re being mistreated, right?”

Ji Yang didn’t even need to guess. You Li had definitely been talking about him behind his back at home.

Ji Yang shook his head. “I don’t feel mistreated. Besides, I’m not some rich young master.”

The old woman looked at him.

It was almost like a sigh.

“How is Eldest Young Master… Ah Xu doing at the Ji family?” she asked. “He never talks about what happens outside. After all these years, I still don’t know how he’s really been getting along.”

Ji Yang didn’t dare tell her that he had once beaten Nie Xu until his skin was torn and bloody. And he certainly couldn’t tell her about the Ji family’s circumstances.

So he could only heap on the praise and reassure her.

“He’s doing well. Really well. He’s kindhearted, honest, hardworking, and serious about his work. His superiors think highly of him, and he has a bright future ahead of him. You can rest assured.”

The old woman stopped and silently swept her gaze over him.

Then she changed the subject, her voice calm.

“He’s just an ordinary person, a bodyguard. Do you really think he’s that good?”

“What’s wrong with being a bodyguard?” Ji Yang replied instinctively. “Someone as capable as him is impossible to hire, no matter how much money you offer.”

After all, how many ordinary bodyguards could plunge the Ji family into the kind of chaos it was experiencing today?

By then, they had reached the stairs. The old woman suddenly said, “You don’t seem to have much of a young master’s attitude, after all.”

Ji Yang felt that her attitude toward him had shifted ever so slightly, although he couldn’t quite explain exactly how.

The old woman wouldn’t let him accompany her any farther.

“Go back and rest. You don’t need to see me off.”

Ji Yang asked, “Are you sure you’ll be all right?”

“This is my own home. What could possibly happen?” The old woman waved him away. “Go on, get back. It’s the middle of the night, and you’re still talking so much. No wonder you get scolded.”

Ji Yang: Who got scolded? Me?

The next morning, the weather was still brilliantly sunny.

By seven-thirty, the sun was already high in the sky, shining down on the You family’s courtyard and the coastal road outside.

Fortunately, the temperature hadn’t risen too much yet. Young people could occasionally be seen jogging along the road, alongside residents who had gotten up early for a walk.

Old Mai, whom Uncle You had introduced, was around the same age as You Li’s father, in his early fifties. His skin was dark, and he had a hearty smile.

The vehicle he drove over turned out to be a sightseeing tour bus.

You Li was the first to jump aboard.

“Come on, everyone, get on! We were originally going to use my dad’s pickup truck, but my brother had someone take it away early this morning. So I asked Uncle Mai to bring the sightseeing vehicle he operates himself instead.”

The members of “One Yuan” looked as though they had come specifically for a vacation. They excitedly climbed aboard.

The seat left for Ji Yang was right at the front.

Feeling the morning breeze of Zhouleng on his face, Ji Yang asked Uncle Mai, “Do you usually drive tourists around, too?”

“I earn a little extra money that way.” Uncle Mai was very enthusiastic. “I heard you’re here to conduct research for a cultural tourism project, right? That’s a good thing for the local people! Leave today’s itinerary to me. I won’t charge you.”

Ji Yang replied, “How could we do that? You’re already busy, and you’d be taking time out of your schedule for us. You should charge whatever you normally would.”

Uncle Mai shook his head. “Don’t mention it. The number of tourists visiting Zhouleng has been poor these past few years. I can barely find enough passengers to fill my bus in a day.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” a colleague chimed in from the back. “I really like this place. The scenery is beautiful, and the people are friendly. Most importantly, the water hasn’t been badly polluted. I was even thinking of going for a walk along the beach tonight.”

You Li sat slouched in his seat, looking utterly unbothered.

He yawned and added, “There aren’t any tourists left, so of course the environment hasn’t been ruined.”

Uncle Mai gave a bitter smile. “You Li’s right. Especially for the local fruit farmers. This year, forget about making money—they’re all losing money instead. One of the main reasons is that shipping traffic in and out of the port has been restricted.”

That morning, their group visited two historical sites, a cultural industrial park, and a natural attraction.

As a local young man, You Li had his own perspective, while Uncle Mai was an old local with decades of experience. Their different backgrounds gave the group a more comprehensive understanding of the area.

After running around all morning, everyone was exhausted.

They found a casual little roadside restaurant to have lunch.

It was while they were eating that one of their colleagues suddenly said, “Quick, look at the trending topics for Zhouleng!”

Ji Yang had already anticipated this. He took out his phone and looked. Sure enough, things had unfolded exactly as expected.

The conflict from the previous day had escalated again.

After learning that the Third Young Master of the Ji family had arrived in town, people had surrounded him at the port early that morning, sparking a large-scale joint protest.

In the video, the sounds of countless people arguing, shoving, and hurling insults at one another could be heard.

Ji Chengyi, representing the Ji family, had stood before the crowd behind a wall of bodyguards. He announced that the Ji family had launched an internal investigation and would definitely provide everyone with a satisfactory answer.

Those words did little to reassure ordinary people struggling to make ends meet.

At the most critical moment, someone at the scene had even fainted from emotional distress and stopped breathing.

An ambulance and the police arrived.

That only inflamed public anger further.

Online, the backlash was growing louder too.

[The Ji family really has no conscience. My uncle is an old fisherman from Zhouleng, and he says the local shipping association has been rotten for ages! Especially over the past six months—it’s practically made life impossible for ordinary people.]

[The scene looks terrifying. But if this Third Young Master Ji really had no intention of solving the problem, why would he come all the way here? He could just stay in Fanzhou and enjoy his life as a rich young master.]

[That’s true. You can’t really fault him for that.]

[They all have the surname Ji. Does anyone seriously believe this so-called internal investigation will lead to anything?]

[Does the person above not know that the Ji family is in turmoil right now? The eldest and second branches are fighting for power, and secret schemes and open rivalry are nothing new. Whether this is just a show or not, what matters most to ordinary people is whether the problem gets solved.]

…

Ji Yang sat outside the little eatery, with a bowl of the local specialty—rice noodles in lamb broth—on the table in front of him.

His colleagues were all discussing the incident. Meanwhile, You Li kept scrolling through the videos, muttering, “Damn, why are there so many people? I wonder if my dad went too.”

A moment later, he said, “What’s wrong with these people? The Third Young Master came here to solve the problem. What’s the point of calling him names? If that worked, what would we need the police for?”

Then he clasped his hands together and made a wish. “If this really gets resolved, Third Young Master Ji will become the most exceptional rich young master in my eyes. No exceptions. I’ll never resent the rich again.”

Ji Yang tapped away at his phone, not forgetting to mock him. “Can your ranking of rich young masters be exchanged for money?”

“You love money so much. Can’t you have a little compassion for the greater good?” You Li retorted.

“If this really gets resolved, you should thank your brother,” Ji Yang said.

You Li frowned. “What do you mean?”

Ji Yang was too busy to answer him.

Less than two minutes later, You Li stared at his phone and sprang to his feet, pointing at Ji Yang in disbelief.

“Why are you stirring up trouble again?!”

All his colleagues turned to look at them in unison.

Ji Yang slapped You Li’s hand away. “What do you mean, stirring up trouble?” He was also rather puzzled. “I only just posted it, and you already know? Don’t tell me you’ve got notifications turned on for me specifically.”

You Li’s face flushed bright red.

“I’m just keeping an eye on you at all times!”

His colleagues had initially been confused, but it didn’t take long for them to figure out what was going on.

Ji Yang had posted a new update with the trending topic attached.

Normally, he wasn’t the type to post frequently about his personal life. But ever since he had joined social media, his popularity had remained consistently high. He was practically one of a kind among the wealthy circles of Fanzhou.

He hadn’t actually posted anything particularly special.

He had simply attached the trending topics about the conflict that had broken out the previous night and the incident that had gone viral that morning.

His caption read:

Missed it last night, and couldn’t catch it today either. One of the ten greatest regrets of my life.

The post gained traction at an astonishing speed.

Anyone paying even a little attention could tell that someone was pushing things along behind the scenes.

That someone was One Yuan.

Ji Yang had given Peng Jiaying instructions about this early that morning. To achieve the effect he wanted, he needed professionals. Fortunately, One Yuan was experienced in exactly this kind of work. The company’s main role was to boost traffic and promote trending topics. The focus was the local incident in Zhouleng, not Ji Yang himself.

At first, the comments under Ji Yang’s account were still full of remarks like these:

[Jealous that your Third Brother is handling the family’s core business?]

[What a contrast. One is becoming an increasingly influential figure in the family, while the other can only post a couple of bitter remarks online.]

[Haven’t you caused enough trouble for the family already? Haven’t you learned your lesson?]

And so on.

But as the incident continued to trend, more and more people flooded into the comments, and those remarks were quickly buried.

Now, everyone was talking about the incident itself.

[What exactly is going on in Zhouleng? I’ve already seen so many people saying there’s a lot of shady business going on there.]

[Don’t tell me you’re in Zhouleng too.]

[The Ji family has made a statement! They’ve just told people not to believe the online posts deliberately steering public opinion. Wait, are they talking about you? Hahahahahahaha!]

[History really does repeat itself in astonishing ways…]

[Are you seriously targeting the Ji family? Hahaha. Every time something happens, you jump right in. You’re practically afraid the internet might let your family off the hook.]

…

Meanwhile, inside the Zhouleng Shipping Association’s office building, no one yet realized that the online controversy was continuing to snowball.

Zhu Guangsheng was only in his thirties, but he already had the greasy, bloated appearance of a man whose entire body was made of fat.

The green jade ring on his hand dug into his flesh, leaving deep indentations. He had just been kicked into an extravagant office chair, which creaked as if it could barely bear the strain.

“Y-You… What are you doing?!” Zhu Guangsheng clutched his chest and stared at the doorway in pain and terror.

Nie Xu had brought no more than three or four people with him, yet he had managed to frighten the dozen or so hired thugs Zhu Guangsheng had called in into backing away repeatedly.

Nie Xu stepped inside and smiled faintly. “Nothing much. I came to discuss a business deal with Chairman Zhu. Who knew you’d prepare such a surprise for me in advance?”

“What business deal?” Zhu Guangsheng swallowed nervously and glanced around. He could hardly believe that, despite having made thorough preparations, he had been so easily caught off guard.

His biological older sister was the wife of someone from the Ji family’s second branch. The Zhu family had been involved in shipping for countless years, so even if he wasn’t particularly familiar with Nie Xu, he certainly had reason to fear him.

He had seen firsthand the methods this man used back when the Ji family was still running ships in its early days.

But his sister had told him before that the old master of the Ji family was wary of Nie Xu and had sent him away to serve as a personal bodyguard to that useless Fourth Young Master Ji. Who would have thought that, while secretly investigating the Zhu family, the old master would quietly send Nie Xu to Zhouleng?

Zhu Guangsheng had already planned everything out.

He had arranged for his own people to be stationed at the port. He had also paid a generous sum to the family of someone with acute heart disease. As long as someone died during the protest, the Ji family would naturally have no time to investigate him. He could even use the incident to drag Third Young Master Ji Chengyi—the eldest branch’s greatest potential threat to his sister—into the mess.

Who could have known that Nie Xu would be so difficult to deal with?

Nie Xu walked over to the desk, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

“Of course, it’s a deal that benefits Chairman Zhu.” As he spoke, he took a stack of documents from one of the people behind him, placed them on the desk, and slid them across.

“These are detailed records of every transfer the Zhu family has taken from the Ji family’s accounts over the years, along with all the money you’ve extorted in Zhouleng and the bribes you’ve accepted. This evidence would be more than enough to put you behind bars for ten years.”

Zhu Guangsheng’s expression changed dramatically.

He shot to his feet and slammed both hands onto the desk.

Gritting his teeth, he said, “Is the old master trying to go back on his word? How much has my Zhu family done for the Ji family every year? How much money have we used to plug the holes in the Ji family’s finances? If those records come to light, I refuse to believe the Ji family wouldn’t be afraid!”

Nie Xu looked up at him. “Do you think the Zhu family will even have a tomorrow?”

“Nie Xu! Don’t push people too far!”

“I told you, Chairman Zhu. I’m here to discuss a business deal.”

Nie Xu rose from his chair.

He walked to the window and looked in the direction of the port.

“I can guarantee to the old master that your Zhu family won’t be implicated in this matter, but I have two conditions. First, relinquish all your control and transfer the Zhu family’s entire shareholding in the Ji family’s shipping business. Second, withdraw from the association. By this evening, I want to see an updated report confirming that shipping traffic has resumed.”

Zhu Guangsheng’s face darkened. Convinced that he had figured everything out, he said ominously, “You’re with the eldest branch, aren’t you? You’re targeting my Zhu family to help Ji Chengyi rise to power?”

“Why would Chairman Zhu think that?” Nie Xu replied calmly. “The Ji family is at a critical juncture. The last thing anyone should do is take sides.”

As he spoke, he walked back and pushed the documents a little closer.

“Go to prison or protect yourself by staying out of trouble. You still have time to think it over, Chairman Zhu.”

Having said his piece, Nie Xu turned and left the office.

He and his men hadn’t gone far when the sound of a chair being smashed came from inside.

Then came an angry roar.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON ONLINE?!”

Nie Xu raised an eyebrow.

He took out his phone and kept walking without slowing down.

As he passed through the office building, everyone hurried to make way for him. Most of them had probably figured out that he was the person the Ji family had sent down. They were intimidated by the oppressive aura he exuded, but the unmistakable sound of a livestream coming from his phone also left them looking astonished.

The male voice coming from the phone was clear, with a casual, easygoing edge.

It sounded as though he was answering comments in the livestream chat.

“Mm-hmm, I’m in Zhouleng… No, I wasn’t at the scene, so I don’t know exactly what happened… I watched the video. My Third Brother didn’t even lay a finger on anyone, so claiming he caused someone’s death is utter nonsense, isn’t it? And I’m not targeting the Ji family. I’m here on a business trip… Believe it or not, that’s up to you… Riding the trend for publicity? Yeah, that’s right. I took on a cultural tourism project, and what I need most is publicity. How about I show you some of beautiful Zhouleng?”