In the living room, Han Biao and Deng Jiao sat on the sofa, leaning forward as they explained the details of the documents to Nie Xu.
There were only a few main matters to discuss: “the withdrawal of pledges by shell companies,” “Old Master Sun’s share buyback,” and “the flight route for the old master’s early return to the country”…
When they got to the matters related to the Ji family, Han Biao had initially been somewhat hesitant. After all, there was someone with the surname Ji present. Even though Ji Yang had just severed ties with his biological father, there was no denying his origins.
But just as that hesitation surfaced, it was interrupted by the sound of someone noisily slurping noodles.
Han Biao stared wordlessly at the person sitting cross-legged on the sofa, holding a takeaway bowl and burying his head in his food.
“…”
Perhaps the sudden silence finally awakened Ji Yang’s conscience.
He looked up at Han Biao, whose expression was difficult to describe, and asked, “Want a couple of bites?”
“No, thanks.” Han Biao waved his hand, genuinely curious. “You can actually stand eating this stuff?”
Ji Yang replied, “Is there anyone who can’t stand eating this?”
Han Biao silently pointed toward the man sitting on the other side, who had his head lowered as he read the documents.
Deng Jiao interjected in a quiet voice, “He can’t even stand the smell.”
She leaned toward Han Biao and muttered, “Remember? The year before last, someone from Brother Lei’s team brought a portion of stinky tofu or something into the Building Four office early one morning for a meeting. What was the punishment again?”
Han Biao remembered immediately. “A fifty-kilometer cross-country run with a weighted pack.”
The moment he heard the words fifty-kilometer weighted run, Ji Yang bit through the noodles in his mouth. He stared wordlessly at the man who had remained silent the entire time.
Nie Xu finally raised his head and met Ji Yang’s gaze.
“Just eat your food.”
After saying that, he lowered his head and returned to reading.
Han Biao immediately felt indignant and complained, “Boss, you’re treating him so differently!”
In Han Biao’s understanding, back when this young master had been arrogant and domineering, he’d done God knew how many outrageous things. Now that he’d separated himself from the Ji family and could no longer throw his weight around as a young master, shouldn’t this be the perfect opportunity to suppress him and get some revenge? Even if he was cooperating with their boss, that shouldn’t change anything.
And yet, look at him now. He was still throwing his weight around!
The most important thing was that their boss wasn’t even doing anything about it.
He was actually letting Ji Yang eat something this smelly in his own house!
Of course, Han Biao only dared to complain a little in his heart.
They didn’t stay much longer. Ji Yang had only eaten half his noodles when they left.
Ji Yang watched Nie Xu putting on his jacket and asked, “Going out?”
“The old master has a flight today,” Nie Xu replied.
Ji Yansong was coming back today?
Ji Yang thought about it for a moment and realized it made sense. The successor whom Ji Yansong had personally selected and pushed into power hadn’t even secured his position yet, and the scandal involving the transfer of Ji family assets had already erupted. Regardless of whether Ji Yansong had known about it privately or had even given the instructions himself, he needed to return now, at least on the surface.
Nie Xu took out the contract in his hand and slid it toward Ji Yang.
“Take a look when you have time. If there are no problems, sign it. Jian Yuan’s funds will arrive no later than next week.”
Ji Yang picked up the contract without even opening it and asked, “Will you be coming back today?”
“What’s wrong?” Nie Xu asked.
Ji Yang raised the container in his hand. “If you’re not coming back, take the trash downstairs with you while you’re at it. It’ll stink if I leave it here.”
Nie Xu glanced at him. “I thought you couldn’t smell it.”
“Smelling something and putting it in your mouth are two different things.” Ji Yang said, “You should’ve told me earlier if you couldn’t stand the smell. I won’t eat it next time.”
Nie Xu walked over, took the container from him, and tied it up in a plastic bag.
“It’s fine. Treat this place like your own home. You can do whatever you want. I’ll probably be back pretty late today. Call me if you need anything.”
Ji Yang gave a quiet acknowledgment.
Nie Xu carried the bag to the door, then turned back to look at the person who was still sitting obediently on the sofa.
After a brief pause, he said, “I’ll try to come back early. If your leg feels uncomfortable, tell me immediately.”
“It’s fine.” Ji Yang waved his hand nonchalantly. “Don’t worry about me. I can manage on my own.”
After Nie Xu left, Ji Yang had only read halfway through the contract when he received a call from Peng Jiaying.
“The matter with the cold-chain factory has been resolved. The surveillance footage has been recovered, confirming that someone tampered with the control panel. We’ve also found the IP address associated with the modification records in the access control system’s backend. The lawyer says the chain of evidence is now complete.”
Peng Jiaying’s voice was filled with barely contained excitement.
“We’ve officially sent a letter to the tender committee. If they don’t provide a reasonable explanation within a week, we’ll file an application with the court to revoke the entire tender result and reopen the bidding process publicly.”
Ji Yang leaned back against the sofa, twirling a pen between his fingers. He casually acknowledged the other party before asking, “How has the tender committee responded?”
“Nothing yet, but I reckon the legal team on Ji Chengyi’s side is already working overtime.”
“There’s no rush.” Ji Yang thought about the share buyback Han Biao and the others had mentioned that morning. “Don’t make us look too aggressive.”
Peng Jiaying chuckled twice. “I thought you were in a hurry.”
“I’m not the one who’s in a hurry right now,” Ji Yang said. Then he asked, “How’s the cold-chain warehousing arrangement with Yiyuan coming along?”
“We’ve already negotiated with two companies. One offered a pretty low price, but the boss is slick with his words, and I don’t think he’s particularly reliable. The other is a local cooperative consortium from Zhouling. Their quotation is slightly higher, but they have a much more solid foundation.”
“Choose the reliable one,” Ji Yang said. “Didn’t you want to take things one steady step at a time?”
Peng Jiaying fell silent for two seconds before saying, “I’m worried our funds won’t be enough to cover it.”
“Don’t worry.” Ji Yang looked at the astonishing figure at the end of the contract in his hand. “We’ve got money. A lot of it.”
“Has the Jian Yuan investment been finalized?” Peng Jiaying asked excitedly.
“Of course. I sold myself for a pretty good price.”
After asking about the amount, Peng Jiaying immediately said, “Is Jian Yuan still hiring? I wouldn’t mind selling myself to them either.”
Ji Yang sighed. “Sorry about that. This is a personal debt of gratitude. I can’t sell you to them, and the money isn’t that easy to get.”
At the very least, from now on, his life and livelihood, along with his freedom to conduct business, would be completely tied down.
After ending the call with Peng Jiaying, he decisively picked up his pen and signed the contract.
That was a huge sum of money, after all.
Considering that his current savings weren’t even enough to buy one of their toilets, let alone secure his freedom, even delaying his signature by a moment would have been an insult to money itself.
After signing, he took out his phone and snapped a picture.
He opened his friends list, tapped on a contact, and sent it over.
Nie Xu was probably driving. His reply came as a voice message.
“So fast? You didn’t look through it carefully?”
“No need,” Ji Yang replied. “Anyone willing to give me money is my daddy.”
Two seconds later, Nie Xu sent back a brief response.
“Too bad. I don’t have a son as grown as you.”
Ji Yang was so amused that he almost laughed in exasperation.
“Even if you wanted one, wouldn’t you have to find yourself a girlfriend first?”
“Can’t.”
Nie Xu’s voice came through the phone with a faint huskiness.
Ji Yang casually asked, “Why can’t you?”
Nie Xu’s tone was as indifferent as if he were discussing the weather.
“You’ve been ‘in love’ with me unilaterally for so long. Didn’t you bother finding out what my sexual orientation is?”
So he couldn’t get it up?
That association caused the warmth of the phone against Ji Yang’s ear to spread, and the tips of his ears suddenly grew hot.
He suddenly remembered that, yes, because of the original novel’s canon pairing, he’d assumed from the beginning that Nie Xu would fall for Ji Chengyi. That had indirectly confirmed Nie Xu’s sexual orientation in his mind. But that hadn’t happened.
Now, with Nie Xu suddenly bringing up this topic, the impact on Ji Yang was like someone finally piercing a layer of paper he’d been ignoring all along—the layer separating all those seemingly deliberate advances, unconscious provocations, and ambiguous actions.
He suddenly understood.
And yet, he had no choice but to face one undeniable fact.
Oh. This was a man who shared his sexual orientation, a man who could experience physical arousal.
And a man who checked practically every box in his personal aesthetic preferences.
Ji Yang was surprised that he had only realized this now. Nie Xu wasn’t merely the revenge-driven machine from the novel, nor the taciturn bodyguard Ji Yang had thought he’d known throughout their journey together, nor simply the boss of Jian Yuan.
Ji Yang felt that the Nie Xu who was occasionally sharp-tongued, who had shown a rare tenderness back in Zhouling, and who hadn’t forgotten to remind him to take care of himself before leaving today was much closer to the man’s true self.
A man who was entirely genuine, who could discuss such a topic as casually and matter-of-factly as if it were nothing unusual.
Ji Yang didn’t want to make himself seem slow on the uptake, so he shot back, “If you can’t get it up for women, what about men? Have you ever tried?”
“I have,” Nie Xu answered indifferently.
Ji Yang was incredulous. “You’ve actually tried?!”
“Young Master.” Nie Xu’s voice was unhurried. “Don’t you think you’re speaking a little too loudly? By ‘tried,’ I don’t mean having sex with someone. When you experience physical arousal toward someone, don’t you know it yourself?”
Ji Yang replied, “Well, there have been plenty of times.”
His sexual awakening had begun with a male model in a magazine.
He had zero practical experience, but that didn’t stop him from being a seasoned theorist.
Nie Xu’s tone lowered slightly, carrying a meaning that was difficult to decipher.
“Plenty?”
“Y-yeah.” Ji Yang didn’t know why he suddenly stammered. “If watching videos counts, too.”
The other end of the line fell silent for a moment.
“That’s good,” Nie Xu said. “Just keep yourself under control while you’re at home. Don’t dirty the sofa.”
Ji Yang: “…I’m hanging up.”
What the hell was he even saying?!
Ji Yang couldn’t even remember how they’d suddenly ended up discussing this topic. Now, he couldn’t even sit comfortably on the sofa anymore.
That same day, at Fanzhou Airport—
There were two separate groups of people who had received orders to pick someone up.
Lu Li arrived a step late. When he saw the man leaning against a Hummer in the parking lot, smoking, he couldn’t resist walking over.
“Mind if I borrow a light?” Lu Li asked.
Nie Xu glanced at him, took out his lighter, and tossed it over.
Lu Li lit his cigarette himself, then turned toward the people behind him, including Fang Qi.
“All right, everyone, disperse. Brother Xu came alone. Why are you all standing around on guard like that? You’re making us look like a bunch of cowards.”
Nie Xu looked at him. “Has the old master’s overseas business been wrapped up?”
“Why are you asking me?” Lu Li glanced at the cigarette between Nie Xu’s fingers, stepped closer, and lowered his voice with a smile. “I know you’ve planted a landmine for the old master, Brother Xu. But considering how many years we’ve known each other, let me give you a word of advice. Don’t let your guard down too early.”
Nie Xu tapped the ash off his cigarette. “I’m more curious about how you came to that conclusion.”
Lu Li pointed at his own eyes.
“I’m not blind.”
He continued, “Xiao Yi is running around like a headless chicken because of you, isn’t he? I don’t mind what you’ve done. In fact, I’m rather pleased about it. I don’t want him trapped in the Ji family’s cesspool.”
Nie Xu’s voice held no emotion. “That’s just wishful thinking on your part.”
“I don’t care.” Lu Li said, “So much so that I don’t even want you to lose. You took Ji Yang back with you, didn’t you? For the sake of the old master’s wishful thinking, I know you’ve been holding yourself back for long enough.”
As he spoke, Lu Li nodded toward the cigarette in Nie Xu’s hand.
“Since you’re already this frustrated, why not hand him over to me?”
Nie Xu tossed the cigarette to the ground and ground it out beneath his foot.
Then he stood up and patted Lu Li on the shoulder.
“Thanks,” Nie Xu said. “With all this free time on your hands, why don’t you go to the hospital next door and make an appointment? Get that delusional disorder of yours treated.”
Nie Xu left.
Fang Qi walked over to Lu Li. “What’s going on?”
“Just look at his state. He’s clearly reached the end of his patience.” Lu Li sneered. “Just wait. Once this whole Haicheng mess is over, the first person he’ll go after will definitely be Fourth Young Master Ji.”
Fang Qi thought about it. After all, they’d eaten street food with that young master before.
He couldn’t help feeling that Fourth Young Master Ji was rather pitiful.
Of all the people he could have fallen for, why did he have to fall for a devil incarnate?
With the way Nie Xu could keep his emotions hidden without showing the slightest sign of what he was thinking, who knew what kind of fate awaited that young master when the time came?