The Ji family’s Bay Estate was located in the most prosperous central district of Fanzhou’s inner ring. Thanks to its unique geographical position and vast, gently sloping grounds, the estate commanded magnificent views of both the eastern and western shores.

The property management group provided the highest level of service, while the annual costs were staggering enough to make anyone’s jaw drop. The surrounding area was also filled with villas and residential developments catering to the wealthy. All of this made the estate, built in a semicircular layout, appear even more secluded and mysterious.

At night, the lights illuminated the entire estate, lending it an air of extravagant splendor.

The main castle stood at the center, while the distance between the other buildings—and their distance from the main building—was determined by the status of the people living in them.

Among them, only one building was particularly unusual.

Building Four.

It had no special name. It was called Building Four simply because it stood to the northeast behind the main building, with the coastline forming a barrier farther beyond. It was neither too close to nor too far from the main building.

It had enough independent space to accommodate various training facilities, yet was close enough to reach the designated mission center in the shortest possible time whenever an emergency arose.

This was none other than the Ji family’s security command center.

Keeping its core operations running meant maintaining the invisible protective barrier surrounding the family. More importantly, it was the key to preserving the Ji family’s long-standing peace and stability without attracting attention.

From the outside, the building was four stories tall and looked so ordinary that it seemed completely out of place among the other structures in the estate. But upon closer inspection, even its seemingly unremarkable windows were made of specialized materials. At first glance, everything looked simple, yet every detail conveyed strict discipline and a rigid hierarchy.

At eight that evening, someone in the bodyguards’ second-floor cafeteria was still upset.

You Li, a newly transferred reserve bodyguard in Team One, tossed down his fork and leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed.

He had only just reached adulthood. Compared with the others on the team, he was still inexperienced. His excessively curly hair fell over his ears, and there was even a freshly emerged pimple on his chin. His whole face radiated youthful energy.

Jiang Lei, sitting opposite him, glanced at him and chuckled. “You’re so angry you won’t even eat? Don’t start crying during training later. I’m the leader of Team One, after all. I’m the one who has to eat and train alongside you. You’re the only one who gets this kind of treatment.”

“I know.” You Li looked frustrated. “Everyone says I got in because of connections.”

He muttered under his breath, “But I’ve been here for a whole month and haven’t even seen him once.”

As if something had occurred to him, worry crept into You Li’s expression. He looked at Jiang Lei and asked, “Is he really okay? I heard…”

Jiang Lei was about eight years older than him. He didn’t need You Li to finish the question to know what he was asking.

He tapped his chopsticks against the tabletop twice, making sure they were neatly aligned, before smiling and saying, “Heard what? That he was beaten half to death? Do you really think a rich young master’s puny strength could seriously injure him?”

A hint of disgust flashed across Jiang Lei’s face as he continued, “It’s just that those whips were specially made for certain people’s twisted tastes, so the flesh wounds they leave look a little worse than they really are.”

You Li grew even angrier. His face turned almost livid.

He couldn’t understand it.

“Isn’t he really powerful?”

Then why would he let a mentally unstable young master punish him on the basis of nothing more than an unfounded suspicion?

You Li couldn’t make sense of it, so he asked outright.

Jiang Lei paused in the middle of shoveling rice into his mouth, then got up and set down his chopsticks.

Only then did he speak.

“As for this matter, you’re too young to understand. It’s a problem left over from history.”

Jiang Lei rested his arms on the table and leaned forward a couple of inches.

“Let me put it this way. To you, your Brother Xu might still be that heroic older brother from ten years ago—the blood-soaked man who happened to break into your house and saved your grandma, grandpa, dad, mom, aunt, and even eight-year-old you.”

“But I have to tell you something. He was only eighteen that year, yet he was already a team leader. He wasn’t just a freakishly talented all-rounder; he was incredibly sharp, too.”

“Do you understand what it means to become so powerful that you threaten the person above you?”

“You think he came in under a proper contract like yours, one that even spells out your shift schedule and overtime pay? The contract he signed back then might as well have been a deed of indenture.”

You Li listened, completely absorbed. He clenched his hands tightly and asked, “And then what? Couldn’t he fight back? I heard that Fourth Young Master is practically insane and extremely difficult to deal with.”

“There’s nothing he can do about it.” Jiang Lei shook his head dramatically. “He already signed the contract. Twenty whole years.”

You Li slammed his fist on the table.

“These rich people are seriously too much!”

“Hey, hey, hey.” Jiang Lei hurriedly raised a hand to stop him. “No one’s going to care if you say that in private, but you can’t go running your mouth about things like that in public. Getting your pay docked would be the least of your worries.”

Seeing that the kid had completely deflated, Jiang Lei found it amusing and reached out to ruffle his hair.

“I’ve already arranged for you to attend school. You’ll start classes next week.”

“Huh?” You Li looked up, his expression full of disbelief. “When did I ever say I wanted to go to school? And another thing—were you making all that stuff up just now?”

“What do you mean, making it up? Your Brother Lei never tells anything but the truth. If you don’t go to school, how are you going to come back and save your Brother Xu from his dire circumstances in the future?” Jiang Lei tapped the bowl in front of him and issued an order. “Eat!”

Twenty minutes later, Jiang Lei whistled as he made his way up to the fourth floor, the top level. He pushed open the conference room at the far end of the corridor on the right.

Only the area lights inside the conference room were on.

Beneath several rows of live surveillance feeds displayed across the wall, a man stood with both hands braced against a long table. He wore a simple black T-shirt and cargo pants, which accentuated his excellent physique and gave him a lean, formidable air.

When the door opened, he didn’t react at all. His gaze remained fixed on the screens in front of him.

Only when he picked up the walkie-talkie did he speak.

“Team A, pay attention to the west side of the perimeter wall.”

“Mixed team, coordinate your patrols.”

“Deng Jiao, move up. Pay attention to the details during your sweep.”

The indicator light on the walkie-talkie flashed. After a faint crackle of static, a woman’s voice came through.

“Seriously, did everyone on surveillance duty die in the line of duty or something? Even if they all did, there’s still the reconnaissance and mobile support team. And if all else fails, there should still be people in the intelligence convoy and snipers, right? Boss, you’re personally watching even a routine patrol now. Every time I hear your voice, I nearly get scared to death. You’re putting me under so much pressure.”

After a two-second pause, her tone turned teasing.

“Hehe, though, I haven’t congratulated you on your promotion yet. I heard you’re on ‘vacation’? That young master is feeling awfully generous, isn’t he?”

Nie Xu tapped the walkie-talkie, his voice carrying a warning. “Focus on your work. Stop fooling around.”

Another man’s voice soon joined the conversation over the walkie-talkie.

“Deng Jiao, I think you’re getting carried away. Have you forgotten that back when Boss was team leader, the words treat a woman gently weren’t even in his dictionary? Better watch out, or you’ll end up hanging upside down with a bucket of water.”

Deng Jiao: “Get lost.”

Anyone who could speak to Nie Xu this way had clearly known him for many years. They still habitually called him Boss, and now they held important positions—or even leadership roles—within their respective divisions.

“Switch shifts promptly at ten. Everyone, keep an eye on the time,” Nie Xu instructed.

Only after seeing Nie Xu turn off the walkie-talkie did Jiang Lei close the door behind him.

Nie Xu casually set the device down at the edge of the long table.

Then he turned around and asked, “Did you talk him into it?”

“Do you really think I’d fail at something I personally handled?” Jiang Lei walked over, pulled out a nearby chair, and sat down carelessly. Only then did he give a somewhat helpless smile. “Kids these days are really hard to fool. They act like going to school is a death sentence. Nothing like when we were young. We had to juggle more than a dozen subjects alongside our training, and who would’ve dared complain?”

Nie Xu sat down in the chair beside him.

Perhaps because of the familiar surroundings, with someone he trusted sitting opposite him, his posture relaxed slightly for once.

He seemed to be in a fairly good mood as he said, “I agreed to let him join us because something had happened in his family. Now that it’s all over, he should return to a normal life.”

Jiang Lei glanced at him. “You repaid the You family’s debt of gratitude ten years ago. There’s really nothing wrong with admitting that your heart isn’t quite as hard as you make it out to be. Otherwise, how could you have kept in touch with the You family all these years?”

“Besides, You Li’s grandmother used to work as a nanny in your household. All these years, you’ve blocked everyone who tried to inquire about their family. I’d say the You family probably wanted You Li to follow you here in the first place.”

Just as he finished speaking, Nie Xu’s phone, resting on the table, chimed.

They all had dedicated work phones. When necessary, different clients were assigned distinctive notification sounds.

Jiang Lei frowned. “A mission?”

Nie Xu picked up the phone, glanced at it, and set it back down.

“No.”

Jiang Lei continued where he had left off. “Being young is just an excuse. You simply think the timing isn’t right.”

Soon, the phone chimed again.

Jiang Lei watched Nie Xu stare expressionlessly at the illuminated screen. This time, he didn’t even pick it up.

“Who is it?” Jiang Lei asked.

“Ji Yang.”

Jiang Lei slowly replied, “…Oh.”

Now he understood why Nie Xu had ignored it outright.

He had witnessed the young master’s messaging habits more than once. Calling them a bombardment of messages was practically a compliment. There was almost never anything important, just a mountain of pointless chatter.

Ji Yang had a pathological possessiveness toward Nie Xu, as though being his personal bodyguard meant Nie Xu was his property.

This time, though, things were a little unusual.

A message every so often, with intervals neither too long nor too short. Exactly two minutes apart.

He sent five messages in total.

Nie Xu finally picked up the phone and replied to the fifth.

Jiang Lei took the opportunity to ask, “What does he want now?”

Nie Xu typed on his phone. “He’s picked up a few tricks somewhere. Probably trying to retreat in order to advance.”

Jiang Lei frowned. “Him? If you hadn’t stopped them, Han Biao and the others would’ve stormed straight into the warehouse last night. Two years ago, Ji Yang got into a car accident while street racing illegally. The old master used liability as an excuse to deliberately foist that useless piece of trash onto you, while still having to keep you working for the family.”

He continued angrily, “That kid You Li was absolutely right about one thing. Rich people really are fucking disgusting.”

Then he instinctively added, “Your family doesn’t count, of course. You’re pretty rich yourself now, so you don’t count either.”

Nie Xu put his phone away and rubbed the watch on his wrist.

“It’s not time yet.”

As he spoke, he looked out the window.

“But soon.”

He hadn’t explained himself clearly, yet Jiang Lei understood.

They had known each other since they were children—indeed, even earlier than that, back before Fanzhou’s largest transportation and trading port had been established, when this estate didn’t yet bear the Ji family name.

Jiang Lei then asked with some concern, “You moved up the operation involving the dock and the sea routes this time, forcing the old master to give you the position of chief security officer. Aren’t you worried he’ll notice something? Over the past two years, he’s been heavily promoting Lu Li and placed him under Ji Zhonglin. Once he realizes he can no longer keep you under his thumb, he’ll definitely turn on you and discard you once you’ve outlived your usefulness. Don’t you think you’re moving a little too fast?”

Nie Xu tapped the tabletop with his index finger. “Not too fast.”

He raised his chin toward the phone he had placed back on the table.

“I just happen to have a good piece of bait that’s volunteered itself.”

“That mentally unstable young master?” Jiang Lei knitted his brows. “Wouldn’t Ji Chengyi be a better choice? He can make a comeback within the Ji family, and you also saved him when he was kidnapped back then. Even if he finds out something later, he wouldn’t blab about it.”

Nie Xu shook his head. “He won’t do.”

Jiang Lei wasn’t sure what he meant. Was he saying Ji Chengyi wasn’t suitable as a person, or that he wasn’t willing to use him?

Jiang Lei was more inclined to believe the latter.

After all, over the years, although the two men had appeared to have little interaction, Nie Xu had always been aware of everything Ji Chengyi did. Even when Ji Chengyi’s actions sometimes interfered with their original plans, Nie Xu never deliberately paid attention to him, but he never stopped him either.

Perhaps Third Young Master Ji really was special?

Jiang Lei asked, “Are you sure you want to choose Fourth Young Master Ji?”

Nie Xu neither confirmed nor denied it. “Whoever gave him pointers, he really is the more suitable choice.”

At least the way he was now—

He was a pretty good actor.

Jiang Lei shook his head. “As expected of you. Even when recycling garbage, you make sure to get the most out of it. But then again, he’s been hitting you, insulting you, and harassing you. Did you apply any medicine to your wounds?”

Nie Xu replied, “No need.”

Ji Yang had no idea that, in Jiang Lei’s mind, he had already become the very embodiment of someone destined to be discarded once he had served his purpose.

If he knew, he would have realized that, quite by accident, he had indeed stumbled onto the right path.

In the original novel, the first half was largely devoted to Ji Chengyi’s rise to power: how he won people over, displayed his charm, and became entangled with the various male leads.

If Ji Yang had overheard Jiang Lei’s conversation, he would have discovered that Lu Li and Ji Zhonglin, the eldest son of the Ji family’s second branch, were both on Ji Chengyi’s list of CPs.

Even You Li would later become an obstacle to the development of the relationship between Ji Chengyi and Nie Xu.

All because Ji Chengyi suspected that Nie Xu had special feelings for You Li.

Nie Xu barely appeared in the early part of the novel. His role was simply that of the personal bodyguard to the disabled younger brother of the protagonist shou. He only appeared in the background when Ji Chengyi became entangled with the other male leads and “Ji Yang” showed up as the “other man.”

His interactions with Ji Chengyi consisted of things like stopping him from being slapped by “Ji Yang” and taking away the adulterated drink that “Ji Yang” had prepared for him at a KTV.

Each time, Nie Xu played a meaningful role in the scene, yet his actions could still be explained away as nothing more than him doing his job.

Readers might have vaguely sensed that Nie Xu’s identity was far from ordinary.

But from Ji Chengyi’s perspective, Nie Xu was simply someone special. That was why, shortly after regaining his footing, Ji Chengyi had gone to the old master to ask for Nie Xu.

In the original novel, this was precisely the point at which their relationship underwent a major turning point and the two reached an outwardly cooperative arrangement.

Now, Ji Yang had taken his place.

And Ji Chengyi didn’t even know it.

Nie Xu’s arrival in the Ji family had never been about selling himself into servitude.

It had been about revenge.

The mad dog would eventually turn on its master.

Before a tsunami raises its towering waves, the sea is always calm.

As far as Ji Yang was concerned, it didn’t matter whether Nie Xu believed his motives or not. As long as Nie Xu agreed to his proposal, it meant that this vicious villain still had some room to struggle against his fate.

There was just one thing Ji Yang couldn’t stop thinking about.

It had already been a whole day.

And he was still learning how to walk.

Who would believe that he had lived for twenty-four years, and that this body was around twenty-three, yet here he was, learning how to walk?

He tossed aside the phone whose messages Nie Xu had rejected, then used his crutches to circle the coffee table and practice keeping his balance.

The day had been far too chaotic. The side effects of his medication had left him slumped on the sofa, sleeping through the entire afternoon. He hadn’t gone upstairs, and not a single person had come near him from beginning to end.

Technically, the Ji family’s direct descendants all lived in the buildings connected to the main house. By opening a side door, they could walk straight into the main hall. However, the main house had always maintained its own set of hiring standards, with staff serving only the family’s highest decision-maker.