Summer in Zhouleng was even more humid and oppressive than in Fanzhou. The sea breeze carried a salty, fishy smell that slapped against their faces like a wet towel that hadn’t been wrung out properly.
This typical coastal town had become one of the most important trading ports among the counties under Fanzhou’s jurisdiction because of its extensive network of waterways. Its thriving tourism and marine fishing industries were local specialties, as well as the main sources of income for its residents.
You Li’s house really was as he’d described: a three-story white building with a courtyard, plus a separate little wooden house beside it. By local standards, his family was fairly well-off.
There were quite a few people in the family.
His grandparents had five children in total, most of whom worked elsewhere. Only their second son’s family—You Li’s parents and one of his aunts—had stayed in town.
“Come in, come in!” An elderly woman opened the gate and greeted them warmly.
Ji Yang followed his colleagues into the courtyard, entering last.
“Thank you, Grandma,” Ji Yang said. “Sorry to trouble you.”
The short, plump old woman’s smile faltered slightly when she saw Ji Yang. Only after looking him over did she say, “You must be the young master of the Ji family. Lunch is already prepared. We’ve just been waiting for you all.”
That subtle change in her expression didn’t escape Ji Yang’s notice.
The novel had only mentioned that You Li was more like Nie Xu’s younger brother. His background hadn’t been explored in detail, and the exact relationship between him and Nie Xu had never been explained.
If the old woman’s displeasure were simply because Ji Yang had been a bad employer as the young master of the family that owned Building Four, her reaction shouldn’t have been so pronounced.
Her dislike seemed to stem from one thing alone: his surname was Ji.
By then, Nie Xu had parked the car and followed them in with the keys in his hand.
The old woman stopped paying attention to Ji Yang and turned to Nie Xu as he approached, fussing at him. “If Xiaoli hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t even have known you’d been back for two or three days! And you insisted on staying outside. It’s not as if we don’t have room at home.”
“Work matters. It’s inconvenient,” Nie Xu replied.
As soon as the old woman heard that it was for work, she immediately stopped pressing him.
Ji Yang noticed that she’d used the word back just now.
Her words and tone conveyed a certain closeness, but there was also something between them—not exactly distance or estrangement, more like respect.
That feeling became even more obvious at lunchtime.
Lunch was served at a large round table in the courtyard.
You Li’s parents were both cheerful, straightforward people. As soon as they saw their son had brought guests home, they bustled around preparing a lavish spread. Most of the dishes were seafood: steamed grouper, blanched shrimp, scallops with garlic and vermicelli, and more. The dishes filled the entire table.
Ji Yang had thrown up after getting off the boat, so his appetite wasn’t great.
He only picked at the bowl of seafood congee in front of him.
You Li sat on his right and remarked, “Are you a cat or something? You have an even smaller appetite than Xiaobai.”
“Try getting seasick like me,” Ji Yang retorted.
Just then, Nie Xu came over. Out of the corner of his eye, Ji Yang noticed that he’d emerged from the little wooden house next door. He’d changed clothes, too, now wearing a black T-shirt and camouflage trousers. The outfit certainly made him look more like a local.
The moment he appeared, You Li’s parents both stood up to greet him.
“A-Xu, come sit over here.”
“Yes, yes, sit here.”
Seeing the elders react like that, Yiyuan’s colleagues panicked and hurried to make room.
“Assistant Nie, there’s a seat here!”
“There’s an empty seat next to Young President Yang.”
“Should I go get another chair?”
Ji Yang quietly asked You Li, “Does your family owe Nie Xu money?”
“What would you know?” You Li said helplessly. “My grandma once said—”
He suddenly seemed to remember something, then glared at Ji Yang. “Why should I tell you? Are you trying to trick me into revealing something so you can use it against my brother?”
Ji Yang: “…What’s wrong with you? If anything, he’s the one who’s more likely to go after me.”
Finally, the old woman spoke up. “He’s one of our own. Everyone can stop fussing over him and just eat.”
Only then did the commotion die down. The others hesitated before returning to their seats.
Nie Xu walked straight over to Ji Yang, pulled out a chair, and sat beside him.
Holding his spoon, Ji Yang turned to look at him. “Finished with your work?”
Nie Xu stated matter-of-factly, “It’s lunchtime.”
Ji Yang lowered his voice. “I’m not going to feel guilty about this. You Li was the one who called you. I really didn’t mean to trouble you.”
Nie Xu glanced at the bowl in front of him. “Finish your food.”
Ji Yang poked at the congee with his spoon. “I’m not even allowed to leave leftovers? Is that the price I have to pay for making you come here?”
Nie Xu replied, “That price is far too low, if you ask me.”
At that moment, one of their colleagues asked, “Assistant Nie, are you from Zhouleng? Are you and You Li really brothers?”
Of course they aren’t, Ji Yang thought. His surname is Nie, and You Li’s surname is You.
Then he heard Nie Xu answer, “Distant relatives.”
His answer was brief, and he completely ignored the question about whether he was from Zhouleng.
Nobody pressed the matter. Everyone here was an adult who understood workplace etiquette; no one was going to pry into something they clearly weren’t being told.
The atmosphere at the table remained lively throughout lunch.
In the end, Ji Yang finished the remaining half bowl of congee.
He was afraid the acid reflux might return, so he didn’t eat anything else.
He stayed seated, listening to his colleagues chat with You Li’s parents.
You Li’s father ran a seafood wholesale business. When he heard they had come to Zhouleng for a cultural tourism project, he gave a bitter smile.
“The people up there make a lot of noise about it, but in reality, it’s not something they can get off the ground. Over the past few years, the Ji family’s shipping business has handled most of Zhouleng’s economic activity. Everything looks prosperous on the surface, but…”
You Li’s father looked considerably younger than the fishermen who went out to sea from the pier.
Yet he was clearly the sort of ordinary, honest man whose nature was immediately apparent.
He was about to continue when the old woman abruptly cut him off.
Her expression turned stern. “Second Son! Have you lost your mind? You’ve had a couple of drinks, and now you’re talking nonsense!”
The table fell quiet.
Everyone suddenly realized what they’d been doing and awkwardly glanced at the only member of the Ji family present.
With everyone staring at him, Ji Yang remained calm.
“Grandma, Uncle You, I can’t speak for the Ji family, and the Ji family doesn’t speak for me, either. I’m just here for a company project. What matters more to me is whether we can make this project work.”
Nie Xu remained silent. The old woman still seemed only half convinced.
You Li’s father awkwardly rubbed the top of his head and smiled. “We’re just a bunch of rough people, Fourth Young Master. Please don’t take offense.”
“Just call me by my name,” Ji Yang said. Then he asked directly, “Uncle You, when I arrived today, I noticed that many fishing boats at the pier were sitting idle. Is that also because of the Ji family?”
You Li’s father instinctively glanced at Nie Xu. Seeing that the latter still didn’t speak, he took a couple of sips of rice wine before answering.
“Shipping has ground to a halt, and every part of Zhouleng has been affected, from seafood and fruit to tourism. The Ji family controls the lifeline of the entire waterway network. Transit fees keep piling up at every level, so we can barely make any money transporting our seafood to other places. Small businesses have to pay tribute just to get their boats through. Rent for the little fish stalls along the street keeps rising every month. Quite a few fishing boats have been left sitting at the docks year-round, gathering dust.”
Wasn’t this just the powerful using their authority to squeeze ordinary people and deprive them of the means to make a living?
Ji Yang leaned slightly toward Nie Xu and asked, “Does the shipping association have someone from the Ji family in it?”
Nie Xu glanced at him. “The association’s vice president is Zhu Guangsheng, Second Madam’s younger brother.”
Ji Yang suddenly understood.
Ji Zhonglin had only been in charge of the Ji family for a short time, but the Second Branch had been laying its foundations since the previous generation. Second Madam had always been someone who knew how to exploit connections for personal gain, so it wasn’t surprising that she’d maneuvered her own relatives into the Ji family’s core businesses.
The real problem was that the Ji family had allowed this to happen.
Or perhaps it wasn’t merely allowing it. Perhaps they’d tacitly approved of it.
Ji Yang had nothing to say.
With the Ji family operating this way, it was only a matter of time before trouble erupted. Or perhaps the trouble had already started.
Otherwise, Nie Xu wouldn’t have appeared in Zhouleng.
Sure enough, as soon as lunch was over, Nie Xu left.
Ji Yang and his group had only just arrived, and there was no need to rush into work that very day. They unloaded their luggage and arranged their accommodations first.
You Li took Ji Yang upstairs to the second floor.
Opening the room at the far left, he said, “You can stay here.”
“Am I staying by myself?” Ji Yang asked.
You Li’s eyes widened. “Who else would you want to stay with?”
Ji Yang: “…Can you please think about something normal for once? I was just asking whether there were enough rooms for me to have one to myself. What did you think I meant? That I came all the way to Zhouleng specifically to look for your brother?”
You Li muttered, “Who knows? Maybe you did.”
Ji Yang lifted his foot, about to kick him.
You Li dodged with lightning speed.
Ji Yang missed and asked, “Is your brother staying in the little wooden house next door?”
“You mean that one?” You Li leaned over the railing to look. “Probably. Grandma said it was kept for him, but I’ve never actually caught him staying there.”
Ji Yang wore a confused expression. “What do you mean, you’ve never caught him staying there?”
“Is that so strange?” You Li said irritably. “My brother spends most of his time at the Ji family’s residence. He’s busy, okay? He might not even come to Zhouleng once a year. I’ve been at school all these years, so I’ve hardly seen him. And even on the two occasions when he was here, Grandma wouldn’t let me go over and disturb him.”
You Li’s grandmother reminded Ji Yang of Aunt Mo.
That restraint hidden beneath a sense of closeness felt like a hierarchy of status and respectability etched into their very bones.
Ji Yang pretended to comfort him. “Someone like you managed to get into Building Four. That proves your brother still has a soft spot for you.”
You Li clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked.
Through gritted teeth, he said, “I seriously want to hit you so badly.”
Ji Yang gave a soft snort and glanced at him sidelong. “Even with his current status, your brother wouldn’t dare hit me. And you think you can?”
Then, with You Li’s face turning red with anger, Ji Yang cheerfully walked into the room.
The You family’s house was far from the old town, offering a peaceful retreat despite being close to the bustle. The surrounding environment was lovely, too. Flowers bloomed everywhere, from the gate of the You family’s home to both sides of the road.
A few colleagues had initially suggested going out to explore the area.
But the afternoon sun was scorching, and they quickly abandoned the idea.
In the end, they stayed in the courtyard and brainstormed together. Promoting a cultural tourism project ultimately meant exploring the local specialties, brands, and culture, then using those elements for marketing and publicity.
Someone suggested looking for a local trending event they could capitalize on.
They searched online.
A trending news story had appeared just half an hour earlier.
“Large-Scale Clash Breaks Out in Zhouleng’s Yunan Lane Fish Market; Local Chamber of Commerce Suspected of Under-the-Table Dealings.”
The report from this small town hadn’t attracted much attention.
Even the accompanying photographs were blurry.
Just as Ji Yang was about to take a closer look, You Li came rushing out of the house with a set of car keys in his hand.
His father shouted after him, “You little brat! Why are you taking the keys to my pickup truck?!”
“Dad! I’ll be back in a bit!” You Li yelled as he darted toward the exit.
Ji Yang had a bad feeling. He grabbed You Li by the arm.
“Where are you going?” he asked in a lowered voice.
You Li glanced at Ji Yang’s legs. Perhaps he was concerned about hurting him, because he didn’t yank himself free. In the end, he had no choice but to explain quickly.
“The people sent by the association have been using violence to suppress the locals, and now they’ve gotten into a fight! Sister Jiao told me before that my brother didn’t bring many people with him this time. He must be at the scene. I have to go check!”
Ji Yang’s brows drew tightly together.
The people on the association’s side belonged to the Second Branch. Ji Chengyi had come along, too, representing the First Branch.
This clash wasn’t merely the result of public anger over the Ji family’s actions.
It was also part of the internal struggle within the Ji family.
No wonder Nie Xu had said Zhouleng was in chaos.
The old master had sent Ji Chengyi here for one of two reasons: either to suppress local resentment or to deal with the mess caused by the Second Branch.
Ji Zhonglin’s ideas were fundamentally at odds with the old master’s. Ji Yansong might no longer be willing to tolerate Second Madam allowing her relatives to interfere in the family’s core business.
But what about Nie Xu himself?
Zhouleng was a familiar place to him. He should have noticed any changes here long ago.
According to the novel, Ji Chengyi discovered the first clues in Zhouleng. Nie Xu wasn’t someone who would normally be so careless.
So had he done this on purpose?
What exactly was he trying to gain from the situation in Zhouleng?
Or perhaps, by this point, he no longer bothered hiding his intentions from Ji Chengyi.
Ji Yang said, “Don’t bother going. It’ll be pointless even if you get there.”
You Li asked, “What do you mean?”
“The news is already out. There’s nothing you can do even if you go. Besides, I can see the future and read fortunes. Your brother probably won’t have any problems.”
If anyone gets into trouble, it’ll be Ji Chengyi.
Ji Yang couldn’t remember the exact details, but in the novel, Ji Chengyi had been stabbed in the side of his waist in Zhouleng. He had even taken the knife for Nie Xu.
You Li stared at him. “…You can see the future and read fortunes? You weren’t seasick. Your brain’s broken, isn’t it?!”
…
By evening, the sky over Zhouleng was streaked with broad swathes of red sunset tinged with blue. The temperature had dropped, leaving only the oppressive heat rising from the ground.
Ji Yang sat in the passenger seat of the pickup truck You Li was driving as they followed the road to the location mentioned in the news report.
By then, the streets had already grown dark.
Yunan Lane was Zhouleng’s largest seafood market.
Looking out from the passenger seat, Ji Yang saw that the place had indeed been left in complete disarray. Crates lay overturned across the ground, mixed with all kinds of rubbish. The air was thick with a foul fishy smell. As the tires rolled through puddles beside the road, it was impossible to tell whether the bloodstains came from people or seafood.
Quite a few residents were still walking past, pointing and whispering among themselves.
“Did those delinquent students cause trouble again?”
“No, it was that Chen the Pockmarked guy who regularly supplies seafood to the market. He started it. His people got into a fight with the ones collecting fees for the association. You should’ve seen it. It was terrifying.”
“Did the police come?”
“No one called them. Everyone’s got grievances of their own. They’d probably be glad if those people beat each other to death.”
“But then another group showed up. They were different. The young man leading them looked pretty young. He claimed to be the Ji family’s Third Young Master and said he’d definitely give everyone an explanation.”
“Chen the Pockmarked’s people were already seeing red, and the association’s men weren’t about to listen either. The whole thing dragged on for ages. Fortunately, there was a man in that last group who twisted the association leader’s arm and broke it backward. The guy screamed like a slaughtered pig. Lots of people gathered to watch.”
“They even brought out knives. You should’ve seen the scene…”
Ji Yang listened to a bit of the conversation, then patted You Li, who was sitting in a daze.
“I told you not to come. You couldn’t even catch the excitement while it was happening. Let’s go back.”
You Li came back to his senses.
Rather than immediately turning the truck around, he made a phone call.
His brows quickly furrowed.
“What is it?” Ji Yang asked.
You Li started the engine. “They’re at a clinic.”
The clinic You Li meant was just around the corner from the seafood market, on the next street.
That street was relatively quiet, with only a few scattered shops still lit up.
From a distance, Ji Yang could already see seven or eight people standing or squatting outside the clinic.
As soon as the truck stopped, You Li jumped out and ran inside.
Ji Yang didn’t even get out of the vehicle. He thought to himself, Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were desperately in love with my Third Brother.
Leaning against the car door, he asked a few unfamiliar faces waiting outside, “Are the injuries serious?”
They exchanged glances. Finally, one of them shook his head. “Nothing too serious. He just needs stitches.”
If he needed stitches, why hadn’t Nie Xu sent Ji Chengyi to the hospital?
Ji Yang had no intention of going inside. About five minutes after You Li entered, everyone came out together.
You Li was still complaining as they emerged. “It’s all Ji Yang’s fault. If he hadn’t held me up, I would’ve gotten here ages ago.”
“Shut up.” Jiang Lei smacked him on the head. “Thank goodness Fourth Young Master stopped you. What did you come here for anyway?”
After hitting You Li, Jiang Lei clutched his waist and hissed in pain.
Ji Yang’s gaze fell on Ji Chengyi, who was walking at the back and looked completely unharmed.
Ji Chengyi glanced at him, too.
Then he walked over to Jiang Lei and apologized. “Sorry. I was too impulsive at the time. If you hadn’t stepped in when you did, I would’ve been the one injured.”
“Third Young Master, you’re too polite. It was my job,” Jiang Lei said, waving his hand. “You were only worried about Brother Xu getting hurt.”
Although the possibility of that happening had been extremely slim.
Still, when the Ji family’s Third Young Master had gone out of his way to take a knife for his bodyguard, who would dare say he was in the wrong?
Ji Yang heard their exchange and thought, …Isn’t something off here?
He looked toward the person who had only just lifted the plastic curtain and stepped out of the clinic, wearing tall boots.
Nie Xu was still dressed in the clothes he’d changed into at the You family’s house that afternoon: a black T-shirt and camouflage trousers. He held a dagger loosely between his fingers. Having just come through a violent confrontation, he carried a rough, silent air about him.
He paid no attention to what the people outside were discussing. Instead, he walked straight over to the pickup, opened the rear door, and pulled out a tool bag.
He tossed it to someone standing by the roadside and instructed him, “Fix the vehicle from earlier.”
“Got it, Brother Xu,” the man replied as he caught it.
Only then did Nie Xu seem to have a moment to spare. He stopped outside the front passenger door and frowned at Ji Yang.
“Why did you come along, too?”
They were standing rather close. Ji Yang caught the faint smell of blood on Nie Xu, which masked the familiar scent he usually associated with him and sent a slight chill through Ji Yang.
Ji Yang noticed Ji Chengyi looking in their direction again.
“I came to look for some trending material?” Ji Yang replied hesitantly.
A wealthy young master bravely steps in to save the day. What a moving scene! We could even improve Zhouleng’s bad reputation in the process and persuade Mr. Huang to transfer the initial payment.
Well, there went that plan.
Jiang Lei had picked the wrong moment to take the knife.
Was this the boomerang coming back at him for saving Ji Chengyi in the first place?
Ji Yang offered a perfunctory apology. “Sorry about that.”
Sorry for ruining such a wonderful opportunity for the two of you to grow closer.
Nie Xu gave him a long look.
Then he walked around the front of the truck, opened the driver’s door, and got in. He casually tossed the knife onto the seat beside him. It landed with a metallic clang.
“Let’s go,” Nie Xu reminded the people outside.
Ji Yang could feel people climbing one after another into the truck bed behind him. In a small town at night, a scene like this was bound to attract attention.
He looked at the man beside him, remembering how taciturn and cold Nie Xu had been at the Ji family’s residence, and how polished and considerate he’d seemed in Huizhou.
“Fighting and carrying a knife? Did you come to Zhouleng to become a thug?” Ji Yang asked.
Nie Xu turned his head to look at him.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
“Little Young Master, good children should stay obediently at home. They shouldn’t be wandering around outside at night.”