That faintly mocking description of him as good made Ji Yang’s teeth ache.
Jiang Lei was injured and sat in the back seat of the pickup. The last remaining seat was left for Ji Chengyi.
The pickup drove through the night-shrouded streets of Zhouleng. The conversation among the people in the truck bed was torn apart by the wind, and only You Li’s incessant chatter occasionally carried a word or two to the front.
The front seats, meanwhile, were unusually quiet.
Ji Yang didn’t know the exact details of the confrontation, so naturally, he had no intention of speaking first.
In the end, the first person to break the silence was Ji Chengyi—and he addressed Ji Yang.
“If your ‘One Yuan’ project can’t move forward, I can explain the situation to Mr. Huang on your behalf.”
Ji Yang met his gaze through the rearview mirror. “I’ve only just arrived. Third Brother, how do you already know the project won’t work out?”
Ji Chengyi frowned. “The Shipping Association has a monopoly on everything. You saw it yourself today. Even trying to resolve the problems is fraught with difficulties. You have neither connections nor experience here. Even if you come up with a proposal, if you can’t solve the local problems, all your efforts will still be in vain. Mr. Huang has worked with Haicheng for many years, after all. If I speak to him, he won’t hold it against you for being insincere about the collaboration, and it won’t damage his relationship with the Ji family.”
Everything Ji Chengyi said made him sound like every outstanding potential heir in a wealthy family: magnanimously forgiving his incompetent younger brother, whose business ventures were doomed to lose money from the start.
First, he didn’t begrudge him for taking over Mr. Huang’s collaboration. Second, he didn’t care about their past grievances.
Now he was even willing to put the past behind them and clean up his mess.
Except Ji Yang’s mess hadn’t even been made yet, had it?
Was he trying to demonstrate his magnanimity and grace in front of Nie Xu?
That probably wasn’t the case, either.
Ji Yang smiled. “Thank you for the offer, Third Brother. But my collaboration with Mr. Huang has nothing to do with the Ji Group. If you have that much free time…”
Instead of digging into Nie Xu’s secrets, why are you paying attention to me? You’re acting like something’s wrong with you.
Ji Yang changed tack and continued from the first half of his sentence. “Why not go look for Eldest Brother instead? As for Second Aunt, other people’s words won’t do much good, but Eldest Brother’s might actually work.”
Ji Chengyi looked at him silently for two seconds before making a somewhat cryptic remark. “You seem to understand quite a lot these days.”
“People have to grow up.” Ji Yang turned his head, the corners of his mouth curling upward. “I’ve grown up, Third Brother. People can’t stay stupid forever, right?”
In his previous life, even if he hadn’t been rich or powerful, he had still struggled his way up from the very bottom.
He could talk endlessly with online strangers, telling them one moment that he had grown up surrounded by luxury and the next that he had been so poor he could barely afford to eat. Those were merely fragmented impressions of him on the internet. Every step he had taken and every decision he had made had been real.
Not caring about something, not taking it to heart, and simply being stupid were two entirely different things.
Ever since Ji Yang first came into contact with Ji Chengyi, he had never genuinely treated him warmly.
His decision not to provoke Ji Chengyi was simply because he didn’t want to get caught up in the original novel’s complicated romantic entanglements. If Ji Zhonglin wanted to engage in an immoral relationship, that was none of his business. If Lu Li was possessive and dangerously obsessive, that was perfectly fine, too. As for Nie Xu, Ji Yang’s attitude had always been: I “love” you only because you want to kill me, and I happen to be very fond of staying alive. A mutually beneficial partnership is an obvious choice. Only an idiot would turn it down.
The problem now was this:
Ji Chengyi cared far too much about Nie Xu.
As long as his collaboration with Nie Xu remained ongoing, conflict between Ji Chengyi and Ji Yang was inevitable.
Ji Yang still hadn’t figured out exactly where things had gone wrong. He was even beginning to wonder whether transmigrating into the book and changing the original Ji Yang’s behavior had somehow stimulated Ji Chengyi’s romantic instincts, causing him to develop feelings for Nie Xu earlier than he was supposed to.
With that suspicion in mind, Ji Yang looked at the man behind the wheel.
Before he could say anything, the vehicle pulled up in front of an inn called Sùmián.
Ji Yang leaned forward to take a look.
The place looked rather ordinary from the outside, and at this hour, there wasn’t a soul in sight.
He leaned back. “Picking somewhere like this. Are we going undercover?”
“To avoid attracting attention prematurely.” Nie Xu switched off the engine. “Zhouleng is crawling with Zhu Guangsheng’s men. Until we’ve gathered all the evidence, we can’t alert him.”
Ji Yang said, “It’s already made the news.”
Jiang Lei pressed a hand to his waist, hissed, and straightened up before chiming in. “Exactly. There’s no point staying here now.”
The people in the pickup truck’s cargo bed began jumping down one after another.
Jiang Lei and Ji Chengyi got out as well.
Nie Xu told the others, “I’ve arranged hotel rooms for everyone. Get some proper rest tonight.”
“You’re not coming with us?” Jiang Lei asked.
As he spoke, he glanced at Ji Yang in the front passenger seat.
Ji Chengyi also looked over. He clenched his hand discreetly, seeming as though he wanted to say something but forcibly swallowed the words.
Nie Xu gave a brief explanation. “I’m going back to pick up a few things.” He then looked at Jiang Lei. “Tomorrow, you’ll be responsible for protecting Third Young Master personally. Once the Ji family releases its public statement, the people who caused trouble today will become the main focus. Don’t let anything go wrong.”
Jiang Lei nodded. “Don’t worry. Leave it to me.”
At that moment, Ji Chengyi walked back over and stopped nearby, looking worried.
“You’re going to meet Zhu Guangsheng alone? I don’t agree with that. He’s definitely laid a trap for us.”
Nie Xu replied, “President Ji, don’t forget why we came here.”
Ji Chengyi’s expression stiffened slightly.
Nie Xu told You Li to get into the vehicle, then started the engine again and quickly drove away.
Ji Yang watched Ji Chengyi in the rearview mirror. The man remained standing where he was, his expression impossible to make out.
He heard You Li ask his brother, “What trap was Third Young Master talking about just now? He seemed pretty worried.”
Nie Xu drove without answering.
You Li was timid, too, so he shut his mouth.
As it turned out, the place Nie Xu was returning to pick something up from was indeed You Li’s house.
The moment the pickup truck rumbled outside, the people in the house came out.
You Li’s father immediately grabbed You Li by the ear and scolded him. “You little brat! You’ve been treating my words like they’re nothing, haven’t you? How long has it been since you got your driver’s license? And now you dare drive out at night, with guests in the car! Are you tired of living?”
“Dad, Dad, Dad!” You Li pleaded repeatedly. “Easy! That hurts!”
As soon as Uncle You let go, You Li darted straight behind Ji Yang.
Ji Yang took responsibility for him. “Uncle You, I was the one who asked You Li to take me out. I just wanted to look around and buy a few things while we were out.”
“You need to be careful.” Uncle You sighed. “I only just heard from two of my buddies that Laizi’s gang had gotten into a fight with some people. You’re from Fanzhou, so you don’t know what it’s like around here. Things are pretty chaotic these days. Don’t wander around outside at night.”
As he spoke, he noticed Nie Xu approaching from behind.
He looked surprised. “Ah Xu? Did you bring them back?”
Nie Xu nodded and greeted him. “Uncle You.”
He also handed over the car keys.
Uncle You accepted them and breathed a sigh of relief. “Now that I know you were the one who brought them back, I don’t have to worry anymore.” He added, “Stay here tonight. Your grandma… your grandma has been talking about you since this morning, saying you haven’t come home in ages.”
Nie Xu hummed in acknowledgment. “I’m staying tonight.”
The group entered the courtyard one after another.
Multicolored lights hung along the courtyard walls and in the trees. As they walked, Uncle You turned to Ji Yang.
“Young Master Ji…”
“Just call me Ji Yang, Uncle You,” Ji Yang interrupted.
You Li’s father paused, then nodded. “All right, Xiao Yang.” He pointed upstairs. “Your colleagues have all gone back to their rooms to rest. I’ve also contacted one of the locals you mentioned this afternoon. You can call him Old Mai or Uncle Mai. His family has been running orchards for generations, and there isn’t a person or place in Zhouleng he doesn’t know. I’ll give you his contact information later. Just pay him whatever you think is appropriate. Old Mai isn’t particular about money.”
Ji Yang’s eyes curved into a smile. “Thank you, Uncle You.”
“Don’t mention it.” Uncle You waved his hand.
Then he reminded Ji Yang, “Our family’s circumstances are pretty ordinary, so if there’s anything you’re not comfortable with, just tell us. Get some rest early if you can.”
Ji Yang replied, “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m going to the wooden house to see Nie Xu in a little while. There’s something I need to discuss with him.”
“You’re going to see Ah Xu?” Uncle You froze. He glanced at Nie Xu, who was heading toward the wooden house, and looked a little troubled. “That place… Why don’t you go tomorrow instead…”
At that moment, Nie Xu stopped and turned around.
“Something you need?” he asked.
Ji Yang nodded and hummed in acknowledgment.
Nie Xu turned back and said, “Come over, then.”
And so, under You Li’s utterly incredulous gaze, Ji Yang followed Nie Xu.
From the outside, the You family’s house and the little wooden building appeared to be connected. It was only after Ji Yang walked around the stretch of path paved with cobblestones that he realized the building was actually a completely separate property.
The wooden house wasn’t particularly ornate, but it had a distinctive charm.
Compared with the You family’s home, which had the distinctly coastal-tourist-town aesthetic of the area, the wooden house felt much more substantial and dignified. It was also obvious that someone cleaned it regularly, because the interior was spotless.
Ji Yang followed Nie Xu inside and took in the entire layout at a glance.
The bedrooms were probably upstairs.
The furniture downstairs was arranged simply: a coffee table, wooden chairs, and woven floor cushions. The windows were designed to open wide. On the long wooden desk by the window sat a laptop and several simple electronic devices, with a banana grove just outside.
After entering, Nie Xu went straight to the desk and plugged in his phone to charge it.
Ji Yang stood in the middle of the room, looking around. In the end, his gaze settled on the figure by the window, his back turned toward him. Perhaps because the wooden house’s ceiling wasn’t particularly high, Nie Xu’s presence seemed even more pronounced in the space.
Ji Yang had always felt that Nie Xu was different when he was in Zhouleng.
It was like when Nie Xu had mocked him for being a “good boy”—in that moment, he had seemed closer to his true self.
The real person beneath all the identities he had accumulated: the boss who had left everyone in Building Four behind, the man behind Jian Yuan, and the chief security officer whom Ji Yansong both feared and had no choice but to rely on.
“Didn’t you say you had something to discuss?” Nie Xu asked without turning around.
At almost the same time, Ji Yang asked, “What’s your relationship with You Li’s grandmother?”
The moment Ji Yang asked his question, Nie Xu’s hand paused over his phone. He turned to look at him.
Then he put down the phone and answered without much emotion, “She took care of me when I was little.”
Someone who took care of him? Ji Yang thought. So my intuition was right.
No wonder he had felt that she shared certain qualities with Aunt Mo. This also explained why You Li’s grandmother had behaved so strangely toward him.
But if someone had been specifically assigned to take care of Nie Xu when he was little, did that mean his family had been fairly well-off in the past?
Ji Yang knew when to stop. He didn’t dig any deeper.
Nie Xu might not tell him anyway.
Leaning against the long desk, Nie Xu asked, “Is this the important matter you said you wanted to discuss with me?”
“No.” Ji Yang shook his head. He took a few steps forward and stopped less than half a meter in front of Nie Xu before speaking slowly. “I think we need to sit down and clarify where our relationship currently stands.”
Nie Xu folded his arms. “For example?”
“For example, I know that although you appear to have come to Zhouleng on orders, you must have your own reasons for being here. At this stage, my usefulness to you is negligible, and it remains to be seen whether ‘One Yuan’ can create any value at all.”
Ji Yang took another small step forward.
“So I need to confirm something. Are you planning to break our contract?”
Now that they were standing closer, Nie Xu glanced at him before looking away again.
“I’m not the kind of person who takes contractual obligations lightly.”
“Really?” Ji Yang was skeptical. “What if something I do damages Ji Chengyi’s interests?”
Nie Xu frowned. “What does one have to do with the other?”
“They do have something to do with each other,” Ji Yang said.
Although Nie Xu hadn’t witnessed the scene of Ji Chengyi getting hurt tonight, who knew? Maybe the plot would eventually catch up and fill in that part of the story. Wouldn’t Ji Yang be the one to suffer the consequences then?
Nie Xu nodded as though he understood. “Go on. What exactly are you planning to do?”
Ji Yang smiled. “I want to take advantage of the current situation in Zhouleng and have ‘One Yuan’ fan the flames. I absolutely have to secure Mr. Huang’s contract.”
Things were already chaotic. Given the circumstances, he couldn’t afford to keep playing the part of the helpless, vulnerable young master. Every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost.
“You want to escalate things,” Nie Xu saw through him immediately.
Ji Yang didn’t deny it. “But doing that will intensify the conflict between the Ji family’s first and second branches. I imagine that’s not something my good Third Brother, who’s accustomed to taking things one careful step at a time, would want to see, right?”
“I have no objections,” Nie Xu replied.
“You really have no objections?” Ji Yang was a little dumbfounded and asked again just to be sure.
Nie Xu sneered. “You’ve already guessed Jian Yuan’s motives, haven’t you? If a cancer like Zhu Guangsheng isn’t cut out, then even if Jian Yuan swallows the entire shipping business of the Ji Group, it’ll still leave a bad taste in his mouth.”
In other words, even if Ji Yang didn’t do this, things would eventually escalate anyway?
Ji Yang fell silent.
It wasn’t that he had nothing to say. He was just a little intimidated.
This was the first time Nie Xu had been so blunt about his own objectives, openly revealing his ambition to bring down the entire Jian Yuan operation.
And he had done it here, of all places.
Was it because he trusted Ji Yang?
Of course not.
Ji Yang was a chess piece that should never have appeared on this board in the first place. Whether he was taking advantage of an opportunity or simply following the prevailing winds, the only thing that could be said was that, by coincidence, they were heading in the same direction. Ji Yang happened to be traveling alongside Nie Xu for part of the way, following the survival principles he had always lived by—and trying to avoid the original ending of the book.
Ji Yang forced a smile. “You don’t have to tell me all the details.”
“What?” Nie Xu bent down toward him. “Scared again?”
That faint smell of blood hadn’t yet dissipated. Ji Yang’s scalp prickled, and he answered slowly, “No.”
“Even if you were, it’s too late now.” Nie Xu straightened up and said indifferently, “Make yourself at home. If you want water, pour it yourself.”
Then he walked past Ji Yang and went upstairs.
Ji Yang stayed downstairs for two minutes. He thought about leaving, but then wondered whether it would be rude to go without saying goodbye. In the end, he gave up on leaving.
He wasn’t in the habit of wandering around someone else’s house when the host wasn’t there, so he picked up a woven floor cushion and went out to the side veranda.
It was an excellent viewing spot, accessible through a side entrance of the wooden house.
From there, he could see a stretch of untouched sea and beach in the distance. The sound of the waves drifted faintly toward him, and even the hot breeze carried a hint of pleasant coolness.
After sitting for five minutes, Ji Yang began concentrating on swatting mosquitoes.
Pleasant and relaxing, my foot. What a load of nonsense.
Ji Yang tracked a mosquito as it flew from top to bottom and from left to right. Then he noticed a pair of bare feet on the wooden floor to his right and froze.
His gaze slowly traveled upward until he saw a man who had just finished showering, a towel still in his hand.
The yellow light overhead was mostly blocked, while the shadows beneath Nie Xu’s brows concealed the expression in his eyes.
Smack!
Ji Yang slapped his palm against Nie Xu’s knee.
An imprint of a dead mosquito immediately appeared on the rather nice-looking loungewear he was wearing.
Nie Xu’s voice rang clearly through the quiet night.
“What are you doing?”
“Swatting mosquitoes.” Ji Yang flicked the mosquito’s corpse away, then retorted, “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to shower? You made me wait forever.”
Nie Xu laughed, though it sounded more like an exasperated laugh.
“Do you still need something?”
Ji Yang shook his head. “No. I just haven’t said goodbye to you yet.”
The air fell silent.
Unknown insects rustled in the bushes. On his first night in Zhouleng, inside what might have been Nie Xu’s temporary home, Ji Yang heard his bodyguard speak after a long pause.
“You’re certainly in no hurry to leave. You’re so polite you’d feed the mosquitoes with your own blood.”
Ji Yang suspected that he was being mocked again. He looked up at Nie Xu, finally meeting his eyes, which were studying him intently.
Ji Yang said, “Can’t a young master turn over a new leaf? I’m a model student with good grades and conduct. From now on, I’ll greet everyone with a cheerful ‘Hello!’”
Nie Xu tossed the towel over the railing.
“Mm. Then, Young Master, would you like to get up off the floor first?”
Ji Yang glanced at the cushion he had long since thrown aside.
“The main problem is that this thing is uncomfortable,” he said.
Nie Xu followed his gaze. “It’s meant for kneeling as punishment. How comfortable did you expect it to be?”
“Huh? Who kneels on it?” Ji Yang asked in surprise. “You Li?”
Nie Xu glanced at him. “You’re so curious. Want to try kneeling on it yourself?”
Ji Yang: “…”
Absolutely not, thank you very much!