Chapter 35

The terrain around Zhouleng was relatively flat, and the road stretched forward until it disappeared from sight.

The sun had set.

Quite a few locals from nearby areas, having only belatedly caught wind of what was happening, began wandering over to join the excitement.

Cars lined the roadside, along with plenty of three-wheeled motor vehicles and little electric scooters. Some people started calling out to the orchard from a distance. They were all familiar faces—people asking questions, expressing amazement, and feeling relieved.

Quite a few people volunteered to help. After all, although the livestream had driven sales through the roof, the next steps—quality control, picking, packing, and shipping—still required manpower.

As it happened, around the same time, Zhouleng’s local authorities released a new notice announcing the resumption of shipping traffic.

Uncle Mai and the other fruit farmers unanimously decided to spend the entire night picking fruit, hoping to ship the orders first thing the following morning.

Although the excitement of the livestream had died down, the real work was only just beginning.

As a result, hardly anyone paid much attention to the black car parked by the roadside, even though it had been there for quite some time.

Inside the car, Nie Xu had a laptop resting on his knees, displaying professional data analysis.

Jiang Lei finished a phone call and turned sideways to look over. He smiled.

“Would you call this the two of you being in sync? Just as Zhu Guangsheng’s announcement came out, there was a livestream to help the farmers. The situation went from losing money to selling out completely, all in one go—and it was entirely spontaneous. At the same time, the young master managed to rebuild his public image, turn his personal traffic into actual value, and promote the local brand. You don’t see that every day.”

Nie Xu said, “If he’d started out with all those goals in mind, it wouldn’t have had the same effect.”

Jiang Lei sighed with emotion. “I can only say that sincerity begets sincerity. One livestream managed to breathe life into Zhouleng, which had been stagnant for so long. Who would’ve thought that the young master everyone outside the family considered a discarded pawn could transform into a public figure known for helping farmers?”

Nie Xu looked toward the orchard again.

Having rested enough, Ji Yang was casually helping a female farmer lift a basket onto her back.

The woman was startled and hurriedly told him not to get involved. He smiled and said something to her, making her laugh just as easily.

“Got a cigarette?” Nie Xu suddenly asked, his tone calm.

Jiang Lei eyed him suspiciously. “Have you been smoking a little too much lately? Are you under a lot of pressure?”

Even so, he took out his cigarette case and added a warning. “Don’t go back to how you were in your early twenties. You already quit. Be careful, or you’ll end up with lung problems.”

“You still remember that?” Nie Xu withdrew his gaze and gave a quiet scoff. He took a cigarette from the case and held it in his hand.

Jiang Lei leaned back. “Who could forget? We spent those two years constantly aboard ships, with our lives hanging by a thread every single day. These days, if I told the people under us that you used to act like a gangster, apart from Han Biao and a few others, I doubt anyone would believe me.”

As he spoke, he cursed again. “So many ordinary people suffered because of them. The Ji family really isn’t afraid of karma catching up with them. And that old bastard Zhao Yuan—how many times did he screw us over back then? Fuck.”

Click.

The lighter made a soft sound.

Nie Xu rested his hand outside the window.

“The role of steward suits him.”

“That’s true.” Jiang Lei gave a cold laugh. “Now he can only throw his weight around inside the estate. With those old arms and legs, he’d better make sure he can still get himself moving.”

Nie Xu said nothing.

Jiang Lei put the cigarette case away. “You don’t want it anymore, right? If not, I’ll take it back.”

“Mm.” Nie Xu tapped the ash off the cigarette without arguing.

Jiang Lei noticed that he had barely taken a couple of puffs either. He said, “You don’t really look like someone under pressure. Everything in Zhouleng is going according to plan. Zhu Guangsheng thinks you’re siding with the eldest branch, so he’ll inevitably get in touch with his sister. Once the two branches start fighting, the entire shipping operation will be exposed…”

Jiang Lei hesitated before continuing, “Is it because Ji Chengyi is involved?”

The moment he finished speaking, he dismissed the idea himself and sighed.

“This Third Young Master is becoming increasingly eager for quick results…”

There was no way Nie Xu hadn’t seen it.

That was because…

Jiang Lei happened to glance out the window. It was as though he had suddenly figured something out.

Looking outside, he said slowly, “Back in Huizhou, when Lu Li came and took the young master away for three days, I already wanted to say something. This young master seems to be stirring up a storm in a muddy pool, yet at his core, he’s so transparent that it makes you wonder whether he was really raised by the Ji family at all.”

Nie Xu’s voice betrayed no emotion. “He said he forgot.”

“You believe that?” Jiang Lei asked.

Nie Xu replied, “Look into Tao Jisheng’s side. Speed things up.”

Jiang Lei nodded, then asked, “What are you planning to do about him now?”

“What do you mean, what am I planning to do?” Nie Xu frowned.

Jiang Lei pointed at the cigarette between his fingers. “Don’t tell me you’re still sticking to your original plan. You really intend to put him on the Ji family’s negotiating table? Do you think he’ll be safe? Even if no one in the Ji family poisons him to death, people like Zhu Guangsheng could tear him apart alive. Do you believe that?”

Nie Xu’s brows drew together tightly.

“If you dare to let One Yuan push the story, Zhu Guangsheng will go after him first.”

Jiang Lei felt at a loss for words.

“So you’re staying here to fulfill your duties simply because you’re his bodyguard?”

Nie Xu looked at him calmly. “What else?”

Jiang Lei fell silent.

It wasn’t for any other reason. He had simply realized that people like them, in the eyes of outsiders, were nothing more than bodyguards assigned to Building Four of the Ji family’s estate. That was all they would ever be.

That had been their identity for all these years, and it remained their identity now.

All the calm and normalcy was merely a veneer covering up a situation that had not yet completely fallen apart.

In a place like Zhouleng, Nie Xu never smoked during surveillance duty. The very moment he lit that cigarette, it was already an unusual break in his otherwise terrifying self-control.

Jiang Lei simply changed the subject and smiled.

“Thank goodness he took the initiative to approach you about working together back then. Otherwise, Zhouleng would have become the first stretch of barren land exposed to the outside world under the Ji family’s influence this year.”

Nie Xu’s assessment of Ji Yang was succinct.

“His courage runs ahead of his brains.”

That was why he had dared to approach Nie Xu in the first place.

That wild, sun-seeking vitality, like a blade of grass growing toward the light, was now on full display in Ji Yang—even when he was pretending to be frail and helpless.

Ji Yang had no idea that less than fifty meters away, inside the car by the roadside, sat Nie Xu and Jiang Lei.

After the livestream ended, several colleagues urged Ji Yang to head back early while they stayed behind to help.

You Li had been running around helping all afternoon. By the time he finally returned to Ji Yang’s side, he was drenched in sweat.

“Are you okay?” Ji Yang asked, handing him a bottle of water.

You Li tugged at his shirt and wiped his face. “I’m fine. Half a day of work is nothing.” As he spoke, he unscrewed the cap and gulped down more than half the bottle. Then he screwed the cap back on, looked at Ji Yang, and said, “You’re impressive.”

Ji Yang deliberately leaned closer to his ear. “Are you talking about me?”

“Yes, you. I’m talking about you. I admit I failed to recognize a truly formidable person.” As he spoke, You Li hurriedly backed away. “Don’t be so childish. You have at least 1.5 million followers now!”

“I’ll do whatever I want.”

Ji Yang picked up a tripod someone had left lying around and tossed it to You Li.

“Come on. It’s getting dark. Let’s head back.”

You Li carried the tripod and followed behind him.

“Can we get a taxi here?” Ji Yang asked.

“Not easily. We can just drive Uncle Mai’s car back. I’ll bring it back here later.”

“Let’s take a taxi. Why would two of us need to drive that car?”

“What if we can’t get one?” You Li complained. “Can your legs even carry you all the way back?”

Of course they couldn’t.

They had spent the entire morning running around, and the afternoon had been even more exhausting.

By now, every step Ji Yang took came with a stinging, burning pain. He had probably rubbed his feet raw from walking too much.

The two had just stepped onto the roadside when they saw four cars approaching in succession and braking right in front of them.

Ji Yang calmly said to You Li, “No need to call a taxi. Our free ride has arrived.”

The moment You Li saw the imposing lineup, he stepped in front of Ji Yang with the tripod in his hands.

Ji Yang pulled him aside.

When he saw the fat man getting out of one car and Ji Chengyi emerging from the car behind it, a flicker of surprise crossed his mind.

Ji Chengyi and Zhu Guangsheng?

How had the two of them ended up here together?

Zhu Guangsheng looked Ji Yang up and down twice before speaking.

“No wonder my eyelid has been twitching lately. It turns out one nephew was coming, and now two have shown up at once. Ji Yang, the last time I saw you, you were still in school. Look at you now. Your influence has grown so much that the phone in my office was practically ringing off the hook all afternoon.”

Ji Yang smiled and addressed him politely. “Uncle. Are you blaming me for that?”

“I’m praising you.” A shadow flashed through Zhu Guangsheng’s eyes, though he kept smiling. “I just want to ask my nephew for a little favor. A useless fisherman died at the port today, and the matter has already reached the old master of the Ji family. Since you’re so capable, why don’t you come with me to the hospital morgue to identify the body and help me clear things up?”

Ji Yang glanced at Ji Chengyi before asking, “Isn’t Third Brother in charge of the port? Uncle, have you arrested Third Brother?”

“I haven’t arrested anyone!” Zhu Guangsheng raised his hands to prove his innocence. “The Third Young Master of the Ji family has bodyguards all around him. If he doesn’t want to come, I don’t have the ability to force him.”

Ji Chengyi stepped forward two paces. First, he glanced toward the orchard, where the lights had already come on, then turned his attention back to Ji Yang.

Frowning, he said, “You’re exploiting this agricultural livestream to attract attention. Now you’ve stirred up the port incident as well, making the whole thing so much bigger. Ji Yang, have you considered the position this puts Big Brother in?”

Ji Yang laughed in disbelief.

“You and Uncle Zhu came here together. Is this really for Big Brother’s sake?”

Ji Chengyi looked at him as though he were an insoluble problem.

“You don’t need to accuse me of being hypocritical. Whether it’s the eldest branch or the second branch, we’re all members of the Ji family. We can settle our own affairs behind closed doors.”

Ji Chengyi pointed toward the orchard, where people were still busy working.

“What are you doing? All this for a little so-called publicity? For Mr. Huang’s project? It sounds noble when you say you’re helping people, but when something goes wrong with the Ji family, how many employees will lose their jobs? How many families will be pushed into hardship? Have you seriously considered which matters more and which matter less?”

It was quite a lecture from someone perched on the moral high ground. Ji Yang almost felt as though he really had committed some terrible sin.

He glanced between Ji Chengyi and Zhu Guangsheng.

Then he spoke slowly.

“That was a human life. Compared with what Third Brother had planned in advance, I don’t think one person’s life should be considered less important than another.”

He added, “Third Brother doesn’t want to fall out with the second branch, while Uncle wants to smooth things over with the old master and sweep this matter under the rug. The two of you are perfectly in agreement, so now you want to pin the death on me?”

Ji Chengyi’s pupils contracted slightly at those words. He looked at Ji Yang as though he wanted to see straight through him.

Ji Yang understood immediately.

So it really was true.

Although it had happened indirectly, the accusation that he had caused someone’s death still fit the plot of the original novel.

Ji Chengyi frowned and denied it. “You’re overthinking things.”

Ji Yang began to laugh.

At first, it was a soft chuckle, but gradually he laughed aloud.

Ji Chengyi asked, “What are you laughing at?”

“I’m laughing at whatever gave you people the impression…” Ji Yang spoke in an unhurried voice, “…that I’m some pushover who’ll let you manipulate me however you please.”

Zhu Guangsheng demanded, “What do you mean by that?”

Ji Yang replied, “I mean I have the complete report explaining the fisherman’s death at the port. That includes evidence of the 800,000 yuan you gave his family, Uncle. I have proof.”

Zhu Guangsheng’s expression changed dramatically.

“Where did you get that?!”

Ji Yang thought coldly, As if I’d tell you even if I had it.

Just because he didn’t have the actual documents didn’t mean he didn’t know what had happened.

Ever since arriving in Zhouleng, he had been guarding against the plot repeating itself.

He had avoided the confrontation on the first night. He hadn’t been present during the conflict at the port the following morning either, and he had even made a point of clarifying that on his own account.

Who would have expected things to unfold like this?

Was the protagonist shou actually going out of his way to frame him?

Was the plot of this novel falling apart and running wild, or had Ji Chengyi gone crazy?

The moment Ji Chengyi heard that Ji Yang had evidence, his expression became noticeably uglier.

A vicious glint flashed through Zhu Guangsheng’s eyes. Gritting his teeth, he said, “If you refuse to cooperate, how about Uncle invites you to my place for a cup of tea?”

“No!” You Li stepped in front of Ji Yang. “I don’t care whose uncle you are or how powerful you think you are. If you want to go after him, you’ll have to get through me first.”

You Li was completely dazed at that moment.

He didn’t know the details of what was happening. His reaction was purely instinctive.

He wanted Third Young Master Ji to restrain this man surnamed Zhu, but quickly abandoned the idea.

In his mind, Third Young Master Ji had always been a warm and approachable person. Even when he had watched him on the news that morning, promising to give everyone an explanation, You Li had continued to believe in him without hesitation.

But the conversation he had just heard kept replaying in his mind.

On the one hand, he was shocked by how pleasant Ji Chengyi’s words sounded, while the disregard for human life beneath them—and his indifference to the hard work and sweat of all those fruit farmers—had been so clear and unmistakable.

On the other hand, he was nervous.

That fat man looked pretty powerful, and he had brought people with him.

If You Li told Ji Yang to run first, could those legs of his even manage it?

Anxiety continued to rise within him.

Just as Zhu Guangsheng was losing patience and ordering his men to escort Ji Yang into the car, and just as Zhu himself was raising his fist, the sound of a car door shutting came from several meters away.

Since they were the only people on the roadside, everyone instinctively turned toward the sound.

When You Li saw the people getting out of the driver’s seat and the front passenger seat, he was so excited he nearly burst into tears.

“Brother! Brother Lei!”

Ji Yang only reacted when he heard You Li shout. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, then quickly returned to his usual calm.

Since Zhu Guangsheng could appear here, it wasn’t surprising that Nie Xu and the others had anticipated this and arrived early.

Nie Xu walked in front, with Jiang Lei behind him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ji Yang clearly saw shock and panic flash across Ji Chengyi’s face when he noticed the approaching men.

He hadn’t known Nie Xu and the others were here?

That made sense. If he had known, he probably wouldn’t have shown up alongside Zhu Guangsheng.

Ji Chengyi stared intently at the approaching man. Once Nie Xu was close enough, he spoke first.

“Nie Xu, I asked you this afternoon, and you said you had something to take care of. Is this what you meant?”

Nie Xu walked past him without replying and headed straight toward Zhu Guangsheng.

He stopped in front of him.

“Chairman Zhu,” Nie Xu said. “I thought the shipping routes had reopened because you’d finally come to your senses.”

A cold glint flashed through Zhu Guangsheng’s eyes. He snatched a steel pipe from one of the thugs beside him and swung it at Nie Xu.

Nie Xu tilted his head and dodged.

Zhu Guangsheng’s heavy body lurched forward awkwardly, nearly sending him sprawling.

After finally regaining his balance, Zhu turned his head—and met Ji Yang’s gaze.

Ji Yang thought, He’s got some nerve. Has Nie Xu already pushed him this far?

Amid You Li’s startled cry, the steel pipe stopped half a meter in front of Ji Yang’s forehead.

Then it traced an arc through the air and slammed heavily onto the ground along with Zhu Guangsheng.

The terrifying grip on Zhu Guangsheng’s ankle, followed by the fear of being dragged backward across the ground, left him unable even to cry out in pain before the man responsible had finished.

It had taken roughly two seconds.

The movements were so fast that Zhu Guangsheng’s men hadn’t even reacted.

By the time they finally did, they discovered that their chairman had already been dislocated at the jaw from behind, his face pressed firmly against the road.

Every movement had been so clean and swift that it seemed almost like an illusion. The strangled, muffled sound trapped in Zhu Guangsheng’s throat was horrifying, like the final gurgle of someone on the verge of death.

Zhu Guangsheng’s men were so frightened that they froze on the spot.

Nie Xu picked up the steel pipe from the ground and straightened.

Looking down at the man who could now do little more than gasp for breath, he said, “Chairman Zhu, since you couldn’t understand what I told you this afternoon, let’s see whether Second Madam is willing to spend a fortune trying to get you out of prison.”

He then surveyed the people around them, tossed the steel pipe away, and instructed Zhu Guangsheng’s men, “Take your chairman to the hospital.”

As they nervously approached and struggled to help the man off the ground, he added, “Since he’s so fond of hospital morgues, remember to ask the director to reserve a spot for him in advance.”

The men supporting Zhu Guangsheng instinctively shuddered.

They hurriedly called for help and, within moments, dragged him into a car and sped away.

Jiang Lei stepped in to smooth things over.

“Young Masters, get in the car. We’ll take you back.”

Ji Chengyi hesitated. “Nie Xu, I…”

“Third Young Master.” Jiang Lei interrupted him with a beaming smile. “Chairman Zhu is, after all, a close relative of the second branch. We understand your concerns. We’ll explain everything to the old master, so don’t worry.”

While they were still standing there discussing the matter, Ji Yang had already walked some distance away.