Nie Xu’s hand felt dry and rough, with the thin calluses that had formed over years of handling knives and guns.
Ji Yang regretted licking it the moment he was done.
That had been incredibly stupid.
What had possessed him to do something like that?
In the end, Ji Yang attributed it to the fact that, over this long period, Nie Xu had used him, acknowledged him, and helped him. If he thought about it carefully, Nie Xu had never actually resorted to any substantial means of physically harming him. On the contrary, Ji Yang occasionally had the illusion that Nie Xu was rather tolerant of him.
With a little less of the helplessness that usually came with being the subordinate, Ji Yang had let his guard down.
A few seconds later, or perhaps even less, the sounds outside disappeared without a trace. Finally, the hand over his mouth loosened.
The moment Ji Yang was free, he struck first with a retort. “You were the one who covered my mouth first!”
Nie Xu wasn’t annoyed. But because of their height difference, standing so close made his imposing presence almost tangible. He said calmly, “You were the one asking too many questions. Besides, when someone covers your mouth, you respond by licking their hand? Are you a dog?”
Ji Yang pulled the corners of his mouth into a fake smile. “That’s right. Next time, I’ll bite you instead.”
Click.
The lights in the room suddenly came on.
The brightness stung Ji Yang’s eyes, and he raised an arm to shield them.
Nie Xu acted as though nothing had happened. He stepped back half a pace and said, “Let’s go.”
“Where?” Ji Yang asked, lowering his hand.
Nie Xu looked back at him. “The lights coming on means the transaction is over. Your grandfather came all the way to the hotel specifically to ‘visit’ you. As his grandson, aren’t you going to see him? Do you need someone to invite you?”
“Is that what you call an invitation?” Ji Yang was speechless. “That’s clearly coercion.”
Although he called it coercion, Ji Yang had no intention of resisting.
Nie Xu opened the door and walked out first.
There were still two men standing outside the room, both unfamiliar faces.
As soon as Ji Yang approached, one of them proactively opened the door and said, “Fourth Young Master, please.”
After that, he addressed the person behind Ji Yang. “Brother Xu, the old master said you should go in as well.”
Ji Yang entered first.
Once inside, he wondered whether he had entered the wrong room.
The few pieces of clothing he had left at the foot of the bed, the unfinished biscuits on the coffee table, and even the half cup of water he had just poured from the kettle before leaving, which he hadn’t had time to drink, had all been cleared away.
At first glance, it looked like someone had tidied up. But on closer inspection, it felt more like a search.
What could they possibly be looking for in his room?
The old master was seated on the sofa, with Zhao Yuan standing behind him.
A tea set and four cups had been placed on the coffee table in front of him. The other three cups all showed signs of having been used.
The other people, however, were nowhere to be seen.
Ji Yang stood in front of the coffee table without speaking.
The old master leisurely poured himself another cup of tea and said, “You don’t even call me Grandpa anymore?”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Ji Yang replied, “Last time, you hit me with an inkstone. At worst, you could only make me bleed. But if you hit me with a teapot now, wouldn’t the boiling water destroy my entire face?”
Ji Yansong’s hand paused as he poured the tea, but he continued as though nothing had happened. “With a temper like that, what can your little company, playing at business, possibly accomplish?”
“I wouldn’t trouble you to worry about it.” Every one of Ji Yang’s replies was a challenge. “If I can’t make a living, I can always beg on the streets.”
The old master set down the teapot and leaned back against the sofa, silently watching him.
Ji Yang met his gaze without any particular emotion.
As expected, the old master’s astonishing tolerance was within his predictions. Sure enough, even after being spoken to like that, the old man didn’t lose his temper. Instead, he said, “You’re becoming more and more like your mother.”
Ji Yang: Is there something wrong with you? Seriously.
Ji Yansong continued, “Don’t keep fighting with your father. The main residence has been renovated, and there’s hardly any trace of your mother left. But it’s still the place where you grew up. That’s your home, and that’s where you belong.”
“Did you come all this way specifically to persuade me to return to the Ji family?” Ji Yang asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ji Yansong glanced at him, then looked toward the person beside Ji Yang. “A Xu, explain it to him.”
Ji Yang turned to look.
Nie Xu took a document from Zhao Yuan and walked back over, holding it out to him.
Ji Yang opened it and saw the words: Equity Transfer Agreement.
Nie Xu explained, “This is a private gift from your grandfather: ten percent of Haicheng Group’s non-voting shares. It doesn’t count toward the First Branch’s original entitlement. It belongs to you personally.”
Ji Yang took the agreement and tapped it against his palm. “What is this supposed to be? An exchange? Compensation?”
As he spoke, he looked at Ji Yansong. “Or is this a fig leaf for some shady underground transaction you’re conducting in your grandson’s name?”
“Fourth Young Master!” Zhao Yuan barked. “I hope you’ll refrain from making baseless accusations.”
Ji Yang didn’t even spare the old man a glance. He held up the agreement and said, “I don’t care what you’re trying to do. I’m not blind to Haicheng’s current situation. Putting aside how much these ten percent of non-voting shares are worth, what good would they do me besides attracting resentment? Am I supposed to pray that the stock price recovers and sit at home waiting for money to fall from the sky?”
“You don’t want it?” Ji Yansong asked.
Ji Yang replied, “If you have money, you can just give it to me directly. I certainly won’t complain about having too much. But this sort of thing? No thanks.”
“You’re still too young.” Ji Yansong lifted his teacup and took a sip.
After setting it down, Ji Yansong rose from the sofa and slowly said, “If you don’t want it, then so be it. You still bear the Ji surname, after all. You can afford to be willful. Let’s go.”
He was addressing Zhao Yuan.
Zhao Yuan stepped forward and took the agreement from Ji Yang’s hand. His expression was respectful, but his tone made it clear that he thought Ji Yang didn’t know what was good for him.
“Fourth Young Master is determined to disappoint the old master’s expectations and refuses to have anything to do with the Ji family’s business. But when you want to reclaim this agreement in the future, you won’t have the opportunity anymore.”
Ji Yang replied, “Then you can keep that opportunity for yourself, Uncle Zhao.”
The corners of Zhao Yuan’s mouth stiffened.
The old master was already standing at the doorway.
He called out once more, “A Xu.”
“Yes?” Nie Xu responded.
Ji Yansong said, “To prevent any complications arising from tonight’s transaction, you’ll stay here tonight. The Ji family’s descendants can afford to be immature, but they cannot afford to be stupid. Keep a close eye on him.”
“Yes.” Nie Xu nodded.
The old master left, leaning on his cane, with Zhao Yuan following closely behind.
Ji Yang remained where he was. After looking around the room, he turned to Nie Xu and began, “You…”
Nie Xu raised a hand slightly, signaling him to stay quiet.
Ji Yang gave him a questioning look.
Nie Xu walked around the room before finally locating a listening device tucked precisely into a corner of the windowsill.
Ji Yang stared at the little device, which was still blinking. His scalp tingled slightly as he silently mouthed, “Who put that there?”
Nie Xu answered with a look that seemed to say, Who do you think?
All right. Ji Yang understood.
Regardless of whom the old master didn’t trust, someone was definitely listening on the other end of that device.
Since they loved eavesdropping so much—
Ji Yang swept the tea cups off the coffee table and onto the floor, then shouted, “I’ve had enough! You keep saying you want me to return to the Ji family, but whenever there’s something dirty to do, I’m always the first person you think of!”
He didn’t need anyone to play along. He could make enough noise all by himself.
He even threw the magazines that had originally been in the guest room and shouted, “And you! Nie Xu! Whatever Grandpa says goes, is that it? What gives you the right to spy on me?”
“Are you a dog?” He didn’t forget to return the insult Nie Xu had used against him earlier. Ji Yang was someone who always repaid a grudge. “You’re so obedient! But when I told you to like me, why didn’t you listen? You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”
Then, as though genuinely heartbroken, he added, “I hate that you’re such a block of wood!”
…
At that moment, downstairs, inside an inconspicuous silver car parked by the roadside outside the hotel, Lu Li was sitting in the front passenger seat.
His subordinate, Fang Qi, was driving.
The voices coming through the listening device rang out crystal clear in the small space inside the car. An awkward silence spread between them.
Fang Qi cautiously asked, “S-should we keep listening? That young master spends all day going on about love and romance. He doesn’t even know the details of the transaction, so he probably won’t go blabbing about it online.”
“You think that’s what the old master wants us to listen for?” Lu Li asked in return.
He reclined his seat almost all the way back, then lifted his feet and crossed them on the dashboard.
Fang Qi was bewildered. “Then what are we listening for?”
“For the possibility of something going wrong.” Lu Li’s expression seemed to hold both resentment and nostalgia. “The old master simply refuses to admit it, but the underground business empire he once took pride in would have stopped functioning properly long ago without Nie Xu. As people grow old, they become more fearful. All these measures are just to guard against that one possibility.”
Lu Li pointed at the listening device. “But the only reason this little gadget hasn’t been crushed yet is that Nie Xu and I have an unspoken understanding. We’re maintaining appearances for the old master’s sake. If he feels reassured, those of us working under him can have an easier time, too.”
Fang Qi was somewhat surprised by his attitude. He hesitated before saying, “Brother Lu, I always thought you respected the old master a great deal. Everyone says he personally promoted you and brought you up…”
Lu Li’s eyebrows lifted slightly, and for a moment, his expression turned distant. “That’s true. Without his cultivation, how could someone like me have had the opportunity to stand by his side?”
Fang Qi only half understood what he meant.
Who was he referring to?
The Third Young Master?
Fang Qi said, “We all thought that when we went to Huizhou to catch Fourth Young Master, it was because of the old master’s orders.”
“He was simply too much of an eyesore,” Lu Li replied.
Fang Qi continued, “After everything that happened, including getting the eldest young lady to break off her engagement with the Qi family and the recent livestream promoting the farmers, Fourth Young Master’s public reputation is actually quite good now.”
Lu Li couldn’t help recalling that trip to Huizhou. At the airport, Ji Yang had brazenly summoned the airport’s emergency medical staff.
Lu Li seemed irritated as he said, “A good reputation doesn’t mean anything. Who knows whether there was any manipulation behind the livestream?”
At that moment, Ji Yang’s voice came through the listening device again.
“I’ve already heard from Mingyue that Third Brother only stayed in Zhouleng for a few days, and his mother was already heartbroken over it. Is there even a place for me in the First Branch anymore? An illegitimate son gets to walk through the front door, while I’ve become nothing more than a wild weed growing by the roadside…”
His voice was full of emotion, every word clearly articulated, his anger pouring out with genuine intensity.
Fang Qi noticed that Brother Lu looked even more irritated.
He hurriedly asked, “Should I cut off the signal?”
“No need.” Lu Li frowned, sounding certain. “As long as Nie Xu is in there, he’ll let that listening device stay where it is. Just put up with it.”
Although he said to put up with it, Fang Qi felt that Lu Li wasn’t really enduring anything. It was more as though Ji Yang’s words, which weren’t entirely false, had put him in a bad mood. His sharp, flamboyant features had taken on a rather gloomy cast.
Fang Qi didn’t dare provoke him at a time like this.
He had just started to move the device farther away when the equipment, which had been clearly picking up every sound moments ago, suddenly fell completely silent.
Fang Qi turned around. “Didn’t you say he wouldn’t interfere?”
Lu Li frowned and sat up, then glanced toward the hotel floors before cursing, “Is Nie Xu out of his mind?!”
Meanwhile, inside Suite 2807…
Ji Yang was sitting on the sofa with his arms folded. His voice rose and fell, but his face remained completely expressionless.
He had even been preparing to sing Little Cabbage, a traditional Chinese folk song about a poor, mistreated child, when he suddenly saw Nie Xu snap the listening device apart with his bare hands. Its red light went out instantly.
Ji Yang: “…You can do that?”
Nie Xu casually tossed the broken device onto the table and glanced at him. “If I didn’t, were you planning to perform an entire evening of Errenzhuan by yourself?”
Errenzhuan was a traditional northeastern Chinese folk performance, usually involving two performers.
“And I even helped cover for you! Why don’t you mention that?” Ji Yang rolled his eyes.
Now that the device was gone, he asked directly, “What exactly was being traded tonight?”
“New merchandise. A new model of the batch that went missing before,” Nie Xu answered succinctly.
Ji Yang understood.
It was probably some kind of weaponry. Zhao Yuan had previously searched for an old batch, but had never managed to find it.
At the mention of this, Ji Yang instinctively lowered his voice. “So this transaction will fail too?”
“No.”
It wouldn’t? Did that mean the transaction would go through?
Nie Xu clearly had no intention of elaborating. Ji Yang could tell that simply revealing the nature of the transaction was probably already the limit of what Nie Xu was willing to tell him.
He was only standing at the very edge of this matter, yet he could already sense just how deep the waters beneath the surface really were.
He also realized that the so-called revenge in the novel—the claim that Nie Xu would bring down the Ji family—was not merely a matter of achieving a particular outcome.
Haicheng was declining by the day, yet Nie Xu, standing beside Ji Yansong, was becoming increasingly proficient in his role as a bodyguard.
And Ji Yang himself had become a genuine target of surveillance.
Although the whole situation felt like a tangled mess, Ji Yang was still concerned about one thing.
“Should I have signed that equity transfer agreement tonight?”
“You wanted to sign it?” Nie Xu asked.
Ji Yang explained, “The news has already reported that Haicheng might be restructured and listed again. Those shares represent real money. Hengyuan and Shengji in Huizhou were clearly connected to the Ji Corporation’s financial fraud, yet nothing has come of their investigations so far. How can I be sure Haicheng won’t have a chance to rise again?”
Nie Xu sat down on the opposite sofa and asked casually, “Then why didn’t you sign it just now?”
“Because I trust you.” Ji Yang rested his elbows on his knees, propped his chin on his hands, and smiled. “Was that the right thing to do?”
Nie Xu looked at him.
In the end, he gave Ji Yang a definitive answer.
“Haicheng will never be listed again.”
Nie Xu even went so far as to explain, “The Ji Corporation’s debt structure is rigid. The enormous interest generated by the previous share buybacks, combined with the old industries’ inability to generate sufficient cash flow, has become a burden they can’t shake off. The Ji Corporation will only sink deeper into debt until it is completely crushed. As for Hengyuan and Shengji, they have also been investigated. It just won’t be made public. The best outcome for them would be to wait for an acquisition.”
Nie Xu leaned forward.
“Do you know what that means?”
“What?” Ji Yang was caught by those eyes, feeling as though he were looking into an ancient well with no visible bottom.
Nie Xu spoke slowly and softly.
“It means being surrounded on all sides, with nowhere left to turn.”
Ji Yang couldn’t shake the feeling that those words carried a deeper meaning. A chill crept up his body, and he instinctively lowered his hands.
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone was at the door.
Ji Yang stood up, but Nie Xu caught his arm and pulled him back slightly.
“I’ll get it,” he said.
Ji Yang followed behind him. The person standing outside the partially opened door wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.
Fang Qi smiled ingratiatingly. “Brother Xu.”
“Did Lu Li send you up here?” Nie Xu opened the door a little wider.
Fang Qi scratched his head awkwardly. “Brother Lu was worried you’d have a hard night handling things alone, so he sent me up to stand by. Just let me know if you need anything. I’ll be right outside.”
From behind Nie Xu, Ji Yang sneered. “If you’re here to keep an eye on us, just say so. Why dress it up in such nice words?”
Fang Qi was caught between a rock and a hard place, unable to decide whether to respond.
The anger Ji Yang had been pretending to display through the listening device had now become genuine. He continued sneering. “It’s Lu Li again, isn’t it? If he’s so dedicated to his job, tell him to come up here himself. What does he want to hear? If I tell Nie Xu to lie on my bed, would he dare listen to that?”
Fang Qi was thoroughly overwhelmed by the verbal barrage. He felt that what he had heard in the car earlier hadn’t even revealed a tenth of Ji Yang’s full power.
Had Ji Yang’s complaints about Nie Xu not loving him finally exploded into a full-blown outburst?
Fang Qi awkwardly sought Nie Xu’s help. “Brother Xu, what do you think?”
“Don’t bother with him.” Nie Xu blocked the doorway. “Just stay outside.”
“All right,” Fang Qi began to say.
But before he could finish, the door slammed shut with a bang, nearly hitting his nose.
Fang Qi thought to himself: It really takes someone extraordinary to come and go freely around the old master. Even when the young master asks him to get into bed with him, he can still keep a straight face.
Inside the room, Ji Yang was dissatisfied. “Why did you stop me?”
Nie Xu gave him a sidelong glance. “Have you forgotten why you’re being watched?”
“Because I’m famous?” Ji Yang asked.
Nie Xu somehow found the clothes Ji Yang had thrown at the foot of the bed earlier, which had mysteriously disappeared. He tossed them to him.
“Because you’re too disobedient.”