With Nie Xu sitting on the sofa inside the room and Fang Qi stationed outside the door, Ji Yang had the bizarre feeling that he was some sort of notorious prisoner being held under maximum security.
Of course, asking Nie Xu to get into bed with him had been a bluff.
However, Ji Yang had generously lent him a pillow.
When Ji Yang woke up the next morning, the pillow had already been placed back beside his head.
He stared blankly at it with bleary eyes for quite a while, until he heard someone say, “Are you still not getting up?”
“You’re still here?” Ji Yang was even more surprised by that.
He poked his head out from under the covers and looked at the man, who he had no idea whether he had slept at all the previous night.
Nie Xu looked perfectly neat and well-dressed. His gaze swept over Ji Yang’s messy, sticking-up hair before he placed the items in his hand on the coffee table.
“Get up. I’m taking you out for breakfast.”
Ji Yang sat up, clutching the blanket. “I can go out?”
“Why can’t you?” Nie Xu countered.
“Am I not under restrictions on my freedom of movement?”
Nie Xu glanced at him. “What you’re describing is detention, not surveillance.”
Ji Yang let out an “Oh” and slowly crawled out of bed.
When he slept, he usually changed into the simplest cotton T-shirt and shorts, preferably ones he had worn for a long time. They were more comfortable and made it easier for him to fall asleep.
At some point, Nie Xu received a phone call.
It was Deng Jiao.
Her crisp, capable voice sounded particularly energetic so early in the morning.
“Boss.”
“What is it?” Nie Xu asked.
Deng Jiao explained, “Remember how Second Madam insisted that only female bodyguards be assigned to her? The people I arranged to work there want to transfer to other positions. Otherwise, they’re going to resign outright. Everyone else already has their assignments, and I really don’t know what to do.”
Nie Xu replied, “You can decide whether they resign or transfer positions yourself. Is there something else going on?”
Deng Jiao hesitated, as though deciding whether it was appropriate to discuss the matter over the phone. After confirming that Nie Xu wasn’t stopping her, she continued.
“Actually, Second Madam was caught cheating. Recently, she’s been meeting frequently with members of the Ji family’s collateral branches, so when the incident came to light, she wanted to use our people as scapegoats. This is a fairly serious matter, and I was worried it might interfere with your work, so I wanted to ask you first.”
Nie Xu said, “There’s no need to put up with that. Gather whatever evidence you need.”
Deng Jiao was immediately reassured. “Understood.”
After settling that matter, she added, “The main residence sent out a notice today. They want to ensure every member of the Ji family is present at noon. Apparently, they’re going to announce the allocation of the shipping business and hold a vote on the heir to the core assets. You know about this, right?”
Nie Xu hummed in acknowledgment. “I do.”
Deng Jiao lowered her voice. “Actually, I wanted to ask whether Fourth Young Master can return. I heard that even when the old master personally went to invite him, he couldn’t get him to agree.”
At that very moment—
“Nie Xu, get the things on the chair for me.”
Deng Jiao heard the voice and stopped breathing for a moment. She asked softly, “Boss, is someone there with you?”
“Yes.” Nie Xu didn’t seem concerned about making his female subordinate feel awkward.
When he turned around, he happened to see Ji Yang with his hair sticking up in every direction. His loose clothes exposed most of his right collarbone, and his eyes were barely open. Every movement he made was as slow as a tortoise crawling.
Deng Jiao asked, “He didn’t hear what I said, did he?”
Nie Xu looked at Ji Yang. “His brain hasn’t woken up yet.”
He hung up.
Ji Yang lifted his eyelids. “Who are you saying hasn’t woken up? I heard everything.”
“Then move faster,” Nie Xu said. “The risks from last night’s transaction have passed. No one is likely to notice or discover what happened in the short term. But since the old master has drawn you into this, given his temperament, he’ll remain wary of you indefinitely. If you don’t want to be watched every single day, you have to go back today.”
Ji Yang raised his eyes. “Are you going to be the one watching me?”
Nie Xu replied, “The next person assigned to you won’t be me. There’s a good chance it’ll be Lu Li.”
Ji Yang was instantly wide awake. He threw back the blanket.
“I’m going back.”
By the time Ji Yang had finished getting himself ready, half an hour had passed.
Fang Qi had disappeared from the doorway at some point.
Ji Yang said he was going back to the Ji family estate. When he went downstairs, he spotted Fang Qi, who had vanished earlier, sitting in a car by the roadside, munching on a steamed bun. Lu Li was reclining beside him.
Ji Yang walked over and knocked on the car window.
“Stop eating.”
“Fourth Young Master?” Fang Qi froze, still traumatized by the verbal barrage he had endured the previous night.
The man who had been lying down sat up too. He turned his head to look outside, then glanced at Nie Xu, who was following behind Ji Yang.
“Going back?” Lu Li asked.
Ji Yang waved his phone. “Having breakfast. Why don’t you two join me? It’s my treat.”
The air fell silent.
Without changing his expression, Ji Yang tapped his phone once and slipped it into his pocket.
A few minutes later, this bizarre group was seated around a small table at a roadside food stall, with a steaming bowl of spicy pepper soup placed in front of each person.
This traditional snack, a specialty of inland China, left Fang Qi utterly speechless.
He had only one thought: He thought the young master would invite them to an expensive restaurant and humiliate them along the way. But this was what the young master meant by treating them to a meal?
As the only person present without much status, Fang Qi figured he might as well eat what was offered. Besides, surely this was better than the steamed buns he had been eating.
He took a sip.
It was heavenly.
“Is it really this delicious?” Fang Qi exclaimed before he could stop himself.
Sitting opposite him, Ji Yang smiled. “Not bad, right? I spent the past few days around here looking for the best place, and this is it. It’s a shame they don’t open on weekends. The stall mainly caters to office workers nearby, and the owner said business was poor on weekends, so she goes somewhere else.”
There were hotels, office buildings, and a school nearby. People heading to work in the early morning came and went, while the roadside was filled with the noisy bustle of everyday life.
The inexpensive aroma of frying oil and the smoky scent of charcoal cooking mingled beneath the rising morning sun, coming together to form the most ordinary kind of morning in this world.
As for the other two men, one was even quieter than the other.
Lu Li was slightly better, wearing a faintly mocking smile. “Fourth Young Master has become so down-to-earth these days?”
“Isn’t that right?” Ji Yang replied immediately. “If you can’t get used to this, Mr. Lu, there’s an Italian espresso place on the second floor of the shopping mall next door. Oh, you could also add a bottle of prune juice and some chia seeds to take care of your overburdened digestive system after all your hard work, day and night.”
Fang Qi choked on his soup, coughing violently as the spicy heat shot up his nose.
Lu Li kicked his stool. “You’re really useless.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Ji Yang shot back. “Why do you keep resorting to violence?”
Lu Li drew his leg back and looked at him, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Did I scare you?”
“You scared the stray dog by the roadside.” Ji Yang pointed at a yellow stray dog wandering around the stall. The owner often fed it. “Even that dog has better manners than you. It knows not to bite people on the roadside for no reason.”
Fang Qi hurriedly waved his hands, afraid that Brother Lu might suddenly lose his temper.
But when he looked over again, he was surprised to discover that Lu Li, who had just been insulted several times in a row, wasn’t reacting at all.
The scene was strangely quiet.
Finally, Nie Xu made a move.
He tapped the table in front of Ji Yang to remind him, “Eat.”
Nie Xu’s voice broke the silent standoff.
Throughout the entire breakfast, Ji Yang and Fang Qi were the ones who talked the most. The relaxed atmosphere made it easy to chat about anything under the sun, as long as they avoided sensitive topics.
Just as breakfast was about to end, Ji Yang took a selfie.
Nie Xu wasn’t in the picture. Ji Yang was closest to the camera, wearing a huge smile. Lu Li sat on a low stool with his arms folded, looking at the camera without much expression. Fang Qi was still holding his bowl, and the bewilderment in his eyes at the exact moment the picture was taken was clearly visible.
“What are you doing?” Lu Li asked.
Ji Yang turned off his phone and answered casually, “Saving evidence.”
“Huh? What evidence?” Fang Qi asked, confused.
Ji Yang waved his phone again and smiled. “I forgot to tell you. To preserve this beautiful morning, I’ve backed up an audio recording and photos as evidence of how close our relationship is.”
Fang Qi was dumbfounded. The bowl in his hands suddenly felt like a hot potato.
Ji Yang stood up and continued, “I can’t let you eat my meal for free. Consider it a return gift for putting things in my room. In the future, regardless of whose side you’re on or whose orders you follow…”
He braced both hands against the low table, looked directly at Lu Li, and smiled faintly as he spoke slowly.
“Even if these recordings and photos can’t prove anything, there’s still a chance someone might become suspicious and stop trusting you. That would be pretty unpleasant, wouldn’t it?”
Ji Yang had come up with the idea on the spur of the moment when he saw them.
He was going back to the Ji family today. If Ji Chengyi behaved as he had in Zhouleng, Lu Li would be the perfect weapon in his hands.
This wasn’t even a threat, really. At most, it was… preparing for a rainy day?
In an excellent mood, Ji Yang stood up.
He called out, “Boss, the bill, please!”
“Oh, it’s you!” The stall owner was very friendly. Wiping her hands on her apron, she said, “There were so many customers just now that I didn’t even notice you. You’ve been supporting my business every day, so I’ll waive the small change. Just pay the rounded amount.”
“Thank you,” Ji Yang said with a smile. “I’ll give you some free publicity one of these days.”
The owner laughed delightedly. “That would be wonderful!”
She had no idea who he was. It had simply been something she said in a moment of happiness.
However, several young people who looked like students and were waiting near the stall had been glancing at Ji Yang repeatedly ever since he started speaking.
Finally, one girl gathered her courage, stepped forward, and asked softly, “Are you that ‘One Little Yang’?”
This was the first time Ji Yang had been recognized by that name in person, and he was momentarily taken aback.
“You know me?”
“It really is you!” The girl became instantly excited. “My classmates and I love you so much! We think you’re really handsome.”
Ji Yang instinctively looked down at himself.
The girl burst out laughing. “You look great right now, too!”
Someone beside her chimed in, “You look even better in person than you do on camera.”
“I thought my thing was making people laugh. Are you guys in high school?” Ji Yang asked. As he spoke, he took out his phone again and paid the bill for the group.
The students were embarrassed and repeatedly refused.
“It’s fine,” Ji Yang said. “Get to school early. Don’t be late.”
“Okay! Thank you, Yangyang!”
“Thank you, handsome!”
Just as they were about to leave, someone asked him, “Are you here alone?”
Ji Yang pointed toward the table where he had been sitting. “No. Look over there.”
The students curiously glanced in that direction before quickly turning their heads back.
“Me,” Ji Yang said, pointing at himself and then toward the table. “And my three bodyguards.”
Except that all three were actually there to keep watch over him.
The students let out a series of impressed exclamations, as though Ji Yang really were some precious young master from an immensely wealthy family.
Ji Yang urged them along. “Hurry up and go. If you stay any longer, you might end up having to write a self-criticism.”
Ji Yang had no idea that while he was chatting casually with the students, Lu Li had been watching him the entire time from the table, as though he had fallen into some distant memory.
In the future he had once imagined, the grown-up Xiaoyi should have been this lively and carefree.
When Lu Li finally came back to himself, he said to Nie Xu, “I didn’t quite understand before why you treated him differently. Now I do. Brother Xu, I always thought your heart was made of stone. This is really surprising.”
Nie Xu replied, “Your surprise doesn’t mean anything.”
“Of course not. Just as realizing that he isn’t as annoying as I imagined doesn’t change the fact that he doesn’t matter to me.”
Ji Yang returned to the table.
“Let’s go,” he said. “What are you two talking about?”
Nie Xu stood up and glanced at Lu Li. “He expressed his admiration for your behavior just now, taking photos and making recordings.”
Ji Yang raised an eyebrow.
His smile grew wider.
He said to Nie Xu, “I really do love the way you talk nonsense.”
Lu Li looked as though he was about to die of anger.