Naturally, Ji Yang didn’t get to see the cat that night.
He had thought Nie Xu had just made it up to brush him off, but it turned out there really was one.
It was a pure-white, long-haired Ragdoll with one blue eye and one golden eye. It was beautiful and extremely haughty, refusing to let people hold it without a good reason.
It took Ji Yang three days and multiple tubes of cat treats to barely win it over.
“You can’t just feed it whatever you want. It’ll get diarrhea.” You Li stood some distance away, his brows drawn together in a disapproving frown.
Ji Yang was lying on a garden lounger. Looking at the young man who had been serving as his temporary bodyguard for the past few days but could barely be bothered to say a word to him, he asked, “Where’s Nie Xu?”
He hadn’t seen the man since that night.
“Why are you asking about my brother?” You Li was on guard and didn’t really want to entertain him. However, he was also wary because Ji Yang was holding the hostage—namely, the cat.
He crouched down and beckoned. “Xiao Bai, come here.”
Ji Yang scratched under Xiao Bai’s chin as it sat on his legs. Watching the cat reveal an expression of pure enjoyment, he laughed twice.
“I don’t want anything from him. My personal bodyguard has been replaced. Am I not allowed to ask a couple of questions?”
“I don’t know. My brother is always busy.” You Li answered reluctantly. He looked as though he wanted to scoop up the cat and take it away, then scold it for being so useless.
Ji Yang’s gaze returned to You Li’s face. He picked up one of the cat’s front legs and gave it a squeeze.
“You can disapprove all you want, but it and I are both little cripples. That proves we’re family.”
You Li was instantly speechless.
Wasn’t this young master supposed to be extremely difficult to deal with? What did he mean by calling himself a little cripple? And why was he being so obnoxious about it?
Besides, he’d heard the villa’s servants say that ever since this young master had beaten someone up that day, something seemed to have gone wrong with one of his nerves. He no longer lost his temper for no reason or casually threw things at the servants. Even more astonishingly, he’d apparently started going to work.
You Li thought, Bullshit.
This young master hadn’t left the house once in the past few days.
Every morning, without fail, he got up at ten.
He would switch between his prosthetic legs and walk around the garden downstairs for an hour, then take them off. When the weather was good, he would arrange fruit and snacks around the stone table in the backyard, lie down on the nearby lounger, and spend the entire afternoon playing on his phone.
No wonder that after most of the staff had been reassigned over the past few days, when You Li asked Brother Lei what he could do to help, Brother Lei had told him to follow this young master around.
What he’d said at the time was, “Of everyone in the Ji family, this young master is the one whose personal attendants are never consistent. Whenever your brother isn’t around, I’m responsible for assigning people. There’s not much danger involved. You’ll just have to put up with it for the next few days.”
“If he tries to hit me, can I hit him back?” You Li had never forgotten how this young master treated other people as if they weren’t human.
At the time, Jiang Lei had rubbed his chin, his expression somewhat difficult to interpret.
“The situation now might be a little different from before.”
In the end, he’d even warned You Li, “Keep your personal feelings in check. If you violate professional conduct, even I won’t be able to protect you once your brother finds out.”
You Li had been unconvinced.
He didn’t understand why Brother Lei’s attitude toward this young master had become so ambiguous. He could only think, The situation is special? You mean the special situation where the whole world knows he likes my brother?
Watching Ji Yang stroke the cat again and again, You Li deliberately tried to provoke him.
“Xiao Bai’s leg was deliberately broken by someone. It was the Third Young Master who discovered it and specifically asked my brother to rescue it from the other side of the wall.”
Ji Yang immediately saw what the kid was thinking.
Isn’t this just a textbook case of a brother-obsessed little bro?
It was the straightforward sort, too. Ji Yang really couldn’t understand what Ji Chengyi was thinking, imagining there could be something between You Li and Nie Xu.
Ji Yang smiled. “Really? Then I should thank him. Without him, I wouldn’t have known your brother had such a compassionate side.”
You Li was left speechless. He also couldn’t stand seeing Ji Yang laze around like this.
“Didn’t you start working? Aren’t you going out today either?”
Ji Yang shook his head. “Nope.”
He settled back into the lounger.
“If I had a choice, who would want to go to work?”
Late at night, lying in bed and reflecting on everything since his transmigration, he felt as though he’d been shoved onto a train hurtling along at high speed. Because he’d arrived at such a critical point in the story, there hadn’t been any room for him to catch his breath.
Going to work had been an unavoidable response to being thrown into the middle of this chaos. It wasn’t as though he genuinely wanted to work a 996 schedule.
Fortunately, none of his efforts had been wasted.
He didn’t know whether Nie Xu had taken any other action, but over the past few days, he’d barely seen any members of the Ji family. The police had also notified him that they were officially opening an investigation into Wei Qiming.
Suddenly, the people and problems that had been getting on his nerves were gone. He could finally enjoy a few peaceful days.
Of course, he preferred this kind of life.
At this point, there was no sign whatsoever that the Ji family was in decline.
Ji Zhonglin’s mother, the wife of the second branch, was skilled at socializing. Ji Yang often saw her organizing gatherings at home. Groups of wealthy wives would come over to chat and play mahjong, their every word and gesture revealing their desire to curry favor.
Ji Yang could understand it.
Ji Yan Song had stepped back from the front lines two years ago, and Ji Zhonglin was now the central figure in Ji Corporation.
The Ji family had a whole crowd of uncles, aunts, nieces, and nephews, but there were very few who truly belonged to the direct line. That was also why Ji Chengyi, despite being an illegitimate son, had still been acknowledged by someone like Ji Yan Song, who placed such enormous importance on reputation.
Aunt Mo came out carrying a cup of warm water and handed it to Ji Yang when she reached the garden.
“Young Master, it’s time for your medicine.”
Mo Qiu passed him the pills in a small plastic cup and made a point of explaining, “These are the replacement medications. They’re meant for long-term management, and the side effects shouldn’t be as severe as before. However, the doctor also said that the next time your phantom limb pain flares up, you can’t use strong painkillers anymore. You’ll have to try to endure it as much as possible on your own.”
“I know.” Ji Yang took the medicine and swallowed it with a frown.
You Li quieted down.
He stared at the little white cat curled up in Ji Yang’s arms, looking somewhat dazed.
Xiaobai really did love scratching people. It rarely got close to anyone. Even though it had been the Third Young Master who discovered it, when You Li had visited Building Four to help Brother Xu that time, the cat had been right there beside them. He’d reached out to pick it up and had immediately ended up with both hands scratched bloody.
But look at it now. It had secretly come over here three days ago, and lately, it had been spending every day circling this Fourth Young Master’s feet.
What was so great about a sickly guy like him? You Li thought resentfully.
That medicine looked so bitter.
Ji Yang wasn’t particularly afraid of taking medicine. In his previous life, his body hadn’t been as weak and ravaged by medication as this one. However, he had kept irregular hours for a long time and eaten at erratic times. Eventually, his friends had dragged him in for a health check, and it turned out he had all sorts of problems.
He had thought he was pretty healthy, so he’d taken his medicine whenever he remembered. Sometimes he would simply dry-swallow a couple of pills without even drinking water.
Who could have expected him to suddenly transmigrate into a book?
The only good thing about the way he’d died was probably that it had happened so quickly he’d barely felt anything.
His current body, however, constantly reminded him that something was wrong. If he forgot about his problems, all he had to do was look at his leg to remember.
The Ji family was a man-eating cage. Before he could break free, he needed to take good care of himself.
Just then, a servant approached.
“Fourth Young Master, someone is here to see you.”
Ji Yang was a little surprised. “Me?”
“Yes. He said his surname is Peng.” The servant glanced at him before adding, “He seems rather angry.”
Peng Jiaying?
He couldn’t wait any longer, huh?
Five minutes later, Peng Jiaying appeared in the Ji family garden with a briefcase in hand.
Perhaps the surroundings had put pressure on him as he walked here. By the time he reached the garden, all the indignation he had accumulated along the way had vanished completely. He stood there like an anxious intruder, staring blankly at the young master lounging in a rocking chair and leisurely petting a cat.
How had he ever believed the words of a pampered young master like this?
He had even gotten angry because nothing had happened after waiting so long.
How ridiculous.
“Old Peng.”
Yet that familiar form of address rekindled a little hope in Peng Jiaying. It reminded him of the Ji Yang he had seen at the police station that day.
Peng Jiaying walked over and sat down beside the stone table. After choosing his words carefully, he said, “I was out today, so I thought I’d drop by and ask you something. I may technically hold the title of director, but if you return as the manager, who exactly will our New Media Department answer to?”
Ji Yang peeled a mandarin orange and handed it to him.
“You, of course.”
Peng Jiaying’s face fell. He accepted the orange dejectedly.
The next second, Ji Yang continued, “The New Media Department answers to you. You answer to me.”
“What do you mean?”
Peng Jiaying suddenly looked up. In his excitement, he grabbed Ji Yang’s hand and began firing off questions in a jumbled rush. “Do you really have a plan? The Project Department has been pressuring us every day. We—”
“Ah!”
Peng Jiaying let out a pained sound and abruptly released his hand.
Only after the man stepped back did You Li let go of Peng Jiaying’s wrist.
“Please maintain a safe distance.”
Ji Yang glanced at You Li. “I didn’t realize you were so strong.”
“I just can’t compare to Brother Lei and the others,” You Li snorted. “I started training in boxing in high school. Surely that month or so of intensive training wasn’t completely useless.”
After snorting, You Li looked at Peng Jiaying, whose face had turned an unpleasant shade, and frowned at Ji Yang.
“This person…”
“It’s fine.” Ji Yang signaled that he didn’t need to be so sensitive. “He’s my friend.”
That designation made Peng Jiaying look up at him.
Ji Yang continued stroking Xiaobai’s neck, one gentle pass after another, as he spoke to Peng Jiaying.
“I haven’t contacted you these past few days not because I don’t keep my word. I’ve just been thinking about a name.”
“A name?” Peng Jiaying asked, confused.
Ji Yang nodded and gave a lazy hum.
“Your company’s name.”
Peng Jiaying couldn’t understand him at all. “Since when do I have a company?”
Ji Yang tapped his phone twice without looking up.
“You will.”
“You want me to resign?!” Peng Jiaying stared at the money he had just received, which appeared to be compensation for leaving his job, his face turning ashen.
Ji Yang replied, “You’ll definitely have to resign, but not now. The group wants to lay off the entire New Media Department. If you resign right now, you’ll leave in disgrace, practically admitting that you’re incompetent. We need to wait for the right moment.”
A moment when the Ji Group would want to keep them but could do nothing except pay them off—and personally usher them out the door and onto the dining table.
Peng Jiaying was thoroughly bewildered.
Yet he also had a vague feeling that the current Fourth Young Master Ji, who seemed so nonchalant, actually had quite a plan.
His keen instincts picked up a faint scent of something dangerous: a useless rich young master, marginalized by the group, appeared dissatisfied with its decisions and was preparing to overturn the entire negotiating table.
How was that possible? Who did he think he was?
Peng Jiaying wondered if something was wrong with his own brain.
That day, Peng Jiaying stayed at the Ji residence until quite late.
Few people would probably believe that he had done absolutely nothing all afternoon except sit around petting a cat with a certain young master. A young bodyguard had also kept a watchful eye on him the whole time. In the end, he had decided that if he couldn’t beat the situation, he might as well join in. At Ji Yang’s suggestion, the two of them had even added each other as friends on a public social media platform.
Peng Jiaying looked at the account named “A Certain Yang.” Its profile picture was the same as the one Ji Yang used for his private account at work.
The account had only been created a few days earlier. It didn’t have much content yet, but its follower count had already crossed the astonishing threshold of ten thousand.
The bio was even more outrageous:
Real name: Ji Yang. Gender: Male. Sexual orientation: Male. Voice, hands, and details enthusiast. Don’t insult me, or I’ll hop over on one leg and beat you up.
Clicking on the videos revealed that the account was essentially Ji Yang’s personal diary.
He had complained about Western-style breakfasts, posted a photo from the first day he met Xiaobai, and written, Hey, I found a cute little cripple.
His latest post featured a black-and-gold, metallic-looking prosthetic leg.
The caption read: They say this is a high-tech gadget with neural connections. As expected, I still prefer things that look good. Shame it’s a little heavy.
The post had attracted nearly two thousand comments.
“??? This thing is insanely expensive!!! It costs somewhere in the high six figures, nearly seven! It reproduces the original contours down to a one-to-one match, and once you get used to it, you can barely tell the difference between the wearer and an ordinary person. And the coolest part is that it’s a brain-controlled metal leg that can kick someone flying!”
“Is the blogger a rich second-generation kid? He only cares whether it looks good?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone flaunt their wealth in such a refreshingly unconventional way.”
Others were skeptical.
“Ji Yang? And he wears a prosthetic? Don’t tell me you’re talking about that Ji Yang from the Fan Prefecture Ji family?”
People in the replies grew curious, and the nested comments piled higher and higher. Eventually, they reached the conclusion that someone was creating an account using the name of a rich young master—and had conveniently chosen one with a notoriously bad reputation.
You Li, however, was different. Among the many insulting comments that followed, he managed to pinpoint the few replies Ji Yang had posted.
“You’ve got some nerve creating an account like this and putting someone else’s suffering online. Are you that insecure?”
A Certain Yang replied: “I’ve never seen you feeling insecure when your delusions flare up, either.”
“Do you dare post a photo of your whole face?”
A Certain Yang replied: “What would you do with it? Bow down and worship?”
“You’re into voices and hands? And you like men?”
A Certain Yang replied: “What’s wrong with liking men? I also like good-looking guys who know plenty of tricks in bed.”
You Li was struck like a bolt of lightning.
!!! No wonder this guy was shameless enough to go around openly saying he liked Brother Xu! He was practically lawless online!
You Li really wanted to send the account to Brother Xu so he could see the young master’s wicked side for himself.
Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance.
One after another, friends of the Second Madam began leaving, departing in pairs.
Whenever they caught sight of Ji Yang from a distance, their compliments toward the Second Madam seemed to become even more sincere.
“Your Zhonglin is really something. He works from dawn to dusk. He must be exhausted.”
The Second Madam replied, “Oh, there’s nothing I can do about that. He was raised under his grandfather’s guidance, so naturally, he has more responsibilities to shoulder.”
“That must be Fourth Young Master Ji Yang, right? He’s fortunate, too, with such a reliable older brother supporting him.”
Then, with a smile and in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, she continued, “And don’t think your son is the only one carrying a heavy burden. I heard that the First Madam’s son is quite capable as well. He can help shoulder some of the responsibility.”
The Second Madam’s expression cooled slightly.
“I’ve never liked the one the First Madam married later. As for the son she gave birth to…” She scoffed. “Honestly, he’s not even as good as Ji Yang.”
Peng Jiaying felt uncomfortable, as though he had accidentally stumbled upon the private affairs of a wealthy family. He stood awkwardly to one side.
You Li, meanwhile, had rather complicated feelings.
He actually had a fairly good impression of the Third Young Master, especially after what had happened a few days ago, when he learned that the man had known Brother Xu for a long time. You Li knew that the Third Young Master’s background made people in the Ji family dislike him. He felt that it wasn’t the man’s fault, and because of that, he had thought the Third Young Master wasn’t so far removed from ordinary people like himself.
But after spending the past few days around Fourth Young Master Ji Yang, he had discovered that reality was quite different from what he had imagined. Very different, in fact.
He glanced sideways at Ji Yang.
Then he realized that the young master hadn’t paid the slightest attention to whether the woman passing by was the Second Madam or some other madam. His phone was open to a chat window that looked exactly like the one You Li had just opened.
Wasn’t that Brother Xu’s account?
You Li moved a couple of steps closer.
Ji Yang typed:
“My new account’s friend list just reached nine people. Are you sure you don’t want to help me break into double digits?”
He was entirely sincere.
“Switching accounts is such a hassle.”
Then he sent a photo of Xiaobai being held by the scruff of its neck into the chat.
Ji Yang continued:
“Where did you go? Are you still not back? I have something serious to discuss with you.”
You Li muttered under his breath, “Threatening him with Xiaobai won’t work.”
Their line of work demanded concise communication that got straight to the point. This kind of childish threat was ridiculous.
Besides, it had only been a few days since you beat him up.
Didn’t you have any idea what you’d done?
Then he saw a new message pop up on Ji Yang’s phone.
“Tomorrow at ten in the morning. Training ground to the right of Building Four. We’ll talk then.”
Ji Yang waved his phone and turned around.
“See? It worked.”
You Li was furious. Folding his arms, he snorted coldly.
“If something happens to the cat, the Third Young Master will definitely ask about it. What exactly are you so pleased about?”
Ji Yang rolled his eyes.
“Little brat. You’re the only one who knows everything!”