Chapter 140

Chapter 140

Before he could figure out why, Yu Chuang suddenly pulled hard and dragged Ji Mian in front of him. "If you beg me and say you want it, I’ll return it."

"..." To humiliate him, the price seemed a bit steep.

Ji Mian said, "You think I’d buy that?"

Yu Chuang stayed quiet, not because he didn’t want to answer, but because the distance between them had been pulled too close. Ji Mian’s breath brushed against his chin and lips, and his mind spun into chaos, wanting to extract a bit more in return.

As if drawn in, he lowered his head and took Ji Mian’s lips.

After seven years, tasting this again, everything was forgotten, tossed aside. All the years of self-hypnosis Yu Chuang had put himself through, forcing himself to forget those memories, instantly became a farce, shattered completely by just one kiss.

Ji Mian hadn’t expected this at all and was completely dazed by the kiss.

The air around them seemed to close in as Yu Chuang’s arms wrapped around his neck and waist, squeezing him tighter and tighter.

The tender flesh near the base of his tongue was worked until it ached, and in the empty underground parking lot, the faint echo of their heated kiss lingered.

Ji Mian’s ears immediately turned red from shame and slight suffocation.

He hated public displays. He wanted to bite Yu Chuang to snap him out of it but was afraid he couldn’t control the force.

The hesitant bite seemed to be taken as encouragement by the one kissing him, and Ji Mian heard a short, muffled groan from Yu Chuang’s throat, a sign of being too worked up.

"..."

Ji Mian no longer hesitated, biting down hard, without mercy.

Then he heard Yu Chuang’s suppressed cry of pain, and his lips were finally released, though his waist was still gripped.

He gasped, sneering through his teeth, "Is this how you make me beg?"

Yu Chuang’s other hand had somehow slipped under Ji Mian’s thin shirt, pressing against his chest, where the warm skin and strong heartbeat seemed to gently bump against his palm.

Knowing Ji Mian’s racing heart was from anger or lack of air, he still couldn’t help but provoke him, "Young master, your heart’s racing."

As soon as he finished speaking, he received a slap on the chin. It wasn’t hard.

He heard an angry voice, so furious that even the breath was unstable:

"You filthy scoundrel!"

Yu Chuang’s Adam’s apple rolled violently, parched with thirst.

But seeing Ji Mian’s red eyes, he also realized he had gone too far.

As soon as he let go, he was kicked twice in the abdomen. Yu Chuang didn’t resist, stumbling to the ground with the force.

Ji Mian wiped his lips, glanced down to make sure he hadn’t kicked the wrong place, and then angrily stepped over Yu Chuang and left.

Yu Chuang’s gaze followed his retreating figure.

A few minutes later, he finally looked away from the direction Ji Mian had left and slowly stood up.

Back in the car, he drank an entire bottle of water, barely quenching the thirst in his throat.

Having lived nearly thirty years without ever indulging in such desires, the faintest hint of temptation made it impossible to settle.

Yu Chuang desired him. In his entire life, he had never wanted anyone so intensely.

He was done lying to himself about having moved on.

Yu Chuang admitted he couldn’t let go of the past—and likely never would.

He couldn’t help but think: With all this money, why should I avoid confronting the past? Why deny myself when I clearly want him?

Yu Chuang rested his arm on the steering wheel, calming himself for ten minutes before getting out of the car and heading to the lobby on the first floor.

*

Work kept Yu Chuang in Ningcheng nearly half the month. Weekends were always spent here.

After a month in Ningcheng, his luck of bumping into Ji Mian on the streets ran out.

Zhou Ji hadn’t shared Ji Mian’s address with Yu Chuang, but Yu Chuang had someone find out where Ji Hai lived, in the suburbs of Ningcheng.

Ji Mian had always been in the city center when Yu Chuang saw him, so he probably didn’t live with Ji Hai.

That weekend, Yu Chuang drove to Ji Hai’s place with gifts in tow.

In the distance, lush green vegetable fields stretched out, surrounded by some unknown variety of flowers, dotted here and there. A modest two-story house stood in the middle.

It wasn’t bad, but a far cry from Ji Mian’s former home.

A gray-haired man was hunched over, working in the field.

Ji Hai plucked two chili peppers, stood up, and headed back to cook them with meat.

He looked up to see a tall man nearby. The face looked familiar, but he couldn’t place it.

The man looked to be in his late twenties. Ji Hai assumed he was Ji Mian’s friend and asked kindly, "Here for Ji Fan?"

Before he could mention Ji Mian’s nap, Yu Chuang said, "No. I’m here for you."

Ji Hai frowned, clutching chili peppers as he stepped out of the field.

The house was filled with thriving plants and colorful birds.

The place was cozy, though smaller than Yu Chuang expected.

Yu Chuang sat across from Ji Hai, setting the gifts on the table.

Ji Hai eyed the gifts, taken aback. He knew at once they were expensive.

Yu Chuang introduced himself, mentioning his name and ties to Mingsheng.

Ji Hai had been searching his memory for Yu Chuang’s face for a while, and upon hearing his name, he finally remembered.

He was the college student his son had taken in during his earlier misdeeds!

But if he wanted to find someone, shouldn’t it be his son? What use was there in coming to see his father? He grew even more puzzled.

Upon hearing the latter part of the introduction about Mingsheng, Ji Hai was startled.

He had heard the name Mingsheng a few years ago, but he never expected the founder to be such a young man.

Yu Chuang hadn’t yet stated his purpose and handed a document to him.

Ji Hai gave it a quick, emotionless glance.

It was a property deed transfer, already signed by Yu Chuang.

The property was the very house he had sold over a year ago in Lishui Xinyuan.

Ji Hai's expression hardened, and his gaze towards Yu Chuang turned wary.

Two years ago, to save the Ji Group, the Ji Family's entire financial situation had been laid bare. The Ji Family's current liquid assets might not even match the value of the gifts Yu Chuang had brought.

"We don't accept gifts without reason. Mr. Yu, care to explain your intentions?"

Yu Chuang smiled slightly, "Just a token of goodwill."

"..."

"I just got back to Ningcheng and only recently heard about the Ji Family's troubles these past few years. Master Ji once helped me out..."

Ji Hai almost spit out his tea at that.

"A favor? Like being his sugar baby?"

Yu Chuang's expression remained calm, "If you agree, I can make the Ji Family more successful than ever within five years."

Ji Hai swallowed his tea and his expression turned stern.

"What's the catch?"

"There's always a price to pay."

Yu Chuang paused for a solid thirty seconds.

"...He has to marry me."

Ji Hai: "..."

A few minutes later, Ji Hai's furious shouts echoed through the house.

"You want me to pimp out my son for money!?"

Yu Chuang: "..."

He wanted to argue, but deep down, he knew it was true.

Ji Hai was fuming, ready to shout 'Get out!' but held back, worried Yu Chuang might retaliate against his son.

In the end, he only trembled and said, "No matter how bad things get, we won't sell our son for money. Take your stuff and get out."

"Like I said, these are just gifts. Whether you accept or not, I'm not taking them back," Yu Chuang said coolly. "Feel free to trash them if you want..."

Before he could finish, footsteps echoed from the staircase. Yu Chuang froze, his composure shattered, his heart pounding.

He can't be here...

Ji Hai had gone silent.

Yu Chuang stiffly raised his head.

Ji Mian stood midway down the stairs, frozen, glaring at him with icy contempt, as if trying to see through to the rot in Yu Chuang's soul.

Yu Chuang instinctively wanted to explain, but there was no defense for what he had done.

He shut his mouth and suddenly grew calm.

He was that despicable, willing to do anything to have Ji Mian. Using normal means, he’d never get Ji Mian to even glance his way in this lifetime, so he approached Ji Hai, ignoring Ji Mian’s wishes entirely.

Yu Chuang curled his lips into a smile at Ji Mian.

As long as he could have Ji Mian, even if it meant being hated forever, he’d take it.

Ji Mian stood there, frozen.

Yu Chuang finally lowered his gaze and looked at Ji Hai, saying, "Think it over again."

Ji Hai took a deep breath and shouted, "Get the hell out!!"

After Yu Chuang left, Ji Hai took a couple of minutes to calm down before asking Ji Mian, "When did you wake up?"

"I woke up when you said 'selling your son for glory.'"

Ji Hai: ...

He cursed, calling Yu Chuang shameless and a piece of trash.

Ji Mian walked downstairs.

He’d just come to visit Ji Hai for the weekend, not expecting to hear any of this.

He glanced at the things Yu Chuang had brought and the gift contract on the table.

"Break it! Just seeing it pisses me off!"

Ji Mian turned around, "Dad, why don’t you break it?"

Ji Hai said frankly, "These are worth tens of millions—I can’t just destroy them!"

Ji Mian: ...

"Why aren’t you mad?" Ji Hai frowned.

Normally, if someone dared to treat Ji Mian like this, he’d have blown up the second he came downstairs.

Maybe the past two years at the Ji Group had mellowed him out?

Ji Mian pursed his lips, replaying the moment Yu Chuang looked up at him with a smile—a smile that bordered on madness.

Yu Chuang was being driven to the edge.

He quietly lowered his eyes.

Marriage, huh...

For a while after that, Yu Chuang kept showing up with gifts, but luckily, Ji Mian was never at Ji Hai’s.

Every time Ji Hai saw him, he had to stop himself from grabbing a stick and kicking him out. The gifts Yu Chuang brought sat untouched, piling up in a corner.

If any discerning guest were to come and see that pile of items stored like junk, they'd probably be blown away.

Ji Hai thought to himself that this wasn't sustainable, so he tried to find out Yu Chuang's address to return the items. However, the information he received was that Yu Chuang always checked into hotels during his business trips to Ningcheng and never settled down anywhere.

This only deepened his confusion. Who has the kind of cash and time to buy such useless things, even casually dropping hundreds of millions on a property, but can't be bothered to find a permanent spot?

He wasn't keen on being so indebted to Yu Chuang, and after several failed attempts to return the stuff, he had no choice but to summon Ji Mian back from work over the weekend.

Sure enough, Yu Chuang showed up again.

He knocked on the Ji Family's door and waited outside for a while, but got no answer. Ji Hai didn't want to see him, so he often played the 'not home' card.

Yu Chuang had already caught on to the routine, so he patiently knocked twice more.

Footsteps approached from inside, lighter than usual.

The door opened from within, revealing the face he'd been dreaming of day and night.

Yu Chuang stood frozen at the door, locking eyes with Ji Mian's icy stare.

Unlike their previous run-ins, this time the vibe was a tad more relaxed since neither was itching for a fight.

Ji Mian turned back inside, leaving the door open. Yu Chuang got the hint and stepped right in.

Inside, his eyes landed on a pile of items on the table—watches, paintings, jade... all stuff he'd sent over before—and instantly knew something was up.

Sure enough, the next second he heard Ji Mian speak:

"Take this stuff back; don't clutter up my place with it."

Yu Chuang retorted, "...They're not for you."

Ji Mian took a deep breath, about to lose his temper, but managed to hold it back.

Seeing that they were about to argue like before, Yu Chuang silently closed his mouth, put the items aside, and shamelessly sat down first.

Ji Mian didn't show any hospitality, nor did he offer tea or water. Fortunately, Yu Chuang didn't mind, looking up at Ji Mian's extremely irritated face.

"Do you have another man by your side now?"

Ji Mian glanced at him, somewhat puzzled. "No."

Yu Chuang nodded, then continued, "Pei Qing is already engaged to someone..."

Ji Mian was annoyed, "Can you not bring this up!"

"Affection Points +100, contributor Yu Chuang."

"Since you don't have someone you like, what's wrong with marrying me?"

"Why should I marry you?"

"Many reasons. I'm very rich, whatever you want, I can give it to you."

"..."

"The properties sold by the Ji Family, the antiques, paintings, and your things... I can buy them all back and return them to you. If Uncle Ji still wants to return to the business world, I can help him build a new Ji Group."

Yu Chuang chuckled, "Also, I'm quite similar to Pei Qing, aren't I? You..."

Ji Mian cut in coldly, "It's not like that anymore."

Yu Chuang hesitated, then said, "At least I'm decent-looking."

"Young Master, can you find a better match than me in all of Ning City?"

Ji Mian remained silent.

Yu Chuang looked at him, his voice lowering, coaxing, "After we're married, I won't be in Ning City often, so you won't have to see me constantly. Anything you want, if it's within my power, I'll give it to you."

After saying this, he waited for a moment, only to hear:

"Take these things back."

Tsk. Yu Chuang gritted his teeth.

Stubborn as a mule.

It was undeniable that Yu Chuang was right. In all of Ning City, perhaps only Pei Qing and Yu Yunkui could rival him at this point.

But what Yu Chuang didn't know was that Ji Mian didn't need to rebuild the Ji Family's status through marriage.

The Ji Group was now flourishing, having long passed the low point after the bankruptcy crisis.

If Ji Mian was willing, all the properties and items the Ji Family had sold off could be bought back within the next two years.

The two were at a stalemate for a while, and Yu Chuang had to relent first: "Just keep one thing, and I'll take the rest."

"What?"

"Hold onto the house in Lishui New Garden. I mentioned it last time in the parking lot that I wanted to return it to you." Yu Chuang paused for two seconds, "Besides, I've already been compensated."

At the mention of "compensation," Ji Mian's face darkened immediately.

"I'll take you to process the transfer later. As long as you agree, I'll take the other things away today."

Ji Mian reluctantly conceded, "Alright."

Yu Chuang noticed his expression and pursed his lips. He couldn't figure out what he was trying to achieve, going to such lengths to give gifts but getting nothing in return.

Yu Chuang made five trips to move the items from the table before finally tossing them all into the car.

On his final trip, he handed a box to Ji Mian.

Ji Mian was momentarily stunned, then took the box from Yu Chuang. Upon opening it, he found an olive-green watch inside.

He quickly remembered that it was a watch he had sold to a collector two years prior, also the most precious one in the original owner's watch collection.

Yu Chuang looked at Ji Mian's bare wrist and said, "Keep your watch."

Ji Mian hesitated for a moment but didn't refuse again.

Yu Chuang pushed his luck, "And this painting, Uncle Ji might appreciate..."

"...Get out of here!"

Yu Chuang knew when to quit and took the rest of the gifts with him.

Once the door closed, Ji Hai emerged from the room and, seeing the empty table, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is he gone?"

"Yes."

Ji Hai shook his head. "Hopefully, he won’t come back."

"He’ll be back," Ji Mian said.

He thought deeply for a while, as if he had figured something out, then raised his eyes.

"Dad, when he comes next time, agree to his request." His words came out softly but hit like a thunderclap.

Ji Hai was stunned, unable to believe his ears. "What did you say!? Agree to him?"

"Yes."

"Did I hear that right, son?!"

Ji Mian smiled self-deprecatingly. "It doesn’t matter who I marry. Plus, he’ll bring endless benefits to the Ji Group."

"Do you like him?"

"...No." Ji Mian was forced to lie.

"No, this is crazy!" Ji Hai stood up, pacing back and forth in the small room. "How can you marry someone you don’t even love?"

"Why not?" Ji Mian snapped. "The person I like is already engaged."

"..." That was true.

Just mentioning Pei Qing filled Ji Hai with resentment, yet he couldn’t help but admire him. Taking down the entire Pei family single-handedly was no small feat.

Back then, Ji Hai thought Ji Mian could be with anyone—just not Pei Qing. But Ji Mian never said a bad word about Pei Qing. When Ji Hai ranted at home, Ji Mian didn’t stop him, but he didn’t join in either.

Ji Hai thought his son would be hung up on Pei Qing forever.

"Affection Points +40, courtesy of Ji Hai."

Ji Mian sat down and quickly signed Yu Chuang’s gift contract, accepting the gifts without a second thought. It was from his brother, after all, so Ji Mian didn’t hesitate.

Ji Hai was speechless.

Ji Hai was devastated.

Before, Ji Mian would’ve torn up the contract without a second thought. Now, leading the Ji Family, Ji Mian rarely acted impulsively, always putting the Ji Group first.

Watching his son grow, Ji Hai wasn’t sure whether to feel proud or sad. Sitting back down, he shook his head. "Think it through—marriage is a big deal."

Ji Mian only said, "It’s signed, no need to worry. What’s there to lose?"

Ji Hai looked at the contract, lost in thought for a long time.

Yu Chuang came back, this time empty-handed.

*

He walked in, ready to be chased out by Ji Hai with a stick. But to his surprise, the other man just gave him a heavy look, then turned and went inside.

Yu Chuang paused for a moment, then stepped in and followed.

"Mr. Ji, as I said before, as long as he marries me, I guarantee the Ji Family..."

"Alright."

"... " After a few moments, Yu Chuang looked up slowly.

"What?"

Ji Hai's expression twisted, the words forced out through clenched teeth: "I said alright!"

Yu Chuang was stunned for a long time, as if a huge pie had fallen from the sky, leaving him dazed and disoriented, unable to believe it.

"He..."

Seeing Yu Chuang fumbling for words, Ji Hai was conflicted.

This kid, it seems he really likes my son.

Since Ji Mian had already agreed, he had no reason to object.

Besides, apart from Yu Chuang's "selling his son for glory" request, Ji Hai was genuinely impressed by other aspects.

To achieve such success before thirty, building everything from the ground up, he had surpassed Ji Hai's own achievements at that age.

Yu Chuang still couldn't believe it: "He agreed?"

Ji Hai huffed in annoyance, not answering.

Yu Chuang's chest tightened, "You didn't hit him, did you?"

Ji Hai snapped: "That's my son! Would I hit him!"

...

A few minutes later, Yu Chuang walked out of the Ji Family's door, sat in the driver's seat of his car, and felt as if his soul had been taken away.

He agreed...

Because his heartbeat and thoughts were racing at the moment, Yu Chuang didn't dare to drive immediately, shutting his eyes to steady himself.

It didn't work.

He opened his eyes, pulled out his phone, and found the number in his contact list that had been untouched for seven years.

Yu Chuang didn't want to appear too eager, but everything felt surreal, so unreal.

He desperately needed confirmation.

His fingers trembled, and he pressed the call button.

The call was connected after two beeps. Surprisingly, Ji Mian hadn't changed his number.

Yu Chuang was silent for a full half minute, hearing soft rustling sounds on the other end of the phone, and what seemed like breathing sounds.

"Ji—" A sharp man's voice came from the other end of the phone, abruptly stopping, a voice Yu Chuang hadn't heard before, as if someone beside Ji Mian was about to say something but was stopped by a gesture.

Then, he heard Ji Mian's voice: "What do you want?"

Yu Chuang asked: "Are you busy now?"

"Busy."

"Are you busy until 5 PM today?"

"Yeah."

Yu Chuang had to let it go. "When are you free?"

"The day after tomorrow."

"Text me the address. I’ll pick you up the morning after next." Yu Chuang paused for a moment.

He added, "Don’t forget to bring your ID."

"..."