Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Not much was said that day. Qi Jing wasn't even sure why he was suddenly being apologized to—just that someone had smoothed his hair.

Bao Chengyan left that afternoon and, before going, asked if he wanted anything brought back.

This was a new experience for Qi Jing. After some thought, he said, "Chocolate."

"Alright, anything else?"

Qi Jing was given the freedom to choose again, but he truly hadn’t seen many luxuries before and couldn’t really tell what he wanted.

He shook his head.

"Just chocolate, then."

It was a quiet afternoon.

The few photos circulating in the capital, taken during the rainy night when Qi Jing was picked up, had been bought out. Bao Chengyan lowered his gaze, rubbing one between his fingers before glancing at it indifferently.

Only a pale arm was captured in the shot.

His assistant spoke from behind, "The rumors have mostly been cut off. Should we inform the Chen family?"

"No need."

Bao Chengyan placed the photo back on the table, then turned his head leisurely. "Do you also think I’m keeping Qi Jing as a sugar baby?"

The assistant: "..."

The high salary wasn’t without its costs.

"Mr. Bao operates on a different level."

The assistant guiltily chose a diplomatic middle ground in his answer, keeping his head bowed dutifully.

Honestly, in all his years working here, he had never seen the boss with anyone. Not that Bao Chengyan was some paragon of virtue—but he certainly wasn’t one to play around.

Bao Chengyan gathered up the stack of photos again, his expression cold. The media had always been cunning—just because they didn’t publish the news didn’t mean they weren’t collecting photos.

In terms of journalism, financial, industrial, and food safety journalists were admirable. But those who only dug up celebrity gossip… brought no real value to society.

Yet people are naturally curious—it couldn’t be helped.

"So many photos."

Bao Chengyan frowned slightly before speaking mildly, "Money won’t solve the root of the problem. We need a different strategy."

Just as the assistant was about to leave to handle it, he was called back, expecting further orders.

Instead, Bao Chengyan only asked, "Do you have any recommendations for chocolate? Not too bitter."

"Also not too sweet."

The assistant: "..."

*

Qi Jing’s birthday gifts arrived one after another—quite a few. He carefully stored each away in his little box.

This year, Bao Chengyan had given him a watch, but honestly, it felt too heavy.

After some thought, he put that away too.

Perched cross-legged on the rug, he ate his chocolate.

Just then, 996 flew over, touching down right before Qi Jing. They locked eyes.

The boy very naturally broke off a piece and fed it to the system.

"You good now?"

996 swallowed, quivering with pleasure as it digested the treat. Then it opened its mouth wide again.

"Aaaah—"

Qi Jing shook his head. "That’s all. Just enjoy what you got."

"You short-circuited last time—that’s why we got lost in the cave."

996’s dot eyes dimmed with disappointment.

Qi Jing took a face mask from the table and put it on 996, tucking in the corners before asking,

"Will the protagonist appear after the college entrance exams?"

"Will my role end then?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I mentioned a bit before—it’s just a one-night thing." 996 sprawled comfortably on the carpet, its dot eyes narrowing.

Qi Jing tilted his head curiously, legs still crossed. "One-night stand?"

"It’s when humans get on top of each other and move around."

Having recently expanded his knowledge, Qi Jing said innocently, "But it’s not just stacking, right?"

"I’ve seen them pinned to walls too."

"Some just hug while doing it."

"And sometimes they switch positions."

996’s eyes went wide in shock. "How do you know this?! Qing Shi said you were too young—he wouldn’t even let me talk about this sort of thing!"

At that name, Qi Jing got curious, but said matter-of-factly, "I saw some adult videos."

His tone was completely calm.

996 jumped up, the mask half falling off. "Who showed you that?! Who was it?!"

Not bothered, Qi Jing just fixed 996’s form to readjust the mask before asking, "So… does Bao Chengyan also… sleep with others?"

"..."

996 really regretted bringing someone so naive into all this. Back in the mountains, Qi Jing had genuinely been completely clueless.

Yet Qi Jing kept thinking: "But Bao Chengyan doesn’t seem the kind who would..."

"Very much so."

The young boy fell into a thought spiral before slowly snapping out of it, patting his flushed cheeks.

What was he thinking?

Whether someone was capable or not had nothing to do with him.

996, sounding like a motivational speaker, said, "Your task now is to study hard, improve every day, take the *gaokao*, and change your fate."

"There are fewer than a hundred days left until your exam."

This statement was so anxiety-inducing that Qi Jing was still dazed when he was taken to the car during the Labor Day holiday, stammering, "S-Sir... I haven’t finished my homework."

Bao Chengyan had spent the past half-month dealing with external news and was now putting a new bracelet on him.

"Is it a lot?"

"Well... some I assigned myself."

His movements paused.

Qi Jing was wearing a simple white T-shirt, his face slightly flushed, but his eyes showed seriousness.

Bao Chengyan frowned and studied him briefly before lowering his gaze, a slight smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"Did you assign yourself a lot?"

Qi Jing withdrew his wrist and looked at it—another new bracelet?

"Seatbelt."

The boy immediately fastened it.

After a while, he answered slowly, "Kind of a lot."

Bao Chengyan turned to look at him. Sunlight through the car window streamed across half his face, highlighting his deep eye sockets. Bao Chengyan said gently, "Then, Xiao Jing, how about asking Teacher Qi to assign less homework?"

Qi Jing gazed blankly for a long time before, flustered, he averted his gaze. His ears burned as he muttered softly, "I... I’m not that good at studying..."

The Labor Day holiday was relatively long, often considered the perfect time for travel. It wasn’t until Qi Jing was brought to the airport that he finally thought to ask, "How many days are we staying in Macau?"

"We won't miss school."

"We’ll return the day before it starts."

Qi Jing nodded and didn’t press further. Honestly, he didn’t know much about Bao Chengyan’s family background either—996 had only mentioned Macau as a location.

Maybe it was his hometown?

"What’s your current exam score?"

Qi Jing froze at the question, nervous in the VIP lounge. He answered slowly, "About 550 on average."

"Not very high," he added.

Bao Chengyan simply replied, "That’s actually very high, Xiao Jing. You’ll have no problem getting into Peking University."

Peking University? That was where the main love interest attended.

Qi Jing couldn’t even imagine it.

He shook his head frantically. "That takes over 600 points. I can’t score that high."

Bao Chengyan frowned. "You don’t need that many. Cutoff scores vary by region."

Just as Qi Jing was about to ask something, someone nearby approached, bending down to speak to Bao Chengyan. As the person stood up, they ruffled his hair.

"Stay here for a while. There’s food."

Bao Chengyan, still in his crisp suit, didn’t look like he was on vacation. His expression was stern as he spoke with his assistant.

The VIP lounge was well-appointed, and the sofa was comfortable. Qi Jing noticed a plate where small snacks appeared to move by themselves.

A blue head emerged.

Qi Jing glanced around before walking over, blocking others' view as he picked up 996.

"How did you get here?"

"Your big exam is next month. I was a little worried."

The blue slime squirmed higher and added, "You’re too young."

Qi Jing frowned. "I’m an adult."

Its beady eyes blinked.

"No, I’m following you to Macau these days."

The boy thought for a moment before grabbing his backpack from the sofa and said gently, "Then get in here."

996 froze.

"Isn’t this easier than floating around?"

They boarded without delay. Qi Jing fell asleep the moment he sat in his seat, tilting his head.

Bao Chengyan frowned as he looked over, noticing he couldn’t hear the boy’s thoughts again.

He pressed his fingers to his temples, but couldn't explain it.

In reality, the boy had a world stabilizer tucked under his arm, and 996 was running a high-frequency scan on Bao Chengyan.

"Name: Bao Chengyan"

"Age: 29"

"Occupation: CEO of Lingyue Group."

"Assets: [redacted]"

"Relationship status: None."

"Health conditions: Migraines, [redacted]"

996 grumbled to itself, since this person wasn't actually the canon protagonist of World 256 and should have been in another designated world instead. Due to a work error, it had to bring him here, but at least the worlds didn't overlap.

However, there was still a problem—its data transfer was incomplete.

Without reaching later plot points, it couldn't fully investigate the issue.

Qi Jing slept for quite a while. By the time they were about to land, he slowly pulled his backpack together and glanced up at the man.

"Wait till we've landed."

The boy nodded.

"Still tired?"

Qi Jing nodded again, his eyelids heavy, but in his daze, he thought he heard a soft chuckle.

After disembarking, they got into a car. It was the first time Qi Jing had such an exhausting trip, and he dozed right back off as soon as he got in.

With his sleep schedule all messed up, 996 quietly slipped out of the backpack, snagging a small jelly cup on its way.

It still needed to investigate Ruan Hang.

Macau was a world apart from Beijing—its streets lined with vestiges of colonial-era architecture, where modern and old-world charm mixed.

Warm air rushed in as the car window rolled down. People on the streets conversed in Cantonese. Mr. Bo crossed his legs and took in the passing scenery outside, his fingers lightly tapping his knee.

He needed to take care of the residency paperwork.

The man's gaze was calm.

"Sir, we've arrived."

But Qi Jing was still asleep. Frowning, Mr. Bo opened the car door and took out the boy's backpack first. Servants from the estate immediately took it.

"Is the room ready?"

An elderly servant gave a slight bow. "The front courtyard is empty. The occupants of the side rooms have been moved out."

"Hmm."

Mr. Bo bent down and scooped Qi Jing up without hesitation—after all, the boy had been exhausted from the journey.

The elderly servant beside them, his eyelids flickered briefly before quickly lowering them again, following behind.

The villa wasn’t particularly new, showing its age, but roses were in full bloom along the fence.

A small path led to a second-floor bedroom where Qi Jing was out cold, his white T-shirt nearly matching the bedsheets, his dark hair standing out starkly.

Mr. Bo still had other matters to attend to. After a moment’s thought, he bent down and took the boy’s wrist, intending to leave a message on his digital watch.

But Qi Jing came to groggily, his gaze unfocused, and slurred, "Bao... Chengyan."

The man quirked an eyebrow.

Catching his mistake, the boy became more alert. "Mr. Bo."

Qi Jing thought he saw the man smile—just for a fleeting moment—before his wrist was gently placed back under the covers. Mr. Bo said gently, "I’ll be out for a while and will return in two hours. You can rest here."

"There’s a new maid downstairs who speaks Mandarin. If you’re hungry, ask her."

"Text me if you need me."

Unconsciously, Qi Jing burrowed deeper into the blanket, his eyes bright. "Okay."

Once the man left, Qi Jing realized he was wide awake now—he’d already slept the entire trip. The boy sat up and pushed up and grabbed for his backpack, but 996 wasn’t inside.

It had run off again.

Qi Jing flopped back like a zombie on the bed, suddenly noticing the chandelier above. It was really pretty, though it looked difficult to clean.

This place was different from Jinjiang Villa.

He tossed around before finally getting up—he wanted something to eat.

But as soon as he went downstairs, he saw a woman in a qipao having words with an older woman, who seemed to be trying to stop her.

The latter was likely the maid.

Their gazes crossed for a second.

The woman fussed with her shawl, lifted her chin, and looked him up and down. "So this is A Yan’s little wife?"