Chapter 45 To Jiang City

Chapter 45: A Trip to Jiang City

Yan Anxuan added another comment, feeling that his previous words weren't enough. He recalled how the three of them had mentioned on the night of the coming-of-age ceremony that Yan Zhoubai wouldn't get into Peking University. They looked down on Yan Zhoubai, but did they think people with their kind of tainted reputation could make it to Peking University?

They had brought this upon themselves.

Yan Zhoubai claimed he was fine, but in the end, he was still taken to the hospital for a full physical examination. The results showed he was perfectly healthy, with no organic issues.

Afterward, Bai Rong scheduled him an appointment with a psychologist.

Following the diagnosis, the psychologist concluded that his mutism was temporary. It stemmed from his internal struggle to fully let go of the incident, making it difficult for him to speak. This wasn't a major problem and was expected to resolve quickly.

However, the impact of his childhood bullying experiences was far greater than he realized; otherwise, he wouldn't have reacted so strongly to the bullies' provocation. The psychologist advised the family to closely monitor his emotional state and avoid triggering him again.

Sitting in the doctor’s office, Yan Zhoubai watched as Bai Rong and Yan Anxuan listened intently to the doctor, seemingly afraid to miss a single word. He felt a little confused.

He couldn't understand why they suddenly cared so much about him, especially Bai Rong. Hadn't she been completely indifferent to him before?

On the way back, Yan Anxuan drove while Bai Rong and Yan Zhoubai sat in the back seat.

Yan Zhoubai felt somewhat awkward because Bai Rong kept holding his hand. He couldn't even remember the last time she had held his hand.

Yan Zhoubai tried to pull away, but Bai Rong, thinking he was unwell, quickly asked about it. Yan Anxuan, who was driving, also chimed in with concern.

Yan Zhoubai could only shake his head.

He truly felt fine. While the psychologist's assessment was accurate, he thought his mother and older brother were overreacting to his condition.

After returning home, Bai Rong asked him what he wanted to eat. He tentatively mentioned a type of flatbread Bai Rong used to make for them when he was little. Back then, Bai Rong wasn't as busy and occasionally cooked.

He suggested the flatbread to see how Bai Rong would react—whether it was an act or genuine concern.

But Yan Zhoubai didn't expect that as soon as he finished speaking, Bai Rong agreed. She immediately took off her rings and bracelets, put on an apron, and headed into the kitchen. Even the servants were stunned.

When had the madam ever cooked? Wait, did the madam even know how to cook?

Even as he ate the flatbread, which tasted exactly like the ones from his childhood, Yan Zhoubai was still in a state of disbelief.

"Sweetie, I think your condition this time was too severe. They were all scared and feel very guilty toward you," the system said.

"Is that so?" Yan Zhoubai replied, still somewhat dazed. "But this isn’t what we originally wanted, is it?"

What they originally wanted was to stay at home without suppressing themselves, to speak their minds, and even turn the house upside down if necessary—after all, he no longer cared about their opinions.

But now, the situation was the complete opposite. He had been wronged, and his family immediately stood up for him and started caring about him.

"Plans always change. Don’t worry about whether it’s the same as before. Isn’t this pretty good too?"

The system saw no issue. Although it was good at making plans, it was also adept at changing them.

"However, our self-reliance plan from before still can’t change. We can’t rely solely on your family," the system reminded him.

"Of course."

Their previous self-reliance plan referred to Yan Zhoubai earning his first pot of gold by helping others with feng shui.

Mentioning feng shui made Yan Zhoubai think of Zhan Jiayu. Then he remembered that Zhan Jiayu had sent him a message yesterday, but he hadn't been in a good headspace at the time. He saw it but didn't react much, so he never replied.

He took out his phone and started typing a reply to Zhan Jiayu.

Xiao Baichuan: I’m fine, everything’s been resolved.

Xiao Baichuan: It might just take a few more days before I can bring Huihui out to see you.

Zhan: What’s wrong?

Yan Zhoubai didn’t expect Zhan Jiayu to reply to his message right away again. Was he never busy?

Xiao Baichuan: I’ve hit a rough patch—I can’t speak right now. I think it’s better to meet you after I’ve recovered.

Xiao Baichuan: Smile.gif

Can’t speak? The moment Zhan Jiayu saw these words, his face instantly turned cold.

Zhan: What happened? How can you not speak?

Zhan: Have you seen a doctor?

Zhan: Was it because of those people or because of the Yan family?

Three messages in a row, each a question—enough to show that Zhan Jiayu had lost his composure. He was usually a man of few words, his messages concise and to the point. It was rare for him to send several questions in succession like this.

Xiao Baichuan: It was because of Ji Yangwen and the others. I got too angry, got overly upset, and developed temporary loss of speech.

Xiao Baichuan: But it’s not a big problem. I’ve already seen a doctor, and they said it’s fine. I’ll recover in a couple of days.

Zhan Jiayu looked at the messages on his phone screen but didn’t reply. Instead, he called Assistant Chen into his office and instructed him to take care of something as soon as possible.

Zhan: Have you ever been to Jiang City?

Xiao Baichuan: Jiang City? Never.

Yan Zhoubai didn’t understand why Zhan Jiayu suddenly brought up Jiang City. From birth until now, he had hardly ever left Beijing. When he was little, Yan Ren and Bai Rong occasionally took him on trips, but Jiang City was never among the destinations.

Zhan: Do you want to go?

Xiao Baichuan: Yes!

Xiao Baichuan: We can go after I finish my university entrance exams.

Xiao Baichuan: Jumping for joy.gif

Yan Zhoubai thought that after the university entrance exams, he’d have one less major thing to worry about. Since it would be summer vacation, he could take a good trip to Jiang City. Or maybe not just Jiang City—he could tour all the beautiful cities in the south. This would actually be his first solo trip out of Beijing.

The idea and plan came suddenly, entirely because Zhan Jiayu had brought it up.

"I think it’s a great idea. I’d also like to see other cities outside Beijing," the system chimed in, fully on board.

Zhan: I’m going back to Jiang City in a couple of days to visit my family’s graves. Come with me—I’ll show you around.

Yan Zhoubai was taken aback, and so was the system.

"Zhan Jiayu really treats you like a little brother, huh? He even wants to take you along to visit his ancestors in his hometown."

"Should we go?" Yan Zhoubai felt uncertain.

"Let’s go. He invited you personally. Plus, it’ll be great to check out Jiang City while we’re at it."

The system now had complete trust in Zhan Jiayu, believing he was very reliable. Moreover, this was a great opportunity to bond and get closer to the villain boss—why not go?

Xiao Baichuan: You're going back to your hometown for ancestor worship—would it be inconvenient for me to join?

Xiao Baichuan: Unsure.gif

Zhan: Don’t worry, the ancestral rites won't take long and won't cause any issues.

Zhan: You've been feeling down these past couple of days, and I want to take you out to get some fresh air. A better mood might help your speech loss recover faster.

Zhan: Besides, didn’t you say before that you wanted to be my right-hand man? Isn’t it normal for a boss to want his sidekick to accompany him on an out-of-town project?

Xiao Baichuan: Alright then.

Xiao Baichuan: Excited cat.gif

Zhan: Good.

Zhan: It’ll just be three or four days—it won’t interfere with your studies when you return.

After deciding to go to Jiang City with Zhan Jiayu, Yan Zhoubai had been quite excited—whether it was because of the trip itself or because he was going with Zhan Jiayu, his mood had been noticeably better these past few days. As a result, his speech loss symptoms had eased, and he could now speak a few words intermittently, though still somewhat haltingly.

But even this small change had significantly improved the atmosphere in the Yan household.

Recently, because Young Master was bullied by those young men from a few families, leading to a stress response and speech loss, the entire Yan family had been tense.

Yan’s parents took this matter very seriously, providing attentive care for Young Master. Their unhappiness over the incident made the servants extra cautious in everything they did.

The servants genuinely noticed the change in the Yan family. Some long-serving staff remarked that they had never seen the Yan couple in such a state—this was the first time Young Master had received so much attention at home.

Yan Zhoubai’s better mood made him more efficient at studying.

Since resuming tutoring sessions, Yan Anxuan had been drilling him and keeping an eye on his progress every night. Yan Zhoubai couldn’t help but admire how his older brother, who had always excelled academically, still remembered high school material clearly even years after graduation—he didn’t miss a beat.

Since Zhan Jiayu hadn’t told Yan Zhoubai the exact date of their trip to Jiang City, Yan Zhoubai hadn’t mentioned it to his family. Part of him didn't really want to tell them.

He was eighteen now and could make his own decisions—he only needed to inform his family. But given how overprotective they had been lately, he suspected they would object. Still, he was determined to go regardless of their opinion. The thought of arguing with them made him reluctant to bring it up.

Over the past couple of days, Yan Zhoubai heard some news at home: Ji Yangwen, Dai Jian, and Rong Qian had been beaten up quite badly and were hospitalized. The Ji, Dai, and Rong families immediately reported it to the police, but the authorities hadn’t been able to identify the perpetrators. The three families were furious and had been pressuring the police to find the attackers quickly.

This sparked quite a discussion online, and Yan Zhoubai was also curious about who was behind it. But whoever it was, those guys totally deserved it.

Yan Zhoubai chose to put them behind him, unwilling to have anything more to do with them. He didn’t care what happened to them in the future and couldn’t be bothered to find out who was responsible.

However, Yan Zhoubai didn’t expect the Jiang City trip he’d been looking forward to would come so suddenly.

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Author's Note: Here you go [Let me take a look].