Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The ambulance came and went, sirens blaring, and it wasn’t until the next day that Ji Yunzhuo learned what had happened to those two.

Zheng Taijian had a broken rib and a fractured right leg, while Zhou Haoliang had a cracked wrist. On top of those, their faces and bodies were covered in patches of bruises.

The bruises were from the girls who beat them up after Xia Yinxi left.

Ji Yunzhuo personally leaned on them to keep it quiet. Zheng Taijian, afraid he had dirt on him, naturally dared not call the police and had to obediently go apologize in person.

The work group of the Nancheng branch was flooded with messages about Xia Yinxi’s heroic act. Zhu Hua sent a voice message, crying her eyes out: “He said he was apologizing on behalf of Ming Ji! Wuwuwu, sisters, I’d die for this company, no joke!!”

“Oh, and Assistant Xia is so pretty…”

“I mean, so hot!”

Early in the morning, the finance department sent out a notice about compensation for employees forced to drink with clients. Additionally, if there were any other injuries, the company’s lawyers would handle the whole lawsuit and cover all costs.

Luckily, Zheng Taijian hadn’t pushed it too far, and no one had suffered physical harm.

Xia Yinxi also received a video of him kowtowing from Zhu Hua.

In the video, Zheng Taijian, wrapped in bandages and leaning on a crutch, stood awkwardly at the door, his face beet red. At first, he tried to get off with a bow, but Zhu Hua said coolly, “Tax evasion…”

Through gritted teeth, Zheng Taijian used the crutch to support himself, struggled to kneel, and kowtowed.

“That form’s not great.” With the company’s backing, the employees who’d been bullied got bold and took the chance to kick them while they were down.

Xia Yinxi sent back a bunch of “hahahaha” and shared the video with Ji Yunzhuo in the next room.

After a while, Ji Yunzhuo replied: This is how you handle things?

「Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu」: Is that not allowed?

「Babe」: Like a kid

Xia Yinxi: “?”

Was he mocking him?

「Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu」: You told me to go! Now you’re mad?

「Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu」: Cat swearing meme.jpg

「Babe」: Good job

Xia Yinxi snorted, figuring he knew better than to push it, and messaged again: Did Assistant Gao call the cops?

「Babe」: Yes

The whole “call the cops if you don’t kowtow” thing was a bluff, but they still called after he did. Lol. ^_^

Xia Yinxi also called Xia Yucheng and briefly explained the situation: “Dad, shouldn’t we check our own company too?”

Xia Yucheng felt a swell of pride: “I’ll arrange it right away. My little Xi is all grown up. When are you coming to the company, you…”

“Huh, Dad, what’d you say? Bad signal!”

The second he opened his mouth, it was obvious he wanted him to work at the family company. No way—he was just crashing there now. If he got too comfortable at the company, it’d be awkward when the real young master came back.

He hung up, and Xia Yucheng laughed and called him a little brat.

【“Dad” sent you 2,000,000 yuan.】

「Dad」: Made a bit from a new project, go spend it

「Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu」: Oh, signal’s back! Thanks, Dad!

Ji Yunzhuo sent a message: Come eat breakfast.

Having slept too late last night and woken up early by Zhu Hua’s message, Xia Yinxi shuffled out in his slippers, half asleep, without even washing up, planning to go back to bed after eating.

He peeked out and saw Ji Yunzhuo all dressed up, hair neatly styled, eating breakfast slowly and elegantly, looking all noble. The room was quiet for a bit before Xia Yinxi couldn’t help asking, “Got work later?”

“No.”

…Then who are you showing off to?

Xia Yinxi didn’t dare say that out loud. Maybe rich people were just like that, always mindful of their image.

“I’m still half asleep. If you have something to do, let Assistant Gao go with you.” Xia Yinxi’s eyes weren’t even fully open, his eyelids twitching with sleepiness. “I’ll allow you to deduct overtime pay; I won’t take you to arbitration.”

Ji Yunzhuo: “…”

He’d already said there was nothing to do.

After a few bites, Xia Yinxi went back to bed. The thick curtains blocked out the still-harsh late-summer sunlight, plunging the room into darkness.

His dreams flickered in and out, the perspective a bit lower. Last time he dreamed of high school; this time, it seemed to have moved forward.

“Pipipipi, young master, want to go catch crickets?” It was Song Baichuan again.

Xia Yinxi was speechless. So this guy’s husky-like nature had been showing since he was this young. It was dark out—why would anyone catch bugs?

He wanted to refuse, but in the dream, the original young master, Xiao Xia, wasn’t under his control and was dragged by Song Baichuan to the small garden.

The surroundings were completely unfamiliar—a Chinese-style garden with classical doors and windows carrying the weight of history, trapping the stars, cicadas, and birdsong within.

Xia Yinxi looked at the lotus flowers in the lake; in the dream, it was also summer.

Song Baichuan was crouching in the grass, searching for crickets. His white clothes were stained green and brown, his face smeared with mud and grass juice. Xiao Xia stepped away in slight disgust.

He sat on the steps in front of the door, watching Song Baichuan jump around, feeling drowsy, when suddenly a noise came from inside the door behind him.

Curious, Xiao Xia pressed against the door, trying to peer through the crack. Song Baichuan called out to him, but he didn’t hear.

It was too dark; all he could see through the crack was a table and two chairs facing the door. Xia Yinxi felt his head ache from the effort, but in the dream, this kid was still trying to squeeze into the crack.

Though children were generally curious, he hadn’t been this curious as a kid! What was wrong with this original body’s kid!

Suddenly, an eye appeared in the crack. Xiao Xia let out an “Ah!” and fell to the ground with a thud.

Someone was inside?!

Xia Yinxi also wanted to know who it was. Xiao Xia, despite being startled, got up and pressed against the door again.

A childish voice rang out: “Who are you?”

There was no response from inside. Xiao Xia knocked on the door: “Is anyone there?”

Xia Yinxi felt his hair stand on end. Truly, a newborn calf ain't afraid of no tiger—Xiao Xia really ain't scared of ghosts!

Isn't this setting like, the perfect horror story cliché?

Song Baichuan had vanished at some point, and the courtyard looked like it had switched scenes. The lotus pond was gone, replaced by many plum trees. Xiao Xia turned in a circle, exited through the left moon gate, and after wandering, crawling, and scrambling around, ended up back in the same courtyard.

Xia Yinxi: “…”

For a sec, he couldn't tell if the original body was also bad with directions or if this place was really a ghost's trick.

The fearless Xiao Xia pressed his face against the door again: “Anyone there? I’m lost.”

Xia Yinxi: “!!!!”

Wake up, wake up, wake up—this is a freaking nightmare, ahhh!

But this time, someone answered from inside the room. It was a kid's voice too, trembling a little: “Who are you?”

“I’m Xiaoxi.” Xiao Xia reached out his tiny hand, like he was trying to reach through the door crack to say hi, but only got a finger through.

“Help me… open the door, and I'll get you out of here.”

Xia Yinxi was even more scared, trying to make Xiao Xia jump off a building to wake up, but he couldn't control anything here, stuck watching this horror movie.

Xiao Xia looked up and saw the lock, way higher than him. After a moment's thought, he trotted over on his little legs to where Song Baichuan was catching bugs and grabbed a rock.

The door was wood, with hollow diamond-shaped lattice and silk window paper at the bottom. The wood in the lattice was thin and flimsy. Xia Yinxi held the rock and pushed hard, and with his head, they smashed a hole in the door.

Xia Yinxi's head was ringing.

The kid inside seemed stunned for a sec, then immediately ripped off the silk cloth and reached out to snap the wooden strips, trying to make the hole big enough for someone to get through.

An adult could do this easy, but with just two kids, they worked for over half an hour, even scraping their hands raw.

“Thank you.” The kid inside crawled out, leaning on the door and breathing hard. Xiao Xia was totally wiped out and passed out right there.

Right before the scene faded, Xiao Xia was being carried on the kid's back, and Xia Yinxi got a good look at his face. Even at that young age, his bone structure was amazing—he was gonna be a total hottie when he grew up.

He just looked kinda familiar.

Xia Yinxi slowly came to and glanced at his phone. It was only a little after three in the afternoon.

He felt wiped out from dreaming, like he'd been hauling bricks all day.

A few unread messages were all from Song Baichuan, who heard about Zheng Taijian getting hurt and hospitalized and immediately came to rant. Xia Yinxi replied briefly: “I didn't hit him all by myself.”

Song Baichuan sent a question mark: “You hit him??”

Xia Yinxi: “?”

So you had no idea!

[East Sea]: I heard he got hit by a car, and I thought it was karma. You hit him???

[Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu]: Long story.

[Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu]: Cat makes a flashy entrance.jpg

[East Sea]: Get to the point.

[Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu]: I happened to run into his drinking party, where he was harassing our coworker, and coincidentally, Ji Yunzhuo just got evidence of his crimes today.

[Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu]: What a coincidence, right?

Song Baichuan was confused: “Our” coworker?

[Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu]: A coworker from the Nancheng branch.

Song Baichuan was even more confused: I don't remember the Xia or Meng family having a branch in Nancheng. Last month, I heard Aunt Meng was planning to expand there. Did they move that fast?

[Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu]: …Ji.

[East Sea]: …………

[East Sea]: Married Xiaoxi is like water under the bridge /sigh.jpg

[Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu]: Screw off /smile.jpg

Xia Yinxi put down his phone and closed his eyes to rest a sec. The dream just now was too vivid; he still remembered it clearly.

Last time, he dreamed of the original body's high school days, and this time, it was an even younger age.

After thinking it over, he summoned the system: “Sys, was what I dreamed about something the original body really experienced?”

The system took a moment to respond: “Host, did you have a dream?”

Xia Yinxi found it odd: “Wasn't it arranged by you?”

He thought it was some operation to “help him better integrate into the identity”—so it wasn't?

After another pause in his mind, an electronic voice sounded: “Host is probably too tired.”

Xia Yinxi narrowed his eyes. Intuitively, it was hiding something. Instead of pressing the system further, he directly sent a voice call to Song Baichuan.

“East Sea, do you remember if we ever went to a place with a Chinese-style garden when we were kids?”

“We've been to plenty of places. When was that?”

“That time you wanted to go out at night to catch bugs.”

Song Baichuan denied it: “Nonsense! How could I catch bugs!”

Xia Yinxi bluffed him: “We grew up together, you know. I even know how old you were when you wet the bed.”

Song Baichuan, flustered and angry, cursed at him a few times: “Don't know, don't remember! Who remembers something that long ago!”

“Sigh, I knew I couldn't count on you.”

“Don't ask for trouble, Xia Xiaoxi.” Song Baichuan was doing something on the other end, with the keyboard clacking. “But it's probably going with the family to visit a friend or attend a banquet at someone's place, right? All our families' old mansions are Chinese-style gardens. Why are you asking about this?”

“Nothing, just had a nightmare.”

Song Baichuan chuckled: “You're afraid of ghosts too? Maybe it's your own house. How long has it been since you went back?”

Can't count on him. Xia Yinxi hung up and summoned the system again: “Why do I keep dreaming about the original body's past? Is this some kind of hint?”

The system: “Perhaps it's a hint for you to live well on his behalf…”

Xia Yinxi was silent for a moment, then spoke: “So, did I transmigrate here to fulfill the original body's wishes? He wanted to marry Ji Yunzhuo and live a good life?”

The entire system shook violently.

Host!

My wonderful host!

A true top student!

A perspective it had never considered before!

"Yes!" The system quickly searched through a few romance guides and boomed, "That's it! The host's mission is to fulfill the original host's wishes! The next task is to take a walk with Ji Yunzhuo!"

Xia Yinxi: "...Heh."

He knew it—this system was seriously messed up.