Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Walking into the room under everyone’s gaze, Xia Yinxi quietly checked out everyone present.

At the head of the table sat a sharp, white-haired old man, undoubtedly Ji Yunzhuo’s grandfather, Ji Taiqing, the former chairman of Ming Ji. To the right were two empty seats, no clue who they were for. Further back, on the left and right, sat a few middle-aged men and women, probably Ji Yunzhuo’s uncles and aunts.

Further back were three guys and two girls, looking younger than Li Yili, likely younger cousins.

He couldn’t figure out which one was the blind date.

Ji Yunzhuo led Xia Yinxi over, said hi to the old man, and sat down in the right-hand seats.

Xia Yinxi: 😀

So those were for them. Talk about sitting on pins and needles.

Grandpa Ji’s cane looked like it cost a fortune, like an antique, thumping on the floor with each hit. Xia Yinxi silently counted—each tap probably cost a few hundred bucks—until after about five or six taps, the old man finally spoke: “So you finally remember to come home!”

Ji Yunzhuo played with Xia Yinxi’s fingers, looking up lazily: “Didn’t you tell me to come?”

“You…”

“Xiao Zhuo, how can you talk to Grandpa like that?” The middle-aged woman on the left cut in. “Apologize to Grandpa this instant!”

Xia Yinxi gave the old man a weird look—he didn’t seem mad at all?

Then the woman turned to Grandpa Ji with a helpless look: “Uncle, don’t be mad. Xiao Zhuo’s always been like this since he was a kid…”

Uncle?

Xia Yinxi mentally worked out the family tree. Ji Yunzhuo’s grandfather was this woman’s uncle… so the dads of the two guys next to her must be Grandpa Ji’s younger brothers… The other day, when Bai Yiheng delivered the bad news, he mentioned that the eldest and second uncles were both there, but these were clearly cousins, not uncles.

“How’s the company doing?” Grandpa Ji brushed off the woman’s words, instead looking at Ji Yunzhuo, his eyes occasionally drifting to Xia Yinxi.

“I sent you the financial report last month.”

“You little…” Grandpa Ji banged his cane on the floor. “Who is he?”

The cane tapped near Xia Yinxi’s feet: “Have you no manners, bringing just anyone home?”

Xia Yinxi: “?”

Was he getting scolded?

Workplace injury—he’d better get paid extra for this.

Ji Yunzhuo held up Xia Yinxi’s hand for the old man and everyone to see: “His name is Xia Yinxi. He’s my legal spouse.”

At that, everyone’s face changed. Grandpa Ji nearly stood up: “What did you say?”

Xia Yinxi quietly reminded him: “Easy there, you might throw your back out.”

“I remember you’re not deaf.” Ji Yunzhuo lifted the hand holding Xia Yinxi’s. “Xiaoxi, say hi.”

Xia Yinxi obediently said: “Hi, Grandpa.”

Even though he was annoyed, Grandpa Ji couldn’t bring himself to snap at Xia Yinxi, who looked so pretty and well-mannered. Besides, his earlier outburst was just a moment of anger. In truth, he had been quietly observing since they entered—the child Ji Yunzhuo brought back carried himself with ease, sat and drank tea with proper etiquette, flawless in every way.

But still, he was a guy.

“What were you thinking? I told you to start a family, and you bring back a…”

Xia Yinxi, with his hand held by Ji Yunzhuo, gently moved his index finger, tracing a few words in his palm.

— Mental anguish fee

The ticklish feeling in his palm made Ji Yunzhuo look down for a moment, fighting the urge to grab it. Instead, he pressed the slender finger and wrote back in his hand: I’ll pay you

Xia Yinxi kept writing: I told you so…

“Xiao Zhuo, don’t upset your grandfather. Marriage is a serious matter—bringing a man home, what kind of nonsense is that?” The middle-aged guy on the right chimed in, his face not worried at all, just a hint of schadenfreude.

Ji Yunzhuo squeezed Xia Yinxi’s hand: “This is Uncle.”

Xia Yinxi smiled: “Hi, Cousin.”

“Over there is Second Uncle.”

“Hey, Cousin.” Xia Yinxi greeted each one, the word “cousin” light but hitting them hard, reminding them of their distant relationship to the current “Ji family.”

Ji Wentao let out a cold snort, not willing to save Xia Yinxi’s face. Before he could lash out, Xia Yinxi smiled at him: “That watch of yours, Cousin, is quite nice. This style suits middle-aged people like you.”

Ji Wentao: “?”

The young woman sitting next to Ji Wentao snorted meaningfully, patting the boy beside her and lowering her voice, though loud enough for everyone to hear: “Xiao Lan, I always told you to learn from your big brother, but don’t learn this.”

Xiao Lan looked under ten. Xia Yinxi turned to Ji Yunzhuo: “Is this your cousin? I thought he was your nephew.”

Ji Wentao’s face darkened at these words. He had married at twenty but struggled with health issues and didn’t have a child until after forty, when Ji Lan was born. He hated when people brought up the age gap between them.

Just as he opened his mouth to scold, Xia Yinxi interrupted: “Your brother doesn’t seem too bright.”

Xia Yinxi pretended to whisper, and Ji Yunzhuo chuckled without stopping him.

“Is Cousin too busy with work? He’s going bald. I saw a hair transplant ad on the way here—I’ll send it to him later?”

Ji Wenjiang: “??”

“Is that your cousin’s wife over there? She looks so much younger than him.”

Ji Yunzhuo: “Fourth wife.”

Xia Yinxi’s disdain was palpable: “Eww.”

Li Yili sat on the farthest sofa, watching in stunned silence while frantically typing in a group chat: Damn, my sister-in-law is on a rampage

「Qianshan」: Don’t call her sister-in-law!!

「Hao Hao Hao」: ? Who’s this

「LiLiLi」: Oh, he’s Song Baichuan, my sister-in-law’s childhood friend

「Hao Hao Hao」: Ah, Master Song, nice to meet you

「Hao Hao Hao」: @LiLiLi Spill the details on the rampage

「Qianshan」: …………

Xia Yinxi was too busy sarcastically roasting everyone to check his phone, so Ji Yunzhuo replied for him: Want to go to Africa again?

Li Yili immediately shut up.

Last night, Xia Yinxi had already gotten a general idea of the Ji family's kinship from Li Yili. Grandpa Ji only had one son—Ji Yunzhuo's father—but the old man's brothers had plenty of kids from his dad's generation.

The Ji family originally started in business, started by Grandpa Ji and a few of his army buddies from nothing. None of the family brothers were willing to invest, but luckily, they rode the wave of the times, kept the business running smoothly, and grew it into a huge conglomerate famous all over Ducheng.

Although Grandpa Ji's brothers had all played dumb and wouldn't invest back then, they now felt entitled to the perks, using the "we're family" excuse to bring their whole families into Ming Ji. Grandpa Ji, while valuing family bonds, prioritized the group's interests and never gave an inch on the shares.

The year Ji Yunzhuo's father ran away from home was one of Ming Ji's hardest times. Time kept moving forward, and business was changing like crazy. Grandpa Ji was in poor health, way past his prime for running the show. Just when he needed a successor, his only son disappeared, and Ji Yunzhuo was still underage. Ming Ji got blindsided by problems inside and out.

With the "direct line" gone, the "side branch" started getting ideas. Who wouldn't want to grab that huge empire? To sit in that position meant power, money, and influence were all right there. The most likely contenders were Ji Yunzhuo's uncle Ji Wenjiang and his cousin Ji Wentao.

But no one expected that as soon as Ji Yunzhuo came of age, he would take over Grandpa Ji's burden, single-handedly holding up the massive Ming Ji, totally crushing their hopes.

Even though it was never theirs to begin with, they still had it out for Ji Yunzhuo. To this day, they keep their eyes on that position, always trying to trip him up.

After hearing this story, Xia Yinxi was silent for a long time before asking Li Yili a question.

"Did anyone tell the Ji family when the country was founded?"

Li Yili: "?"

Xia Yinxi: "If you hadn't said this was Ji Yunzhuo's family history, I'd think it was some dynasty fighting for the throne."

Li Yili pondered for a moment: "Too bad I don't have the last name Ji."

"...Don't be an idiot."

Walking into this house today, Xia Yinxi really felt like he was dealing with feudal leftovers. Even someone like him, who's usually clueless about the vibe, could tell those people meant trouble. No wonder Ji Yunzhuo hardly ever came back.

Five minutes after walking in, some guy acting like an elder started lecturing Ji Yunzhuo, acting like he was making peace between him and Grandpa Ji, but really just stirring the pot.

And after all that pointless talk, no one had even bothered to say hi to him. As Ji Yunzhuo's legal spouse, shouldn't they at least ask about his family or what his parents do?

Xia Yinxi took a quiet breath and sighed.

When they got divorced, he'd just take Ji Yunzhuo's own money and bounce. This huge Ji family? No thanks.

He was legit scared he'd wake up one day and find himself in ancient times, forced into some fight for the throne. Last night, he even dreamed about it the whole night.

So exhausting.

Ji Yunzhuo noticed his shoulders drop and turned to ask, "Tired?"

Xia Yinxi shook his head, leaning in to whisper, "Your Highness, when's dinner?"

"..."

Ji Yunzhuo thought it was funny and squeezed his fingers, then looked at Grandpa Ji: "It's noon, Grandpa."

Grandpa Ji was already pissed just looking at him, so he stood up with his cane: "Time to eat!"

The group headed outside, and in the distance, they heard the sound of car doors unlocking. Xia Yinxi asked, puzzled, "Where are we eating?"

"This is the reception area. We eat in the back."

Xia Yinxi: "..."

Ji Yunzhuo took his hand and continued, "By tradition, there's a hunting event on Grandpa Ji's birthday. If you don't want to go, stay here and don't talk to strangers."

Xia Yinxi looked up at the sky. It was a clear, cloudless day, with blue skies and white clouds unusually bright.

"What's wrong?"

Xia Yinxi: "I'm checking if I'm still under the socialist sky."

Then he turned to Ji Yunzhuo, disbelief written all over his face: "What kind of event is hunting? Is that even legal?"

Ji Yunzhuo couldn't help but reach out and pinch his lively, beautiful face: "It's legal. That whole mountain belongs to the Ji family. The animals are farmed, and none are protected species."

Xia Yinxi shook his head vigorously to free himself from his hand: "What do you mean, the Ji family's? It's the nation's! Didn't the founding notify you about land reform either?!"

Ji Yunzhuo laughed uncontrollably: "Alright, alright, it's leased by the Ji family, not owned by them."

Xia Yinxi was stunned by this absurd world and, after a long silence, called out the system to curse it again.

The timid system cowered under the scolding: "QAQ The Ji family pays so many taxes, does so much charity, and donates so much money, so a little behavior that skirts the edge of the law can be overlooked, right..."

Xia Yinxi: "All beings are equal!"

System: "Sorry, host, I was joking. The Ji family hasn't broken any laws, really."

Xia Yinxi: "You may withdraw."

"...Yes, Your Majesty."

Thinking of the rumors about Ji Yunzhuo outside and his mysterious white moonlight somewhere, Xia Yinxi felt inexplicably angry.

A crown prince, and still caught up in that nonsense.

Neurotic! All feudal remnants are neurotic!

As soon as they got out of the car, Ji Yunzhuo noticed Xia Yinxi wouldn't let him hold his hand. He whispered, "What's wrong?"

Xia Yinxi put his hands behind his back to avoid his touch, then thought it looked awkward, so he placed them in front, which seemed like he was welcoming someone, so he finally let them hang by his sides: "How dare I let Your Highness the Crown Prince support me? Please, go ahead."

Ji Yunzhuo felt like a kitten had scratched his heart. He didn't care about the sarcastic tone at all. He ruffled the soft, fluffy hair in front of him like petting a cat and pulled him into an embrace: "Who was it that said they were 'deeply in love' with me? We've been married just a few days, and you won't even let me hold your hand?"

Xia Yinxi sneered: "Didn't you figure it out long ago? Stop playing dumb."

Both were smart people; how could they not see that the other had other motives for marrying? They'd been pretending not to know all this time, and Xia Yinxi was tired of it.

Feeling Ji Yunzhuo's hand on his waist loosen slightly, Xia Yinxi immediately broke free from the embrace. Then, the man's deep voice sounded in his ear: "But with you, it was love at first sight, deeply rooted."